I have written many times in the past that a good library is one of the greatest assets that a town can have. And that's certainly true of our Jellico Library! Librarian Dorothy Potter and Assistant Librarian Linda Bowlin do an outstanding job with our library that now contains something like 13,500 volumes in addition to countless paperbacks; computer on-line services; a children's reading program including Accelerated Reader volumes with corresponding grade levels and point values; 88 current periodicals; 528 videos; 100 audios; and numerous other offerings and services. Mrs. Potter indicates that the Library Board has recognized the growth and quality of our library and will soon have additional shelving placed in both the main library and the children's reading room to accommodate expected future growth.

Last Saturday night's "dress rehearsal" by the Twin Rivers Band for performing on Friday and/or Saturday nights in the Office of Tourism/Library/Community Conference Room (Tramell Building) was very entertaining. Even bigger shows are scheduled for the next two weekends and will include several outstanding singers and "pickers" - including some from our area and others who are going to come over from Lafollette and possibly from London, Kentucky.

Those who surveyed the Conference Room with its ample seating, good acoustics, and comfortable temperature along with plenty of parking in Veterans Park, called the situation nearly perfect. All of that plus the fact that its free of charge! Everybody is invited!

Have you seen the new sign that Tourism Director Jake Bennett has erected in front of our "Jellico Mountain Wedding Chapel" located at the corner of Kentucky Street and Cumberland Avenue? It's got "class" and if you haven't seen it, you might want to drive by and take a "gander". (Jake will now soon schedule and announce an "open house" to view the interior.)

I reported several weeks ago how well the Mayor and current City Council are working together. And last week, Jim Dossett of the Lafollette Press wrote of the difference in our Council meetings now when compared to those of earlier years. According to Dossett, we are now "getting along famously together". That's the way it should be and it's good to know that others have also observed the changes that have taken place.

Those who read last week's Press and Jellico Advance-Sentinel also learned of the problems with homeless animals that are being experienced by the cities of Lafollette, Jacksboro and Caryville. (Sound familiar?) Lafollette Mayor Lucy Lobertini has proposed that a piece of land next to a Veterinary Service in Lafollette be purchased and that those cities combine to contribute $ 350,000 toward construction of a shelter for use by the three of them.

Others are proposing that any money raised for that purpose be applied to the proposed Campbell County Animal Shelter. One member of the Lafollette Council emphasized that the initial expenditure would only be part of the long-term costs involved with maintaining a center and he wanted to contribute any available funds toward the construction of the county shelter.

I have written several times about the terrible problem that we are having with stray animals in Jellico just like those cities are experiencing. And I have also insisted that there is no way that we can afford to have an animal control program that will meet all of the legal requirements for collecting, feeding and housing, providing veterinary service, etc. - stringent requirements of which most citizens are not even aware. Like the views of the Lafollette Councilman cited above, I believe that our only hope for finding a solution to the problem is to join with all of Campbell County in constructing, supporting and maintaining an animal shelter that can serve us all. And as Councilman Jeff Brown and I both agreed during a discussion at our last Council meeting, the sooner the County gets on with the shelter, the better for all of us!

The Council voted during our last meeting to have the city attorney to draft an Ordinance of Annexation for areas identified in the Urban Growth Plan for Jellico. Once that ordinance is completed and in acceptable form, a "Plan of Services" will then be formulated clearly identifying what services will be provided to the proposed areas for annexation - along with a time line for having those services in place. Following those two tasks, a Public Hearing will be conducted and all interested citizens invited to attend. However only certified property owners in the areas proposed for annexation will be permitted to participate in the actual proceedings.

Completion of all of the above steps will then permit the Council to vote on the Annexation Ordinance on two separate readings. A favorable majority vote of the Council will be required on both readings for the Ordinance to become law and expand our incorporated city limits.

The purpose of Tennessee Public Law 1101 is to insure that cities and towns can grow but only in an orderly and planned manner. All of the legal challenges to correctly implemented PL 1101 have reportedly failed in the courts since the law was enacted by the Tennessee State Legislature and courts are extremely reluctant to overturn legislative actions. And our Council has been very careful to insure that all requirements of that law are being met.

If the entire Jellico Urban Growth Area is annexed following the prescribed procedure, the lengthy and comprehensive process can then be started all over again to develop a new Urban Growth Plan to identify additional areas for possible annexation in future years.

Several fellows that I know to be sober men with at least fairly good vision have told me that they had seen Robins in our area even before the end of January. I don't know if those Robins happen to be mentally deficient and couldn't keep up with the seasons or if they were just too lazy to make the long flight south and decided to stay here all winter. But they are a welcome sight in either case and let's hope that they do signal the early arrival of Spring.

But reportedly the groundhog did see his shadow last Sunday and legend has it that we are now in for six weeks more bad weather - although anyone out last Sunday would have been tempted to debate the groundhog.

In spite of the fact that we have a lot of local groundhogs living around here (including a "granddaddy" groundhog that lives near our house) that are probably perfectly capable of predicting our weather for us, Punxsutawney Phil, the "official" groundhog for making such predictions, lives in Pennsylvania and is a pampered "city slicker" type woodchuck. But we will just have to take his prediction for the expected arrival of Spring in this area. (But I sometimes think that Phil is about as accurate as our high technology long-range weather forecasting.)

Here's hoping that we have a very pretty and warm spring - especially in April for our special "Clean-up, Paint-up, Fix-up Month". Make plans for it now! We want it to be the biggest ever! But remember the groundhog's prediction. February and March can be two of our worst months. (There is even the possibility of some light snow flurries in the forecast for this very weekend.)

And in a much more somber light:
It seems that our country is now continuously facing tragedy or the threat of tragedy. Last Saturday's loss of six outstanding Americans and an equally outstanding citizen of Israel is just the latest in a series of tragedies that have stuck us. And we face the possibility of even greater loss of life in the immediate future. But those sacrifices are willingly made by many for the betterment of mankind and for the continuance of the wonderful freedom that we all enjoy in this country. We simply cannot thank and honor enough those making such sacrifices!

Our flags are flying at half-staff in memory and honor of those seven astronauts who lost their lives. And as we have heard so many pray ever since the catastrophe, "May God grant them eternal rest and be with their families and our nation as we mourn such a terrible loss".

I don't know how many folks have received an E-mail that is widely circulating quoting a letter that was originally sent home to her family by the wife of a Christian Foreign Service Officer in China. That lady and her young son were in a crowd where President George Bush appeared in Shanghai during his trip to that country. They wanted to actually see a President of the United States and they were fortunate to come close enough to the President to shake hands with him and have him compliment the boy on the way that he was dressed. According to her, the President was working his way down the line to shake hands with as many of those in attendance as possible and quickly moved on to the next person after greeting her - just as she added that she was continuously praying for him. He stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing her statement and then he quickly returned to her. He placed his hand warmly upon her shoulder, looked her directly in the eye, thanked her intensely and told her that he could feel strongly the prayers of so many that are praying for him. He asked her to personally continue praying for him and to request others to pray for him also. Once the President had again moved on, word of the surprising conversation spread rapidly throughout the crowd and it had a profound affect upon those in attendance.

The burden of many of the decisions affecting both the security and future of our country now rest almost entirely upon the shoulders of our President. That lady wrote that she could actually see the depth of that burden and the sincerely in his eyes as she talked with him.

Later in a letter back to this country, she followed through on the President's request and asked that everyone in her family and their friends join in praying for him in this extremely critical time. Her letter was somehow released publicly and is getting wide spread circulation and having a far greater circulation and impact than she or the President could possibly have ever imagined.

The courts may rule that "under God" cannot be part of the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag but they can never change the fact that we are a country so greatly blessed by our Creator. And who better to recognize and appreciate that fact than our President?

I experienced no problem in electronically transmitting my last column to either the Jellico Advance - Sentinel or Netlink - which means that both will be able to carry my current column.

My schedule has become so full that I am having more and more difficulty in finding the time to write, print and distribute. In light of that fact and the fact that the Advance-Sentinel has invited me to once again publish in that paper, this will be my last individually printed and distributed column - at least for the time being.

I hope that everyone will continue to read it each week in the Advance-Sentinel or access the current column on the Internet by going to www.jellico.com/jellico/jellico.htm and clicking on the link for "Mayor's Column". And please make these new arrangements known to those who live out of town. I still have folks to tell me that they did not realize that this column is on the Internet. And others have told me that that they only found it by doing a "Jellico" search.