As someone pointed out to me over the weekend, the Friday April 25th Eastern Rock Crawling Competition (EROCC) brought so many visitors to our downtown that it looked like it did back in the 1940's and '50s. But unlike the '40's and '50's, almost everyone was in Veterans Park and/or the Park Annex rather than on the sidewalks as they were away back then. And that got me to thinking (which admittedly can be dangerous).

Sometime during our Fall Festival with our largest crowd, we need to have an appointed time with photographers present and ask everyone to temporarily leave the park and other areas and to fill the sidewalks. That would truly bring back an earlier time even if for only a very few minutes. And the photos taken could be shown to the younger generation(s) to give them an idea of how things used to be around here back in the "good ole days" when the sidewalks were so crowded on Friday evenings, Saturdays and especially Saturday nights that it was difficult to move as shoppers went from business place to business place including clothing stores, appliance stores, grocery stores, drug stores, shoe repair shops, barber shops, restaurants, hotels, all types of professional offices, etc..

Having such photos would provide a pictorial display of what we hope to restore to at least some degree with our current drive to renovate and revitalize our downtown to the point where it becomes a place where people will once again want to be.

The EROCC officials and participants could not be complimentary enough for the welcome and assistance that they received while they were here. They appreciated all of the businesses that had placed welcoming messages on their marquees, those like Ray's Superior Market that provided soft drinks for everyone, and the Rescue Squad for having the concession stand available. And they were especially appreciative of the organizational job done by Tourism Director Jake Bennett, Larry and Jill Boles, the police department and other city employees and everyone involved. In fact one official remarked to me that he had not found anything that wasn't good.

And the fact that we had national media here certainly cannot hurt. Turner Broadcasting was doing extensive video taping for televising the event nationally at a later date and there was other coverage. (And ESPN-2 is expected to be here for a future event and televise the competition live.)

I did not attend the actual competition at White Oak but I understand that the crowd was unbelievably large (estimated between 6500 and 7500 spectators) and continues to grow with each passing event. I was also told that the amount of food and drinks consumed staggers the imagination.

I have been awfully critical of the job that Jake has done so far with the weather, but he came through in grand style that weekend. It appeared rain would start at any time on Friday but nary a person got wet. And although there were very strong storms Friday night and Saturday morning from the reports that I have received, what little rain may have fallen on Saturday didn't hurt the competition at White Oak one bit. (I guess that Jake's job performance with the weather is just improving with experience.)

(In all seriousness, Jake certainly is to be commended for finally getting the State of Tennessee to recognize some of the things that we have going on in Jellico and the Jellico area. No state publication could be found that publicized our activities but Jake got onto that problem in a hurry. Several contacts with Nashville led to our EROCC competition and our Fourth of July celebration being covered in the current state tourism release. What's more, we are assigned one of the very few numbers on the state map in that publication - the numbers signifying significant areas of interest for tourists.)

Our meeting at Jellico High School on Monday went very well and we had a good turnout of officials, business owners and operators and interested citizens. (Whitley County Superintendent of Schools Lonnie Anderson was also in attendance due to the possible impact that the development of Rarity Mountain could have upon southern Whitley County.)

Some preliminary information was given out by Mr. George Piper and his staff pertaining to our downtown renovation and revitalization. But the most important announcement was made by Campbell County Chief Executive Jerry Cross who confirmed that the call for bids for construction of the interchange off Interstate-75 will definitely be issued during the latter part of June. We can reasonably expect to see some work beginning on that project within the next few months.

An article in a local newspaper reported that Jellico had no representative at a meeting of the Campbell County Joint Economic Development Council (CCJEDC). But no appropriate official in Jellico of whom we are aware received notification that there would be a meeting. I received no notice. Neither did Roy Price who was confirmed many months ago by the city council as the mayor's representative to the CCJEDC. Nor was Dwight Osborn who is our city councilman who heads up our economic development department and who would have attended as an interested spectator.

Some work is getting done to our downtown buildings in spite of the weather. George Hackler says that he is painting on the old First National Bank Building (Netlink) between rains. He agrees with me that we can get our town restored and he encouraged me to keep on pushing for renovations.

Wayne Barton told me that work should quickly begin (if it has not already begun) on restoring the Laundry Mat (old Firestone /Begluitti Building) on North Main Street and reopening of that business.

And John Leach has again informed me that he will soon get painting done on his buildings including the window sills. He said that he is presently making contacts with companies that install awnings and that too will add an awful lot to that building. But the weather forecasts are still including more rain.

That was a well deserved honor the Jellico Fire Department bestowed upon Jack Young for his forty (40) years as a volunteer fire fighter during their annual picnic at Indian Mountain State Park. The beautiful plaque that he received came as a complete surprise to him and it was certainly well deserved. There's absolutely no way of knowing how many nights during the past forty years when he rolled out of the bed at all hours and in all weather and temperatures to help save property and even lives. (And Jack has done volunteer service with the Rescue Squad as well.)

Our entire town owes Jack a debt of gratitude. And we owe our gratitude to all of our emergency service personnel. We don't always acknowledge that fact enough until we require their services.

And speaking of honoring a deserving individual, that was a very nice gesture on the part of Jerome Cummins and personnel at Indian Mountain State Park in naming the lake across the bridge (leading to the natural walking trail) in memory of Billy Ballard. A sign next to the bridge denotes it as "Ballard Lake" and that is most appropriate. It was Billy who worked hard to get our park off to such a good start and he is very deserving of that posthumous recognition.

I often write about the old adage that no matter where you go, you eventually find someone from Jellico. And there is no limit to the number of stories to substantiate that fact. Pulitizer Prize winner Don Whitehead even made that statement as a war correspondent serving in Europe during World War II. And former sportswriter for Chicago and Knoxville news papers and President of the American Sports Writers Association, Tom Siler who grew up on Fifth Street, told us of the time when his plane was shot down over Germany. Rather than being killed or captured by German SS troops infamous for their brutality, one of the first individuals that he saw was Bill Jones who lived a mile or so away on Indian Mountain and who's infantry division had just taken the area where he had crashed. Someone just a few years ago told me that while fighting in Korea and under fire, another soldier ran and jumped into the fox hole with him. And of course the other soldier was also from Jellico.

On a personal note, during the two years that I lived in New York City I liked to sit and watch the construction of the Verranzano Straits single suspension bridge in preparation for the Worlds Fair to be held in New York.. The workmen so high in the air looked the size of insects and I wondered what manner of individual had the courage to work at such an altitude. Much later I learned that one of the electricians wiring in the lighting for the bridge was Charles Bills of Tannery Hollow.

What brought all of the above on was the fact that I was recently in a meeting with school officials and teachers from a large section of Kentucky. And of course one from northern Kentucky had family that had lived in Jellico many years ago. There truly are Jellico folks everywhere!

One of my pet peeves is always the fact that many folks around the country tend to think that people of the Appalachians are somehow inferior intellectually. I recently attended the "Campus of the Year Awards Ceremony" sponsored by Congressman Hal Rogers that involved our school, Boston Elementary. And it did my ears good to hear Dr. Lee Todd, President of the University of Kentucky, express that same sentiment. Dr. Todd is a product of Kentucky, attended UK and later received his doctorate from the highly prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Following his graduation and prior to assuming the UK presidency, he had become very, very successful in private enterprise.

A fellow graduate student while at MIT had apparently remarked to him that he thought Kentuckians and Appalachian people are dumb because they talk so slow. Later he encountered that same individual and in his best mountain drawl said, "Buddy (pause) guess what (pause) I just got my (pause) seventh patent (pause) from the United States (pause) Patent Office".

And that reminded me of an experience that my daughter Kasee had when she joined the staff to teach English at Ashland University in the Cleveland, Ohio area. At an alumni dinner to welcome new staff she happened to be seated next to an influential female member of the alumni. After talking with Kasee for only a short time, the alumnus asked, "Do you think that your students will even be able to understand you with that terrible southern accent?" To which Kasee replied something to the effect, "I certainly hope so! My students didn't have any problem in understanding me at Oxford University" - referring to the classes that she had taught as a graduate assistant while studying and doing research for her doctorate at that world renown institution of the English language and literature in London, England.).

Our people are the equal of any other folks in any other areas and that is a fact that I and my staff at Boston Elementary continuously try to impress upon our students. We just need to be given equal opportunity and then we need to take full advantage of our opportunities. We have very successful folks in every profession and occupation - including even the proverbial "rocket scientist". (Lisa Blue of Tackett Creek and a graduate of JHS holds that position with NASA.)

The following is an example of a telephone call that is the nightmare of every mother. "This is Nurse Jane calling for Dr. Smedley from the hospital emergency room. Your son has been involved in a minor accident but he is fine. He has been given a thorough examination and has only some very slight cuts and bruises. However I do need to talk to you about his underwear!" (I don't make them up. I just reprint them!)

JOHN CLIFTON, Mayor, City of Jellico