I had been made aware on many occasions that my weekly column had become popular with both local and out-of-town readers. But even then, I did not realize just how much it was enjoyed by so many people. I have had numerous requests to resume my writing.
Since the majority of the council announced that a city adminstrator would definitely be hired, I have taken on additional non-city activities that will limit the time that I have available for writing this column. And of course I will no longer be involved to any great extent in the city's business under the provisions of the new city charter. But I have continued to do the weekly radio broadcast (Thursdays at 1:00 PM on WJJT, 1540 AM) because it can be taped within a one hour period and we discuss a variety of topics. Much more time is required to write and then type this column on a word processor.
I will be unable to write an article each week although it apparently does provide information and enjoyment to a lot of readers and I am honored that so many have requested its resumption. But I will attempt to compile a copy for publication in the future any time that I can find the time to do so. And I certainly want to thank everyone that has taken the time to express their appreciation for the column including all of those who have responded on the Internet. Few things that I have ever attempted have reached the level of acceptance and popularity that this column has enjoyed.
I have received a copy of a letter addressed to the City of Jellico from Mr. Bill Partin stating that he has decided to decline the position of city administrator (CA). In the correspondence, Mr. Partin indicated that he had been offered a new position by his present employer with a new salary which was in his best interest to accept. We can all understand his reasoning but in view of the fact that four members of the council were determined to hire someone, I regret that Mr. Partin will not be the individual filling the position.
I have previously stated my opposition to the position itself following our first experiment with having a CA. I told our citizens when I was running for the mayor's office that I favored giving the idea of a CA a try and that if I did not feel that it would work out for our situation, that I would advocate returning to our old mayor/council form of city government. I have kept my word in both instances.
Mr. Partin came to my office prior to our last regular council meeting and we had a very congenial discussion of what can be done for the future development of Jellico. He was very complimentary of the improvements already accomplished and he pledged to do everything possible to continue with those improvements during the next two years. He certainly was a likeable individual and appeared to be more than capable. He was probably the ideal person for the CA position - if indeed we are to have that position. Councilman Jim Dobson was the only member of council to vote against the hiring of Mr. Partin because he had committed to the voters prior to the election that he would never vote for hiring a CA. He too kept his commitment.
However Dobson met Mr. Partin at the Municipal Building, pledged his support and took him around to introduce him to as many city employees as possible. Mr. Partin greatly appreciated that gesture on the part of Dobson. Councilman Alvin Evans initially did not favor hiring anyone, but he too publicly pledged his complete support for Mr. Partin after his hiring and voted for the proposed contract between Mr. Partin and the City of Jellico.
I certainly wish Mr. Partin the greatest continued success and I sincerely hope that he will stop by the Municipal Building anytime that he is in our area. I stated earlier that I know several members of his family and I would like to get to know him better also. I recently had an opportunity to talk briefly with his father and it was a very enjoyable experience.
I have been asked what action the four members of city council will take now but I haven't the slightest idea. I wrote over six months ago that I believe that support for the position of CA has dropped considerably and that the council was continuing to beat a dead horse long after it had expired. But if they continue with that objective in mind, I hope that whatever action they take turns out for the betterment of Jellico.
And as I stated in an article several weeks ago, it truly no longer matters to me. I will continue to spend as much time in the mayor's office in the future as my nearly full-time "part-time" job will permit. However I intend to do only those things specified under the provisions of the new charter which allows me almost no authority. I simply cannot take the chance with liability with some of the projects I had initially hoped to accomplish this summer.
And Mr. Russell Edwards who had planned to help me again this summer with the downtown renovation project, has told me that he too will now get involved in other work and may no longer be available. According to Mr. Edwards, the events of the past few weeks have "let the air out of about everybody's balloon". I certainly understand his feelings and I deeply appreciate everything that he did to help me.
Our new fire engine has arrived and it is a very impressive vehicle for fighting fires of any size. It can be seen in the fire hall bay and Councilman Dobson says that he will park it outside during periods of good weather for public inspection.
The council also voted during the February meeting to accept a bid for the purchase of a new John Deere backhoe for the street department.
I want to thank Mrs. Vicki Payne for her service to the city while serving as a member of the Tourism Commission. Mrs. Payne has worked long and hard on numerous projects but recently left the Commission. Her contributions are greatly appreciated and will be missed. However she has agreed to still continue to help out where needed. Mr. Bill Branam who has worked with the Commission on several projects during past years, will assume her vacated seat.
I reported recently that the unemployment rate in Campbell County and the Jellico area are at their lowest announced levels in many years. That is not a great deal of comfort however, to an individual seeking but not finding employment. But it does reflect the increase in local jobs brought about by our new businesses, the expansion of "Jamie's Curtains and Decor" and other factors.
We have worked hard to find an employer to locate in the vacant building in the industrial park but have been unable to do so to this point. As I wrote in a column several months ago, much of that failure can be blamed upon the exodus of garment factories to Central and South America. And all towns are competing for small industry and many of them have much more to offer in the way of facilities, community enrichment, recreational and entertainment opportunities, etc., etc.
I have recently had a contact about the possibility of bringing some type of sewing facility here but have learned few details. And the chances appear slim of that ever happening. But I intend to follow through as long as there is some chance. Once we eventually find an occupant for the vacant building in Oswego, we will have filled about every available space in our area that is suitable for small industry.
Of course that could all change if the proposed industrial complex for Lot/Boston becomes a reality. The proposed "Reserve on Jellico Mountain" could also bring about development that would create numerous jobs. I recently talked to an employee in the office of the Campbell County Chief Executive and she indicated that the County Commission is still involved in helping with the drive to obtain an interchange from Interstate-75.
Petitions with over 5,000 signatures requesting that the State of Tennessee continue to finance and operate Indian Mountain State Park were printed, circulated and collected by Mrs. Lisa Casey of Interstate 2000. Additionally, students at Jellico Elementary School became very involved and collected signatures. Students in Mr. David Douglas's classes and possibly other classes, wrote essays and Katy Johnson e-mailed the governor directly. (Other citizens did likewise including Eddie Barton).
Betty Hurst and Lora Marples made copies of the petitions and essays and I sent the materials to both our state senator, Randy McNally and Representative Don Ridgeway, Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Committee. I was also visited recently by Charles DuRall, Special Assistant to the Commissioner and Mr. Ted Murdock of that same office. They had just visited the park to assess the situation.
(I continue to receive mixed signals about the park's future and I am encouraged at times and very discouraged at other times. But we must continue to work to obtain the future that we want for Indian Mountain State Park).
I recently received a letter from Charter Communications informing the city that Falcon Cable TV (our cable outlet) has recently been purchased by Charter. According to the letter, "The Falcon entity that has entered into the Franchise Agreement with the City of Jellico will retain its legal name but will now do business under the name of "Charter Communications".
"Charter is committed to investing the time, talent and resources to provide cable and telecommunications services in the years ahead. We appreciate the opportunity to serve your community and look forward to a positive relationship as a member of your community."
Mr. William "Donny" Bailey of Jellico has asked me to announce that he has donated four books to our local library that may be of interest to both local and out-of-town and out-of-state readers who collect "scrip" or have an interest in the subject. (Scrip was the substitute for money that was issued by many turn-of-the-century coal mining companies and lumbering companies. It was very popular among employers in this area. Scrip was given to workers as compensation for their labors and could only be spent in the "company store". Many people may remember the number one hit song by "Tennessee" Ernie Ford several years ago that recounted the fate of the average coal miner at that time who "owed his soul to the company store". The usage of scrip helped to bring that situation about and often resulted in the hard working miner or logger almost constantly in debt to the company for which he worked).
The four books are (1) "Explosion Control Tokens" by David Schenkman, A National Scrip Collectors Association, 1972, (2) "Edkins Catalogue of United States Coal Company Store Scrip", Third Edition, Volume I, Bill Williams and Steve Ratliff, 25th Anniversary Edition, (3) "Edkins Catalogue of United States Coal Company Scrip", Third Edition, Volume II, West Verginia, 1972, and (4) "Catalogue of Lumber Company Store Tokens, Second Edition, Terry N. Tranton, National Scrip Collectors Association, Inc.
Bailey would like to hear from others interested in scrip and he can be reached at 423/784-3396. He believes that the placement of this column on the Internet will make the information known to countless users in addition to those who subscribe directly to the Advance-Sentinel.
Names of veterans given to me since the last column include John Marion, Danny Claxton, Bill Bailey, Brian Bailey, Charley Archer, Charles Claxton, James Claxton, Gary Singleton, Charles Artis, Jennings "Doc" Allen, John Artis, Clayton Artis, Millard Blankenship, J.H. Artis, Ross Tiller, L.C. Perkins, Harry Hicks, Roy Ed Gilburth, Kenny Gilburth, John Louis Blankenship, Carl Williams, Curtis Weaver.
I have mentioned in past columns the great rivalry that exists in this area between sports fans of the University of Tennessee and the University of Kentucky due to the state line running directly through our town. And Tim Zecchini and I often discuss it on the weekly radio program.
But others are aware of the rivalry as well. Chuck Culpepper, popular sports writer for the "Lexington Herald-Leader", seems to be very knowledgeable about our situation and with humor, cited that fact in his column following the recent basketball game between the two schools. Tennessee has long dominated in football and women's basketball but Culpepper noted that the Vols have currently won three of the last four mens' basketball games and now ranks with Kentucky in ratings and talent in that sport. According to Culpepper, "What that means in the text of a $6 billion tournament by which "Hoop Nation" measures a season, who knows? But it should cheer up the people in the southern-more neighborhoods of Jellico."
Culpepper is certainly right about that!
I was recently asked by officials with our local Boy Scout organization to publicly thank Hardees and Manager Jack Douglas for all of the support that has been given to the scouts. I am happy to do so. Scouting is certainly an organization that is worthy of such support.
Final Note:
In an earlier article I mentioned the success that Rev. Arlie Bill Petrey has had in the field of writing gospel songs. I also mentioned that Arlie and I have always been good friends and grew up together.
During a recent radio interview, Arlie cited the fact that the first "bread toaster" that he had ever seen was at our house in the late 1940's or very early 1950's. It was a revolutionary gadget in our neighborhood and all of the area kids gathered at our house to toast sliced white bread (also a luxury food item) that actually "popped up" when ready for eating. It was even more popular than candy and cookies and it was a welcome relief from the steady diet of home baked biscuits and cornbread that most folks lived on in those days. (And they were plenty good).
Compare that to what has happened in only the past fifty years. The inventions and advances in technology actually stagger the imagination. I occasionally now receive long-distance telephone calls over the Internet at no additional cost to users; small local radio stations with very low power can be heard anywhere in the world where Internet services are available (the same is true of this column); college sports fans can listen to their favorite teams play no matter where they are located; and even cellular phones will soon be connected to the Internet. And as I have stated many times in the past - I actually believe that it is now close to impossible to think of a subject that can not be located on the Internet and in great volume and detail.
But the most interesting item that I have seen recently preceeded both the pop-up toaster and the Internet by many years. Mrs. Poppy Hyslope owns a hand-cranked washing machine that was patented and manufactured probably sometime around the 1870's. The "contraption" consists of a wooden tub with an interior "agitator" attached to a metal crank handle that extends to the outside of the tub. Clothes were washed by pumping the crank that turned the agitator. (After carrying and heating the necessary water to fill the tub of course.)
That might not be a bad idea even by today's standards. It would wash the clothes, save on the electric bill and provide a lot of good exercise. How much more useful could an appliance be?
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