Congratulations to our City Recorder Linda Meadors who has just received her Municipal Clerk and Recorder's Certification from the Office of the Tennessee Secretary of State. Although allotted three years to complete the program that includes 100 hours of education and training through the University of Tennessee while still performing her assigned duties, she successfully completed the three-years training program in two years.
That is just another example of the outstanding employees that we have working for the City of Jellico and their dedication to doing the best job possible for our town. I have many times seen our city and utilities employees working in bitter cold, extremely hot temperatures and even at the sub-station during a terrible electrical storm attempting to restore lost power to our entire town.
As I have written before, a businessman who came to our town from another area told me several weeks ago that it has been his observation that as a total work force, we have some of the finest and hardest working city employees that he has ever observed. And I certainly cannot overstate mine and the Council's appreciation for the job that they do.
We have discussed closing the open ditch on South Main Street (between Jellico Drug Store and Family Drug Store) for several years now and numerous ideas have been thrown around as to how we could finance such a project since we originally did not have funds for that purpose. At times several of us had become very discouraged in ever getting that badly needed improvement completed for our downtown. However Councilman Alvin Evans has stayed on the project and grant money is now available for that purpose. We met recently to open bids on the project and those bids will probably be presented to the Council at Thursday night's monthly meeting for February - although there are some details yet to be worked out in the actual project itself that could require a delay. However if all goes well, we could see work begin sometime in mid to late March. That would certainly be a great early kickoff for our now annual "Clean Up, Fix Up, Paint Up Week" in May and all the work that needs to be completed this spring and summer.
We are also working with the East Tennessee Development District toward obtaining grant funds for badly needed sidewalk repairs and hopefully we can see some progress in that department within the next few months.
(I worked for several months to obtain a grant for restoration of our old city hall to preserve a landmark building constructed in 1909 and to use it to house a visitor center. I was finally able to obtain $ 150,000 for that purpose but I left for work one morning and returned to Jellico that evening to find the building lying in piles of bricks resulting from its demolition that very day - costing us yet another of our very few remaining buildings of historic value. That money is still available to us and we are trying to determine for what it can be used to include either street repairs, the welcoming gate coming into town, the "railroad pavilion" for Veterans Park or some other eligible development that can receive approval from the Tn. Department of Transportation.
Another home improvement grant has become available to our town after an absence of several years that could result in $ 450,000 to be distributed among eligible applicants. The program would be administered and monitored by an outside agency and that proposed program too is expected to be discussed at Thursday night's meeting of the Council.
And of course we are expecting to again discuss the problem of employee insurance during the meeting. As stated above, we have some great employees and we want to provide the best possible coverage for them and their families. But the rising cost of medical care with the corresponding increases in the cost of health insurance is a universal problem right now. The State of Kentucky has recently had to deal with a crisis in that realm and the mayor of one of our local area towns told me two Saturday's ago that he expects the future cost of health insurance to be the next major issue facing his town.
On another note, a few months ago I wrote about the summer of 1953 when Jellico came so close to becoming National Amateur Baseball Champions. Although a newspaper account documenting that truly remarkable achievement is on display in the mayor's office, I am sure that some were skeptical after reading my notes. But now Jake Bennett has been furnished complete details that are available in the Office of Tourism from the media that reported the tournament in Battle Creek, Michigan - including the momentous feat of coal mining town Jellico defeating the cities of New York, Chicago, Chattanooga and home-standing Battle Creek within the space of five days. Only the fact that foreign teams had been allowed to enter the tournament the previous year deprived us of that title coveted throughout the entire United States at that time.
There was no ESPN in those days and radio networks broadcasting the tournament had no outlets in this area. We received our news from long distance calls made by area fans from pay phones located at the stadium. And one of my fondest memories was a bunch of us baseball crazed boys (and men) working our way between the Chevrolet Dealership (now city building next to Municipal Building), Bill Jones Grocery (now Leach's Furniture), Harold Moon's Service Station (now Tschudy residence), and Bob Baird's Appliance Store (now Barton Laundromat) to learn the results from the last call either had received. Everyone should have heard the yell when the call came that we had defeated the amateur champions of New York City.
As I often report, I receive a lot of e-mail from out of town and I sometimes respond and/or print those that are relevant to Jellico and the future of our town.. One of our local critics lives up to her title and does just that and criticizes me for printing them since they are usually positive rather than negative. But regardless I am always happy to receive such e-mail and I have just recently had two that I am responding to here.
Former student Robert Lamb (I had several Robert Lambs down through the years) writes from Indiana and yes Robert, I am now mayor and yes, there are times when serving as mayor can be tougher than those good ole days when I was principal at alma mater. But I sincerely appreciate your kind comments.
And Condy Alley, nephew of former Lafollette mayor Curt Alley, writes from Alabama: "Another GREAT column. Once again your ability to express feelings that many suppress has touched me. The continued recognition you extend to our country's heroes is a wonderful effort on your part. I was particularly touched as I read your account of getting hugs from the youngsters. As I need not remind you my Mother was a first grade and Kindergarten teacher (and second grade teacher) for thirty-five years, and I can't tell you many times I have seen her students from years gone by stop and say thanks. We as students did not stop to realize the outstanding character of many of the teachers at the schools in Jellico.
My Senor Class, the JHS Class of 1965 will celebrate our Fortieth reunion this year in conjunction with the Homecoming. I feel certain that you are aware that most people now refer to the Homecoming as "The Reunion". This celebration, by whatever name is just one more item that YOU deserve thanks for. A few of my classmates went on to make their return to JHS as teachers. Alvin Evans and Patricia Centers are two of those.
Please keep up your efforts in Jellico. We ALL appreciate you! God Bless."
I certainly appreciate Condy's kind words too and I reprint them here because I was one of those students who made it a point to thank Mrs. Frances Alley for what she did for me when I was a poor boy from Yellow Row and enrolled in her second grade class. As I wrote in an earlier article, Mrs. Alley had three reading groups based upon reading ability and upon first entering her class, I was placed in the last seat in the lowest group - due to a referral from my first grade teacher who was unlike the vast number of teachers that I had and who was given to student embarrassment that made me extremely reluctant to participate in any way in her class. Upon completion of the second grade and with her great instructional ability, Mrs Alley gave me the unheard of reward of $ 2.00 as the best reader in her class. (The amount in those days was so large that my mother would not even let me start to keep it until she confirmed where I had obtained that kind of money.) And you are right! We did have some wonderful teachers with outstanding character when we attended J.H.S.. I will never forget the kindness and interest in my future that was shown to me by so many including Mrs. Marcella Lindsay, Mrs. Jeanette Petrey, Mr. Curt Weaver, Mrs. Marjorie Johnson, Mrs. Charlene Lindsay, Mr. Clyde Tiller, and although she was never one my teachers, Mrs. Ann Culver who has always been one of my strongest supporters in every way going back to the time I first started school and with whom I later had the honor and pleasure of working at Jellico Elementary School.
I am sure that I am leaving out some and of course all of those wonderful people now deceased whom I was blessed to have as my teachers and principals. I sincerely appreciate everyone of them and will never be able to thank them enough for their influence upon my life.
I could never have dreamed what the annual Homecoming would become when I organized that first "Parade of Classes" starting back sometime around 1985.. But it took off and in the past twenty years has become an event that can truly be classified as a Jellico High tradition since so many plan their yearly schedules around it. It took a lot of help from a lot of folks to make it what it is today including the late David Chitwood and they are all deserving of our thanks.
And I greatly appreciate another former student Jerry Walker who made a special trip to my office at the Municipal Building to thank me for a positive article that I had earlier written in these notes. According to Jerry, we have had so much negativity coming from certain quarters that we need more of the positive circulating in Jellico. Amen to that!.
Did you see the snow shower that we had last week. Although it did not amount to very much, it sure was a beautiful sight to many of us who miss having snows like we had every winter until just a few years ago. But it looks more and more like we will not have that kind this year! (Now that I have written that, watch it snow a foot.)
At the time this article was written, I had not yet seen a Robin although some told me that they had. However I have seen the brightest red and most beautiful Cardinal that I have seen in years.
Don't forget the music and entertainment this Saturday evening at the Tramell Building/ Community Conference Room. Larry Meadors and Bill Rigney will perform as usual and possibly others; there is no charge for admission; free catered food will be available and prizes will be drawn and awarded.
But remember to get there early! Only 100 or so seats are available!
E-mail me at: mayor@jellico.tn.us
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