During the years that I was principal at Jellico High, I had an awful lot of wonderful students that were a real joy to have and to associate with on a daily basis. And on occasion I have reason to write about those students.
And one such student was Derek Brown who always had a great attitude during his four years at J.H.S. and was very respectful to members of the staff and other adults. And Derek recently sent me an e-mail that I want to cite in these notes:
"Mr. Clifton,
I enjoy the conversation as one sided as it may be. I look forward to reading your articles every time they come out on the internet. It's nice to have a mayor who cares enough to chat with the locals via your newsletter.
'I am writing you concerning a different matter though. I have been a Christian for a little over 2 years now and am trying to follow God more and more daily. God has placed a burden on my heart for the homeless, drug users, etc.. We have an abundance of these in Jellico as do many communities. I am not sure if you are aware or not but Jake McClary is opening a youth center downtown above Jellico Video. He has sought help from local Christian adults including myself for guidance and help. 40 Days/40 Nights is having a Grand Opening on August 12th. We are looking at hopefully having a live Christian Band and free hotdogs and hamburgers. I really believe God is behind this. The focus of this youth center will be teenagers. There will be normal arcade games inside with soft drinks. We are also planning having devotionals every couple hours. The hours will be Friday and Saturdays from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM..
'How have you been doing? I don't get to see you very much anymore and it seems as though the only conversation that I get with you at all is reading your articles. I sometimes find myself chuckling alone on my computer……………………………….
'If you could help us get the word out I would greatly appreciate any help……….."
Glad to do so Derek and that sure sounds like a great idea that Jake has. I just wish that we had had something similar in Jellico when my generation was growing up. (But Meldie's Restaurant at the central traffic signal was a good wholesome place to hang out and listen to the juke box - when somebody had a nickel for one song and on rare occasions a dime for two songs or if filthy rich, a quarter to play six songs. But along with the juke box, the food and drinks cost money and most of the time money was something that we just didn't have. Thankfully that won't be a problem for teenagers at the 40 Days/40 Nights Youth Center..)
And an e-mail from James Ridenour, another one of those fine J.H.S. students that I still remember for the same qualities that were displayed by Derek -
"Mayor Clifton;
The Jellico Life Saving and Rescue Squad, Inc. will receive $ 32,000.00 from U.S.D.A. Rural
Development. The money will be broken up as follows: we will receive a $ 12,900.00 grant
along with a $ 19,100.00 loan. This money will be used to purchase a new 2006 Crew Cab Ford F-250 Super Duty 4-Wheel Drive Support Unit and two (2) new Honda Boat Motors.
'The $ 19,000.00 loan will have to be repaid just as any other loan, and as you know for an organization that depends completely on donations for income, this could be a complex situation. I would ask you to remind the citizens of Jellico and the surrounding communities that we depend on their donations to function, and more now than ever. We will have our annual mail out some time in August and this will be used to help repay the loan.
'The Rescue Squad has come a long way in the last few years. No one could be as proud as I am every time I drive by and see our new building, or walk in and see all the new equipment
and vehicles. Sometimes I wonder what the founding members of the Squad would say if they could see how far we have advanced. However we still have a long way to go.
'I would like to see the day that we have the capabilities to staff the Rescue Squad with at least two people 24 hours a day to respond the emergencies and to assist the city and county whenever needed. I would also like to see a First Responder program started in conjunction with the Jellico Ambulance to assist with emergency medical calls which requires each responder to go through a 40 hours First Responder course and obtain certification through the state as well as a lot of paper work with the Tennessee Department of Health. Each emergency call would be answered by an ambulance from the Ambulance Service and two members of the Rescue Squad
responding from our station to assist, or to render care if they arrive on the scene first. No one would receive a bill from the Rescue Squad for this. Rather we would provide the service free of charge as with the many other services that we provide.
'This will be a challenge that may take years to overcome. Most members work full-time jobs and put in a lot of time with the Squad each day. Any time given to the Squad is done so with no payment. Asking to take even more time away from their families is something that is hard to do. Even so, I hope we can come up with a way to accomplish this. Our dedication to the citizens of Jellico and the surrounding communities allows us to give the time when needed and
we never think of reward or gain."
'If you could please put in your next column this announcement……………………..
The Jellico Rescue Squad is a wonderful volunteer and non-profit organization that adds an awful lot to our community. We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of civic minded individuals and we need to support them in every way possible.
Our meeting of the Planning Commission last Thursday evening was relatively uneventful. However we did welcome new member Herman Heath and we did grant preliminary approval for Rocky Top (south side of four lane) to subdivide that property pending receipt of a map clearly depicting the topography of the subject area. The temporary approval was based upon the recommendation of the Tennessee State Planner.
We now have a complete Commission consisting of Chairman Sam Sharp, Vice-Chairman John Davenport, Randy Moses, Mike Smith, Bob Daniel, Heath and the mayor.
I recently received regular U.S. postal type correspondence from a resident of Cumberland Avenue who was very complimentary of the way that our town is beginning to "brighten up" and encouraged me to keep "pushing" in that respect. And that sounded very good because it points out that locals - as well as out-of-towners - notice the improvements currently being made.
As I have emphasized in the past, I have at times picked up litter, hauled brush, grabbed a paint brush or hammer and personally participated in some improvement projects. But by far and away, the majority of the work has been done by property owners and other interested citizens who want to see our town brought back to its former appearance - before the collapse of the coal industry brought on economic recession, deterioration of so many buildings and the accompanying blight that developed in almost every area.
As mayor I have tried to show leadership toward restoring our town, but I certainly cannot personally take credit for what is being done. However it is a good feeling to drive through our downtown now and remember what it looked like just a few short years ago. We are making good progress and eventually we will complete the task if we stay on the job.
In an earlier article, I mentioned the amazing transformation that has taken place in the downtown area of Knoxville - all along Gay Street, Market Square, etc.. Now according to a recent article in the News-Sentinel, the work has been so successful in attracting prospective new business to the downtown that some are already considering plans to continue the renovations and development westward from that area.
As I wrote then, many folks all over this country are reported as tiring of the shopping centers located on the outskirts of towns and cities and want to again have downtown areas where they can congregate, socialize, shop and be entertained. Could you guess that I'm for that too?
The Church of God, Mountain Assembly has just concluded its 99th Annual Assembly and is looking forward to its 100th anniversary next year. That will be a very special event in the history of Jellico as well as the CGMA and as I emphasized in one of my earlier articles, the church and our town need to combine efforts to commemorate that historic event.
I greatly enjoyed hearing Rev Arlie Petree sing and preach at the opening of this year's Assembly.. Rev. Arlie and I were very close friends as we were growing up and he was one of the most athletically talented and musically gifted individuals that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.. Possessing a great voice and tremendously talented as a songwriter even back then, I expected him to eventually get over his shyness and become a country music star while singing his own compositions. In fact he literally filled notebooks with his songs that were very good.
However after he was converted, he destroyed all of those songs and began writing gospel music. He has now written over 500 gospel songs and several of them have risen high on the gospel music charts -songs sung by both himself and by some by our country's top southern gospel singers and groups. And as I understand it, one or more of his songs have actually achieved the number one national ranking in the field of southern gospel music.
But it's not his success that I remember most and that's not what Arlie and I always talk about when we get together. When we were about 13 or 14, my parents purchased a marvelous invention that we had never seen before or had never heard of - a "pop up" bread toaster can you believe? Bread covered with butter was always toasted in an oven at our houses back then - and with plenty of jelly or apple butter then added to it right out of the oven and while it was still hot.
One day after Arlie and I had been playing ball, we were hungry and went into the house for a snack. I placed a couple of slices of bread in the toaster which utterly amazed him and when he got a slice that popped out of the toaster, he reacted as if it were cake. I had to fix a bunch more slices for him and he didn't want anything on it. It took a while and after what must have been a half loaf of bread, he finally did get his fill of plain toast and went out to tell our other buddies about what a marvel that we had at our house. The next day he was back with several of those buddies and I toasted bread and passed it out until I got tired of toasting bread. And Arlie tells me that he still loves plain toasted bread from a pop up toaster even until this very day.
To repeat that old cliché - life (and our tastes) sure used to be a whole lot simpler!
It's back to school time again and at this time of the year I always like to quote from my favorite comic strip character, the cantankerous old school bus driver, Crankshaft, who warns: "Now that school is back in session, if you are out and about you want to be awfully careful in theses school zones. Because these high school kids drive like gol danged maniacs!"
E-mail me at: mayor@jellico.tn.us
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