In spite of the cold and threatening weather and the fact that several towns held their Christmas Parades last Sunday, we still had good turnout of participants and folks in attendance at our parade (The Shriners said that there were so many parades that they had to split into groups in order to make them all. But those who came to Jellico still insisted that we have the best parade anywhere and that they intend to be here every year regardless. We sure appreciate them.)
And we had members of the press to strongly emphasize that that they had attended other parades this year and that ours was again the best they covered. (In fact one writer reportedly stated that he got "jumped" for all of the positives that he wrote about our parade last year.) That sure speaks well for Tourism Director Jake Bennett, the Tourism Commission, our participants and supporters, our City Council and city employees and our town in general.
Like any successful activity of the scope of our Christmas Parade, it takes the efforts of an awful lot of folks and we sincerely appreciate everyone for all the great help.
Hopefully the video tape of the Parade will be shown on local Cable TV Channel 3.. Watch that channel for announcements as to any showing dates and times.
(Photos also available at http://www.jellico.com/jellico/2005parade.htm )
While still on the subject of Christmas, I would like to thank our businesses and residents all over town and especially in the general vicinity of our downtown for the beautiful window and other displays. As I wrote last year, our town has really been complimented in the past for the lights and decorations that we display every year and this year is certainly no exception..
There is no doubt that folks notice and enjoy them including he teacher at my school from Williamsburg who says she comes to Jellico every year with her family to see them.
We all make mistakes and we are all wrong at times - but it takes a big man or woman to admit to that fact! A few weeks ago I was approached by a man living outside the City of Jellico and whose child was one of the finest students and school citizens that we had the pleasure of having in school for four of the many years that I was principal at Jellico High School.
That fellow was highly upset concerning some things that he had been told pertaining to the possibility of annexation and that it "was all my idea". I attempted to explain to him that the entire issue was created by the Tennessee State Legislature when it enacted Public Law (PL) 1101. All county and city mayors within the State of Tennessee under the provisions of that law were required to develop Urban Growth Plans or face loss of all grant funds. And of course most if not all mayors abided by the provisions of the law just as I did.. I further assured him that no annexation would take place without ample prior notification and holding public meetings when folks in any proposed areas for annexation could state their views on the matter.
But he was in no mood to reason or listen to the facts and left in a highly irritated mood!
A few nights ago as I was leaving my house, I met him on the way to talk to me.. He stated that he had later researched the issue and talked with folks who knew the true story of what was taking place. He said that he had had a complete change of heart concerning the issue once he understood the truth - and although he still does not favor annexation - he wanted to apologize to me. He further said that even though he hopes annexation does not occur, he will accept it if it does become a reality and that he understands that the present or future Mayors/Councils will only be doing what they feel is best for our town and any areas that might be annexed.
I assured him that no apologies were necessary, that he had been purposely and badly misled and that the dispute in no way detracted from the personal regard that I have for him - simply because of the way he had raised his child and the enjoyment she gave me and the JHS staff if for no other reason. I asked him to counter the terrible misinformation being spread by a handful of individuals (and especially two or three individuals) and encouraged him to talk to those who similarly do not understand what has taken place with PL 1101 so that they too can become acquainted with its provisions.
I feel even more favorably toward him now following that meeting than I did prior to our earlier somewhat heated discussion..
Councilman Dwight Osborn has suggested that once spring weather arrives that we have a monthly evening unofficial meeting by our mayor/council with our citizens to discuss our progress, our problems and our future goals for Jellico. We could meet in the Community Conference Room in the Tramell Building or even outside in Veterans Park for some very informal discussions. I certainly favor the idea and I would think that our other members of Council would agree as well..
As I continuously emphasize, we must work together as a total community in order to accomplish the things that we need to do to restore our town to what we want it to be...
I wrote last week questioning how we would respond to a major disaster should one ever occur in our town and/or area. To determine the answer to that question and at the request of the Jellico Community Hospital, a mock disaster drill will be conducted this Friday, December 16th by the Jellico Emergency Operation Center.. The drill will simulate an explosion at Jellico High School.
In an item that may be of interest to some former Jellico High Students: I have been informed by Texas A&M University - Commerce that a scholarship in elementary education has been established at that school through an endowment. The scholarship initially funded by his family will honor our former JHS librarian Dr. Wadie Moore who was a favorite of a lot of students during the time that he was here and held that position.. Jenny and I visited and had dinner with him several years ago in Commerce, Texas while on vacation and I sometimes receive inquiries concerning Wadie from those who still remember him and his days at alma mater.
According to the letter that I received from that university,
Dr. Moore was a prominent figure on campus and in the Commerce community.. As a veteran of the Korean War, he suffered and overcame severe injuries. Each Memorial Day, Veterans Day Fourth of July, Dr. Moore could be seen paying tribute to members of the Armed Forces. Upon Dr. Moore's untimely death, the local newspaper eulogized him by stating that "Hunt County and Uncle Sam lost a good man. He will be missed."
We honored Wadie at our high school homecoming one year for his highly decorated military service. And the visible wounds that he suffered to his face and body bore evidence of his valor.
If anyone would like to contribute to the scholarship endowment, they can do so by sending a check made payable to Texas A&M University -Commerce, PO Box 3425, Commerce, Texas, Zip Code 75429-3425.. Be sure to indicate that your gift is for the Dr. Wadie Moore Memorial Endowment. (All donations are tax-deductible as allowed by the IRS.)
Thanks! After our football season, we needed that!
Our Vol men's basketball team has shocked about everybody by getting off to a 5-0 start. It's true that none of the victories have been against the upper echelon of college basketball but two or three of those schools are expected to have good seasons in their mid-level conferences.
However our upcoming road trip is going to be as they say in the business, "an entirely different ball game". We go to Texas on December 17th and play the Longhorns, a team that is setting nearly at the top of the national rankings. The Longhorns loss to Duke not withstanding, we be facing a very, very strong and talented team and it will be our first road trip of any significance - with a large hostile crowd in attendance. To make things even more difficult is the fact that we will be coming of a lengthy layoff for exams, etc. and that usually does not help.
But it doesn't get much easier after that for our next game is December 22nd at Oklahoma State, a team that is always "loaded" in basketball. One thing is for sure, our new coach Bruce Pearl doesn't believe in playing a schedule of "cupcakes" as they are known in the basketball world. Let's just hope we come out of those two games without getting shell shocked and it would be great if we do well in one or both games since both will be nationally televised.
Regardless of what happens, few if any of us expected to do anything like as well as we have done so far this year and the future sure looks bright. The team works very hard, they are fun to watch and although we lose a couple of our better players, some return next year. And even more importantly for the future, everything that I hear and read about our recruiting class this year is glowing - and when I saw a pre-season scrimmage, I was impressed with the potential of a couple of transfers that are "red shirting" this year.
Like I wrote two or three weeks or so ago, season ticket sales are going to increase! And the crowds in attendance are already on the rise.. Maybe we are finally going to return to something like the days of Ray Mears and Ernie and Bernie. But we have sure had to wait a long time!
And let me be the first to make a prediction concerning football next fall. The surprise team of the Southeastern Conference is going to be Kentucky. Yes! Kentucky! I know that coming from a hard core Vol fan like me and based upon their success (or lack thereof) in recent years makes such a statement sound almost absurd... I don't expect them to be a conference championship contender next year but I really believe that they will be much improved.. (Sitting here on the Kentucky state line, I'm sure not saying by any means that that is what I want to see happen!)
The Wildcats had several of their best players injured this year, gained a lot of experience by playing a large number of freshmen and sophomores, are getting some talented folks back for the team that were not available last year for one reason or another and are having one of their best recruiting years in a long time with commitments sought by a number of major football powers.
It can happen! Some of us are even old enough to remember many years ago when Kentucky beat Oklahoma in a bowl game under the coaching genius of the legendary Bear Bryant who resided and worked in bluegrass country at the time.. The 'Cats were even felt by many to be deserving of the national championship that year and some of their players like Bob Gain went on to be tremendous NFL players. In fact they came very, very close to going undefeated and winning the national championship outright, losing only to -you guessed it - Tennessee in Knoxville.. A deep snow and extremely cold temperatures severely limited the passing of the great Wildcat quarterback Babe Parilli and allowed the Vols to pull off what some considered a near miracle upset. And if memory serves me right, Tennessee then went on to win the national championship the very next year.
Bet you didn't know that! (And probably haven't lost a minute of sleep over it either!)
E-mail me at: mayor@jellico.tn.us
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