It's a high tech world and the technology explosion continues. Netlink 2000, Inc., our local service, is bringing Wireless Internet service to Jellico with wireless access.. According to a flyer from that firm, Wireless Internet is faster than DSL, more reliable than cable, less expensive than satellite, can include phone service and does not "tie-up" phones.

Netlink is having a meeting to determine interest in Wireless Internet access and Nationwide Dialing Phone service. The meeting will be held in the Community Conference Room across from the Library. Thursday, March 23rd. Please call 784-2000 for reservations.

Last week I wrote how much a good restaurant could add to the downtown area. And after visiting the Common Ground Coffee/Sandwich Shop on two successive days last weekend, I realized the potential for that business to grow into such a restaurant. The shop appears to have good patronage and all of the ingredients are there for a successful venture. They have created a nice atmosphere in their present location and have very good food served by some extremely pleasant and friendly folks. Although nothing in business can be taken for granted, it would appear that if they could somehow be able to expand into the remainder of that floor and have an entrance from North Main Street, things could really fall into place for a popular place to eat out.

I have been writing about the tremendous changes currently being made in the Tabernacle. And believe you me, there are big changes taking place. As I mentioned last week, it is going to be one of the finest auditoriums around when completed - which should be in time for Jellico High School Graduation 2006 which as I understand it, may be the "open house" for the facility.

I believe that I was told that it will seat 1,500 and the seating is going to be very nice.. The church is accepting donations of $ 45.00 per seat and I plan to donate a couple for me and Jenny and I hope that others will follow suite. As cited above, our community has always been made welcome to use the Tabernacle for worthwhile events including our graduations, baccalaureate services, community services, homecomings and any number of such events.. Any who would like to contribute to the seating can send donations to the CGMS Chair Fund, P.O. Box 157, Jellico Tennessee 37762. (Everyone is reminded that this is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Church of God, Mountain Assembly and an all-time record crowd may well attend this year's assembly starting on Monday night, August 7, 2006.. And church officials are planning special activities to commemorate such an important milestone in the church's history.)

In talking with Marvin Douglas, owner of Radio Station WJJT, only weather is holding up the completion of the station's movement to the studio building that has now been made a part of the Tabernacle. Marvin says that no work can be accomplished on the electrical placements and the tower if there is rain and/or any wind whatsoever - which makes it very tough to accomplish much during March and April.. However he emphasizes that everything is in place for the completion of all electrical placements and erection of the tower and with suitable weather conditions, both tasks should be completed within a very short time.

Our efforts to renovate our town and improve its appearance seems to be effecting folks in a positive way. When I first became Mayor, I rarely received a complaint concerning run down property, piles of rubbish, uncut weeds and underbrush on property located within the city, etc..

Now people seem to be more concerned and I am getting such complaints on a regular basis.

We have been able to address some complaints and to effect improvements; some we are currently addressing; some are very stubborn problems that show little improvement; and some property owners simply refuse to take any corrective action whatsoever.. We do have ordinances on our books that allow us to take legal action but the process is slow and can be expensive..

The real solution to the problem of rundown and neglected buildings and lots is for the property owners to take pride in their possessions and to maintain them in suitable condition..

If that and all requests for corrective action fail, we eventually can take legal action whether we prefer to do so or not. And the Tennessee State Legislature seems to realize the difficulty some towns and cities are having all over the state in getting their areas renovated. A bill currently before the Legislature would allow cities and towns with our mayor/council form of government to even "establish a 'design review commission' which would have the authority to develop specific review and approval procedures for the exterior appearance of non-residential property, multiple family residential property and any entrance to residential or non-residential……….."

But as stated above, the best answer to the problem is simply for folks to voluntarily take action and get involved. Here's hoping that everyone will get the "Clean-up, Fix-up, Paint-Up" fever when we have our annual week for that purpose. (April 29th - May 6th). And as I have written before, it's never too early to start planning the activities for that week.. Some things we can improve and some we can't. But it's for sure that we won't accomplish anything unless we make effort to do so. And it will be great if individuals, neighborhoods, schools, churches, organizations, etc. get involved this year. We need to make this the most successful "Clean-up, Fix-up, Paint-up Week" we have ever had! And we must always keep in mind that our town will be what we make it!

I often mention the widespread Internet accesses to this column from all around the country. And I received an interesting e-mail last week concerning one of the links placed with my column by Netlink 2000 from Sharon Thompson, the well known Food Writer for the Lexington (Ky) Herald-Leader, who e-mailed to say:

Hi John! I saw the link for Lois Hall's chili recipe. Can you give me some background on Lois and her chili And a number to contact her?

I of course responded to her correspondence explaining that Lois has been deceased for several years, that her chili was unlike any others on our planet, and that to the best of my knowledge, no one has been able to exactly duplicate it in spite of having her recipe. And as I informed Thompson, an awful lot of folks have found the recipe on the Internet (especially former Jellicoans who will never forget that mouth watering culinary delight) just as she did. It's about supper time (time for dinner to more sophisticated folks) as I write this. And I keep thinking what I wouldn't give right now to get my hands on a couple of her chili buns with onions and a Pepsi in those big thick glass bottles with the bottle cap that always contained a cork. (Ronnie Buck at Buck's Hardware has one of those old time caps that were replaced years ago with plastic caps and then unfortunately with cans. They sure don't taste the same to us old timers as those big glass bottles with the cork lined lids.)

That exchange of e-mails was followed by a request by Thompson to utilize the information that I had furnished her for a story in the Herald-Leader. I gave her my permission since the recipe was already on the Internet. And I offered to answer any more questions concerning Lois's chili if she does decide to do a story. It should make for some very interesting reading and our town certainly needs and wants all of the favorable publicity that we can get.

It's now officially spring regardless of what the calendar says. Two things have confirmed that fact for me.. First of all the Redbuds are blooming and secondly - and always a sure sign of spring - the thousands of little frogs in the swampy areas are a' hollerin'.. Walking around the trail that circles the pond at Indian Mountain Pond last Sunday, it was hard to hear one's self think. But it was sure music to my ears.

I haven't seen a single kite in the air at Indian Mountain State Park yet this year but I have seen signs that someone has had them in the air. There were lengths of string lying around in a couple of places but no indications of any crash landings. A couple of good things about the park includes the fact that there are no Charley Brown kite eating trees and there is almost always a breeze blowing to help them get airborne..

On an entirely different note, this is not only the season for all of the beauty of spring and the activities it brings, but it is also the season for severe weather/tornados as well.. March wind and April showers that bring May flowers often bring severe weather as well.. There have already been reports from around the country of injury and death from storms and tornados.. Schools are required by law to conduct emergency drills in case of severe weather and/or tornados and it would be a good idea for all public places to be prepared in the unlikely - but always possible - case we should be struck with such severe weather. And certainly it is not a bad idea to know what to do and where to go should it happen at our residences.

Sure! And it's going to be a great day for the Irish!

Friday, March 17th is St Patrick's Day and I guess the thing I miss most from the time when in my younger days I resided in New York City, is St. Patty's Day. To the Irish of the big apple (and many big cities in this country), St. Patty's Day is New Years Eve and the Fourth of July both rolled into one. The parades conducted that day drew huge crowds all wearing green and were really something to see. Some of the smaller waterways were tinted green.. (Chicago, Detroit, etc. reportedly even color their rivers green.) Community centers, schools, etc. had get-togethers that featured great fun and lasted well into the night. It seemed to me that everyone in the Irish neighborhood that several of us frequented could play piano and sing. And they never seemed to run out of different Irish songs to sing..

With a paternal grandfather named John Kasee (actually Gallagher) and a maternal grandfather named Ethan Allen Clifton who in spite of his name, was Irish but may have grown up in Scotland or Northern England before coming to this country to work for Harvey M. Lafollette for whom our county town is named, I guess it was just genetic for me to really get involved and enjoying the festivities. However suffice it to say, I never really did learn to do the Irish Jig. But I sure had great fun trying.

What has happened to the truly Irish sounding names in our area? Looking in the Jellico section of the phone book I did find the family names O'Brien, O'Hara and Patrick but nary a Sullivan, O'Malley, Murphy or even a Casey. (During our very early coal mining days, a good percentage of our miners bore such Irish names.. In fact one of our first coal operators and mine owners away back then reportedly had the last name of Irish.)

But we are not alone. Watching Notre Dame play at Neyland Stadium and on television this day and age and hearing all of the player's names that are so hard to pronounce, there must not be many Irish left at the very home of the Fighting Irish either!

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