We sure got a scare last Friday evening and into the morning hours on Saturday when the weather alerts placed Jellico right in the very center of a storm track that was spinning off tornados. Thankfully none developed as the storm cell moved over us and we did not get the extremely high winds that were experienced just to the west of us. But almost everyone that I have talked with stated that we did get some of the largest -if not the largest - hailstones ever before seen in our area.. (Many of us are still worried if they damaged our roofs.)

Some good seems to always come out of everything and we did get an opportunity to practice our emergency response procedures in earnest prior to the arrival of the storm. Our Emergency Preparedness Director George Deuel notified all emergency services to be prepared to immediately move into action should we experience a disaster. Dispatchers were standing by to sound the siren for the fifteen minute alarm if any very high winds and/or twisters were spotted and Marvin Douglas kept our radio station on the air and planned to stay on as long as electricity remained available.

Fortunately no action was required but it is good to know that we do have plans in place should we experience a disaster -whether natural or man made.

Tom Jones, independent auditor with offices in Morristown, Tennessee who was hired by the Council a few months ago to conduct our annual audit, held the required exit conference with me last Friday pertaining to the audit. Jones stated that he had hoped to present the complete report of audit to the Council and audience at our April meeting but that getting started so late in the fiscal year following the change in auditors, had taken more time than anticipated since some of it must also coincide with the utilities department. It is now his goal to make the presentation during the May meeting.

Jones says that overall, our city finances are in good condition and that we have cash on hand to cover all city obligations. His main concern is in the overall operations of our financial records keeping since we have not updated our system to keep pace with technological developments to the extent that many other municipalities have done. Certain functions that can be performed electronically are still being hand processed and additional functions cannot be performed in a timely manner without the proper technology - a situation that city recorder Linda Meadows has previously brought to the attention of the Council. And the recommended updating is expected to be included in the budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

Jones says that the addition of Ray Marsee to the bookkeeping department has been very good since the city recorder has so many other responsibilities - in addition to the fact that Marsee has extensive accounting experience..

The good preliminary report of audit is very gratifying in view of all the work recently done on our streets and roads. As the auditor pointed out, our on-hand funds would be much larger except for that street and road blacktopping project that was initiated by Councilman Alvin Evans and given unanimous approval by the Mayor and Council. We all felt that money should be spent for the good of our citizens and it the blacktopping required utilization of current and some future street funds. But everyone who talks with me is very complimentary of us having that work performed. More streets and roads will similarly be improved once all obligations are met concerning the work completed last summer - which should take place within another year or so.

Upon voting to have so much blacktopping performed, the Mayor/Council knew that sufficient funds were not available at that time to do all that needed to be done and priorities were established to include the much discussed terrible condition of Sunset Trail/Hospital Road - our main emergency route. But as stated during the Council meeting that approved the blacktopping project, it is our objective that all streets and roads be similarly improved as funds become available and within a reasonable amount of time.

I wrote in a previous article that our Fall Fest has recently been included in a national publication. And now our JELLICO MOUNTAIN WEDDING CHAPEL is included in an Internet site along with Chattanooga, Knoxville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Smoky Mountains, Memphis and Nashville.. Who ever prepared the website must have really been impressed with our chapel (it is a beautiful thing) to include it in with those cities. Either that or Tourism Director Jake Bennett has some real pull somewhere.

To access the site, call up www.chapels.com, click on CHAPELS, then click Tennessee on a map of the United States, and then click on Jellico. To even get beautiful wedding music to go along with the photos, click chapel pictures.

It's a great site. And don't be surprised if we begin to get a greatly increased number of folks coming to Jellico to exchange vows after it begins acquiring accesses. All of the favorable national and statewide publicity that we are getting at the present time certainly can't hurt us - and chances are that it will benefit us greatly.

I wrote last week concerning Condy Alley's website and the photos of Jellico alumni taken during past homecomings, etc.. A couple of folks have already told me that they have called up the site and George Hackler said some of the photos are of folks he had long forgotten.

As I have often written, we get an awful lot of requests for city services. And once those services are performed, it is great if our city employees receive a note of appreciation.

Helen Young, Social Services Director, Jellico Towers, recently sent me such a note:

Dear Mayor Clifton,
I wanted to take a moment and express my sincere appreciation to the City of Jellico for fixing the curb at the crosswalk area near the A-Towers. It is great to see that the community cares about elderly and disabled citizens. City workers were there the very next day after I reported the problem. Thank you for such speedy service.
There is another curb area for A-Towers that needs to be worked on to make handicap accessible. You are doing a wonderful job!

Thank you for the kind note of appreciation Helen. But I must pass the compliment on to the employees of the street department who always do a good job. We are very fortunate to have such hardworking and dedicated city employees..

(Personal note: As I wrote several months ago following the breaking of my ankle, I have never considered myself to be without compassion for those who suffer handicapping conditions. But after personally experiencing what it is like to be so severely limited in mobility, I certainly have an even greater concern for those who are similarly limited.. I have asked the street department to check into the second curb area that you mention and hopefully that work has been completed by now. We need to eliminate as many restrictions upon their mobility as possible.)

I continue to receive e-mail concerning Lois's chili that has already probably drawn more responses to this column than any other subject about which I have written. And why not?

That chili was something to be remembered!

Becky Satterfield, Lois's granddaughter, e-mailed to say among other things, that although Lois may at some time have cooked the chili over a wood fire, that it was coal that was utilized as far back as far as her father, Jim Hall, could remember.

………………Her recipe has been famous for years but, as you mentioned it is very hard to duplicate. When she used to come to Cleveland (Tn) for a visit with us, my Mom would always ask her to make us some. My Mom (Jellico native -Bonnie Hill Hall) has tried for years to make Nana's chili but says the same thing everyone else says, "it just doesn't taste the same". ……..

My dad used to help work in the restaurant too! You would think that he could make her chili! (ha!) I have Lois's famous chili recipe in her own handwriting along with some poetry she wrote. I will treasure them forever. Although I myself have never duplicated her famous chili, I might agree with Mr. Williams when he said that since Lois is gone so is her chili. But her love and memory remain forever in our hearts. P.S. You were correct about the sherry!!!

Great to hear from you Becky. And I am sure that your mom and dad remember me -especially you mom who was one of our Yellow Row crowd and next door neighbor to my grandmother where I spent so much time while growing up.

And you might ask her if she remembers how upset we were when the price of soft drinks went from a nickel to a dime. It was hard enough back then for us to raise the nickel and that bad news was equivalent to a major catastrophe.. In fact I swore off of them rather than pay such an outlandish price - stayed sworn off of them for over a week too!

I don't know if you are old enough to remember your grandfather Jess Hill and your grandmother Fannie. But they too were wonderful folks and I even today think of them on a regular basis - especially when I drive up Yellow Row (now part of Indian Mountain State Park.)

Everybody is reminded of the Health Walk and Easter Egg Hunt at Indian Mountain State Park this Saturday, April 15th.. I earlier reported that the walk will begin at 9:00 AM and the Egg Hunt at 11:30 AM.. But I understand there may have been a change in the starting time for the Egg Hunt so everyone may want to check with the Park concerning the correct starting time.

We are getting closer and closer to our annual "Clean-Up, Paint-Up, Fix-Up Week" (starting Saturday, April 29th and running through Saturday, May 6th.). I again want to encourage everyone to get involved. Visitor after visitor to Jellico tells me that they can see the improvements being made in the appearance of our town and we need to continue with the process!

Your want to see a thing of great beauty that we enjoy around here every year and what we can work on during our special week to clean-up, paint-up and fix-up. Then just take a drive to the corner of Sunset Trail/Hospital Road and the residence of Mr. and Mrs. James Ed Douglas.. Their tulips are always gorgeous - but even more so this year!

Mr. Douglas obviously has a "green thumb" and a special talent for growing beautiful flowers. His yard is what Jenny and I would like for ours to be - and maybe someday with a little luck - we will get ours looking that way. (But we would rather take our chances with some advice from him.)

And it is something we all can work to emulate during our upcoming special week. It is for sure that he has gotten off to a great head start on many of us in the planting and cultivating..

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