Last week I mentioned the fact that Jellico has had former residents serving in leadership positions in cities located in Alaska and Ohio. That statement brought several responses from readers who agree with my position concerning the City Administrator vacancy.
I was reminded that a Jellicoan recently retired as City Administrator of Oliver Springs and that Jellicoans have reportedly filled positions in city governments of Des Plains, Illinois; Norwood, Ohio; Clarksville, Tennessee; and at least one town in Florida. And I am sure that if we checked, we would find that there have been others.
It appears that while others are hiring Jellicoans to work in their city governments, we are looking elsewhere for someone to run ours. My statement that I think that there are local people capable of handling the business affairs of Jellico with its population of 2,447 led one man to point out that a Jellicoan, the late Hansford Sharp, once headed the Pennsylvania Railroad - probably the largest railroad in the world at that time.
Our town and area have produced engineers, attorneys, accountants, physicians, college professors, college president, United States Office of Education Official, state senator, teachers, principals, entertainers and countless good hard working people who have been successful in all kinds of jobs in all kinds of vocational fields.
And yes!!! The Jellico area has produced the proverbial rocket scientist!!! Jellico High School graduate Lisa Blue is a Senior Electrical Engineer at the Huntsville Space Center and has helped to develp some of the world's most sophisticated space technology.
But the services of a rocket scientist are not needed to manage the business affairs of Jellico. We just need someone who meets the training and experience required by the City Charter, one who knows and relates well with our people, and one that has ideas for the advancement of our town and who is willing to work hard to put those ideas into operation. And undoubtedly a lot of people are, and have been, doing a great job in managing our business affairs. I have been told that we are probably in the best fiscal shape in the history of our town.
I cannot overstate the fact that I am not a candidate for the job and would not accept it under the present circumstances. But I refuse to believe that the Council cannot find a local person that qualifies for the position and is capable of performing the job in a manner that is satisfactory with the majority of our citizens.
I have been maintaining communication with the office of Campbell County Executive Tom Stiner. According to Administrative Assistant Jay Willoughby, we do have a prospective employer to occupy the vacant building in the industrial park.
The occupancy is far from definite but we apparently do have a good possibility of attracting a firm that would employ between 50 and 60 people.
That would be a tremendous boost to our local economy and we plan to do everything possible to secure the firm for Jellico. But if we are not successful this time, we will continue to search for a suitable occupant until we find one.
I recently engaged in a conversation in which I mentioned some of the donations that we have received for the city of Jellico over the past eighteen months. That led me to itemize those donations along with the amounts. They now total more that $100,000.00 that is completely free to the city of Jellico.
| DONATION | AMOUNT |
|---|---|
| Presbyterian Church | $ 30,000.00 EST |
| Funds for church repairs | 6,000.00 |
| Walmart (community devel) | 1,000.00 |
| Walmart (Jellico Rescue Squad) | 1,500.00 |
| Rite Aid | 840.00 |
| Downtown stage (W.H. Bowlin) | 8,600.00 |
| Hauling/filling/compacting | |
| Vet Park Annex (Morgan Brothers) | 5,200.00 |
| Gasco (lamps, lines, labor, etc.) | 4,800.00 |
| Awnings for new buildings | 2,400.00 |
| Lighted bulletin board for new building (Barton-Carey) | 2,300.00 |
| Norfolk Southern Railway property (now being finalized) | 18,000.00 EST |
| NSFR fenced area with materials | 8,000.00 EST |
| Property owners/business operators (gratings, trees, soil, labor, equip.) | 5,800.00 |
| Four garbage receptacles | 550.00 |
| Three flags | 375.00 |
| Painting of caboose | 200.00 |
| State historical plaque (Grace Moore) | 1,200.00 |
| State historical plaque (Kirby Smith invades Kentucky) | 1,200.00 |
| Trammel Building plaque (to be placed by Trammel heirs) | 480.00 |
| Benches for Veterans Park (under construction by Robbie Woodson) | 3,000.00 |
| TOTAL $ 101,445.00 |
There have been numerous other donations of money, materials and labor from Jim Hurst, Ray Enix, Ronnie Dabney, Arnold Musick, Bill Partin, Raymond Creekmore, Robert Johnson, Charles Marples, sponsors for the downtown activities, volunteers for various functions, the Jellico High School Student Council and many others that I do not recall but greatly appreciate. Everything together would probably total more than $ 105,000.00 and pay the City Administrator's salary for the next three years.
And of course the above list does not include any of the grants and low interest loans totaling several million dollars that everyone working together has been able to obtain for our city and for our Utilities Department.
I earlier mentioned that I had received a draft resolution calling for a Campbell County animal control and protection facility. (Developed by Campbell County Commissioner Adrion Baird).
I copied the draft and placed it in every Councilman's mailbox shortly after our September meeting of the Council. I hope that they have read it and are giving serious consideration to becoming a part of the county wide program.
We regularly have telephone calls and people stopping by the office voicing their concern about animals that are homeless and/or running loose throughout the community. Many are malnourished and unvaccinated - posing a threat to public health and safety.
Animals are constantly abandoned in Veterans Park, on our streets and roads and Indian Mountain State Park. We try to deal with the situation as best we can and always as humanely as possible but we have neither the facilities nor the trained staff that are required for such a task.
The proposed county center would have trained personnel to collect and care for the animals - to include responding to requests for services, feeding and providing medical treatment and adoption opportunities.
Again!!! I hope that the members of Council have studied the proposal and will vote to participate along with the other towns and areas within Campbell County. An animal control and protection center is badly needed.
The small bridges required for easy access to Veterans Park Annex (tract I) have been constructed by Street Department Personnel. Now all we need is the decorative fence to enclose the area and I am still looking for a donor to provide the necessary funds for that purpose.
But if we continue to make progress in developing the site, we should be able to open the Citizens Market/Farmers Market early next Spring.
One night I attended the Daniel Boone Festival in Barbourville, Kentucky. That event started fifty years ago and reportedly attracted only a few hundred people for its first few years. There are now over 100,000 present each year for the three days event (including several from Jellico). Virtually everyone and every organization in Barbourville gets involved in some manner or another and that town does a great job in presenting it. And it is a great source of revenue for that town in adddition to providing an interesting activity that people look forward to each year.
We have more available space for such an event and our town is better laid out for downtown activities. So there is no real reason that we cannot develop something similar in the future. Our Friday and Saturday Nights in the Park are a very good start and something we can build around. In fact the Barbourville event had taped music for the entertainers the night I was there and it was very good.
But live entertinment is very popular and we have a head start in that respect.
I though that we were a step ahead of surrounding towns with our plans for a walking trail, planting flowering trees and shrubs, working for a visitor center, etc.
But that was before my last trip to Williamsburg. That town now has it's walking trail along the river open to the public; a gazebo has been constructed along the trail; mums and other flowers have been planted in the downtown; decorative banners have been placed; beautiful autumn displays have been set up near the Whitley County Court House and in other areas of town; and they are rapidly working toward establishing a museum of local history.
One merchant told me that he and some other business places might be interested in planting dogwoods in the downtown as we have done in Jellico. At least that puts us a step ahead in one area.
I have emphasized several times in the past that I think that myself and the City Council need to set the example in renovating and revitalizing our town.
I have scheduled the period May 22-27 as our special week next spring to "Clean-up, Paint-up, and Fix-up". And I am going to invite the members of the City Council to join me in kicking off that week on Saturday, May 20th with a "Mayor/Council Work Day". And the City Administrator will be welcome also.
We regularly see pictures of former President Jimmy Carter covered with sawdust and perspiration after working a long day as an unskilled carpenter for "Habitat for Humanity". So surely we can all devote one day to the town where we live and where we were elected to office. And we may want to donate a day to help Joann Watts and the group that are working to restore the old Presbyterian Church. I am sure that they will be able to use our help also.
Gasco reportedly has received the necessary clearance to cross a property line and now supply natural gas to the buildings on South Main Street near the center of town. Several building owners had been interested in obtaining an additional energy source for their buildings.
This week's article was written prior to the Jellico High School homecoming so I will need to report on that activity in next week's article.
Three weeks ago I mentioned that we have two area boy scouts (Mozingo and Collins) that are nearing the Eagle Scout rank. And I plan to work with them to help them obtain the "Merit Badge for Citizenship in the Community". That merit badge is one of the requirements to eventually achieve that honor.
A lady who read about those two scouts called my attention to the fact that Alex Owens is also advancing rapidly in the scouting ranks. Alex has only been involved in scouting for about a year and a half but has really taken to scouting.
I like to recognize all of our young citizens when they are involved in such positive activities that develop character and leadership ability. Anyone knowing of similar achievements by our young people should let me know so that I can recognize them in this column.
The independent auditors have just completed a very comprehensive audit of both the city of Jellico and Jellico Electric and Water System.
We have been given the preliminary report and the first reports sound very good. But we will be given the official reports at this month's regular Council meeting if they are ready. If not, they should be presented during the November meeting.
Our City Street Department has begun utilizing our new chipper for brush collections. And that should be a big help in disposing of the large volume of limbs that are regularly collected. (Mr. James Head has suggested having a special week next spring for trimming and cutting limbs and processing them during that period. And that sounds like a good idea!!!)
But we are currently experiencing a problem with the unauthorized dumping of roofing, lumber, household appliances and other similar materials in the area just below the railroad. We have asked for fill material for that area but that includes only stone, used brick, dirt, etc.
We have no way to properly and lawfully dispose of some of the material that has been dumped there and we ask that anyone involved discontinue the practice. If the problem continues, we will be forced to take action against those who violate the regulations.
Public law 1101 has been discussed in several past columns. That is the legislation that requires counties and municipalities to identify all land within the county as urban growth, planned growth or rural reserve. There is also a requirement for population growth projections for the next twenty years and that projection has been made for Jellico (and all of Campbell County) by a department at the University of Tennessee.
I have long insisted that Jellico is on the verge of growth and development and the U.T. projection for population growth agrees somewhat with my contention:
| YEAR | PROJECTED POPULATION |
|---|---|
| (1990 census) | (2,447) |
| 2000 | 2,680 |
| 2005 | 2,763 |
| 2010 | 2,836 |
| 2015 | 2,897 |
| 2020 | 2,947 |
| Projected 20 years increase = 500 |
But the above projected figures could rise dramatically if the "Reserve on Jellico Mountain" and/or the industrial development proposed for southern Whitley County do indeed become reality. And area developments such as that taking place in Elk Valley could also drastically increase populations in outlying areas. You only have to drive through some of our surrrounding communities to see the construction that is constantly underway.
Note: I again want to remind everyone that the federal ten-years census will be taken next April. And we ask everyone to be sure that they are included in the count. An accurate count is very important to us in receiving federal and state funds, etc.
I want to again express my hope that we can have some observance to commemorate Veterans Day. I have requested the Jellico High School JROTC to join with available area veterans in conducting some type of ceremony. The local boy scout troop has also expressed an interest in attending such a ceremony and it would be a good experience for all the students in learning citizenship and patriotism.
If the event is confirmed, it will be conducted at the Veterans Monument on Thursday, November 11th. (The 11th hour, 11th day and 11th month was the beginning of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. Veterans Day was known as "Armistice Day" for many years).
Final Note:
I have always loved and appreciated all types of music with the exception of some of the "hard rock" or "metal rock" and "rap". But I realize that some do not care for country and western music the way that I do. However few can dispute that country song writers know how to tell the story of everyday events.
You only have to listen to songs written by Merle Haggard, Travis Tritt, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Partin, and many others to understand what I am talking about. And don't forget the late Boudleaux and Felice Bryant (authors of every song recorded by the Everly Brothers and countless songs that were recorded by almost every popular country musician - but much better known for a little tune they wrote for fun and thought about discarding. And a lot of colleges and universities wish that they had discarded it rather than allowing the Osborne Brothers to record it eight years later - a catchy little song called "Rocky Top" that has virtually replaced "Fight, Vols, Fight" as the official fight song for the University of Tennessee).
All of that brings me to a popular song currently at the top of the record sale charts - country superstar Allen Jackson's "Little Man". That song accurately relates what has happened in this country to the small town and the small businessman. The words could refer to any small town in America indluding Jellico.
But there is now growing trend to begin moving back to the deserted downtown areas and restoring feelings of community that were lost following the advent of interstate highways and large conglomerate businesses that have virtually shut down the small businesses and the small business owners. I sure hope that that trend continues until we once again have what we once enjoyed in our small towns. Things do not always have to be bigger to be better.
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