Several have told me that we had the best attendance ever at this year's Veterans Day observance. And according to at least two individuals, their presence was due to the announcement on the community bulletin board on the new City Building.
I mentioned earlier that both Mrs. Dorothy Potter, Librarian, and myself have received numerous favorable comments concerning the bulletin board and I am glad that we have it to better inform our citizens of upcoming events. I try to keep it current and I usually change it immediately following completion of an advertised activity.
Mr. John Mays, CEO of Barton-Carey Medical Products, donated the funds for the purchase of the board and it has been a very welcome addition to our downtown. And the donated awnings will make the areas near the entrance/exit much safer when winter weather arrives.
Then too, as one individual recently commented, "The awnings and bulletin board add a touch of class to our downtown". That's not all bad either!!!
I plan to keep listing the names of area veterans as long as I receive them. Some given to me since last week are Joe H. Kidd, Floyd Rigney, Jr., David Walker, Bill Baker, Robbie Collins, James Johnson (recently deceased), Jackie Gilreath (recently deceased), Melvin Weaver, Marvin Weaver, Jerry Musick, Carl David Musick, Alfred Stokes, Bob Vermillion, Eugene Vermillion.
It is hard for me to believe the tremendous response I have had to the listing of our veterans. Several veterans have gone out of their way to thank me and I appreciate everyone of them. One veteran told me that he never expected to see his name in the paper.
Mickie Walker and several ladies at the senior citizens center have helped me gather names. And it's a labor of love. I hope the names keep coming until I get them all. And my readers have clearly demonstrated that they still do appreciate our veterans.
The Church of God, South Main Street (Cleveland Assembly) celebrated it's 77th anniversary and the rededication of the newly renovated sanctuary on Sunday, November 14th. (The entire church has undergone renovation within the past several months).
Former Pastor Reverend R.B. Bewley (now retired and living in Tullahoma, Tennessee) returned for the event and preached during the regular Sunday moring service. That service was followed by a dinner in the church's fellowship hall and a special gospel singing.
I want to thank present Pastor Reverend Rick Oakwood and members of the congregaton for the invitation to attend that sevice. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and as I pointed out, the Church of God has been an important part of our town throughout it's 77 years history.
The church building was originally the home of the Methodist Church until that congregation built it's present building in the downtown area around 1925. (My mother attended the Methodist Church there as a very small girl as did her entire family before it's move in the 1920's. After it's move, they began attending the Church of God Mountain Assembly since it was so near to their home.)
Apparently the founders of the Church of God, C.A., met in homes and/or possibly the old Pluckney Coal Company Commissary at the corner of Florence Avenue and South Main Street/Newcomb Pike (later the John Dobson Grocery and now a parking lot belonging to the Church of God Mountain Assembly). The Church of God, C.A. then purchased the vacant building on South Main Street shortly thereafter where it has remained for all of these many years.
The historic plaque has been placed on the new City Building by George Hackler, II and it blends in perfectly with that structure. I was asked by the Tramell heirs who purchased the plaque, to write the inscription and I was happy to do so.
The plaque cites the fact that the original "Tramell Building" occupied that site for over eighty years. It also contains biographical information for Mr. Hiram Tramell, one of Jellico's first arrivals after the railroads reached our area in 1883. Mr. Tramell was responsible for several of Jellico's "firsts". He married the daughter of the first pastor of the First Baptist Church after that group left the Good Hope Baptist Church and constructed their own building nearer to town; built our first two story building; started our first drug store; founded the First National Bank and served as it's first president; became one of our first, if not the first, attorneys-at-law; and was elected as our town's first mayor. And all of that in spite of the fact that he arrived here around 1885 carrying his entire fortune at that time - valued at less than ten dollars.
As I have stated several times in the past, I hope that other owners of historic buildings will follow suit and place similiar plaques on those structures. We need to preserve as much of our town's heritage as possible. Much of it has already been lost.
I often hear people state their curiosity as to the history of different structures. Historic plaques and markers provide such information and preserve it for future generations.
I want to again remind everyone of the Christmas Tree Lighting this Saturday at 5:30 PM. Downtown Veterans Park.
And as I stated last week, I hope that our downtown businesses will join in decorating their buildings this year. I have not had time to work on getting that project underway but I hope that we do have some participation in this the first year and then add to the decorations in each succeeding year.
Again I want to ask everyone who does decorate their building to use the color scheme for lights that we used at Indian Mountain State Park for the "Christmas in the Park". (Solid color strings except for evergreens and greenery).
I also want to remind everyone that the Elk Valley community has scheduled it's annual Christmas Parade for Sunday, December 5th. Units will start lining up at Elk Valley Elementary School at 1:00 PM and the parade will move out at 2:00 PM.
Mrs. Joann Watts, Director of Tourism, announced last week that Ken Schwall has agreed to serve as the Grand Marshal for our Christmas Parade this year. Schwall's special feature, "Schwall's World" on Channel 10 is very popular in our area and has a large viewing audience. Our parade is scheduled for Sunday, December 12th starting at 2:30 PM.
Some who have purchased lots during the recent City Surplus Property Sale have already begun clearing the property. That will improve appearances in addition to providing additional revenue for the city from the sale and from future property tax collections. (The lots were previously non-taxable and provided no revenue to the city or to the county).
And speaking of improving appearances - Mr. W.H. Bowlin has informed me that he has been contracted to clear the Stooksbury (Martha Stephens) propety on Commerce Street (Old City Hall). That will be a welcomed action.
The Rescue Squad will eventually complete the exterior of their building including landscaping as soon as funds become available. And the single story visitor's center is a distinct possiblitity for the future.
We eventually hope to transform that street from it's present condition into an entirely different appearance.
Last week I reported Campbell County's unemployment rate as standing at 7.2 percent. However I had just sent that article for publication when new figures were released indicating that the rate ha fallen even lower to 6.6 percent.
The 93.4 percent employment is by far and away the largest percentage of residents with jobs that Campbell County (including the Jellico area) has enjoyed in many years. But we still need more job opportunities. It was a great disappointment when Camel Manufacturing decided that the vacant bulding in our industrial park is not suitable for their needs. But we will continue to very actively seek other potential employers.
I earlier asked the state of Tennessee to advertise our U.S. Highway-25W and Tennessee Highway 297-W as scenic highways on Interstate-75. U.S. 25-W has already been designated as a scenic highway but motorists on the interstae highway have no way of knowing that fact since there are no signs to inform them.
I also earlier asked that Tenn 297-W be designated and advertised on the interstate as the shortest route to the Big South Fork Recreational Area. But that request too was rejected by the state.
The work currently being done by Litter Control Officer Glennis Monday and his work crews to clean up our highways and roads has made them much more presentable by eliminating large amounts of refuse and other debris.
I am now going to ask that our Campbell County Commission enact a resolution requesting state approval of my proposals. I have asked Commissioner Foster Baird to act as sponsor and two other commissioners had already pledged their support when this column was written.
It seems such a shame that our area and our county have so much natural beauty that is not enjoyed by countless tourists/visitors simply because they are not aware of it's existence. And it deprives our local merchants of a potential large source of income from those tourists/visitors.
Hopefully demonstrated support from our County Commission can be a positive influence upon the appropriate state officials that will lead them to advertise both U.S.-25W and Tenn 297-W as scenic higways on Interstate-75.
I have recieved the finalized deed from Norfolk Southern Railway giving us clear title to the 1.3 acres of property adjoining Veterans Park Annex. The only contribution by the city is the clearance for the railroad to close off the crossing on McComb Street that is almost never used. And a crossing on Commerce Street is only a few feet away and allows for easy access to all property in that area.
I am certainly glad to obtain that piece of property because it will allow for future development of that area including the proposed Citizens Market/Farmers Market. There were times when I began to doubt that my efforts to secure the property were going to be successful. But the Norfolk Southern Representative, Ms. Vicki Smith, was very helpful in working out the details and I certainly appreciate her help.
This article was written and submitted for publication prior to last Thursday night's regular November meeting of the City Council.
The agenda included the finalized report of audit; update on the status of the Surplus Property Sale; discussion of the proposed Campbell County Animal Control and Protection Program; my recommendations concerning hiring someone to assist and train in the office of the City Recorder and the expenditure of funds raised from the property sale; and a discussion of the City Administrator's position (if desired by Council). And of course there were the usual housekeeping items, E.G. approval of previous minutes, paying bills, recognizing citizens with questions, comments, etc.
I will have a full report of the meeting in next week's column.
Several readers of this column each week have told me that they are now having difficulty finding copies of the Jellico Advance-Sentinel due to several outlets selling out before they can purchase a copy.
Copies are usually available at the new Rocky Top/Wendy's since some have not yet become aware that that is a new outlet for the paper.
The Jellico Advance-Sentinel will begin publishing the names of all outlets where the papers are sold. That should be a help to those who are unable to find copies the first or second day they are placed on the newstands.
I write quite a bit about the almost unbelievable emergence of the internet to such a position of importance in today's world. A few short years ago, most of us had never even heard of the net. But it is now one of our most important media forms and sources of information. It is utilized all around the world to the extent that it is already becoming overloaded with demands upon the system.
And to emphasize it's importance in this country, President Bill Clinton recently went on line to interact with users. And just my luck - I did not have access at that time to a computer on line. I would not have attempted to get recognized with so many thousands attempting to do so, but I would have greatly enjoyed following the give-and-take between the president and our citizens who were recognized during the question and answer session.
Final Note:
If anyone does not realize what fine young people we have in our area, they should have been present for the Veterans Day ceremony and the other activities related to that special day.
Our Boy Scouts were very impressive in their uniforms and they flawlessly conducted the flag raising ceremony.
The Jellico High School JROTC Student Color Guard presented the colors at the monument and then went to Beech Tree Manor to honor the resident veterans at that facility. I was very honored when staff member Jenny Pittman called me and told me that the students had requested my presence at that observance. I would have gone if I had been forced to walk.
The six veterans and other residents were all smiles when the ceremony began. Two or three veterans proudly displayed photos of themselves taken in their uniforms during World War II and the Korean War.
The JROTC Department had prepared "Certificates of Appreciation" for each resident veteran. The certificates bore a large American flag in full color and recognized the recipients for their great service to our country.
The tears began to flow freely from the eyes of some as they were presented the certificates by the United States Army Major (retired) Gene Owens, the JROTC Senior Army Instructor, and the students who followed and verbally thanked each for his or her contribution. The veterans were not the only ones with wet eyes. It was an extremely moving presentation.
The students are also considering plans to "adopt our veterans" and to rotate visits to Beech Tree Manor to visit and talk with them.
The Veterans Day observances conducted by our local students could almost make a person forget all of the negative stories that we see and hear in the media concerning our young people. We all should be very proud of them!!!
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