It was a beautiful crisp day for our Jellico parade - and it was a great parade! We initially had well over 80 units to pre-register but we had exceeded that number long before the march was scheduled to start. Some that had registered one unit actually brought two and even three. Additionally we had numerous last minute entries. And we were glad to have everyone! (A Shriner from Kentucky stated that he had participated in numerous parades but that no small town parade has been comparable to ours.) And the compliments continue to come in from all around our area. It is safe to say that Jake Bennett and the members of the Tourism Commission realized their goal of making this the biggest and best parade yet! And from commitments already made, it should be even bigger next year! (Jake was gathering commitments for next year even while the parade was in progress!)

We had units representing numerous organizations and surrounding towns and communities. I am prejudiced of course but I was very proud of Boston Elementary and the Boston Community units. Working in schools for most of my professional life, it was especially good for me to see local school systems represented in so many different ways. In addition to the school groups units, there were several school officials participating - either in the parade or as spectators. J.L. "Sarge" Collins, our school board member, represented the Campbell County Board (Bo Buckner had to be in Nashville for training). And Whitley County School Superintendent Lonnie Anderson and Mrs. Anderson were on a float along with the members of their Sunday School class. Whitley County Board of Education member Larry Lambdin was Sheriff Andy Taylor in the Mayberry unit and he did a good job of keeping Barney Fife and Earnest T. Bass under control. (Barney showed us his one bullet but didn't load it. And Earnest T. was again restrained from throwing a rock through our police department windows as he passed.)

It was great that Lawrence Hall was able to serve as our Grand Marshall. No one is more deserving and it was a real honor to present him with a plaque to commemorate the occasion. (And we had another special guest here as well. Airman Doug Dobson was home for part of the holidays. Doug had just returned from Bagram, Afghanistan where his air base has come under constant small arms and missile fire. Anyone who has been there and done that knows that there is nothing more lonesome than pulling guard mount or some other military duty while everyone else is home for the holidays. Luckily Doug got some time to be home with family and friends!)

The media was present for the parade and I am sure that full reports and photos will be published in local papers. And the video tape is presently being edited for possible showing on our local cable TV. But I want to thank everyone who helped with the parade and/or participated. The list is far, far too long to even start to name individuals but the help of every single one is most sincerely appreciated. And anyone reading the eyes of the little fellows all along the route had to know that they were appreciated and came away with a warm feeling!

We also had a great Christmas party for city officials and employees. The conference room was beautifully decorated, the food was very good, we had entertainment and gifts donated by local individuals and businesses. There was a great feeling of fellowship among everyone in attendance (and we had virtually every official and employee present who was not on duty or otherwise working). The only "negative" was one lady's comment that my singing gave her a headache. (There's just no real appreciation of true talent anymore!)

The first significant snowfall came early for us this year. Although the first official day of winter does not arrive until December 21st, old man winter made his appearance well in advance of his scheduled time.

We have been blessed with some relatively "good" winters over the past few years and we are due the other kind - although certainly none of us look forward to that kind of weather. And one of the main reasons that we dread bad winters is the effect that they have upon our electric bills. In addition to the greatly increased use of electric power for heating, we also have at least one long billing period which adds to the bill for that month and any other month of an extended billing period.

This would be a good time to check for heating loss from our homes and businesses. (We recently found that a piece of weather stripping was missing from one of the doors at our home allowing cold air to enter the house.) Utilities Director John Leach says that the Jellico Utilities Department will be glad to inspect any residence or business for heat loss and that the Tennessee Valley Authority also is available to assist property owners and to make recommendations to help lower electric bills. And property owners can sign for the "budget plan" each August that helps even out the monthly bills.

But in spite of all that can be done, bills are just much higher during the cold winter months and we might as well expect them!

The partial collapse of the metal covering/awning over North Main Street sidewalks during the recent snowfall points out once again that we are eventually going to have to address that problem. I do not know if the city or property owners initially erected the cover and I don't know upon whom the liability would be placed if it should fall and injure pedestrians.

During my first year in office, I assisted in painting a building and we were concerned at that time as to whether the metal awning would support our weight or the weight of heavy rainfall, snowfall or the force of strong winds. And in addition to the safety factor the metal has tarnished badly in some areas and has become very unsightly. The situation will only grow worse as time passes.

But we do need some type of covering over the sidewalks and at least two property owners on the street have indicated to me at some point in the past that they were considering removing the covering/awning and replacing it with the same type fabric awnings that look so good on South Main Street - as well as those that have already been replaced on North Main Street. That action - along with renovations to some of the buildings on North Main - could do wonders for the overall appearance of our downtown.

As I stated in an earlier article, I feel that my creating a city department for industrial development may prove to be one of the best moves that I have made since taking office as mayor four and one-half years ago. Councilman Dwight Osborne heads up that responsibility and has the help of some of the other members of council.

They have just compiled, printed and bound an extremely professional looking dossier that includes a tremendous amount of facts and figures concerning the potential for industrial development in Jellico and our local area. And the dossier includes some very impressive computerized graphics that enhance the information a great deal.

Osborne says that more will be done yet to improve the publication. But according to him, there are at least two firms currently interested in relocating and their established time lines have led him to already forward copies to those firms for consideration.

As he told me while I was reviewing the dossier, they intend to keep on "fishing" for firms who may be enticed to relocate to our area although their efforts may require a lengthy period of time. But he feels confident that enough effort will eventually result in success. And in the mean time, if anyone knows of a firm anywhere looking to relocate, please inform Dwight or any city official and he will most definitely contact them.

I talked with Mr. Mike Ross, developer of "Rarity Mountain" last week. He stated that there are still some engineering details to be worked out before the bidding and contracting for the necessary interchange off Interstate-75 can be completed and the target date for beginning the work is now sometime around next June. But he hopes that the date can be stepped up to March or April and he is attempting to bring about the earlier date.

Mr. Ross indicated that he has had very good help and cooperation from past and present Campbell County and city of Jellico officials and that new County Executive Jerry Cross has already been very actively involved in providing the assistance of his office.

In a recent article I wrote about how well our current council is working together and how that creates a very good climate in which to work. That led to someone (jokingly or seriously, I don't know which) commenting that things have been going so good lately in Jellico that one of our self-appointed "critics in residence" has become totally frustrated in attempting to find something with which to create a controversy.

We will always have differences on issues - both major and trivial. But we are once again seeing the citizens of Jellico coming together to work for the good of our town and area. Whether it's the Christmas season or for whatever reason, I hope that the developing spirit of cooperation will continue on into the new year and throughout our terms of office. At least some of us have no current plans to run for office again and we want to make real progress in improving the looks and life of our town during the next four years. And we are going to get even more involved this spring with that objective in mind.

Our special month for "Clean-up, Paint-up, Fix-up" is scheduled for next April and I hope that everyone will make that notation on their personal calendar. And although April 1st is still over three (3) months away and we are presently in the period of snow and ice spring will be here before we know it and we hope that everyone will make plans now to improve the looks of their property and their neighborhoods. And we will get back on the project of renovationg and revitalizing our downtown at that time as well. All the help we can get will be welcome!