Parade Thanks…. December 29, 2011 We at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to all those who helped to make the annual Clinton Christmas Parade "The Sounds of Christmas" an overwhelming success. Roger Houck, City Manager for support, Rick Scarbrough, Clinton Chief of Police and Detective Jim Campbell, the Clinton Police Department for assisting in assuring a safe parade, Chief Archie Brummitt and the Clinton Fire Department for carrying Santa Claus, Lynn Murphy and Bill Riggs, Clinton Public Works for cleanup, and Jason Brown, Clinton Recreation Department for coordinating. Gary Long and the Anderson County Highway Department for the use of safety vests. Myers Family Dentistry's Betsy Graves-Myers, Parade Chairperson and her volunteers: Nancy Beltz, Stephanie Childress, Sharon Edwards, Dan and Janet Hawkins, Andrea Hensley, Mike Hill, TK Hill, Bruce Holt, Taylor Huddleston, Tyler Kent, Levi Martin, Norm Nelson, Jackie Nichols, Lindsey Pack, Will Short, Susan Simmons, Kathy Stair, Matt Toon, Butch Toon, Claude David Martin for being our Parade Grand Marshall Jim Gadd, U.S. Army (Ret.) for providing the car for our Grand Marshall Anderson County High School Band and Director Paul Brown Clinton High School Band and Director Danny Stone Anderson County High School Navy Junior ROTC, Commander Mariner and Chief Davis Clinton High School and Clinton Middle School Cheerleaders for leading the way for Santa Christmas Parade Judges: Dr. Richard Batt, Donna Batt, Northrop Grumman/Remotec's Mike Knopp and wife, Judy. Christmas Parade Commentators for Channel 12: George Paynter, Edward Jones Investment and his wife, Jenny Channel 12 and Channel 95 for filming and broadcasting parade Allen Handley for his coverage in the The Courier-News Jim Young Janet Hawkins, coordinating Parade and Christmas calendar All our participants and spectators - the floats were outstanding this year - the best ever! Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Board and Staff

Anderson County Sheriff's Department Budget Cuts June 1, 2011 Our Sheriff's office is better than ever and we NEED them. The county budget committee wants to cut their funding. We have LESS deputies on the road now, for the ENTIRE county, per shift, than Oak Ridge City, or Clinton City has on duty in just their city limits per shift. We have 5 or 6 deputies, they have at least 2 in just Lake City, city limits. How scary is that, you need help in Briceville and the deputies are in Marlow, or Claxton?? It could happen now, with budget cuts, we will go back to having 3 or less on the road. Keep in mind that most of the Budget Committee Members live inside one of the City Limits.. Also keep in mind that they also approved cutting funding to the Volunteer Fire department that are the only protection county residents have, once again, because they have paid, 24/7 fire protection provided by their city.. This should make you mad, and should make you think before you vote next time. Let them know what you think. The Sheriff's Office met with the Budget Committee last Thursday. Despite working with the budget office and cutting even more from the budget, this wasn't enough for County Mayor Myron Iwanski and all but one member of the budget committee. The Sheriff's Office had already agreed to not fund 2 law enforcement and 5 jail positions. This is fairly easy in the jail because of the turnover but difficult in law enforcement as turnover is much less. Every other expense had been cut to bare bones and several items were cut out completely in an effort to help with the budget. The Sheriff's Office has tried to work with Mayor Iwanski and the Budget Committee but they refuse. All but one member of the Budget Committee voted to cut the Sheriff's Office budget even more. Only Commissioner Isbel voted no. All the others including Commissioner Chuck Fritts voted to cut the budget by 3% more. There are no more parts of the budget that can be cut except personnel. In order to come up with the amount of money the Budget Committee wants to cut, this will force layoffs of patrol deputies. This will result in less patrols of the rural areas of the county and much less proactive enforcement. The Sheriff's Office will be back to not answering all the calls and little or no patrols of the county. Commissioner Dusty Irwin continues to try to stop the take home cars. He also talked about cutting funds for cell phones and air cards for the laptops in patrol cars. This would mean deputies and detectives would have to drive back to the office to call victims on the telephone. This would also mean deputies would have to drive back to the office to do reports instead of remaining out in the county. It seems the Budget Committee wants to erase all of the progress that has been made the last few years in providing better law enforcement to the county. All of these cuts including layoffs of deputies would impact those who live in the rural areas of the county. Each and every county resident should call their commissioner to tell them that they do not want cuts to law enforcement in the rural areas of Anderson County. STAND UP AND BE HEARD!!! Rhonda Manley Clinton

Follow up to Budget Meeting of April 28 - Budget for Anderson County Sheriff's Department May 3, 2011 This is a follow to my letter regarding the Budget for Anderson County Sheriff's Department. I attended the Budget Committee meeting with the Sheriff's Office last Thursday, 4.48.2011. If I had not been there to hear and see what I did, I would not have believed it! These people on the Budget Committee, really just don't have a clue. Despite working with the budget office and cutting even more from the budget, this wasn't enough for County Mayor Myron Iwanski and all but one member of the budget committee. The Sheriff's Office had already agreed to not fund two law enforcement and five jail positions. This is fairly easy in the jail because of the turnover but difficult in law enforcement as turnover is much less. Every other expense had been cut to bare bones and several items were cut out completely in an effort to help with the budget. The Sheriff's Office has tried to work with Mayor Iwanski and the Budget Committee but they refuse. All but one member of the Budget Committee voted to cut the Sheriff's Office budget even more. Only Commissioner Tim Isabel voted no. All the others, Mayor Myron Iwanski and Commissioners Dusty Irwin, Jerry White, and Chuck Fritts voted to cut the budget by 3% more. There are no more parts of the budget that can be cut except personnel. In order to come up with the amount of money the Budget Committee wants to cut, this will force layoffs of patrol deputies. This will result in less patrols of the rural areas of the county and much less proactive enforcement. The Sheriff's Office will be back to not answering all the calls and little or no patrols of the county. Commissioner Dusty Irwin continues to try to stop the take home cars. He also talked about cutting funds for cell phones and air cards for the laptops in patrol cars. This would mean deputies and detectives would have to drive back to the office to call victims on the telephone. This would also mean deputies would have to drive back to the office to do reports instead of remaining out in the county. My observation is it seems the Budget Committee wants to erase all of the progress that has been made the last few years in providing better law enforcement to the county. All of these cuts including layoffs of deputies would impact those who live in the rural areas of the county. They even said, "if you run the Sheriff's Office like a business . . . ." The Sheriff's Office is not a business and cannot be ran as such! That is outrageous! Then, I couldn't believe a comment I heard come out of Mayor Iwanski's mouth about state prisoners it went something like this, "We are working on getting the probation office to work with us and we could release those state prisoners." Really, that is exactly what we need, release the most violent offenders and reduce personnel in the Sheriff's Office. Does this make sense to you? It sure doesn't make sense to me! Of course, Commissioner Irwin said the Sheriff's Office could stop arresting the same people for smoking marijuana three or four times. WOW! Each and every county resident should call their commissioner to tell them that they do not want cuts to law enforcement in the rural areas of Anderson County. Please call your commissioner and tell them. Show up to the meetings and see who and how they are running Anderson County. You will be absolutely amazed at what may come out of their mouths. Rhonda Manley Clinton

Anderson County Commissioners - Budget for Anderson County Sheriff's Department April 25, 2011 The Budget Committee is asking Anderson County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) to take huge cuts in funding. Cuts of several hundred thousand dollars. ACSO had agreed to the County Mayor's proposed cuts but they are asking for much more. They now underfund salaries in anticipation of turnover and probationary salaries. But this isn't enough. They actually expect ACSP to lay off deputies. Since the jail is so overcrowded and other areas of the department such as bailiffs, civil process, and dispatch are such where they can't function with less, all these layoffs would come from patrol. ACSO can hardly keep up with calls now so you can imagine what it would be like with several less patrol deputies. ACSO would be back to no proactive patrols of the county. Thanks to ACSO and their proactive patrols, Anderson County has come a very long way since 2006 in providing better law enforcement services. Commissioner Dusty Irwin is trying to stop the ACSO's drive-home car program. Information has been sent to him why it is more efficient and less expensive than pool cars but he doesn't seem to care in the least according to his comments recently published. I'm not sure how this got started since ACSO has had this for almost 30 years. It seems that the most of the current Budget Committee members do not care about emergency services. Just like the cuts proposed for the fire departments, they seem to want to cut them as well where they can't do their job either. All they talked about is not raising taxes. I guess that's more important than public safety. The Budget Committee is next Thursday, April 28, at 6:15pm, in the commission room. It may help to have public support there as well as when the full commission takes up the budget. Please be there to support our emergency services and ACSO! So stand up and take a stand as well as calling each of your commissioners. They obviously don't have a clue what they are doing! Come to the meeting on Thursday and take a stand - it is time the people of Anderson County stand up for what they want and quit letting a few people run Anderson County. Rhonda Manley Clinton

John Ragan: "Some Christmas Thoughts" December 7, 2010 “ ’Tis the season” as they say… But the season for what? …Well, among many things, buying and wrapping gifts, decorating with silver bells, attending holiday parties flowing with good cheer, and gathering with family and friends for traditional music and fellowship. These popular activities remind us of the true spirit of the season: that it is better to give than to receive. However, the one, really big, exception, and the real reason for the season, is that all of us have been offered the “Greatest Gift, ever.” We have, merely, to accept it individually. Beyond the religious implications of that “Greatest Gift, ever,” it is also the underlying reason our nation exists today. The principle that every person stands before his or her Creator, uniquely responsible for his or her own decisions and actions with their consequences, spread with Christian teaching. That Christian tradition of individual freedom of choice and accompanying responsibility found political expression in our founding document, The Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. These noble words mean no citizen is ever born, classed as more, or less, entitled to the protections of the law than any other citizen. Likewise, an individual citizen is neither more, nor less, responsible for following the precepts of the law than any other citizen. This condition exists, as our founders noted, because each of us, individually, has unalienable Rights. These endowments come from the Supreme Being. Consequently, no lesser power, such as a government bureaucrat, can ever rightfully curtail them. Unfortunately, there are some in government who, nonetheless, would try to do so. In deed, some government bureaucrats think they know better than any citizen. It matters not whether the bureaucrats believe that they know how best to spend that citizen’s money, choose his or her doctor, decide where his or her children should be educated or a host of other decisions that involve God-given rights. We cannot allow this interference with our individual gifts from God regardless of how enlightened and well meaning these bureaucrats might think themselves. As we enter this blessed season of celebration, enjoying eggnog toasts, prettily decorated trees and gifts for each other, let us pause to remember, and be grateful for, all of God’s gifts. First and foremost, let us rejoice in, and be grateful for, the advent of God’s “greatest gift,” Christ. However, let us also be protectively vigilant of, and thankful for, our unalienable rights. Furthermore, let us not forget that while God freely bestowed these rights upon us, there are those who would steal them from us, if they could. Therefore, let us also be thankful for those who willingly serve in any capacity to protect our rights and, especially, for those who put themselves in harm’s way. Merry Christmas and God bless us every one. John D. Ragan Tennessee State Representative, District 33

John Ragan says thank you for voting November 3, 2010 To the Citizens of District 33: Thanks, all of you who voted. The mere act of doing so honors and justifies the sacrifices of so many of our fellow citizens to keep the opportunity safe and available for us. For over 200 years, the freely exercised right of the average citizen to vote has stood before the world as the miracle of the Great American Experiment. If that Experiment, this republic, “the last, best hope for humanity” is to endure, “we the people” must jealously protect and continue to exercise this right. However, that is not enough. We must, also, encourage other citizens to do the same. To those of you who cast your ballots for me, thank you for the confidence in my positions that such an action expresses. Especially, to those of you who contributed to, worked in, and with, my campaign, thank you for that extraordinary, added expression of support. I am grateful beyond that which words can express. Democrat or Republican, we are, all, Americans first. Therefore, I close this expression of gratitude with the same petition for Divine intervention penned by Katherine Lee Bates more than a century ago: America, America, God shed his grace on thee, And crown thy good with brotherhood, From sea to shining sea! John Ragan Oak Ridge

Connie Wade Behensky is searching for photos of her Anderson County ancestors November 3, 2010 I started my search for my people about 13 years ago. I have come along way too. But the one thing that I want most are pictures. My ggg grandfather was Crockett Wade who lived in Anderson County. His wife was Anna Elizabeth Lamar Wade and they had 4 children: William D. Wade who married a Sidney Brazelton, Nancy Lamar Wade who married a William Murray, Joseph Wade - I don't have much information about him, and James Tate Wade, my gg grandfather, who married Harriet Wallace, daughter of James Wallace and Elizabeth Leach. I know that there are cousins living in Oak Ridge and Anderson County who may have pictures of these people. Usually the girl in the family had the family pictures. I know that Nancy Wade Murray had a daughter named Anna who had a daughter named Marie Robinson who had three children: Lillian, Marie and Herman Robinson. Nancy Wade, their grandmother, raised them after Anna died and I know that Herman has a great grandson who lives in Anderson County named Jerry Martin. I have not been able to contact him to see if he has any pictures of Nancy. She was born in 1842 and died in 1918. I think there must be a picture of her somewhere. I think that there also may be a picture of her father Crockett Wade who die in 1876. Ihope that somewhere out there is a picture of my ggg grandparents. I would appreciate it if any members of this family would please contact me if they have any additional information on this family. I will be happy to share all of the information that I have with you. Contact me at: crafts4con@aol.com or call me at 574 273-1388. Sincerely, Connie Wade Behensky Indiana

Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library needs volunteers February 26, 2010 Do you like to read? Do you like sharing good books with friends and family? Do you and your family take advantage of and use one of the best libraries in the state? Do you want a community that is rich in the literary arts? If you answered yes to these questions, I'd like for you to consider an idea for a moment. What if there was an organization that promoted the literary arts, paid for improvements and offered help to the Oak Ridge Library, and provided year-round opportunities to buy clean used books and magazines at greatly discounted prices? What if that organization brought you notable speakers and an active monthly book discussion group and a first-class children's summer reading program? Now, what if I told you the dues were only $3 per year or $5 for the whole family? Wouldn't you want to be a part of such an organization? Well, that organization has been around for more than 50 years. It is the Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library or FOL. It's a group that needs your help and participation to survive. And, believe it or not we aren't asking you for money, although we need you to become a member, or renew your membership if you haven't already. What we want is something more valuable than money – your time. The FOL needs volunteers to serve on its Board of Directors. It needs a vice president, a secretary, and two 2-year Directors. This effort would involve attending one meeting a month, held on the fourth Thursday at 5:30PM, attending our annual board meeting, and taking part in activities that FOL sponsors, such as several used book sales each year, author signings, and various things that the library needs. If you can volunteer your time for a year or two, please contact President Nancy Hardin at nehardin@hotmail.com or Pat Hope at thetwohopes@aol.com. I promise it will be one of the most fulfilling commitments you've ever made. Thanks. Pat Hope Oak Ridge

"Great publication" April 23, 2008 To the editor: Thank you for this informative and entertaining on-line publication. I look forward to checking it each day for news and feature updates and the photos that show the diversity and beauty of Anderson County. The on-line format provides an excellent tool for promoting this county as a beautiful place to live and do business. Congratulations on your quality work. Linda Kimmel Oak Ridge

"Enjoy reading TN Federal Legislators reaction to Economic Stimulus Package" February 7, 2008 Dear IAC: Thanks for your coverage of our Federal Legislators reaction to the State of the Union Address and the Presidents Economic Stimulus Package. I found it refreshing to be able to read what our legislators actually said as opposed to having someone else “interpret” it for me. Thanks for the coverage, It’s great to read what actually happened and then make up my own mind on what it means to me. Thanks again, Rick Morrow Oak Ridge

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