County Fire District May 15, 2013 This month’s Operations Committee meeting included discussion on a proposed Resolution that would disqualify any fee or membership based fire department from participating in the County’s annual appropriations plan for major asset purchases. Under the current agreement, property taxes fund equipment purchases for both the municipal and volunteer fire departments on a yearly rotational basis. According to current state statutes, local governments have only two options available to fund or contribute to the County Fire Departments. Either a County Fire District is established, whereby a separate account is created (for funding purposes) which allows for oversight and accountability, or the source of funding is limited to a donation which allows little input from the legislative body. Under the current Anderson County agreement, county government donates funds to purchase major equipment assets. The various municipal and volunteer fire departments are responsible to acquire funding for their day-to-day operational costs. Municipal fire department funding is derived from the incorporated city taxes and the volunteers from fundraising. Due to increased federal and state regulations and current sky-rocketing costs, the financial burden on volunteer fire departments has resulted in many looking to implement a similar model of consistent funding like that of the municipal departments. However, volunteer fire departments who only service the unincorporated areas of the county, cannot levy a tax. The only option that is permissible by state law is to establish a membership or fee based system to provide for a stable funding source - or risk the possibility of going out of business. The membership based system also relieves the volunteer firefighter from fundraising responsibilities which increases emphasis on training and certifications - the result of which lowers the County’s ISO rating and reduces County Resident insurance premiums. Surprisingly however, the County’s proposed Resolution stipulates - the only source of funding for day-to-day operational costs for both municipal and volunteer fire departments must be derived from taxes collected by a county or municipal legislative body. This plan will clearly harm and possibly bankrupt many volunteer fire departments. “WHEREAS, fire departments receiving an annual appropriation under the terms of this Resolution shall not charge for their services other than governmental taxing authority approved by the local county or municipal legislative body or Tennessee General Assembly. Fire departments who privately charge Anderson County citizens for emergency service responses are unable to receive a county donation for the purchase of new fire truck, rescue vehicle or other vehicle apparatus;” see page 9 of 11 I addressed these issues and conveyed my concerns to the members of Operations Committee this past Monday night. I made clear that a tax based funding requirement serves no purpose other than to punish. In addition, a Model Resolution to establish a County Fire District was furnished to the Committee. I believe Anderson County has done an exceptional job in developing and managing its primary assets - schools, roads, police, and fire. However; fundamental change must be addressed regarding a modernized and unified county wide fire and emergency response system that meets and fulfills our future needs. My recommendations are to establish a County Fire District under the current tax rate by using the available funds in the existing appropriations plan. Then, over a period of three to five years, county leadership will find balanced solution to properly fund the schools, roads, police, and fire departments. Mark DeVol Anderson County

In God We Trust April 17, 2013 I am still trying to grasp that: The County Attorney assured the commissioners - And the14 Anderson County Commissions that voted for the words believed that "In GOD We Trust" is not religious. I Guess that you just cannot take the hillbilly out of HOLLYWOOD. Lee Roy Gilliam Oak Ridge

New 2013 Tax increases March 6, 2013 Increases from Bush Tax Cuts expiring Payroll tax – 4.2 percent to 6.2 percent for all workers, not just the wealthy. Investment – dividends and capital gains from 15 percent to 20 percent for taxable incomes over $450,000 ($400,000 for single filers) Income Tax Rate increases – 10% is now 15% / 25% is now 28% / 28% is now 31% / 33% is now 36% / 35% is now 39.6% Increases from Obamacare Investment – 3.8 percent surtax on taxable investment income exceeding $250,000 ($200,000 for singles). Payroll – 0.9 percent payroll tax increase for incomes over $250,000 ($200,000 for single filers). Elimination of the corporate income tax deduction for expenses related to the Medicare Part D subsidy. Medical device – 2.3 percent excise tax on medical device manufacturers and importers. The Medical device manufacturer’s tax, according to the IRS Publication 510, Excise Taxes, applies to the following manufactured items as well: sport fishing equipment, fishing rods and fishing poles, electric outboard motors, fishing tackle boxes, bows, quivers, broad heads, and points, arrow shafts, coal, taxable tires, gas guzzler automobiles, and vaccines...the ones used for children’s immunizations! Excise tax, business income tax & regulatory compliance costs – Excise taxes are a tax on products produced for sale like gasoline, cigarettes, liquor; the tax is added to the cost of the item at the point of sale. Business income taxes & regulatory compliance costs, like excise taxes, are included in the overall cost for the goods and services produced. The consumer (both rich & poor) ultimately pays all Federal taxes & compliance costs imposed. In 2011, $253.5 billion was collected in corporate & excise taxes, and $1.75 trillion was spent on regulatory compliance costs. Currently, there are 4,100 new Obama regulations with the top 13 estimated to cost the U.S. economy $515 billion...and it’s all paid for by you & me! Mr. Obama recently told the American people that sequestration cuts were not “smart” and would cause great damage to the country. The truth is federal programs annually receive a budget increase - assuming the prior year’s funds were depleted. The 2 percent cut is actually a reduction that results in each department managing their budgets with only a 4 percent increase instead of 6 percent increase. When politicians don’t get their way, like children they pout! In typical fashion, threats were made claiming police, fire, parks, roads, etc would all be in jeopardy. The GAO stats listed below are but a small representation of real cuts the federal government could make – the average cost per U.S. household each year - $3000.00. $146 million is spent annually because many federal employees refuse to fly coach $25 billion annually on maintaining 50,000 unused or vacant federal properties $150 billion annually on Health care fraud $19 billion annually on Federal unemployment fraud $1.5 billion annually on free cell service to some 16,500,000 participants $3.4 billion in unpaid taxes from more than 279,000 federal employees since 2010 Mark DeVol Anderson County

In God the Disabled Trust February 21, 2013 By the passage of the "IN GOD WE TRUST" resolution - I want to be the next to add a sign to the top of Court House since we can now put signs on the Court House in Anderson County. I want to have a sign placed on the top of the Court House stating that Anderson County is in full support of the enforcement of the ADA Civil Rights Laws (Americans with Disability Act) passed in 2011. Failure to do this will say that you are in opposition to the ADA Civil Rights Laws. I will gladly design the sign to incorporate a Wheelchair and People Walking with Crutches. I have people who have said they are willing to contribute money to see this come into fruition. Lee Roy Gilliam Oak Ridge

Who is responsible for our safety? January 2, 2013 The Militia Act of 1903 was initiated by U.S. Secretary of War Elihu Root following the Spanish American War – H.R. 11654 established the “regular army”, the “organized militia”, henceforth known as the National Guard, and the “unorganized militia”. H.R. 11654 defined the “unorganized militia” as: “every able-bodied male between the ages of 18 and 45”. It further established that all members of the “unorganized militia” have the absolute personal right & 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms of any measure & type. Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1 (1957), a landmark case in which the Supreme Court ruled the U.S. Constitution supersedes any international treaties ratified by the U.S. Senate or President. And, Warren v. District of Columbia, where three women sued D.C. for failing to protect them; the D.C. high court exonerated the District and its police by saying it is a “fundamental principle of American law that a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any individual citizen.” I fully support the assertion that gun owners bear the sole burden of safeguarding their weapons and should be held fully accountable. However, as outlined above the American people have a right (and responsibility) to protect their selves and their property. No Executive Order, Presidential Directive, United Nations or NATO agreement or treaty, passed by ANYONE, can supersede the Constitution’s 2nd Amendment. Given that Federal and State governments do not put the burden of citizen protection on law enforcement, clearly sends a message that we as individual citizens are fully responsible for our safety. We should all work with our State & Local governments & local Law Enforcement to strengthen ourselves & our communities against those who would do us harm. Mark DeVol Anderson County

Family in Need November 30, 2012 I know that my story may not be to different than any one else's,but it is my family in desperate need and we are scared. My boyfriend and I have two daughters. One just turned 18 and the other one is 7. We had a home and he had a good job and our older daughter has been looking for work . Four months ago he lost his good paying job and just like that the paychecks were gone. our youngest daughter has Sturge-Webber syndrome,it causes seizures and slow developmental problems and we home school her through K-12.com. She gets a small check at the first of every month and I do not work because I have to be there for her, when she has a seizure I have to inject her with 10 mgs of liquad valium in her rectum and it is a very hard ordeal to face. He was out of work for two months and found a job but only makes $500 a month now. We lost our home,we managed to keep our vehicle because we may have to sleep in it from time to time. We have done that and stayed here and there. We are in a motel room right now and have to be out of here Saturday morning. We have called every CAC,Red Cross,AFDC,DHS,Salvation Army and every help line there is in the state of TN! No one has funds and most shelters are full and will not allow our oldest daughter or my boyfriend to stay there. Because she is just now 18 and she dosen't have a drug problem and she don't have any babies and she isn't pregnant. We need about $1,300 to get into a place,First month's rent damage deposit and paying lights off to get them on. We can pay the monthly bills once we are in but we can't get in anywhere! All the low-income apts. have a year long waiting list. We need to get some kind of fundraising help. My name is Mary Beth lane and we are going to be homeless for Christmas and my little one does not understand what is going on and it is making it hard to keep up with her schooling and making her condition with her emotions worse. We have not had these issues before but could you PLEASE put my story out there and maybe some one would be kind enough to help us. My number is 865-692-7709 my e-mail is marybethcmg@yahoo.com we are a real family in need of real help with no one to turn to and no where to go. We are gonna pay for this room for one more week then we are out on the street with not enough money to get us anywhere. Mary Beth Lane Anderson County

ADA signs and their purpose September 25, 2012 ADA Handicapped Parking laws were established to allow the disabled access to public facilities 20 plus years ago. Most people do not even know Who, What, When and Where they benefit. The public attempts to change the law to their own use. This many times causes the law to be broken. The most recent ADA Wheelchair Accessible Handicapped Parking law is so written to protect the business person; as well as, wheelchair user. The law states: (1) First that a 60 in/5 ft space for a vehicle to park. ( 2) Second in the center of the space on outer edge is placed a sign on a seven foot pole. This is so the public can locate where handicapped parking is located. (3) Third a 96 in/8 ft space for the safe loading and unloading of wheelchairs. When a business does not supply the space by stripping the area and an accident occurs while loading and unloading a wheelchair; the property owner; as well as, business can be held liable for not having this safety zone. An 18in X 24 in sign has 5 elements to protect the property owner: (1) Reserved Parking (2) followed by the universal symbol of person in wheelchair (3) underneath this is the words listing $200 fine for illegal parking, the towing company which maybe a police dispatcher and telephone number. This protects the business so they cannot be sued by the illegal parked vehicle owner of vehicle theft. (4) VAN ACCESSIBLE --- This space is for loading and unloading wheelchairs (5) PRIORITY FOR WHEELCHAIR USER --- This is supposed to tell people that need Handicapped Parking that if other spaces are available and they are not unloading wheelchairs to park in the other spaces. Lee Roy Gilliam Oak Ridge

Affordable Care Act (ACA) August 1, 2012 Now that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the sanctioned law of the land, let’s take a closer look at how it will affect us as a nation. In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court declared ACA to be tax. As the Federal Congress has the authority to lay & collect taxes they are, however; restricted to four types – excise, tariff, income, and direct. Excise taxes are a tax on products produced for sale like gasoline, cigarettes, liquor; the tax is added to the cost of the item at the point of sale. Tariffs are taxes on products imported or exported to & from the country. Prior to the 1920’s no U.S. citizens paid any federal taxes, tariffs provided virtually all Federal Government operating revenues. Income taxes are levied on the incomes of individuals or businesses. Like an excise tax, the consumer ultimately pays all Federal taxes imposed on businesses – small or large. Direct taxes can only be imposed on real property, personal property, or capitation (a tax levied on the basis of a fixed amount per person) and all direct taxes must be apportioned among the states on the basis of population. Listed below are several of the new “taxes” imposed by ACA. 1. A “tax” on individuals who fail to procure and maintain ACA qualified health insurance 2. A “tax” on employers who decline to provide health insurance to their employees 3. 3.8 percent surtax on investment income (surtax is an additional tax on income)...and for the young people – investment income (dividends) are what retired people live on 4. 40% excise tax on “Cadillac” health insurance plans. **Note many school, state , and federal employee insurance plans fall under the definition – “Cadillac” health plans 5. Increased income tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HAS’s – from 10% to 20% 6. Increased Medicare (payroll) tax – from 1.45 to 2.35% 7. 2.3% excise tax on medical device manufacturers 8. 10% excise tax on indoor tanning salons??? 9. $50,000 dollar surtax on Charitable Hospitals if they fail to meet the new rules set by HHS 10. $2.3 billion dollar surtax on medical research companies 11. $60 billion dollar surtax on the health insurance industry So...if excise & tariff taxes are imposed only on products, income taxes on income, and direct taxes only on property & capitation which must be apportioned – exactly what kind of a “tax” is it that forces you & I to purchase (or provide) ACA qualified health insurance? The most recent estimate by my local health insurance provider is that monthly premiums will (at a minimum) double if not triple once ACA is fully implemented. Mark DeVol Anderson County

Give Me Liberty or Give Me… Social Justice… Really? July 12, 2012 The Declaration of Independence, in its first paragraph, boldly asserts that America should be a "separate" nation based upon "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." In the very next paragraph, the text posits, as a "self-evident truth," that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights," including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. No place in our nation's founding documents is the phrase "social justice" to be found. Nowhere is it cited as a Divinely endowed right. In fact, the idea of "social justice" is an anathema to the concept of "unalienable," individual liberty as derived from "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." The reason is simple: "social justice" is a concept based on economic egalitarianism through progressive taxation, income redistribution, or even property redistribution. By its very definition, "social justice" is government enforced "equality of outcome," not "equality of opportunity." Philosophically, such a concept is usually predicated on group identity and group wealth or status versus that of another group. Equality of opportunity is not measured by membership in a particular group, delineated by wealth, or any other factor. Rather, equality of opportunity under law, is the lack of government interference with an individual citizen's liberty to legally pursue his or her own concept of happiness as far as that person's abilities, desires and work ethic will propel him or her. Our founders understood, as does anyone with common sense, that the right to equality of opportunity is, inherently, as much the right to failure as it is the right to success. In other words, the right to liberty is not the freedom from the consequences of choices made when that liberty is exercised. Adults may choose to drop out of school and join gangs. Likewise, one can choose to engage in unprotected sexual activity without marriage. The liberty to pursue happiness with these activities does not mean that such will achieve happiness. On the contrary, statistically, such choices are far more likely to achieve poverty, disease and misery. Nonetheless, "social justice" advocates would oblige the government to attempt to rectify poverty, disease and misery that result from freely made, but unwise choices. To finance this mandate, these advocates demand the coercive surrender of wealth through taxation from citizens who used their liberty to make better choices. Government transferring the wealth of "ants" to benefit "grasshoppers," or, perhaps, robbing "Peter" to pay "Paul?" It has oft been quipped that governments which "rob 'Peter' to pay 'Paul' will always have 'Paul's' support." However, while a humorous observation, enduring and serious questions underlie it. First, did "Peter" truly consent to having the government "rob" him? Second, how much of his God-given pursuit of happiness was "Peter" forced to forego because the government "robbed" him? Third, is this "justice" for "Peter," social, or otherwise? "We, the People," created constitutionally limited government to "establish justice" for the individual citizen, not "social justice" for groups. Furthermore, the intent of that Constitution was, and remains, to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity," not redistribute wealth. Thomas Jefferson's writings noted the sum of good and just government lies in very few principles: First, government should be "frugal" with those monies it collects from its citizens. Second, government "must restrain its citizens from injuring one another, but, otherwise, leave them free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement." Finally, he observed that good government does not "take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." Anyone see "social justice" among Jefferson's principles of good government? John Ragan State Represenative - 33rd District Oak Ridge

Disenfranchisement: Is it real in 2012? May 18, 2012 I was reading an article on sign clutter in Knoxville, TN. Nowhere does the committee even mention the 2010 Civil Rights ADA Laws updated by the Federal government to insure that the disabled are not disenfranchised by society. Sign companies are being allowed to sell illegal signs to unknowing business owners. The federal government mandated that every Handicapped Parking space be marked both on the ground; as well as, by a pole and a sign marked with words RESERVED PARKING and the universal disabled symbol. Sign companies are selling a sign with an arrow running east west. This sign is being placed at government facilities. This has made it extremely difficult for disabled citizens to find proper Handicapped parking plus this allows people to set their own rules since there is no enforcement of ADA Parking regulations. Three weeks ago, I went to the Oak Ridge UT arboretum. They use the one sign rule with an arrow to designate Handicapped parking. The State Legislature in 2008 set new signage into law for wheelchair parking. In 2011 they realized a proper loading zone was required to load and unload wheelchairs for numerous citizens. Some businesses in Oak Ridge have totally ignored the law, TK wheeler Jewelers has Zero Handicapped Parking. The Mall area were Big Lots, Goodwill, Pets Plus and other businesses are allowed to violate these laws. The City gave a business license to a new bakery, Emma Lou Bakery that have zero Handicapped Parking signs - sitting at the backdoor of the police department and City Council code enforcement. Question: When the City of Oak Ridge violates ADA Civil Rights laws just by conducting business to collect taxes at what point does other leadership step in?. EPA is mandating changes to sewers. Who mandates the enforcement of ADA Civil Rights Laws? What has my life been like this month? I had to go to my dentist in Emory Park to get a temporary replaced. So, I had to park diagonally in the one space that had no loading zone to unload wheelchairs. Monday, I got to park for the first time in one of WAL- Marts horizontal parking spaces. Even the back up zone was clear of illegal parkers. I asked this lady parked illegally in one of the other horizontal spaces and she said this other person was parked illegally so she thought it was alright. WAL-MART is one of the businesses who are in full compliance of ADA Parking regulations in Oak Ridge. On Wednesday, I went to Books-A-Million and had to park in a wide unstriped loading zone Handicapped Parking Area in order to unload a wheelchair. Zip - in pops a person in a truck totally blocking the ramp. I had two option - well really three, call the police who do not enforce Federal laws according to the police Chief or scream at the offender or conduct my business elsewhere. Yesterday, May 16, 2012, I went to Food City. There are no signs defining where Wheelchair Parking is as REQUIRED by State law 2008, 2010, 2011. So since no Handicapped spaces were available at 2 pm in the afternoon, I parked behind Food City in two spaces where people stare clueless at my parking to safely unload a wheelchair. Now tell me that, I am not being disenfranchised . I just wonder how many business licenses are issued to people who have a nice face but no handicapped parking!!! Lee Roy Gilliam Oak Ridge

"Read it now," online at www.insideandersoncounty.com May 9, 2012 With a bow to the famous radio and television broadcaster, the late Edward R. Murrow, who originated a new style TV program in 1951 called "See It Now," I think the above headlined on-line newspaper does an outstanding job of bringing us the latest in local news as well as news beyond our county boundaries. For example, last week my wife and I were unable to attend the ribbon cutting and dedication of the new operation center of Clinch-Powell Utility District sponsored by joint chambers of commerce with a coffee; however, within two or three hours after the ceremony, it was all on-line at Inside Anderson County. Thus, we could see our business friends and our government officials in color photos and read an account of the event. The sponsoring chambers for this event were the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce, Lake City Chamber of Commerce and Campbell County Chamber of Commerce. The aforementioned Inside Anderson County provides business news, reports of future scheduled activities and events across the board, the views of our elected officials at every government level from county to state to Congress including the governor and president, feature articles, human interest stories, columnists, and more. The photographs of nature's flora-fauna in living color taken by the staff always are glorious not to mention people photos. In addition, a click on Anderson County Events and Meetings at the bottom of the front page and another click on the Anderson County Schools Calendar just below will insure that any reader will be fully informed of happenings ahead. As a volunteer publicist for several community organizations, I always have found my submissions to be published accurately and timely in Inside Anderson County. As I recently told a friend who had volunteered to be an organization's publicity representative, "Just email it to editor@insideandersoncounty.com" Congratulations and keep up the good work, Inside Anderson County. Hayden Evans Clinton

Land-use Controls April 20, 2012 Land-use controls have been a part of Western civilization since the Roman Empire, and over the past 230 years, as our country has grown from rural to an urban society, local & city governments have sought annually to gain control over the process of locating industry, commerce, and housing. Restrictions on land use are typically a result of actions by government, however; many restrictions are created by land developers. Such limitations take several forms, and can be either positive or negative in nature. They include fees, easements, and restrictive covenants. Restrictive covenants are a legal obligation imposed in a deed. Such restrictions "run with the land" and are enforceable on subsequent buyers of the property. Covenants exist to provide for the communities safety and to provide for the protection of the land-owners property rights and values. Commercial covenants are common in industrial areas located near residential communities. Developers typically will seek to restrict the types of businesses allowed to operate in a certain area so that a purchaser of land in a Research Park, for example, could not turn the building into a tool and die factory or attempt to establish a sales outlet retailing pornography. As I watched last week’s ACEDA board meeting and this week’s County Commission meeting vote (in 3:1 margins) to change the covenant restrictions for the David Jones Industrial Park, allowing for a refuse operation, I couldn’t help but think... ...what the “yea voters” reactions would be if...after years of investing into their homes or businesses, a new group of progressive politicians would make the same in-kind decisions that result in factory’s or undesirable sales outlets being placed in close proximity to their neighborhoods and life time investments? A code of ethics just doesn’t seem to exist anymore... Mark DeVol Anderson County

Fraudulent Cherokee Groups March 12, 2012 Tennessee House Bill 2284 by Rep. Tony Shipley (R-Kingsport) and Senate Bill 2177 by Sen. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) would officially recognize three Native American Indian culture clubs as tribe. HB 2284 was just approved by the House Subcommittee on State and Local Government, and now has the support of Governor Haslam and the state Department of Tourism as it goes before the full committee tomorrow, 13 March. Neither the sponsoring legislators nor the three culture clubs have provided any public documentation or history for the public to review because ... The "Remnant Yuchi Nation" is a Tennessee culture club created in Kingsport in 2007 by people who aren't Yuchi descendants and who haven't ever provided public documentation of their so-called history, especially not their "Yuchi Master Roll" fictively accorded to Kingsport in 1857. For proof check with the Tennessee Secretary of State, the State Historian and the UT History and Archaeology Departments. The "Tanasi Council" is an unregistered 2010 name change of the "Faraway Cherokees/Native American Intertribal Association, Inc." created in 1984 with no group history prior to that date. Their name change is an attempt to fly under the political radar of the Cherokee Nation's Fraudulent Group List (http://taskforce.cherokee.org) The "United Eastern Lenape Nation" was created in 1983, is also on Cherokee Nation's Fraudulent Group List, and is currently used as an SBA(8)a scam by persons who aren't Lenape (Delaware) descendants. For proof check the same sources as above and the organization's federal Small Business Administration 8(a) Business Development Program for Minorities' qualification as Native American Indian, and the disjointed family history written in the First National Bank's Chronicle of 1994 (http://www.tngenweb.org/scott/fnb_v5n3_many_moons_ago.htm). Ethnic or racial descendancy doesn't qualify a group of people to become a nation in Tennessee, and getting together a bunch of Native American Indian descendants with a stolen Indian tribe's name doesn't qualify their resulting culture club as a real historical tribe. Where are the groups' histories? How come these self-proclaimed tribes have absolutely no 19th- or 20th-century history with the State of Tennessee or the USA before their self-proclaimed nationhood? Why is there no support from the State Historian, State Archaeologist and State Universities' history professors? Simple: forced removal of the tribes from Tennessee finalized in 1838 created a vacuum of Native American Indian representation in the state that wannabes now want to claim as their own while calling the surviving Original Peoples 'foreigners' in their old homeland. It's a new Tennessee Republican Racism -- legitimize white take-over of Native American Indian identity and representation in the state. Go ahead, don't believe the state's historically culturally-affiliated tribes these people claim to be kin to. But do ask the Tennessee State Historian, the Tennessee State Historical Commission, the Tennessee State Archaeologist and the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt University historians and anthropologists who make a living from knowing this stuff: - Where were the "Remnant Yuchi Nation", "United Eastern Lenape Nation" and "Tanasi Council" in 1912, just a hundred years ago? - Wouldn't _real_ Native American Indian tribes be in existence then? - Where's the Tennessee documentation they claim proves they're really historic Tennessee tribes? Legislators themselves can't produce the proof. This is just plain and simple cultural identity theft. Vicky Garland Lawrenceburg

County resident questions letter by Mayor Iwanski February 20, 2012 Was it just inappropriate or was it illegal? Acting County Mayor Iwanski contends that it was within his First Amendment rights to “have a position”. Iwanski, in a recent letter to the editor, endorsed two of the three candidates running in this year’s special election for Mayor of Anderson County. Additionally, in an attempt to discredit, Iwanski made several comments regarding the third candidate’s qualifications and commitment to the public school system. Iwanski went on to say "It's perfectly within my right to have a position, I think what I said was based on fact." Well...the facts are that Mr. Iwanski may very well have broken the law. State statutes are explicit with regards to election law & public officials. Tenn. Code Ann. 2-19-202 (a) states: It is unlawful for any public officer or employee to use such person’s official position, authority or influence to interfere with an election... Tenn. Code Ann. 2-19-104 (2) states: It is unlawful to...Purposely create a false impression in a written application required by this title by omitting information necessary to prevent statements therein from being misleading. Tenn. Code Ann. 2-19-207 (a) states: It is unlawful for any person employed by the state to engage actively in a political campaign on behalf of any party, committee, organization, agency or political candidate... Mark DeVol Anderson County

When you praise Commissioner Isbel for funding essential county services, make sure he is funding ALL county services! February 16, 2012 In reading the letters on your site from Mayor Iwanski and others regarding Commissioner positions on budget funding for the Sheriff’s office and praising Commissioner Isbel for his maintaining county services, I feel as though some specific points need to be corrected. Commissioner Isbel voted to “suspend” purchasing 1 fire truck per year for the county fire departments during this budget year. Several years ago, Anderson County Commission passed a resolution to purchase one fire truck per year and rotate that purchase among all the fire departments in the county, including the municipalities. That order was based on age of front line equipment. Briceville VFD was first, followed by Oliver Springs, Clinton, Lake City and Norris. The amount was raised from the initial $175K to $220K for the Lake City and following trucks. In budget year 2012, that resolution was suspended, and Commissioner Isbel voted for that suspension. All the while, he voted to purchase needed police cars for the Sheriff’s office. No doubt those cars were needed. However, if you are going to suggest that Commissioner Isbel has maintained “County Services”, you are leaving out fire protection in the county! All the cities except for Oak Ridge have used county money to purchase new fire trucks, while only one Volunteer Fire Department has been able to use county money to purchase a needed truck. Last time I checked, Cities can raise taxes to purchase fire trucks, VFDs in the county cannot. Commissioner Isbel also publicly ridiculed Volunteer Fire Chiefs for driving their trucks to the courthouse when Commissioner Isbel, Mayor Iwanski, and other commissioners suggested cutting the amount of funds contributed to the VFDs. The county only contributes $20K annually to each VFD which totals $120K including the Rescue Squad. Elected officials need to realize that funding the fire service SAVES TAX PAYERS MONEY! Furthermore, without the fire service, not law enforcement, homeowners insurance rates would be so high, that people would look to live in other places other than Anderson County. When you want to praise Commissioner Isbel for funding and maintaining essential county services, make sure he is funding ALL county services! Jeff Bagwell Clinton

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