Happy New Year
I come from a family of educators, so this is my new year. It is not the striking of the clock at midnight on January 1st that sends my heart soaring and has me planning resolutions. No, it is the striking of the school bell, signifying the first day of class of the school year. […]
Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
It is time that the people in Jefferson County make it clear that we do not expect and will not accept anything but professional behavior from those that represent us. Be it an elected official or a department head or a part time water boy, if they are representing the citizenship of Jefferson County they […]
Should Not Even Be An Issue
This week should have proven to us all that there are larger things at work in this world that our, mostly petty, squabbles here in Jefferson County. And some of those terrible, life altering, things happen right here in our own lovely state. We are blessed, as Tennesseans, that we largely are removed from the […]
Gone With The Wind
I wonder how long it will be before Gone With the Wind will be gone with the wind? I have seen more Confederate Flags this week than I have since mullets were in style and they adorned bikinis across southern beaches. Now we are talking about digging up historical figures because they may or may […]
Already Missing The General Lee
Regardless of how you came down on the side of the budget, most people are happy that the debate has ended. It was a close vote, by no means a mandate, but as in horse shoes and hand-grenades, close is good enough. The only question that remains is if the Commission can recover from the […]
Letting It Fly
Last week was filled with dissension, as the public lined up on everything from the Confederate Flag to Gay Marriage to Veto. And while those are entirely different issues there is a core of sameness. I will have to admit that I have never worn or flown the Confederate flag. In fact, until this week( […]
Crossing the Line
The votes are cast, the stage is set and the fight is on. In a meeting that lasted more hours than it should have, those were the truths that arose from the ashes of our, Jefferson County’s, dignity. It should have been difficult to shock me, after all, I have watch years of debate and […]
Slipping Into the Rabbit Hole
Sometimes it takes looking at where you have been to really appreciate where you are. In 1978, we were paying $3.99 in property tax, largely because we wanted new schools. In 2014 we have new schools and we are paying $2.35 in property taxes. Even in the skewed world of politics and finances, something just […]
Skin In the Game?
A first look at the budget recommendation is on tap this week, as the document makes its way before the full County Commission. And it is bound to find some controversy on the floor. Extensive cuts that have some departments looking at personnel, most charities getting a goose egg and raiding the hospital reserve fund […]
Throw in the Towel
Promises are a funny thing. Usually, when we make them, we have the best of intentions. We are trying to please or appease and that can’t be bad. Can it? If all things in the world are equal and the ball never takes a bad bounce, then sure. But that just isn’t how life goes, […]
The Hard Way Out
This has been a painful week in Jefferson County for more than one reason. We are less than one week from a final review of the budget and we are painfully broke. Painfully, painfully broke. I have sat through hours and hours of meetings, while the members of the Budget Committee and the Finance Department […]
A Bloody Mess
In a year of searching for revenue to offset an enormous deficit, the County Commission declined to approve a mineral tax. In a 10-8 vote (taking 14 to pass), the Commission decided that the risk to reward ratio of the mineral tax just didn’t make sense for Jefferson County. Like many of the Commissioners, I […]
Moving On Up
This is an important week for the Jefferson County High School Class of 2015. Most of us can remember when we, ourselves, were preparing to go out into the world. It was an exciting and scary time. Poised on the edge of what has always been known and what could and will be. For some, […]
Double Trouble
Sometimes, the rightness or wrongness of an issue is not nearly as important as the process. Many times, because we are human and come at issues from different perspectives, we have different opinions. And that doesn’t necessarily mean that one is right and the other is wrong. But everyone, regardless of what side of the […]
Swimming in Murky Waters
I have always said that budgeting season makes for strange pillow mates and that is especially true this year. It is hard to tell if it is the enormous amount of the deficit or somethings else entirely that is driving the swing but it is certainly confusing. For several years I have been hoping for […]
Please, Please Remain Silent
Some days I wonder just exactly when we, as a society, became so unable to look at situations through anyone’s eyes but our own. Humanity, whether we like it or not, binds us all, if for no other reason than we have opposable thumbs and should know better than to pitch a fit when our […]
