Things that lurk in the shadows.

editorial-logo3This week Jefferson County is preparing to be spooked. Though ghosts will rule the night and goblins may be abundant, they are far from the being the scariest things in Jefferson County. While I adore Halloween, there are some things that strike fear in my heart. I am sure that your list may be different, but these are the things that send a shiver down my spine and leave me trembling in the corner. The most terrifying things in Jefferson County –

*Several times a day I find myself driving over the dip in the road on Hwy 92. I have been on roller coasters that had less action than that dip and what is the most troubling is that it is reoccurring. Like a sequel to a really bad horror movie. Sure, TDOT is watching it-From the safe distance of Knoxville. I fear that one day it will become a great, yawning hole to nowhere, swallowing up cars as it goes. Though the new guardrail on Hwy 92 and Dumplin Valley comes close to making the list, a bus or truck on two wheels is horrifying but a trip to China the fast and rough way seems more eminent.

*I find it perplexing, in a who is that clown following me kind of way, that this County has such a slippery grasp on our financial situation. We take financial advice from people that benefit from selling us bonds. We don’t pay any attention to a reoccurring (a decade or so) multi million dollar deficit in our audit and we don’t plan ahead. Our fiscal future is like looking in a fun house mirror. Nothing is as it seems and you can bet that something ugly is lurking just around the corner.

*Perhaps the most terrifying thing in the County is our government’s interaction with itself. It is Vampires vs. Werewolves ( or liberals vs. conservatives) one sucking the fiscal life out of the County coffers and one tearing at every piece of meat that crosses its path. Neither would you want to encounter on a dark night, little alone twice a month. Good sense and propriety are gathering cob webs in the corner and compromise twists in the wind. Granted it is a cheap show, if you are into that kind of thing. The cost of admission is just three to four hours of your life and possibly the price of an aspirin. Take a spin if you dare but you must experience it in person to get the full ambiance of the hard wood seats, excessively cold or excessively hot room and just the faintest scent of malice. Double, bubble, toil and trouble-the arguments are loud and nothing is subtle.

The caldrons will boil and the moon will rise above Jefferson County. It looks like illumination may be on the horizon, but that is a story for another day. Until then, watch out for things that lurk in the shadows and have a Happy and Safe Halloween!

Source: K. Depew, News Director