What has happened to Jefferson County?

Letter to the Editor

“Letters To The Editor” do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Jefferson County Post nor any of its employees.  The Jefferson County Post does not underwrite any of the facts or situations mentioned in the letters.

Submitted by Janie Slaton, Retired Jefferson County Teacher, 2nd District Resident

It has been my pleasure to live and work in Jefferson County Schools and live in the 2nd district for 65 years. I have raised a daughter and a son and three grandsons. I retired from the classroom in 2002 having taught at Piedmont Elementary, Maury Middle and Jefferson County High School. From 1952, when my husband and fellow retired teacher enrolled in Jefferson County schools, until graduation day May 2013, when my third grandson graduated from JCHS, someone in my immediate family was in a school in this county each school year. Therefore, I have had a vested interest in the school system. I worked at Tinsley-Bible Drugstore in the summer on on weekends from 1974 until 1996 as well. Suffice it to say, I have dealt with many families in my tenure as an educator and pharmacy assistant and soda jerk. More than 6,000 students have sat in my classroom. Today at age 65 I am so blessed to have a host of former students and many residents who asked me to assist them at the drugstore. I love my county, my home. I am pleased to have former students taking care of me as my doctor, county commissioners, and business owners. Several current county commissioners sat in my classroom in years past. I reflect on the decades of my life as a student at Dandridge Elementary and Maury High School and the days and events in the town of Dandridge, where so many proud veterans and businessmen and women provided a community in which we all had a sense of purpose and belonging and pride.

Throughout the 1950s, 60s, 70s, and 80s, factories were part of Jefferson County. Citizens lived and worked in Jefferson County. That is no longer the case for far too many Jefferson County residents. I wonder what happened to our factories, why no new ones are replacing those once a vital part of our county’s commerce? I wonder why the ability to live and work in this county is no longer an option for too many citizens of each district? Ironically, we had no chamber of commerce or EDOC in the past, but we had citizens in each district who could work a forty hour week, own a home, drive a nice car, have a family vacation, and send their children to schools that prepared them for a career or higher education. What has happened to Jefferson County?

I have followed county commission and school board meetings and attended meetings regularly as long as I was working. Perhaps I am responsible for the shape our county is in. I feel every responsible citizen has a duty to speak out when conditions for a good life are in a crisis mode. I must call on all commissioners, county officials, and concerned citizens who want a secure and productive life in this county to seek answers to why we are continually losing what Jefferson County has been and can be.

Here are a few questions that I honestly feel should help us identify what is wrong and how we can best build a community in each district that is a place of security and pride:

I understand that our Chamber of Commerce has been given more than 3 million dollars in the past ten years. What have they given to your district to improve the quality of life for each age group?

I see pictures of chamber members with shovels to build new businesses or articles that give chamber members credit for the increase in tourism. Do you honestly think the chamber or EDOC has been as responsible for the success of a business and the increase in tourism as the owners who put the time and capital into creating a place that invites tourists to be a part of Jefferson County?

Why is it necessary for EDOC and the Chamber of Commerce to pay more than $20,000.00 of taxpayer money to lobbyists in Nashville to prevent transparency? How much will taxpayers be asked to spend in 2015-2016 to pay those Nashville lobbyist?

Why does the county pay $4,800.00 a month rent for the second floor of First Tennessee Bank for 11 Department of Education employees office space ( nearly $60,000.00 per year that would be better used on additional teaching positions or instructional aides)? Could we not clean the mold from the current county building and send them back to their own offices?

The EDOC and Chamber are given taxpayer funds and are not required to give the county commission full disclosure of how the tax dollars are spent. WHY?

We have many problems to solve, and I offer a few suggestions for consideration: The EDOC can play a vital role in best improving the quality of life for all citizens by:

Holding open meetings with the commissioners and concerned citizens in each district for concerns and suggestions for the ways the citizens in each district will commit time and effort to the cause of a better place to live and work

Treat each community and citizens fairly and equally

Explore business opportunities and recruitment that are sound and offer best returns on investment

After input from each district, offer recommendations to the full county commission and the Industrial Development Board that evidence business diversity, job opportunity, and tax revenue for Jefferson County

And finally, commit to the goal of paying off the county debt with revenues before taking on additional building expenses and more debt for future generations.

I conclude in pledging my support and willingness to do all I can to make Jefferson County a place it once was and can be. I have had a wonderful life in this county. My hope for each citizen is a place called home in Jefferson County where a sense of purpose and a prosperity is a reality. Could you contact your commissioners and voice your concerns and offer your support for what is right for our families, friends, and neighbors?

Thank you for your efforts to do the right thing,

Janie Slaton
234 Wells Spring Road Dandridge, TN 37725