VITAL POLICY – Congressman Burchett Visits Jefferson County Business
During the August recess, Second District Congressman Tim Burchett (R-Knoxville) took some time to visit small businesses in East Tennessee and Jefferson County. A recent stop was in Strawberry Plains at More than Plants, a local full-service nursery and landscaping supply business operated by County Commissioner Rob Blevins and family. Burchett has a reputation for […]
VITAL POLICY – OPINION – Jefferson City Government Takes Swipe at Using Eminent Domain for Non-Essential Property Taking
What can a small city government do to place itself in the same category as a socialist city like San Francisco or Chicago? It can threaten to use eminent domain to forcefully take private property from its rightful owner for a non-essential purpose. In the case of Jefferson City, Tennessee, it recently made a failed […]
VITAL POLICY – Special Legislative Session May Result in More Federal Control Over Healthcare, Loss of Medical Privacy, More Liberal Ideology in Public Education
There is a solid set of reasons that most states are avoiding waivers from the federal government to allow federal matching funds for Medicaid to cover the cost of services for mental illness and substance abuse disorders at institutions of mental diseases. Those reasons include potential loss of privacy, data mining of personal information, expansion […]
VITAL POLICY – Lithium-Ion Battery Facility Raises Questions of Public Safety, Economics, and Zoning Issues for Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Tennessee citizens would be well served if their government obtained answers to a set of burning questions (pun intended) before approval is granted to a power storage facility proposed for the Piedmont community to house six million (6,000,000) highly flammable lithium-ion batteries. The batteries would store electricity that TVA could use to “charge” […]
VITAL POLICY – Jefferson County Republicans Hold Town Hall Meeting
Republicans and elected officials from across East Tennessee gathered at the recent Jefferson County Republican Town Hall Meeting to discuss critical issues of public policy. Gun control was a hot topic at the meeting. Andy Fox of the Tennessee Firearms Association presented facts concerning gun related data and misinformation that is being used by the […]
VITAL POLICY – Dandridge and Jefferson County Governments Line Up to Oppose Unconstitutional Red Flag Laws
Dandridge, Tennessee Board of Mayor and Aldermen, meeting on May 9th, added to the growing list of municipal government bodies across Tennessee that have made formal resolutions opposing “red flag” laws. This follows similar resolutions made by the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee on April 14, 2023, and the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners […]
VITAL POLICY – OPINION – Gun Control Focus of Special Legislative Session
Governor Bill Lee has called for a special session to, in his words, “strengthen public safety and preserve constitutional rights”. In this session, he will be asking the general assembly to enact a “red flag” gun law. If you have the slightest doubt, read the 13-page draft legislation linked here: (Temporary Mental Health Order of […]
VITAL POLICY – The “Ibbetson Plan” for Jefferson Elementary School, Patriot Academy, and Jefferson County High School
Doug Ibbetson is a businessman with extensive experience in banking, finance, and business management, one who thinks outside the box, and one who views problem solving with a unique approach. He was elected to the Jefferson County School Board in August 2022. After four years of struggling to secure funding for a new elementary school, […]
VITAL POLICY – Education Savings Accounts (School Vouchers) Expanded in Tennessee
State Senator Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) expressed disappointment concerning the lack of progress made by certain Hamilton County Schools after more than twenty million dollars had been poured into the school system over a five-year period. The additional money was over and above the BEP and other regular funding that the Hamilton County School system normally […]
VITAL POLICY – Food Truck Operators Get Regulatory Relief with New Legislation
Earning a living as a food truck operator will soon be more rewarding and profitable in Tennessee due to a new law that will streamline fire inspections. Under current law, operators of “mobile food units”, as they are called by legislators, are required to undergo fire inspections in each jurisdiction in which they operate. That […]
VITAL POLICY – Jefferson County Republican Party Makes Resolution Against “Red Flag” Gun Laws
With storm clouds brewing in Nashville for additional gun control laws, the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee made a resolution strongly urging the Tennessee legislature to reject so-called “red flag” gun laws that would deprive a law-abiding citizen of their God-given right of self-defense and gun ownership. The resolution begins with the text of […]
VITAL POLICY – OPINION – Zoning, Economic Development, and Public Engagement, Jefferson County’s Chance to Finally Get it Right
Some of the most bitter public arguments in the history of Jefferson County have been related to zoning, economic development, and lack of public involvement in decision making. When a board or third-party, acting on behalf of the county or city government, or on its own, decides to make policy decisions on zoning or business […]
Memorial Service for Unclaimed / Homeless Veterans
A large crowd of veterans, families of veterans, and supportive citizens were present to honor seven veterans at the Memorial Service for Unclaimed/Homeless Veterans on March 22 at the East Tennessee Veterans Cemetery, 2200 E. Governor John Sevier Hwy., Knoxville. Seven burial urns and seven tri-cornered folded flags of the United States graced a long […]
VITAL POLICY – Jefferson County Republican Party Calls for the Removal of Allied Behavioral Health Solutions and LGBTQ+ Ideology from Jefferson County Schools
A formal resolution has been made by the Jefferson County Republican Party Executive Committee asking the Jefferson County School District to end its business relationship with Allied Behavioral Health Solutions (ABHS) and to remove all their personnel from all schools in the district. The resolution, made on March 24, 2023, also urges the school system […]
Dining in Early America
The preparation and consumption of meals in early America was quite different from what it is today. For one thing, all dishes were “made from scratch,” and cooking at the hearth was energy and time-consuming. Some of the foods, cookware, and serving ware would strike a 21st Century family as quite unusual. Diana West, DAR […]
VITAL POLICY – OPINION – Nullification Bill Rejected by Senate State and Local Government Committee, Federal Power Remains Unrestrained
The federal government was created by a group of states that decided that a national government was needed for certain vital functions such as national defense and creating uniform currency; but those states wanted strict limits on federal power. This is why such a bitter argument raged in the summer of 1787 concerning the federal […]
