VITAL POLICY – Tennessee Legislature Reforms Eminent Domain Code To Protect Property Rights
Recently published in the Tennessee Conservative News, submitted for publication in the Jefferson County Post Two bills that significantly limit the power of government in Tennessee to forcefully take property by eminent domain have been signed into law by Governor Lee. Jefferson County’s state legislative delegation was key to the process. One act, Public Chapter 748, requires […]
VITAL POLICY – TWRA Snooping Case Decided by Tennessee Court of Appeals
TWRA got caught snooping and planting surveillance cameras on private property in Benton County, Tennessee with no court ordered warrant and without permission from the landowners. Property owners Terry Rainwaters and Hunter Hollingsworth sued the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) in April 2020 asking the court for a judgment declaring that Defendants’ warrantless searches of […]
VITAL POLICY – Successful Legislation Creates New Opportunity for Homeschool Athletes in Tennessee, Bill Originated in Jefferson County
Back in 2013, the Tennessee General Assembly created legislation to provide opportunities for homeschool students to participate in public school sports. The intent was to provide all homeschool students with access to organized public-school sports that would not otherwise be available. However, some public-school systems and their attorneys found a legal loophole to exclude some […]
VITAL POLICY – Opinion – Tourism, a Gift to Jefferson County, Tennessee and It’s Economy, an Economic Resource Worthy of Encouragement
Jefferson County, Tennessee has a gift that few other places in our state have. That gift is a combination of natural beauty, proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a rich history that dates to the beginning of our nation, and wonderful friendly residents. If you were to pinpoint a place on the map […]
VITAL POLICY – Jefferson County Schools Not Advising Parents That District’s Mental Health Contractor is LGBTQ+ Affirming Before Students Are Counseled
Two questions were presented to Jefferson County Director of Schools. QUESTION: “Are parents advised BY THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM that Allied Behavioral Health Solutions is fully affirming of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning (+) BEFORE they consent for their children to be counseled by Allied Behavioral Health Solutions?” ANSWER by Director of Jefferson County […]
VITAL POLICY – Opinion – Consequences of Unchecked and Unlawful Immigration, Rally Scheduled at Tennessee Capitol
If I set out on a pilgrimage to leave the United States and move to another nation, I would learn to speak the language of that nation and abide by the laws of their government set forth for legal immigration. My goal would be to contribute and become a productive member of their society by […]
VITAL POLICY – Faison and Niceley Propose Legislation to Expand Access to Public School Sports for Homeschool Students
Homeschool families in Jefferson County who wish for their middle school children to participate in public school sports would get the green light if proposed legislation by Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) and Senator Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) finds favor with the legislature. “The benefits of organized sports go well beyond physical skills and are vitally […]
VITAL POLICY – Jefferson County’s Debt Examined, An Analysis of Our Collective Credit Card Payments and Wheel Tax
Our collective county credit card is broken up between what is called “County Debt” and “Nursing Home Debt” and “Landfill Debt.” There is a distinction between them because the nursing home and landfill pays their own debt payments from their own revenue. The county taxpayers’ foot the bill directly for all other county debt. This […]
Jefferson County Commission Takes Bold Stance Calling For Repeal Of Governor’s “Emergency Powers” Statute
By David Seal [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] – Previously published in The Tennessee Conservative Jefferson County Commission has stated its expectation that Tennessee government operate within constitutional boundaries with special emphasis on the executive branch. This expectation was recently expressed in Resolution 2023-47. In calendar year 2000 when the Tennessee legislature was controlled by […]
Jefferson County Commission Makes Resolution Supporting State Sovereignty Legislation, Other Counties Urged to Follow
By David Seal [Special to The Tennessee Conservative] – As published previously in “The Tennessee Conservative“ The Jefferson County Commission has set a standard for other county legislative bodies to follow in their making of a resolution to support state sovereignty. Specifically, Resolution 2023-48 suggests that House Bill 726 / Senate Bill 1092, proposed by Representative Bud Hulsey and Senator […]
VITAL POLICY – Jefferson County School System Providing No Answer on Parental Notice of Student “Gender Transition”
Parents have one more nightmare to add to their inventory of stressors concerning their children’s life at school. It comes in the form of a question concerning parental notice. If my child were to express the desire to transition from his or her God-given gender to an alternative gender, would I be notified by the […]
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 […]
