I'm a Ron Woody fan but I have to question whether this is appropriate at this juncture. I appreciate Randy Boyd and personally think he's one of the good guys. But I also question whether he can stand up to the unmitigated crazy running loose int he TN legislature. Haslam certainly hasn't been able to. If someone else wins, will Roane County be punished? I just don't know. Let's hope this works out for us.

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I have long called for a public audit of the comprehensive economics of our industrial parks. It's my outsider's opinion that they suck the life out of communities when done badly. If I had the power, I would outlaw tax breaks of every sort for corporations all across America and therby level the playing field for business recruitment. Every tax penny given to corporations is one less for schools and public works. I hope folks will read the entire article but here's an interesting snip:

It is often assumed that taking farmland and turning it into an industrial park is a net economic benefit to a county. But usually the industrial park tenants get tax breaks and the county tax base relies on sales tax revenue and the property tax revenue that private property pays.

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In these bizarre times the man, who couldn't remember the name of the Energy Dept. on national TV during the GOP presidential debate, is now Secretary of that department. What this means is that our senators and congressmen need to suck up to Rick Perry bigly. They did a great job of that. Lamar first told a huge whopper, saying that Perry is a fast learner (No!). But then Lamar demonstrated that he is a very brave man by riding around in a printed car while Rick Perry drove. We should be proud of our elected officials. They are so smart that they knew better than to try to show Rick Perry the amazing science that is being done at ORNL and took him straight over to play with the toys.

We are thinking that Lamar, who is actually smart, told Rick Perry that the reason the toys weren't shiny is that the ORNL budget is too low and that Perry should get right to work on getting them more money in the federal budget...like maybe after Trump finishes destroying the EPA they have some extra to send our way.

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It's that time of year so I'm reposting this:

CONCLUSIONS:
Accurate identification of the pit viper species involved in snakebites is essential. Although envenomation by a rattlesnake (Crotalus species) may require antivenom and uncommonly surgery, a bite by a copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) rarely requires any intervention other than observation.

The unnecessary use of antivenom should be discouraged.

Got that? Do NOTHING aggressive whatsoever for first aid for a copperhead bite! Loosen clothing, remove jewelry, and transport the victim to get medical attention while reassuring them, while it hurts a lot, they are going to be fine.

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First aid for snake bites:

Should you be bitten by a snake, it’s essential to get emergency treatment as quickly as possible. However, there are some tips that you should also keep in mind:

Call 911 immediately.
Note the time of the bite.
Keep calm and still as movement can cause the venom to travel more quickly through the body.
Remove constricting clothing or jewelry because the area surrounding the bite will likely swell.
Don’t allow the victim to walk. Carry or transport them by vehicle.
Do not kill or handle the snake. Take a picture if you can but don’t waste time hunting it down.

First aid myths

There are also several outdated first aid techniques that are now believed to be unhelpful or even harmful:

Do not use a tourniquet.
Do not cut into the snake bite.
Do not use a cold compress on the bite.
Do not give the person any medications unless directed by a doctor.
Do not raise the area of the bite above the victim’s heart.
Do not attempt to suck the venom out by mouth.
Do not use a pump suction device. These devices were formerly recommended for pumping out snake venom, but it's now believed that they are more likely to do harm than good.

Somehow the fact escaped the news cycles that the Haslam gas tax increase, which overwhelmingly burdens working people, gives a tax break to Tennessee's rich folks and big corporations. Are Republicans proud that Fed-Ex gets a huge tax break and you and I will pay more at the pump?

On the Federal level, Obamacare repeal turned out to be nothing more than a tax break for rich people and Big Pharma. Thankfully, even the right wing news folks found it so disgusting that they gave it a little coverage.

The latest transfer of tax dollars at the state level is Governor Haslam's privatization of state buildings and infrastructure, including our state parks and Universities. Universities will be forced to pay $1.9 BILLION dollars to Haslam's buddies as a result. Enter State Comptroller Justin Wilson riding his white horse of justice, demanding the answers to a few questions. Questions which Legislative Democrats have asked repeatedly and were ignored by the Governor.

Wilson, a Republican just so you know, has asked a few questions in a very public manner that the Governor will have a tough time refusing to answer... "Few" meaning 53 questions that responsible Tennesseans want to know.

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever seen building maintenance improve and cost go down when it was turned over to an outside contractor? I don't think it has ever happened in the history of the world. It's kinda like charter schools, which are an overwhelming statistical failure, but since some politically connected folks can make a lot of money destroying public schools, they rise like zombies to torment our lives.

State Comptroller Justin Wilson is our Hero of the Week!

Via Tom Humphrey, who continues to be our Tennessee Hero and Patriot of the Century!

Opening Weekend For The Tennessee Medieval Faire Is A Hit!

I did not go to the Tennessee Medieval Faire until Sunday, but for a Mother's Day there was a large attendance.  I don't know how it compared to Saturday, but I'm sure the opening day was much larger.  I've posted a large number of photos on the Princess Blog to give you a sense of what you will see and experience at the faire.  After all, you still have an opportunity to experience the fun next weekend, and the largest weekend, Memorial Day, is yet to come!

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It sure looks like it! Chuck, making trades worth a few thousands, is pretty small time compared to Corker, who is making millions off these deals. This also tells us lifting the oil export ban was not such a good idea.

May 19, 2015 Senators unveil a bill to lift the 40-year-old oil export ban. Corker is an original co-sponsor of the bill. Aug. 24, 2015 Corker purchases between $1,000,001-$5,000,000 in Chesapeake Energy stock and sells it the next day.

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How Jeff Sessions became our AG is a story unto itself. Regardless, he is and has promised to inflame the war on drugs, particularly pot, in spite of that being against the wishes of a strong majority of Americans. When Sessions named Memphis as a city with a high crime rate due to pot, Congressman Cohen went all attack dog on Sessions and listed a number of flat out lies little Jeff told. In particular is the one about legalizing pot leads to higher crime rates. That is flat out untrue according to every study I can find. Here's a sample study conclusion:

The Free Thought Project has documented several other good things about Colorado’s cannabis legalization. Cannabis businesses have donated large sums of money to clean up highways, teen cannabis use has declined, prescription drug use is down, and deaths from opiate painkillers have declined dramatically. Highway car accident deaths are at their lowest ever, and even violent crime has significantly decreased. It is more difficult to attribute these last two to legalization, but the trends are nonetheless there.
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We, in this country, have to decide who we want to vote for in our elections...Elected officials who will serve the people? Or elected officials who will sell us out for the money given to them by the For Profit prison industry and the Pharmaceutical manufacturers of the opiates that are killing us?

Roane County HS :

732 TOTAL ENROLLMENT

19:1 STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO

Harriman HS

347 TOTAL ENROLLMENT

17:1 STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO

Rockwood HS

435 TOTAL ENROLLMENT

17:1 STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO

Oliver Springs HS

393 TOTAL ENROLLMENT

15:1 STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO

Midway HS

287 TOTAL ENROLLMENT

16:1 STUDENT-TEACHER RATIO

Don't miss "Hypnotized" performed by the Midway High School Drama Club!

"Hypnotized" written by Murray Austin, Directed by Courtney Minton, and performed by the Midway High School theatre class will be presented Friday (tonight) night at the Princess Theatre in Harriman, TN.

I was privileged to watch a full-dress rehearsal Thursday evening, and let my tell you, they have a HIT!

It's only $5 and the doors open at 7PM.

See photos of the dress rehearsal HERE!

Our friend, Crystal Sloan, has passed away.

Folks at RoaneViews knew her as OneTahiti, a stickler for facts and truth in forming her strong well reasoned opinions. On occasion Crystal would call and we would discuss some community matter that was on her mind. During those conversations I learned that she was MIT educated and had Dr. Noam Chomsky, a hero of mine, as one of her professors.

Crystal had many health challenges in the last few years and now is released from those worldly troubles. In spite of those obstacles, she gave much to her community and was a great proponent, supporter, and worker for the West Roane Volunteer Fire Department over many years.

We've lost a beautiful soul...She will be missed. She had the best laugh of anyone I know.

Geez...This woman says absolutely NOTHING.

"I have more faith in our state legislatures"...Really?

What the hell is the "invisible risk pool"?

But...Obama!

Money quote from the WaPo:

The theory is that removing sicker people from the markets and allowing policies with skimpier options would result in lower overall premiums.

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I also noticed that Congressman Fleischmann's statement on his web site left out the fact that his vote gives over $100 Billion in tax breaks to the rich.

Uh oh...

According to health experts, all of the patients diagnosed with the virus have been white males, older than 50 who typically spend a lot of time outside.

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"House OKs mandate that cities pay triple lawyer fees if they lose gun rights lawsuits"

Humphrey:

The House approved 70-24 Wednesday a bill that, according to the Times-Free Press, would give Tennessee cities and counties an ultimatum: buy metal detectors, hire security guards and check bags at many public buildings, parks and buses; or let people with handgun permits bring in their guns.

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Don't get me wrong...Committee work is hard. But some semblance of a clear process and a decisive result would be helpful here, as would a show of support by the County Commission for the School Board's process. That said, this is where we are for today:

WVLT

"The Roane County School Board voted 8-1 Wednesday evening to consolidate three high schools, Rockwood High, Harriman High and Roane County High, while funding projects to update Oliver Springs High and Midway High at their respective buildings.

The vote of approval for the $41-45 million plan comes nearly a month after the school board voted not to consolidate all five county high schools.

Sam Cox of the Roane County School Board, representing Districts 3 and 4, said the proposal was based on the idea of merging the schools geographically located near the center of the county. He said students from the outlying schools, Oliver Springs and Midway, would face commutes of up to an hour or an hour and a half to and from school if they were to consolidate all five schools into one."

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Is this the "Poacher Protection Act" or the "Active Shooter Facilitation Act"? There is a reason silencers have been illegal for all these years but TN Republicans don;t want you to hear any of them as they serve their NRA masters. Rep Mike Stewart:

The so-called “Tennessee Hearing Protection Act” ends the prohibition on possessing, manufacturing, transporting, repairing or selling a firearm silencer. Any citizen who can imagine what it will be like to be a police officer and to potentially face a concealed assailant using a silenced weapon can see what an unwise and irresponsible bill this is. And yet, shortly after debate began tonight, it was cut off by Republican leadership who forced a vote on the measure. At the very least, the people deserve a debate so they can hear the potential dangers of what a silenced weapon can do. Shutting down debate on crucial issues like this one does a disservice to the people who elected us.

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The Tennessean reports that an independent consulting group has found that TVA managers left findings out of inspection reports to avoid any concerns that might impact a new license for a second reactor at the East Tennessee nuclear plant.

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This is going to be fun to follow. Several of these folks are friends and I wish them great success.

Real news!

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Your community's local newspaper should be your best friend and promoter. This is quite switch from the RCN Monday doom and gloom past. Let's hope it continues.

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UPDATE: Well, that didn't last. Wednesday we're back to police blotter stenography as reporting.

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Fort Southwest Point has once again been vandalized. The beautiful little chapel is the victim this time. I hope the creeps are caught and suitably required to make restitution to our community.

This has to affect Roane County as well. Do we know what is happening here?

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I have always supported my local newspapers. I have had a subscription for over twenty years. It bugs me that at 8:45 on Friday morning the digital paper is still last Wednesday's... Especially since today's dead tree edition was available on the street yesterday.

In a time when online news is danged near everything you would think this would be a priority. This is not the first time I've made this complaint.

Why isn't the digital edition of the RCN available at the exact same time as the printed version?

Evidence piles higher every day that the biggest threat to education in Tennessee is the Tennessee Legislature.

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Entertainment for the 2017 Tennessee Medieval Faire announced!

Click this link to read all about it!

Roane County Schools will be closed Monday, April 24, 2017, due to concerning road conditions throughout the county.

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The previous high water level for April 23 was 16,500 CFS set in 1928. It was momentarily at flood stage of 40,000 CFS yesterday but has dropped to 26,000 at present.

If it continues to rain, folks need to be careful. Here is a link to the gauge:

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Update: Flood stage is at 27 feet. Currently at 26.11 as of 6:11 PM.

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The link to local weather is always over on the right but here's the biggie:

... Flash Flood Watch now in effect through this evening...

The Flash Flood Watch is now in effect for

* portions of southwest North Carolina and east Tennessee,
including the following areas, in southwest North Carolina,
Cherokee and Clay. In east Tennessee, Anderson, Bledsoe,
Blount Smoky Mountains, Bradley, Campbell, Claiborne, east
Polk, Grainger, Hamilton, Knox, Loudon, Marion, McMinn, Meigs,
Morgan, NW Blount, northwest Monroe, Rhea, Roane, Scott TN,
Sequatchie, southeast Monroe, Union, and west Polk.

* Through this evening

* additional one to two inches of rainfall will be common across
much of the area through today with localized amounts in excess
of 3 inches possible.

* The persistent rainfall will fall on already saturated ground
across much of the area. The additional heavy rains could lead
to flooding of roadways, poor drainage areas, low lying areas
and small rivers and streams across the region.