These are not just strange times...These are absodamnlutely WEIRD times:

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This was a copy of an update sent to the Roane County Commission.

After a number of conference calls today and debates back and forth of should we Declare a State of Emergency, I did. Not sure what that does for us but wanted to be on the safe side.

Further, we requested the public to follow the guidelines of a "Safer at Home Order" that was issued by the Knox County public health officer for Knox County only. Our Health Officer has not issued an order for us but we are asking folks to follow those guidelines.

I did issue an order to close the public access to the courthouse for appointments only. We will have a sign on the door that would allow walk up individuals to call a respective office to be escorted in. So our offices are open on a restricted or limited basis.

I'm working on policies of Covid -19 Sick Leave and Administrative Covid -19 Leave. A number of other policies regarding operations are also in the works.

If you have any questions please reach out to us.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closing to visitors, effective at noon today, in an expanded effort to help slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

All access to the park, including roads and trails, will temporarily close through Monday, April 6, park officials announced Tuesday.

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RCS Closed Through March 31, 2020

Schools are closed through March 31, 2020. View the full story for our meal plan for students.
Roane County Schools (TN) will be closed through March 31, 2020, as we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation. This closure includes all athletic and extra curricular events. Please continue to follow our page as we share additional information as decisions are made. While we understand there are many unanswered questions, we will respond as we have answers.

Please read the following Roane County Schools Feeding Plan which will begin March 23, 2020, and will continue until school resumes. Thank you to our School Nutrition team for ensuring that our students are fed while we are out of school.
Breakfast and lunch will be offered at no cost to all children under 18 years old Monday through Friday. Children do not have to be enrolled at the school to receive a meal.
Each child will be able to pick up one breakfast and one lunch each day from 10AM – 12PM at one of the identified sites below.

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Scientists are being very cautious about how they word this announcement saying they can't be 100% sure.

The search for evidence of life on Mars, past or present, just took an interesting new twist. Researchers studying the data sent back by NASA’s Curiosity rover have found evidence for organic molecules called thiophenes, which, on Earth at least, are primarily a result of biological processes. The researchers are not claiming proof of life, but the discovery is certainly intriguing. The finding is being called “consistent with the presence of early life on Mars.”

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Up to date info from NIH.Gov:

The virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is stable for several hours to days in aerosols and on surfaces, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health, CDC, UCLA and Princeton University scientists in The New England Journal of Medicine. The scientists found that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was detectable in aerosols for up to three hours, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel. The results provide key information about the stability of SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19 disease, and suggests that people may acquire the virus through the air and after touching contaminated objects.

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House Bill would allow rogue sewage treatment plants to go unregulated and endanger our health. Roane County has several of these and most operate safely but we have one with a notice of violation. This is a gift to developers and poses potential health risks. The Senate has already passed this, perhaps without realizing the danger since the outrage is tucked into and amendment.

From Ron Woody,

“This past week Roane County Commission Chairman Randy Ellis and I have talked on numerous occasions about the county’s action on the matter as we have talked with our Health Department Director Laura Connor, met with a TEMA employee today, discussed the issue with elected officials and Director of School LaDonna McFalls, participated in a judicial meeting with the district attorney, public defender’s office and members of law enforcement representing the 9th judicial district and engaged in a conference call. Also on a daily and sometimes hourly basis discussion with EMA /OES Director Tim Suter have taken place. I have spoken with others including regional mayors/executives on two different occasions in meetings and with congressional office personnel and even TVA personnel.

Here is the short version and only part of what is going on:

Two state orders have been put in place. The governor issuing Executive Order No.14 and the state supreme court with an order suspending in-person court proceedings (ADM2020-00428). Both of these can be found on the county website. (link...)
Schools are out next week on Spring Break (March 16-22, 2020) and will continue to assess whether an additional week should be taken or even more extended time. They are and have prepared for a number of options.
Jury trials have been cancelled but courts will be opened on a limited basis. Generally speaking no one from the general public will have access to the courts outside of what has been noted in the supreme court order as noted in # 1 above. (Please see on the county website).
General public is not allowed to visit inmates. Lawyers will have access to their clients.
Additional cleaning is taking place at the courthouse. The courthouse is open.
Although no specific guidelines have been established, it is recommended not to have a large gathering of people. The commission will determine at a later date whether a commission meeting will be held. We have not cancelled any committee meetings. Some churches of course have cancelled.
The Roane Gala has been cancelled.
Information on covid-19 can been found in both the state and federal government websites:

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READ!

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And remember that Trump declared the Corona virus a Democratic hoax back when he should have been acting to prevent it's spread. Trump has now declared this "hoax" a National Emergency. Can we vote for somebody who is competent this time?

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The bill for MAGA has come due, Trump supporters.

It’s time to pay up.

The deferred invoice for you selling your souls is here...

He systematically removed qualified people and replaced them with genuflecting, sycophantic traitors—or with no one at all.

He generated a steady stream of partisan attacks and conspiracy theories and abject lies created in the moment, and the kind of “I am smarter than anyone in the room” sermonizing that cult leaders bellow all the way to the terrible and tragic end.

He is culpable for the chaos and the unnecessary illness, and yes the preventable deaths because of it—and you are too.

Read Pavlowitz

"It is our pleasure to inform you that Music at Ladd Landing has been selected for the 2020 Best of Kingston Awards in the category of Concert Venue."

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We have to ask ourselves if TVA willfully violates safety regulations for their own employees and then illegally fires the people who alert us to the danger, what does TVA care about the safety of the rest of us?

In a letter to TVA made public Tuesday, the head of regulatory enforcement at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said TVA violated whistleblower protections for nuclear workers by disciplining and then dismissing the nuclear engineers who worked on programs at the Sequoyah and Watts Bar nuclear power plants. George A. Wilson, director the NRC's Office of Enforcement, said "the actions taken against (by TVA) these former employees were in apparent violations (of NRC safety standards) and the apparent violations were willful" and "are being considered for escalated enforcement action," which could include a civil penalty against TVA.

I wonder what "civil penalty" means? TVA isn't a person, it is a bunch of persons. Someone is responsible. Whoever that is deserves firing and other civil penalties, and TVA must show that it has taken actions to prevent a repeat of any retribution against whistlblowers.

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You might notice that there is no comparison for Trump. That's simply because he is such a disgusting liar about everything he said in his previous campaign that no comparison would be possible.

As for the others we should take things with a small grain of salt. There are differences even when they agree on an issue. Statements made in context are also windows into their true alignments, since their handlers will tell them what to say and not say as they read the tea leaves of various polls.

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Instead of passing the Butch Lewis Act to fix the pension crisis, Senate Republicans introduced legislation that would make the problem worse.

Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee want to increase the premiums that retirement plans pay PBGC—something that would push currently healthy plans into financial ruin and put more workers’ retirements in jeopardy. The added costs also would propel some employers into bankruptcy, costing workers their jobs.

Grassley and Alexander also want to increase taxes on pensions, taking a bigger slice of the benefits workers earned and imposing a greater burden on retirees unable to afford it.

The full read is here:

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TN Gop continue to hate on women.

Tennessee has an annual sales tax-free holiday weekend that begins on the last Friday of July. Part of the push is that certain items, including computers and clothing, can be purchased throughout the Volunteer State free of sales tax, which promotes consumerism while helping out families purchasing items for kids who are about to go back to school. The Charlotte Observer reports that a proposal to include feminine hygiene products among sales tax-free items has been receiving big-time pushback from Republicans.

Republican state Sen. Joey Hensley explained that he was worried about … how many tampons women might buy.

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These figures only reflect fundraising in 2019 for personal campaign accounts (i.e., not for political action committees).

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“(TVA’s) claim it terminated (Wetzel) because she attempted to attack Henderson’s credibility is demonstrably false,” the Labor Department order stated. “Rather, (TVA) terminated (Wetzel) because of the information she provided during (a) chilled work environment investigation, which happened to include her opinions about Henderson.”

Wetzel is the fourth TVA nuclear oversight staffer to claim retaliation for raising safety concerns in the past year.

TVA nuclear oversight managers Melody Babb, Deanna Fultz and Mark Richerson have a pending complaint with the Labor Department. They allege TVA ousted them from their jobs, disbanded an independent whistleblowing program, and publicly humiliated them to intimidate and silence whistleblowers.

TVA said in both internal and public announcements the independent whistleblowing program was ineffective and was being scrapped in favor of a new one in which whistleblowers would take their safety complaints to their bosses.

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