Information from WYSH Radio
The Anderson County Operations Committee on Monday finalized plans to place the words “In God We Trust” above all four doors of the County Courthouse in Clinton.
The motion approved Monday calls for the phrase to be emblazoned on plaques and posted above each of the four courthouse entrances. [Read more…]
The Anderson County Democratic Party has its bi-annual party convention from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge.
During the convention, officers will be elected. Nominations can be made from the floor. [Read more…]
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank speaks to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club. (Submitted photo)
Submitted
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank recently spoke to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.
The mayor shared some of her personal views and opinions on Anderson County and the challenges facing county leaders, such as housing, drugs, taxation, and an overcrowded jail. Frank said many of these challenges are similar for other communities across the state and country.
She also spoke about some of the positive aspects of Anderson County. Among those: being a diverse community in terms of people, terrain, history, and assets—from the small historical town of Oliver Springs to the manufacturing companies in Clinton, and a focus on the future with science and technology in Oak Ridge.
Mike Baker (Photo by D. Ray Smith)
Note: This story was updated March 31 to add a link to the judge’s letter.
Mike Baker, the director of Anderson County’s alternatives to jail program, was critical of the judiciary and the county mayor when he announced his resignation last week, saying he didn’t have their support.
This week, though, three Anderson County judges said Baker, whose last day is April 4, had made “no real attempt” to work with them. When Baker started his job about a year ago, they said, he lacked knowledge of Tennessee laws related to prisoner release programs, and he had no relevant experience in the state or Anderson County. [Read more…]
Roy Herron, chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, will be guest speaker at a Thursday meeting of the Anderson County Democratic Party.
It’s the party’s annual chili supper and potluck, and it starts at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Claxton Elementary School Cafeteria. [Read more…]
Note: This story was updated at 6:39 p.m.
The director of an Anderson County program meant to save money and reduce crime and the jail population has resigned.
Mike Baker, director of the county’s alternatives to incarceration program, announced his resignation Thursday in a letter to Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, Anderson County commissioners, and members of an advisory board. His last day will be April 4. [Read more…]
There have been concerns about how plans to redraw Tennessee’s judicial districts might affect Anderson County, and a local organization has scheduled a Thursday night forum to discuss the proposals.
The forum is presented by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, and it starts at 7 p.m. Thursday in the City Room at the Roane State Community College campus in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]
Information from WYSH Radio
On Monday morning, Anderson County Veterans Service Officer Leon Jaquet and other officials gathered in his office in the Courthouse to present a long-overdue Purple Heart to the widow of a soldier wounded during World War II.
Former U.S. Army rifleman Louis Allison was wounded in Germany in early 1945 but never received his Purple Heart. He passed away in 2003 at the age of 80. [Read more…]
Anderson County Commissioner Jerry Creasey, standing, says a proposal to put the national motto on the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton is dividing commissioners, and the county and Oak Ridge. Also pictured from left are commissioners Whitey Hitchcock, Zach Bates, Tracy Wandell, and John Shuey.
CLINTON—Questions about designs were unresolved Monday, and the Anderson County Commission sent a proposal to put the national motto “In God We Trust” on the county courthouse in Clinton back to a committee that has already considered it once.
The Anderson County Operations Committee recommended last week in a 5-3 vote to install black metal signs with white lettering and the national motto above the courthouse’s four entrances.
But the full 16-member commission discussed putting the national motto in granite lettering during a Monday night meeting, among other things.
The director of Anderson County’s alternatives to jail program will be the featured speaker during “Lunch with the League” on Tuesday.
The presentation by Mike Baker will focus on alternatives to incarceration and the benefits to those affected, including their families and the community. The program starts at noon in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.
Anderson County Commisisoner Robert McKamey, left, who has made motions to put the national motto “In God We Trust” on the County Courthouse in Clinton, and Commissioner Whitey Hitchcock, who has voted against the proposals.
They’ve already approved a proposal to put “In God We Trust” on the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton, and county commissioners this evening will consider a committee’s recommendation to install the national motto on black metal signs above the courthouse’s four entrances.
The Anderson County Operations Committee endorsed the signs in a 5-3 vote last week. They would have white lettering that says “In God We Trust,” and they are expected to cost $500 or less.
The County Commission agreed to put the motto on the courthouse in a 12-4 vote last month, but members asked the Operations Committee and Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager to review legal, liability, and design issues. The committee has now referred the specific sign proposal back to the full commission.
Dave Clark
The most recent proposal to redraw judicial districts in Tennessee did not include Anderson County, but the battle isn’t over yet, an official said Wednesday.
Roane County also would not be affected under the proposal, announced Monday by Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican. The proposal could affect 22 of the state’s 95 counties, said Dave Clark, Anderson County district attorney general.
Still, there is a month or more left in the legislative session in the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville, and the proposals—there are more than a dozen—are subject to amendment, Clark said during a Wednesday morning presentation to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.
