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Chief Jailer Avery Johnson named Jail Administrator of the Year

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Anderson County Chief Jailer Avery Johnson, second from right, is pictured above with Sheriff Paul White, right; Chief Deputy Mark Lucas, second from left; and Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally. (Submitted photo)

Anderson County Chief Jailer Avery Johnson, second from right, is pictured above with Sheriff Paul White, right; Chief Deputy Mark Lucas, second from left; and Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally. (Submitted photo)

 

Anderson County Chief Jailer Avery Johnson was recently presented the Jail Administrator of the Year award by the Tennessee Corrections Institute, or TCI.

The Tennessee Corrections Institute is the state agency that regulates local jails and workhouses. The award was presented at the annual TCI Jail Issues Conference in Franklin, Tennessee.

Also attending the award ceremony were Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, Chief Deputy Mark Lucas, Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally, and Johnson’s wife Diane with other family members.

The Jail Administrator of the Year award is awarded to a worthy candidate who must be a full-time jail administrator responsible for operations within a local correctional facility, a press release said. The nominee must have demonstrated a high level of professionalism and dedication in the area of corrections within the agency and community. They must have initiated or promoted programs enhancing the operations of a correctional facility within the State of Tennessee. They must also have contributed toward the overall mission of TCI in working to develop a professional corrections environment for today and tomorrow.

Chief Jailer Avery Johnson began his career with the Anderson County Sheriff Department in February 1981. [Read more…]

Frank questions indictment of appointee

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David Lynn Crowley

David Lynn Crowley

Information from WYSH Radio

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank has questions for District Attorney General Dave Clark concerning the indictment of Public Works Director and Building Commissioner David Crowley.

A letter hand-delivered from the mayor’s office to the DA’s office states that the five misdemeanor charges handed down against Crowley last week by a grand jury do not meet the legal standards for those charges.

Crowley, who was appointed by Mayor Frank in September of 2012, was charged last week with five counts of inspecting houses without the proper certification following a TBI investigation. He turned himself in at the Anderson County jail Thursday morning, posted a $1,000 bond, and returned to work that same day. [Read more…]

Letter: Rice wants to cut taxes, recruit high-tech jobs, push for tourism

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Kevin Rice

Kevin Rice

To the Editor:

I am Kelvin Rice, your candidate for Anderson County Commission District 7. My parents M.L. and Mary Sue Rice moved to Oak Ridge in 1943, and I was raised on Georgia Avenue. As a lifelong resident of Oak Ridge, I have enjoyed being a part of America’s Secret City.

I attended Cedar Hill, Elm Grove, and Jefferson Junior High School. I graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1979. I previously worked at Armstrong Rubber Company as a drop mill operator and then went to Atlas Van Lines as a truck driver. I have served our community as a reserve deputy at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department and have served on the Anderson County Jail committee.

I now serve on the Anderson County Beer Board. I enjoy volunteering as our Neighborhood Watch block captain and serve as the district leader for the Watch Group in the Jackson Square area. Trying to stay involved in many areas of our community, I am a member of the Oak Ridge Quarterback Club, Football Boosters, and the Underage Drinking Task Force.

One of the main goals I will strive toward as your next commissioner is to cut taxes. I would encourage our city and county to recruit high-tech jobs, encourage small businesses to locate in our area, and push for tourism that would not only benefit our restaurants and businesses but would also help our hotel industry. The tourism in the city and county is abundant; added attractions would be beneficial to the city in many ways. [Read more…]

Letter: Disgruntled by newspaper’s endorsement of Frank

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To the Editor:

I read the July 19, 2014, News Sentinel daily, and I felt very disgruntled when you, a newspaper not located in Oak Ridge, is endorsing political people in Oak Ridge.

I like it when people think for me.

I thought it ironic that you supported Terry Frank as mayor of Anderson County.

I toured the new Anderson County jail extension that the state forced the county to build and how the county struggled with what would happen if state and federal funds were denied Anderson County citizens. [Read more…]

Sheriff candidates spar over jail food

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Anderson County Jail Sandwich Lunch

A hand-picked crew of nine inmates prepares peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches on white bread for lunch at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton on Wednesday. Oak Ridge Today was allowed to take pictures of the kitchen, food storage area, and coolers and freezers, but not the inmates.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1 a.m. July 25.

Sheriff: Despite campaign claims, jail menu conservative, with average meal $1.10

Challenger stands by his pie, ice cream claims

CLINTON—The menu at the Anderson County jail at lunchtime Wednesday was simple and spartan: A peanut butter and jelly sandwich and milk.

It doesn’t appear to be an unusual meal at the jail, at least not this week. In fact, the menu this week includes three similar lunches with 1/4 cup of peanut butter and jelly mix, two slices of bread, and 8 oz. of milk or chocolate milk.

Anthony Lay

Anthony Lay

Other meals on the menu—the jail can serve up to 8,000 per week—also call for small portions of meat and bread, fruits and vegetables, and beans and milk.

But Anthony Lay, a Republican candidate for Anderson County sheriff, has raised questions about what inmates are eating. He has suggested they’re eating luxuriously, enjoying pies, cobblers, cookies, and cake. Lay has said the jail appears to be operating a bakery, and taxpayers are footing the bill.

“Fresh baked (double chunk) cookies; cherry, blackberry, and blueberry cobbler; pumpkin and apple pie with Cool Whip—these are all delicious,” Lay said in a June 26 press release. “But at the end of the day, taxpayers foot the bill, and they don’t expect us to offer luxuries to folks who, let’s face it, are in jail for a reason.”

Paul White

Paul White

Sheriff Paul White, a Democrat seeking his third term in the August 7 election, has dismissed Lay’s claims as inaccurate and misleading.

“The jail does not operate a bakery,” White said in a July 1 statement.

He said the jail menus are quite conservative. They include a cold sandwich for lunch. The average meal costs $1.10, White said. [Read more…]

County officials urged to hire attorneys in ouster suit as legal fees rise

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Jay Yeager and Lynn Byrge

Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager, left, the defendant in an ouster suit filed by a group of residents, is pictured with Lynn Byrge, one of the petitioners, during a Monday morning Anderson County Commission meeting.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 10:06 a.m. July 22.

CLINTON—The legal fees in a few high-profile disputes between top Anderson County officials could approach a half-million dollars, and Anderson County commissioners should all seek their own legal counsel in an ouster lawsuit filed against the law director, stunned commissioners were told Monday.

Subpoenas have already been issued in the ouster suit, and several officials, including a few County Commissioners, have reportedly received letters asking them to waive their attorney-client privilege.

Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski, who is former interim mayor, said some of the records he’s been asked to provide go back 10 years, and some of them are personnel records. Iwanski said he needs legal representation because he doesn’t want to disclose anything improper, a mistake that could lead to another lawsuit.

“It’s about trying to do what’s right for the county,” Iwanski said.

He said former Anderson County Jail Administrator Avery Johnson has also been served with a subpoena and will need legal representation.

“This is just the start of the legal battle,” Iwanski said. [Read more…]

Oak Ridge man dies in Anderson County jail

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Information from WYSH Radio

An Oak Ridge man died Friday while in custody at the Anderson County Jail, and an investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death is under way.

According to an Anderson County Sheriff’s Department incident report, 34-year-old Christopher Sullivan was found unresponsive in a holding cell at around 3:30 p.m. Friday, July 4. He been arrested by Oak Ridge police about three hours earlier on charges of public intoxication, two counts of possessing a Schedule II narcotic, and on an outstanding warrant for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

According to the report, the jail’s detox log indicates that jailers had checked on Sullivan “several times at regular intervals” before he was found unconscious in his cell. Jailers immediately began CPR, which was continued for about 15 more minutes when Anderson County EMS paramedics responded to the jail. [Read more…]

Republican forum: Issues range from jobs, retail to drug courts, trial experience

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Anderson County Republican Party Forum

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, center, gives an opening statement during a Tuesday night candidate forum for Republican Party candidates. Also pictured are Anderson County Commissioner Zach Bates, left, who is challenging Frank in the May 6 GOP primary, and Oak Ridge Police Department Officer Randy Myers, one of two Republican candidates for sheriff.

Note: This story was last updated at 11:45 a.m.

The starkest differences between any candidates at a Tuesday night Republican Party forum might have emerged in the race for Anderson County chancellor, where candidates Michael Farley and Nicki Cantrell clashed on questions of trial experience and whether the Chancery Court should ever be used to hear criminal cases.

In the race for sheriff, Republican candidates Anthony Lay and Randy Myers agreed on one key question: No federal inmates should be housed at the Anderson County jail.

In the race for mayor, Terry Frank, the incumbent, said she had presided over one of the few—and possibly the only—tax cut in Anderson County history, while her opponent, Commissioner Zach Bates, said the county’s biggest economic challenge is “retail leakage.” [Read more…]

Anderson County jail expansion to open soon

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Anderson County Detention Facility

The expanded Anderson County Detention Facility, which has a renovated front entrance, is pictured above in Clinton.

Information from WYSH Radio

Members of the Anderson County Alternatives to Incarceration Committee have been given a tour of the soon-to-be-completed addition to the Anderson County Jail. The expansion is expected to open within the next month or so.

Officials said that when the new maximum-security pod opens, it will give them the ability to properly segregate prisoners as required by state law. The expansion, along with a 128-bed minimum-security dormitory, is expected to meet the county’s needs for the next decade.

The project cost just under $10.7 million and included renovations to the existing jail. Some of those improvements include a new video visitation area and a larger training room for deputies. [Read more…]

Knoxville man arrested after alleged burglary, running into tree

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Information from WYSH Radio

A Knoxville man was arrested Saturday night after he allegedly broke into a house on Channel Way in Clinton and later injured his head by running into a tree.

The arrest report from the Clinton Police Department indicated that the residents of the home called 911 after Darron Christopher Hickman, 46, kicked in the front door, entered the house and “passed out.” At some point, Hickman got up and left the scene before officers arrived, and once they did, they located him a short time later in the nearby woods, where he was found sitting under a tree bleeding from the head. [Read more…]

Jail’s workhouse designation allows some inmates to keep jobs

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Anderson County Detention Facility Expansion

The 212-bed expansion of the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is pictured above while still under construction in December. The expansion allows the county to declare the jail a workhouse, which lets some qualified low-risk offenders keep their current employment.

CLINTON—Some qualified low-risk inmates will be able to keep their jobs even after sentencing now that the Anderson County jail has been declared a workhouse, officials said Monday.

When a judge agrees, the inmates could continue their current employment, stay at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton when they’re not at work, and pay $15 to $17.50 per day for their jail time.

Female inmates judged to be low-risk offenders might be able to spend a few hours at home with their families and children, Anderson County Law Director Jay Yeager said.

The Anderson County Commission unanimously declared the jail a workhouse after a brief discussion during a Monday night meeting. Yeager said the designation has been allowed for some time under Tennessee law, but Anderson County is only able to use it now because the jail is being expanded, giving deputies more room to house and segregate inmates. [Read more…]

AC Commission to consider workhouse designation for jail

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Anderson County Detention Facility Expansion

The 212-bed expansion of the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton is pictured above under construction in December.

When it meets on Monday, the Anderson County Commission will consider a resolution declaring the Anderson County Jail as a county workhouse.

The proposal was unanimously approved on Monday by the county’s Operations Committee. If approved Monday by the full Commission, it will give judges more options when sentencing certain offenders. Additionally, some inmates could get time taken off their sentences in exchange for days spent on county work details.

The resolution declaring the jail a workhouse will allow some offenders to serve their jail sentences at night after being allowed to go to their jobs or in some cases to take care of their families during the day. [Read more…]

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