Oak Ridge Today

WYSH: Election Day primer, voting results, state hotline

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Anderson County Courthouse

The Anderson County Courthouse on Main Street in Clinton is pictured above.

Information from WYSH Radio

Election Day primer

Today is Election Day in Tennessee.

In Anderson County, it is not only state and federal primary day, but it’s also the county general election. All 16 County Commission seats are on the ballot, along with seats on the School Board. This election cycle has been dominated by the high-profile races for county mayor and sheriff, but three judicial races and contested campaigns for Circuit Court clerk and register of deeds will also be decided.

Polls across the county will be open until 8 p.m., and voters are reminded that you must vote at the precinct listed on your voter registration card. Keep in mind, with so many contested local races, judicial and state Supreme Court retention votes, and state and federal primary elections, lines at polling locations could be long, so be patient. If you need a ride to the polls anywhere in Anderson County today, you can call or text Catherine at (865) 230-2594.

To save time in the voting booth, we recommend taking a look at the ballot before you head out to vote. You can find it and a list of all the polling locations on the Anderson County Election Commission’s website. Voters need to bring valid state or federally issued photo IDs to the polls with them. Those who forget to bring valid photo IDs can cast provisional ballots, then return to their local election commission offices before the close of business Monday in order to have their votes counted.

WYSH will broadcast live election results from the courthouse beginning just after the polls close Thursday night. For more election information, including a look at that complete ballot, visit www.acelect.com. You can also call (865) 457-6238 for more information.

State to post statewide, federal election results [Read more…]

Fritts: Ouster statute does not apply to Anderson County law director

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Chuck Fritts, Myron Iwanski, and Dusty Irwin

Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts, left, is pictured above with commissioners Myron Iwanski, center, and Dusty Irwin. Citing an opinion from the County Technical Assistance Service, Fritts on Wednesday said the ouster statute does not apply to the Anderson County law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit.

 

The ouster statute does not apply to the Anderson County law director, the defendant in a controversial ouster suit, Anderson County Commission Chair Chuck Fritts said Wednesday.

Law Director Jay Yeager is essentially a county employee rather than an official, and the ouster statute doesn’t apply to him, said Fritts, citing the opinion of a legal consultant at the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service in Nashville.

Citing the CTAS opinion, Fritts said the petitioners who brought the ouster suit against Yeager should pay the legal costs if they lose. The county could pay Yeager’s legal fees if the ouster suit fails or is thrown out of court.

In an opinion sent to Fritts on July 29, CTAS Legal Consultant Stephen Austin said the Anderson County law director is a county employee and not a county officer.

“Accordingly, the ouster statutes are not applicable to the law director,” Austin said. Yeager made a similar argument in a July 11 motion to dismiss filed in Anderson County Chancery Court. [Read more…]

Ragan runs on record; Nolan questions his representation

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John Ragan

John Ragan

He’s running for his third term in the Tennessee House, touting his record on state energy policy and trimming government. His challenger questions his record on representing the children and residents of the district, rather than special interests.

The two Republican candidates for the House seat in District 33, which includes most of Anderson County, are the incumbent, Representative John Ragan, and his GOP challenger, Caitlin Nolan. They will face off in the state Republican primary on Thursday.

It’s not clear who the winner will face in November. Misty Neergaard, the only candidate listed on the ballot in the state Democratic primary, has dropped out of the race, although she withdrew too late for her name to be taken off the ballot. There is a write-in candidate on the Democratic ticket, Leslie Agron of Oak Ridge.

During an interview last week, Ragan said legislators have eliminated 14 government organizations in the past two years, and a dozen legislative committees have been cut.

He said he’s helped to make state energy policy a top priority.

Asked about the challenge posed by Nolan, Ragan said: “It’s a race. My opponent is making me work hard, which is good for the voters even if it’s a strain on the candidates.” [Read more…]

Letter: Anderson County Commission needs wake-up call

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Anderson County is a wonderful place to live and work. Our economy should easily out-perform Knox County’s. Yet, we consistently fail to do so—and our County Commission seems to be asleep. Between 2000 and 2010, Anderson County grew at only 41 percent of Knox County’s growth rate. That’s unacceptable.

Over the next decade, Anderson County taxpayers will pay close to $2 million in salary and medical/dental/retirement benefits for its county commissioners. The commission needs to get focused and get busy. Our economy was dealt a significant blow when the commission opted for an expensive jail expansion. Commissioners could have sought support from a newly-elected Republican governor for more time to resolve jail overcrowding through less-costly administrative means—but did not. Instead, they chose the jail expansion, ignoring its impact on our taxes and our economy.

The commissioners made a second error when they passed the jail expansion without dealing with the new jail’s increased operating costs. This mistake drove jail costs even higher and raised the real possibility of a second tax increase. Thankfully, a second increase was prevented by the efforts of Mayor Frank. [Read more…]

Letter: Register of Deeds opponent says six-year deficit exceeds $440,000

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Bill Gallaher

Bill Gallaher

Note: This is a copy of a press release submitted by Bill Gallaher, who is challenging Anderson County Register of Deeds Tim Shelton in the August 7 general election. Gallaher and Shelton have had a back-and-forth debate about office finances. You can see Shelton’s press release here.

The burden on the taxpayers of Anderson County to maintain operations in the Register of Deeds Office just got heavier. The taxpayer savings account known as the Undesignated Fund Balance decreased by $92,391.20 this summer due to the Register of Deeds office excessive spending.

Bill Gallaher expressed concern that the Register of Deeds Office is heading in the wrong direction.

“This makes six straight years that our current Register of Deeds has allowed the office to be bailed out by the taxpayers,” Gallaher said. “It is an alarming amount of money that is required to subsidize the Register of Deeds Office each year.” [Read more…]

Letter: Register of Deeds audit shows surplus, refutes opponents’ claims

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Tim Shelton

Tim Shelton

Note: This is a copy of a press release submitted by Anderson County Register of Deeds Tim Shelton. Shelton and his challenger, Bill Gallaher, have had a back-and-forth debate about office finances. You can see Gallaher’s press release here.

The Anderson County Register of Deeds office has concluded an internal audit of all revenues and expenditures dating back to 2002, the year that current Register of Deeds Tim Shelton first took office. The results appear to refute the claims made by opposition candidate Bill Gallaher that the office is operating in the red. According to the audit results, the Register of Deeds office has generated a surplus of $546,286 over the past 12 years, with revenues coming in at $3,661,700 and expenditures totaling $3,115,700 for the same time period.

“I felt it important to provide this information to the public so that the confidence which our citizens have in the register of deeds office could be validated,”” stated Shelton. “”We went receipt by receipt, totaling every revenue and expenditure since I took office, double and triple checking to ensure that nothing was missed.””

The controversy of fees began a few weeks ago when a mail piece was sent out by Bill Gallaher, who is opposing current Register of Deeds Tim Shelton in the August 7 general election. Shelton disputed the accusations during two recent joint appearances by both men, one on radio and the other at a public forum in Oak Ridge. [Read more…]

Feud over food: Documents on jail menus, orders

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Paul White

Paul White

CLINTON—Anderson County Sheriff Paul White and his challenger, Anthony Lay, have had a feud over the food served at the Anderson County Detention Facility in Clinton.

The feud started with a June 26 press release by Lay, a Republican challenging White, a Democrat, in the August 7 election. Lay said the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department appears to be operating a bakery, and he has suggested inmates are eating cookies and cobbler, and pies and pudding.

If elected, Lay said, he would “cut the fiscal fat from the sheriff’s jail budget by cutting out the pie.”

“Jail will be a jail, not a hotel or bakery,” said Lay, a Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper.

A few days later, White responded in a statement that said “inaccurate and misleading information” was being circulated in the campaign for sheriff.

“The jail does not operate a ‘bakery,’” said White, who is running for his third four-year term as sheriff.

The jail menus are “quite conservative,” White said, and the average meal costs $1.10. [Read more…]

DA cites Lay’s job ‘performance problems,’ sheriff candidate claims political targeting

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

Note: This story was updated at 10:25 a.m. August 5.

DA responds to political targeting charge

There was no political targeting of Trooper Anthony Lay before his five-day suspension by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in May, but there were “real, serious, and repeated performance failures,” Anderson County District Attorney General Dave Clark said Friday.

Clark documented what he called Lay’s performance issues in a statement released Friday. A DUI charge in one case was dismissed, Clark said, after Lay failed to submit a complete case file and then did not respond to requests for documents by fax, mail, and email. He cited two cases where Lay failed to appear in response to a subpoena. In one of those cases, Lay faced potential arrest for contempt of court and showed up 20 minutes late, but the judge dismissed the case because Lay wasn’t present, the DA said.

Clark said he saved Lay from going to jail in that case because he declined to have the trooper arrested and instead called his sergeant to see if he could get Lay to court to avoid further trouble.

Clark cited another case where he said Lay failed to arrest a driver who was impaired and had four or more prior DUI convictions, possessed drugs and drug paraphernalia, and was a habitual motor vehicle offender. Lay issued the driver a ticket, but he should have taken the driver into custody after the man finished his medical treatment, Clark said.

In issuing his statement Friday, Clark said he was responding to Lay’s charges in recent stories about the trooper’s suspension by the THP in May. In those stories, published in several media outlets, Lay said he was the target of political attacks. [Read more…]

Letter: Scott would provide ‘strong voice, positive change’ on County Commission

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Theresa Scott

Theresa Scott

To the Editor:

I am writing to extend my support of Theresa Scott for County Commission for District 7, which includes Highland View, Pine Valley, and Glenwood precincts.

Although I do not live in Ms. Scott’s district, I am certain she will represent and work hard for all of Oak Ridge as one of our county commissioners. Through her years of employment, she brings extensive paralegal, management, and financial experience that qualifies her to deal with many issues that our commission faces.

Other candidates have touted the fact that they are “from and/or live in Oak Ridge” as making them more qualified. I believe the fact that she chose to purchase a “B” house in Oak Ridge while employed in Knoxville 10 years ago is evidence of her dedication to our city and county. Theresa continues to reside in that same house.

Theresa does not just “talk the talk,” she also “walks the walk” through her many volunteer involvements in our community. She has been very active in the city’s neighborhood Watch Program; our Secret City, Lavender, and Earth Day festivals; and the huge Cedar Hill Park rebuild project, just to name a few. [Read more…]

Early voting ends Saturday

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Time is running out to vote early in next Thursday’s countywide general election and state and federal primary elections. Early voting will continue today until 6 p.m. and will be open Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Polling locations are at the Clinton Community Center, the Midtown Community Center in Oak Ridge, and the North Anderson Government Office in the Anderson Crossing Shopping Center.

On Thursday, 681 people voted, bringing the 12-day total to an impressive 7,140 early voters.

Election Day is Thursday, August 7, and polls across Anderson County will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day. For more information, call the Anderson County Election Commission at (865) 457-6238 or visit the website at www.acelect.com.

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…]

Letter: Biloski has skills necessary to be effective in District 8

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“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” was a philosophy that we were fortunate enough to have instilled within us growing up with Robin Biloski, our mom.

Even today, 35 years after Brian was born, there is never a moment when we see our mom sitting down and taking it easy. She has always embraced every new day and hit the ground running, trying to make our community a better place and our dreams come true.

When Mom first told us, more than a decade ago, that she intended to run for public office, we thought she lost her mind. As an avid volunteer with numerous organizations ranging from the League of Women Voters to S.A.R.G. and the Humane Society, to organizer of our school’s talent show, dance recitals, and A.C.A.C. events, Mom instilled in us her passion and commitment to community service. She is always willing to get involved in causes she believes in, but also gets behind ours as well. She has never failed to roll up her sleeves and get to work making friends wherever she went. We were fortunate and blessed to have her as a stay-at-home mom, and when she started branching out and demonstrating her professional success outside of the “Biloski household,” she exceeded every expectation that we had set for her. Her confidence and desire to help everyone provided us with a role model and the honorable distinction of knowing the only woman on Anderson County Commission for the past two terms. [Read more…]