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Letter: Commissioner Isbel asks President Obama to visit Rocky Top

Posted at 11:59 pm January 7, 2015
By Oak Ridge Today Letters Leave a Comment

Tim Isbel

Tim Isbel

Mr. President:

I am writing this letter to respectfully ask for your assistance in the resurgence of a small impoverished coal mining community that was very instrumental in the development of this great nation, during the Industrial Revolution, due to the ability to produce coal. Since the decline of the coal industry, this community has suffered economically and 50 percent of the current population lives below the poverty level.

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Tim Isbel, the Anderson County commissioner that represents this community of Lake City, Tennessee.

Just over a year ago, the mayor and city council of Lake City and myself set out to change the direction of the city. This city, nestled between Norris Lake and the Cumberland Mountains, has the assets of having two major interchanges off the I-75 corridor, an abundance of uninhabited property, existing infrastructure, and just 25 miles from Knoxville, Tennessee, and Interstate I-40.

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We realized that there was not a city named Rocky Top in Tennessee. We petitioned the state of Tennessee to change our name to Rocky Top to draw attention to the area and make our town a tourist destination.  The state of Tennessee has allowed the name change and also awarded this community a three-year tax incentive to assist in the development.

This undertaking has yielded several opportunities such as a proposed 450-acre waterfront amusement park and an American-owned and operated denim jeans manufacturing plant where all the jeans will be 100 percent American made with 100 percent American materials.

The mayor and city council of Rocky Top, Marc Nelson with Marc Nelson Denim, and myself would cordially like to invite you, Vice President Biden, and Mrs. Biden to visit the proposed site for the denim manufacturing plant and proposed waterfront amusement park. We feel your blessings could propel these business ventures to reach fruition and provide over 1,000 Americans employment opportunities.

Marc Nelson would like to present you, Mrs. Obama, Vice President Biden, and Mrs. Biden a custom pair of Marc Nelson Rocky Top Tri Star jeans and a Marc Nelson Rocky Top, Tennessee 37769 T-shirt, American-made items to be manufactured in Rocky Top, Tennessee.

Thank you for your consideration.

Tim Isbel

Anderson County, Tennessee, Commissioner, District 4

Filed Under: Federal, Government, Letters, Opinion, Rocky Top Tagged With: amusement park, Anderson County Commission, I-40, I-75, Lake City, Marc Nelson, Marc Nelson-Denim, Mrs. Biden, Norris Lake, President Obama, Rocky Top, Tim Isbel, tourist destination, Vice President Biden

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