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…]
A local organization and church have organized a Jan. 11 forum on homelessness, and the public is invited to attend.
The forum will start at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 11 at the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church. It’s been organized by the Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope (TORCH) and the church.
A press release said the forum will bring together experts from social service agencies, faith-based groups, and the wider community for a frank discussion about homelessness that will include the definition, faces of homelessness, an exploration of potential solutions, and ways that people can be involved in the Jan. 24 “Point In Time Count” (PITC).
Emily Woodle, City of Knoxville Community Development project specialist, left, and Jim Dickson, YMCA of East Tennessee president and chief executive officer, help rank top regional issues during a PlanET forum Thursday.
Their mission challenged by protesters, several dozen regional leaders who met in Oak Ridge on Thursday said poor air quality, drug abuse, and the large number of low-skilled jobs are among the issues that ought to be addressed as a new five-county plan is developed.
Other top-priority issues include improving regional school quality, reducing the obesity rate, and providing access to affordable housing and more transportation alternatives.
Knoxville resident Kevin Desmond protests outside a PlanET meeting at Flatwater Grill on Thursday.
Thursday’s forum was organized by PlanET, and about 75 people attended, including an estimated 30 protesters inside and more outside. The protesters were concerned about property rights and wanted to know, specifically, what PlanET might propose.
Some also tied the planning process to Agenda 21, a United Nations resolution passed in 1992 that was designed to encourage nations to use fewer resources and conserve open land by steering development to already dense areas.
Warren Gooch, the Democratic candidate for Anderson County mayor, talks to Claxton residents Carol Brown, left, and Kathy Martin, center, after a Tuesday evening forum at Claxton Elementary School.
CLAXTON—Warren Gooch has a time-honored, easy-to-remember campaign promise. “I will not raise taxes,” he’s proclaimed on billboards alongside busy roads in Anderson County.
It’s a message that Gooch, the Democratic candidate for Anderson County mayor, continued to deliver this week, this time in person, during a Tuesday evening forum at Claxton Elementary School. It was the first of four forums Gooch has scheduled this month.
“Raising taxes is simply not an option,” said Gooch, a 60-year-old Oak Ridge attorney.
Gooch points out that there was already a significant property tax rate increase in Anderson County last year to help pay for projects that include a jail expansion, new alternative school, and the purchase of industrial land.
Also, the current economic recovery is very fragile, Gooch said.
