Oak Ridge Today

Anderson County Chamber hosts county election candidate forum

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The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will host a forum in Clinton this month for candidates in the Anderson County primary election in May.

The candidate forum will be moderated by Gene Patterson, community relations lead for Consolidated Nuclear Security, which manages and operates the Y-12 National Security Complex.

The candidate forum will be hosted by the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce Government/Community Relations Committee. It is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 27, at The Ritz Theater at 119 North Main Street in downtown Clinton. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., and the concession stand will be open, a press release said. [Read more…]

Lynch running for Anderson County Circuit Court clerk

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Rex Lynch

Rex Lynch

 

Former Anderson County Mayor Rex Lynch is running for Anderson County Circuit Court Clerk, opposing incumbent William Jones in the May 1 Republican Primary, a press release said.

Lynch, the county’s mayor from 1998 through 2010, has worked the past two years as a court security officer in Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Don Layton’s courtroom, the press release said.

In the press release, Lynch said he thinks his stint as a court officer, along with his vast county government experience, would allow him to implement the significant changes necessary to make the Circuit Court work better for the citizens of Anderson County. Those changes would begin with an infusion of leadership to establish better public relations and customer service in the office, Lynch said.

Among the various organizations and committees that Lynch has served and led include: chairman of the Anderson County Development Corporation; member of Board of Directors for Anderson County Economic Development Association; CROET Board member; East Tennessee Economic Council Board member; board vice chair for East Tennessee Development District; board vice chair for East Tennessee Human Resource Agency; Cumberland Mountain RC&D Board member; Tennessee Association of Mayors Board member; member Alpha Lodge #376; member of Kerbela Shriners of Knoxville; Clinton Rotary Club; and member of Second Baptist Church in Clinton. [Read more…]

Term limits: Who could no longer serve if two-term limit was in place now?

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Jerry Creasey

Jerry Creasey, an Anderson County commissioner from Oak Ridge, could no longer serve if a two-term limit were in place now. Now in his seventh term, Creasey is the longest-serving commissioner. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

 

Note: This story was last updated at 6:15 p.m.

If the proposed two-term limit was in place now, Jerry Creasey, the longest-serving Anderson County commissioner, could no longer serve.

Neither could Mark Alderson, who is in his fifth term; Chuck Fritts or Jerry White (both are in their fourth terms); or Whitey Hitchcock, Robert McKamey, or Tracy Wandell (all three are in their third terms).

Creasey is in his seventh term, according to information from the Anderson County Election Commission.

It’s not clear if Myron Iwanski would be term-limited at this point. Iwanski is in his sixth term, but those terms were interrupted by his service as interim Anderson County mayor from January 2011 to August 2012—after former mayor Rex Lynch resigned and before current mayor Terry Frank was elected. Whether Iwanski would be term-limited would depend upon whether term limits, assuming a two-term limit was enacted, were consecutive or lifetime limits.

Assuming Iwanski was term-limited, though, that would mean that eight of the 16 commissioners, or half of them, would be past their second term and not able to serve if a two-term limit were in place.

No term limits are in place now, and they can’t officially be proposed, debated, or recommended to voters until after the eight-member Anderson County Charter Commission is elected November 8. Whether they are even considered is likely to depend upon which candidates are elected. The Charter Commission is not obligated to consider term limits, but it will have the authority to do so. (See a story on the Charter Commission process here.) [Read more…]

Domestic Violence Symposium on Friday in Clinton

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Don-Layton-Scott-Gray-Hearing-Aug-11-2016

Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Don Layton is pictured above on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

There is a Domestic Violence Symposium scheduled for Friday in Clinton.

The symposium has been announced by Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge, Division I, Don A. Layton, in partnership with Probation Services Incorporated, or PSI.

The symposium is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, October 28, in the PSI conference room at 135 South Main Street in Clinton, a press release said.

The symposium will feature presentations from Anderson County District Attorney General David Clark and others, including Russell Barker, Rex Lynch, Mary Ann Young, and Chad McNabb, the press release said. [Read more…]

Iwanski announces re-election campaign for County Commission

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Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski is seeking re-election to Anderson County Commission in District 8, which includes the Woodland, Emory Valley, and Hendrix Creek precincts in Oak Ridge.

Iwanski was appointed in 2011 to serve as mayor by County Commission early in his current term on County Commission. This was a 19-month appointment until a mayor could be elected for the remaining two years of former Mayor Rex Lynch’s term.

“It was an honor to be selected by my peers on County Commission to serve as chairman of County Commission for three terms and then as mayor during a difficult time for our county government,” Iwanski said in a press release.

“We had to work together to make some tough decisions,” Iwanski said. “We put several initiatives in place that will expand our retail and industrial tax base, promote tourism, and create jobs. This included setting funds aside for industrial land and infrastructure and creating a public/private partnership to hire a retail recruiter. We also put initiatives in place that are slowing the growth in the county jail population while helping reduce the crime rate. [Read more…]

Anderson County budget director resigning to take Lake City job

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Chris Phillips

Chris Phillips

CLINTON—Chris Phillips, Anderson County accounts and budget director, has resigned his position effective Feb. 21 to take a job as city recorder in Lake City.

“As many people know, Lake City is my hometown,” Phillips said in a press release. “They have struggled for the last few years in keeping someone qualified in the city recorder’s position.”

Phillips said the state mandates that each municipality must have a certified municipal finance officer on staff, and his designation as a certified government financial manager satisfies this requirement.

“Lake City is embarking on an historical time with the change to become Rocky Top,” Phillips said. “The leaders of Lake City have reached out to me, and I felt compelled to contribute in the areas (in which) I have considerable skill, education, certification, and experience.” [Read more…]

Anderson County mayor to give update on first year in office

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Terry Frank

Terry Frank

Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank will discuss her first year in office during Lunch with the League on Tuesday.

The lunch starts at noon Tuesday in the Social Hall of the Oak Ridge Unitarian Universalist Church.

Frank was elected in August 2012 to serve a two-year term as Anderson County Mayor, completing the unexpired term of former mayor Rex Lynch, who resigned in January 2011 after being indicted for sales tax fraud. She was sworn into office on Sept. 1, 2012. [Read more…]

Mayor’s speech had ‘false,’ ‘misleading’ information, commissioner says

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Myron Iwanski

Myron Iwanski

Note: This story was updated at 1:40 p.m. Feb. 27.

Anderson County Commissioner Myron Iwanski said the speech given by Mayor Terry Frank on Monday contained some “false and misleading” information.

Frank held a press conference at the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton on Monday, saying she had to respond to accusations that she was taking advantage of taxpayers by using a county car and accepting travel payment.

In her speech during the press conference, Frank said the $400 per month that Anderson County Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts has accused her of receiving is not travel money. Instead, it is a salary supplement that was added to the mayor’s salary back in 1988 when David Bolling was county mayor, Frank said.

[Read more…]