Oak Ridge Today

First Breakfast with the Legislators of 2014 is Jan. 27

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Tennessee Legislators

From left are senators Ken Yager and Randy McNally and representatives John Ragan and Kent Calfee.

The first Breakfast with the Legislators of 2014 is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 27, at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

“While a good breakfast is considered to be the best way to start the day, attending Breakfast with the Legislators may be the best way to get to know key legislative decision makers and to ask questions on issues moving forward in state government,” a press release said.

The hour-long breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 27, in the Social Room of the Oak Ridge Civic Center, located at 1401 Oak Ridge Turnpike. A free continental breakfast will be served. [Read more…]

Anderson committee recommends referendum on federal prisoners at county jail

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Anderson County Legislative Committee on Jail Referendum

The Anderson County Legislative Committee on Thursday recommended a non-binding referendum be put on the August ballot to ask voters whether federal and state prisoners should be housed at the county jail. From left are Whitey Hitchcock, Jerry Creasey, Tim Isbel, Dusty Irwin, and Steve Mead.

CLINTON—An Anderson County committee on Thursday recommended taking steps to ask voters in August whether state and federal prisoners should be housed in the county jail, which is being expanded.

Some county commissioners say that housing pre-trial federal inmates could help cover jail costs, while other county officials, including the mayor, say that they don’t want to get into the federal prison business.

On Thursday, the Anderson County Legislative Committee recommended that the Anderson County Commission consider sending the question to voters in a non-binding referendum in August.

But there are several hurdles. First, 11 of the 16 county commissioners would have to approve the move, possibly during their daytime meeting on Jan. 21, Commission Chairman Chuck Fritts said. Then, a private act would have to be approved in the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville by early June to put the question on the August ballot. [Read more…]

Nolan announces Republican candidacy for Tennessee House

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Caitlin Nolan

Caitlin Nolan

She lobbied the state legislature for anti-bullying legislation as a high school freshman eight years ago, and now Republican Caitlin Nolan is seeking a seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Nolan would challenge incumbent John Ragan of Oak Ridge in the Republican primary in the state’s 33rd District, presuming Ragan seeks re-election to a third two-year term. The 33rd District includes Oak Ridge, Clinton, and most of Anderson County.

The Republican primary is Aug. 7, 2014. [Read more…]

Lake City recommends Rocky Top name change, but receives copyright warning

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Lake City Council Approves Rocky Top Name Change

The Lake City Council votes 4-0 on Thursday to recommend changing the town’s name to Rocky Top, and Rep. John Ragan, right, said he has drafted legislation to approve the rechristening in the state legislature.

LAKE CITY—Just hours before a historic vote to change this town’s name for the second time in less than a century, Lake City Mayor Tim Sharp received a legal letter warning him that a proposal to build a Rocky Top theme park here could violate trademark rights and should be dropped.

But project supporters packed City Hall on Thursday, and the Lake City Council pressed on, voting 4-0 to recommend changing the name of this former coal mining town to Rocky Top. It’s the first step in a project to build a multi-million dollar theme park that could include an interactive Knotty Pine 3-D theater, water park, hotel, and restaurant.

The last-minute letter from an intellectual property attorney in Nashville could have Lake City officials and the park’s investors scrambling to answer legal questions. The notice was “very unexpected,” Sharp said. [Read more…]

Informational meeting Friday on changing Lake City’s name to Rocky Top

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Anyone interested in learning more about the proposal to change Lake City’s name to Rocky Top can attend an informational meeting and beans and corn bread social on Friday evening in Lake City.

The developers and partners of Rocky Top will be available to answer all questions concerning the project, locations, jobs, and the general impact on the community, said Stephanie Wells, executive director of the Anderson County Tourism Council.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. Friday at Main Street Baptist Church, located at the corner of Fourth and Main Street in Lake City. [Read more…]

School board considers ‘high performing’ district designation, camera system

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The Oak Ridge Board of Education tonight will consider designating the school system as a “high performing school district,” purchasing a security camera system, and renewing the transportation contract.

Under a bill that recently passed the Tennessee General Assembly, the high-performing designation would allow the school system to use a teacher evaluation system that varies from the system established by the Tennessee Department of Education and add educational days to the district’s school calendar. The district could also apply to the state education commissioner for a waiver of any state board rule, regulation, or statute that “inhibits or hinders the district’s ability to meet its goals or comply with its mission statements.” [Read more…]

Haslam signs bill to reduce grocery tax

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday signed legislation that reduces the state sales tax on groceries from 5.25 percent to 5 percent in July.

It was the last step in a two-year effort to cut the state portion of the grocery sales tax to 5 percent, a press release said.

Haslam held a ceremonial bill signing on Monday at Sloan’s Grocery in Vonore in Monroe County. [Read more…]

Gov. Haslam vetoes ‘ag gag’ bill

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Governor Bill Haslam

Bill Haslam

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has vetoed a controversial bill that would have required anyone who visually recorded livestock abuse to turn over the images or videos to law enforcement officers within 48 hours.

Haslam said the Tennessee attorney general has questioned the constitutionality of the bill, and it appears to repeal parts of Tennessee’s Shield Law without saying so. In addition, Haslam said, there are concerns from some district attorneys that the legislation would actually make it more difficult to prosecute animal cruelty cases, an unintended consequence.

In a Monday press release, he said he wants the Tennessee General Assembly to reconsider the legislation, which critics had labeled the bill the “ag gag” bill. There had been an intense campaign urging the governor to veto the measure, with most people expressing opposition, The Tennessean reported. Celebrities such as Carrie Underwood and Emmylou Harris had weighed in as well. [Read more…]

Anderson Chamber has workers’ compensation seminar Wednesday

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This month’s seminar at the Anderson County Chamber of Commerce will feature a discussion of workers’ compensation reform.

Led by Amanda Inman Lowe, it’s scheduled from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the chamber office in Clinton. [Read more…]

Anderson not included in latest judicial redistricting, but legislative session not over

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Dave Clark

Dave Clark

The most recent proposal to redraw judicial districts in Tennessee did not include Anderson County, but the battle isn’t over yet, an official said Wednesday.

Roane County also would not be affected under the proposal, announced Monday by Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, a Blountville Republican. The proposal could affect 22 of the state’s 95 counties, said Dave Clark, Anderson County district attorney general.

Still, there is a month or more left in the legislative session in the Tennessee General Assembly in Nashville, and the proposals—there are more than a dozen—are subject to amendment, Clark said during a Wednesday morning presentation to the Oak Ridge Breakfast Rotary Club.

[Read more…]

‘Breakfast with the Legislators’ on Monday

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This month’s “Breakfast with the Legislators” will be Monday morning at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.

The hour-long breakfast starts at 7:30 a.m. in the Oak Ridge Civic Center Social Room. A free, light continental breakfast will be served.

[Read more…]

State of State: Education investment, fiscal restraint set Tennessee apart

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Governor Bill Haslam

Gov. Bill Haslam

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam on Monday delivered his 2013 State of the State address before a joint session of the General Assembly, contrasting Tennessee with Washington, D.C., and other states across the country that have struggled to keep their fiscal houses in order.

“Unlike the news coming out of our nation’s capital and so many other states around the country, good things are happening in Tennessee,” Haslam said. “We have a long history of fiscal restraint that crosses party lines. We have been deliberate about not spending money we don’t have and in making a concerted effort to save for the future…And now we are well-positioned to continue to invest in a thoughtful, strategic manner.”

[Read more…]