Trash the trailer

Not long ago Bradley County Juvenile Director Linda Callaway, asked the county commission to fund a new juvenile justice center at the site of the old county jail. The main reason given for the request was that juvenile offenders were being housed in a trailer which had seen better days. A couple of million dollars and a new juvenile lockup later, Callaway returned to the commission with a request for money to remodel the old trailer to be used as a supervised visitation facility.

It is amazing how this can happen yet not one commissioner asked why the new building was planned and built without a visitation room incorporated into the design. Maybe office space in the new building should be used for visitation and the staff relegated to the trailer so that next time millions of taxpayer dollars are invested in a new facility, adequate planning will be guaranteed.

Screw-ups like this do not build public confidence in either Callaway or the County Commission.

That's what I think. What do you think?

Look under the rocks

As soon as there is a smell of money the Cleveland good ol boys come scuttling out from under their rocks to get a piece of the action. It really is sad that for these people, even though God has granted them wealth and fortune, it is never enough. The Bradley Memorial Hospital Board  headed by good ol boys Herbert Lackey (the name fits) and his sidekick Bob Card, first bankrupt the hospital wasting it's resources on harebrained schemes and incompetent management, and then demand that the profits from its sale be exclusively under their control to do with as they please.  They and the people they hired were so incapable of operating a hospital profitably that it needed to be given away to people that knew how.

The money left over from the sale belongs to the community as a whole, not a bunch of appointed people who failed to prove their worth. Now they have the audacity to sue the community to keep control of the loot. The Bradley County Commission are not to be entirely trusted either but at least they were chosen in an election to represent the community's interest. Who knows who's interest Lackey and Card represent. Maybe it will be necessary to turn over a few rocks to find out.

"What do you think" Continued

That's what I think. What do you think?

Open means closed

This month saw the Tennessee State Legislature try to improve the Open Meetings Act. The act, known as the Sunshine Law requires all meetings held by two or more officials conducting public business to be widely advertised and open to the public. Open government is a prerequisite for a free people. But wait! Not everyone believes that the people's government be open to scrutiny. A state association representing county officials says updating the open meetings law would have "unbearable consequences" for elected officials.

The Tennessee County Services Association (TCSA) in a newsletter to members said, "The enforcement provisions and other aspects of this act will have a substantial chilling effect on the activities and decision making of government bodies."

Well, who would have thunk it? The whole reason for needing a law guaranteeing transparent government is because of organizations like TCSA. The mindset of the people running government associations like TCSA is dictatorial in concept, with them knowing what's best for everyone else and demanding unfettered authority to do it without consequence. It's, "We can't have the people interfering in how government is run" mentality. Well, where do you think associations like the TCSA get their power and funding - they get the power because elected officials run like sheep to be members while paying membership fees from the taxpayer's purse. But they sure as heck wouldn't pay the fee if it came out of their own pocket.

So here we have an organization funded by the taxpayer opposing legislation designed to help that very same taxpayer.

There is a simple solution to stop this nonsense, call county elected officials and demand (yes you can demand too) demand that no county taxes be spent on membership fees for the Tennessee County Services Association. Problem solved.

Open government means open government.

That's what I think. What do you think?

Crime watch

Cleveland Police Chief Wes Snyder runs a regular column called Crime Watch in the Cleveland Daily Banner. On March 12, the topic was garage sales in which Chief Snyder went to great pains to explain the law regarding such sales. The city ordinance was quite complicated and explicit and must have taken someone many hours to compile. Basically it was a law for law's sake, making criminals of innocent people doing something that ordinary people have been doing for decades - if not centuries. Selling unwanted possessions on your lawn is an American tradition and so is posting signs on utility poles. Yeah, yeah, the signs can be unsightly and some people take advantage by having continuous yard sales but is it a pastime that needs to be legislated against? It is the truth that some city officials would like to ban garage sales completely, mainly because they like to control any public activity. But they know it would open a can of worms with the public so they have done the next best thing - made up a bunch of conditions to make life miserable for anyone they take a disliking to.

Some public officials have way too much time on their hands.

That's what I think. What do you think?

Racial discrimination

The National Conference of Black Mayors has chosen Memphis for its 32nd annual convention in April. More than 500 black mayors are expected to attend and actor/comedian Bill Cosby will be among the guest speakers.

Racial discrimination is a terrible thing, it undermines the worth of a person by focusing on color and race. So, can anyone see what is happening here? Suppose there was a conference of white mayors? Even though black mayors could attend, the very name of the conference would devalue their worth and it would be wrong. How come society allows one group of people to practice racial discrimination and punishes another for doing the same. I am offended by being discriminated against because of my color, or I should say I would be if I were a mayor. How can black mayors and Bill Cosby allow themselves to be drawn into this kind of discrimination when they of all people should know better?

That's what I think. What do you think?


"What do you think?" Continued

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