Philadelphia News

On November 13th the Loudon County Board of Education met. One person present was on the agenda to speak. Local resident Pat Hunter addressed the board on the matter of TSBA resolution #16.

On Nov. 25th Mrs. Hunter sent a letter to 5th district BOE members Van Shaver and Gary Ubben. She had received a draft copy of the minutes of that meeting. Some items of discussion were unexplainably missing!

In her letter she says: “I am requesting that the Minutes correctly state why I addressed the School Board and not a partial accounting.”

The letter goes on to state: “…there was no mention in the draft Minutes of over seven minutes of discussion by School Board member Van Shaver and other School Board members regarding the TSBA matter. Excluding a school board member or members from the Minutes was either an innocent or an unwarranted omission therefore; I am requesting a correction to the Minutes regarding this matter”.

The “seven minutes of discussion” Mrs. Hunter refers to regarded TSBA resolution #16, and BOE member Van Shaver’s belief that the board should discuss Taxation Authority for local school boards and take a position on it.

The BOE refused to discuss the matter. Then, apparently someone at Loudon County Schools’ main office decided the suggestion that it should be discussed need not be a matter of record. Pat Hunter’s and Van Shaver’s comments, both of which dealt with this same subject, were either:

1. not included in the draft of the meeting minutes, or;

2. included, then deleted by somebody in that office.

So…….who gets to decide which comments are worthy of inclusion in the record?

On the brisk afternoon of Nov. 21, Loudon County joined the Civil War Trail, marking not only a memory celebrated by the county, but East Tennessee as a whole.

On December 27, 2007 a letter was posted on the blog at Loudon County School System Solutions complaining about the leaking roof at Loudon Elementary School (the accompanying link will direct you to it). Eleven months later that roof has not been repaired.

Actually, there are seven (7) articles about this on that webpage – including one letter from David Hemelright (Schools Facilities Maintenance Coordinator) which says: “To the best of my knowledge, the condition has been addressed, and the leaks repaired.” (They have not.)

A Facilities Maintenance Report dated October 29, 2008, distributed at a BOE workshop, says: “Re-Roof Bids were cancelled after concerns about winter weather and high humidity may hamper proper installation of the new roofing materials. The bids will go out again in March for Spring/Summer applications of new materials when the weather is more likely to be conducive to re-roofing projects”.

According to PTO President Wendy Baustian: “We have followed up with several local commercial contractors, including Dixie Roofing who works with our own Construction Management firm, Merit Construction and they too, have confirmed that they can do the work over the winter months.”

Thus, according to the contractors themselves, the winter weather is not a valid reason to continue delaying these repairs.

During the last budget cycle, $3 million was approved by the county commission to pay for life safety issues, HVAC units and roofs at several schools. Several of the other school's HVACs have been repaired, but not Loudon Elementary School’s roof.

The problem with not repairing this roof is obviously an internal problem - not a contractor or weather related problem. It seems more like a management problem in which someone is incapable of multi-tasking several large projects at once.

Ms Baustian goes on to say: “My biggest concern is that these funds will be used for some other project which is deemed "higher priority". I will remind you all, we are required to exercise 'due diligence' in the maintenance of our facilities. This is one facility which we plan to continue to use as part of the school building plan and yet we continue to allow for its neglect.”

When will this roof be fixed?

On Monday, November 17th, Circuit Court Judge Russell Simmons issued a reprimand to Assessor Chuck Jenkins over a letter he had written the judge.

Jenkins had sat through the hearing of TRDA vs. Loudon County He felt there was omitted information which was relevant to the case, and had written the judge a letter. Jenkins says he was unaware you cannot do this.

After the hearing, there was a heated exchange between Jenkins and Mayor Doyle Arp. Reportedly Arp asked Jenkins to “step outside”.

Mayor Arp is also a member of the TRDA board. As such, he is actually on both sides of this dispute. Arp has even been accused of deliberately trying to sabotage Loudon County’s defense so that TRDA would win. At one recent commission meeting, there was a motion to remove Mayor Arp’s attorney of choice from the case and replace him. The motion narrowly failed.

Chuck Jenkins, as Doyle Arp’s successor in the assessor’s office, discovered some assessment irregularities which occurred under Arp’s watch. Those discoveries - “developer-discount” assessments to one of his buddies – are now supposed to be the subject of an investigation by the DAG’s office. Jenkins has undoubtedly been a source of embarrassment for Arp.

As to the “step outside” invitation, Jenkins says: “I don’t know what his intentions were”, and says he told Arp to direct any further comments to his attorney.

According to a story at www.vanshaver.com, “Arp had been splashing around that something ‘big’ was going to happen at Monday's hearing even making sure the media was there.” In fact, there were media present that day which were not even present when the case was heard.

Did Mayor Arp try to stage a media event to return some of the embarrassment he has felt recently?

The Loudon County BOE sent four of its members, and the Schools’ Director, as delegates to the Nov. 16-18 TSBA Convention in Nashville. At its Nov. 13 meeting the BOE refused to hold any discussion as to how these delegates should vote on the eighteen resolutions they would be considering.

As previously reported here, one of those items (resolution #16) calls on the state legislature to give taxation authority to local school boards (which would mean the BOE could add to your county property tax rate however many “pennies” they feel they need).

At the Nov. 13 meeting, on three different occasions Schools Director Wayne Honeycutt managed to skirt open discussion about the proposed resolutions - including the question of school board taxation authority.

Why didn’t the BOE want to discuss these issues in public?

At the link accompanying this article, Ms. Hunter put it well: “With the exception of Van Shaver, the School Board seemed content to send Bill Marcus, Scott Newman, Leroy Tate and Gary Ubbens to the TSBA convention and let them vote as they please rather than have a public discussion, take a formal position and vote. These are the same officials that want you to pay over $100 Million for schools, when it seems that they could care less about keeping you informed about matters that may affect you in a very serous way.”

As previously reported, funds for this travel were taken from the BOE’s schools facilities maintenance budget.

The Loudon County Board of Education voted to suspend work on bleacher repairs throughout the school system because of problems with the new bleachers at Fort Loudoun Middle School.

Board member Scott Newman requested the situation be added to the board’s Nov. 13 agenda for discussion. Newman said the recently installed bleachers did not allow access underneath for cleaning and the problem had been compounded when maintenance workers cut a hole in them to allow access. The hole reportedly has metal edges that Newman said would sooner or later “cut some kid.”

Newman also pointed out that handrails, which cost $4,000, are not secured. “It really is a shoddy job,” said Newman. He noted that having maintenance workers welding the bleachers could void any warranty that came with their purchase. He urged the board to stop all work on bleacher repairs, including work scheduled at Loudon High School, until the situation was resolved. He said the system should not, “touch another school until we get this right.”

Board Chairman Leroy Tate said the board could vote to stop construction. Board member Bobby Johnson, Jr. said he had, “never seen anything like this” and that when he had walked down the bleachers he feared the steps would give way. “We need to reevaluate,” Johnson concluded.

Board member Lisa Russell wanted to know how the situation came about. “Who decided to cut it out?” she asked. County Maintenance Director David Hemelright addressed the board from the audience saying the bleachers had been changed to allow access for the handicapped. He added the cut was “designed by the architect” and that the bleacher installer had determined where it would go.

The board voted to halt all work on bleachers throughout the county school system. The board also voted to form a bleacher committee just for the project.

Christopher Ellis, being held in the Blount County jail for (among other things) a home invasion in Loudon County, kidnapping & carjacking in Atlanta, and bank robbery in Kentucky, attempted to escape from jail Wednesday night.

Blount County Sheriff James Berrong said attempted to escape from the Blount County Detention Facility, but did not get out. The escape attempt was discovered after 10 p.m. during a walk-through.

The sheriff's office says that Ellis was being held in a medical cell. He was able to make a hole in the ceiling of the cell and crawl through to the inner concrete walls. That was where he was discovered. Ellis never left the facility, and the public was never in danger.

When it comes to developing leaders, it pays to start early. For more than a decade, Loudon County Education Foundation has targeted middle school students.

Although Tellico Village residents cast deciding votes to allow liquor sales in Loudon County, they are expressing their surprise they cannot have a liquor store in the Village.

On Thursday, November 6th, the organizing meeting of the Accountability Project was held at the Dinner Bell restaurant in Lenoir City. Those who took time to attend were pleasantly surprised to see two elected county officials show up: Commissioner Wayne Gardin and BOE member Gary Ubben.

At one point in the meeting, Commissioner Gardin told the group that another county tax increase should be expected when the Loudon County Schools’ building project gets underway. According to Gardin, there is just no getting around this.

According to information provide at the accompanying link:

1. Loudon County government closed the fiscal year 2007-08 with a $7.2 million surplus in the general fund balance;

2. That figure does NOT include any revenues from the eight-cent property tax increase passed by commission just last August, NOR from the corrections made by Assessor Jenkins to Mayor Arp’s “developer discount” property assessments at Rarity Bay;

3. The Loudon County Board of Education finished the same fiscal year with $3.5 million in reserves.

By Hugh G. Willett, Knoxville News-Sentinel

Loudon County schools director Wayne Honeycutt on Thursday presented to the school board a road map for the county's long-awaited school building program.

The three-phase plan, which might cost more than $100 million over the next five or more years, met with general approval from most board members.

"I'm very pleased with what Mr. Honeycutt brought to the table," said board member Lisa Russell, who represents the Greenback district.

The first phase of the plan, estimated at $45.4 million, includes building a new pre-K-to-12 school at Greenback at a cost of about $30 million.

Other schools will convert to a pre-K-to-8 model wherever possible throughout the district, Honeycutt said. He said the latest research shows that model works best because it eliminates transitions between schools that can disrupt the learning process.

The first stage of the project includes upgrades to Fort Loudoun Elementary and Middle schools, which will be combined into a pre-K-to-8 configuration. About $2 million in upgrades to the Philadelphia Elementary School kitchen and cafeteria are included in phase one.

The second stage of the plan is projected to cost about $52 million. It includes a new pre-K-to-8 school near Highway 72 and Interstate 75 at a cost of about $18 million.

Other conversions to the pre-K-to-8 model would include Highland Park Elementary School. Based on projections, it might be necessary to build another elementary school in the north end of the county, officials say.

The third stage of the plan involves major renovations to Loudon High School, including new classrooms and athletic fields at a cost of about $12 million. Conversion of Steekee School to a pre-K-to-8 model as well as upgrades to Eaton and North Middle schools at a cost of about $7 million would be included in this stage. Upgrades to the Loudon County Technology Center might also be included.

by Hugh G. Willett, news@knoxnews.com

It will take more than the passage of a liquor store referendum to bring liquor stores to Loudon County.

Despite the 10,880-to-8,203 countywide vote in favor of the referendum to allow package liquor stores, the decision of just who gets a license to sell liquor and at what location is up to the Loudon City Council.

At a City Council workshop Monday, it was clear that there was some division on the council over whether the city really wants a liquor store. The majority of city residents voted against the referendum, said Councilman Charlie Garner.

"County people should not have the right to dictate to us," Garner said.

A large number of votes in favor of the referendum came from Tellico Village, Garner pointed out. "I'd like to see two or three liquor stores out in Tellico Village, if that's what they want," he said.

The wording of the state liquor laws makes the city of Loudon the only place in the county where a liquor store can operate, said city manager Lynn Mills.

However bad it may be, someone else has it worse than you.

Vicky Jones watched. For more than a week her son, Christopher Ellis had residents of Loudon and Monroe counties on edge, worried that he may attack them.

Today Jones drove more than an hour from her Morgan County home to see her son in the Blount County jail but it was to no avail. Ellis had already been transported to federal court to face his charges.

Knoxville’s Channel 8 interviewed her. The accompanying link will direct you to her story.

A man wanted by the FBI in connection to a kidnapping and home invasions in Loudon County and Atlanta, Ga., was captured today.

According to Stacie Bohanan, media representative for the Knoxville division of the FBI, Christopher Allen Ellis - who was considered armed and dangerous - was taken into custody today.

The arrest occurred after officers from several agencies began a massive search this morning. The FBI, Blount County Sheriff's Office, Maryville Police Department, Knox County Sheriff's Office, Loudon County Sheriff's Office and Monroe County Sheriff's Office joined together in the effort and apprehended Ellis at about 5 p.m.

School officials allowed a Loudon County school bus driver suspected of having a drug problem to return to work on the advice of a physician who, after meeting with the driver and administering a drug test, felt she was fit to drive.

Dr. John Sanabria, medical director for Loudon County schools, testified before the Loudon Board of Education Wednesday that "I was convinced this woman was OK."

Vicki Lynn Kwasny, 48, was arrested Sept. 29 and charged with DUI and reckless endangerment after being discovered non-responsive behind the wheel of a bus loaded with children. She admitted to being under the influence of Soma - for which she had a prescription.

Assistant Schools Director Gil Luttrell told the board he was notified after Labor Day by BOE member Scott Newman (who is also a Loudon City police Sgt) that the bus driver might have a drug problem. Newman reported that emergency medical services had been called to Kwasny's home several times for reported drug overdoses.

Luttrell said that he and schools director Wayne Honeycutt acted immediately upon hearing from Newman. Kwasny was referred to a doctor for a medical screening within two hours after the school department learned about her recent drug problems, he said.

Sanabria said that Kwasny, who was given a 10-drug screen for illegal drugs, was forthcoming about her use of the prescription drug Soma. Taken as prescribed, Soma can be out of the system in eight hours, making it hard to tell if the woman was abusing the drug, he said.

BOE member Craig Simon, who said he was familiar with federal drug guidelines for drivers, pointed out that use of Soma should have disqualified Kwasny from driving a school bus, regardless of her condition during the medical examination, and regardless of the prescription

The board discussed whether changes to the existing policies could have averted the incident. "We can write policies all day long but it doesn't mean anything if the policies are not followed," said board member Van Shaver. "The ball was dropped on this end."

Attorney Chuck Cagle, who is representing Loudon County Schools, said he believes the school department followed policies in this case. Cagle also suggested that schools could get a better handle on the implementation of policy by taking the drug screening process in-house.

The Loudon County Sheriff's Department is warning south Loudon County residents to be on the lookout for a man wanted in three states for kidnapping, bank robbery, and a home invasion. Authorities believe Christopher Ellis may be hiding out in some nearby woods.

On Friday, police found the stolen truck that Ellis was last seen driving. The 1978 Chevrolet Scottsdale pickup truck was discovered off Bat Creek Road near the Loudon-Monroe County Line on Friday morning. That's a rural area, not far from Tellico Village.

Loudon County deputies and FBI agents have been scouring the area, looking for any sign of Ellis.

Ellis allegedly kidnapped an Atlanta man last weekend and forced him to drive to Loudon County. Then he broke into a Loudon County couple's home and stole weapons and a pickup truck.

None of his victims have been injured, but Ellis is considered armed and dangerous.

"This individual is known to be a survivor in woods for days at a time. If that's the case, we're still going to be suspecting that. Hopefully, anyone who has a sighting, we're asking them to call in, and we'll respond," Loudon County Sheriff Tim Guider said.

Sheriff Guider asked that people in that area be extra vigilant for anything out of the ordinary.

For those who believe their vote doesn't count, the recent mayoral race in the City of Philadelphia certainly helps prove otherwise.

There is a new mayor in Philadelphia, Tennessee, but it was no landslide. Paul Stallings' family told him he should run for mayor and so he did. There was only one other person running, John Drinnon.

The votes were tallied and Stallings won the election by just one vote.Stallings had 18 votes, Drinnon 17.

The votes were write-ins and the new mayor isn't quite sure who all of the people are that voted for him. "I know it wasn't my family members. If it was, then it would have been a landslide," adds Stallings.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is employing a high-visibility strategy in an effort to catch a man accused of kidnapping, home invasion, and bank robbery.

Christopher Ellis, wanted in Kentucky for a bank robbery, then for a kidnapping in Atlanta which ended in Loudon County, and then a home invasion in Loudon County, is getting high-tech attention from the FBI.

Ten digital billboards in the Knoxville area are displaying an updated picture of what authorities now believe Ellis looks like.

Please Watch For This Man.

So, far, nobody has been killed or seriously hurt in his crime spree. That could change any time, if he isn't apprehended.

Just how serious is the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl? Opinions will vary. Form your own, and I'll save mine for the blog.

Ninth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Eugene Eblen has sentenced a man to 90 days in jail, followed by supervised probation for the balance of two years, for the statutory rape of a 14-year-old girl who was his stepdaughter.

For the victim, former stepfather Kevin M. Spurling remains a "monster" who continues to haunt her daily thoughts. As a result of the incidents, she went into a deep depression. "I would cut my arms or sides to let out some of my suppressed feelings of hurt," according to her statement.

According to the Knoxville News-Sentinel one person has objected that this sentence is unjust! To Roane County Public Defender Walter Johnson, the judge's decision was too harsh and a likely subject of appeal. Mr. Johnson had requested judicial diversion for his client, which Judge Eblen denied.

One more item: The victim's mother is apparently pleased with the sentence, saying she was surprised that Spurling got jail time.

DAG Russell Johnson said state officials assured him Monday that Spurling is also a candidate for the state's sex-offender registry. Thus, I have no problem with posting his picture here.