Meigs County News

A privately-owned landfill located off Highway 30 between Athens and Decatur has been approved by TDEC to store coal ash from the TVA's Kingston spill.

Meadow Branch Landfill is one of four East Tennessee landfills selected.

The announcement of four selected landfills stirred up significant local opposition in at least one community. Loudon residents, including Loudon County Mayor Doyle Arp, have protested the selection of Matlock Bend landfill in Loudon.

Loudon resident Wendy Baustian has widely circulated a letter to local officials and state legislators in which she wrote:

We have no idea of the lasting impact that the fly ash will impose upon the residents in terms of health....TVA tells people not to drink or play in the water near the spill because of the fly ash and it's unknown health hazards, yet we are going to bring it here."

Editorial, By Joe Webb

I have been following the story of the tragic death of Savannah Cass McMahan and the subsequent re-victimization of her family by a lazy, distracted, certainly incompetent, and probably ethically-compromised District Attorney General's office. My emotions have swung from excruciating sorrow for the young woman's family, to an almost blind fury at the notion of allowing her alleged killer to walk free. This infuriates me (fathers of daughters reading this will understand).

As I read the coverage of this tragedy and the compounding epic farse that is the criminal justice system in the 9th Judicial District under Russell Johnson, something caught my eye and it added a new dimension. Maybe this is a teachable moment in our lives. Maybe there is something important to be learned in this horror. Maybe something good can come from something so terribly bad.

The thought came reading Hugh Willet's excellent coverage of this story for the Knoxville News-Sentinel. In his story "Family critical of plea deal in shooting", Mr. Willet writes of John McMahan, the victim's father "McMahan said he witnessed the couple's frequent arguments and what he called "bullying" by Harvey." Willet goes on to quote Mr. McMahan "She said she was going to leave him several times before the shooting," he said. "I know that's why he shot her, because she said she was going to leave."

Did you catch it? Did you see the teachable moment? I'll give you a hint: The key word is "bullying" suggesting domestic violence that just didn't get addressed in time. Tragically, many don't and maybe that lesson is the silver lining here. This tragedy may have given us an opportunity to think deeply and critically about domestic violence, and our response as a community to domestic violence.

(Click the headline to view the full article)

It started out as a routine traffic stop on Highway 68 in Ten Mile. It ended with one person in jail on drug charges.

Friday afternoon Timothy Scott Ricker of Athens, Tenn. was stopped for speeding. A canine unit on the scene alerted officers to the smell of drugs.

Officers found four ounces of marijuana, and charged Ricker with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and sell.

Knoxville News-Sentinel editorial, June 26, 2009:

Justice was not served when prosecutors in the Ninth Judicial District agreed to five years' probation for a Lenoir City man who shot his girlfriend to death.

John Kenneth Harvey, 26, was originally charged with second-degree murder in the February 2008 death of Savannah Cass McMahan, 21.

Harvey admits he was arguing with McMahan when he picked up a loaded .22 from a nearby table. The two argued often, according to McMahan's father, who said Harvey bullied his daughter, and "she said she was going to leave him several times before the shooting."

The gun was a single-action revolver, and the detective in the case said it had to be cocked before it could be fired. The powder burns he found showed McMahan was shot at close range.......

If prosecutors could not do better than a no-jail-time deal in that case, they should have gone to trial and let 12 citizens decide who had the best ballistics expert.

This plea bargain simply undermines faith in the judicial process.

(The full editorial is longer than Topix allows on the news board. To read it in its entirety, visit the accompanying link. The Ninth Judicial District includes Loudon, Roane, Morgan, and Meigs counties.)

The parents of a Lenoir City woman shot and killed by her boyfriend are speaking out against a plea bargain that sentenced their daughter's killer to five years on probation.

The plea-deal was granted by the office of Russell Johnson, District Attorney General for Roane, Loudon, Meigs, and Morgan counties.

"I want justice for my daughter," said Sarah Berry, mother of Savannah Cass McMahan, 21, who was shot by John Kenneth Harvey, 26, in February 2008.

Harvey was originally charged with second-degree murder, and admits he shot the woman during an argument but claims it was an accident. The charge was reduced to reckless homicide.

The victim’s mother, Sarah Berry, said she met several times with the district attorney general's office. She says the office wanted to avoid a trial from the beginning,

The victim's father, John McMahan, said he witnessed the couple's frequent arguments and what he called "bullying" by Harvey. McMahan says his daughter was going to leave Harvey. He says:

I know that's why he shot her, because she said she was going to leave"

Assistant Attorney General Bill Reedy says one critical factor in not pursuing a murder charge was a "dying declaration" made by the victim that the shooting was accidental. The witness was said to be Nathan Lane, who called the ambulance that night.

Lane says that he never heard a dying declaration and never agreed to testify to hearing such a thing:

By the time I saw her she was already going into convulsions. She didn't say a thing to me."

For more details, see the full story.

Native American artists have organized a festival of music, storytelling, food and crafts Saturday to benefit the new Cherokee Removal Memorial Park in Meigs County.

The park was dedicated in September 2008 at Blythe Ferry in Meigs County. Grants and matching state funds were used to build the park, but operating funds are now needed.

The park is in honor of those Cherokee who were forced from their homes on the Trail of Tears. Blythe Ferry was the removal point for more than 9,000 Cherokee and 500 Creeks.

Headlining the concert will be nationally-known fiddler Arvel Bird, 2007 Native American Music Awards ("Nammy") Artist of the year.

A Lenoir City man who admitted shooting and killing his girlfriend during an argument last year will receive five years' probation for the crime.

John Kenneth Harvey, 26, was arrested in February 2008 and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Savannah Kathy McMahan, 21.

Prosecutors said they reduced the charge to reckless homicide and agreed to five years' supervised probation after reviewing the evidence in the case.

A 2009-2010 budget hasn't been presented to the Meigs County Commission but County Mayor Ken Jones said one is in the works.

Meigs County's commissioners have approved funding for several new county structures.

Motorists stopped for traffic violations in Tennessee could be fingerprinted if state lawmakers approve a bill pending in the legislature.

Currently, when drivers are cited during traffic stops police officers ask for the driver's signature on the ticket But the proposed bill would allow police departments to eliminate signatures and collect fingerprints.

Supporters say collecting fingerprints would save money and help police determine whether the driver is wanted for a criminal offense, but opponents worry that it allows the government to tread on individual privacy rights.

"The way I see it, if they take your fingerprint, they have access to your history and that's an invasion of privacy," said Martha Simms, 27, a mother of two who recently got a speeding ticket in Davidson County.

State Sen. Joe Haynes and State Rep. Mike Stewart co-sponsored the bill, which gives police departments the choice of collecting a signature or a fingerprint, or collecting a signature and a fingerprint. The bill has been approved by the state House of Representatives, and senators will vote on the measure Wednesday. The bill, if passed, will take effect on July 1. At that time, any police department within the state could require fingerprinting as a means of identification, said Haynes, a Goodlettsville Democrat. "It's their discretion," he said.

Twenty-eight county election administrators already have been replaced since Republicans gained control of Tennessee's 95 county election commissions and more Democrats are likely to be dismissed in the months ahead, a state official says.

. State Election Coordinator Mark Goins said despite "a few bumps and bruises" the transition from Democratic to Republican administrators has generally gone smoothly.

A push in the Legislature to give Republicans control of the State Election Commission, meanwhile, may have hit a stumbling block with House Democrats announcing opposition to the Senate-passed bill - SB547 - that would make the change.

County election administrators are appointed by each county election commission. Under state law, all 95 commissions shifted to Republican control last month because Republicans now hold a majority of all seats in the Legislature.

While 28 counties have changed administrators, incumbent administrators in about 20 counties have notified Goins' office that they expect to be retained by the new GOP-controlled commissions, the election coordinator said.

Goins said that, in general, administrators serve at the will of the county election commissions and may be replaced at any time. A recent attorney general's opinion, however, said that an administrator fired solely because of his or her political party affiliation might successfully challenge the dismissal in court. So far, no lawsuits have been filed. In East Tennessee, counties where election administrators have been replaced include Cumberland, Greene, Jefferson, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Morgan, Polk, Roane, Sevier, Sullivan and, most recently, Union.

Meigs County school officials hope the use of federal stimulus dollars will give a jump start to students who need a little extra help.

A camper fire in Meigs County sent an Etowah woman with extensive burns to Vanderbilt Medical Center.

The Tennessee HIghway Patrol confirms a McMinn County man died in a single vehicle crash in Meigs County this past weekend.

Members of Congress are now required to make their "earmarks" available to the public by posting them on their congressional Web sites. The change is part of an effort to make the budget process more transparent in response to public outrage over wasteful spending. Members were to have their earmarks posted by April 4.

Watchdog groups say some House members appear to be deliberately trying to hide the information – and Zach Wamp is one of them.

Wamp is among those lawmakers whom they say have displayed their requests in a way that makes it hard for even computer-savvy Web surfers to ferret out the information.

"There are some lawmakers who are playing 'hide the ball' with these earmark requests," said Steve Ellis, vice president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group.

Wamp is seeking $78 million for 18 projects. Critics say Wamp's spending requests are extremely difficult to find.

The Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan group that pushes for government transparency, said its researchers combed through all House members' Web sites but were unable to find the funding requests for 120 lawmakers, including Wamp.

Ellis said Taxpayers for Common Sense researchers eventually were able to hunt down Wamp's spending requests, but only after some serious digging. Ellis said it makes no sense to put the information in such an out-of-the-way place.

Locating Wamp's requests requires multiple clicks, starting with the "legislative information" section of his home page. When readers get to the right page, they then have to click on a series of different links to read a description of all of the projects.

Ellis said it was pretty clear that the intent of the new rule was to make the information transparent and available for public viewing. Hiding the requests behind layer after layer of Web links clearly goes against the spirit of the new rule, Ellis said.

Wamp’s $78 million in earmark requests represent an increase of 44.9 percent over his FY 2008-09 spending. According to the “Pig Book” posted online by Citizens Against Government Waste:

http://www.cagw.org/site/DocServer/House_-_alpha.pdf?docID=3021

Wamp spent $53.8 million on 30 projects the previous year.

Soon, there will be a changing of the guard in the Meigs County Election Commission office.

After nearly four decades of stops and starts, work crews are busy again building another part of Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.

The link accompanying this story will direct you to an online article on a website called Deep Green Perspective. This is apparently an environmental advocacy site.

In this article Mr. Russell Johnson, District Attorney General for Loudon, Meigs, Roane, and Morgan counties, is accused of helping TVA hide itself from public scrutiny on the matter of air quality.

Among other things, the following is alleged:

1. United Mountain Defense volunteer Matt Landon was arrested for trespassing on newly-purchased TVA land, even though the residents (and former owners) had given him permission to be there. Landon was on this land to check on air monitoring equipment that UMD had set up there, near the Kingston coal ash spill.

2. UMD had entered into a legal, contractual agreement with the landowner to monitor air quality.

3. In a truly Orwellian turn, TVA forbade the former landowner from informing Landon that TVA had purchased the property. In other words, TVA is accused of acting to entrap Mr. Landon.

4. DAG Russell Johnson threatened Landon with a year in jail for putting up an air monitor.

5. Landon demanded a pre-trial hearing. Russell Johnson’s office offered a plea bargain which Landon refused.

6. Johnson’s office then offered another plea bargain.

Without offering any opinion on my part, anyone interested in this case should follow the accompanying link to the full story.

Charges have been dismissed against a well-known basketball coach in Meigs County.

Sammy Perkinson was charged with DUI in February. A police report says the Meigs County High School coach had a blood alcohol content of .18

The legal limit is .08

Perkinson's case was dismissed after a preliminary hearing Thursday.

Judge Jayne Crowley agreed with the defense that coach Sammy Perkinson drank alcohol after he crashed his truck into a mailbox, but before taking an alcohol breath test.