Bellefonte Permits Reinstated says headline.

The aircraft pictured is a Russian YAK with a Red Star visible on the wing. The Bellefonte defunct and gutted power plant is in the background. The TVA is a socialist governmental corporate entity of the U.S, the Russian YAK fits in nicely.

If you will notice the caption over the picture reads that the units are placed in a "terminated" status. Does terminated mean reinstated, within our government anything is possible, including a Russian YAK over a proposed Nuclear Power Plant. Who knows what the future will bring, the communists??

I think this article is a result of political grandstanding earlier in the week by our Washington Legislative Delegation making promises they can't fulfil.

Links: http://thedailysentinel.com/story.lasso?ewcd=8a8d15b279c90c2c
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200990220014

Scottsboro City Council Work Session

Tonight was a short meeting with 2 items on the agenda. 1) Police Chief Ralph Dawe spoke about cages for the new Animal Shelter. It was mentioned that kennels or cages were not budgeted in the original plans. 2) Presentation of Ben Sanford Youth Center Awards, 2 young people were presented Certificates of Appreciation from the City of Scottsboro. 3) Citizen Presentations. a)Mr. Bob Starkey made presentation to the City Council concerning his property at Goose Pond Island Industrial Park. b) Mr. Garry Morgan- I received an anonymous letter Friday outlining 6 allegations pointed toward City Department Head Management. The following is my presentation to the council concerning these allegations:

"This past Friday, Feb. 13th I received an anonymous letter from an alleged Scottsboro City Employee which expresses concerns in 6 allegations related to Management Practices of Department Head(s).

I do not know if the concerns expressed are truthful or false. If the allegations are false they undermine the management practice of the City of Scottsboro.

If the allegations are true they point out short comings of one or more city managers, if true these shortcomings must be corrected. Either true or false the allegations stand to have a detrimental effect for the citizens of Scottsboro if not addressed and resolved properly. This is the reason I stand before you tonight.

There are 6 allegations identified as allegations in the attached letter which I will outline below. These allegations relate to City of Scottsboro Management Practice and /or Organizational Communications up and down a supervisory chain of management.
1) Department Head threats directed toward employees.
2) Unfair application of promotions and pay raises.
3) Unfair application of attendance policy.
4) City Employee working off duty for Department Head in private job.
5) Department Head misconduct...
6) Fear of reprisal for reporting Misconduct

An Objective Based Performance Standards Rating System has been the subject of previous concerns and discussion with the City of Scottsboro in relationship to its management practices. The lack of objective performance standards was identified as a short coming in the personnel management system as it relates to upper level supervisors and Department Heads several years ago.

4 years ago examples of the standards of practice for government institutions for an Objective Performance Standards Evaluation System was presented to Human Resource Management under the direction of Mayor Deason. The problems then are still evident now and have not been properly addressed. It is up to the Mayor and this Council to determine the outcome of the continuing saga of Department Head Performance Evaluations."

Additional Information: It was identified in an official Personnel investigation approximately 4 years ago, paid for by the City of Scottsboro, that a Performance Standard Evaluation system should be implemented. The City of Scottsboro has a performance evaluations system, however it is not an objective, contractual, Performance Standard Based Evaluation System as recommended in the official investigation.

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Prior to the City Council Meeting I spoke with one of the Department Heads mentioned in the Anonymous Letter. I mentioned that I was going to speak with the council about the letter received as I was concerned that either there is a serious management problem or a serious problem with an employee attempting to undermine the management team of the City of Scottsboro. It became immediately apparent that the Department head became irate and irrational. The Department Head threatened me with legal action if I discussed the letter with the council. I stated no name would be mentioned, however it was apparent there was a problem. The department head additionally stated that I did not want to resolve anything and that I was creating a problem. The Department Head stated I should discuss the matter with the mayor. I told the Department Head the Mayor was also mentioned in the anonymous letter and that I was going to bring the letter to the council. The Department Head stated to me that they knew who the letter was from and the letter was not true. (This Department Head had no idea of what was in the letter to me unless he wrote it himself.) I explained that there would be no names mentioned.

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In a subsequent conversation with the mayor he told me he did not know who the letter was from and had not seen this letter before I presented it to him. The mayor also mentioned that he wished I had came to him. Mentioning to me that I was former military and that I should know about a chain of command.

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Well Mr. Mayor I am retired military and it is you who in fact works for me, as well as the other 14,000 or so other citizens. You are not in my chain of command and I am concerned over your and at least one of your department heads reaction to this matter. Since the employee felt they could not communicate with you or any supervisors the letter was sent to me. If an employee takes the time to write a letter, even an anonymous one, to a citizen then it is no longer just a city management problem, it becomes a question of a possible larger management failure and places the citizens in an undesirable position. You sir have the communications problem, it is the Mayors Office and the City Council who is responsible for the lack of an Objective Based Performance Standards Personnel Evaluation System and apparently a lack of communications in your organization. It is the long time historical neglect of the Office of the Mayor and the City Council that has resulted in the few, thank goodness, performance management problems that have occured. It is never so late to implement positive change instead of continuing with the good ole boy system of personnel selection and management.

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Please, Scottsboro City employees, if you have a problem, you should give your Supervisor, Human Resources and the Mayor a chance to resolve your work problems. The buck should stop in the Mayors office. If for some reason you can't resolve your work problems with your supervisor, human resources or the mayor then you should write down your grievances and present them as described in your employee handbook. If all else fails, it is my suggestion that you submit to the council a formal complaint in the open meeting. Anonymous letters, even if they are valid, only displays a lack of fortitude. If all else fails there is always the advice of an attorney who is familar with labor law.

Jackson County Commission

The Jackson County Commission meets on the 2nd and 4th Mondays in Court Room 1 at the Jackson County Courthouse. 1)Ms. Sheila Corneilson of the Jackson County Democratic Executive Committee requested the County Commission establish new district voting lines. Ms. Corneilson stated the District Lines are not clearly established and there is no map designating the specific areas of the lines. (There was a map posted in the Jackson County Commission Board Room with specific lines posted.) It was stated that the lines must be established to fairly divide the county population per district within a 5% margin. The U.S. Department of Justice must approve any District Change. The last change was in 1996. It was stated the district lines may be changed once within a 10 year census period. 2)Ms. Kym Chapman made presentation concerning needed reflective lines on county roads in the Skyline area. It was mentioned this was a topic of discussion at a Skyline Town meeting with Senator Lowell Barron. Commissioner Jack Allen stated Mr. Barron had sent a letter concerning this subject. Roadway reflective lines will be applied in the near future to some of the roads in the area. 3) Ms. Sheila Washington requested funds for Black History month programs, $1000.00 was approved for Black History Month. A presentation was made by the Jackson County Multi-Heritage Foundation concerning a positive image for Scottsboro. This group will be concentrating on approving the appearance of our city and county by cleaning up trash and attempting to improve area appearances in areas where "urban blight" is evident, volunteers are needed. 4) 19 items were approved on the consent agenda. 5) Southern Health Partners were approved for providing health care to jail inmates. 6) Current Property Tax Millage rates were approved for 2009. 7) 50 rear loaded dumpsters were approved for the County Waste Management Department. Dumpsters will be rented/leased to customers.

Scottsboro City Council Meeting

1) Vacancy on Housing Authority Board announced, Mayors appointment, interested individuals should have their requests turned into the Mayor by 12 Noon March 5, 2009. 2) Councilman Smith's appointment to Abatement Board, Gail Duffey was appointed. Her term will expire in 2010. 3) A 2.5% Sanitation fee increase for local residents and business plus a $1.00 per ton fee for garbage brought into the waste disposal facility by other entities was approved. This would result in a 30 cent increase for households on their monthly garbage bill. 4) Announcement of vacancy on Personnel Board, requests must be turned in by 12 Noon March 5, 2009. 5) Mayor Potter selected Mr. Jim Olyneise to Planning Commission. 6) Infrastructure Grant Change Resolution change for KTNA in the Scottsboro Industrial Park approved. 7) City Engineer/Planner Job Description approved for Classified Position. 8) Aldrich Publishing approved as the City of Scottsboro Web Site Designer. This will cost the City a $4000 one time fee plus domain fee of approximately $150 per annum. 9) Alcoholic Beverage License Public Hearing for Lakeside Grocery on the corner of Veterans Dr. and Clemons Rd., license approved. 10) Bid opening for Compost Turner for Solid Waste, Global Repair Ltd. of Canada won the bid at $30,950.00, approved. It was stated that this was the only manufacturer of this equipment. The old machine will be turned over to the Street Department for composting, it was also made by the Canadian company. 11) High Country Automotive was approved as the low bidder for an SUV for the Recreation Department costing $22,923.00. An automotive dealership from Panama City, Florida actually had the low bid; however since the bid was within 3% of the local dealer, High Country was awarded the bid. 12) Mayor Potter reported: a) The TVA cancelled the Hydrilla meeting in Guntersville today, it will be rescheduled at a later date. b) The newly formed Warrant Division of the Scottsboro Police Department has collected $17,500.00 in fines owed and made 31 arrests on 50+ warrants issued. 13) Mr. Smith announced the death of Mr. Ben Matthews, Mr Matthews was recognized for his service to the City of Scottsboro.

More Evidence of Deceit from the TVA at the Kingston, Tn. Toxic Waste Spill Site

Fair Use, not for profit news reporting - photo by Knoxville News

Damage and contamination due to TVA's neglect of existing facilities. Citizen's lives destoyed and drinking water contaminated in the Kingston Fossil Fuel Plant disaster due to a waste holding pond dam collapse.

Fair Use Rights not for profit news reporting - Photo by Hurricane Creek Keeper John Waltham - South Wings Aviation.

Evidence of the Widows Creek TVA Fossil Fuel Plant Toxic Waste Spill in January 2009 seen on this aerial photo of Widows Creek. The TVA has not been truthful in this spill nor the Kingston Toxic Waste Pond Dam Collapse.

Fair Use for photo usage, not for profit news reporting Knoxville News photo

Site of the worst Toxic Waste Spill since Love Canal, near Kingston, Tn. TVA has stated the water is safe, according to the Environmental Integrity Project the TVA is deceiving the public.
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Data Reveals Significant Heavy Metal Contamination in Water Samples Downstream of TVA Kingston, Tn. Disaster Site. TVA has repeatedly stated that the water is safe, apparently this is not the case. http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/pub599.cfm Test results, http://kelleycampaigns.com/coalash.html

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The coal ash holding ponds at Widows Creek contain more hazardous wastes than the ones in Kingston, Tn.. http://www.environmentalintegrity.org/pubs/Widows%20Creek%20v%20%20Kingston.pdf None of the waste holding ponds have liners to prevent leakage into underground aquifers. Stevenson, Alabama's water supply is obtained from local wells.

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There is a serious issue of trust concerning the TVA. A question that should be on everyone's mind, can we trust the TVA to operate a nuclear power plant at Bellefonte without deceiving the local population if a radiation leak occurs?

City Council Work Session

Tonight's meeting was short, about 20 minutes with 3 items on the agenda.

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1) Discussion on a 2.5% sanitation rate increase due to ADEM's implementation of a $1.00 per ton "tax" on landfill waste. 2) City Engineer job description discussion. The Mayor stated there have been 6 applications taken. ( There has been no council approval of this job or the advertising of this position.) There was discussion as to the classification of the position, appointed non-classified versus regular classified under the city's personnel system. 3) Mayor Potter discussed the City Web-site contract, placed on the agenda for next Monday's regular council meeting. 4) Mayor Potter announced that the TVA will decide the "hydrilla" issue at Guntersville on Feb. 9, 2009.