But for many athletes, the Opening Ceremony IS the victory.

This is from Joe Jacobi, who won an Olympic Gold Medal in Spain. He lives in Tennessee near the Olympic WhiteWater course on the Ocoee river and spent a lot of time in Roane County leading up to the 96 games. I consider him one of our own.

He has a unique perspective on the Olympics and the opening ceremony...

Link...

This is a fun thing to do when you're stuck looking out the window. Get the kids involved. Information and our regional checklist are here.

Here's the "How To" Link

Here's the checklist link. Just enter your zip code and click.

You can enter each day's tally or do it all at once for all three days. I think we get a tally for our area at the end.

What a beautiful shot! Click to see the full sized picture...

You'uns ain't from around here, are you'uns?

I'm sticking with this one.

He has reportedly received a stent and I suspect all the news programs will fill us in on everything soon. He's done a lot of good work since he left office. Let's hope it's not serious. Link...

update: Two stents, no big problems, should be OK.

In the Inskip School shootings, Knox County school board Chairwoman Indya Kincannon, whose district includes Inskip:

"I'm hoping and praying for the safety of the victims and glad they caught the shooter," she said. "I don't know why people turn to violence to try to solve their problems. It's not effective, and it's the cause of horrible pain and tragedy."

Don't let anyone think there is anything worth emulating in these actions. Villify creeps who do things like this. They are worse than excrement, but somehow glorify themselves in their own diseased minds.

Our thoughts go out to Amy and Elisa and their families.

It is OFFICIAL !!! The annual Rockwood High School Reunion will be at the First Baptist Church Lake Property ( same place as always) the week of June 13 thru June 20, 2010...Our catered meal will be Sat. June 19, 2010...More details will follow...Please make your plans to attend.....Ray

Why is Obama reappointing Republican Mike Sansom to the TVA Board? He was the board chair during the time period when the Inspector General ripped TVA moves to cover its rear instead of protecting and making whole the citizens they have harmed. This also insures a Republican majority on the TVA board for the forseable future.

If confirmed, Sansom and Haskew would serve on the TVA board until 2014. Brown would serve through 2012; McBride's term would end in 2013.

R. Neal at KnoxViews.com has alerted us to a USDA Food Environment Atlas.
Here's the Roane County info. I can't count 8 grocery stores or 22 full service restaurants. What do you guys see?

I've come across a Facebook page that I think could be very useful to Roane citizens. The Roane County Office of Emergency Services & Homeland Security has a (relatively) new page on the social networking site Facebook.

REGULAR MEETING - KINGSTON CITY COUNCIL
February 9, 2010 – 7:00 P.M.
KINGSTON COMMUNITY CENTER – COUNCIL ROOM

A G E N D A

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn (WVLT) -- Cassandra M. Petry, 36, of Rockwood, came to Pigeon Forge on her honeymoon after being remarried to Brian Umphrey...

Investigators found her body at the Days Inn on the Parkway around 11:30 pm last night. Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin says it appears she was stabbed to death.

Police are looking for Brian L. Umphrey, 34.

He's described as 5'10" tall, 175 pounds. Police say he has hazel eyes and black hair. He's believed to be driving Petry's white Dodge Durango with Tennessee tag "TF8619."...

Photo and complete story at: Link...

Link...

TVA has concluded that no comments were received that disclosed facts or considerations which indicate that the EE/CA work plan is inappropriate, improper or inadequate. As a result, TVA will not modify the EE/CA work plan based on the comments received during this public comment period.

Read the comments and decide fcor yourself.

A Libertarian sees through the smoke and mirrors.

Tips to R. Neal

I need help undestanding this one. There are consumption advisories for catfish, bass, striped bass, and several others in Watts Bar lake. But commercial licenses are issued and thousands of pounds of catfish caught in Watts Bar are sold into local markets. Is this a good idea?
The EPA's Craig Zoeller looked at me incredulously when I told him there are people who eat Watts Bar Fish every day. Here's the study.

Update: Watts Bar was closed to Commercial Fishermen by TWRA in 2008

As some of you may already know, the Creative Arts Co-op lost its agreement with Holy Joe's and is no longer able to rent the space for its theatre division (youth camps, recitals, murder mysteries, etc.) We are currently searching to find a new home in Roane County before camp and murder mystery season are upon us. But - to date - have been unsuccessful. So, I am reaching out to the community for help in the search. The Co-op primarily works with children, but also produces community theatre and professional theatre shows (in addition to visual arts, etc.). If anyone has any suggestions or a city is interested in having a theatre outfit in town, please let me know. Please e-mail me directly, so we don't clog the web site. Thank you for your help. My e-mail is mkeisenberg@creativeartsco-op.com.

[...]40 more coal ash impoundments showing they have the "high" or "significant" potential to cause loss of human life, environmental damage, or damage to infrastructure.

Link

I'm puzzled by the introduction of legislation supporting surprise inspections of Tiger Haven? Didn't our legislators just last year introduce a bill to stop suprise inspections at our County waste treatment facilities?

Oh boy. Last Thursday at the Roane Community Advisory Group meeting I asked if the Alabama Landfill bankrupcy was going to cause a problem and one of the few TVA folks I believe told us "No." But now they have a problem finding a place to treat the 30 tons of water in every train car of ash we're sending them. Link...

Here's the complete update

REGULAR MEETING - KINGSTON CITY COUNCIL

February 9, 2010 – 7:00 P.M.

KINGSTON COMMUNITY CENTER – COUNCIL ROOM

Other than higher summer temperatures, increased flooding, more severe droughts, crop failures, disease, and increased pollution, not much will change according to this draft EPA paper released last week. Get ready for the water wars that are coming. We already see Georgia trying to steal the Tennessee River.

Check out Figure 1 all you climate change deniers out there. Just keep burning that coal, people!

Reading about Tennessee's dwindling unemployment compensation fund led me to wonder whether the fund had lost any money in the downturn through bad investments.

I didn't find out the investment performance but did discover other things. One document, available behind a disclaimer on the tn.gov web site, is packed with some alarming numbers.

The TVA nuclear facility at Watts Bar dam has produced tritium for nuclear weapons for approximately a decade. Now TVA plans to add that capability to the Sequoyah facility near Soddy Daisy. Link...

West Roane County Volunteer Fire Department (WRCVFD) is getting a grant from FEMA for a much-needed pumper truck.

Back in March and April of 2008, community members donated over $10,000 in "pumper pledges" to go toward the required 5% matching funds.

Link...

Roane County residents have an excellent opportunity to express their opinions about education and workforce issues to county leaders. It's often said that education plays a key role in the economic well-being and quality of life in Roane County. To ensure the county makes smart choices in this regard, an Education and Workforce Summit is scheduled for May 12, 2010, to address the education and workforce needs of our county. To help prepare for the summit, adult residents of Roane County are asked to complete a survey which is online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RoaneCountyEducation.

Article here - http://www.roanealliance.org/news/show/90

FEBRUARY 2, 2010 – 5:30 P.M.
(update: Note new time)
KINGSTON COMMUNITY CENTER – ROOM C