There was a terrific turnout for the March 4th Spay/Neuter held at Burgess Feed in Benton. Thank you so much Mr. Burgess, for allowing the Mobile Veterinary Unit to use some of your parking lot! Remember Burgess has Pet food and pet supplies including some pet medications at conservative prices.
Also, Sharp as a registered entity is dissolving .... too many complications with meeting schedules, paper work, etc. However, be assured we are all continuing our animal rescue work individually. As you know, Kim, who owns Heavenly Cuts will always be a central contact 338-4411. We still need donations there for food and medicines for rescued animals. Every penny we have ever collected goes directly to the needy animals.
So donate what you can at Heavenly Cuts, no matter how small. Also we are urgently in need of a "pet wheelchair" for a little dog, only 3 years old who is paralyzed from the waist down . My husband Ed is trying to build one but if anyone has one that could be modified to fit this tiny dog, it would be just great! We also need pet carriers and dog houses. If you have any to donate, call Kim at 338-4411 or me, Michelle at 423-596-8866. We will pick them up. We are concentrating on low-cost Spay and Neuter and welcome any phone calls. Hope all is well with Polk County citizens. We are still hoping for a Shelter someday! Keep talking to your Commissioners!
Thanks,
Michelle Novotny
To the Editor,
In response to Mr. Bruce Walters’ letter week before last, about corridor K, I would like to ask him…. You think the wildlife and The National Forest “needs to be protected at all cost”? Well, how do you feel about about protecting the humans that have to drive that dangerous road everyday to get back and forth to work? You don’t think that they need “protected at all cost”?
You seem to know a lot about the history of Polk County. Especially for someone that doesn’t even live here (your letter says you live in Largo Florida, but own property at Campbell Cove). Well in doing your research of this county and its roads, did you happen to tally up the number of people that have gotten killed on the River Road? Why don’t you look that up? I don’t know a soul that has 2.3 billion dollars (what you said the cost of a new road would be). But I do know that you could ask any person that has had a loved one die on that “beautiful” road and they would tell you, they would give every cent of it to have their daughter or son or mother or father or husband or wife back! They would do anything “at all cost”(as you say) to keep it from happening again to some other person -- If for nothing else but to spare another family of the pain that they themselves went through.
That road may be a beautiful scenic drive to you, but do you know what? For those of us that DO LIVE here in this county and HAVE to drive it twice a day to go to work, or have a child that has to drive it every day to go to school…well the road just stinks (I can think of a few other word for it)….it is nothing but dangerous, buddy, and that’s the bottom line. Pretty will always take a backseat to deadly in my book.
You have no idea what it feels like to be expecting someone you love home and to hear a siren going down 64 towards the river. To have someone call to tell you that there has been a wreck on the river road again. The worry you will feel until you find out it wasn’t your husband or wife returning from work, or your child returning home from college. If you lived here maybe you would have a different view. If you had a loved one that had to drive that road every day, you might get just as angry as I do when I pick up my local paper and read a letter from some guy that lives in Florida opposing a new safer road.
Also to just touch on the statements you were made about the dangers of “run off” getting into the river as a result of a new road, with all the anti freeze and McDonalds and Hardees wrappers and cigarette butts and blown out recap tires….where in the world do you think that stuff is going with the road situated where it is now? The road runs right along side the river as it is!!! That crap gets in it every day. it wouldn’t be some new pollution caused by a new road. It’s there now as the road is today!! Why don’t you do a little more research and find out about all the stuff that has been dumped into the Ocoee as a result of semi trucks wrecking and running off into it? There has been everything from dead rotten chicken parts to diesel fuel to Little Debbies to concrete and acid spilled in there. Every time caused by a wreck. People that live here know and remember these things.
The citizens of Polk County love these mountains and rivers, that’s why we choose to live here. This is our home and we love it! But, Mr. Walters, I personally feel that when you love something that you want what is best for it. And what would be best for this county and its citizens is to finally have a safe road to commute on! And when we get the urge to get back to nature and go sightseeing and bird watching and flower smelling, we still can. These mountains are our backyards. We are talking about a road here… a 12 to 14 mile stretch of road. It’s really not going to take up that much room. Not compared to the thousands of acres of mountains that will be left untouched. This road that you oppose needs to happen, to save lives (I haven’t even touched the economic standpoint, and I won’t in this letter). If you lived here you would know that. But you don’t live here. You live in Largo Florida.
The governor’s proposal to increase class sizes in the elementary schools, and to base the state’s payments on those maximums, could mean a significant loss of revenue for teaching positions in Polk County.
Video surveillance has been installed at the county’s convenience centers to identify people leaving garbage outside the fence at the convenience centers or throwing it over the fence when the centers are closed.
The collision happened around 6:45 a.m. Dec. 28 when a westbound truck carrying around 20 tons of calcine lost control coming around a curve on Hwy. 64 and flipped on its side.
Board members spent a majority of the meeting listening to a laundry list of ranging from mold issues to the proper wording on “no smoking” signs on the outside bleachers.
The state’s report card provides achievement scores showing the amount of knowledge students have, and value-added scores showing the gain in test scores, or lack of it.
While there was some improvement last year, it was not enough to overcome low scores after the state raised standards in 2009; there were also some declines.
While the big race nationally is for President, there are several countywide races on tap, as well as School Board, constables, and municipal elections.
Lee University’s Encore Program, which offers people age 60 and over the opportunity to take university courses, has a new line up of specially-designed mini-courses for the spring.
Horse Trainer and owner of Double S. Stables, Randy Speegle of Benton took second place in the Legends division at the Mustang Challenge in Murphreesboro on October 21st – 23rd.
Local residents got their first look at potential routes for a Copperhill-McCaysville Bypass, at a public information open house held last Thursday by Project Engineers for the Georgia Department of Transportation.
Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Julius Johnson has authorized a statewide referendum for cattle producers to vote on a $0.50 per head increase in the assessment to fund the in-state promotion of beef.
While some students may be nervous about how the upcoming exams could affect their college options, the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) has the tools they need to succeed.
Principal Mrs. Patricia Smith proudly announces the Copper Basin Elementary 1st and 2nd honor students. Students must have a 93 or higher average in all classes for the 1st honor roll.
Mrs. Deborah Swafford of Old Fort, was chosen by Northwest Elementary Faculty in Murray Co, Georgia to be Teacher of the Year for the 2011-2012 School year.
On Oct. 7, with the help of Vice Principal Turner, who kept her out of class for a few minutes to get it set-up, The Senior English 12 Class threw a Surprise party for Mrs. Ellen Carr.
On Wednesday September 20, Ms. Bigham's English 11 class gave their book reports. One of the students, Tyler Queen, dressed up for his book report on Harry Potter.
In an effort to provide added security measures at Cleveland State, the college has purchased Code Blue emergency blue light pedestals to be placed in different locations throughout the main campus and one at the CSCC Athens site.
Virginia Deloris Brown Trantham, affectionately known to family, friends and coworkers as “Sally”, age 77, of Copperhill, TN passed away Tuesday, January 24, 2012.
Peggy Wood, 79, of Ventura, CA went to be with her Lord and Savior on December 26, 2011. Peggy passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease
I just wanted to say a big “Thank You” to Cheryl Maxwell, Mayor Stephens, Linda Caldwell, and others who planned and carried out a very successful 2nd Annual Heritage Days festival in Benton.
There is an old saying, which many credit to Native Americans as advising, “You can’t really understand someone else, unless you live their life or walk in their shoes (so to speak).
Photo from 1910 provided by Bill Lillard shows the family of Calvin Higdon, who built the Higdon Hotel in Reliance. Calvin (1836-1919) and Amanda Linderman Higdon (1845-1926) were married in 1860.
From Polk County News, 9/13/34
Famous Monroe County Hotel Is Now No More
People from All Over South Visited the “Saratoga of the South” in the Good Old Days.
The Museum Center at 5ive Points will host a presentation on Learning to Care and Maintain Your Featherweight Sewing Machine by Stan Pegram on Saturday, February 11 from 10:00 - noon.
Sequoyah Birthplace Museum is offering a Cherokee language class in Vonore, TN on the following Mondays, January 9, 16, 23, 30, 2012 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Each day kids will create their own holiday spirit by making decorations, learning games and trying foods from the past. Campers are asked to bring a sack lunch.
The Museum Center at 5ive Points with the Sassy Brass Big Band invite you to a Christmas concert called “Swing into Christmas” on Tuesday, November 29.
“It was like seeing a freight train coming down the tracks 90 miles an hour and trying to stop it by stepping in front of it”, Coach Danny Rogers said.
After a week off, the Copper Basin Cougar football team regrouped to break a three game losing streak by defeating the Marion County Warriors 41-18 at Cougar Stadium.
The Copper Basin Medical Center’s District Board honored Dr. William E. Lee last week. Dr. Lee, 85, has spent a lifetime in service, not only to the community but to the world through his medical mission trips.
EPA is proposing actions to improve the water quality of the Ocoee from Copperhill to Dam No. 3, at Dam No. 3, and at the upper reach of Parksville Dam.
The Ocoee River Outfitters Association will conduct a stream cleanup with the help of approximately 130 volunteers on Friday, May 27, 2011 starting at 9:00 am.
Beginning in mid-January culverts will be replaced on Sina Branch Road where it crosses Sawmill Branch in the Ocoee Ranger District in Polk County, TN.
Drawdown is underway at Apalachia Lake, according to David Bowling with River Operations at TVA. He said the lake will drop 18-20 feet for routine maintenance work.
Trout stocking will be reduced about 20% in the coming fiscal year and could be reduced 85% after that, according to Frank Fiss, Assistant Chief of Fisheries at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
TVA has created a smartphone app for those wanting to check on reservoir elevations, water release schedules and more. The information has been available online, but the new app will allow access by cell phone.
Unseasonably high temperatures -- in the 90s -- are sending folks to the water. The Ocoee Whitewater Center is a popular place when the river isn't flowing, and the Hiwassee and Ocoee are popular when it is.
People come from near and far to experience a variety of outdoor recreation activities including camping, picnicking, hiking, bike riding, water play, fishing and much more.
More than six hundred museums in all 50 states and the District of Columbia—including the McMinn County Living Heritage Museum in Athens, Tenn.—are taking part in the initiative.
VEC was recently notified by a neighboring utility that they have been receiving complaints from customers who have been visited by scam artists posing as energy evaluators.
The Tennessee Historical Commission is now accepting nominations for its Certificate of Merit Awards to honor individuals or groups that have worked to preserve Tennessee’s cultural heritage during 2011.
The Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine offers personalized support for Tennessee residents who want to quit smoking by connecting them with trained quit coaches to guide them through the quitting process.
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) Consumer Affairs division is urging consumers to be wary of emails that request participation in a survey and that promise a gift card in return.
While many job placement firms may be legitimate and helpful, others may misrepresent their services, promote outdated or fictitious job offerings and charge high fees in advance for services that may not lead to a job.
The annual campaign has enrolled tens of thousands of children in the low-cost health insurance plan, which provides coverage for everything from physician visits to hospitalization to dental and vision care.
The Tennessee Department of State has launched a campaign to educate citizens about the new photo identification requirement that will go into effect for elections held in the state after Jan. 1, 2012.
All of the legislation approved this year, during the first session of the 107th General Assembly, is now available online at the Office of Secretary of State web site.
Applications for the State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP) are available online at www.e-rebates.org/teearp or by phone at 1-877-741-4304 on a first-come, first-served basis.
Individuals who have received LIHEAP assistance since July 2010 must wait until October 1 for the new program year to begin before they can re-apply for benefits.
The next time you see an electric utility vehicle working on the side of the road, slow down and give it room. The workers will appreciate your courtesy, and a new Tennessee law requires it.
“Kids Fishing Day” event in Cherokee National Forest’s Ocoee/Hiwassee Ranger District is scheduled for May 21, 2011 at McCamy Lake. Anglers 15 years and under are invited to try their luck.
Ducktown resident Jack Suites and his partner Bitt Ledford of Murphy, N.C. took home the $700 second place prize at the Tri-County Community College Foundation Fishing for Scholarships Bass tournament on April 2.
More than four months after a spotted bass weighing 6 pounds, 7 ounces was caught on the Ocoee River in Polk County, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has confirmed the fish as a new state record
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