Ray Collet asks if anybody knows who these fine Rockwood students are? Call it the Class of 195(?).

(Click the little one to see the Big one)

I was looking for the TVA conservation recommendations on lighting and ran across this little jewel of governmental mis-speak in the TVA Risk Assessment report.

Public health exposures, cancer: Maximum lifetime cancer probabilities for all TVA fossil plants were on the order of 3 in 1,000,000 or less. EPA’s acceptable range of excess lifetime cancer risk for the general population is 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 1,000,000. TVA concluded that air TRI emissions do not represent a cancer risk to the public.

So TVA emissions pose a cancer risk to the general public of somewhere above 3 times the EPA's threshhold of causing cancer in 1 out of every million people and then says there's no problem?

Think about this when you drive by those big stacks at the Kingston Steam Plant. (It should be called the Kingston Fossil Fuel plant anyway.)

I read that as TVA gets to kill 18 people in Tennessee as a cost of doing business. It's a gamble TVA takes with your life.

Feeling lucky?

A couple of us were chatting about feeders and birds and we think there are more birds at feeders earlier this year for some reason. Several folks are seeing red breasted nuthatches for the first time. We usually have them but not in the numbers we have this year.

It's been a strange year with the late freeze and no acorns to speak of, but how does that affect the birds?

And we have nearly no ladybugs, and usually they are a serious pest by now.

What's up?

My Mama told me that people are thought of by what we accomplish and who we hang around with. Well, the folks here at RoaneViews are hanging around with some really good smart people, who know the difference between an idea and a slogan.

Randy, at TennViews, has gathered up some of the week's most thoughtful posts from other Tennessee progressives and put them in one spot for a lazy Sunday surf.

We're proud to be on the list.

This debate on cable choice is raging nationwide and affects everyone...Especially the folks that the cable companies refuse to serve, which is a large portion of Roane County.

This time the debate on what cable companies provide will be voted on by your Congressman. Do you think your best interests will be served?

If you don't look for it, you won't notice it but there is a really nice slideshow with sound posted at RCN.

Dave Doonan does great work.

Unfortunately, when you look at these men's faces you know there is an uncalculated cost of war that those of us who've never faced it can never really know.

And we can never ever repay them what we owe.

Saturday, December 1st (tomorrow) beginning at 7:00 p.m. will be a great opportunity to all who would like to see the starry skies that we are trying to recover & protect. All are welcome to come to Tamke-Allan Observatory in Midtown. The link for directions is (link...). Please visit for a great learning experience!

Cute kids and a chick with really nice thighs in a tutu...What's not to like? (That "nutcracker" thing? It's not what you think)

Presented by Arts in Motion Dance Studio

The Nutcracker has become a Roane County tradition you do not want to miss. RSCC Theatre. Dec 1, 7 pm; Dec 2, 2 pm.

Tickets are $15 and available only in advance...Call 376-0295.

A new group of concerned homeowners, business owners, educators, students, clergy and others who live or work in Roane County has formed Save Roane Starry Skies.

The mission of this citizens’ group is to recover and preserve the beauty of the starry night skies in Roane County. By encouraging responsible outdoor lighting for security, energy conservation, and aesthetics, they want to pass along the heritage of beautiful night skies to their children before this heritage is lost to light pollution.

Yep! We knew it. An RCN letter says that Consolidated Schools would be bad for the football teams.

And cause gangs...and school violence...and increase the dropout rate...and so on, and the solution is...

Well, sort of. Roane County may not have a liability due to McFarland's actions because the harassee did not actually receive a paycheck from the County. The suit could be reinstated within 90 days with a new filing.

Tommy continues to act the gentleman in all this by maligning the lady's reputation.

Link

Pinnacle Pointe seems to be going well, so why don't developers pay Harriman what the State says they owe?

The RCN Editor thinks powerful and well connected people ought to pay their bills just like the rest of us.

The bad press alone ought to make somebody get out the check book.

Everything that happens along the Tennessee River flows right into our drinking water intake pipes here in Roane County. Here's a great series from WBIR (with a few friends of mine in cameo roles) that should really get us thinking.

Our River

One from Mark Twain, one from Thomas Jefferson, and one from Herbert Spencer. Read, consider, enjoy, then discuss if it pleases you. :-)

Let's hope this Roane County News link works.

It's the week after Thanksgiving, still November, I already hate the Xmas carols I love, and I have a burning question: "Why, in towns in which it is illegal to throw a snowball at a tree, is it legal to stand out in the middle of a five lane road and beg for money?"

Let me not be understood as saying that there are no bad laws, nor that grievances may not arise for the redress of which no legal provisions have been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to say that although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon as possible, still, while they continue in force, for the sake of example they should be religiously observed.
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

Let me set this one up for you. A 71 year old man lives on his farm and the dogs start barking at some men who are coming through the brush toward his house. He gets his rifle and fires shots and yells at them to go away. They yell "Police" and he says he doesn't care who they are he wants them to go away.

The "police" coming through his property are TVA and Alcohol and Beverage Control officers. The man doesn't actually shoot them, they tackle him, and he is serving a ten year sentence for shooting at an officer or something.

Now look...I realize there's a problem here, but I want to make something clear. Country people don't shoot "AT" much of anything. Country people "shoot" things. I'm guessing William Hendricks had no intention of shooting the officers or they wouldn't have gotten shot at, they would have gotten shot.

A thread at KnoxViews is discussing dangerous dogs and, while following the links, I ran across this interesting set of statistics.

Cause of injury.... Emergency room incidents annually

Baseball/softball... 404,364
Dog bites ... 333,687
Playground accidents ... 268,810
All-terrain vehicles, mopeds, etc.... 125,136
Volleyball ...97,523
Inline skating ...75,994
Horseback riding ...71,162
Baby walkers ...28,000
Skateboards ...25,486

I'm surprised at the most dangerous sport. It's a little misleading because it is a total number and does not relate to the likelyhood of injury from a particular activity. Ice Hockey and Football are the most likely to injure a participant but they don't make the list because there are far fewer participants. (Basketball and Soccer have the most participants of any sports and don't make the list)

All I know is that I'm done with my baby walker. That's OK, because I'll have that other kind soon enough, judging from the way my knees hurt after yesterday's hike.

"Mike Hooks' advocacy for higher standards for Constables is something that could be applied to all public offices, including his own..."

Raymond R. Murray(From the Letters to the Editor, Roane County News)

It seems that sentiment is running very strongly toward eliminating the position of Constable in Roane County. We missed a good old fashioned shouting match at the County Commission meeting and wonder when our County Fathers are going to move into the current century by making the meetings available for public viewing on the Internet Tubes via podcast.

We could then watch the brouhaha at our leisure when we needed a bit of a laugh.

The leaves are flying by the house this morning. They must think they have an appointment in Meigs County. Last night's storm changed our gorge and I suspect it changed your yard, too. This is a good thing. Change keeps it all interesting.

So the bird is already in the oven and the kitchen is a happening place to be, not just at our house, but all over. I've planned hikes every day as pennance for the excess I know is coming and it will all be worth it.

On this Best of All American Holidays, I'm thankful for every second I'm allowed to exist in this fascinating World, and grateful there are so many thoughtful folks to share the experience with.

Thanks to all of you for being a part of RoaneViews and making our Community a better place.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

From another Roane County blog ((link...))

"Becky Ruppe, County Executive of Morgan County , has announced her bid
for the open senate seat that will be left from Tommy Kilby's vacancy.
According to a press release, Ruppe has the endorsement of Lincoln
Davis, Tommy Kilby and Dennis Ferguson."

It's a holiday week and you can't get anything done at work anyway, so...

Take out one sheet of paper...

And a mere 35 steps later...Let's hear how yours flies.

The Roane County News article said that School Board member Frank Mee told Director of Roane County Schools, Dr. Toni McGriff, that people had complained about her being rude, and that he was voting against extending her contract. Mee didn't mention one thing about how the Schools were doing, progress-wise, all he did was use his position for a poorly thought out personal attack.

Dr. McGriff, it seems, has committed the unpardonable sin of telling prominant people something they don't like to hear... "No."

Thanks, RB ((link...)). Here's a larger image of that eagle (originally done for a 13x19 print). It's based on a detail from a quilt-top by Mary Simon (b. 1810).

So I'm one of those enviro types who realy thinks we should use less, recycle, and do manual labor instead of burning fossil fuels whereever possible. Having said that, I want to say one thing...

A Big Danged Leaf Blower is a wonderous thing!

I got the leaves out of the gutters, off the decks, and off the walkways and still had time to see Peyton win.

At least the football team isn't dropping out.

Midway 19 , Harriman 7

I'm sitting here looking at a bill for my membership in the Chamber of Commerce. It has a big blue 'PAST DUE" stamped on it...Like I am a bad person.

There's not much there about why I should support the Chamber or any of it's recent accomplishments for the betterment of our Citizens and taxpayers.

We have been told that Blount County passed their Dark Skies regulations but we haven't gotten confirmation of the final version.

Here's the discussion over at our Brother Site www.BlountViews.com

I keep looking at the Roane County News, hoping to see Gerald Largen's piece posted. So far, it ain't happening.

Gerald asks some questions about the Roane Alliance that deserve answers. I guess you'll have to get the dead tree edition and read it yourself.