Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Well, it was only a matter of time. I got two lumps of coal for Christmas. Anyhoo, hope you're all having a good time, staying safe, staying out of the clink, staying  . . . blah, blah, blah. Have a good one.

Odds, ends for a slow commish week

Not a whole lot going on lately. On Saturday, we ran a story about the Knox County Commission’s plan to move ahead with a ballot question that would give residents a chance to expand the board’s size. Find it right smack here. 

Later this week, I’ll have something on the so-called education committee. In addition, we’ll have a piece about what a number of West Knox County neighborhoods would like to see down for Ebenezer Road.

I've got the week off, but I'm sure I'll pop up here on the da blog.

In the meantime, have a nice Christmas.

Knox County office closings set

OK, here's the breakdown for Knox County holiday closings:

The executive branch offices will shut down for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

The Knox County Solid Waste Convenience Centers will close at 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve. They'll also be down on Christmas Day and Jan. 1. Regular schedule is planned for all other days.

Libraries also will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and all branches will close at 5:30 p.m. on New Year' Eve. They'll reopen Jan. 2.

In addition, the county's senior centers, health department facilities and veterans service office also will be closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

County to recycle Christmas trees

Knox County won't offer mulch pick-up this year, but folks can drop off their unwanted, live Christmas tress throughout January at one of the six participating convenience centers for free, according to the latest spin release issued by the county by someone not named Michael Grider.

Just make sure you clean the tree of all ornaments, lights, wire, string, blah, blah.

Click right smack here for a list of the “treecycling” locations.

Festival of Lights starts this Friday

Knox County kicks off its annual Festival of Lights this Friday at The Cove at Concord Park off Northshore Drive. The initial event takes place at 5:45 p.m. with Knox County Mayor Tim “Bigfoot” Burchett flipping the light switch. (No kidding.)

The “sparkle and entertaining” light show (as the county’s spin team puts it) runs through Saturday, Dec. 29 (except for Christmas Day) from 6-9 p.m. 

On Dec. 21-23, Santa (probably the mayor in disguise) will visit, and there also will be a Holiday Market with local vendors and crafters selling Christmas gifts and food.

The county notes that this event has grown during the past few years with new displays, fancy lights coordinated to music, blah, blah, bonfires, marshmallows and lots and lots of lights.

The event is free, but the county will collect a non-perishable food item for The Love Kitchen, which provides meals, clothing and food for the homebound, homeless and unemployed.

Merry Christmas, best wishes and all that

Good morning, folks, and Merry Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, then "happy holidays" and all that.

I was going to go for something witty today, maybe invent a Christmas wish list for all those public figures out there.

(You know, Superintendent Jim McIntyre wishes for $7 million, county Mayor Tim Burchett and Chief of Staff Dean Rice wish for a third man - or woman - Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero wishes for a new flak - because she doesn't have enough - etc., etc.)

But, I'll play it straight (other than that funny picture someone sent me this morning). So, I hope everyone enjoys the day, stays safe and (fill in the blank cause I ran out of thoughts).

Take care.