Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will hold another constituent meeting today, this time at Plumbers & Steam Fitters Union building at 126 N. Broadway from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Typically, these don't draw large crowds, but there was a pretty decent turnout - relatively speaking - for the last one from what I understand.
Anyhoo, feel free to show up, blast the mayor, compliment the mayor or exchange fist bumps.
Also, special guest star communications manager Michael "Big Sexy" Grider is expected to make an appearance.
Showing posts with label Fist bump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fist bump. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Lunch with mayor includes specials
As previously noted, right smack here, Knox County Mayor continues his lunch with the mayor, this time at Bayou Bay Seafood House in South Knoxville on Friday.
County Communications honcho Michael "Big Sexy" Grider told me today that the restaurant will have a couple of specials, including a $6.99 popcorn shrimp with two sides deal, and an order of crawfish etouffee for $6.99.
As usual, Burchett will be there, so if you want to give him a piece of your mind, deliver a fist bump or talk Bigfoot, drop by.
Typically, these events bring out a lot of people, including county officials and school board members. City leaders oddly enough shy away from them.
Too cool for school, I suppose. Heh.
County Communications honcho Michael "Big Sexy" Grider told me today that the restaurant will have a couple of specials, including a $6.99 popcorn shrimp with two sides deal, and an order of crawfish etouffee for $6.99.
As usual, Burchett will be there, so if you want to give him a piece of your mind, deliver a fist bump or talk Bigfoot, drop by.
Typically, these events bring out a lot of people, including county officials and school board members. City leaders oddly enough shy away from them.
Too cool for school, I suppose. Heh.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Inside baseball on the KTSC mess
So, at this point is there anything left to say about the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corp. mess that hasn’t already been reported in the paper, on TV and over at the blogs? Ha ha. Of course there is.
I wrote this entry on Sunday while watching the Stupor Bowl and the suck commercials that accompanied the game. But then I got caught up and didn't get a chance to post it.
Wow, rambling already and only a few sentences in. OK, I suppose there are a few things worth mentioning that haven’t been touched on yet. Note, that most of this is inside baseball.
First off, I posted a few days back about the KTSC hiring local spin team Moxley Carmichael. I called KTSC a public relations group. Cynthia over at the real PR firm pointed out that they’re actually a “marketing” group. At this point I don’t think it really matters. But, in the interest of fair play . . .
Anyhoo, Moxley Carmichael is charging KTSC $200 and hour. That’s a discount from the usual $250 an hour. Cynthia told me that in 10 years I’ll probably be in public relations myself. After seeing those numbers I don’t disagree.
But, first I want a job running KTSC. Heh.
(Oh yeah, for disclosure’s sake, The Knoxville News Sentinel has Moxley Carmichael on retainer. Or under contract. Or however all that works. Regardless, the company handles spin for us.)
Next up: Ward Phillips.
Ward is the attorney KTSC hired when the media started looking into how the non-profit spends money. I’m super impressed with Ward. You know, typically when a group hires an attorney, the lawyer represents the members of that group. Reality check: The attorney is supposed to represent the operation as a whole – not just the director, the chairman, the whoever.
Ward hasn’t pulled any punches in the last week or so. He – it appears at least – is acting in the best interest of KTSC and not one individual. Case in point: He pretty much said CEO Gloria Ray’s contract was illegal. (Heck, he practically begged the board to fire her during last Friday’s meeting.) And, he also noted that board members probably violated a few rules.
It’s always a relief to see an attorney do what they’re supposed to do. Cheers to him.
(I hope all this makes sense.)
Moving on . . . .
Ray’s future: Well, she’s a local icon and institution, and despite what you might think about her, no one at this point has proved that she’s broken the law. Yeah, she probably did draft her own contract and fax it down to Florida to board chairman David Duncan to sign (all this under the radar of the other members of the executive committee), but . . . well, whatever. Unless, it's proven he got kickbacks from this – and I mean proven – then . . . .
Maybe if the board members were actually paying attention. But, again, whatever.
And no, I don’t buy the argument that Ward made (I believe it was him) about how they’re all volunteers, so they can’t be expected to know everything. You know what? Quit then. Get off the board. I mean, come on. Don’t you want to know what your boss makes? And if given the chance, wouldn’t you take a peek? They should have looked. They didn't. End of discussion.
Sooooo, The board says Gloria owes KTSC $96K in folding paper. If it lets her go without cause, then it owes her about $55K in coin and some incidentals, like expenses, travel, whatever. I’m sure all of it will add up to be a lot. Like a lot, lot.
I’m guessing – that because of the work Gloria has done in the past – the board calls it a wash and lets her go “without cause,” and wipes the slate (any payments) clean. Now, whether she’ll stay on as a consultant is another story. Personally, she probably should, at least for a year to head up a transition. Of course that would mean paying her $150K. Unless that can be worked out.
One a side note, firing Gloria with cause might not be the smartest thing. If KTSC really wants to take the focus off the recent problems and get on with doing whatever it’s supposed to do, then it needs to work out something. If it doesn’t, Gloria will take them to court. I guarantee it. She didn’t get to where she is by lying down and taking it.
(On a side note, we’ve reported that Gloria makes more than many of her counterparts in other major Tennessee cities, but did you know she also make more than Susan Walker, the state commissioner of tourist development? Yup. Walker makes $152,400 per year. Thanks to ass-kicking KNS state reporter Tom Humphrey for pointing that out to me.)
OK, let’s get to some good stuff.
County Mayor Tim Burchett. A lot of folks think he and the good Emperor, Dean Rice, were behind this mess, that they were the two trying to get out the information to the media, since Burchett wants to sell the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nope. (I’ve taken my shots at both of them, but neither was behind this.) Don’t get me wrong, they’re not upset about what’s going on and I imagine there was some fist-bumping going on, but they weren’t behind the information drive.
You see, Burchett announced a long time ago that he wanted to sell the Hall of Fame. That was no secret. And if he knew about Gloria’s salary at that time, then it would have gone public then. It didn’t Also, Burchett wants KTSC – if the hall of fame is put on the market – to buy it and run the operation. Heck, I’m pretty sure that when the purchasing department got done with the bid it would have been written in such a way that KTSC would be the only logical buyer. And really, at this point they might be. So, the mayor doesn’t need this outrage. And yes, I know, that sounds funny. Because sometimes I think Burchett wakes up in the morning, looking for controversy.
With that said Burchett’s call for Gloria’s resignation on Thursday was straight spontaneity. Here’s what happened. As KTSC announced that David Duncan had resigned the previous evening, KNS reporter Josh Flory received some records that he had asked for wile back. He wrote the story and, using the documents, was the first to report the retention bonuses Gloria is/was set to receive. Burchett read the story Thursday morning and was none too happy. The same morning, WBIR, which also received the records, showed them to the county mayor.
And that was it.
Ticked off about the situation – and because he had asked Gloria about her total compensation weeks prior and wasn't told about these incentive bonuses - Burchett immediately called for her resignation.
No one on the city’s side of the Deathstar had a clue about this. So, when they heard that Burchett made the announcement, some on that side – I won’t say who – at first resisted. There was also talk about forming a committee to look into the KTSC issue. (Like this county/city needs another committee.) But, the writing was on the wall.
Then they opted for a spin conference. My understanding is that Burchett's people reached out to the Rogero camp and asked if they wanted to hold a joint press conference. At least one of Madeline's top adviser's was on board, but Madeline wanted to go solo. So, last Thursday’s spin conference was Madeline’s first as mayor.
I wasn’t there, but I heard Madeline did a pretty good job and made it clear that she wasn’t standing for Gloria to make some $600K in coin in her final year of her contract. (Now, if the city's mayor will just look at her own spin team, which makes more than a combined $200k salaries while the county's spin doctor makes about $54,000 . . . but I digress.)
So, who did leak the information (yeah, I know it was public but no one bothered to look) that got the media looking into this whole mess? Well, there could be some truth to the email that the KTSC Chairman David Duncan sent and which I wrote about (click right smack here for that bad boy). Or maybe not.
David Duncan – no relation to Trustee John Duncan III or his family – blames former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, Liza Zenni, executive director of the Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville, and Caesar Stair, a local attorney who serves on the alliance board.
Well, Victor certainly wrote about the issue – although he didn’t name names – before anyone else. And yes that includes WBIR, which continues to erroneously note that it reported about Gloria’s salary first (more on that later). I don’t know anything about Caesar’s role. I do know that he knows Liza. And I know that Liza and Victor don’t hang out.
But, here’s what else I know.
Back around November, Gloria and Liza got into a spat about the 5 percent of hotel/motel tax that is typically allocated to the smaller non-profits (think Beck Center, Ramsey House, symphony, blah, blah. Blah).
Some members of the Arts Alliance (Liza’s group) felt Gloria wanted the money to run the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame – if KTSC ever bought it. (Gloria denies her organization needed this money.)
There was plenty of internal bickering and the Arts Alliance board told Liza to step down from the KTSC board (yes, she was on both boards). The arts folks felt it was a conflict. They also saw the potential for a feud. So, did Liza leak the information out of spite?
Well, a lot of people think so. I will say that she did not give me the information. I heard about this elsewhere, and at this point I don't remember who first told me.
And: Does it really freakin’ matter who leaked what? No, it doesn’t!
(Also, the feud is now moot as county Mayor Tim Burchett decided late last year that he was going to make organizations bid on that 5 percent. They'll now have to submit “requests for information” and then a team will figure out who gets the money. At this point, the Arts Alliance has put together a group and will go after the money. KTSC isn't expected to.)
Now, let’s get down to who first broke this story. I get kind of annoyed with the whole “you heard it here first” or “as we first reported” or whatever. Hey, I get it. The media – KNS included – likes to toot its horn. Fine. Just make sure you know what you’re talking about.
So, I know a lot of people aren’t going to like this and I’ll probably catch some heat for it. But I got news for you: I don't care.
Rogue blogger Brian Hornback was actually the first to write about Gloria's salary with any detail and name names. You can find if by clicking right smack here.
Again, that’s also probably going to tick off some people over at the local TV channel that’s been bragging about this, but . . . whatever.
Finally, what does the future hold?
I don’t know. I think more crap will come out about the contracts and how they were hammered out in the middle of the night. Or not. Maybe the new executive committee will keep a better eye on things.
I hope.
Anyway, I’m out.
I wrote this entry on Sunday while watching the Stupor Bowl and the suck commercials that accompanied the game. But then I got caught up and didn't get a chance to post it.
Wow, rambling already and only a few sentences in. OK, I suppose there are a few things worth mentioning that haven’t been touched on yet. Note, that most of this is inside baseball.
First off, I posted a few days back about the KTSC hiring local spin team Moxley Carmichael. I called KTSC a public relations group. Cynthia over at the real PR firm pointed out that they’re actually a “marketing” group. At this point I don’t think it really matters. But, in the interest of fair play . . .
Anyhoo, Moxley Carmichael is charging KTSC $200 and hour. That’s a discount from the usual $250 an hour. Cynthia told me that in 10 years I’ll probably be in public relations myself. After seeing those numbers I don’t disagree.
But, first I want a job running KTSC. Heh.
(Oh yeah, for disclosure’s sake, The Knoxville News Sentinel has Moxley Carmichael on retainer. Or under contract. Or however all that works. Regardless, the company handles spin for us.)
Next up: Ward Phillips.
Ward is the attorney KTSC hired when the media started looking into how the non-profit spends money. I’m super impressed with Ward. You know, typically when a group hires an attorney, the lawyer represents the members of that group. Reality check: The attorney is supposed to represent the operation as a whole – not just the director, the chairman, the whoever.
Ward hasn’t pulled any punches in the last week or so. He – it appears at least – is acting in the best interest of KTSC and not one individual. Case in point: He pretty much said CEO Gloria Ray’s contract was illegal. (Heck, he practically begged the board to fire her during last Friday’s meeting.) And, he also noted that board members probably violated a few rules.
It’s always a relief to see an attorney do what they’re supposed to do. Cheers to him.
(I hope all this makes sense.)
Moving on . . . .
Ray’s future: Well, she’s a local icon and institution, and despite what you might think about her, no one at this point has proved that she’s broken the law. Yeah, she probably did draft her own contract and fax it down to Florida to board chairman David Duncan to sign (all this under the radar of the other members of the executive committee), but . . . well, whatever. Unless, it's proven he got kickbacks from this – and I mean proven – then . . . .
Maybe if the board members were actually paying attention. But, again, whatever.
And no, I don’t buy the argument that Ward made (I believe it was him) about how they’re all volunteers, so they can’t be expected to know everything. You know what? Quit then. Get off the board. I mean, come on. Don’t you want to know what your boss makes? And if given the chance, wouldn’t you take a peek? They should have looked. They didn't. End of discussion.
Sooooo, The board says Gloria owes KTSC $96K in folding paper. If it lets her go without cause, then it owes her about $55K in coin and some incidentals, like expenses, travel, whatever. I’m sure all of it will add up to be a lot. Like a lot, lot.
I’m guessing – that because of the work Gloria has done in the past – the board calls it a wash and lets her go “without cause,” and wipes the slate (any payments) clean. Now, whether she’ll stay on as a consultant is another story. Personally, she probably should, at least for a year to head up a transition. Of course that would mean paying her $150K. Unless that can be worked out.
One a side note, firing Gloria with cause might not be the smartest thing. If KTSC really wants to take the focus off the recent problems and get on with doing whatever it’s supposed to do, then it needs to work out something. If it doesn’t, Gloria will take them to court. I guarantee it. She didn’t get to where she is by lying down and taking it.
(On a side note, we’ve reported that Gloria makes more than many of her counterparts in other major Tennessee cities, but did you know she also make more than Susan Walker, the state commissioner of tourist development? Yup. Walker makes $152,400 per year. Thanks to ass-kicking KNS state reporter Tom Humphrey for pointing that out to me.)
OK, let’s get to some good stuff.
County Mayor Tim Burchett. A lot of folks think he and the good Emperor, Dean Rice, were behind this mess, that they were the two trying to get out the information to the media, since Burchett wants to sell the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nope. (I’ve taken my shots at both of them, but neither was behind this.) Don’t get me wrong, they’re not upset about what’s going on and I imagine there was some fist-bumping going on, but they weren’t behind the information drive.
You see, Burchett announced a long time ago that he wanted to sell the Hall of Fame. That was no secret. And if he knew about Gloria’s salary at that time, then it would have gone public then. It didn’t Also, Burchett wants KTSC – if the hall of fame is put on the market – to buy it and run the operation. Heck, I’m pretty sure that when the purchasing department got done with the bid it would have been written in such a way that KTSC would be the only logical buyer. And really, at this point they might be. So, the mayor doesn’t need this outrage. And yes, I know, that sounds funny. Because sometimes I think Burchett wakes up in the morning, looking for controversy.
With that said Burchett’s call for Gloria’s resignation on Thursday was straight spontaneity. Here’s what happened. As KTSC announced that David Duncan had resigned the previous evening, KNS reporter Josh Flory received some records that he had asked for wile back. He wrote the story and, using the documents, was the first to report the retention bonuses Gloria is/was set to receive. Burchett read the story Thursday morning and was none too happy. The same morning, WBIR, which also received the records, showed them to the county mayor.
And that was it.
Ticked off about the situation – and because he had asked Gloria about her total compensation weeks prior and wasn't told about these incentive bonuses - Burchett immediately called for her resignation.
No one on the city’s side of the Deathstar had a clue about this. So, when they heard that Burchett made the announcement, some on that side – I won’t say who – at first resisted. There was also talk about forming a committee to look into the KTSC issue. (Like this county/city needs another committee.) But, the writing was on the wall.
Then they opted for a spin conference. My understanding is that Burchett's people reached out to the Rogero camp and asked if they wanted to hold a joint press conference. At least one of Madeline's top adviser's was on board, but Madeline wanted to go solo. So, last Thursday’s spin conference was Madeline’s first as mayor.
I wasn’t there, but I heard Madeline did a pretty good job and made it clear that she wasn’t standing for Gloria to make some $600K in coin in her final year of her contract. (Now, if the city's mayor will just look at her own spin team, which makes more than a combined $200k salaries while the county's spin doctor makes about $54,000 . . . but I digress.)
So, who did leak the information (yeah, I know it was public but no one bothered to look) that got the media looking into this whole mess? Well, there could be some truth to the email that the KTSC Chairman David Duncan sent and which I wrote about (click right smack here for that bad boy). Or maybe not.
David Duncan – no relation to Trustee John Duncan III or his family – blames former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, Liza Zenni, executive director of the Arts and Culture Alliance of Greater Knoxville, and Caesar Stair, a local attorney who serves on the alliance board.
Well, Victor certainly wrote about the issue – although he didn’t name names – before anyone else. And yes that includes WBIR, which continues to erroneously note that it reported about Gloria’s salary first (more on that later). I don’t know anything about Caesar’s role. I do know that he knows Liza. And I know that Liza and Victor don’t hang out.
But, here’s what else I know.
Back around November, Gloria and Liza got into a spat about the 5 percent of hotel/motel tax that is typically allocated to the smaller non-profits (think Beck Center, Ramsey House, symphony, blah, blah. Blah).
Some members of the Arts Alliance (Liza’s group) felt Gloria wanted the money to run the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame – if KTSC ever bought it. (Gloria denies her organization needed this money.)
There was plenty of internal bickering and the Arts Alliance board told Liza to step down from the KTSC board (yes, she was on both boards). The arts folks felt it was a conflict. They also saw the potential for a feud. So, did Liza leak the information out of spite?
Well, a lot of people think so. I will say that she did not give me the information. I heard about this elsewhere, and at this point I don't remember who first told me.
And: Does it really freakin’ matter who leaked what? No, it doesn’t!
(Also, the feud is now moot as county Mayor Tim Burchett decided late last year that he was going to make organizations bid on that 5 percent. They'll now have to submit “requests for information” and then a team will figure out who gets the money. At this point, the Arts Alliance has put together a group and will go after the money. KTSC isn't expected to.)
Now, let’s get down to who first broke this story. I get kind of annoyed with the whole “you heard it here first” or “as we first reported” or whatever. Hey, I get it. The media – KNS included – likes to toot its horn. Fine. Just make sure you know what you’re talking about.
So, I know a lot of people aren’t going to like this and I’ll probably catch some heat for it. But I got news for you: I don't care.
Rogue blogger Brian Hornback was actually the first to write about Gloria's salary with any detail and name names. You can find if by clicking right smack here.
Again, that’s also probably going to tick off some people over at the local TV channel that’s been bragging about this, but . . . whatever.
Finally, what does the future hold?
I don’t know. I think more crap will come out about the contracts and how they were hammered out in the middle of the night. Or not. Maybe the new executive committee will keep a better eye on things.
I hope.
Anyway, I’m out.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Burchett spin meetings for this month
You can click right smack here if you want to read Michael “Big Sexy” Grider's latest spin release about what county Mayor Tim Burchett is up to this month.
Or you can continue reading the next few sentences while I make fun of it.
Because I'm mature that way.
Sooooo, the mayor is hosting these spin conferences where he meet with the one or two people in the public who bother to show up at these things; nods his head,;does a few fist bumps; then has Dean “The Emperor” Rice buy him lunch. Or dinner.
Or something like that.
The first meeting is set for this Thursday. The mayor picked an easy one – the Carter Senior Center. Not like anyone out there is going to complain. The administration did, however, push the schedule to 2:30 p.m.
Then he's got meetings set for next Monday and Nov. 17.
But, the boys on the sixth floor of the Deathstar canceled the Nov. 22 meeting at the Halls Branch Library.
Probably had something to do with Thanksgiving.
Or you can continue reading the next few sentences while I make fun of it.
Because I'm mature that way.
Sooooo, the mayor is hosting these spin conferences where he meet with the one or two people in the public who bother to show up at these things; nods his head,;does a few fist bumps; then has Dean “The Emperor” Rice buy him lunch. Or dinner.
Or something like that.
The first meeting is set for this Thursday. The mayor picked an easy one – the Carter Senior Center. Not like anyone out there is going to complain. The administration did, however, push the schedule to 2:30 p.m.
Then he's got meetings set for next Monday and Nov. 17.
But, the boys on the sixth floor of the Deathstar canceled the Nov. 22 meeting at the Halls Branch Library.
Probably had something to do with Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Carter school plan clears another hurdle
Just got a spin release from Michael "Big Sexy" Grider, letting me know the obvious: County Mayor Tim Burchett has once again fist bumped Dean “The Emperor” Rice as the two celebrated another victory in their efforts to build the Carter community a new elementary school.
In a prepared statement, the mayor said:
And another fist bump.
In a prepared statement, the mayor said:
“Now is the time to build a new elementary school for the children of Carter and their teachers, and we are closer than ever to seeing that it happens. I appreciate the Knox County Board of Education’s willingness to work with my administration to see that this project continues to move forward.Expect a rubber stamp from the IDB.
“One more step remains in this process before construction on the new school begins and the longtime promise of a new Carter Elementary becomes a reality. Next week, the IDB will vote on the legal documents associated with the development of a new Carter Elementary School. If the documents are approved, the Partners Development team could begin construction as early as next month.”
And another fist bump.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Knox library's letters to sex offenders
So, are you tired of the whole sex offenders in the libraries issue thing yet? Yeah, me, too.
So here's some more.
Heh.
I asked the county for copies of the letters they sent to the two sex offenders that are library cardholders. Don't forget there was a third but the dumb ass didn't update his address, so they charged him with a felony and threw him in the county clink.
And county Mayor Tim Burchett - who either gets sole credit or blame - was last seen fist-bumping everyone around him and saying: "Another dirt bag off the street."
'Course he forgot to give the Man with the Badge credit for that line.
But, I digress.
Anyhoo, I asked the county for copies of the letters.
Click right smack here if you want to read.
Also, the county for some reason scratched out the addresses. You can find them at the state's sex offender list by clicking right smack here for that bad boy.
Or, I can just tell you:
A letter was sent to James Hodge, 56. He committed aggravated sexual battery in June 1986.
The other was sent to Brian Leonard, 45. He committed aggravated sexual battery and statutory rape: with prior conviction for statutory, mitigated or aggravated in June 2003.
In the meantime, this has been a pretty controversial issue. About whether the mayor should have banned the sex offenders, or just some of them, or all of them. Or whatever.
Personally, I think Burchett should ban smelly people from the libraries.
So here's some more.
Heh.
I asked the county for copies of the letters they sent to the two sex offenders that are library cardholders. Don't forget there was a third but the dumb ass didn't update his address, so they charged him with a felony and threw him in the county clink.
And county Mayor Tim Burchett - who either gets sole credit or blame - was last seen fist-bumping everyone around him and saying: "Another dirt bag off the street."
'Course he forgot to give the Man with the Badge credit for that line.
But, I digress.
Anyhoo, I asked the county for copies of the letters.
Click right smack here if you want to read.
Also, the county for some reason scratched out the addresses. You can find them at the state's sex offender list by clicking right smack here for that bad boy.
Or, I can just tell you:
A letter was sent to James Hodge, 56. He committed aggravated sexual battery in June 1986.
The other was sent to Brian Leonard, 45. He committed aggravated sexual battery and statutory rape: with prior conviction for statutory, mitigated or aggravated in June 2003.
In the meantime, this has been a pretty controversial issue. About whether the mayor should have banned the sex offenders, or just some of them, or all of them. Or whatever.
Personally, I think Burchett should ban smelly people from the libraries.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Burchett thwarts 9/11 conspiracy theorists
I’m all about free speech, so long as you’re not a dumb ass about it. Or classless.
So, you know, if you’re at a 9/11 memorial, don’t try to pass off a brochure and DVD to someone interviewing a person who lost a family member in the attacks 10 years ago on the World Trade Center.
Yeah, that’s what happened this morning. I’m talking to a mother who lost her son, and there’s this guy lurking in the background, trying to get my attention. When I was done with the interview, the guy handed me a DVD (called “Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth”) that insinuates that explosives planted before the planes struck – and not the planes – destroyed the towers.
Anyhoo, county Mayor Tim Burchett is standing there mumbling about the situation (they tried to give him some stuff earlier – he refused). Finally, he walks over to the two and asks them to leave.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s polite about it, but he’s pretty pis, er, upset.
He tells them to he’d appreciate it if they left. He goes on to tell them that his dad served in WW II, that there were a number of other vets there (we were on the lawn of the Deathstar), and “out of respect for the families” they should go.
“I’m going to ask you to leave,” he said.
They talked about how they were on “public land” and threw the free speech card at him.
Burchett nodded his head and said: “Yeah, that’s cool, I understand. I’d appreciate ya’ll getting the hell out of here.”
They did.
Heh.
Fist-bump.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Carter approved, fist bumps abound
The fist-bump meter is at an all time high this morning, as county Mayor Tim Burchett's takeover of the school system is now complete. (The board approved his Carter Elementary proposal in case you've been under a rock.)
So, what's Act II?
I'm up for the property assessor's office.
The administration is going to need the intel in there when other areas of the county come knocking on the door, asking him to sell more property to buy them a new school.
Heh.
“Wright” or wrong, though, the mayor and Emperor Dean Rice really worked hard for this one. So, in the sense that they got what they wanted and made good on their promise to East Knox County residents – congratulations go out to them.
And I do mean that.
Still, I can't help but think that the mayor is now standing between a dog and a fire hydrant.
So, what's Act II?
I'm up for the property assessor's office.
The administration is going to need the intel in there when other areas of the county come knocking on the door, asking him to sell more property to buy them a new school.
Heh.
“Wright” or wrong, though, the mayor and Emperor Dean Rice really worked hard for this one. So, in the sense that they got what they wanted and made good on their promise to East Knox County residents – congratulations go out to them.
And I do mean that.
Still, I can't help but think that the mayor is now standing between a dog and a fire hydrant.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Mayoral fist bumpin' continues on
County Mayor Tim Burchett continues his one-wrist-at-a-time-wrecking-machine-tour in August.
So far he's held constituent meetings in Fountain City (no one showed), Cedar Bluff (3.5 people appeared), South Knoxville (a whole bunch attended) and Hardin Valley (about 5 showed).
For the big spin and the upcoming schedule by the Spin Doc Michael Grider himself click right smack here.
There will be another meeting at the Corryton Senior Center, the Bearden Branch Library, the Burlington Branch Library and the Farragut Branch Library.
After consulting the Bat-map, it appears that the mayor has hosted or will host these fist-bumpin' sessions twice in the north; four times in the west; and one time each for the east and south.
Just saying.
“We can only do so many,” Grider told me.
Then, he laughed and added: “Are you trying to start problems where there isn't one?”
Me: “Yeah.”
Grider: “I'm going to sic Randy Neal on you.”
Heh.
So far he's held constituent meetings in Fountain City (no one showed), Cedar Bluff (3.5 people appeared), South Knoxville (a whole bunch attended) and Hardin Valley (about 5 showed).
For the big spin and the upcoming schedule by the Spin Doc Michael Grider himself click right smack here.
There will be another meeting at the Corryton Senior Center, the Bearden Branch Library, the Burlington Branch Library and the Farragut Branch Library.
After consulting the Bat-map, it appears that the mayor has hosted or will host these fist-bumpin' sessions twice in the north; four times in the west; and one time each for the east and south.
Just saying.
“We can only do so many,” Grider told me.
Then, he laughed and added: “Are you trying to start problems where there isn't one?”
Me: “Yeah.”
Grider: “I'm going to sic Randy Neal on you.”
Heh.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Mayor to host fist-bumpin' session
County Mayor Tim “Big Dog” Burchett, in his never-ending effort to ensure that anyone he comes in contact with develops carpel tunnel syndrome, will hold another fist-bump, meet-n-greet with residents on Thursday (that's in two days, bub).
The 6 p.m. event will be held at the South Knoxville Senior Center on Martel Lane, an area of the city/county typically treated like a red-headed, booger-eatin' stepbrat. The mayor held a similar gathering on July 7th at the Fountain City Library Branch and no one attended. (So, does that count?). And another last week at the Cedar Bluff Branch Library and only 3 ½ folks showed up, if you count the kid.
The good spin doc – county communications manager Michael Grider – says the poor attendance must be because no one has any complaints, since they give residents – or as the press release calls them, “constituents” - a chance to “speak individually with Mayor Burchett about issues that are important to them.”
Personally, I think it's because people fear the fist bump.
The 6 p.m. event will be held at the South Knoxville Senior Center on Martel Lane, an area of the city/county typically treated like a red-headed, booger-eatin' stepbrat. The mayor held a similar gathering on July 7th at the Fountain City Library Branch and no one attended. (So, does that count?). And another last week at the Cedar Bluff Branch Library and only 3 ½ folks showed up, if you count the kid.
The good spin doc – county communications manager Michael Grider – says the poor attendance must be because no one has any complaints, since they give residents – or as the press release calls them, “constituents” - a chance to “speak individually with Mayor Burchett about issues that are important to them.”
Personally, I think it's because people fear the fist bump.
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