Monterey Lions Relief and Town of Monterey representatives volunteered to help tornado victims last weekend
in the Hardy’s Chapel Community of Overton County. Pictued from left, Roy Dishman, Ken Hall, County Commissioner Ron
Williamson. Monterey Mayor Jeff Hicks and Dan Shefler.
HELP
NEEDED FOR TORNADO VICTIMS
Monterey was spared last week
when tornadoes struck in neighboring Cumberland County last Wednesday and in Jackson, Putnam and Overton Counties on Friday. An EF-2 tornado hit in the Rinnie Community of Cumberland County last Wednesday, killing two woman and injuring several
others in its path.
Monterey aldermen heard more about the possibility of having a city manager from a University of Tennessee-Municipal Technical
Assistance Service (MTAS) representative prior to their regular board meeting earlier this week, Warren
Nevad, of MTAS had already given sample qualifications for the job to aldermen in late 2011. This time, he had done a salary
survey. He told aldermen that an appropriate salary should be between $50,000 to $70,000. “There are many
ways you can do this,” Nevad told aldermen. “You can set it up by ordinance or by charter. If you’re really
committed to it, I recommend that you set it up by charter, because then it would make it harder to remove that position.
If you want” to attract top talent, you want to have the position kind of permanent instead of on a trail basis.” If it is set up by ordinance, Nevad told aldermen, the civil service board, set up by the town’s charter, would
be the group to hire the position, If it was done by a charter change, then aldermen could make exceptions and hire the position
themselves. “Regardless of what the board decides to do, the civil service is something that needs to stay,”
Mayor Jeff Hicks said. “It takes the politics out of everybody’s job.” Can the town afford the
new position? When the question was asked, it was reported that sales tax revenues were down six percent. Alderman Clarice
Weist asked if a city manager could “pay for themselves. Nevad replied, “a good city manager can troubleshoot
and look at ways where you’re spending too much in an area where you’re not getting enough revenue if you’re
having employee problems. It can be an investment.” He recommend that, if aldermen were really interested,
to wait until January and bring a charter change to the state legislature. He said he thought it was too late to present it
this year.
The latest Monterey Depot Historical Society Christimas ornament is now avaliblefor
a $20 donation. The scene is taken from an early postcard of hte Monterey Depot. They are availabe at the Cup &
Saucer and BenAnns. Last years ornament was a quick sell-out.
LOW
TURNOUT. Pictured getting results from the election are election officials at city hall Max Smith, Chris Nicholas and Joyce
Callahan. Despite it being a presidential preference primary, only 18% of Putnam voters bothered to vote. Photo: Dale Welch/Hilltop
Express
WINNERS NAMED IN PUTNAM PRIMARY ELECTIONS
By Dale Welch Hilltop Express dawelch@charter.net dale@hilltopexpress.net Putnam County went with the rest of the state in the Republican
Presidential primary. Voters also made incumbent Putnam assessor of property Rhonda Chaffin their Democratic nominee for the
August election. President: (Republican); Republicans voted for Rick Santorum
with 2,466 votes (42.89%); Mitt Romney, 1,492 (25.95%); Newt Gingrich , 1,201 (20.89%); and Ron Paul,526 (9.15%). President (Democrat): Barack Obama, 1,117 votes (67.01%) compared to uncommitted, 526 (31.55%). Putnam Assessor of Property (Democrat) Incumbent Rhonda Chaffin got the nod to be the
Democratic nominee with 1,191 votes (53.99%) to challenger Jason Scott’s 1,013 votes (45.92%). Putnam
Assessor of Property (Republican) Travis Roberts, 3,260 (97.96%); Write-in 68 (2.04%). Incumbent
Chaffin and challenger Roberts will face off in the August County General election. Putnam County Commissioner
(4th District) Democrat: Former County Commissioner, Marson McCormick became the Democratic nominee with
153 votes (68.92%) to challenger Marshall Cox’s 69 votes (31.08%). Putnam County Commissioner (4th
District) Republican: Joe Elder was the only candidate and received 209 votes (97.21%); The
bid to fill the unexpired term of the late Andy Honeycutt will go on to the August General election with Democrat Marson McCormick,
Republican Joe Elder and independent candidates incumbent John Ludwig and Brad Vaughn. In Putnam County, 8,035
voters turned out. That was only 18% of the county's voters. At Monterey City Hall, including early voting,
there was only 220 votes (170 on election day). That’s only 17% of the voters. At Burks Middle School,
which includes outside the city limits, 442 people voted (including 136 early voters), That is a little bit better percentage
than the whole county and Monterey City Hall with 22.02%., The August elections will also have the State primary
(State Representative, etc.) and the Monterey City elections.
The new edition at Burks Middle School will be called the “Uffelman
Wing. It is scheduled to be complete sometime between October and December, officials say. Photo: Dale Welch/Hilltop Express
SCHOOL NAMING COMMITTEE CHANGES MIND...
NEW
SCHOOL NAME TO BE 'BURKS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL'
The school naming
committee, made up of several school and community people in Monterey, had voted to change the name of “Burks Middle
School” to “Monterey Elementary School” last December. They met last week, again, to reconsider those actions
because a few of the members could not be at the December meeting.
Write a letter to yourself. Its a project of the new Monterey Central Transportation Museum (Monterey
Depot). You are invited to write a letter to yourself, or leave a message for your children or grandchildren. Tell
them abut yourself and what you expect of them; or remind yourself of what you want to be.
Concrete and
asphalt were two of the biggest ingredients on the Monterey Central Transportation Museum list last week. Painting inside
walls and ceiling were also done last week. Depending on weather, pavers for the Rails with Trails will be in place on the
Depot property, starting this week. Thanks to Monterey Fire Chief Kevin Peters for allowing me on the ladder truck for this
arial photo. Photo: Dale Welch/Hilltop Express
METHADONE CLINIC APPLICATION EXPECTED TO BE WITHDRAWN FOR SECOND TIME
By Dale Welch dale@hilltopexpress.net An application for a proposed methadone clinic to be located just
outside Monterey town limits has been put on hold for a second time because of a technicality. A pubic hearing that had been
scheduled for Sept. 16 at Monterey High School and a hearing in Nashville, that had been set for late October has also been
put on hold. “The public hearing has been delayed,”Melanie Hill, Executive Director, of Health Services
and Development Agency, said, “because it is expected that Private Clinic Monterey will withdraw its application.
It will be rescheduled if the application is re-filed.” But, that is not keeping the Putnam and Cumberland
County Commissions and other governments from voicing strong opposition to the proposed clinic. A resolution on the agendas
of both county commissions says that methadone is “a synthetic opioid which produces many of the same effects in drug
addicts as morphine and heroin” and is “increasingly being abused by drug users for recreation an is causing an
alarming increase in overdoses and deaths”; and “contrary to popular belief, methadone is a highly addictive drug,
which could easily end up on the streets of Putnam County and other ares in the Upper Cumberland”; and “the probability
of any positive affects to the health care system, economy or recovering drug users in our area is unlikely”; and “there
are already several drug treatment facilities available for the citizens of Putnam County and the Upper Cumberland area which
include Bradford Heath, Cumberland Plateau Recovery, Recovery Living, Med Solutions and Volunteer Behavioral Health,”;
and “because these facilities are already established and available to the citizens of Putnam County and the Upper Cumberland
Area, there is not a need for a methadone clinic.” Owners of the methadone clinic, called Private Clinic
Monterey, plan to build the approximate $970,000 facility at 16168 Crossville Highway. The address is near Walker Farms Rd.
The purpose of the clinic is to “assist opioid addicted patients to abstain from the use of illicit drugs through detoxification,
treatment and substance abuse/psychiatric counseling services. It is a private for profit outpatient clinic without state,
federal or local funding.” It will serve the adult population in Putnam County and surrounding counties.
J. Paul Connell, CEO of the proposed clinic, told the Hilltop Express in a story that ran in the May 15, 2008 edition, that
his clinic Private Clinic North, in Rossville, GA., already treats around 228 patients from Putnam and surrounding counties.
“We treat everyone from minimum wage earners to doctors and lawyers,” he said. The majority of Private Clinic
patients have gotten addicted to prescription drugs such as: Codeine, Dilaudid, Heroin, Hydrocodone, Lortab, Lorcet,
Percocet, Percodan, Morphine, Oxycodone, and Oxycotin. Connell said, “Its a treatment, not a cure. Its
much like insulin is a treatment for diabetes; or eyeglasses for bad eyes. They don’t cure, but they help.” “With the cost of gasoline going up,” Connell said, “its getting to where the cost of transportation
for those patients are more than the cost of the treatment. If we can get up there into the Monterey community, it would be
easier for our patients.” Connell said that he has already bought a home in the area for his family. Property records show that Connell Properties bought the 7.83 acres where the Methadone clinic is planned over
a year ago, in May, 2007. Connell told the Hilltop Express, “I thought about it and prayed about it. Now,
its time to build it.” He said that while doctors and nurses will mostly come from the present clinics, others could
be hired locally. He said the payroll for the clinic would be from $1.3 to $1.6 million. More information about what the clinic
offers can be found on the Internet at: www.privateclinicnorth.com
Monterey founders Union General John T. Wilder and wife, Dora Lee,
along with Major Robert Moscrip and wife, Emma will return to Monterey on Friday, Oct 10, just about a month away to talk
about the old days. You’re invited out to the Garden Inn (with ticket in hand) for dinner and to hear their tales. Dining with the Moscrips and The Wilders is a special dinner theatre helping kick off the big celebration planned
for Standing Stone Day, Sat. Oct. 11. The Moscrips will be played by Monterey natives Opless and Kay Walker. The Wilders will
be played by John and Judy Wassum, of Rockwood, who live in one of General Wilders home. Gen. Wilder also had a home in Monterey
that still stands. Ruth Ann Woolbright and husband, Bill Longmire, live there. Woolbright will be directing the play.
The play will relive defining moments of their lives, which resulted in a railroad, a town on the plateau, coal mines and
a lumber industry that would touch the lives of thousands of people across America. Moscrip was involved in one
of the most historical events in the history of railroading in America, as one of the civil engineers responsible for the
completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Moscrip had friendships with the likes of Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok.
Moscrip will reveal in the play how he became a captive of the Cheyenne Indians and how he escaped with the help of his Pawnee
Indian Scout. Besides all these adventures, he was the winner of a contest that gave Monterey its name in 1893. John
T. Wilder, known as the "Friendly Carpetbagger" was the leader of the Lightning Brigade of Indiana and hero of the
Battle of Chickamauga in Sept. 1863 where he and his men armed with 7-shot Spencers gave Thomas time to form a defense
line. He was one of the 20,000 Union veterans who immigrated to the South by 1866, attracted by the possibilities
of places that they had seen during their military campaigns. For a time, he was Mayor of Chattanooga and later, had federal
appointments. In September, 1865, he and his friend, Capt. Hiram S. Chamberlain of Knox County, purchased 728 acres
of land in Roane County along the Tennessee River and founded the town of Rockwood with its Roane Iron Company, one of the
first post-war industrial establishments in the South. Wilder would continue to hold interests in mining and cement and banking
around Knoxville, Tennessee, and built the 300-room Cloudland Hotel on Roane Mt. summit in 1885 as a retreat for hay fever
sufferers. An industrialist, he had numerous business interests in coal, timber, iron, railroads and more. He
built a hotel in Monterey, called the Imperial Hotel in the early 1900s and also a residence. The mining town of Wilder was
founded by him. Tickets will be on sale soon for the dinner theatre at a cost of $35 for one person , $60 per
couple and $150 per table of six, that includes a dinner of a grilled pork chop, sweet potato casserole , corn souffle, dessert,
and coffee or tea. For more information, contact Ruth Ann Woolbright at, 839-2467.
