Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers:
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July 22
The Johnson City Press on penalties for dumping in national forests:
When illegal behavior continues unabated, odds are the legal limit of the punishment is insufficient to serve as a deterrence. That’s why scoundrels continue to dump trash in our national forests, an offense against all citizens who own and pay for their upkeep. As well it is an offense against nature, spoiling the beauty of these lands we set aside to protect.
It isn’t just an old appliance or some garbage. Recent illegal dumping now under investigation in the Cherokee National Forest includes two areas of the Unaka Ranger District in Washington County - off Horse Cove Gap and Ramsey Creek Road south of Johnson City - used to illegally dispose of about 300 to 500 tires each. That points to a garage. You can help catch the offenders if you’ve noticed a pile of tires suddenly missing from a garage you use.
“It is a shame that tires and other household trash are being carelessly discarded in the forest,” Unaka District Ranger Leslie Morgan said in a news release. “Tire dump sites can cause many problematic areas. Besides being unsightly and non-biodegradable, disease-carrying rodents and insects are attracted to these sites.
“They also pose an increased risk for forest fires,” Morgan added. “This is very serious and we want to stop these kinds of activities. We all own our national forests. As an owner, you have a stake in what happens in the forest.”
The dump sites are approximately one-quarter to one-half acre in size.
Dumping on national forest land is but a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not more than $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than six months. This offense should be reclassified. Blatant disregard of our beautiful national forests should be more than a misdemeanor.
In February, officials with the Daniel Boone National Forest were telling residents of Laurel County, Kentucky, to stop dumping their trash in the forest after various sites were found, including vandalism.
The trash included household items, discarded furniture, hot water heaters and old rusty vehicles. Officials said the dumping often occurs over a cliff or at the end of a remote roadway, and sometimes trash is dumped along roads in plain sight. More than a million visitors come to the Daniel Boone National Forest each year to enjoy outdoor recreation and the scenic beauty of nature. They should not be greeted with trash.
Also in February, an alert resident noticed a flatbed trailer full of tires driving into the Apalachicola National Forest in Florida and called deputies, who found the trailer minus the tires. They had been unloaded into the forest in broad daylight, the two men arrested seemingly undeterred by a misdemeanor charge.
Illegal dumping in a national forest should be a felony offense with increased fines and jail time. That’s the only way to stop these problems.
If you have information about the dump sites in Washington County or see someone dumping tires or any debris in our national or state forests call your local sheriff’s department.
Online: https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/
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July 22
The Cleveland Daily Banner on the death of a mayor in Tennessee:
When friends, loved ones and confidants bid farewell last Sunday to Charleston Mayor Walter Goode, their loving gestures signaled the end of one man’s journey, one whose legacy bears witness to the joy in small-town living.
The late Walter Goode was many things, a quiet, modest, yet hard-working leader who believed in his community and whose commitment to the town’s residents came not only unconditionally but willingly.
When the congregation at Green’s Chapel Presbyterian Church - where the longtime mayor served as a member and elder - offered their final goodbyes to this beloved father, grandfather, husband and friend, they did so with the belief they were sending a good man to an even better home.
In his own way, the late Mayor Goode led as a man of vision. He wanted the best for his town. He sought opportunity for his people. Yet, he understood the constraints that sometimes tie the hands of tiny communities. But it never stopped him from trying.
He wanted the town to grow, if only by a few hundred residents in order to qualify the community for state and federal grants that might better its amenities in both the short- and long-term. So, he embarked on a plan for annexation. Sadly, he would not live to see its completion, but he laid the groundwork for those who would come later.
He wanted the town to look to the future, but not at the expense of neglecting its past. In his living years, Mayor Goode figured prominently into the naming of its firehall in honor of its former fire chief, Dave Thompson, and its municipal park in recognition of its former mayor, Hoyt Berry.
He wanted the town to pay sincere homage to its Cherokee roots as evidenced by the presence of the Charleston-Calhoun-Hiwassee Historical Society, the realization of the Hiwassee River Heritage Center which was a timely repurposing of a former bank building, and the prideful opening of the National Historic Trail Experience whose winding course takes pedestrians from the Heritage Center to Hoyt Berry Park.
He wanted the town to make a difference, and it did, globally.
Thanks to its ongoing partnership with the Cleveland/Bradley County Chamber of Commerce - a business-savvy nonprofit that values the community role of its north Bradley County member - the itty-bitty town became home to the annual International Cowpea Festival and Cook-Off, presented each year by Bush Brothers and Company.
He wanted the town to prosper, but to never give up its Mayberry feel. No matter how it changes, Mayor Goode - and the memories of Mayor Goode - will look upon Charleston as the Aunt Bee of Bradley County. And that’s as it should be.
What this faith-driven man also leaves behind is the respect of other government leaders who knew him not only as a colleague but as a friend.
So often others say it better, so this newspaper editorialist will bow to their advantage. Here’s what others had to say of Mayor Goode after word of his passing left a community stunned and a county saddened by his loss:
“There was never a finer advocate for the city of Charleston. I worked with him for years, and Sandra and I send our sympathies to his family and the city of Charleston. He was a nice person, and his community’s greatest supporter.” - Cleveland Mayor Emeritus Tom Rowland
“He was a good friend, and he loved the city of Charleston. He will be missed.” - Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis
“Walter Goode and I have known each other for a long time, and I am saddened to hear of his passing. He and I have had numerous conversations over the years and he always had the betterment of Charleston in the forefront.” - Cleveland City Councilman Ken Webb
“He taught me how honesty and integrity walk hand-in-hand, and how we can stress these important qualities to our constituents.” - Charleston City Commissioner Frankie McCartney
“He was a tremendous family man, and he was devoted to his community. He loved serving the people of Charleston. He will be truly missed.” - Bradley County Commission Vice Chairman Thomas Crye
History suggests the impact of a man’s life is best measured by the depth of how he was loved by others.
If such is to be believed - and we certainly do - then the memories of Mayor Walter Goode will grace the stories of Charleston in this lifetime, and far beyond.
Online: http://clevelandbanner.com/
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July 17
The Kingsport Times-News on cockfighting in Tennessee:
In some Eastern Tennessee communities, cockfighting is as ingrained a tradition as Friday night football, officials say. “It’s a social event for many people. For people who grew up on farms, it doesn’t seem like cruelty,” said a spectator arrested at a cockfight near Chattanooga.
Northeast Tennessee has long been part of the “cockfighting corridor” also including Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky, where the barbaric blood “sport” is practiced with knives strapped to roosters’ claws so that they slash each other to pieces.
In 2011, a gamefowl farm in Hawkins County was raided with one person arrested and 170 fowl seized. The same year, 37 people were arrested and 30 birds seized in Hamblen County. The next year, 20 birds were seized in Hawkins County.
In 2013, seven people were arrested in a raid in Hawkins County, and in 2014, one person was charged in a gamefowl raid in Sullivan County.
Northeast Tennessee is also part of a major trafficking ring sending gamefowl throughout the world. Cockfighting is banned in all 50 states, but it remains legal in U.S. territories like Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. And thousands of birds are being shipped to Guam, usually via U.S. mail in boxes with no food or water.
As part of a renewed effort, the Animal Wellness Action, Animal Wellness Foundation and Tennessee state Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, have asked the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tennessee’s Eastern and Middle districts to investigate allegations that nine Tennesseans appear to be deeply involved in illegal trafficking of fighting animals in violation of federal law.
For more than a decade, Sen. Lundberg has been fighting against this disgusting practice, offering legislation to increase penalties only to see it fail time and again. Cockfighting in Tennessee is currently a misdemeanor offense carrying a $50 fine, and that’s why it continues.
Lundberg said “Tennessee has become a magnet for cockfighting. We have eight states that border Tennessee, and in the majority of them cockfighting is a felony. I’ve heard people say cockfighting is part of the culture of Tennessee. I would counter that. We’re bringing people who are obviously associated with gambling and other issues that we don’t want to have here” into the area and state.
Lundberg is revisiting the issue after a recent report found Tennessee breeders have gone through a loophole to benefit from cockfighting overseas. “It has been a tough push, but I hope that Tennessee will become one of the states that has made this a felony penalty in the future, and I will continue to drive that,” Lundberg said.
Tennessee is one of only eight states without felony level penalties for cockfighting despite a long history of illegal animal fighting.
The FBI shut down two major cockfighting complexes in Cocke County in 2005, asserting that local law enforcement there had been corrupted and cockfighting was tied to prostitution, narcotics, chop shops and gambling by children.
When will the Tennessee General Assembly act? Northeast Tennessee - and Tennessee as a state - has so much to be proud of and so many things to hold high. This is not one of them.
Online: https://www.timesnews.net/
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