June 27, 2013
Mention
Johnson City Press: Marketplace Fairness Act would level playing
field for local small business
By LINDA BOWMAN O’DELL
We’re lucky to live where we do. It’s a great place to raise a
family. And it’s a great place to be in business. Our family has
been in the retail jewelry business for 86 years and three
generations.
To stay in business, you have to compete for customers. And we
are happy to do that. But we’d like it to be a fair
competition.
For years, online-only retailers have enjoyed a significant
competitive advantage over their local competitors: They don’t have
to collect state sales taxes. This means online retailers can
create the illusion of having lower prices than traditional
retailers — but it’s really just an illusion, because you, the
purchaser, still owe the tax. This is not only unfair, it’s bad for
local businesses, communities and families.
The Marketplace Fairness Act could set things right.
Online retailers are able to forgo collecting sales tax because
of an outdated legal loophole that predates the Internet. It’s time
to bring our laws into the 21st century, and the Marketplace
Fairness Act is a truly common-sense piece of legislation, despite
what some of the misinformation being floated would try to get you
to believe. It is not a federal sales tax. It is not a tax on the
Internet. It is not a new state tax. It doesn’t increase the sales
tax rate. In fact, the law stipulates explicitly that states cannot
use it to start taxing goods and services that aren’t already
taxed.
All the Marketplace Fairness Act does, really, is give states
like Tennessee the ability to enforce their own laws by requiring
online retailers to collect and remit sales taxes that are already
owed
— just like local retailers are required to do. That, and it
levels the playing field so the government is no longer picking
winners and losers between online-only and brick-and-mortar
businesses. If passed into law, it will ensure that all retailers
play by the same rules.
This would have a positive impact on local small businesses like
ours, as well as the communities where they do business. Our
businesses are the backbones of our communities. Right now, a lot
of businesses in Johnson City and across the area are struggling.
Not only is the economy sluggish, but they have to face unfair
competition from online retailers who lure customers to their
stores with cheaper prices.
Critics of the bill claim that it is against conservative
principles and that it will be burdensome on small businesses. This
is all simply false. As I said earlier, sales taxes are not new or
increasing. Customers should be paying them whether the online
seller collects them or not. This just says that Internet-only
companies, which already depend entirely on technology, can use
technology to collect and remit the tax like everybody else.
All this, and a commitment to fairness, is why the bill has the
strong support of Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, Gov. Bill
Haslam, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, and Tennessee House Speaker Beth
Harwell. They say the income from this bill can help hold down or
reduce other state taxes and helps prevent our ever having to
consider an income tax.
Tennessee’s local stores — and the communities they support —
have waited long enough for a fair marketplace. Fair competition is
a good thing. Unfair competition is not.
The Senate has already passed the Marketplace Fairness Act.
Congressman Phil Roe has an opportunity to show real support for
our entire community by supporting this act. I urge him to do the
right thing and vote to support our local businesses. Give us a
chance to compete fairly.
Linda Bowman O’Dell is the owner of Bowman Jewelers in Johnson
City.
Tennessee News
Johnson City Press: On hold
Johnson City Press: State agency says no to methadone clinic
Kingsport Times News: NSCC on brink of largest capital project
in Tennessee community college history
Johnson City Press: On hold
By BRAD HICKS
Erwin Bureau Chief
[email protected] ERWIN —
ERWIN — Steps to bring Unicoi County Memorial Hospital into the
Mountain States Health Alliance system were under way prior to
Tuesday’s announcement that approval of the proposed sale of the
community hospital is now on hold.
MSHA Senior Vice President of Tennessee Operations Candace
Jennings said Wednesday that since December, MSHA has been working
with UCMH under a management agreement. Through this agreement,
MSHA has provided financial assistance, education and leadership
training, and assistance with hospital equipment.
Around six months ago, MSHA began working to bring financial
stability to the hospital, Jennings said. Much of the $2 million
line of credit extended to UCMH by MSHA was used to pay past due
vendors’ fees so that UCMH could continue to receive supplies from
these vendors, Jennings said. She also said MSHA teams were brought
in to assess UCMH’s equipment need, and education and training was
provided to UCMH’s front-line staff. MSHA has also offered
assistance with equipment repair and replacement, as well as
equipment leasing, Jennings said.
Temporary staff members were brought in by MSHA to fill vacant
nursing positions at UCMH and offer some relief to the hospital’s
current nurses, Jennings said. She also said MSHA brought in a
consultant to assist UCMH in the implementation of its NextGen
Healthcare computer system. She also said plans were in place to
bring special physician services, such as cardiology and oncology,
to Unicoi County.
Jennings said MSHA officials had hoped that closing of the
transaction would have occurred by July 1. Although this is
unlikely to occur, Jennings said MSHA will be ready to make UCMH
the 14th hospital in the MSHA system after getting the “green
light” from the attorney general’s office. Until then, the
management agreement between MSHA and UCMH will remain in place,
adding that MSHA officials are confident the matter will be
resolved.
“We’re more committed than ever,” Jennings said.
On Tuesday, the UCMH Board of Control announced it had received
word from the state attorney general’s office that the office’s
approval of the proposal sale of UMCH to MSHA had been delayed due
to three concerns the attorney general’s office had. A release from
the UMCH Board states that the attorney general’s office wanted the
sale to be approved by both the town of Erwin and Unicoi County,
requested that the UCMH Board hold additional public meetings to
discuss its reason for choosing the MSHA acquisition proposal, and
wanted assurance that voluntary contributions totaling $1.5 million
to the county and town of Erwin would be used only for health care
purposes.
A letter from the attorney general’s office dated Tuesday and
sent to attorneys representing the UCMH Board of Control stated
stated that the office had concluded its preliminary review of
documentation provided by the UCMH Board as part of the acquisition
process. The letter stated the office had identified several
concerns that would prevent the office from taking no action on the
proposed sale, which would have led to the transaction’s
closing.
According to the letter from the attorney general’s office,
these concerns include the UMCH Board of Control’s failure to
comply with provisions of the state’s Open Meetings Act in its
selection of the MSHA proposal, its failure to obtain the approvals
of the town of Erwin and Unicoi County on the sale per the UMCH
charter, and concerns over how the the contributions to the
municipalities and an unnamed foundation that were part of MSHA’s
proposal would be spent.
When asked how long these concerns could delay approval and if
the issues were rectifiable, the attorney general’s office stated
that it could not respond as it cannot offer “legal advice” in the
hospital matter.
Erwin Town Recorder Randy Trivette said Wednesday that the town
of Erwin would await advisement from the attorneys representing the
UCMH Board of Control to determine what is required of the
town.
“Basically, we’re just going to wait until we hear what the
attorney general is going to require of the town of Erwin, and then
we’ll evaluate that with the board at a meeting and move forward
from that,” Trivette said. Unicoi County Mayor Greg Lynch said
Wednesday that he felt UCMH is worth more than what would be gained
through MSHA’s acquisition. Like Trivette, Lynch said the county
would wait until it has received more information from the UCMH
Board before making any moves.
“We’ll just basically wait for more information from the
attorney general and the board and the county attorney, and then
we’ll make some decision at that point,” Lynch said.
On Nov. 28, the UCMH Board of Control voted to approve an
acquisition proposal submitted by MSHA over a proposal submitted by
Wellmont Health System. On March 28, the board voted to approve
MSHA’s final definitive agreement to acquire UCMH. The acquisition
process must be reviewed by the state attorney general’s office
prior to the acquisition becoming official, according to state
law.
The UCMH Board of Control was set to meet in a called session
today at 5 p.m. to consider the sale of Unicoi County Medical
Services assets to MSHA, which was to be followed by the board’s
regular meeting at 5:20 p.m. The regular meeting will still be
held, but the called session has been canceled.
UCMH Board of Control Chairman Roland Bailey said Wednesday that
he has not personally spoken with the attorney general’s office,
but has spoken with attorneys representing the UCMH board. He said
these attorneys are reviewing the information sent by the attorney
general’s office and will subsequently advise the UCMH Board on its
next steps.
“Once we make that decision, we can put our action plan into
effect,” Bailey said.
Johnson City Press: State agency says no to methadone clinic
By REX BARBER
NET News Service Johnson City will not have a methadone clinic
any time soon.
Members of the Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency
denied a certificate of need filed by Tri-Cities Holdings Inc.
earlier this year to locate a methadone clinic at 4 Wesley Court in
a hearing Wednesday in Nashville.
Mark Farber, deputy director at THSDA, said via email Wednesday
evening that the CON was denied.
A representative who answered the phone Wednesday at the THSDA
office said there was a lot of opposition to the CON at the
hearing.
Specific details of the hearing were not immediately available
Wednesday evening.
Steve Kester, a co-owner of Tri-Cities Holdings, filed the
certificate of need for the clinic in March.
He said his own research indicated about 1,000 people in the
Tri-Cities were seeking treatment for opiate addiction and that the
closest locations for these patients to get that treatment was in
Knoxville or Asheville, N.C.
A call to Kester seeking comment was not immediately
returned.
Methadone clinics dispense methadone, a schedule II narcotic
analgesic, for people who have abused heroin or other opiates.
A suit was filed on behalf of Tri-Cities Holdings April 19
claiming Johnson City’s refusal to grant a permit for the clinic to
locate at 4 Wesley Court caused financial damage and forced
opiate-addicted residents to travel unnecessary distances to seek
treatment. Johnson City was also violating the Americans with
Disabilities Act, the suit alleged.
U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie Greer dismissed the suit
earlier this month, concluding the plaintiff’s claims were not
“ripe for decision” in part because it was impossible for the court
to know whether the harm alleged would ever happen.
The public was able to make arguments for and against the clinic
by writing THSDA and at a public hearing in late May at the Johnson
City Public Library.
Many people showed up at that hearing to express opposition to
the clinic but so did those who supported the clinic.
Kester said at that hearing that the clinic would have offered
services other than just opiate treatment.
Shortly after the CON was filed, a resolution opposing the
clinic was drafted and presented at the March meeting of the
Washington County Commission.
That resolution was unanimously approved.
Kingsport Times News: NSCC on brink of largest capital project
in Tennessee community college history
By RICK WAGNER
[email protected] BLOUNTVILLE — Northeast State Community
College is about to embark on a historic $35 million construction
project.
That is the largest capital project in its history, as well as
the history of community colleges in Tennessee.
Northeast faculty and members of the Northeast Foundation heard
an initial design phase presentation Wednesday afternoon from a
Tennessee Board of Regents official, college President Janice
Gilliam and the architect who provided a rendering of what the new
Emerging Technologies Complex might look like.
The project was approved in concept by the TBR in 2008 but only
included in the capital budget in the 2013-14 state budget.
“This is going to be a global model for how to teach technical
education,” Gilliam said. Six potential new programs and at least
15 existing ones eventually are to be housed in the building.
After the new construction, two of the oldest buildings on
campus will be torn down.
Gilliam, Carl Manka, senior director of planning and research in
the TBR Office of Facilities Development, and John Fisher of Fisher
and Associates Architects, said the project is likely three years
away from completion: about eight months of detailed design work
after the TBR Building Commission formally approves the project in
mid-July, another two or three months to get bids on the project
and award one, and about two years of construction.
“We’re looking at three years, around that, for completion of
the project,” Gilliam told the group in the school’s
auditorium.
Fisher said the real genesis of the project was a 1989 master
plan that called for the relocation of Holston Drive to open up
more space for the college, which used to be landlocked between
Holston and Tri-Cities Regional Airport.
Much of the progress and expansion on campus dates back to that,
he said.
Of the $35 million, Tennessee will provide $31.5 million and
Northeast the other $3.5 million through fundraising and
grants.
Gilliam said the Northeast Foundation is actively involved in
seeking financial support from the community and private sector,
and the college is seeking 15 grants for the project.
She said the school also is seeking input on the new project
from faculty and donors and that an announcement about the 10
percent match likely would occur late this year.
Other campus improvements that would be completely dependent on
fundraising include a corner tower “economic development suite” in
the building, where economic developers could meet with national or
international prospects; a separate convention hall arena, a
15,000-square-foot area where graduation and convocation could be
held; and a separate student center.
Gilliam said a motor sports institute is one possibility to be
housed at the complex.
Six proposed new programs that could be located there are
building construction, energy specialist, health informatics or
digital health records, entertainment technology, which is to be
offered at Northeast State’s new downtown Bristol, Tenn., facility,
horticulture and cybersecurity.
More than 15 other existing programs that may be located there
include programs in office systems administration, business
technology and computer science.
The project is nearly double the $20 million Walters State
Community College expansion of Greeneville/Greene County, for which
Fisher also is the architect. That project received $9 million in
state funding, with the rest to be from non-state funds.
July 2, 2013
Mention
Kingsport Times News: (Editorial) Disability gravy train not
sustainable
The number of Americans riding the disability gravy train is now
costing taxpayers more than food stamps and welfare combined. The
Social Security Disability Fund trustees warned just two years ago
that the fund would be out of money by 2018 but they were wrong. It
now appears the fund will be broke in just three years.
Americans were forced by their government to transfer $132
billion in 2011 to those drawing SSDI, a growing percentage of whom
are disability scofflaws taking money to which they are not
entitled, eventually limiting resources for those who indeed have
severe disabilities and cannot work.
More than 14 million Americans receive SSDI payments. Despite
that workplace injuries and illnesses fell from 11 per 100 workers
in 1970 to 3.5 in 2010, the percentage of disabled workers rose
from 5 to more than 8 percent, doubling the cost of the
program.
It’s even worse with respect to federal workers, according to
the Washington Examiner. It found that the program for federal
workers, FECA, pays 75 percent of wages for most recipients, all of
it tax free. Since federal retirement pays only 60 percent of
wages, which is taxed, federal workers are lining up to get tickets
for the gravy train; the U.S. Postal Service tops the list of
federal disability claims at 40 percent.
One of the problems is how the law defines disability: a mental
or physical problem that does not prevent, but merely hinders a
claimant’s ability to work. For instance, some 1.3 million now get
a disability check for “mood disorders.” One may qualify for such
by presenting medical evidence of at least four of these persistent
symptoms: loss of interest in almost all activities, appetite
disturbance with change in weight, sleep disturbance, psychomotor
agitation, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or worthlessness,
difficulty concentrating or thinking, thoughts of suicide, or
hallucinations or paranoid thinking.
It’s not medically possible to confirm most of these mood
disorders beyond any doubt, any more than to disprove beyond all
doubt that someone suffers chronic back pain — which for years has
been used by many to start getting a check. Most disabilities are
now based on mental illnesses or musculoskeletal afflictions, and
while such claims require a doctor’s certification, too many
physicians certify alleged disabilities upon request.
There are no quick answers how to fix this problem but even if
there were, that’s no guarantee Congress would do so. Certainly,
the rules need to be tightened, claims more closely examined, and
those already receiving payments more closely monitored as to
whether their conditions have improved.
In 2011, on average, one net person was added to SSDI for every
five new jobs created. That is not sustainable.
Re-elected last year, Sen. Bob Corker has opportunity for
redemption before he next faces voters in 2018. Not so Sen. Lamar
Alexander, who is up next year and may face a primary fight after
he and Corker joined 12 other Republicans in carrying water for the
Democrats’ immigration bill.
But it won’t be much of a fight — if there is one. Alexander has
been banking cash for his 2014 campaign and has more than $1
million on hand and has snagged endorsements from all top state
Republicans. There’s simply no one left with any possibility of
beating him.
His 2014 campaign team includes the leaders of the conservative
and moderate wings of the party with Rep. John Duncan Jr. of
Knoxville as chairman and honorary chairmen including Gov. Bill
Haslam, Sen. Corker, Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, House Speaker Beth
Harwell and all of the state’s Republican congressmen except Rep.
Scott DesJarlais, who has personal issues.
Someone might come out of the woods, perhaps a Tea Party
candidate, but the only mention of a challenger is a wrestling
entertainer who goes by the name Kane. And that would more of a
comedy than a campaign.
Alexander is a safe bet for re-election, despite that his
moderate views are often out of touch with Tennesseans,
particularly on the abomination that was passed as immigration
reform, a bill which approaches Obamacare as one of the worst
pieces of legislation to have passed the U.S. Senate.
Tennessee News
Claiborne Progress: Claiborne County man receives Bronze
Star
Johnson City Press: Grants create discovery culture at ETSU
Johnson City Press: Immigration among hot-button topics at Town
Hall
Kingsport Times News: Bare bones
Claiborne Progress: Claiborne County man receives Bronze
Star
A day in the life of an Air Force jet maintainer reached Mach
speed while deployed overseas, earning him the Bronze Star
Medal.
Senior Master Sgt. Jamie Jordan, 33rd Aircraft Maintenance
Squadron assistant superintendent, was awarded the honor during an
official ceremony at his unit June 4.
“A lot of people sacrificed more than I did,” said Jordan who
was a part of a team of military members from a variety of
backgrounds that became “family” during the deployment.
From March 2012 to February 2013, Jordan generated more than
8,000 combat missions and the collection of 250,000 intelligence
images supporting U.S. Central Command combat operations in the
Horn of Africa. Missions he played a major supporting role in
varied; offload 344 million pounds of fuel to 30,000 coalition
aircraft, support 2,100 troops in contact events, execute 500
strike missions against Al Qaeda insurgents and beddown of one
million net explosive weight pounds of combat-ready munitions.
“This is not something that is awarded to everyone,” said Lt.
Col. Maurice Lee, 33rd AMXS commander, who explained how medal
packages from deployed theatre operations are scrutinized highly.
“Jamie’s recognition transcends time. Not every commander gets the
privilege to award the Bronze Star.”
According to the history of the military tradition, the
decoration was designed as an equivalent to an Air Medal for ground
units who are the backbone of the flying operations, he said.
Jordan was also recognized by his unit for being there to set up
their shop at the 33rd Fighter Wing.
“He was one of the very first in the squadron, hand-picked to
stand up F-35 maintenance,” said Lee.
This included preparing hangar space, scheduling tasks and
training Airmen which he will continue to do a few more years.
“We learned as we went and now we are helping other bases learn
so they can be ready for this jet as well,” said Jordan who has an
extensive background in F-16 avionics, something that makes one
“seasoned” in a platform.
The newness of the F-35 means there are no “seasoned”
maintainers for the fifth generation aircraft, so his crew is it
for the Air Force.
Similarly, while deployed, Jordan watched his overseas unit grow
to 1,400 personnel from more than eight platforms. It supported a
“composite wing” of approximately 100 aircraft charged with a
variety of missions like refueling, reconnaissance, fighter plus
supporting command and control.
“As with other weapons’ platforms, we have setbacks but we stay
with it and learn every day,” said Jordan.
Managing the second largest munitions storage capability in the
area of responsibility overseas added to his deployed
responsibilities of supporting a variety of daily air tasking.
“Our biggest challenge was resource management,” said Jordan.
“The wing grew nearly 250 percent in the first three months of my
deployment. The growth of resources lagged compared to personnel
and aircraft growth. To meet mission requirements, units had to
think outside standard ops — we shared everything from personnel,
to support equipment, to aircraft parking spaces.”
Throughout his career he credits his parents for the foundation
of strength and perseverance. While deployed, he leaned on
encouraging leadership for support.
Jordan graduated from Middlesboro High School and entered the
Air Force at age 19. His parents are Eddie and Angela Jordan of
Harrogate.
Jordan’s parents were present for the ceremony along with his
brother and other guests. In honor of their support, the squadron
gave them appreciation gifts as well.
“For him to serve as a group superintendent there was at a level
higher than he was here,” said Lee. “It is an awesome
accomplishment for him to be chosen — a tremendous opportunity for
someone like Jamie.”
Johnson City Press: Grants create discovery culture at ETSU
By REX BARBER
Assistant News Editor
[email protected] A culture of research and
discovery is maintained at East Tennessee State University via
internal grants intended to foster faculty projects.
Dr. David Hurley, a professor in the department of
pharmaceutical sciences, said each year about $185,000 in grants
from the school’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
Administration is awarded to faculty who have new ideas for
research or to professors who need a little extra funding until the
next big national grant comes around.
ETSU’s research development committee is responsible for doling
out these grants.
Hurley described the committee as vibrant and comprised of 20
standing members. Others participate, but every award recipient
becomes a temporary member for a year.
“You have to pay it forward, so once you get your money you have
to be involved and keep everybody else interested,” Hurley said.
“The point here is that we have this internal funding that helps
people collect data or maintain research projects to remain
competitive. And that’s terribly important for a lot of these
(researchers), because the competition is getting harder and
harder.”
Research dollars come from many sources, often from national
organizations like the National Science Foundation, the National
Institutes of Health and the National Endowment for the
Humanities.
Sequestration, which has seen budgets cut in various government
agencies, has made research money a premium commodity, and some
researchers must wait longer between grants.
That’s where the research development committee grants come in
handy.
Using these ETSU research grants, new professors can begin
research while established professors with projects already going
can maintain those projects until the next NIH or NSF grant comes
along.
Many ETSU professors are using such grants.
For instance, the National Endowment for the Humanities has
funded one ETSU professor’s research in Mongolia where he is
studying archeology. Others are studying diabetes, public health,
behavioral studies, photography and much more funded through
various organizational grants. But many are helped along by the
ETSU research development committee. A grant was awarded this past
year from the committee to help make a movie about bluegrass fans
in Czechoslovakia. “We have a lot of diverse interests and that’s
what keeps the interest for research and the appetite for research
growing,” Hurley said.
Other schools do this same kind of funding but Hurley said at
ETSU the goal is to fund as many varied research projects as
possible.
“We’re trying to maintain the breadths of the programs,” he
said.
Hurley said research is important because it leads to
discoveries and information that no one knew before.
“To find out a new piece of knowledge and add to the information
we have is always something that’s very exciting to people,” he
said.
Professors doing research often have students who help or work
for them, so these grants have the added benefit of encouraging new
researchers.
Faculty members receiving RDC grants for the 2013-14 year
included members of the colleges of Arts and Sciences, Clinical and
Rehabilitative Health Sciences, Public Health, the Clemmer College
of Education, and the Quillen College of Medicine.
The recipients are Drs. Michelle Duffourc, Audra Gray, Joshua
Greer, Theresa Harrison, Jameson Hirsch, Huili Hong, Karl Joplin,
Michael Kruppa, Dihendra Kumar, Guangyu Li, Chris Liu, Leslie
McCallister, Hua Mei, Paul Monaco, Phillip Musich, Chaya
Nanjundeswaran, Matthew Palmatier, Chris Pritchett and Jill
Stinson.
Johnson City Press: Immigration among hot-button topics at Town
Hall
By JENNIFER SPROUSE
Press Staff Writer
[email protected] There were a variety of
government-related hot topics discussed at Monday night’s town hall
meeting with U.S. Rep. Phil Roe in Jonesborough, but the auditorium
inside the International Storytelling Center perked up considerably
when it came to issues like immigration, veterans and veterans
benefits and the Defense of Marriage Act.
The meeting, which started at 6, opened with a brief overview of
items, including Social Security, energy and the U.S. immigration
policy, before questions written by audience members prior to the
start of the meeting were read aloud for Roe to answer.
Roe’s first question was immigration-related. He was asked how
illegal immigrants get Social Security numbers now and why are they
honored.
Before Roe could answer, a man in the audience spoke up and said
he refused to be called “illegal,” which prompted applause from a
few, as well as clear opposition from some in attendance.
After identifying what’s considered legal and illegal with
immigration, Roe spoke on border control and said that “the law
states that you have to meet certain metrics to come into a
country. When you come into the country and break the law, it’s
either legal or illegal, so you would be an illegal resident. You
have to have some control of your borders, and I can tell you,
there is no country in the world that allows immigration like we
do. None.”
Backtracking to the original question, Roe said Social Security
cards can be counterfeited and that it is happening in the country.
He then added that the E-Verify system, an Internet-based system
that allows businesses to find out the eligibility of their
employees to work in the U.S., would help prevent that from
happening.
When asked about whether or not there would be any funding in
the new immigration bill for the U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement department, Roe said he had not viewed the Senate bill
enough and said there were many unnecessary items in the bills.
“It just passed Friday. It’s a 1,200-page bill. We need to do
these bills in pieces where people can understand,” he said. “We do
need a system where people can come (to the country legally). We
need to make that simpler and easier to do. The other thing you
can’t do is you can’t allow people who came here illegally to step
in front of the line of people who came legally.”
A woman in the audience, a newly authorized U.S. citizen, spoke
on issues of cost to become a U.S. citizen and said she did not
like the term “illegal” being used to classify immigrants coming
into the country.
Heated discussion about legal and illegal continued to ignite
the crowd before switching to veterans and their benefits.
Roe first asked veterans in the audience to stand to be
recognized for their service, before discussing the three things he
said when taking his office that he would never apologize for
spending money on, which included two things related to
veterans.
“No. 1, if you’re a solider in harm’s way, you’re fighting a
battle, I want you to have everything you possibly need to protect
yourself and your buddies. I don’t care where you are. I’ve been to
Afghanistan and seen ... (the) remarkable job those men and women
are doing under horrific conditions,” he said.
He said the second thing he would never apologize for spending
money on would be the wounded warriors who return home injured from
combat.
A wounded veteran in the audience stood up and gave those in
attendance figures related to digital medical records for veterans
and the reality of an estimated more than 900,000 veterans who are
waiting on decisions regarding claims.
Roe, after commenting on the issue, said he intends to stay on
the Veterans’ Affairs Committee as long as he’s in Congress.
He also spoke briefly on the ruling from the Supreme Court on
the Defense of Marriage Act.
“The Supreme Court really did what I, personally, thought should
have been to start. I think it should have been a state issue,” Roe
said. “Marriage is a state issue, and what the Supreme Court did is
they kicked it back down to the states and said in Tennessee, where
we have defined marriage as between one man and one woman, that’s
the law of the land here.”
He also addressed issues regarding debt, including national and
student loan debt, and said simply that as a country we have to get
debt under control and said it was unfair to leave younger
generations to pay for the debt.
Kingsport Times News: Bare bones
By RICK WAGNER
[email protected] BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County’s school
board passed a balanced $86,991,947 2013-14 budget Monday
night.
It is $3,019,463 less than the amended 2012-13 budget and,
assuming approval by the county commission, would require no
additional county revenue — no property tax increase — beyond what
is already projected from education’s current share of the property
tax rate and other tax revenues.
“We met the challenge that was put before us,” BOE Chairman Dan
Wells said of a budget that initially was about $4.5 million out of
balance. It passed 6-1.
The budget includes no cost-of-living raise for any employees,
with $300,000 in Tennessee funds for that to be held over until the
2014-15 school year, when by state mandate they must be used for
differentiated pay other than years of service or educational
attainment.
However, additional pay for step increases and advanced degrees
are funded and will remain, something officials said wasn’t clear
from a Saturday work session.
Another issue clarified was that all custodians and maintenance
employees will have their hours cut from 40 a week to 36.25, not
just the maintenance employees as had been suggested Saturday.
Director of Schools Jubal Yennie and Board of Education members
thanked finance director Leslie Bonner for her work on the budget,
which underwent BOE work session scrutiny Saturday but shifted
before the approval Monday night.
One change is that the budget requires only $1.8 million in fund
balance or undesignated reserves instead of an originally estimated
$2 million.
The $2 million bordered on not meeting a Tennessee
recommendation that governments keep 3 percent of their budgets in
unallocated fund balance in case of emergencies and unexpected
expenses.
The cuts represent $2.7 million less in expenditures since the
June 3 draft budget, Bonner said.
The spending plan includes cuts from central office down to
individual schools.
At the central office, a reorganization uses a series of shifts
of duties to absorb the duties of human resources supervisor Larry
Hall, who is retiring. Three other positions were cut from central
office, a secretarial position going to a federal program, a
communications/virtual learning/administrative position in which
the person is going back to teaching, and a data facilitator
position cut due to reduced federal funding.
Among other cuts since the June 3 draft were elimination of 24
non-tenured teachers and two tenured ones, as well as cutting 33
part-time instructional aides, the latter at a savings of
$250,000.
Substitute teacher allocations were cut because professional
development is being rescheduled to be outside the regular school
days.
A new low-cost, low-benefit health insurance option will save an
estimated $250,000, while charging employees more for a health
insurance increase saves more than $300,000, and textbooks were cut
from $600,000 to $200,000. Two vocational positions cut at Sullivan
South High School saved $122,000.
Principal incentive bonuses were cut from $75,000 to $$45,000,
while cutting out behind-the-wheel drivers education will save
$140,000.
All told, general purpose regular education funding directly
tied to the classroom was down $1.5 million.
In the regular education indirect budget, the central office
changes alone saved about $150,000, and decreased professional
development and school level libraries also were cut.
Savings in the office of the superintendent were $150,000, while
those in the office of the principal were $115,000 and financial
services saw a slight decrease of $8,870.
Human resources was up $27,000 but only because the assistant
superintendent assigned those duties was already paid more than the
former HR person, who had heart surgery and is taking sick days
before his official retirement begins.
The cut of custodian hours will save $232,000 and the cut of
maintenance hours will save $277,000, while transportation costs
for Innovation Academy were cut $35,000.
Food services had no change and is self-supporting, and other
areas had no change except a $131,000 drop from debt refinancing
and a decrease in the transfer to IA.
Todd Broughton said he cast the lone no vote on the budget
because Yennie told him last year the principal bonuses were funded
from Race to the Top but said Monday night they were funded for
2012-13 and 2011-12 with local money.
The board also approved a 2013-14 renovation fund budget of
$1,065,000.
The proposal went before the Administrative Committee after the
BOE meeting, and will go before the Executive Committee tonight and
the Budget Committee July 11.
“I don’t know if the county commission is ready for this budget
yet, but we are,” Yennie said.
In addition, Yennie said the budget for Innovation Academy of
Northeast Tennessee includes a Project Lead the Way teaching
position to be funded from a federal Race to the Top grant instead
of funding from the city of Kingsport, which jointly operates the
science, technology, engineering and math school.
In other action, the BOE approved a paid pre-K program, costing
$500 or $590 per week, at Miller Perry, Rock Springs and Central
Heights elementary schools if there is enough demand.
The board also heard but took no action on a proposal for a
telemedicine program, where students would receive health care from
a nurse practitioner, existing school nurses and other medical
professionals via a computer link. The program is called Integrate
MD and would come at no cost to the school system and use health
insurance coverage for funding.
July 9, 2013
Mention
Johnson City Press: Immigration (letter)
I can’t believe Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander voted to
reward and legitimize those who entered our country illegally. Our
senators failed to connect some dots and their votes will create
higher unemployment and raise state taxes to cover alien health
care.
Under Obamacare, businesses with more than 50 workers that
employ American citizens, with no qualifying health insurance,
would be subject to pay almost $3,000 in fines per worker.
Note the emphasis on American citizens. Soon-to-be-legalized
immigrants wouldn’t be considered American citizens, and thus not
eligible to receive subsidies under Obamacare until they earn their
citizenship 13 years later. Under the Senate bill, businesses can
bypass fines and instead pass health care burdens on to Tennessee
taxpayers.
Employers can simply hire soon-to-be-legal immigrants, even from
surrounding states, and replace American workers for the next 13
years and not have to pay $3,000. Also, this 1,100-page bill states
that employers will be given an additional $3,000 for each
soon-to-be legalized immigrant they hire. Hiring Americans would
disqualify an employer from getting the added incentive. Only
amnesty immigrants need qualify.
So these Republican senators voted for larger government,
spending more and giving incentives to hire future amnesty illegal
immigrants over American workers.
CHARLES THOMSON
Jonesborough
Tennessee News
Kingsport Times News: Airport officials want Wilson to return to
old job
Kingsport Times News: Airport officials want Wilson to return to
old job
By HANK HAYES
[email protected] BLOUNTVILLE — Tri-Cities Regional Airport
wants to bring back Patrick Wilson as the airport’s executive
director.
Airport Authority commissioners on a search committee directed
TCRA Authority Chairman James Rector on Monday to negotiate with
Wilson, who left earlier this year to take a deputy director’s
position at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
The Airport Authority Commission is scheduled to consider
Wilson’s re-employment at a July 25 called meeting.
“(Wilson) could return to work if the full commission would
empower him no later than September 1 and probably before at the
same salary (about $139,000) and benefits when he left,” Rector,
who represents Bristol, Va., told the search committee.
Florida-based ADK Executive Search, which recruited Wilson for
the North Carolina job, had been hired by the TCRA Authority to
find replacement candidates.
Interim TCRA Executive Director David Jones, who has served the
airport as director of operations, had taken himself out of the
running for the full-time leadership post.
Rector canceled interviews with three unidentified finalists for
the executive director’s position after being contacted by
Wilson.
Authority Commissioner Ken Maness of Kingsport, who served as
chairman under the former Airport Commission governing structure,
called Wilson “one of the best public servants” he’s ever dealt
with.
“He deals well with people above him and below him,” Maness said
of Wilson. “He deals with staff well. He deals with the community
well. He’s just a great package. ... I suspected we would have
difficulty finding someone to replace Patrick who would be as good
as Patrick.”
The other executive director finalist candidates, Maness added,
appeared “unproven” and warned TCRA might be “running the risk of
them not having all the right stuff.”
Authority Commissioner Frank Anderson of Johnson City also
expressed disappointment with the finalists, but noted he could not
support Wilson returning at his old salary in his first year of
re-employment.
“It’s not that we’re trying to punish him ... and I think he
would be the first to tell you he made a mistake,” Anderson said of
Wilson. “He’s not happy in the position he’s in now. ... We went to
a lot of expense — $35,000 — to engage a search firm.”
Maness responded: “If we recognize he’s better suited for the
job than any of the other applicants, I think it would be a bad
sign to suggest we pay him less ... than what we were paying him
before. ... My interest is recruiting Patrick to come back, not
just giving him a chance to come back.”
Authority Commissioner Joe Wilson of Washington County said he
“sort of felt like” Anderson.
“I do not believe Patrick used us as a stepping stone ... to go
over there and come back,” Wilson told the committee.
“He thought he was going to be happy ... (but) he thinks the
Tri-Cities area is a better place to raise his family.” ion,” Sorah
said.
Airport tenant Rod Monroe In the end, Rector was authosuggested
TCRA needs a leader rized to be the point man on with fresh ideas.
bringing Wilson back, although
“The number of passengers the committee agreed he won’t be
(using TCRA) is down,” said Mon- eligible for a two percent merit
roe, who runs a ground trans- pay increase given to TCRA
emportation business. ployees this year.
Authority Commissioner Bill Wilson has more than 20 years Sorah
of Bristol, Tenn., backed of management experience in the Maness.
airport industry, including the
“I would not cut (Wilson’s) last eight years as TCRA execusalary
to bring him back. ... I tive director.
wouldn’t worry too much about For more about TCRA go to the
$35,000. ... It’s just my opin- w w w. t r i f l i g h t . c o m
.
July 10, 2013
Tennessee News
Claiborne Progress: LMU approved for new veterinary medical
school
Claiborne Progress: LMU approved for new veterinary medical
school
Lincoln Memorial University’s emerging College of Veterinary
Medicine (LMU-CVM) has cleared the first step in the accreditation
process with a Letter of Reasonable Assurance from the American
Veterinary Medical Association’s Council on Education (COE).
LMU-CVM is now recruiting students for the inaugural class, which
will begin its veterinary medical education in Fall 2014.
“The approval from the COE to open a new school of veterinary
medicine in Harrogate, Tenn., will propel this University to even
greater heights and establish LMU as a leader in professional
studies for the region,” said LMU Board of Trustees Chairman Autry
O.V. “Pete” DeBusk.
LMU announced in 2011 that it was pursuing a College of
Veterinary Medicine. In that year, the North American Veterinary
Medical Education Consortium (NAVMEC), which consisted of over 400
stakeholders in veterinary education representing academia,
accreditation and testing/licensure, released a report that
provided a roadmap for veterinary education. The Five Strategic
Goals in this NAVMEC report served as the guiding light for
creation of the LMU-CVM’s hybrid distributive model for delivery of
veterinary education.
The emerging LMU-CVM will be an integral part of the LMU
Division of Health Sciences, which includes LMU-DeBusk College of
Osteopathic Medicine, the Physician Assistant Program, the Caylor
School of Nursing and the School of Allied Health Sciences, which
includes a Veterinary Medical Technology Program. As such, in
addition to its veterinary faculty and facilities the emerging
College will share resources available to the other disciplines
within the Division.
“We have assembled an exemplary team of professionals to develop
this program.” LMU President B. James Dawson said. “The CVM will
build upon LMU’s well-established allied health science programs in
providing much-needed veterinary services to this region. LMU-CVM
will be an exciting veterinary medical education program that
graduates confident, career-ready veterinarians.”
Lincoln Memorial University’s College of Veterinary Medicine is
located on the LMU main campus in Harrogate, with additional
academic facilities in nearby Lee County, Va. LMU-CVM is an
integral part of the University’s Division of Health Sciences and
provides real-world, community-based education in a collaborative
learning environment. For more information about LMU-CVM, call
1-800-325-0900, ext. 7150 or visit us online at
www.lmunet.edu/cvm.
July 11, 2013
Tennessee News
Johnson City Press: Downtown mattress company could bring up to
50 new jobs
Johnson City Press: ETSU football stadium on ‘fast track’
Johnson City Press: Google Glass puts ETSU med school at
forefront of technology
Johnson City Press: Downtown mattress company could bring up to
50 new jobs
By JENNIFER SPROUSE
Press Staff Writer
[email protected] Bill Bradley’s mattress company,
BedInABox.com , may be moving into a smaller building, but the
perks of its new location in downtown Johnson City — including job
creation and reducing company costs — is worth the move.
BedInABox.com , known for shipping high quality memory foam
mattresses to customers across the U.S. and in Canada for
approximately six years, relocated in mid-May from Piney Flats
Industrial Park to 220 E. Millard St.
Bradley, owner of Bradley’s Machine and Welding on Water Street
since 1976, said his involvement with the company began after a
former partner came to him to build a machine that would compress
the company’s variety of memory foams enough to put it into a box
for shipping.
“We started our business in January of 2007. We first started
our business in Johnson City and we outgrew the small building that
we were in and moved to Piney Flats into a 150,000-square-foot
building,” he said. “We eventually sold that building and this
building was available. It had high visibility from the interstate,
which we were interested in. It reduced the cost of building coming
here, because I was in a building that was twice (as large) than we
needed. I have a machine shop just across the street from this
building and that has been a really good thing for me, because I’m
right here at both of my businesses.”
Bradley said a lot of modifications have been done to the
building that was once a Giant Foods warehouse, including removing
fencing inside, fixing the flooring, putting in a sprinkler system,
putting in a lighting and power system to meet city codes and
placing signage that could be seen from Interstate 26.
“We actually, in order to put the signage that we wanted where
we wanted it, we had to change the address of the building. It (the
building) was originally 119 King St. and ... we had no access to
King Street,” he said. “We were on Millard Street ... so the city
changed the address to 220 E. Millard St.”
Bradley, who said the company has had a steady growth of around
35 percent so far this year, said he hopes the new location will
bring around 25 to 50 new jobs to the downtown Johnson City area
soon.
“Some (of the new jobs) ...would be actually packaging, but many
of them are in the sales force and in the IT department. We’re
growing more and more that way,” he said. “We want to talk with
every person that puts in an order, whether they put it in
themselves or not, we’d contact them and talk with them personally.
They will be good, high-paying jobs.”
According to a news release, BedInABox.com , focuses on
Internet sales and does approximately 90 percent of its business
online, which Bradley said they intend to continue doing, as well
as expand retail options for local customers to come in and test
out the mattresses in their showroom.
“I feel fortunate being in Johnson City. Great town,” he said.
“(I’ve) been in business here for a long time. My family is from
here and so we just love it.”
Mitch Miller, interim CEO for the Washington County Economic
Development Council, said Bradley’s company moving downtown will
have many positive impacts.
“It’s just great to see private investment like that happen in
downtown. That’s really important,” Miller said. “It’s a great
impact, so it’s a big effect on what happens down there. What’s
really important for downtown to be successful, is you have to have
public and private investment. Seeing folks make the commitment to
do the private side investment only is going to generate even more
opportunities for other folks to come in and be part of the
progress of making downtown better. It’s a great example of
innovation. I’m just glad he chose downtown Johnson City.”
Johnson City Press: ETSU football stadium on ‘fast track’
By REX BARBER
Assistant News Editor
[email protected] A proposal for a new $18 million
East Tennessee State University football stadium will likely be
approved today by the State Building Commission, according to Lt.
Gov. Ron Ramsey.
Ramsey heads the commission and said Wednesday that the stadium
has been put on “the fast track.”
Members of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the governing body of
ETSU, approved earlier this year the university imposing a $125
athletic fee each semester for students to help fund a new football
program. This fee was approved by the university’s Student
Government Association in January.
Student fees will pay for around $7 million of the stadium’s
cost and Ramsey said the state would pay around $11 million.
ETSU fielded a football team until the end of the 2003 season,
when the football program was canceled due to financial
reasons.
After the fee was approved by TBR, ETSU moved quickly, hiring
Carl Torbush as head coach just weeks ago.
Ramsey said there may be one year the new ETSU football team
does not play in the new stadium but he would like for the team to
be able to play there by 2015, which has been the earliest estimate
for the university to field players.
The State Building Commission must approve any state building
projects.
Ramsey said today’s agenda is extremely full, which is common
for July meetings because new budgets take effect July 1 each year.
Because the agenda is so full, it was suggested the ETSU stadium be
delayed for consideration until next month.
But Ramsey, being head of the commission, the lieutenant
governor and an ETSU graduate, said it would remain on this month’s
agenda.
“And so I’ll push it as hard as I can and hopefully we’re going
to have the design in place and know exactly how much funding we
need by the time we approve the budget next year,” he said.” That’s
very aggressive and very optimistic , but I’m going to try my best
to make sure that is the case.”
He expects the proposal to pass unanimously.
“We won’t have any problem,” he said. “I’ve kind of greased the
skids and talked to people on the Building Commission and they know
where I am on this.”
While no plans have yet been developed, Ramsey said the stadium
would seat between 10,000 to 12,000 spectators.
“And I want something nice, you know, with some brick and steel
... so it looks nice,” he said. “Not aluminum bleachers, that’s not
what I want. And I want to make sure if we can that it’ll be on
campus.”
If approved today, the process of selecting a designer for the
stadium, and a firm to select a location and the securing of needed
funds can begin.
The $18 million price is an estimate based on other
recentlybuilt stadiums of roughly the same seating capacity.
“That’s where we’ll be shooting to stay within that figure,”
Ramsey said.
The sites that have been discussed for an on-campus stadium
include the following:
› The school parking area located roughly behind Knight’s Sports
Bar on West State of Franklin Road.
› The parking lot between Warf-Pickel Hall and the parking
garage that is being built, where the tennis courts used to be.
› A location out near the soccer fields on the west end of
campus, where flooding is a concern.
› Land where the facilities plant is now located on the
southwest section of campus, though that plan would require the
removal and relocation of the facilities building.
› A location near Buccaneer Ridge Apartments but does not have
much room for parking.
Johnson City Press: Google Glass puts ETSU med school at
forefront of technology
By REX BARBER
Assistant News Editor
[email protected] “OK, Glass, record video,” Dr.
Martin Olsen said, and suddenly video of the patient he was staring
at was transmitted to a nearby tablet computer for all to see.
Another simple command to the Google Glass device on his head,
“Take a picture,” and a still image of the patient was obtained.
All he had to do was look at her.
“This device has significant medical applications,” said Olsen,
who is residency program director for obstetrics and gynecology at
East Tennessee State University’s College of Medicine.
Google Glass is a wearable computer with an optical,
head-mounted display that Olsen demonstrated Wednesday morning.
“As far as I know, there are just a very few medical schools
that have this, so I would say we are on the forefront of
technology,” Olsen said.
He entered a contest by Google for “explorers” and was selected
as one of 8,000 people who would get to test the device, which
probably will not be available for purchase to the public until
some time next year.
He flew to New York about a month ago to buy his.
Olsen said he was selected because of his academic work in
simulation surgery at the College of Medicine.
“I think the education of the future is more learner driven,
where the learners evaluate themselves,” he said. “They can put
these on, they can do a simulated procedure, they can see how they
did, they can make their own judgement how they can improve.”
The patient with which he demonstrated the device Wednesday was
Chloe, a full-body surgical simulator developed by ETSU professors
to help instruct students and residents on how to conduct medical
procedures.
In the time he has had the device, it has been used to help
teach his students as they work on Chloe.
Google Glass was placed on Chloe’s head and ordered to record
the students as they operated on her.
After students did a procedure on Chloe, the video was replayed
with the students’ being able to watch from Chloe’s (or the
patient’s) point of view.
Amber Mullins, a second-year medical resident in OBGYN, was one
of those students.
“It was interesting,” she said. “Afterwards, we were able to see
how we acted during the scenario. We were able to see if we had
good eye contact, if we had weird mannerisms that we didn’t really
know that we had.
“It was helpful just in seeing how we interacted with the
patient.”
Olsen used Google Glass to examine his own debrief of residents
after a procedure and realized he needed to stop talking so much
and let the residents speak more.
“It really does make a difference to see yourself and evaluate
from your own eyes how you could be better,” Olsen said.
But Olsen predicted Google Glass said this could help save lives
if used by medical professionals.
An example Olsen gave involved emergency medical technicians
treating a patient with severe injuries from a car crash. Wearing
Google Glass, the EMT could provide treatment and transmit real
time data back to emergency room doctors on the ride to the
hospital. Doctors seeing the injuries could offer advice to the EMT
and also prep to receive the patient as soon as he or she
arrives.
The devices could also record medical procedures and save them
for doctors to review later. This would be particularly useful in a
situation where various doctors were monitoring an infection.
Another possible utilization is in telemedicine. Doctors could
instantly and easily see what another doctor is seeing across the
globe and offer advice accordingly.
There is no requirement to report the results of using Google
Glass, but a group of about 200 medical “explorers” who also got a
device communicate with each other about their experiences with the
new technology. Other groups of “explorers” include educators and
Tennesseans.
Asked if he thought everyone would one day be using Google
Glass, Olsen said he was not sure, but the implications of
communicating this way are many.
“I don’t know that we’ll all be wearing them, but I think in
medicine it’s going to be the wave of the future,” he said.
July 15, 2013
Tennessee News
Johnson City Press: Local soldier has no complaints despite
losing leg in Afghanistan
Johnson City Press: UCMH board to weigh hospital proposals
again
Johnson City Press: Several projects approved by State Building
Commission
Johnson City Press: Local soldier has no complaints despite
losing leg in Afghanistan
By KAYLA CARTER
Press Staff Writer
[email protected] He knew the risk and he’s not
complaining.
Sgt. Josh Hall, 23, stationed with the 82nd Airborne Division at
Fort Bragg, N.C., said overall he has gained more than he lost
while serving his country during his second tour of duty in
Afghanistan.
In a series of events that took place before a nearly fatal
encounter with an explosive on July 31, Hall described a twohour
firefight, which led to missiles and mortars being dropped.
The battle resulted in a few casualties for the opposition, he
said.
“They asked us to go out there and do what’s called a battle
damage assessment to see what kind of damage we did,” Hall said. “I
volunteered to go.”
While he was inspecting the safety of a wood line about 200
meters from camp, Hall said he scaled a 9-foot wall and unknown to
him on the other side was an IED.
“I left my guys back a little ways and went up by myself to
check it out,” Hall said. “As I jumped off the wall, I saw it. It
was barely sticking out of the ground. I tried to push away from
the wall to get over it, but my left heel caught it and it blew me
back 20 feet the other way.”
The IED, Hall said, was made with carbon rods, which kept it
hidden from metal detectors. He said he waited about 43 minutes
before he was able to be airlifted out for medical attention.
“We were so deep in there that we had to climb eight or 10
different walls just to get back to where the helicopter would
land,” Hall said. “I was awake the whole time.”
He was first taken to Germany for medical attention and on Aug.
5 made it to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center,
Bethesda, Md. where family was able to provide him with support
while he recovered from the loss of his left leg and other painful
injuries.
“I’ve had a lot of support through everything,” Hall said. “They
have been there through all of it.”
His father, Roger Hall, has even moved to Maryland to help him
through the healing process.
“When he came out of the coma, the first thing he said, he asked
if his guys were alright,” Roger Hall said. “Then he said, ‘When do
I get to go back?’
“To have him come back as strong as he is and in as good of
shape as he is in, it’s amazing. It’s really a miracle.”
Hall has been home on military leave for about three weeks and
is set to return to Walter Reed on Monday.
He awaits word from the Department of Veterans Affairs about
whether his military service has concluded.
“I’m just trying to make everything go as fast as it can so I
can get back here,” Hall said. “Right now, I’m just kind of in
limbo.”
The plan is to be home permanently in “3-6 months, hopefully
sooner,” Hall said. “I’m still kind of living in Maryland right
now. I’d rather be here.”
More plans for his permanent return are already being made.
Hall said he plans to build a house, perhaps in Gray, and apply
for college, where he hopes to study medicine, which was his
secondary job while overseas.
“When I wasn’t leading patrols, I got to treat patients,” Hall
said.
With the high level of intensity he has grown accustomed to,
Hall said he wants to have a lot of challenges when he comes home
to stay.
“I just need something stressful to keep me going,” Hall said.
“I need some level of stress for me to be able to function.”
However, Hall said the military would be his first preference
because he prefers tactical work.
“I’d rather stay in the military, if I could,” Hall said. “I had
just re-enlisted before I got hurt. I was going to do 20 years. I’d
go back to Afghanistan tomorrow, if they would let me.”
Hall is one of two local natives injured overseas last year with
Pfc. Marshall Lane suffering injuries just weeks after Hall.
Both men received a Purple Heart.
Coming home, Hall said, has helped him expedite overcoming
obstacles like learning to walk again and drive his car, which has
a manual transmission.
“What really helped was coming home,” Hall said. “There
everything is handicap accessible. Here (his father) has like four
flights of steps. I had to learn how to do that quickly because I
refused to sit in the living room.”
Hall said he feels beyond thankful to still be alive.
“I was resuscitated three times and I’ve suffered a lot of
injuries,” Hall said. “It’s a miracle that my brain and everything
still works as good as it did before. I thank God for that because
there is no other way I would be here.”
Hall’s mother, Michelle Caudill, said her son’s brave decision
in Afghanistan nearly a year ago has changed everyone in the
family’s lives.
“We’re just amazed,” Caudill said. “He almost died on us. It was
really bad.”
Caudill and Roger Hall said they credit the Lord, prayer and
great doctors with saving their son’s life.
“That’s what saved his life,” Caudill said. “At the bleakest
moments ... we had people reaching out to us. We need to thank God
in all of this.”
Johnson City Press: UCMH board to weigh hospital proposals
again
By BRAD HICKS
Erwin Bureau Chief
[email protected] ERWIN — Proposals from two of the
region’s largest health care systems to acquire Unicoi County
Memorial Hospital will once again be up the UCMH Board of Control’s
consideration.
On Thursday, the board will hold a called meeting to consider
adoption of a proposal from either Mountain States Health Alliance
or Wellmont Health System to acquire UCMH and its health care
assets. This public meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in the auditorium
of Unicoi County High School.
Late last month, the board announced that UCMH’s pending sale to
MSHA had been delayed due to concerns the state attorney general’s
office had about the transaction. According to a letter from the
attorney general’s office addressed to attorneys representing the
board, the office’s concerns include:
› The board’s failure to comply with the provisions of the
state’s Open Meetings Act in its acceptance of the MSHA acquisition
proposal.
› Its failure to obtain the approval of the town of Erwin and
Unicoi County on the sale per the UCMH charter.
› Concerns over how monetary contributions outlined in MSHA’s
acquisition proposal would be spent.
Board of Control Chairman Roland Bailey previously said the
board’s attorneys were working to review the attorney general’s
concerns and how to address them. Bailey could not be reached
Friday for comment.
The board has twice approved proposals submitted by MSHA. Most
recently, on Nov. 28 the board voted to approve a proposal from
MSHA over one submitted by Wellmont. On March 28, the board voted
to approve MSHA’s final definitive agreement to acquire UCMH.
According to state law, the acquisition process must be reviewed by
the attorney general’s office before becoming official.
Since late 2012, MSHA has been working with UCMH through a
manage- ment agreement that became effective after acceptance of
MSHA’s proposal. In its proposal that was previously approved by
the UCMH board, MSHA stated it would assume all of UCMH’s debt and
financial liabilities, construct a new acute care facility within
the town limits of Erwin, would extend a $2 million line of credit
to UCMH, much of which has been utilized, and provide voluntary
contributions of $750,000 each to the town of Erwin and Unicoi
County, and a $1 million contribution to go toward a foundation to
enhance health care services in Unicoi County.
“MSHA is committed to meeting the health care needs of Unicoi
County residents, and we stand behind all the promises we made in
our proposal to the hospital’s board of control,” MSHA spokesman
Tony Benton said Friday. “We believe that an objective review of
the proposals will show once again that MSHA is the best choice for
Unicoi County.”
In its previously submitted acquisition proposal, Wellmont
stated it would assume UCMH’s debt, issue an uncapped line of
credit for UCMH operations, expand service at the hospital, provide
contributions of $600,000 each to Unicoi County and Erwin, and
would construct a replacement hospital within the county’s limits
within three years of the transaction’s closing. Wellmont officials
said Friday that their organization’s interest in acquiring Unicoi
County’s community hospital remains high.
“Wellmont Health System remains pleased this process is being
revisited, as it is in the best interest of Unicoi County,”
Wellmont spokesman Jim Wozniak said. “This public forum appears to
be a positive step in moving this process forward in a transparent
manner.”
Johnson City Press: Several projects approved by State Building
Commission
By REX BARBER
Assistant News Editor
[email protected] Much attention was placed this
past week on the State Building Commission’s approval of a plan to
construct a new football stadium at East Tennessee State
University, but that body also approved other university projects
totaling around $21 million.
While the SBC does not have authority to approve dollars, it is
necessary to give final approval to state building projects before
they move forward.
On Thursday, SBC members approved a plan to build an $18 million
football stadium at ETSU. According to SBC documents, around $7.5
million of that money
› would come from student fees.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said the remainder of the project cost could
be covered with a combination of state-issued bonds and
fundraising.
He plans to work on that.
The July meeting of the SBC is usually heavy with approval
requests as it is the first meeting of the fiscal year. Thursday’s
meeting agenda was 125 pages and included projects from around the
state, some of which have been included in this year’s budget by
the legislature and some, like the stadium, have only been
disclosed.
A disclosure designation means local dollars must be found to
fund a project, according to ETSU Vice President of Finance and
Administration David Collins.
Below are some other projects approved by SBC members Thursday
for ETSU:
› A water replacement system for the College of Medicine’s
Building 2 on the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Mountain Home
campus.
This will involve installing a package chilled water system,
including all piping, pumps, valves and controls for a total cost
of $500,000. This cost has been included in the budget.
› The updating of several elevators on campus to come into
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, to improve
reliability and to provide safety updates with a focus on 2010 code
requirements.
There are eight elevators in Brown, Burgin Dossett, Warf-Pickel,
Rogers-Stout, Gilbreath, Lamb and Roy S. Nicks halls that require
updating.
The total cost for this project is $1.35 million. This money
comes from current funds for capital maintenance and bonds.
› More energy efficient lighting at a cost of $1.5 million was
approved in various campus buildings. This project has been
approved for the 2013-14 budget.
› Improving campus housing by renovating roofs, HVAC systems,
flooring, electrical and plumbing systems and other minor repairs
in Carter, Lucille Clement, Nell Dossett, Powell, Stone and West
halls and Davis Apartments.
This project has only been disclosed at a cost of $3,306,000 and
will be paid for by bonds that will be paid off by housing
rent.
› Renovations to the College of Medicine’s Building 60, which
will include replacing all building systems and constructing new
simulation labs, teaching labs, classrooms and spaces for
technology and general support.
This project is projected to cost a little more than $12.9
million and is funded by reserve funds from the College of Pharmacy
and College of Medicine.
A new data center was also approved Thursday. This facility will
be approximately 5,000 square feet. This is a disclosed project
estimated to cost $1.5 million.
“Currently, our data center is in the basement of Lucille
Clement,” Collins said. “There’s been a couple of times that pipes
have broken and leaked down into the data center.”
Collins said that fortunately no computers have ever been
damaged but the potential to lose valuable equipment is
present.
“We certainly can’t have a pipe wipe out our systems,” Collins
said.
A location for the new data center has not yet been chosen, but
Collins said it would likely be on the west end of campus, where
Lucille Clement is, to utilize the generators already in place
there and for other cost savings.
All these projects, now that they’ve been approved by the SBC,
can move forward for planning, so no firm dates for construction to
begin have been set.
“All this is getting it started for the designer,” Collins
said.
July 16, 2013
Tennessee News
Johnson City Press: MSHA extends another $1M credit
Johnson City Press: Protesting Aerojet
Kingsport Times News: NETWORKS chief intends ‘to finish
well’
Johnson City Press: MSHA extends another $1M credit
By KAYLA CARTER
Press Staff Writer
[email protected] Mountain States Health Alliance
will fund Unicoi County Memorial Hospital an additional $1 million,
which brings the MSHA line of credit cost total to $3 million.
“The MSHA board of directors has approved a $1 million addition
to the line of credit for Unicoi County Memorial Hospital,” said
Marvin Eichorn, MSHA senior vice president and chief financial
officer. “When the original $2 million line of credit runs out, the
hospital will be able to draw from these additional dollars to
continue operations through the remainder of the transition
process.”
The hospital will need to continue operations through the end of
a process initiated when two requests for proposals were submitted
to Wellmont Health System and MSHA by the UCMH board last year.
Both health systems submitted proposals and since then the UCMH
board has approved the MSHA proposal twice.
“It’s important to note that these funds are a temporary fix for
the hospital,” Eichorn said. “The real improvements that the
hospital needs in order to become financially viable can’t be done
until the hospital officially becomes part of Mountain States
Health Alliance.”
However, MSHA’s acquisition of UCMH was thwarted by a state
attorney general response released last month.
According to a letter from the attorney general’s office
addressed to attorneys representing the board, the office’s
concerns include:
› The board’s failure to comply with the provisions of the
state’s Open Meetings Act in its acceptance of the MSHA acquisition
proposal.
› Its failure to obtain the approval of the town of Erwin and
Unicoi County on the sale per the UCMH charter.
› Concerns over how monetary contributions outlined in MSHA’s
acquisition proposal would be spent.
UCMH Board of Control Chairman Roland Bailey said the board
plans to address all of the attorney general concerns and the money
will help them accomplish that goal.
“I’m very pleased that they took that step,” said UCMH Board of
Control Chairman Roland Bailey. “That will allow us to keep our
operations going and also allow the board to address the concerns
of the attorney general and get his concerns satisfied.”
On Thursday, the board will hold a called meeting to consider
adoption of a proposal from either Mountain States Health Alliance
or Wellmont Health System to acquire UCMH and its health care
assets.
This public meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in the auditorium of
Unicoi County High School.
Johnson City Press: Protesting Aerojet
By GARY B. GRAY
Press Staff Writer
[email protected] A moral and educational crusade?
Sure, that’s a fair description of the
Chicago-basedChristianPeacemakers Teams’ demonstration and
pronouncement Monday that Jonesborough’s Aerojet Ordnance
Tennessee’s use of depleted uranium has contaminated surrounding
soil and water supplies.
In 2011, members of the organization spoke at East Tennessee
State University and warned that tests would confirm that fact.
About one dozen members, including members of Appalachia Peace
Education Aerojet Action Project, gathered Monday across the street
from the facility. A table held pipes used for gathering soil and
test tubes to show methods used in a Northern Arizona University
study that revealed that “results clearly indicate the presence of
DU (depleted uranium), evidently originating from Aerojet Ordinance
Tennessee in water, soil and sediment samples.”
The study, headed by Michael Ketterer, a professor of chemistry
and biochemistry and dated April 18, revealed that DU was found in
water in Little Limestone Creek downstream from the facility,
sediments in the creek, and from soils from off-site locations near
the facility, located at 1367 Old State Route 34.
“The extent of physical damage cannot yet be nailed down,” said
John Mueller a CPT delegation member and former chemist. “But the
fact is that contamination has been found. The problem of uranium
contamination is a world problem, not just a Jonesborough
problem.”
DU is a heavy metal that is both radioactive and chemically
toxic, according to the Institute for Energy & Environmental
Research. Depleted uranium is a by-product of the enrichment
process. It has been used by the U.S. Military to make
armorpiercing weapons and tank armor plating.
Aerojet Ordnance is an arm of Aerojet Rocketdyne, an American
rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer headquartered in
Sacramento, Calif. The company is owned by GenCorp. Aerojet
Ordnance designs, develops and produces special metal components
for munitions, commercial products and sporting goods.
“I can tell you there will be no observation of their
presentation and we will make no comment,” Aerojet Ordinance
Facilities Security Officer Lisa Mabry said by telephone prior to
the event. “They seem to be unwilling to listen to what the truth
really is, but they are welcome to gather and to protest
peacefully.”
CPT members believe prayer vigils and public witness brings the
search for truth into the public arena — a tradition inspired by
the word of God, practiced by Jesus and carried on by Gandhi and
Martin Luther King Jr.
“We believe we must take our Christian faith from the pews to
the public space,” CPT’s website announces.
Though Mueller, and the study’s author, call it an “interim
report,” 25 samples taken over the past 2 years within a 2-mile
radius of the plant showed the 17 samples closest to the plant
showed contamination from processed uranium; samples further away
did not.
The World Nuclear Association says on its website that uranium
occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust and is mildly radioactive,
and the health hazards associated with any uranium are much the
same as those for lead.
“Depleted uranium is not classified as a dangerous substance
radiologically, though it is a potential hazard in large
quantities, beyond what could conceivably be breathed. There are no
reputable reports of cancer or other negative health effects from
radiation exposure to ingested or inhaled natural or depleted
uranium, despite much study,” the association reports.
CPT member Rosemarie Milazzo, an 81-year-old nun from New York
City, said the group believes all weapons are immoral and their use
is incompatible with the most basic principles of humanity and
environmental health protection.
“How can we, as a civilized society, continue to harm others by
disregarding our responsibility to care for and protect our land?”
she asked.
CPT member and Amarillo, Texas, resident Rusty Tomlinson said
uranium weapons have been used in a number of nations and they each
exhibit high rates of severe health problems. He then recited a
long list ranging from birth defects to headaches.
“Studies of vets exposed to uranium weapons showed that male
vets had three times the normal rate of children with birth
defects,” he said. “Female vets had four times the normal rate. In
studies of miscarriages, the number of female vets was too small to
draw any conclusions, but male vets’ wives had 1.6 times the normal
rate of miscarriages.”
So, has the group attempted to sit down with Aerojet? Have they
told them about their concerns? Have they asked them to participate
in a dialogue or debate on the issue?
Mueller says they have.
“Evidence that these folks are not here right now should tell
you something,” he said.
The CPT will hold a public educational forum at 1 p.m. July 27
at the Jonesborough Visitors Center.
Kingsport Times News: NETWORKS chief intends ‘to finish
well’
By MATTHEW LANE
[email protected] BLOUNTVILLE — NETWORKS Sullivan
Partnership President and CEO Richard Venable will remain at the
helm of the countywide economic development organization until the
end of the year. At that point, Venable will assume an advisory
role to NETWORKS, while the organization undertakes a search for a
successor.
“Our board has been concerned for some time about having a
succession plan in place,” Venable said. “This is a logical, timely
plan that fits my needs and those of NETWORKS for an orderly
transition and fills my desire for NETWORKS to continue its
important work uninterrupted.”
Formed in 2004, NETWORKS is a countywide economic development
organization that represents Kingsport, Bristol, Bluff City and
Sullivan County. Since its creation, the organization has assisted
new and existing business with creating several thousand direct and
indirect jobs, in addition to acquiring and managing over $8
million of industrial development property.
Venable, who has led the organization for more than six years,
said with the changing economic environment and evolving, local
political climate, now is the time for the organization to review
its direction. Venable said he has recommended a “top to bottom”
review of NETWORKS’ entire structure, including its bylaws and
chart e r.
“We’ve made very few bylaw changes over the last nine years.
When we set (NETWORKS) up it was with a 24-member board, which is a
bit unwieldy and at times unable to involve all board members,”
Venable said. “At the time, we needed community support. Having
finished nearly nine years, six under my term, I think we’ve built
community support.
“Now, we’re at the right time and place. The world has changed
since 2004, and we need to change with it.”
Under the terms of his contract, Venable will remain at the helm
of NETWORKS through Dec. 31, after which he will assume an advisory
role, including participating in the “top to bottom” review of the
organization. The Strategic Development Group of Columbia, S.C.,
will conduct a national search for Venable’s replacement.
Venable said there is one four-year-old project he wants to see
through, along with three to four international companies he is
working with to locate within Sullivan County.
“My focus will be on NETWORKS and completing the job given to
me. The most important thing is for me to finish well,” he
said.
Venable is a former state representative and a former Sullivan
County mayor, and he made a run for the 1st Congressional District
seat in 2006. Venable said he has no future political aspirations
at this time.
“This new contract will allow me time, in the near future, to
assist my sons in rebuilding the trucking business that has
supported our family for the past 25 years,” Venable said. “I
haven’t worked there in 10 years, and it’s time I help them.”
NETWORKS Chairman of the Board Charlie Floyd praised Venable’s
service to the organization.
“We’ve been fortunate to have Richard’s leadership at NETWORKS
these past six-plus years. We need his continued support to find
the best person to succeed him and prepare for the future I know he
wants for the partnership,” Floyd said.
July 17, 2013
Tennessee News
Johnson City Press: Wellmont says UCMH proposals ‘null and
void’
Johnson City Press: Wellmont says UCMH proposals ‘null and
void’
By BRAD HICKS
Erwin Bureau Chief
bhicks@johnsoncitypress ERWIN — Wellmont Health System has
fired the latest salvo in the nearly yearlong battle between the
health care organization and rival Mountain States Health Alliance
to acquire financially-struggling Unicoi County Memorial
Hospital.
Wellmont announced Tuesday that it has concerns over the
legality of the UCMH sale process and has called for the UCMH Board
of Control to begin the process anew.
On Tuesday morning, Wellmont released a statement declaring both
its proposal to acquire UCMH and the proposal submitted by MSHA to
be “null and void.” In the statement, Wellmont officials said this
comes as a result of “internal legal analysis,” and that based on
concerns previously raised by the state attorney general’s office,
the organization feels the hospital board’s process used to choose
a proposal did not meet legal requirements
Due to its stance, Wellmont will not participate in a public
meeting to be held Thursday, at which the UCMH board will again
consider the proposals from Wellmont and MSHA.
“According to our legal advice, the proper remedy for these
violations is for the board to issue another request for proposals
and follow a legal, broad and transparent process from this point
forward,” Wellmont President/ CEO Denny DeNarvaez stated in the
release. “Merely re-evaluating the two proposals in an open meeting
such as the one scheduled later this week in not sufficient.”
On June 25, the UCMH board announced the sale of UCMH to MSHA
had been delayed due to concerns the state attorney general’s
office had over the pending transaction. According to a letter from
the attorney general’s office sent to attorneys representing the
board, the office’s concerns included the board’s failure to comply
with provisions of the state’s Open Meetings Act in its original
selection of the MSHA proposal, its failure to obtain the approvals
of the town of Erwin and Unicoi County on the sale per the UCMH
charter, and concerns over how monetary contributions outlined in
MSHA’s proposal would be spent.
“We simply want what’s in the best interests of the people of
Unicoi County,” DeNarvaez stated. “And an open, honest process is
clearly in their best interests.
“We continue to be humbled and appreciative of the tremendous
support we’ve received from the residents of that community, and we
will continue to work to ensure the process used to determine the
sale of their hospital is transparent and fair.”
Spokesman Jim Wozniak said Tuesday Wellmont officials were
unavailable to offer comment in addition to their statement.
On Tuesday afternoon, MSHA President/CEO Dennis Vonderfecht
issued a statement responding to Wellmont. In it, Vonderfecht
referred to Wellmont’s announcement as a “ploy” to delay the sale
process, and he stated his organization remains interested in
acquirin