Part of the problem?

As I said last time, Id be back sooner.

( Ref:KnoxNews by George Korda -'The place to be on Sunday' )

Part of the problem?/It's gonna cost ya!


Knox County is a unique place for this day and age in as much as the good hearted people and their trusting dispositions.

We're big enough to be a 'player' in State business, but small enough to call folks 20 miles away 'neighbor'.
Big enough for traffic, but small enough to predict about what times of the day it's safe to travel- or know a 'back way', shortcut to all points of interest.
Big enough to have many schools but small enough to know someone who works or goes to about all of them.

In -at least in MY- Knox County, we're happy with more than one "F" word.
Fun, Food,Football. Fishin. Family.

We enjoy new restaurants but have a few older, established favorites.
Some have gasoline, live bait AND those yummy Pickeled Eggs.

We're blessed with about as much water as anywhere thanks to the TVA Lakes all around us.
Hundreds of miles of shoreline in the Valley of the Most Beautiful Mountains and Hills I've seen in my World Wide Travels! (travels = more than a Braves game on the way to the beach)

We pay our property taxes, grudgingly sometimes, with the knowledge that in todays world, Education and Services cost!
We send them in and then go back to our interest with a comfortable knowledge they're being spent correctly, because you know someone who works down at the County.
But...
One of the things I love about my home is likely part of how we've gotten into much of this mess.

Our County Commission, County Mayor and the rest of the ethically challenged bunch have exposed a venerability in our natural good nature.
"Trust".
THAT is what chaps my ass the most about this whole thing.

The County Commission and County Mayor are from here(or been here a while-Rags) and have taken advantage of an extra trust they've been given. That 'extra trust' is paying it to them, and then trusting, then not paying alot of attention, because we 'never really had to' and have so much other fun to plan.
Fish to catch.
Family to visit or take care of.
Heck, Phil Fulmer is needing some extra support/to be horse whooped/to be counted as a blessing!
We've never paid attention to every detail and aren't ready to now. It's too BORING!

I don't think Knox County has seen the reasons to take away that undeserved 'extra(automatic) trust' until recently and it would be shameful if after all thats been exposed, we continue to not keep up with everything they do.
Some of us are too busy with the fore mentioned pleasures to read the paper or watch the news and we've heard rumors though...

To try to use the analogy of 'Where there's smoke, there's fire', we've been seeing alot of 'toxic trust smoke' from too many of these County Elected/Appointed Officals and the exposure of the actual fire may not be as apparent-yet.
With toxic smoke, the fumes are as harmful as the heat.

These people aren't THAT smart. I think thats been proven.
They simply are avg-to-below avg intelligence people who've stumbled upon a realization that they do have some 'automatic trust' and the close monitoring needed of people who make decisions that effect our lives and wallets has been slack at best.
Most have given up 'real employment' for a lower wage, elected position for a reason.
Power, probably. Getting jobs for family members can be a valuable tool.
Having Big Money people lobby them could simply be Ego!
I suspect it goes further and we're on the brink of finding some very dirty dealings.
No one's looked or found the right place to find it yet but I think it's there.

What's happening to our county is beyond the 'growing pains' of a naive government.
Ladies.
Gentleman.
The "Deacons" are violating the "Church" they serve.
Their hands are in the collections!

Some of your neighbors are stealing cable TV, putting magnets on their electric meters and using public water to fill their pool.
It isn't costing you anything?
IT'S costing EVERYONE something!

IF we are to continue to grow, some things will have to change before we can do it without it costing everyone alot more than it should.
And thats going to cost EVERYONE something they can't replace at any cost.
You can't get more, but it must be spent.

It's going to effect some part of your life, without a doubt.
Rich, poor, fat, thin, old, young,smart, not-so smart, tall, short, white, black,professor, Dr or Not to ed-u-ma-ca-ted, (I), (D) or (R)
It can't be helped.
"Women and Children" won't be hit the worse, as that joke goes.
It's an Equal opportunity cost.
But you aren't going to write a check for it, pay cash, or 'save change' to pay it.
Oh yea, it's more expensive than that.
It's more valuable than alot of the things we have but IF we can all just pay attention and do this right, it shouldn't be too painful to the family's budget.

The REWARDS are unmeasurable, however.
It could help- or hurt- your bank account.
It's NOT tax deductible.
The collection agency looks and acts differently though.......

IF there was an invoice, the 'For' line would read:
"Time and attention"
The Cost line would say:
"Pay Some?"

Now the question is:
Will ya?