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Saying ‘Goodbye’
After 30-plus years of public service, Vernon Long retires
By CHRIS SILCOX
- Sun, Dec 11, 2011
Vernon Long admits to having mixed emotions about his decision to step down after a long career as Anderson County Property Assessor.
First elected to the position in1996 after working 14 years in the property assessor’s office under former assessor Owen Richardson, Long says the most difficult aspect of retiring is sure to be the eminent interruption of the routine and relationships he’s grown accustomed to over the years.
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A miner’s legacy
Cross Mountain Mine: ‘You only get one chance to honor 100 years’
By CHRIS SILCOX
- Sun, Dec 11, 2011
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| Briceville Elementary School students sing “Will the Circle be Unbroken” during the Friday, Dec. 9, anniversary tribute to the Cross Mountain Mine Disaster at New Circle Cemetery behind Laurel Branch Baptist Church. The Miners Circle in the cemetery - Chris Silcox |
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Exactly 100 years after a mining explosion in the Briceville Community took the lives of their ancestors, more than 50 descendants of the Cross Mountain Mining disaster attended the anniversary ceremony at the historic Briceville Church honoring the 84 miners who lost their lives in the 1911 explosion.
A crowd of close to 200 crammed into the tiny hilltop church to mark the 100th anniversary of the mine explosion that shook the community to its core and forever changed the way American coal mines operate.
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Council incumbents win
By KEN LEINART
- Sun, Dec 11, 2011
The voters of Clinton spoke Tuesday and it appears they like what they’ve seen the last two years.
Incumbents Larry Gann, Rob Herrell and Jim McBride were re-elected from comfortable to “big” margins in the Dec. 6 Clinton City Council election.
Clinton Mayor Scott Burton said he was “disappointed” in the voter turn out — only 1,136 of 6,229 voters registered in the city took part in Tuesday’s election.
“I was disappointed in the turnout. We had some quality candidates running; people who stepped up because they care about our city,” Burton said. “It’s good for Clinton when citizens take part in the process, and the people who ran for City Council are an example of that.”
With the incumbents winning, Burton said, to him, it is a sign that citizens see the city heading in the right direction.
“I think it validates what we’ve done during the last two years. We’ve had to make some tough decisions — and we may well have to make more in the future — but the city government, I feel, has always acted in the best interest of our citizens.”
Clinton has replaced its city manager and finance director in the last two years and faced a shortage in revenue resulting in the re-prioritizing of some projects.
“I think this vote is telling us we’re doing a good job overall,” the mayor said.
Early voting numbers — 626 — was larger than 2007 and 2009, but the final numbers were lower — 1,136 compared to 1,730 (2007) and 1,279 (2009).
“I thought it might be higher due to the early voting numbers, but I think the weather had a big part,” Anderson County Administrator of Elections Mark Stephens said. “It was slow during the day, but when it cleared up some, between 5 – 7 p.m., we had a big rush.”
Stephens added that election trends are showing early voting as a popular way of being heard in the polls.
“I think we’ll continue to see these kind of numbers climb,” he said.
The 2011 election, Stephens said, looks like “an average” election in the last decade: High early voting numbers and not so high on election day.
The Anderson County Election Commission will meet at 5 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, to certify the results of the Dec. 6 city election.
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CodeRed alert system started
- Sun, Dec 11, 2011
City of Clinton officials are urging citizens to get on board with its new CodeRed high-speed notification solution, designed to alert the public of crisis situations occurring in the area.
Through a contract with Emergency Communications Network (E.C.N.), the City of Clinton plans to employ CodeRed to quickly deliver messages to targeted areas or the entire city, according to a City of Clinton press release.
Messages delivered via the CodeRed system will include major fires, chemical spills, evacuations, lock downs, natural disasters, abductions, major water system problems, bomb threats and other emergencies.
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Iwanski will not seek Mayor’s post
By CHRIS SILCOX
- Sun, Dec 11, 2011
Anderson County will have a new leader in the Mayor’s Office after the August 2012 General Election.
Interim County Mayor Myron Iwanski made it official on Tuesday, Dec. 7, that he will not contend for the Office in 2012.
The former Dist. 8 County Commissioner was appointed last January to serve as interim Mayor until a special election in August 2012.
Iwanski stated this week that despite a growing trend of support for him to run in 2012 he has decided to fulfill his previous pledge not to seek the position in the next election.
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