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Archives
03-05-2003 News
Sunshine finally overpowers gloom
Sunshine finally overpowers gloom Lyndon Johnson/OCN staff
These teenage boys take advantage of the court beside A.H. Roberts School, where they enjoyed an afternoon pick-up basketball game in warm sunshine on Monday. After weeks away on hiatus, the sun finally came out of hiding on Saturday, March 1. The 17 days of no-shine dreariness marked a record in Tennessee history.
City Council meeting held Monday night By DEWAIN E. PEEK, OCN staff Livingston City Council met Monday, March 3 for the regular monthly meeting. Alderman Thurman Langford was absent. Residents on Lee Dillon Road asked that the road be changed back to a two-way street instead of a one-way. The aldermen voted to grant the request. The City Council accepted the low bid of Chuck Mason Equipment for a backhoe. The backhoe, a New Holland 75 LB, will cost $24,000 with a trade-in. The Council voted to allow Livingston Planning Commission to go forward with plans to annex areas on the north, east, and west sides of town. Second reading of Ordinance 2003-2-2 was approved, defining transient habitation and establishing it as Use Permitted on Appeal in the C-3 General Commercial District. Rezoning Robert Lewis Oakley property, the old KMA building, from I-1 to C-3 was approved on second reading. First reading was approved on rezoning Jeff Hunter's property from C-1 to R-2. A public hearing will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 21 at City Hall. The City Council voted to accept a $50,000 bid from Coca-Cola at Livingston City Park, if the contract is deemed acceptable by the mayor and the city attorney. Mayor Hosea Winningham informed the aldermen that Insurance Services Office Inc. has improved the classification of the town from a Class 7 to a Class 6. The meeting adjourned.
Bill to protect state lakes if passed Fighting "backdoor attempts" to sell the state's public lakes and recreation areas, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon is supporting legislation that adds the promotion of recreation as a TVA primary objective. The bill, scheduled to be introduced this week in Congress, amends the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 to include the promotion of recreation as a primary goal in the operation of the agency's dams and reservoirs. "For years I've been fighting backdoor attempts to privatize TVA and sell off its assets," Gordon said. "And now the White House wants to balance its budget on the backs of TVA customers by forcing the agency to cut its debt in half over the next four years. "The only way TVA could reduce its debt by $12 billion that quickly would be to raise electric rates drastically and sell off many of its resources, which include the very lakes and recreation areas we enjoy with our families." Tennessee Valley Authority provides power to 8.3 million persons in Tennessee and six other Southeastern states through a combination of traditional, nuclear, solar and wind sources, including 29 hydroelectric dams. The agency operates and maintains 20 other dams, including 480,000 acres of recreational lakes. "TVA dams and reservoirs provide flood control, electricity, and navigation routes for commerce,Ó Gordon said. "And they provide a source of recreation that enhances the quality of life for millions in the Southeast. "Forcing TVA to cut $12 billion from its debt in such a short amount of time may put our lakes on the selling block. Those lakes are resources that need to be safeguarded, not discarded." Gordon has been fighting efforts in Congress to sell TVA assets since 1995. "Its competitors in the utility industry, its enemies in Congress, and now the President are ganging up on TVA to undermine an agency that's helped the Tennessee Valley over the past 70 years," he said. Electric rates paid by Tennessee residents and businesses could increase as much as 43 percent if TVA is forced to halve its debt by 2007 as referenced in the President's fiscal year 2004 budget proposal. Currently, an average monthly electric bill for a TVA customer is $64. That monthly cost would increase nearly $28 if the President's proposal is implemented. "I've always wanted TVA to reduce its debt and operate more efficiently," Gordon said. "But the drastic measure advocated by the White House would devastate the Valley's power consumers and likely drive jobs away, not to mention put up for sale to the highest bidder our lakes and recreation areas."
Overton County News
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