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Online retailers are able to forgo collecting sales tax because of an outdated legal loophole that predates the Internet.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

bhicks@johnsoncitypress.com   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

rwagner@timesnews.net   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

rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com   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

jsprouse@johnsoncitypress.com   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

rwagner@timesnews.net   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

hhayes@timesnews.net   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

jsprouse@johnsoncitypress.com   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

rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com   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

rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com   “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

kcarter@johnsoncitypress.com   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

bhicks@johnsoncitypress.com   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

rbarber@johnsoncitypress.com   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

kcarter@johnsoncitypress.com   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

ggray@johnsoncitypress.com   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

mlane@timesnews.net   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