Few would argue that Halloween is one of the
spookiest times of the year, if not by nature then by design. Haunted
houses are constructed with terror in mind and there seems to be a
chainsaw wielding maniac hiding in every corn maze. Some things are
just naturally scary. They bring a shiver to the spine and raise the
hairs on the back of the neck by being nothing more or less than what
they are. In honor of this week of chills and thrills, it seems
appropriate to identify the scariest of the scary. Of course, the fright
factor depends a lot on personal perception but, in our opinion, these
are the scariest cemeteries in Jefferson County.
The Branner Cemetery located in the Historic Mossy Creek area (across
the highway from Glenmore Mansion) is one scary place to visit. The
isolation factor only adds to the chill factor and in cemeteries,
historical often equals frightening. Along the same lines, the Hopewell
Cemetery in Dandridge has parts that are very scary. The newer parts of
the cemetery are not quite as bad, but the older sections are shadowed
by large trees that seem to loom overhead. It is not the place that most
want to visit after dark. Beth Carr Cemetery in White Pine is another
place to avoid as the shadows begin to fall. Though all of the
cemeteries have a certain type of beauty, they are spine tingling. Beth
Carr has one of the most interesting stones in Jefferson County and its
uniqueness only adds to the chills. Perhaps the scariest cemetery in the
County resides on one of the scariest named streets in the
County-Graveyard Alley. The cemetery is located in the middle of the
Historic Town Square in Dandridge, however the mid town location and the fact that
it sides a busy Meeting Street does nothing to ease the scary factor.
The gates of the small cemetery appear to block out the modern world.
Last year, one of the Jefferson County Post’s Geocache hunts was located
in the Harris Cemetery (as it is locally known) and numerous emails
poured in from locals afraid to enter the gates. The cemetery is as
beautiful as it is scary and the large looming trees appear to act as
sentries to those that would seek entrance. Whatever the source of the
Halloween thrills, it is important to have respect when entering
hallowed ground and to keep a careful watch at what is behind, just in
case.
County Mayor Alan
Palmieri Video Address "Quickly
Approaching A Crisis Stage"
Click image above
to watch video.
Jefferson County Mayor Palmieri has released a
video to the community addressing the state of Jefferson County and
his concerns as Mayor. In the address, Mayor Palmieri discusses his
position with the County Commission and questions that he has
regarding the direction that the majority of the Commission is
taking Jefferson County. Palmieri has been vocal about the existing
split in the County Commission and what he views as the
confrontational
relationship that drives decisions in Jefferson
County. According to the Mayor, the video was released in an effort
to communicate with the citizens of Jefferson County without any
media interpretation of his words. Palmieri stated that he wants the
citizens of Jefferson County to be aware of what is going on in
their government and that, as the elected head governmental leader
of the County, it is his responsibility to ensure that there is
transparency in communication. The video addresses a variety of
issues that are currently relevant. Video communication via the
internet is not uncommon among elected officials and is, in fact, a
common form of communication of State level elected and appointed
officials. This new form of Mayoral address in Jefferson County
joins the State push for community awareness and information ease
through technology.
Happy Halloween Origins of All Hallows' Eve
Jefferson County residents will welcome
Halloween 2012 on October 31. Halloween is believed to have
originated from the Celtic festival Samhain, which was a time when
people would don costumes and light large bonfires to ward off
ghosts. During the 8th century, November 1st
was designated as All Saints’ Day and some of the traditions of
Samhain were carried over. The night before All Saints’ Day was
known as All Hallows’ Eve and later it morphed into the modern
Halloween. Halloween offers a time for children and adults to
celebrate and usher in the cold weather. It has also become big
business in the United States, bringing in more than 8 billion
dollars in retail. Halloween has surpassed Valentines Day as the
candy day of the year and it is quickly becoming a major player in
greeting cards as well. It is estimated that adults spend an average
of around $76 on costumes for the spooky night and that is just the
tip of the financial iceberg. Retailers enjoy the boom from the
spooky holiday, which ranks second only to Christmas in retail
spending. Halloween and all the trappings have become important in
modern culture and, according to retail experts, Halloween has
proven itself recession proof. Even in economic downtimes, Americans
still celebrate Halloween. The holiday provides a brief escape from
the daily grind into a world where anything imaginable is possible,
if only for one day at the end of October.
Cease-Fire Broken in
Syria
Car Bomb Rocks
Deir Ezzor
By Jake Depew, Jefferson County Post Staff Writer
An explosion on
Saturday morning, October 27, 2012, shattered an already unstable
cease-fire in Syria. The cease fire was called under observance of
the Eid al-Adha holiday: a four day holiday that started this past
Friday. The explosion took place in the Deir Ezzor, originating from
a car bomb. The actual target of the attack is being disputed by
both national and rebel forces. The Syrian government has claimed
that the car bomb was set off just outside of a church, whereas the
opposition movement is countering that a military instillation was
the intended target. This attack follows unconfirmed reports of as
many as 100 people being killed in explosions just hours after the
start of the cease-fire, according to the opposition movement. The
Syrian government has responded that any action taken at all was in
retaliation to terrorist attacks in the country during the
cease-fire. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, has issued a
call to Muslims everywhere to support the Syrian national government
in the conflict. The Local Coordination Committees of Syria have
reported that as many as 93 people were killed in clashes following
the car bomb on Saturday. In light of this break in the cease-fire,
even further pushes for United Nations’ intervention in the violence
have arisen, though both Russia and China refuse to involve
themselves in the affairs of the foreign country. At the time of
this writing, an exact casualty report for areas heavy with fighting
cannot be reliably discerned.
JEFFERSON CITY
SELECTS NEW CHIEF OF POLICE Kenneth W. Davis
Photo Submitted / Kenneth W. Davis
Jefferson City Manager John B. Johnson
announces that he has selected a new Chief of Police. Kenneth W.
Davis, current City Administrator and former Chief of Police in
Mullins, SC has accepted the position and is scheduled to begin work
in early November.
Davis possesses a BS degree from The Citadel, a
Master of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of South
Carolina and is in the final stages of his PhD dissertation, which
addresses the phenomenon of juvenile fire setting.
With over 25 years in the criminal justice and
law enforcement fields, Davis has served in virtually all phases of
law enforcement and at every jurisdictional level, including
assignments in the federal, state, and local systems. He has also
served as an instructor of criminal justice courses at the
collegiate level, and is a Certified Basic Law Enforcement
Instructor in South Carolina and is nationally certified as a Fire
and Explosion Investigator and a Fire Investigator Instructor by the
National Association of Fire Investigators.
Davis’ time in law enforcement has also spanned
assignments in narcotics, SWAT, criminal investigations, patrol,
medical and insurance fraud, fire investigation, crime scene
investigation, and police administration. He is a published crime
scene photographer and has been a guest on several occasions on
syndicated radio and television shows discussing policing systems
and juvenile crime.
Beginning as a Special Agent with the US
Customs Service right after graduation from The Citadel, Davis went
on to serve as a Federal Air Marshal, a Special Agent with the SC
Law Enforcement Division, and as a Captain in charge of the Criminal
Investigations Division of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in
addition to his time as the City of Mullins’ Police Chief.
The newly appointed Chief is eager to get to
work and thanks Interim Chief Darrell Turley for the outstanding job
he has done during the transition. Chief Davis is expected to spend
his first few weeks getting acquainted with his staff and reviewing
the departmental policies and procedures to ensure a smooth command
continuity.
Chief Davis is a member of First United
Methodist Church of Lake City, SC and is married to his wife of 14
years, Kimberly. His son, Slater, is a member of the Myrtle Beach
Police Department. Chief Davis invites anyone with questions or
concerns to visit with him at police headquarters and share their
thoughts and insight with him. An early November start date is
expected.
County Attorney To
Lead Investigation of "Doggy-Gate"
County investigation does not remove the
possibility of future TOSHA inspections.
The Jefferson County Mayor’s Office received an inquiry letter and
demand for investigation from Tennessee Occupational Health and
Safety Administration (TOSHA) in regard to a recent issue that has
garnered attention in both the community and at County governmental
meetings. The letter, dated October 25, 2012, informed Director of
Facilities for Jefferson County David Longmire that an official
complaint has been filed against the Jefferson County Justice
Center, specifically directed at law enforcement. The complaint
alleges that employees at the Sheriff’s Department are required to
capture and transport vicious animals without proper training and
that employees at the Sheriff’s Department are required to handle
and transport vicious animals without the proper tools and
equipment. Ron Rich, Public Sector Manager of TOSHA, instructed
Director Longmire that an investigation, led by Jefferson County,
was appropriate and that the findings of those investigations should
be forwarded within 5 working days of receipt of the inquiry letter.
Along with the findings, a detailed letter of corrections that have
been taken to address the findings is also required. No penalty has
been assessed to Jefferson County at this time. In order for TOSHA
to impose a penalty, an investigation must be conducted. Rich
informed the County that an investigation may be conducted by TOSHA
if a response is not received from the County addressing the
complaint by November 2, 2012, though it was noted that a County
investigation does not remove the possibility of future TOSHA
inspections, as deemed appropriate. The issue associated with the
complaint was recently slotted to come before the County Commission
for inquiry, however was removed by majority vote from the agenda.
The Jefferson County Mayor’s Office, which was in receipt of the
TOSHA complaint inquiry, has conferred with the County Attorney on
the issue. The County Attorney, to remove any questions of bias
within County departments, will take the lead in the inquiry process
and Jefferson County Office of the Mayor intends to present any
findings to TOSHA in a timely manner. Per instructions from TOSHA, a
copy of the inquiry letter and the County response to the letter
will be posted for easily accessibility to Jefferson County
employees.
Newsweek Magazine
Goes Full Digital After 80 Years of Circulation
By Jake Depew, Jefferson County Post Staff
Writer
After 80 years of circulation as a weekly print magazine, Newsweek
is changing to a fully-digital format at the end of 2012. According
to Barry Diller, head of the company that owns Newsweek, the
decision does not come as a surprise to those working with the
magazine. Diller claims that the publication had been examining its
future as a printed product for some time now, and that
circumstances have aligned well, allowing the publication to make
the transition with far less effort than was originally feared. By
switching to a fully-digital format, Newsweek will be able to meet
time constraints easier, and employees have stated that the decision
was made in light of the recent market for advertisements: digital
is generally cheaper and, in the ever growing technological era of
the twenty-first century, is a much more effective way to ensure
more consumers actually see and acknowledge the advertisements. Tina
Brown, editor-in-chief and founder of The Newsweek Daily Beast Co.,
has stated that there will be job cuts, though the business itself
is not in jeopardy: Newsweek is evolving with the flow and flux of
modern media.