The Jefferson County Post | Jefferson County, TN Newspaper

Staff Photo

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 8^th century, November 1^st 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.