Local happenings… A lot happening… The county Sheriff, Grayson Beasley, died of a heart attack on the morning of February 20th; he was 59 and a picture of health (on the outside); condolences to the family. Now there is the issue of succession; according to some county documents, the county commission is to appoint the sheriff replacement to complete the term, which ends in August of 2014; here it goes:
“(b) (1) Vacancies in county offices required by the Constitution of Tennessee or by any statutory provision to be filled by the people shall be filled by the county legislative body, and any person so appointed shall serve until a successor is elected at the next general election, as defined in § 2-1-104, in the county and is qualified; provided, that the candidates have sufficient time to qualify for the office, as provided for in § 2-14-106. The county legislative body shall be required to make an appointment to fill a vacancy within one hundred twenty (120) days of receiving notice of the vacancy unless during that time period there is a general election scheduled in the county and there is sufficient time for the vacancy to be placed on the ballot in accordance with this section. Any appointment to fill a vacancy by the county legislative body shall be made in accordance with chapter 5, part 1 of this title. This subdivision (b)(1) shall not apply to any county that has a metropolitan form of government and a population in excess of five hundred thousand (500,000), according to the 2000 federal census or any subsequent federal census….”
So, throw your hat in the ring, my friends… Go present yourself to the county commission as a qualified candidate and good luck!
Later we have learned that there are seven (7) candidates being considered for the job (and two more who would like to be considered buck lack qualifications; one of them is suing the county) and that the commission will hear presentations from, and ask questions to, all seven. The commission will make a decision by June (have no idea why it would take so long…)
By the way, on the comment above about throwing your hat in the ring, do not bother if you are not local (several generations) and, if you happen to have a Latin surname, pfff, forget about it! (This is not my opinion; it is something I was told by a commissioner - who will remain anonymous - in a meeting were the topic was being discussed…)
Personal
My third daughter, Alex, turned 23 years old this past February 24th… As luck will have it, Jan was in Atlanta as lecturer in an AKY Business Fraternity conference; I was escorting Jan (as a driver, baggage handler, etc. you know, my usual chores...) and Leah happens to be member of the AKY Business fraternity an was attending the conference. So, when the conference was over, we all gathered at Alex's place and celebrated with a very special birthday girl!
Food for thought:
“The first to apologize is the bravest; the first to forgive is the strongest; the first to forget is the happiest”
- Anonymous
