Today's News

By DAMON LAWRENCE
dlawrence@roanecounty.com
About 12,300 Roane Countians voted in the August election. Administrator of Elections Charles Holiway said he’s hoping for a bigger turnout for the Nov. 2 election.
“I think the governor’s race always fascinates people,” Holiway said. “They’re very interested in who’s going to lead the state.”
Republican Bill Haslam and Democrat Mike McWherter are vying to become the state’s next governor. Fourteen Independent candidates are also on the ballot.

John Murphy, 23, a Harriman native and current Washington, D.C., resident, advanced to the semifinals in the Sears Chef Challenge and competed alongside three other chefs from Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
Murphy was one of 24 chefs chosen to compete in the Sears Chef Challenge, which strives to discover new chefs while helping food charities.
He represented Miriam’s Kitchen, a nonprofit agency that works with the homeless, in Washington D.C. Murphy has worked as the assistant director of kitchen operations there for a year.

Gentle reader, not for the first time, we call your attention to the French expression “Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose.”
This is usually translated as “The more things change, the more they are the same.”
This truism was brought to mind once again as we have been reading a book detailing the life of Henry Temple, Second Viscount Palmerston, 1739-1802.
He was the father of the Third Viscount Palmerston, 1784-1865, who was Queen Victoria’s Foreign Secretary for 15 years and twice her Prime Minister.

In 2007, the Roane County Commission approved the borrowing of $2.5 million to join Cumberland and Morgan counties in an industrial park venture.
Now infrastructure issues have some officials second guessing the decision.
After listening to a presentation at the Oct. 18 commission meeting, new commissioner Randy Ellis questioned whether it is wise for Roane County to stay involved in the project.      
“Do we need to sell what we got, cut our losses and move on?” he asked.