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Schools may need 19¢ tax rate hike

Roane County Board of Education member Mike “Brillo” Miller last month guaranteed the proposed budget for the 2013-14 school year wouldn’t require a 26-cent increase in the property tax rate to fund.
“Will there probably be something? Yes, it will,” Miller said during a joint meeting with the Roane County Commission.
Right now, that something is 19 cents.
That’s the increase in the property tax rate school system business manager Eric Harbin is recommending the board request from the Roane County Commission.

Layoffs coming at Toho

Approximately 65 employees will likely be out of work by this fall when Toho Tenax America moves part of its operations to Japan and Germany.
“Despite the hard work and best efforts of TTA’s dedicated and hardworking employees, production at the Rockwood location will be significantly reduced by the end of the third quarter 2013,” said Rob Klawonn, president at Toho Tenax America Inc.
That would be by the end of September.
Klawonn also read a company statement:

Neighbor denies firing at Tiger Haven

Toby Dean Rhynehart spent almost 24 hours in the Roane County Jail last week.
“I shouldn’t have been in there to start with,” he said.
Roane County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Self charged Rhynehart with reckless endangerment on May 14 after rounds from his firearm allegedly went onto the property of Tiger Haven, a big-cat sanctuary in East Roane County.   

Rhynehart denied the allegations in Self’s report and said he was merely exercising his Second Amendment right on his own property. 

Midtown annexation IS possible

The state senate bill that created an annexation moratorium does not necessarily protect all of Midtown’s Hwy. 70 corridor from Harriman’s reach after all.
Instead, the bill’s moratorium against any city extending its corporate limits by annexation ordinance from April 1, 2013, to May 1, 2014, only extends to property used primarily for residential or agricultural purposes.
It says nothing about commercial properties.
Also, the citizen voting requirement for annexation is a no-go.

Robinette case goes to grand jury

The drunk driving case of Steven Robinette, a former candidate for Roane County property assessor, was bound over to the grand jury Monday.
Kingston police charged Robinette with DUI and violation of the implied consent law last November. Officer Jerry Singleton said Robinette performed poorly on sobriety tests and refused to take a Breathalyzer test.
With the case now bound over, Robinette could face a possible indictment by the Roane County grand jury. The grand jury is scheduled to meet on June 17.   

Jim Henry officially DCS director

Forget the interim part: After a short stint filling in, Kingston’s Jim Henry is now the commissioner of the Department of Children’s Services.
Gov. Bill Haslam announced the full appointment Tuesday to the beleagured department.
Henry, the first commissioner of the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, had also been serving as interim director of DCS since February’s resignation of former DCS commissioner Kate O’Day.

Rocky’s case gets rockier

Rocky Houston suffered another setback in his criminal case last week. U.S. Magistrate C. Clifford Shirley Jr. issued a report and recommendation, advising District Court Judge Danny Reeves to deny Houston’s motion to suppress pole camera footage.

School board OK’s Aytes’ request to turn down pay raise

The Roane County Board of Education voted 6-4 last Thursday to allow Director of Schools Gary Aytes to forgo his contracted $3,000 pay raise for the 2013-14 school year.
The proposed budget for the upcoming year does not include across-the-board raises for school system employees, so Aytes said he didn’t think it was fair for him to get the raise.
His salary will remain at $110,250 for the 2013-14 school year.

Roane County Tea Party meets; co-chairman in D.C.
The Garden Gate: This column may someday be part of a home for a furry friend

A border of day lilies really dresses up your garden. All the pretty flowers are in bloom for only one day at a time, but the blooms are so prolific and replace each other so fast that it is hard to realize they are so well named. Because that’s what they are, one day at a time, day lilies.

The exuberant and lovely blossoms are among the most satisfactory and easy-care flowers one could imagine for any American or Canadian garden, and they flourish especially well in the gardens of Tennessee.

Copyright © 2013

The Roane County News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Roane County and Kingston, Tennessee, and the surrounding area.