ROANE COUNTY “BLUES” QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

March, 2022

MEETINGS:

Second Thursday at 7 pm at Greenwood School, Kingston, TN

TO BECOME ACTIVE IN OUR CHAPTER, please contact Susan Garrott at susangarrott1525@gmail.com. WE WELCOME YOU!

APRIL IS FOOD BASKET COLLECTION MONTH

Please bring non-perishable food to the meeting. Protein items are particularly appreciated. These items go to families who need food and live in the Harriman Housing Project.

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT……Lee Garrott

Meet Lee Garrott, loyal member of the Roane County Democratic Party. Lee was born in Western Kentucky, then, strong “Democrat” country where his parents voted Democrat and he learned to do the same. For most of his life, Lee voted but wasn’t active in politics until recent Presidential elections. He jumped right into activism and the RCDP is grateful for his gregarious, outgoing personality. As he says, “My strength is in interpersonal relations. I like to be involved in action rather than planning.” And so, the party benefits from his overflow of energy.

As a long-term employee of TVA, Lee was involved in industrial safety, OSHA, etc. for the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.

Upon retirement, he took up the art of painting; his particular strength is painting on glass, very unusual. Lee and his wife, Susan, live South of the River (SOR) in Ten Mile and enjoy their boat. Recently, Lee was appointed to the Board of RoaneNet, a non-profit, whose basic goal is to upgrade and improve broadband services in our county. Lee believes we MUST get rid of this schism between Republicans and Democrats. We make our country weak when our Republican friends and we cannot find common ground. A big believer in compromise, he says you get the best of both camps and can make a policy amenable and beneficial to all. That’s why you will see him at meetings and gatherings all over the county making friends for the RDCP!

GET OUT THE VOTE letter writing campaigns are starting all over the nation. VOTE FORWARD is one of those organizations. To get more information, please go to voteforward.org.

The February meeting featured two speakers:

Guest Speaker Brady Watson, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE)

Mr. Watson spoke on replacement options for the Kingston Fossil Plant.TVA is currently undergoing a required Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) study to replace the existing coal plant generation. The utility is focusing on natural gas or solar as future options.

Guest Speaker Jan Kahn, Candidate for Tennessee Congressional Delegation 32^nd District

The 32^nd district includes the 5^th district of Loudon County and all of Roane County. Dr. Kahn is a family physician. He was born in Massachusetts, raised in southern New Jersey and has lived in Lenoir City for 38 years. He has interests in the healthcare system, quality of the environment, keeping people physically safe and food availability. Glenn Gabriel is his campaign manager for Roane County. He needs people working on his campaign who are enthusiastic and believe in his ideas. Dr. Kahn mentioned discussions with students from a Community College. Their three top issues were the environment, healthcare, and education.

OPINION CORNER……from Jinx Watson

Keep your eye on education bills coming before the Tennessee legislature. I am concerned about Governor Lee’s contract to develop fifty charter schools based on the “Hillsdale College 1776 curriculum.” In a fast-paced, ever-changing world, today’s children need to appreciate that there are many sides to stories, that we all can be heroes in our small worlds, that we are patriots by living and engaging in our democracy. I wonder if the Hillsdale 1776 curriculum can honor these complexities.

Will students who encounter a one-faceted view of the human condition leave our schools prepared for a complex and demanding world? Will they have an awareness of the full array of possibilities, which they will encounter and be challenged to solve?

If you explore the websites of Hillsdale College and its curricula, you will see “safe,” one-dimensional courses. You will see that Erik Prince, a right-wing ideologue and also Betsy DeVos’s brother, is a distinguished alum. One of their missions drives the dismantling of public schools with an eye towards small religious-based schools through the charter school system. Public monies meant for PUBLIC schools financially support charter schools. There are warnings everywhere that Governor Lee didn’t find this college and curriculum by accident.