Stop the massive tax increase in Blount County!

RE: Does Sheriff Berrong have his hand on YOUR wallet?

RE: Blount County govt employees paid $75-Million EACH

These smiling Blount County politicians voted to impose a tax increase on YOU!

If two change their votes, Mayor Mitchell's veto will hold, and there will be no tax increase. Call and email these Commissioners. Let them know what you think of this unnecessary tax increase. Tell them to cut the $9 million of wasteful spending.

PLEASE come to the special called Commission Meeting, Friday June 24 at 6:00pm in room 430 of the Courthouse.

Pass this on to everyone on your email list.

Tonya Burchfield
District #1
1201 Morningside Ave
Maryville, TN 37804
233-5195
tonyab@blounttn.org

Tab Burkhalter, Jr.
District #1
1121 W. Broadway
Maryville, TN 37801
254-2829
tburkhalter@blounttn.org

Richard Carver
District #5
1216 Redwood Ave
Maryville, TN 37803
984-6774
rcarver@blounttn.org

Mike Caylor
District #3
1200 Karina Cir.
Maryville, TN 37804
237-0703
mcaylor@blounttn.org

Gary Farmer
District #4
111 Firefly La.
Maryville, TN 37803
983-4778
gfarmer@blounttn.org

Tom Greene
District #7
966 Disco Loop Road
Friendsville, TN 37737
995-2628
tgreene@blounttn.org

Brad Harrison
District #2
1541 Aberdeen Dr
Alcoa, TN 37701
984-2794
bharrison@blounttn.org

Scott Helton
District #6
816 Wells Rd
Maryville, TN 37801
681-0342
shelton@blounttn.org

Holden Lail
District #6
308 Alnwick Dr
Friendsville, TN 37737
984-0899
hlail@blounttn.org

Mike Lewis
District #2
1627 St. Ives Blvd.
Alcoa, TN 37701
984-0413
mlewis@blounttn.org

Kenneth Melton
District #10
3428 Old Lowes Ferry Rd
Louisville, TN 37777
981-2683
kmelton@blounttn.org

Jerome Moon
District #4
1804 Murphy Myers Rd
Maryville, TN 37803
984-3304
jmoon@blounttn.org

Tell a lawyer to STFU

Silencing Lawyers

by Dr. Frederick D. Graves JD attorney at law
Jurisdictionary.com

Just a quick tip today.

Lawyers cannot "testify".

They do it anyway.

Because people allow it!

The rules forbid it.

You can stop it, if you do what I teach!

You must stop it, if you want to win!

This mid-week Tips & Tactics can only touch on this very important point of lawsuit warfare, but do what I say here (and learn the rest in my leading, affordable, case-winning, official Jurisdictionary step-by-step 24-hour course that everyone is talking about) and you can stop the lawyer on the other side from cheating!

That's right!

It's cheating for lawyers to testify.

Why?

They lack "legal competence" to act as witnesses!

Lawyers lack personal, first-hand knowledge of the facts of their client's cases. In legal terms, we say they lack the requisite "competence" to testify. The only people who can testify to facts are people who have "personal, first-hand knowledge" of the facts. (More about this in my course.)

YOU MUST STOP LAWYERS FROM TESTIFYING!

They will sneak it in whenever they can. They will do all they can to get into the record facts for which they have no witnesses, documents, or things to prove those facts.

Not only that, but they will "testify to facts" for which they have witnesses just to emphasize the facts, and this too is against the rules.

The rules forbid lawyer testimony!

Learn from me and increase your odds of winning!

Lawyers will sneakily talk about facts that they have no witness to talk about, no documents or other things to use to prove the facts they talk about. They will "tell" the court the facts they cannot prove ... against the rules!

It is cheating of the highest order!

But, they will do it ... if you allow it!

It is against the rules ... rules that are your friend!

If you allow it, you weaken your case.

If you allow enough of it, you will lose!

Not enough time today to go into detail about this, but the next time the lawyer on the other side starts leading his own witness or telling the court what the facts are, you jump to your feet and say, "Objection, your Honor. Counsel is testifying. Counsel lacks personal first-hand knowledge of the facts to which he (or she) is testifying. Move to strike."

If the judge allows the cheating to continue, object again!

Many lawyers are afraid of the judges, so if you hire a lawyer and pay the lawyer good money, don't be surprised when your lawyer (who is taking your good money) fails to object when his friend the lawyer on the other side begins to testify! If you have a lawyer, insist that your lawyer objects to any introduction of facts by lawyers on the other side!

People pay lawyers to fight for them, but many lawyers refuse to fight the judge!

But, fighting judges is part of what it takes to win!

And, objecting forcibly is part of the tactic of winners!

If you don't have a lawyer, YOU MUST OBJECT!

Now is the time to order my affordable, case-winning Jurisdictionary step-by-step 24-hour course and study it carefully so you don't find yourself behind the 8-ball when it comes time to argue in court ... at hearings or at trial.

Winning is easy if you learn what I teach in my course!

I know what it takes to win. I practiced law nearly 25 years. I can help you, if you're willing to learn from me!

Pro se people often do not get justice.

Why?

Let's examine a few facts:

Most pro se people don't know the rules.

Most pro se people don't know how to prevent the lawyer on the other side from playing tricks with the rules.

Most pro se people make assumptions about what is "admissible evidence" and stuff that isn't.

Most pro se people don't know how to draft their pleadings or motions properly.

Most pro se people don't know why it's important to write proposed orders for the judge to sign.

Most pro se people don't know why, when, or how to make effective objections in court.

Most pro se people don't understand what facts are critical to winning a case and what facts are of no consequence but only muddy the waters with court-confusing insignificance.

Most pro se people don't know why it's so vitally important to cite controlling appellate cases in support of their pre-trial and trial motions.

Most pro se people don't know how to arrange for a written transcript to be made of all proceedings before the court, so they can control the judge.

Most pro se people waste valuable court time with non-essentials, fail to appreciate the needs of others who have their own problems to bring before the court and, as a consequence, tend to make judges dread pro se cases.

Pro se people who know what I explain so simply in the official Jurisdictionary step-by-step 24-hour course are winning and even getting compliments from judges and even opposing lawyers ... because they do it right!

Not all judges are "against" pro se people "just because they are pro se". Most of the judges I knew in my 25 years were good people who cared about other people and did their best to guarantee justice according to the rules.

But! You must know how to protect yourself!

Pro se parties who know the rules and how to use them to protect themselves from courroom corruption the way my Jurisdictionary step-by-step 24-hour course makes so easy-to-understand don't let crooked lawyers get away with their smoke-and-mirrors tricks!

---

Tennessee Rules of Evidence

RULE 601: GENERAL RULE OF COMPETENCY.

Every person is presumed competent to be a witness except as otherwise provided in these rules or by statute.

[As amended by order entered January 24, 1992, effective July 1, 1992.]

Advisory Commission Comments.

This language is similar to T.C.A. § 24-1-101 [repealed], first sentence.

Virtually all witnesses may be permitted to testify: children, mentally incompetent persons, convicted felons. Rules 602 and 603 should be read in connection with this rule, however, because any witness must swear or affirm to tell the truth and must have personal knowledge of that truth. The common law rebuttably presumed children under fourteen incompetent, Ball v. State, 188 Tenn. 255, 219 S.W.2d 166 (1949), but the proposed rule is contra. See also T.C.A. § 24-1-101 [repealed], second sentence, making children under age thirteen competent in sexual offense prosecutions.

The most important statute referenced by the rule is the Dead Man Statute, T.C.A. § 24-1-203. It applies generally to prevent parties from testifying to transactions with a deceased person in actions by or against estates. While the statute occasionally causes proof problems, the rule leaves it intact. See also T.C.A. § 24-1-202 [repealed] on incompetents' estates.

Advisory Commission Comments [1992].

The amendment removes the earlier language requiring "of sufficient capacity to understand the obligation of an oath or affirmation"and establishes a rebuttable presumption of competency. Note, however, that Rule 602 requires lay witnesses to have personal knowledge of matters, and Rule 603 requires all witnesses to swear or affirm they will tell the truth.

RULE 602: LACK OF PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE.

A witness may not testify to a matter unless evidence is introduced sufficient to support a finding that the witness has personal knowledge of the matter. Evidence to prove personal knowledge may, but need not, consist of the witness's own testimony. This rule is subject to the provisions of Rule 703 relating to opinion testimony by expert witnesses.

Advisory Commission Comments.

Basic to relevancy concepts is that a witness must know about the subject matter of testimony. This is the familiar requirement of first-hand knowledge.

Under Rule 703, experts may base an opinion on the factual findings of others. Also, party admissions need not be based on first-hand knowledge.

Don't drag race an unmarked cop car

Tenn. man arrested for racing unmarked police car

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) -- Johnson City police arrested a Kingsport man after he tried to drag race a police officer in an unmarked police vehicle.

Police said in a news release that 44-year-old Gaylor R. Milhorn was charged with a second offense driving under the influence, reckless driving and felony reckless endangerment.

He was arrested around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. The Johnson City Press reports Milhorn was jailed without bond in the Washington County Detention Center pending a hearing Monday

MotoGP cancels US GP after Texas outlaws spanking

MotoGP boss Mad Max Mosley visits a Nazi bordello in London

Spanking now a felony in Texas

If spanking is a crime (unless Big Brother does it), then Texas will have to cancel its spanking new $250-million taxslave-funded Formula One race track.

FI boss Mad Max Mosley in Nazi porn gangbang

Blount County govt employees paid $75-Million EACH

"It's unbelievable, Goldman - no one has any criminal convictions. The whole new regulatory reform is a joke. The whole government is a Ponzi scheme."
-Jew Bernie Madoff, founder of the NASDAQ stock exchange, "The Greatest Criminal In History"* who pled guilty to stealing $150-Billion (more than all other criminals combined) with a 150-year prison sentence. His son Mark slipped a vacuum-cleaner cord over a pipe on the living-room ceiling and tried to hang himself. When it broke, he tried again with a dog’s leash, and succeeded...allegedly. New Yorker Magazine, The Madoff Tapes (* not counting the private Kosher foreign "Federal" Reserve Bank that illegally counterfeits all so-called "US dollar bills", illegally keeps 100% of federal income taxes, and stole all the gold in Fort Knox)

This PBA bond contract pays Joe Ayres between $4-million and $75-million commission per year...a govt contractor without an office nor phone number...and now the contracts are missing... The Lambert Hoard are Sheriff Berrong's inlaws and outlaws who enjoy setting fires at cop houses... The same sheriff sued for shooting a cop in the back... Remember the Battle of Athens?


Public Building Authority (PBA) meeting shows gross incompetence...or gross corruption

2011-06-15

The Blount County Public Building Authority (PBA) met on June 15, 2011 to authorize several documents for multiple local governments. The meeting was alarming and raised several serious questions that need to be answered.

Keep in mind that the PBA has overseen roughly $2 billion in local government bond agreements since it’s incorporation in 2000. Thus, we are talking about a serious amount of money that the PBA oversees, which necessitates a critical evaluation of it’s practices.

The 5 board members are John Lambert (the husband of County Commissioner Peggy Lambert), Bob Kidd (the brother of County Commissioner Peggy Lambert), attorney Kirk Andrews, developer Darrell Tipton (who quitclaimed Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell a piece of property) and a woman named Abby Evans.

The PBA met previously the week before and admitted that they had not read the previous loan agreements that were being amended, and Blount County Finance Director (FD) Steve Jennings told the PBA Board that he could not find the originals anywhere in the County files. This should set off an alarm ipso facto. However, it’s even more alarming that FD Mr. Jennings would encourage the Mayor and PBA Board, and that they would be willing, to sign amendments to agreements in which they have no copies of the originals.

The documents were presented to the PBA and Mayor by Mr. Joseph (Joe) K. Ayres, a man who wears many hats in these “deals”. He owns TN Loans, a company with no public phone number and is involved with Morgan Keegan and Cumberland Securities. He makes commission fees on multiple levels of these transactions.

Public Building Authority Agreements (Documents) are quite complicated (by design?) and include:

1. Loan Agreement
2. Indenture & Supplemental Indenture
3. Purchase Agreement
4. Remarketing Agreement
5. Program Administration Agreement
6. Broker Dealer Agreement
7. Market Agent Agreement
8. Indenture of Trust

The documents are so complicated and numerous, that the FD Steven Jennings could not name them all at the PBA meeting last week and had to be told, by Commissioner Jim Folts, the list of documents involved. This cast serious doubt on his qualifications to serve in the capacity of FD. His skills and knowledge appear to be limited to accounting and if looks could kill those of us in the audience would be dead. Furthermore, Jennings was all too happy at the end of the meeting smiling and shaking hands with Joe Ayers.

During his statements to the PBA Board, Commissioner Folts referred to the compensation plan that Joe Ayers receives in the Program Administration Agreement. In Section 6 Compensation it states, that the Program Administrator shall receive a compensation of “a sum not less than .005 nor more than .05 of the aggregate principle amount on the Bonds outstanding on such date, the determination of such fee to be set at the sole discretion of the Program Administrator.” (bolded for emphasis) Since this fee is paid on the entire $2 billion of outstanding loans, this means the Ayres can decide to pay himself anything between $10 million and $100 million per year. It must be nice to be able to set one’s own fee. If that isn’t alarming enough, the minimum amount of .0005 in the 2001 agreement is increased 10 times in the 2005 agreement. (page 25) Furthermore, if you read below the insane compensation plan, you find Joe Ayers openly disclosing some of the various hats that he wears to empty the wallets of tax payers. Clearly the PBA Board members do not read these documents before signing them.

Commission Folts told they Board that they have the fiduciary responsibility to look into the previous agreements that had been signed. It appears that Folts’ comments caused concern among the Board members because Kirk Andrew tendered her resignation from the Board and John Lambert moved the Board to look into acquiring an insurance policy for the board in the event that the BPA Board is sued. Nearly as much time was spent discussing their potential for personal liability as was spent discussing the documents that they signed.

It was also brought to light by FD Jennings that no one on the PBA Board, including the outgoing Secretary Kirk Andrews, has been keeping minutes of the proceedings. During the meeting, Darrell Tipton made the statement let the record reflect a unanimous vote, but there is no record of proceedings being kept.

At the end of the meeting, Mayor Ed Mitchell signed documents that I believe are renewals of letters of credit (liquidity for the variable rate demand obligations that can blow up at any time like they did in 2008 when the Commission had to refinance $48 million in an emergency), although I am not certain on that. FD Jennings told Truth Radio General Manager Harry Grothjahn that the program administration agreement can’t be changed and runs the life of the bond. That is false. Read the TN Loans agreements that have been redone 4 times (2001, 2003, 2005, and 2008). It wasn’t clear from the meeting if this agreement was being redone a 5th time because none of the citizens present were given a copy of the documents being signed.

Folts reminded FD Jennings that the program administration agreement had been redone 4 times and that his open records request for today’s documents had not be satisfied. Jennings popped off a response that he was going to have to start charging Folts for his time because he was taking 80% of his staff’s time with his request. That would mean that Jennings staff has enormous amount of free time if FD Jennings’ statement is to be taken literally. Why didn’t Jennings extend the same smiles and cordiality to the citizens, who pay his salary and benefits, that he gave Joe Aryes?

After the meeting, some citizens and I decided to pay the Mayor a visit. When we arrived the Mayor’s Secretary told us to have a seat, that the Mayor was in a meeting with FD Jennings and TN Loans/Morgan Keegan Joe Ayers and that the Mayor would be with us in a few minutes. When I said, you mean he’s having a meeting with Ayers now after he signed the documents, she told us that she didn’t know. This was about 10:30. A few minutes later she reappeared and told us that the Mayor’s appointment was scheduled until noon, letting us know that we wouldn’t be able to see the Mayor anytime soon as was originally implied. I went and ate lunch and came back around noon and the Mayor was gone giving a proclamation. I gave the Secretary my card and told her to have the Mayor call me. No call was received on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.

You can view the 4 videos here. There is a brief period of about 1-2 minutes that I missed of John Lamberts comments regarding the Board purchasing an insurance policy.

Pre-meeting



Meeting Part 1



Meeting Part 2



Meeting Part 3



12 Republican Commissioners Vote to Increase Property Tax

The Philosophy of Liberty and Bastiat’s concept of Legal Plunder

---

Deep Thoughts

"I’ll burn your house down, set your dog on fire and there won’t be a member of your family left, do you understand me? I won’t hire it done, I will do it myself! Do you understand me?”
-Blount County sheriff James Berrong, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, Nuchols v. Berrong, No. 04-5645, July 11, 2005

Blount sheriff Berrong on trial for murder of cop

Tennessee Auditors Arrive - 48 Blount Sheriff cars missing

"FYI - Anytime that you have conversation with any police officer, they have the technology on their person to record the audio of the conversation. Also, if you ever make the mistake of thinking that the sheriff is interested in what you have to say as a taxpayer, while you're sitting in his office you are video-taped and the conversation is being recorded. That's a fact not just an accusation. Too bad that Sheriff Jimbo couldn't find the tape of when he threatened the Nuchols girl. How convenient. Blount County Sheriff James L. "JIMBO" Berrong is nothing more than a common criminal. He has done his best to keep his party and his family in the money by harrassing those (women, female jouranlists, old men) who question he and his family's undehandedness. In the process of being the lead SOLDIER for the Lambert Hoard, he has just about broken every piece of ethics legislation ever passed in this state or county. He is a CROOK JUST LIKE HIS PREDECESSOR. $$ Chief Deputy Jeff French is a rotten apple that fell from the fruity-tree of the sheriff. I told ya'll before that the fruit that is manufactured from the Berrong/Lambert tree is rotten before it hits the ground. I grew up with some of them and they are a pretty sorry lot to say the least. No morals whatsoever. rapists, murderers, sheriffs on the take. you name it, it's represented in this Blount County family of crooks. What the hell good would that do? Do you honestly think that she wanted to be threatened by the sheriff? Things like burning her house down or setting her dog on fire? Yes, he has done it before. (there's you another accusation, skippy). SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS AND DOWN WITH THE LAMBERT HOARD!"
-RipOff Report: Blount County Sheriff's Office Assistant Chief Deputy Jeff French

RipOff Report: Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham and "pure un-adulterated evil" Lambert Hoard on PBA Board - BLOUNT COUNTY TN: THE CROOKEDEST LITTLE COUNTY IN THE SOUTH! DOWN WITH THE LAMBERT HOARD!

Blount County sheriff and deputies get $100,000 salaries - Police salaries are public information under the TN Open Records Act

Blount County Govt employees get $75-Million annual salaries EACH

Latest stats: Cops are 600% more likely to be arrested for murder than the average criminal, says Police Officer Jack McLamb on WBCR 1470 am Truth Radio in Blount County TN.

"My job was to root out and investigate police corruption, and criminals who've infiltrated the police department. Sure I went after other policemen. After other policemen that were criminals who happened to join the police department. There were drug dealers, murderers, rapists. These are the types of policemen that I went after. The general public should know there are real, serious criminals in the police department. I don't believe that it should be hidden. Let the policemen know that someone they worked with was a murderer, or a drug dealer."
—Detective Vincent Murano, NYPD Internal Affairs, Cop Hunter

Tennessee leads the nation in sheriffs convicted of drug dealing...

Psycho deputy goes on killing spree, kills wife, shoots cops

Why nobody should ever stop for a cop in a patrol car... Looking forward to the dashcam gun battles of cop vs cops.

VA Sheriff's Deputy Goes on Bloody Rampage

by NINA MANDELL
NY DAILY NEWS
May 30, 2011

An off-duty county sheriff's deputy killed his ex-wife and shot a state trooper before he was wounded during a bloody Memorial Day rampage in Roanoke, Virginia.

The chaos began when Jonathan Agee shot his former wife Jennifer at a Sheetz convenience store parking lot, WSLS 10 reported.

After he drove away from the scene, police issued an alert with information about his vehicle and an advisory to be on the lookout for him. Shortly thereafter, Sgt. Matt Brannock spotted a car fitting the description and followed it, a police spokesman said.

As Brannock pulled up beside Agee on the highway exit ramp, Agee began firing at the officer, hitting him and causing him to take cover.

Agee continued driving and exchanged fire with two more state troopers before he was shot, police said. The troopers were not injured.

Both Agee and Brannock were airlifted to a local hospital, where Agee's injuries are being treated as life threatening, according to CNN.

"The focus of investigators right now is piecing together the exact sequence of events leading up to both shootings," said Col. W. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police superintendent. "This is a difficult day, needless to say, for Virginia's law enforcement community."

Jennifer Agee was taken to the same hospital where she later died, police said.

If he does survive his injuries, Jonathan Agee will face murder chargers. He has already been suspended from the Franklin County Sheriff's office without pay, WSLS-TV reported.

It was not clear what made the 32-year-old deputy snap.

---

Deputy Jonathan Agee Guns Down Ex-Wife, Shoots State Trooper in Bloody Memorial Day Rampage

By Cory Zurowski in Police bungling, homicide
May 31, 2011

Jennifer and Jonathan Agee's marriage went in the dumper years ago. Though custody of their two children -- daughters, ages 6 and 12 -- would be divvied up equally with the eldest living with mom and the younger with dad, the arrangement never stopped being a source of tension...

On Memorial Day, it now appears that festering disquiet of five-plus years erupted into bloodshed.

Late yesterday morning, 30-year-old Jennifer Agee -- a part-time waitress and receptionist who along with her daughter lived at her mother's place in Salem, Virginia -- pulled into the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station. Her daughter road in the passenger's seat.

Right behind them was Agee's ex-husband, Jonathan, 30, a Franklin County sheriff's deputy. Jonathan was off-duty but still riding in his marked squad car.

Jennifer got out of her car. Her ex did the same -- but he was brandishing a rifle. Jonathan Agee raised the weapon and fired it several times. Jennifer absorbed multiple bullets.

She would later be pronounced dead upon arrival at Roanoke Memorial hospital. The Agees' daughter would be physically unscathed from the incident.

Authorities were notified of the shooting and a call went out identifying Jonathan Agee as the gunman. But he had bolted from the murder scene in his sheriff's car, following U.S. 11/460 toward Christianburg.

Agee was traveling along that road at around noon when Virginia State Trooper Sgt. Matthew Brannock spotted the fleeing suspect. Brannock turned on his squad's lights signaling Agee to pull over. Agee responded by flipping on his car's lights as well. A chase ensued.

Lights flashing, Agee sped on Interstate 81 heading north. Shots were exchanged. Two additional unmarked state police cruisers joined the pursuit. The gunfire multiplied.

Sometime during the chase, Agee was struck by law enforcement fire. His car came to a stop near Ironto.

Sgt. Brannock, shot by Agee in the barrage of bullets, suffered non life-threatening injuries.

Agee, who was shot multiple times by troopers, was airlifted to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. He was listed in critical condition Monday night.

Agee has already been charged with his ex-wife's murder. More charges are certain to follow, according to Roanoke Police Chief Chris Perkins.

Authorities have yet to say what exactly spurred Jonathan Agee's day of violence.

Comments

this is the same officer who was having what's been described as an "inappropriate" relationship with the current sheriff's underage daughter taking her along on drug stakeouts, etc. There is a LOT more to this story. A lot.

Wow thats insane. Too bad he wasnt able to take out more troopers! Shoulda spent more time on the range I guess. Oh well.

Again! Cops are disgusting. Who was it that said it was only a "few" cops causing the problems in america? This is a wide spread problem that needs to be dealt with. Not just a few. Go to youtube and watch the thousands of cop brutality videos. It is clear that this is an epidemic.

i see more and more of these corrupt ass cops in the US every day.

This guy was a worst candidate than me to be a police officer but he was...I wonder how many people have been charged by him with crimes and are incarcerated.

Justice would suggest we look at every case and review them all...but that wont happen.

God rest the soul of his wife (innocent or not; I am divorced).

This shit seriously scares me. Pima county swap murdering people...this guy killing his ex wife wtf is going on.

I heard the echoing of '...police states of America, police states of America in my ears...."

---

Details of case emerge

June 2, 2011
By K.A. WAGONER
Franklin News-Post

The woman who was shot to death Monday at a Roanoke service station had sent numerous text messages to her ex-husband’s current wife alleging that she was having an ongoing relationship with him, according to an affidavit filed Wednesday in the Franklin County Circuit Court clerk’s office.

The affidavit for a warrant to search Franklin County Deputy Jonathan A. Agee’s home in Boones Mill asked to search for weapons, ammunition and any “notes, photographs, videos or other documents, notes or letters relating to recent communication between Jonathan Agee and his former wife,” including electronic devices.

Agee has been charged with murder in the death of his ex-wife, Jennifer Agee, who was shot to death around 11:30 a.m. Monday at a Sheetz in Roanoke.

Less than a half hour later, state police allege, Jonathan Agee shot Virginia State Police Sgt. Matthew Brannock, a Henry County native, on Interstate 81 in Montgomery County. Brannock was released from the hospital Tuesday and is expected to make a full recovery, according to a family member.

Other state police officers later shot Agee on an I-81 exit ramp. He was taken to a Roanoke hospital, where no information on his condition is being released.

According to the affidavit, Agee’s current wife, Julia Angell, told officers that Jennifer Agee had sent her “a number of text messages” recently, allegedly “advising her of an ongoing relationship between Jonathan Agee and his former wife.”

Angell also had overheard arguments between Jonathan Agee and his ex-wife that were “very heated in nature,” the affidavit said.

In addition to the murder charge, Agee faces a Franklin County charge of unauthorized use of a county police vehicle. He has been suspended from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office without pay, Sheriff Ewell Hunt said, adding that is in accordance with labor laws.

An investigation is ongoing into Agee’s actions after he left the Sheetz. According to state police accounts, he was traveling west on Route 460 when he was spotted by Brannock, who had received an alert about the shooting.

Brannock followed Agee’s vehicle onto the interstate. According to the affidavit, Brannock’s vehicle and Agee’s vehicle collided, and shots were fired at Brannock, who was wounded.

Agee left the scene “in his wrecked cruiser” and later was shot by two state police officers, the affidavit said.

The names of the two state troopers involved are not being released, Carpentieri said.

Agee has been a deputy with the sheriff’s office since 2004 and was a canine officer.

---

Judge appoints Jonathan Agee an attorney

By SCOTT LEAMON
June 17, 2011

A Roanoke juvenile and domestic relations court judge appointed the Roanoke City Public Defender to represent Jonathan Agee, chief judge Joseph Clarke II wrote in an email to the media this afternoon.

Agee, a former Franklin County sheriff's deputy, is accused of first degree murder in the death of his ex-wife, Jennifer Agee.

Roanoke police believe Jonathan Agee shot and killed Jennifer Agee on Memorial Day at the Sheetz near the Roanoke Civic Center.

Agee's next scheduled court appearance is July 19th.

Does Sheriff Berrong have his hand on YOUR wallet?

"I’ll burn your house down, set your dog on fire and there won’t be a member of your family left, do you understand me? I won’t hire it done, I will do it myself! Do you understand me?”
-Blount County sheriff James Berrong, United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, Nuchols v. Berrong, No. 04-5645, July 11, 2005

May 2011 Report

More on the tax increase. Does Sheriff Berrong have his hand on YOUR wallet?

by Jom Folts, Blount County Commissioner
JimFolts.com

MARYVILLE, TENN. -- At its June 9th and June 16th meetings of the Blount County Commission the Commission will decide whether to impose a tax increase on the hard-pressed citizens of the County.

A recent study by Citizens for Better Government (CFBG) found that Blount County is spending 23% more, $9.7 million, than the AVERAGE of the spending of the three counties closest to us in population (Washington (Johnson City), Sullivan(Kingsport) and Sumner(Gallatin). (See the CFBG slides at http://www.blounttn.net). Blount County outspends every Tennessee county of similar size. Blount County has also been spending money it does not have. The county debt per person is 47% higher than the next highest County in the comparison.

The CFBG study shows Sheriff Berrong is responsible for more than half, $5.3 million, of the wasteful spending. This overspending amounts to more than 25% of the Sheriff’s nearly $20 million budget.

When the Mayor and the Budget Committee asked all department heads to cut their budgets, Sheriff Berrong refused. While most of the other department heads were holding the line on hiring, and not replacing people who retired or quit, the Sheriff added eight new employees since the beginning of the year. While other department heads were holding the line on salaries and promotions, the Sheriff promoted 28 people, further adding to his already to top heavy (lots of chiefs and few Indians), expensive management structure. The Sheriff seems determined to insult the taxpayers. He promoted several bad actors, including an individual who used county money to buy a bogus diploma, another who destroyed taxpayer documents at a Commission meeting, and another who planned a midnight service of a misdemeanor warrant that resulted in a citizen being shot five times in the back and a $10 million lawsuit against the County. He also used promotions, salary supplements, overtime and other devices to increase the compensation of some of his inner circle, while many taxpayers and other county employees got no increases.

At the last Budget Committee meeting, the Sheriff offered a token budget cut, agreeing not to purchase of some new cars for one year. Since the Sheriff has at least 100 more cars than he needs, this was a very small step in the right direction. He did nothing about the nearly $1 million per year that his extra 100 cars, pick-up trucks and SUVs are costing the taxpayers.

More wasteful spending on the Sheriff's digital radios

Last August the Sheriff spent more than $2 million on new digital radios. We questioned the deal at the time, because the state was negotiating a new contract that would have saved the taxpayers hundreds of thousand of dollars. The Sheriff refused to wait. The new state contract confirms that hundreds of thousands were wasted by the Sheriff. Unfortunately the story of waste did not end here.

The radio system requires several radio towers. At the August meeting, in response to a direct question from Commissioner Murrell, the Sheriff said the towers were included in the deal (See the Sheriff video clip here). At the May Commission meeting, Sheriff Berrong came to the Commission for an additonal $160,000 for an additional radio tower. The law requires that contracts over $10,000 go out for bids. The Sheriff's representative (Berrong was a no-show) said the Sheriff didn't bother with bids, because none of the other three towers in the area would do the job. Experts say it would have been possible to use the other towers. The Sheriff did not seem interested in the alternatives. The engineering drawings were completed for his favorite tower in February, even though he did not bother to seek Commission approval of his deal until May. (See the video of the radio tower debate here)

The Sheriff misled the Commission by saying the radio towers were included in the deal. He did not bother to go out for bids as requried by law. He ignored the Commission's approval authority by permitting all the work to be done on his selected tower before even bring the matter to the Commission. When the vote came, only Commissioner Murrell and myself voted against this waste. (Click here to see the video clip of your Commission discussion on this)

The Sheriff does not seem worried about any additional costs. It is only YOUR money.

Overspending in Mayor's departments - some progress

The Sheriff is not alone in his waste. The CFBG study shows the Mayor’s departments are spending more than $3 million over the AVERAGE spending of the three similar sized Tennessee counties. The Mayor’s response to this information has been totally different from the Sheriff’s. He reduced the number of people in the Environmental, Stormwater, Information Technology, Finance and Purchasing departments. He wanted to combine the Human Resources department with the Risk Management department to save another $100,000, but was stopped from doing this by the county employee dominated HR committee. Mayor Mitchell even cut his own salary. He still has a long way to go to bring the spending in his departments to the average of the other counties, but at least he is taking concrete steps in the right direction.

Circuit Court Clerk overspending

The Blount County Court system, led by Circuit Court Clerk, Tom Hatcher and the Judges, is another area of wasteful spending, showing $840,000 more than the AVERAGE of similar Tennessee counties. They did nothing to address this wasteful spending in the new budget. In fact they increased spending!

Commission refuses to even discuss budget

Most regular readers know the Budget Committee has not done the hard work necessary to cut the wasteful spending from the County budget. Worse, they have refused three offers to look at information developed by Citizens for Better Government, which shows the County is spending $9 million (23%) more than the average of the three Tennessee counties closest to Blount in population.

The full Commission has never even held a discussion of the new budget. At the Agenda Commission, I made a motion to put a discussion of the budget on the agenda for the Commission’s May 19 meeting. The idea was to get all 21 Commission members to understand the County budget problems and look at all available data to make smart cuts. For example, Sheriff Berrong is responsible for more than $5 million of the overspending, but was virtually unchallenged when he came before the Budget Committee. An open discussion of this, and other areas, of major wasteful spending could lead to ways to avoid a tax increase. Clearly, the Sheriff’s political cronies on the Commission did not want a discussion of this overspending, and voted against the motion. The motion was voted down 6 to 14. Only Commissioners Murrell, Lewis, Hasty, French, Carver and myself were interested in spending the time to examine the budget. Click here to see the video clip of your Commission inaction.

Rules Committee refuses to look at expanding discussion of the budget - but decides to forbid applause

I asked the Rules Committee to consider adding a monthly report on the budget to the regular agenda for the Commission meeting. The report and discussion I proposed is at this link. Unfortunately, the Rules Committee rejected this proposal.

The Rules Committee did vote to forbid applause by the public at Commission meetings. It was a tie vote which allowed the applause prohibition to proceed. Commissioners Lewis, Caylor and Hasty voted to prohibit applause. Commissioners Murrell, French and Carver voted against this nonsense.

Commission refuses to look at a study of medical benefit costs
Last year, the County paid for a major study of the level, and cost, of employee medical benefits to our County, and how they compared with other counties in Tennessee. The study concluded that Blount County employees are contributing far less ($0 for the employee and $100 for family coverage) to their medical benefit costs than employees of other Tennessee counties. The Human Resources Committee, where 8 of the 10 members are county employees or close relatives of county employees, refused to even hear a presentation of the study. Since medical benefit costs are a major budget item, I made a motion to have the study presented to the full Commission at the May 19 meeting. The motion was voted down 5 to 15. Only Commissioners Murrell, Hasty, Gamble, Carver and myself voted to listen to the presentation of the benefits study. Medical benefits are one of the largest budget items, consuming nearly $15 million of taxpayer money. This study could save million of dollars for our hard pressed taxpayers, yet few Commissioners seem interested. Could it have something to do with the fact that many Commissioners are County employees or close relatives of County employees.

Budget Committee avoids the hard work of cutting the budget and resorts to gimmicks
The Budget Committee, without even looking at the Citizens for Better Government information comparing Blount County spending with the three counties closest to us in population, decided on a budget that cut less than 5% from county spending. The CFBG study showed the Sheriff was spending more than 25% more than the average spending of the three other comparison counties, yet the Budget Committee let him off with just a 3% cut. This new budget requires a $2.40 tax rate. The Budget Committee announced a $2.15 tax rate. They used a series of budget gimmicks to show the lower tax rate.

First, they used $2.6 million in one time grant money to pay on-going salaries. Next, they forced the Schools to dip into their rainy day fund for another $600,000. Finally, they took $1.6 million out of Debt Service Fund to pay on-going expenses. These moves virtually guarantee a tax rate of $2.50 in the following fiscal year, nearly a 25% increase from where we are today. It is sad that the Budget Committee would rather impose a major tax increase on the citizens, than cut the budget to the AVERAGE level of spending of the three Tennessee counties closest to us in population – Washington (Johnson City), Sullivan(Kingsport) and Sumner(Gallatin).

I am at a loss to explain why, presumably intelligent people, refuse to look at information that might help solve the County’s serious financial problems. Apparently, many Commissioners feel it is easier to impose a tax increase on the citizens, than to address the overspending of politically powerful officials like Sheriff Berrong.

Stop this madness.

Attend the Tax Protest Rally at the Courthouse June 9, from 5:30 to 6:30pm.

Please attend the Commission meetings on June 9 and June 16.
Only YOU can make a difference.


Committee Members

Budget Committee – Mayor Mitchell, Mike Lewis, Kenneth Melton, Holden Lail, and Steve Samples

Human Resources Committee - Mayor Ed Mitchell, Sheriff James Berrong, Highway Superintendent Bill Dunlap, Tonya Burchfield, Gary Farmer, Ron French, Holden Lail, Mike Lewis, Phyllis Crisp, and David Murrell

Tennessee Auditors Arrive - 48 Blount Sheriff cars missing - "The state auditor arrived in the County a few weeks ago. The auditor was able to find only 239 vehicles. What happened to the other 48 vehicles? But the Sheriff wants the taxpayers to support a tax increase, so that he can have even more money to spend next year. Does this make sense to you?"

The Killer Inside Sheriff B Wrong, starring Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson

The Dragonater Radio & TV Show

Pirate News Radio Show May 2011

All the Secrets yo momma don't want you to hear. As seen on TeeVee!

Pirate News TV
Friday nights at 1am (Sat)
Knox County TN
Charter Channel 6
Knology Channel 6
Comcast Channel 12
ATT U-verse Channel 99
http://piratenews.org
http://ctvknox.org

WBCR 1470 am
2nd Tuesdays at 5pm
Blount County TN
http://truthradio.tv