Great Moments in Knox County Government #2
Submitted by R. Neal on Sun, 2007/01/28 - 8:11pm

From the Mike Ragsdale transcript:

416 MR: Your going to think this is a smart alec answer but I'm not trying to be...trying to be that way that would be like me asking you does the Sheriff [run his] construction business out of his...out of his office... uh, ljust don't have any answer to that, it's none of my business

So it's OK to run political operations out of an elected office as long as some other elected official is running a business out of their elected office? What if elected officials just ran government out of their elected offices? What a concept.

And, does anyone know what the "squirrel squad" or the "termite thing with the school board" mentioned in the transcript is all about?

UPDATE: The "termite thing" is explained in comments. Someone else told us the "Squirrel Squad" is a, uhm, "special unit" in the Sheriff's Dept. that conducts, uh, "special investigations."

More after the jump.

526 MR: No, I've got a few questions for you guys
527 TC: I know your very busy
528 MR: I've got, no, I've got some questions for you guys
529 TC: Ok.
530 MR: If yon were sitting in my situation and you looked at this kind of
531 thing, you guys are some of the best pros that I've ever met, I
532 mean there are there are very few of any people better then the
533 folks that we have at our Sheriff's Department at solving
534 things...why is this taking so long and the reason I ask that
535 question is because...1'11 be blunt with you ...1 think it's political.

[..]

680 MR: And I guess that's that's our question ...you know, uh, you guys
681 do a wonderful job of solving you know, crimes, I mean there's
682 nobody in the country better at solving murders and drugs and
683 that land of stuff then you guys are but to have one of your senior
684 ranking guys out there in the middle of a cold winter night
685 or..• chasing some kid down the interstate, it appears a little bit on
686 the odd side to the casual observer

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mrvlknxor's picture

"Termite thing with the school board"

Submitted by mrvlknxor on Sun, 2007/01/28 - 8:32pm.

I recall there was a controversy a few years ago re: the school board and a termite contract. Here are the results from an archive search on Knoxnews:

State audit of Knox termite pact unlikely

Published on July 12, 2003, Article 1 of 5 found.
Article ID: 416487112

The state comptroller's office probably will not duplicate investigations already done by other agencies into a Knox County Schools termite-control contract, an official says. In a separate development, the school system, through the Knox County law director's office, has sued Arrow Exterminators and Allied Lawn Services for breach of contract and money wrongfully billed.

Superintendent of Schools Charles Lindsey sent a letter to state Comptroller John
Complete Article (757 words.)

Knox pest-control firm files lawsuit

Published on June 28, 2003, Article 2 of 5 found.
Article ID: 416485572

A Knoxville pest-control company alleges in a lawsuit that two competitors deliberately overcharged Knox County Schools for their services, while school officials counter that the taxpayers received a good value for termite control. Knoxville lawyer Herbert S. Moncier filed the action this week in Knox County Chancery Court on behalf of Environmental Termite & Pest Control Inc.

The lawsuit alleges Arrow Exterminators Inc. and Allied Lawn Services Inc. overbilled the county
Complete Article (924 words.)

Board asks for termite probe report

Published on June 18, 2003, Article 3 of 5 found.
Article ID: 416484338

The Knox County school board has requested an investigation into termite control services that were not properly bid, after the Knox County Commission's audit department accused the school system of a cover-up. School board chairman Sam Anderson recommended the resolution at a special board meeting Monday evening and the other seven board members present approved it.

Anderson said the Knox County district attorney's office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
Complete Article (751 words.)

School board unhappy about being in the dark over termite contract

Published on August 6, 2002, Article 4 of 5 found.
Article ID: 391677288

The Knox County school board and school system officials for the first time Monday discussed an investigation into termite control contract payments, despite the fact the investigation has spurred conversation in the community for weeks. School Board Chairman Jim McClain added the subject to the workshop meeting so school board attorney Marty McCampbell and Superintendent Charles Lindsey could explain why the board was kept in the dark.

"When other people started talking about
Complete Article (687 words.)

Number9's picture

Can't touch that...

Submitted by Number9 on Sun, 2007/01/28 - 9:23pm.

I mean there's nobody in the country better at solving murders and drugs and that kind of stuff than you guys are but to have one of your senior ranking guys out there in the middle of a cold winter night or chasing some kid down the interstate, it appears a little bit on the odd side to the casual observer.

May I translate to the tune of MC Hammer's "Can't Touch That"?

Nichols and I are solid... you can't touch that.

Break it down...

So Mr. DA, looks like the spot-lite is on you now, doesn't it?

Andy Axel's picture

What the f...? Is this 1987?

Submitted by Andy Axel on Sun, 2007/01/28 - 10:20pm.

What the f...?

Is this 1987? Who namechecks MC Hammer anymore?

____________________________

Recursive blogwhore.

Number9's picture

If the parachute pants fit you must acquit...can't touch that

Submitted by Number9 on Sun, 2007/01/28 - 11:32pm.

Is this 1987? Who namechecks MC Hammer anymore?

Andy, if you read the testimony you will see that the County Mayor is so confident in his position he goes on the offensive with the Detectives and takes shots at the Sheriff. He taunts them.

This report went to D.A. Randy Nichols three times with no action. Perhaps you can explain that?

It is very clear that Tyler Harber was under instructions from his higher authority to do no or little County work and to only do political work for that higher authority.

Knox County D.A. Nichols refused to grant immunity to Tyler Harber even though Harber would have testified that he worked, okay wrong word, he took $28,000 per year for 2.5 years to do what he was instructed to do by the higher authority. And that was to be a political plumber ala Watergate. Is the public supposed to just forget that $70,000?

Simple question, what would have happened if that had occurred in dentist office? The bookkeeper took $70,000. Would the bookkeeper do a little dance in parachute pants...you can't touch that? It doesn't work that way in real life. So why does it work that way in Knox County government?

The image of MC Hammer in parachute pants taunting the taxpayers is the image I think most people can see. They are laughing at us.

The $70,000 should be returned.

James D.'s picture

The $70,000 should be

Submitted by James D. on Mon, 2007/01/29 - 7:15pm.

The $70,000 should be returned.

What about the $80k+ the sheriff will be collecting for the rest of his life upon retirement? I agree Tyler was probably a waste of space, time and money, but $70k is a drop in the bucket compared to the money Shurf Timmy wasted on various useless positions, offices and not to mention six, count 'em, six helicopters...

#9, as such a defender of taxpayers, it's interesting there hasn't been much outcry coming from you on that ridiculous mess...

Is it a double standard to hold Ragsdale accountable and not Hutch?

Is Ragsdale that much more powerful than the Sheriff? I thought Scoobie was Timmy's boy?

Number9's picture

Why is it a ridiculous mess?

Submitted by Number9 on Mon, 2007/01/29 - 8:00pm.

What about the $80k+ the sheriff will be collecting for the rest of his life upon retirement? I agree Tyler was probably a waste of space, time and money, but $70k is a drop in the bucket compared to the money Shurf Timmy wasted on various useless positions, offices and not to mention six, count 'em, six helicopters...

The ratio for Hutchison is the same as all other deputies and employees of the department. If it were different I would not support it. So I don't get why you are upset.

The helicopters are used year round and have been a great asset to Knox County. Six copters for a population of 400,000 is undersized, not oversized.

There are 8,000 Knox County employees. 1000 in the Sheriff's department. Who are the useless ones? The office of Probation and Pretrial is under Mayor Ragsdale and not the Sheriff's department.

I don't get where you are coming from. There was an interview with the Sheriff Sunday on "Inside Tennessee" that answered the questions you asked. I briefly posted it on KnoxViews and it will return if I can get permission from WBIR to post it here. It is available on YouTube if you can find it.

Knoxquerious's picture

There was an interview with

Submitted by Knoxquerious on Tue, 2007/01/30 - 9:10am.

There was an interview with the Sheriff Sunday on "Inside Tennessee" that answered the questions you asked.

Yea, she was a real hard ass on the poor shurf. So cushy and sweet it could turn one diabetic.

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