Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank gives her “State of the County” address at the Feb. 17 Anderson County Commission meeting. Pictured behind her are two commissioners: Vice Chairwoman Shelly Vandagriff, left, and Parliamentarian Sabra Beauchamp. - Ben Pounds
Addressing the crowd from a lectern, Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank gave her first “State of the County” address last week, focusing mostly on good news, while acknowledging a few challenges and giving priorities for the future.
“As a community, this kind of progress, whether around nuclear advancement or the stability of fiscally sound local government, creates further opportunities for many of you in the room or at home, from housing and development to retail and recreation,” she said.
Frank told The Courier News that a commissioner in a strategic planning workshop asked her to start doing these speeches. She added that she’d done one for the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce last year.
Fiscal
Early in the speech, she spoke of the county’s fiscal achievements.
“I can proudly say we have taken a county that was upside down on the balance sheet with liabilities exceeding assets, that a little more than a decade ago had less than $150,000 in unassigned fund balance, was forced to enact a spending freeze, and was borrowing through Tax Anticipation Notes to pay the employees at the start of each fiscal year, to a county that is in a posture to build a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) focused Claxton Elementary School without generating new revenue,” she said.
The Rocky Top City Council normally meets at 6 p.m. the third Thursday of each month here at City Hall on North Main Street. Next month, the meeting will be a week later and two hours earlier than normal — 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 26. - G. Chambers Williams III
Under an ordinance passed by the City Council last Thursday, developers of new commercial property in Rocky Top will be required to install so-called “Knox Box rapid-entry systems,” otherwise known as key lockboxes, on their buildings to allow emergency services to gain access when no one is present at the business.
The council, meeting in its February regular session, approved the measure, Ordinance 617, on second and final reading on a unanimous vote (5-0).
Property owners will be responsible for buying and installing the lockboxes, and they could be fined up to $500 for failing to do so, according to the ordinance.
Fred Richmond, co-owner of Tennessee Vapor Factory at 845 Clinch Ave., talks to Shayla Wilson, executive director of Allies for Substance Abuse Prevention of Anderson County. - Ben Pounds
A new set of regulations for vape and cannabis-related stores is one vote away from taking effect in Clinton.
The Clinton City Council approved the measure on first reading during its Monday, Feb. 23, meeting.
Council member Matt Foster cast the lone dissenting vote, and Brian Hatmaker was absent.
Council members Wendy Maness, David Queener, Rob Herrell, Vice Mayor Larry Gann and Mayor Scott Burton approved the ordinance with the regulations.
It will, however, have to pass a second reading in March to go into effect.
Burton said that will be at the council’s March 23 meeting.
The measure would allow for only three such shops per 10,000 residents.
It defines them as stores dedicating 25% or more of their floor space to “electronic cigarettes/vaping devices, E-liquids/cartridges, edibles, concentrates, or oil containing cannabis derivatives (including but not limited to CBD, Delta-8, Delta-9 or similar compounds permitted by law), Kratom, glassware, pipes, vaporizers and other smoking or inhalation devices.”
Grading work on the five-acre site of the planned new Anderson County Animal Shelter should begin within the next few days as the contractor prepares to build the $5.8 million facility on Carden Farm Road in Clinton, says County Mayor Terry Frank.
The city of Clinton on Feb. 17 issued a grading permit for the project.
Once the work begins, construction should take “365 days” to complete, according to the contract approved by the County Commission.
The new shelter, which could end up being one of the crowning achievements of Frank’s tenure as mayor, has been designed as a state-of-the-art animal-care center that will rival the best that can be found in Tennessee and even beyond.
Frank’s office has been working on the project for at least six years, and she said she’s glad to see all the efforts to create the new shelter finally coming to fruition.
“We are super-excited about it,” she said Friday as she looked over the site. “It’s been a long time coming.”
With the filing deadline passing at noon last Thursday, the list of candidates for the May 5 county Republican and Democratic primary elections has been finalized.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and Sheriff Russell Barker each has a single opponent in the GOP primary, but no one is running for either position in the Democratic primary.
For mayor, Frank is opposed by Third District County Commissioner Joshua Anderson. There are no Democratic or independent candidates.
In the sheriff’s race, incumbent Russell Barker is opposed by David G. Davis in the Republican primary.
There is no candidate for sheriff in the Democratic primary, but Colt Jennings is running as an independent in the Aug. 6 general election, after originally picking up a petition to run in the Republican primary. He will face the winner of the Republican primary and anyone else who files to run as an independent before the noon March 10 qualifying deadline for the Aug. 6 election.
• Clinton Police Department officers responded to a report of shoplifting at 4:20 p.m. Feb. 17 at Walmart, 150 Tanner Lane.
The incident is listed as theft of property (shoplifting), and the case remains under active investigation, according to the department’s incident report.
• Officers were dispatched at 12:56 p.m. Feb. 18 to Hammer’s Dry Goods, 2090 N. Charles G. Seivers Blvd., on a report of shoplifting.
The offense is listed as theft of property (shoplifting). The case remains active, according to the Police Department.
County mayor challenger and current County Commissioner Joshua Anderson agreed with Mayor Terry Frank on certain points of her “State of the County” address, while criticizing her on others.
“It’s interesting the first State of the County address we as a commission have ever received from the mayor in 14 years happened two months before voting starts,” he said.
The two are facing each other in the May 5 Republican primary.
“It was very much a team effort,” he said of the accomplishments Frank listed. “I was proud to have voted for a lot of the things that needed to be done, but it takes at least nine commissioners or two thirds of commission to implement all of that.”
He agreed with Frank that the county has made progress on its fund balance.
However, he said the county had no plan for how to service the debt for its planned new $6 million animal shelter or for that facility’s operating budget.
Anderson also said the county should renegotiate its solid-waste contract and have longer weekend hours for the convenience centers.
He said he would also like to see better enforcement against out-of-county residents bringing their trash to the convenience centers.
Motorists traveling on Interstate 75 and Emory Road (State Route 131) should be prepared for temporary traffic impacts related to upcoming construction work.
Blasting activities originally scheduled for Feb. 24 have been postponed.
Beginning at about 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, rolling roadblocks will be in place on I-75 South starting at Exit 117 (Raccoon Valley Road) and on I-75 North. The roadblocks will allow crews to perform blasting work near Exit 112 (Emory Road/Powell).
The rolling roadblocks are expected to last about 15 to 20 minutes.
Tennessee Corrections Institute facility planned for business park
by G. Chambers Williams III
This plat in the rear of the East Centre Stage Business Park off JD Yarnell Industrial Parkway in Clinton will be the site of a new East Tennessee training center for the Tennessee Corrections Institute - G. Chambers Williams III
Clinton will be home to a new $1.3 million training facility for corrections officers in East Tennessee.
It’s being built in the East Centre Stage Business Park off JD Yarnell Industrial Parkway.
Sandbar Properties LLC and the associated Davenport Construction & Development LLC of Jellico will build the facility and lease it to the Tennessee Corrections Institute.
TCI already operates similar centers in Nashville, for Middle Tennessee; and Jackson, for West Tennessee.
The training center will be housed in a 7,722-square-foot building with a brick exterior.
It will be right behind a Tennessee Department of Corrections facility in the same center, according to John Davenport, owner of Sandbar and Davenport Construction. It’s next door to Mc-Kamey Electric Co.
A building permit for the training center was issued by the city of Clinton on Jan. 29, which described it as a “new commercial structure.”
Harrison’s, at 110 Hillvale Road in Clinton, received a perfect 100 score on its latest restaurant inspection. - Dwane Wilder
The Tennessee Department of Health has released its latest round of inspections for restaurants, school cafeterias, hotels, pools, and other regulated facilities across Anderson County and Oak Ridge.
The January 2026 report includes routine and follow-up inspections and reflects each establishment’s compliance with state sanitation and safety standards.
Scores are listed below from highest to lowest.
Inspection Scores (Highest to Lowest)
100
• Outback Steakhouse 4326 Bar, 402 S. Illinois Ave., Oak Ridge — Jan. 29
• Quality Inn Clinton Knoxville North, 120 Welcome Lane, Clinton — Jan. 28
• Calhoun’s 116 Bar, 100 Melton Lake Peninsula, Oak Ridge — Jan. 20
• Harrison’s Bar, 110 Hillvale Road, Clinton — Jan. 9
• The Local Sip Nutrition, 1157 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge — Jan. 8
• National Fitness Center Café, 750 Briarcliff Ave., Oak Ridge — Jan. 6
The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about a scam circulating in the county.
The Sheriff’s Office issued the alert on its official Facebook page Sunday, Feb. 22. According to the post, individuals are contacting residents while claiming to work for a company called “United Phone Company” and attempting to collect money.
Callers reportedly request payment for alleged past-due accounts, service issues or to avoid disconnection.
The Sheriff’s Office advised residents not to provide personal information over the phone, including banking details, credit card numbers or payment app information, and not to send money to someone they do not personally know.
Officials said anyone who receives such a call should hang up immediately rather than engage or argue with the caller. Residents are encouraged to report the incident to the Sheriff’s Office.
“Scammers often use urgency and threats to pressure victims into quick decisions,” the Sheriff’s Office stated. “Take a moment, verify the information, and contact your service provider directly using a trusted phone number listed on your bill or official website.”
Anyone who believes they have been targeted or victimized should contact the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office at 865-457-2414.
