ORNL Federal Credit Union is hosting a secure Document Shred Day. This event is free and is open to the public.

The event is Saturday, April 19th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Secure documents such as bank statements and also film and data CDs will be accepted. All shredding will be done 100% on site by a commercial shredding service. Read more for locations...

A few pretty fall colors left in Alcoa and Blount Co. Larger view and a few more photos at BlountViews.

UPDATE: WBIR with first media report online. CORRECTION: WVLT had first media report online. MORE: KNS files this report with more details. Most important detail: no injuries.

Original post follows:

Lots of black smoke over Alcoa north of us, maybe in the vicinity of East Hunt Road? Lots of scanner traffic from Alcoa FD positioning equipment. There are apparently some problems rerouting traffic around the scene.

Drama as it unfolds after the jump.

The Mrs. files this report over at BlountViews on today's Streams Done Right Picnic Seminar held at Springbrook Park in Alcoa.

It's a short workshop on establishing and maintaining riparian habitat to provide stream protection buffers. There are two more seminars scheduled. The cost is free. Attendance is apparently pretty good. Today's was fully booked. Bonus: there was free lunch, catered by Tomato Head.

How it's done in Alcoa.

We noticed a bunch of Mini Coopers running around Alcoa last night, and wondered if there's some kind of club meet in town or something.

Sure enough, the Mini Meet East 2007 is in town.

They're set up at the Springbrook Corporate Center at the Jameson and Holiday Inn and Mainstay motels (near Texas Roadhouse, O'Charley's, SunBank, etc. off Hall Road).

The Maryville paper says there will be up to 200 Mini Coopers there. Looks like there will be a road rally on Saturday and an autocross on Sunday. Check the website for other goings on and more details.

Developers of a proposed controversial sports complex have asked for their zoning request to be withdrawn.

The Blount Today paper reports that they are now talking to the City of Alcoa about locating the project there, possibly on Alcoa Aluminum Co. property. City officials say preliminary talks are still in the "exploratory stages." Blount Co. Mayor Cunningham says, in effect, I told you so.

Curiously, the Maryville Daily Times, reporting the next day on another hearing this week at which the public again expressed opposition, said that the zoning would go up for a vote on June 21st.

Today's paper confirms that developers have withdrawn the request, but says that they requested it be postponed until after June 21 because it would "get lost in the discussion" of the budget, which is up for approval at that meeting. Developers also confirm that they are looking at Alcoa, Loudon Co., and Knox Co., and that "We’re going to build the project. We’re talking to anybody that will talk to us."

If you think about it, the project makes more sense in Alcoa. It's already an urban/industrial area, already has hotels and restaurants that serve the airport, already has water/sewer and other infrastructure, and Alcoa Aluminum Co. has unused land that might be perfect for the project. Maybe this isn't such a bad idea. But maybe the downside for the developers is city and county property taxes?

The Alcoa City Commission passed the amended Alcoa Animal Ordinance last night by a unanimous vote. It took a little longer than expected to get it on the agenda because lawyers had to rewrite some language to incorporate a few suggested changes. You can read more about that here.

We spoke with Alcoa Police Capt. Phillip Dunn, who is in charge of animal control and is a super nice guy who cares about his work with animals (and pet owners). We thanked him for listening to our concerns and incorporating changes to address them. We also thanked City Manager Mark Johnson for working with us to get this done.

Capt. Dunn also told us that they had already purchased the microchip scanners City Manager Mark Johnson had authorized, and they hope this will help keep some strays out of the shelters.

Capt. Dunn also said they are working with local veterinarians on a registration program that would let residents register their pets when they go to the vet for annual rabies vaccinations.

They are also working on a new brochure to give to all new residents explaining the animal control ordinances and registration requirements (which we did not know about), and hope to have this info on their new website soon. They also hope to allow for online renewal of registrations at some point.

We briefly discussed the new Smoky Mountain Animal Care shelter, a non-profit that will hopefully be taking over Blount County's shelter operations soon. (Read more about that here.) There are no plans at this time for the City of Alcoa to change their shelter arrangement with the City of Maryville. Alcoa city officials have been involved with the group, though, to help with planning.

P.S. In related news, the Mrs. is donating two dog poop stations to be installed at Springbrook Park. The stations have cleanup bag dispensers and waste receptacles. Blount Co. Parks and Recreation will take care of the installation, resupply, and maintenance. There is currently only one and it is at the parking lot. We'll be going over there next week with the parks guy to scout out locations for the new ones.

They have the best home made pinto beans corn bread made by P.A. and coleslaw in town, on Thursdays! What a deal!

The Maryville Daily Times reports that the Alcoa City Commission unanimously agreed to a resolution opposing AT&T's efforts to pass a state-wide cable franchise law. City Manager Mark Johnson gets it right:

The point is, he said, that other cable companies have dealt with individual municipalities in the past, and have done so successfully.

[..]

As argued in Alcoa's resolutions, the city has taken the stance that giving AT&T that kind of broad access to the market would be unfair to the companies that have gone out and gotten franchise agreements (600 of them across the state). And worse, Johnson said, it would allow AT&T and other companies the ability to "cherry-pick" who they wanted to provide service to.

If a company comes in to Alcoa to provide cable service today, they have to offer the same rates, packages and options to every person in the city. If AT&T's proposed legislation goes through, the fear is they could only set up service in wealthier neighborhoods and leave others without anything, Johnson said.

The article also presents AT&T's arguments for passage of the lobbyist-crafted bill which is pending in the Tennessee General Assembly. Noting that 11 other states have passed the bill, the AT&T spokesperson says "Eleven states can't go wrong."

Previous posts about this issue:

Rural broadband v. state-wide franchising lobbyists

Legislative Roundup: Broadband access

If y'all are over in the Rockford/Alcoa/East Maryville area, check out Patty's Place Cafe for breakfast or lunch. But make sure you're hungry.

We stopped by for a late breakfast. I had...

A few weeks ago we told you about Alcoa's proposed new animal control ordinance and some concerns we had about it. We put our concerns in a letter to Alcoa City Manager Mark Johnson and suggested some possible changes.

Last week Mr. Johnson sent a letter saying he had reviewed our concerns and would look in to it. Earlier this week, Capt. Phillip Dunn of the Alcoa PD called to discuss the specifics with the Mrs. He has put a lot of effort into the new ordinance and has reviewed similar laws from all over the state. He was very receptive and open to suggestions.

Yesterday we got another letter from City Manager Mark Johnson and there's good news: the City of Alcoa has agreed to most of the changes we suggested, with a few compromises negotiated between Capt. Dunn and the Mrs.

Specifically:

• A warrant will be required for right of entry for inspection unless the owner consents or there is a violation in plain view.
• A grandfather clause will be included in the new restriction of four animals per household.
• The number of days for impoundment will be increased to five working days for unlicensed animals and seven working days for licensed animals.

Mr. Johnson noted that animals taken to the shelter are already scanned for microchips, but goes on to say: "I inquired to the benefits and costs of outfitting our officers so they would be available in the field. As a result, I am authorizing the purchase of two scanners for use by the city's officers. Hopefully, the officers can identify the owners of the animal and return it immediately preventing an animal from being taken to the shelter."

Details of the changes are covered in Mr. Johnson's letter, copy here (PDF format).

Alcoa City Commission's second reading of the ordinance has been postponed until March 13th to allow time for making the changes. Unless you have other concerns, it probably isn't necessary to attend the meeting unless you just want to thank the City of Alcoa for listening.

We would like to sincerely thank Alcoa City Manager Mark Johnson and Alcoa PD Capt. Phillip Dunn for taking the time to review our concerns and adopt these changes. It's nice to live in a place where local government is responsive and listens to its citizens.

The City of Alcoa has drafted a new animal control ordinance. Here's a recent Maryville Daily Times article on it.

Here's the full draft of the proposed new ordinance (PDF format).

Overall it looks like a good ordinance that puts safety and animal welfare first and foremost. (Bonus: there's a pooper scooper provision complete with fines.) There are a couple of minor exceptions (and one major exception: see 10-133) that might need re-thinking. Take a look and tell us what you think in comments. Ours are listed after the jump.

By the way, did you know there is an existing requirement to register your pets in Alcoa? We didn't. The Mrs. already went down this morning to get Pupster legal. Act now and avoid the increased fees!

Read more after the jump....

According to The Maryville Daily Times, the City of Alcoa, with the huge population of approximately 8,000, is voting to update their animal control laws. The AKC has done a lot of research and found that some of these laws are not a solution to any problem and can possibly add to the problem. The AKC has extensive information on why pet limit laws are not that effective.

My main concern has to do with an apparent existing law, "It allows an officer to enter a person's property without a warrant or even probable cause to ensure the animal control laws are being followed. Even if its just to check an animal's registration, an officer has the authority to enter private property without permission, Dunn said." Dunn is a City of Alcoa Police Captain.

City of Alcoa pet owners beware! Apparently law enforcement officers can enter your residence without a warrant or probable cause. It appears to me this is unconstitutional, but what do I know. It sure is hard to interpret citizen's rights these days.

My favorite Christmas present this year was Snapshots of Blount County History, Volume II from my brother. Edited by Dean Stone, it's a collection of annotated photographs from the archives of the Maryville-Alcoa, Tennessee Daily Times.

Read more after the jump

As a follow up to the Alcoa restructuring and related job losses recently discussed here, Alcoa officials have announced that 30 to 60 jobs will be eliminated at the Alcoa TN plant.

(Click for larger view)

The annual Paws in the Park event was yesterday at Springbrook Park. The weather was beautiful and the turnout was great. This is pupster having fun on the agililty course. More photos after the jump.