County Commission plans to seek legal counsel

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- At Monday’s County Commission meeting, County Commission Chairman Johnny Bruce said he wanted to add it to the agenda to ask the county attorney and the county mayor to seek legal counsel to see if the county is owed the $510,000 regarding the Caryville Jacksboro Utility overcharging the county.

Commissioner Dewayne Baird said he thought the commission was going to wait until they got the reading from the state board regarding that issue.

Bruce said he thought the commission needed to seek legal counsel and that he would be placing that on the agenda for next week.

In other business, Commissioner Ralph Davis requested a resolution for the fifth district commissioners to work with the landowners to have a bypass road built around the flood zone.

“I want commissioners to vote on a resolution about getting Stinking Creek Road paved and send to all the elected officials. I have talked to Senator Ken Yager. I want to build a bypass in the flood zone. When it floods, 500 people are separated from town and by the EMS, there have been times the rescue squad have had to take a boat to get people to transport to the hospital. Our industrial recruiting is there and getting a bypass there would open that up,” Davis said. “He told commissioners he had 10 reasons written down for the governor and for TDEC why this should be done,” Davis said. He also said he had spoken to the gentleman who owns 80 percent of the land and that the man said he would give it to the county.

Bruce said he saw no problem with it if people were willing to give the county the land.

Davis said, “Ron Dilbeck was on board and that the state senator was on board.”

Davis said he also wanted to meet with the building and grounds committee and that anything that was done on this project would need to go through that committee.

Davis also said he wanted to set up a meeting with the Mayor and Bruce Perkings with EMS to go to Jellico hospital and any commissioners that want to go.

“They (new hospital administrators) are wanting to do an ambulance service at the hospital. We need this hospital, and we need to try to work with them the best we can,” Davis said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-09/15/2026-6AM)