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- [S106] The Mountain Press, 3 Sep 2006.
Watson returns to 1st District County post
By: JOEL DAVIS
Staff Writer September 03, 2006
1st District County Commissioner Max Watson is happy to back in the saddle.
SEVIERVILLE - 1st District County Commissioner Max Watson is happy to back in the saddle. He returns to the County Commission after previously serving eight years.
"I'm looking forward to it," Watson said. "I knew four years ago when I got beat that I was going to run again. I feel like I can represent the people of the 1st District the best I can."
Born in his childhood home on Dixon Branch Road, Watson, 56, has lived in Sevier County all his life, except for a tour of duty in the U.S. Army Green Berets.
"As a commissioner, I stand up for people's rights," he said. "I don't want to raise people's taxes. I want to make sure the money we have is spent correctly."
Watson and his wife, the former Wanda Ownby, have been married 33 years. They have a son, Junior, a daughter-in-law, Cindy and a grandson, Daniel.
Watson attended Pittman Center, New Center and Caton's Chapel elementary schools. He is a 1969 Sevier County High School graduate. Watson also graduated from the Training and Technology School in Oak Ridge.
He is a member of Pearl Valley Baptist Church and American Legion Post 104. Watson is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, having served a tour of duty in Vietnam as a Green Beret. He is a disabled veteran and has been self-employed for 31 years in various types of construction.
* jwdavis@themountainpress.com
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 17 Mar 2010.
Commission again denies Watson request
By DEREK HODGES
SEVIERVILLE — The County Commission once again Monday evening told Commissioner Arlie “Max” Watson they don’t plan to hold a work session during an upcoming motions hearing in a lawsuit that Watson and a group he’s associated with filed against the commission.
Watson submitted a resolution to the Steering Committee, which sets the agenda for the commission’s monthly session, asking that the group be called into a workshop at the court proceeding. After that effort failed to find any support, Watson brought the matter up again during Monday’s monthly meeting, though his request to add the matter to the agenda again fell far short, with only he and Commissioner Jimbo Conner, whose mother Peggy Marshall is also a member of the activist group, voting for it.
Watson said the motion to add the item to the agenda, for which Conner provided the second, was just a “last attempt” to get the commission to change its mind. The whole push, he maintained, was spurred by a request he made several years ago for a workshop on the state’s open meetings law following legal action that found officials in Knox County broke those rules.
“In 2007, I asked for a workshop on the Sunshine Law,” Watson said, referencing the colloquial name for the regulations. “I have yet to get that workshop. I can see no reason whatsoever we couldn’t all come together for this hearing. Basically it would satisfy me as to a workshop. It would be in everybody’s best interests to learn a little about the Sunshine Law.”
Watson and the Public Spirited Citizens of Sevier County have filed a suit claiming, among other things, phone records that show commissioners and County Mayor Larry Waters speak outside the monthly sessions are proof they’re colluding on votes outside the public forum. The county officials have denied the suggestion and are asking that the suit be dismissed, with that motion set for consideration during the March 26 hearing Watson wants the whole commission to attend.
The group has had other similar lawsuits that have already been tossed out by the court. In each, as a member of both the activist organization and the commission, Watson has filed suit against himself.
The discussion of Watson’s motion brought out an exchange between him and Commissioner Ben Clabo that elicited laughter from several in the audience. After stating he still doesn’t understand why Watson has sued himself and the rest of the group, Clabo asked why the hearing would be held in a Blount County Chancery Court session.
“I don’t know, I didn’t make that decision,” Watson answered.
“But you know the attorney who did, Max,” Clabo countered.
Clabo also prompted Waters to restate the opinion of the attorney representing the county in the matter, a position Waters gave to the Steering Committee as it considered Watson’s request. Waters told the group the lawyer has advised him it wouldn’t be wise to call the group into session at the hearing, not only because a court proceeding isn’t the proper forum for a government meeting, but also because the judge will only be considering motions, not the actual merits of the case, during the hearing.
With that said, 21 commissioners voted against Watson and Conner, killing the request to add the matter to the agenda.
During the session, the group did vote to approve:
n Rezoning a parcel at 314 New Center Road owned by David Connell from R-1 (rural residential) to R-2M (medium-density residential) for a triplex or quadraplex
n Rezoning a portion of a parcel at 2474 Boyds Creek Highway owned by Yes Companies LLC from A-1 (agricultural) to C-2 (general commercial) for a Dollar General store
n Proclamations recognizing the schools in Seymour for their efforts in winning $100,000 in a recent nationwide U.S. Cellular contest
n A resolution to appoint Pigeon Forge Police Chief Jack Baldwin, Sevierville Police Chief Don Myers and Gatlinburg Police Chief Randy Brackins to serve four-year terms on the E911 Board of Directors
n Authorizing Community Development Partners LLC to apply for and administer the HOME Program for the county
n Authorizing the county mayor to sign the HOME application
n A resolution declaring old Z TRON radio consoles at the Sheriff’s Department surplus county property ready for sale by sealed bids.
dhodges@themountainpress.com
- [S58] Marriage Certificate.
WATSON, ARLIE MAX OWNBY, WANDA FAYE 1972-12-23
- [S149] The Official Marriage Records of Sevier County Tennessee 1972 - 1981, Volume IV, Smoky Mountain Historical Society, (Copyright 2008), ISBN 1-890150-00-6.
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