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Mountain City, Tennessee 37683Your Community Newspaper, Established 1874 75 centsVol. 147 No. 6

www.thetomahawk.com

THE TOMAHAWKWednesday, February 10, 2021

Community Calendar ...........A2Features/Education ..............A3Public Safety ........................A4Accent ..................................A5Service Directory ...............A4,5Valentines Feature .....A6,B6

From Page One ...................A6Sports ........................B1,3,6Obituaries ........................B2Faith ................................B4Classifieds .......................B5

INSIDE:

Staff Report

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service are inviting public comment on a proposed aerial ap-plication of a Gypsy Moth mating pheromone in Johnson County.

The treatment will take place in a

heavily-forested area on Doe Moun-tain, southwest of Mountain City, to slow the spread of significant Gypsy Moth populations detected during 2020 surveys.

“The Gypsy Moth is an exotic, invasive insect pest and represents one of the greatest threats to Tennes-see’s forests,” State Forester David Arnold said. “The goal of phero-

mone treatments is to disrupt mating within Gypsy Moth populations to halt their population growth.”

Large populations of the Gypsy Moth can result in widespread tree defoliation and death. Although Gypsy Moths favor oak species, the pest may thrive on a wide range of other tree hosts and has potential to

Slowing the spread of Gypsy Moth in Johnson County

By Meg DickensSTAFF WRITER

A group of Johnson County citizens has described what they be-lieve is a trend this winter. Approxi-mately 40 people reached out via social media to discuss an increase in their electricity bills, which they report are significantly higher than the norm for this season. Others show no significant fluctuations.

Complaints from the former group cover the spectrum from young adults to senior citizens. Many of them claim that nothing changed from their average usage. Some claimed that they switched their primary heat to non-electric sources or were out of town and un-able to use electricity during decent chunks of the billing cycle. Two individuals reportedly reached out

Citizens question billing fluctuations

By Meg DickensSTAFF WRITER

With plenty of inclement weather issues already this winter, Johnson County Schools is implementing a new policy. Missing 18 days this school year—surpassing its built-in day buffer by five—school of-ficials have gone from snow days off to virtual learning days.

The policy may not be perma-nent but will span the remainder of the 2020-2021 school year.

Snow days go virtual

Arnold Female Gypsy Moth Male Gypsy MothSee Gypsy Moth Page A6

By Jill PenleyFREELANCE WRITER

When the Tennessee Com-mission on Children and Youth (TCCY) released its annual report of county profiles of child wellbe-ing in Tennessee, Johnson County came in at 60th of the state’s 95 counties, placing the county in the

bottom half of Tennessee count ies in child wellbe-ing.

“ A s w e move forward in addressing the systemic issues high-lighted by this pandemic, it is crucial to have a clear picture of where we are coming from,” said Richard Ken-nedy, execu-tive director of Tennessee Commission

on Children and Youth. “These county profiles provide us with key information to understand how Tennessee children were faring before the pandemic.”

The county’s strongest rankings come from zero child and teen deaths and the state’s lowest hous-ing costs. Additional strengths in-clude a low school suspension rate and an above-average high school graduation rate.

The county’s biggest challenges

County gets low rating in

child wellbeing

By Meg DickensSTAFF WRITER

On Thursday, February 4, Heri-tage Hall Theatre extended support to the Johnson County/Mountain City Community Center. Newly elected president, Chase Mc-Glamery, presented a $1,000 check to Director Flo Bellamy to aid in the center’s after-school program. McGlamery grew up in Johnson County and saw first-hand the kind of work Bellamy does for the community.

“The Johnson County Com-munity Center is open every day after school and provides any student with a safe place to work on homework, play games, and enjoy snacks, among other things,” explained McGlamery in a recent press release. “Since losing the LEAPs grant, the center now pri-marily relies on donations and sup-port from community members.”

The Johnson County/Moun-tain City Community Center lost $50,000 in funding when Ten-nessee discontinued the Lottery for Education: Afterschool Pro-grams (LEAPs) grant. Since then,

Nonprofit supports community center after-school program

Heritage Hall Theatre President Chase McGlamery presents a check to Johnson County/Mountain City Community Center Director Flo Bellamy on Thursday, February 4. Submitted photo.

By Meg DickensSTAFF WRITER

On Sunday, February 7, an alter-cation with inmates at Northeast Correctional Complex (NECX) led to three injured parties, with one man succumbing to his injuries. Now law officials are investigating to see what went down. Officials report that the incident happened in a housing unit within the complex that night.

“Three inmates were sent to an outside medical facility for treat-ment,” East Tennessee Region Public Information Officer Robert

Altercation at NEXC leaves

one dead, two injured

MOUNTAIN ELECTRIC

TENNESSEE DIVISION OF FORESTRY

NORTHEAST CORRECTIONAL COMPLEX

SCHOOL BOARD

See Donation Page A6

See Snow Days Page A6

See Electricity Page A6 See NECX Page A4

See Children Page A4

“These county profiles provide

us with key information

to understand how Tennessee children were faring before

the pandemic.”

Executive Director of Tennessee

Commission on Children

and YouthRichard Kennedy

Happy Valentine’s Day!See our special feature this week

See special deals and holiday shout-outs on pages A6 & B6.

“got seed?”

A male Cardinal rests on a pine branch while feeding on a nearby bird feeder in Mountain City, TN. Although not necessary, bird feeding is most helpful at times when birds need the most energy, such

as during temperature extremes, migration, and in late winter or early spring, when natural seed sources are depleted. Most birds don’t need help in the summer. Photo by Tamas Mondovics

SportsSee JCHS Boys and Girls Basketball scores and commentary … page B1