No WhiteWash!

The Kingsport, Tennessee area have gotten themselves more National attention with the recent Gallup-Healthways surveys.

WebMD article below gives (America’s Most Obese Metropolitan Areas) a summary of Gallup’s findings.

Please go to the Gallup link (What America’s Most Obese Metro Areas Have in Common) for more detail.

Do we need more restaurants in the Kingsport area?

America’s Most Obese Metropolitan Areas

March 3, 2010 — A ranking of No. 1 — or being in the Top 10 — isn’t always something to crow about.

The latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index lists the 10 most obese metropolitan areas in the U.S. and finds that adult obesity rates in each are significantly greater than the national average of 26.5%.

Here’s a list of the 10 most obese metro areas, with those ranking highest having the greatest obesity rates.

1. (tie) Montgomery, Ala., and Stockton, Calif.: 34.6%
2. Visalia/Porterville, Calif.: 34.1%
3. York/Hanover, Pa.: 34%
4. Flint, Mich.: 33.9%
5. McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, Texas: 33.7%
6. Bakersfield, Calif.: 33.6%
7. (tie) Lynchburg, Va., and Huntington/Ashland, West Va., Ky., Ohio: 33%
8. Kingsport/Bristol, Tenn., Va.: 32.9%

Eating Fruits and Veggies

The latest Well-Being Index also examines factors that are linked to obesity.

Here’s a look at how metro areas ranked according to the percentage eating fruits and vegetables frequently — listed from worst to best. The nationwide percentage is 56.8%.

1. McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, Texas:  45.7%
2. Montgomery, Ala.: 52.7%
3. Bakersfield, Calif.: 53.1%
4. Stockton, Calif.: 54.8%
5. Flint, Mich.: 56.4%
6. Visalia/Porterville, Calif.: 56.6%
7. Lynchburg, Va.: 56.8%
8. York/Hanover, Pa.: 59.0%
9. Huntington/Ashland/ West Va., Ky., Ohio 60.2 %
10. Kingsport/Bristol Tenn., Va.:  62.2%

Exercising Frequently

Here’s a look at the rankings — from worst to best — of the percentage of people exercising frequently. The percentage nationwide is 49.9%.

1. Montgomery, Ala.:  43.3%
2. Flint, Mich.:  44.5%
3. McAllen/Edinburg/Mission, Texas: 45.8%
4. Lynchburg, Va.: 46.1%
5. Huntington/Ashland, W. Va., Ky., Ohio:   47.7%
6. York/Hanover, Pa.: 47.8%
7. Bakersfield, Calif.:  48.4%
8. Kingsport/Bristol, Tenn., Va.: 48.5%
9. Visalia/Porterville, Calif.:  49.2%
10. Stockton, Calif.:  51%

Gallup-Healthways says in a news release that eight of the 10 most obese areas rank in the bottom two-thirds in terms of having easy access to fruits and vegetables and nine rank in the bottom two-thirds for having a safe place to exercise.

Seven of the 10 most obese metro areas rank among the bottom 25 places where residents say there have been times in the past year when they didn’t have enough money to buy food for themselves or family members.

Obesity’s Link to Health Problems

The researchers note that obesity often is a precursor to chronic health problems, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart attack. These conditions were included in the Gallup-Healthways physical health index.

The report also finds that:

• Each of the 10 most obese metro areas are in the bottom two-thirds of all places in terms of diabetes.
• The Huntington/Ashland areas of West Va., Kentucky, and Ohio, with Montgomery, Ala., and the Kingsport/Bristol area on the Tennessee-Virginia line are in the bottom 10 among all metro areas surveyed in regard to blood pressure, with rates nearly 10 percentage points above the national average.
• Huntington and Kingsport, along with Lynchburg, are in the bottom 10 for high cholesterol.
• Huntington and Kingsport are among the bottom 10 for heart attacks, with rates almost twice the national average.
• Four of the 10 most obese areas are in the top third among all metro areas for not smoking, but the other six rank in the bottom two-thirds.

The Gallup-Wellbeing report is based on telephone interviews with more than 353,000 adults 18 and over between Jan. 2, 2009, and Dec. 29, 2009. It has a margin of sampling error of 0.2 percentage points.

via America’s Most Obese Metropolitan Areas.

Copyright ©2009, WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved

Residential building permits are showing a –42.0% decrease for third quarter 08 to third quarter 09 in Sullivan County, Tennessee.  See the link for more detail  Residential Building Permit Trend Report from The Market Edge.

The Residential Building Permit Trend Report has data from the states of North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and South Carolina.

I have done many posts concerning the median age and population in Sullivan County, Tennessee and  Sullivan County has one of the oldest populations in the state (click here to view the data).

The data below is from the state and I hope will help illustrate exactly what will happen if Sullivan County continues as it has in the past.

Below in the graph is a breakdown on the population for the different age groups in Sullivan County for the census year 2000 and projections for year 2025.  Sullivan County population in year 2000 was 153,048 and is projected to be 161,262 in year 2025.

Note that in the graph below that the 2025 population for all age groups are less for age groups that are under the 55 to 59 age group.  The year 2025 graph shows that the population numbers shows the population growing for for ages group 55 and up.  The largest single age group with the largest population is the age group 75 and up and the larger part of them are females.

Is Sullivan County equipped to handle the aging population?  There should great demand for those businesses offering services to the elderly.  But, if you are a pediatric physician, you might want to start your practice elsewhere because of the low birth rate in Sullivan County.

The table below gives the actual population numbers for the different age groups.  I have added the year 2010 which is not plotted in the above graph so you can see what is projected for 2010.  The data from the state is given as number of males and females for each age group and I have added the male and female population numbers together in the table below and the graph.

Population Projections for Sullivan County, TN

You can view the data for other Tennessee Counties which includes projections for every five years up to year 2025.  Click on the link below to go to the Tennessee webpage

Demographic Information on Age-Gender Composition

In addition to the population projections for each Tennessee city and county contained in the report above, you may access more detailed cohort-component data for a city or county below. (Please note that updated demographic projections will be forthcoming.)

Please either click a county on the Tennessee state map or click a county name in the alphabetical list below the map to access the cohort-component data. Note the Word of Caution following table listed below.

Click here to view state data for Tennessee Counties

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I am one of the older population and am concerned about the future of Sullivan County.   No, you can’t move us out of the county, but you should be concerned about the future of the county when we have left this world.  There must be something in place to keep young people in Sullivan County.  A good start would be get companies that have good paying jobs to locate here.   If you too are concerned, talk to your elected officials.  You can email them at the following links.

Comments are welcome.

West Tennessee wins and East Tennessee loses again.  What are our local elected officials doing to bring  jobs to the Sullivan County area?

Project will Create 275 New Jobs and an Investment of $100 Million

NASHVILLE – Governor Phil Bredesen and Commissioner Matt Kisber of the Department of Economic and Community Development announced today that the Unilever plant in Covington, Tenn. will be expanding, generating an investment of $100 million and creating approximately 275 new jobs.

“This is great news for Unilever and the state of Tennessee,” Governor Bredesen said. “These new jobs are the result of a strong partnership between the state and the local community. I’m pleased Unilever has chosen to further solidify its presence in Tennessee and we look forward to working with them on this ambitious expansion project.”

Read more via Governor Bredesen, Commissioner Kisber Announce Unilever Expansion in Covington | TN.gov Newsroom.

The table below shows the median age for all of the 95 Tennessee counties.  Sullivan County has a rank of 5 for higher median age and is the 9th largest county in Tennessee.  Data is from the links below.

Population of Tennessee Counties in 2008

Population Estimates by Age in 2008

The recession has hit Tennessee with business and personal Bankruptcies.  Below in the table is the bankruptcy by chapter and type for 2nd quarter of 2009.  Note the rank that Tennessee has by clicking on the highlighted link in blue. In the data below, Chapter 13 personal bankruptcy is the third worst in the nation in Tennessee.

Elected officials should think twice about raising taxes, funding a pet project at taxpayers expense.

**Source: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

This blog was started in February 2007 with the title of “Kingsport, TN Government”.  The name was later changed to “No WhiteWash!”, a name less focused on one local government.  We are still focused on Kingsport, TN Government and have expanded into issues that affect Sullivan County, North East Tennessee area, and the State as they are in a lot of case interrelated.

The direction of this blog for the future will be for the average citizen and not the elites who choose to run things for their own self-interest.  There will be no favoritism toward a political party in this blog.  WARNING:  If you are a elected official or running for office and make statements that you can’t back up or not exactly telling the full story, then this blog will expose them.  If you are running for office or an elected official who wants to use this blog for political advantage, then I would suggest you go elsewhere to peddle your story.  This blog is for the people!!

This little blog now has readership that is around 1,000 visits per day and that number could be much higher because other blogs re-publish this blog posts to their blogs.  There have been over 1,700 posts written in this blog since inception and the posts are not forgotten as they slide down the page as newer post take their place on the first page.  The search traffic coming to this blog is very large because this blog posts are indexed on all of the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc).  All of the posts go into a RSS news feed where readers can read the posts without having to visit the blog.  The folks using the RSS feed amounts to many hundred per day.

Over the last few years I have seen more local people become more vocal about expressing their views concerning how the local governments operate.  They express their views in the comments areas in the local newspapers, blogs, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc)  There have been many local blogs that have been started in the North East Tennessee area in the last few years and I think we will see more of it.

Blogs do get a lot of readership.  The Tea Party protests got their start from blogs and with very little help from local media.

The Show blog is another local blog that has come online and also has it own local talk radio show on Monday and Thursday from 6-8pm on WMCH AM1260.  Local issues are discussed in this radio talk show and in many cases the posts from this blog are discussed and the radio talk show does allow callers to phone in and express their views. 

I have learned much about the City of Kingsport government on how they operate.  The research that I have done has me very concerned about how the “elites” control the city and do things that are in their self-interests.  I do have a concern about their lack to fully understand the problems the area has such as low median wages, declining population, high unemployment, lack of good paying jobs, and young adults leaving the area to find work, etc.

I also have a concern how the mayor selects political appointees to serve on different committees so he can be assured that he get what he wants.  The reporting in the Kingsport Times-News is almost always, in my view, protecting the city officials.  One has to understand that if they reported anything negative about the city, then it would reflect on the upper management at the Kingsport Times-News.  This is because there are many of the top management at the Times-News that are Mayor Dennis Phillips’ political appointees.

We could go on about how certain people decide who should run for political office and then campaign for them and put up the money for them to get elected.

We could talk about the Ridgefield County Club elites or look at the details of the spending of city money by the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, but these could be posts for another day.

There have been many that have sent this blog information concerning the operation of our local governments and I want to say thank you.  Please continue reporting as you have in the past.

If you have anything to report concerning the below areas, feel free to use the email icon below to report it. The source of the information will be kept confidential.

• City of Kingsport, TN
• City of Bristol, TN
• Sullivan County, TN
• North East, TN
• Tennessee Government

Issues such as wasteful spending, local elections, annexation, ethics, crime, conflicts of interest, backroom deals, open government, abuse of taxpayer money, etc., are examples to report, but not limited to those listed.

Update:  Hawkins County commissioners met Monday night to try to finalize next year’s budget, which included a substantial property tax hike.  The Commission voted 16-4, with one abstaining, against the budget.

The Budget Committee will meet Tuesday morning to try to iron out a compromise.  The budget must be finalized and approved by October 1, and commissioners say a property tax hike is still on the table.

via Hawkins County Property Tax Hike Remains Up In The Air | TriCities.

Hawkins County is considering a 22 cent property tax increase which will put a wrinkle into the City of Kingsport plans for funding the King Medical School.  Kingsport has suggested that it would take about a 20 cent tax increase to fund its portion of the medical school.  The problem for Kingsport is that its city limits extend into Hawkins County and Kingsport has a tax rate for its part of Hawkins County. A Hawkins County rate increase of 22 cents and if Kingsport raises its rate 20 cents for the medical school would make the area unattractive for future development and a hardship on Hawkins County citizens.

The Kingsport portion of Hawkins County would have a rank as the 10th most expensive tax rate in Tennessee if the rate is increased 22 cents and Kingsport did not raise the rate.

I am against tax-payer funding of the King College Medical School.  See previous posts

Table 1. below shows the current tax rates for the county and the cities within the county.

Table 2. shows the proposed tax increase for the county (highlighted in yellow) and the 20 cent increase for the part of Hawkins County that is in the City of Kingsport.

If you need help on how to figure your property tax bill go the the following link.  How to Figure Your Property Tax Bill

ROGERSVILLE – Hawkins County commissioners will be considering a $91 million budget and 22-cent property tax hike when they meet Monday.

The property tax increase is estimated to generate slightly more than $1.6 million in additional revenue, with $880,000 of the new money earmarked for the sheriff’s office and jail budgets.

Under the spending plan, the sheriff’s office would add four new deputies and a secretary, with a jail administrative position and 19 additional guards hired to staff the new jail facility.

The commission meets at 7 p.m. in the main courtroom of the Hawkins County Courthouse.

Information about the meeting will be posted Monday night.

via The Rogersville Review – News Story – Budget, tax hike on Hawkins Commission agenda.

Table 1.

Table 2.

Update: This blog has sent the post below to 83 people via email or U.S.Mail that are in the list below.

Kingsport Board of Mayor and Alderman
Mayor of Sullivan County
Sullivan County Commissioners
Bristol City Council
Bluff City Mayor and Alderman
Kingsport Chamber of Commerce
Tennessee Legislators for North East TN
U.S. Congress Legislators for North East TN
Commissioner Matt Kisber- TN Economic & Community Development
Governor Phil Bredesen
Tennessee Candidates for Governor
NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership Board of Directors and Members

I am sure that the past and current elected leaders will want this graph and the facts below to disappear because it reflects on their lack of response to address the problem with Sullivan County and its cities in its declining population and other problems in the Sullivan County area.  This blog will continue to expose the facts and there will be ”No Spin” and “No WhiteWash! of the data presented on this blog.

Top Eleven Largest Counties Population – 1980 to 2030

Data for the graph and the table below is from the following links State and County Population and Population Projections for the State of Tennessee

Other Facts

• In 1980, Sullivan County was the fifth largest county and it is estimated that in 2030, Sullivan County will be the eleventh largest county.
• The population of Sullivan County is an older population and the median age for Sullivan County is 42.9 years, Tennessee is 37.2 years and Florida is 39.8 years.  The Percent 65 Years and Over for Kingsport is 20.1%, Bristol is 19.5%, Sullivan County is 17.8% and Florida is 17.4%.
• Sullivan County and its cities, (Kingsport and Bristol) have a large number of young adults leaving the area.
• The death rate for Sullivan County is more than the birth rate.
• Sullivan County birth rate is low as compared to the state.
• Sullivan County only gained 852 people between years 2000 to 2008 which gave a net gain of 0.56 percent growth.
• Average Household median income is low for the area.  Kingsport is $34,391, Bristol is $36,454, and Sullivan County is $37,559. Two people in the same household making the new Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour would make $30,160 per year.
• The percent of poverty for those 65 and older in Sullivan County, TN is 12.2%, Kingsport is 11.6%, and Bristol is 16.2%. These percentages are 2007 numbers and could be higher due to the recession.  The household median income for 65 and older in Sullivan County is $28,070.
• The poverty level for Kingsport is 18%, Bristol is 14.6%, and Sullivan County is 15.8%.  These percentages are 2007 numbers and could be higher due to the recession.  Poverty level for 2009 is defined for a person’s income to be $10,830 per year.
• Kiplinger’s Personal Finance survey rates the Kingsport MSA as having the highest cost of living, low median income and the worst job growth out of 10 major cities/metro areas in Tennessee.
• The area unemployment is high with Kingsport having the highest unemployment – See link for more details Jobs/Unemployment
• The Republican Party has continuously controlled Tennessee’s 1st Congressional District since 1881.  It appears for the most part that most of the new jobs are going to the more Democrat Party area.
• Kingsport has publicly stated that they would like to make Kingsport a destination city for visitors to the area while not addressing the real problems the area faces.  Spending the tax payers’ money to obtain a short-cut to generate revenue, in my view, does not help the average citizen. Spending money for a conference center expansion and aquatic center will not solve the area’s problems.  The aquatic center will not make any difference when one needs a job and there is not one available locally.  By the same token, if a job exists in the area and you need it badly, then the aquatic center does not enter the picture.
• The area has one of the largest employers (Eastman Chemical) in the state and a major tourist attraction (Bristol Nascar Race).  It appears that the elected leaders have become complacent about finding new good paying jobs because these two businesses have not increased the population and/or stopped the exit of young adults leaving the area.
• Kingsport is the largest city in Sullivan County and is proud of its reputation for having good schools.  Dobyns-Bennett High School has been named by Newsweek magazine as one of the top high schools in the country.  Having great schools apparently is not enough to keep the young adults from leaving the area in search of good paying jobs.
• Kingsport has built a Higher Education Center, but I have a concern that there will not be the needed jobs in the area for those who finish their education.  I am for education, but with the large number of students, and with nothing major coming in as far as jobs, many will leave to look elsewhere for jobs.  Increasing the percentage of college graduates in the area is good, but the percentage of college graduates might be skewed because of the number of college educated young people leaving the area and the fact that the large percentage of older folks that do not have higher education.
• It appears that local cities are striving to get new retail business into the area as an easy way to increase revenue.  Having retail is a quick way to get revenue, but as retail increases in a given city, then the share that retailers gets decreases because they have to share retail sales among many retailers.  I think a better approach would be to increase the flow of money into the area via good paying jobs, which would  provide for longer term stability for these retailers and this will also increase the standard of living for city/county citizens.
• Because of declining revenues or increased spending, cities in Sullivan County have chosen to annex new areas for the tax revenue, increase their population, and to enable the city to borrow more because of the increased asset value.  This helps the cities, but decreases the already low standard of living for the citizens.

Conclusion

The facts presented above may concern some that bringing out these issues will cause folks or businesses to avoid the North East Tennessee area.  The facts presented above are available to anyone who desires to do research.  I am sure that any large company would do their research before deciding to invest in Sullivan County.  I also feel that “enough is enough” and the issues need to be up-front and center stage to be addressed.  No more hiding the issues….deal with them head on so the region will begin to respond economically. Good paying jobs in my view is what is needed to restore what has been lost.

There must be lots of jobs and a few hundred will not do.  It should be a broad mix of jobs that would be attractive to different types of workers who have different skills or educational training.

We need elected officials that will not cater to special interests groups or use get rich quick schemes to get revenue into the local government.  Get the money flowing into the area via good paying jobs and then the region might become attractive to those job seekers. The current and past economic development efforts are not working and efforts need to be stepped up and action is needed now.  If the economic development people are not capable of delivering results, then they need to be replaced.  If local politics are hindering the economic development efforts, then that needs to be exposed and addressed.

If you are an elected official or economic development person and your views or lack of vision is holding up the region from rebounding, then you need to step aside.

What you can do?

• Go to BMA and Sullivan County Commissioners meetings and make your views known.
• Talk to your BMA or Sullivan County Commissioners individually.
• Talk to your neighbors and friends and get them involved.
• Send this post via email to your friends and neighbors.
• Talk to your U.S  Congress Legislators. and Tennessee Legislators
• Vote in the next election for those that can address the area’s problems
• Keep the pressure on the elected officials.
• Write letters to the editors at the local newspapers (Kingsport and Bristol).  Let this blog know if your letter to the editor is refused and provide a copy via the “You Report It! menu item at the top of the this page.
• Participate in local talk radio shows to express your views.
• Start your own blog.
• Now is the time to voice your concerns before taxes are raised in the future

Comments are Welcome

Please feel free to add comments via this blog

There will be a meeting to discuss the job situation in Sullivan County on Wednesday, August 26,2009.  This is you chance to hear first hand what the details are concerning jobs in Sullivan County and its cities (Kingsport, Bristol, Bluff City, etc.)

Find out where your tax dollars are going to fund new jobs or the lack of them.

Kingsport Times-News

BLOUNTVILLE — The public is welcome Wednesday night as the Sullivan County Jobs Task Force Committee meets for the first time.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at the historic Sullivan County Courthouse.