Rogersville Officials Grow Impatient  

Last October, at a County Commissioners meeting in Rogersville, Tennessee, members agreed they needed to immediately upgrade the emergency communications system in the area. However, six months have passed and there have been no changes or upgrades. County Commissioner Fred Castle asked the Emergency Management Agency Director, Gary Murrell, what the status was. Emergency personnel have been losing radio contact with each other, which is why the Commissioners decided to enhance the county communications system. Murrell commented that he was the wrong person to ask, and redirected the question to the Mayor. “We were fixing the two ends, but we were creating a hole,” Hawkins County Mayor Melville Bailey said. “Since that time, there seems to be something with the tower. We don’t own the tower. This system was set up for Short Mountain. So, if Short Mountain does not work out, then we’ll have to move to Clinch Mountain.” (The Rogersville Review) When Castle asked why they couldn’t do just that, Murrell explained that the 80-foot tower on Clinch Mountain is not in line of sight with the tower on Bays Mountain, but it is in line with the Short Mountain tower. For the new system to work they will need to use the Short Mountain tower, but the Highway Department has equipment on that tower. East Tennessee PBS wants to the Highway Department off the tower, and the Mayor’s office is negotiating with East Tennessee PBS to use their other tower on Short Mountain that is vacant. “We got a quote back from PBS that owns the tower and the building at the base of it that says Hawkins County can lease it from them for $1,500 a month,” explained Safety Committee Chairman Robert Palmer. (The Rogersville Review) Palmer said they feel like this should go to the Budget Committee to determine where the money will come from. The Committee will meet April 29 and 30.