Vonore Mayor Fred Tallent told his Board of Mayor and Aldermen at its meeting on Tuesday that the state is forcing the town to hire a part-time, Level 1 certified sewer operator.

“We don’t have a sewer plant,” said Tallent. “The state must not have no budget so they lay them off and make us hire them.”

The town’s sewer is a gravity flow system made up of pipes and pumping stations. The sewage is sent to Tellico Area Services System (TASS), where it is treated and dumped into Tellico Lake.

The town has run into some problems with old lines in deteriorating condition. In some cases, rain and spring water are seeping into the sewage that the town pays to have treated, making the town’s cost for treating its sewage more expensive.

At one time the town asked TASS to take over its sewer lines but TASS refused due to the dilapidated condition. The town is working on replacing some lines as it gets grants to pay for the work, but it still has a long way to go.

The board meeting was delayed one week after two aldermen failed to attend the originally scheduled meeting, causing a lack of a quorum. This week, after going over the minutes from the previous meeting, the full board set the town’s tax rate, adopted its 2008-09 budget, and listened to reports from the police and fire chiefs.

The tax rate and budget are covered in a separate story in today’s edition of The Advocate & Democrat.

Vonore Police Chief John Hines said his department recently hosted a successful two-day firearm school. The patrol division made multiple drug arrests, while the town’s detectives solved numerous cases, including cases dealing with auto theft, statutory rape, and trespassing. 

The chief also reported that former McDonald’s employee David E. Hayes, who allegedly stole approximately $7,000 from the Vonore restaurant, was recently arrested in Florida and is currently being held there for the VPD to extradite.

Fire Chief Steve Wheeler reported that last month his department responded to 88 fire calls. The chief said this year’s calls were already equal to the total number of calls last year. He also talked about Sparky the Fire Dog, the National Fire Protection Association’s mascot, who was a big hit at Vonore schools, where he taught fire protection and prevention. More information can be found at sparky.org.

In other business, the board voted to approve the second and final reading of an amendment to the town’s 2007-08 drug fund. The fund originally predicted $23,198 in expenses and revenue but that went up to $91,140 due to drug seizures, vehicle sales and fines.

The next meeting of the Vonore Board of Mayor and Aldermen will be Tuesday, July 8 at 7 p.m. in the courtroom in Town Hall.

melissa.kinton@advocateanddemocrat. com | 337-7101