County to exert power over state?

Was going back over yesterday's County Commission work session agenda. Saw three items in a row that made me chuckle. Item No. 22-24 as follows:

• Resolution that would direct the commission chairman to send a letter to Big Bill in the Gov's Office and the county's Legislative delegation requesting that they direct the TBI to release the entire (former) Judge Richard “The Creeper” Baumgartner files.
• Resolution requesting that the commission chairman send a letter to the county's Legislative delegation requesting that the members support legislation making the sale of synthetic weed and designer stimulants a felony per some state code.
• Resolution requesting and “encouraging appropriate officials” at TVA to reconsider its existing policies regarding the clear cutting removal of trees, vegetation, whatever.

I mention these because every now and then a controversial issue crosses the paths of county, state, federal, space martians, whatever officials and no side wants to take the reins. It's always: “Oh, they shouldn't play in our sandbox” or “I don't think we should get involved in county business.” Or whatever.

(More recently, for example, the state comptroller's office chickened out when county Mayor Tim Burchett asked it to audit the KTSC. Didn't want to interfere, the chickens said.)

Anyhoo, what I'm getting at here, is that we got three resolutions that can be broken down as follows:

• The county wants to tell the governor about what he should do with da Creeper.
• The county wants to tell the state legislature about what to do with drugs.
• The county wants to tell the TVA about what to do with trees.

The commission ended up withdrawing the Creeper proposal (I'm talking about the judge, not the weed). But, it approved to its full voting board/meeting/whatever the drugs and trees resolutions. They'll talk further about the issues next Monday.

In the meantime, I'm thinking that now is a good chance for the county to weigh in on Afghanistan.

Heh.