posted December 5, 2001
County Commissioner Harold Coker on Wednesday morning hit a local radio personality for calling Commission Chairman Bill Hullander "a dumb ass."
Commissioner Coker, at the close of the commission meeting, cited a morning newspaper report that the DJ, Jeff Styles of WGOW Talk Radio, had been charged by police recently.
Commissioner Coker said, "This is pretty serious stuff. A very popular and noted disc jockey - I'll just call his name - Jeff Styles - called our chairman a dumb ass - on the air."
Commissioner Coker said, "In the morning paper it is alleged that Mr. Styles was stopped by police, that he had marijuana in his car, and that he ran a red light. He was cited to court.
"My question to you is 'Who's dumb?'"
Court records show that on Nov. 2 Mr. Styles was driving south on Hixson Pike when Officer C. Indico stopped his 1985 Chevrolet Caprice after noticing that the right side headlight was out.
The officer said he "smelled an alcoholic intoxicant on his breath."
He said he conducted a field sobriety test and patted down Mr. Styles. He said in doing so he found a marijuana pipe in his right front pocket.
Mr. Styles was charged with two misdemeanors - violating the light law and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He was due in General Sessions Court on Tuesday before Judge Bob Moon. When he did not appear, Judge Moon found him to be a No Show. Court officials later said Mr. Styles' attorney, Jerry Summers, had contacted the clerk's office to get a new date.
The new hearing date is Feb. 26 at 1:30 p.m.
Commissioner Coker said, "I favor a committee being formed to investigate the high use of marijuana in this community and see if we can do something about it."
He also said, "It has even been suggested that Mr. Styles might have been smoking when he said these unkind things about our chairman."
Bill Lockhart, news director at WGOW, called the comment by Commissioner Coker that Mr. Styles might have been smoking something when on the air "ludicrous."
He said, "Certainly Jeff Styles was not under the influence of any illegal substance when he called Commissioner Hullander a dumb ass.''
Mr. Lockhart said Commissioner Coker is "inaccurate in some of his statements. Jeff did not run a red light and no marijuana was found in his car or on his person.
"There were no drugs of any kind found. Jeff was not intoxicated. He was not impaired. He was not under the influence. He was not endangering himself or anyone else on the highway."
Mr. Lockhart said, "We at Citadel Communications stand by Jeff Styles. This incident will be handled by the courts. It will not make any difference in how Jeff conducts his morning talk show or in how WGOW conducts business.
"We are in the business of providing entertainment, and we provide great value for our advertisers."
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