Chairman Of Polk County Commission In The Dark On Planned Road Rally In Cherokee Forest

  • Monday, March 20, 2023

The chairman of the County Commission in Polk County said he is in the dark about a planned road rally in his county in the Cherokee National Forest.

Barry White, president of the Chattanooga Tourism Co., announced the event last Wednesday, saying it would draw visitors from around the world and have a $34 million economic impact.

Chairman John Pippenger said, "In the past three days the Polk County Commission has been contacted multiple times on the International Rally Race that Chattanooga Tourism Co. President Barry White announced.

"The commission is hosting a Town Hall Meeting at the Polk County High School Cafeteria on Tuesday, March 28, at 7 p.m. A request is being made for the Forest Service and all entities involved to bring forth information for the people of the county to review.

"I am not aware of any commissioners having knowledge of any specifics on this until Tuesday, March 14, and then the info was from a news flash. The commission was NOT part of the process and has not been contacted to help facilitate any services that would be required for an event such as this – (this does not mean other groups have not been contacted, just that the commission has not been).

"Please come to the meeting and let your feelings be heard on this issue, I will speak as one of the commissioners, I'm not happy to find out about this from Mr. Barry White with Chattanooga on the news the other day.

"Please Share this info to everyone in the county."

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