The Rhea County Commission appointed Johnathan Kealon as the new Veterans Service officer for Rhea County.
Veterans Services Committee Chairman Philip Dunn presented the nomination to the commission during a special called meeting Tuesday. Mr. Kealon, a retired Marine Corp veteran, replaces Justin Davis who resigned recently.
Mr. Dunn said, “It was a very, very hard choice to make. We had eight qualified candidates; each one was qualified. The committee after much discussion chose Mr. Kealon.
The Veterans Service officer works in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs, other governmental agencies, the Veterans of the Vietnam War, Inc. national headquarters and Department Service officers. Their goal is to reach out to all veterans organizations and veterans through traditional public relations, community involvement, and by initiation and implementation of activities that encourage them to access their rightfully earned entitlements and benefits. But the main part of the job is to respond to the needs of all veterans, armed forces members, their dependents and survivors, and to provide linkage for them to other support services.
The meeting was a special called meeting in lieu of the regular commission meeting which is the third week of the month. Commissioners will be attending required training provided by County Technical Assistance Service.
At the close of the meeting, County Executive Jim Vincent updated the commission on two projects he has been working on.
Mr. Vincent advised the commission of a meeting he attended in Chattanooga of the East Tennessee Opioid Settlement Summit. It was organized by the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service.
Substance Misuse and Addiction Resource for Tennessee Executive Director Jennifer Tourville organized the event with various law enforcement, judicial, public health advocates and county officials. The Substance Misuse and Addiction Resource for Tennessee Initiative guides community leaders in implementing evidence-based, cost-effective strategies that mitigate damage from substance use disorder and the opioid epidemic.
Originating in 2020 as the SMART Policy Network, the SMART Initiative grew in scope as it was incorporated into the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service in early 2022. In addition to examining and communicating data and policies related to substance use disorder, the SMART Initiative seeks to empower communities and local governments to combat the overdose epidemic.
Mr. Vincent was asked to speak on Rhea County’s efforts to start their program up.
“This opioid program is more involved than what was originally thought of," said Mr. Vincent. "It involves a lot of different aspects including doctors and psychologists, besides the social programs. We have worked with Southeast Tennessee Human Resources Agency for transportation, and Chattanooga State and the Jobs Center for training and helping them find jobs. I’ve talked with 12 different state agencies that are willing to help our program,” said Mr. Vincent.
He continued by saying that those enrolled in the program would have to sign an agreement to attend counseling and maintain a job.
“This will be a Christian-based program," said Mr. Vincent. "Studies have shown programs that are Christian based score with 30 percent higher results."
Mr. Vincent said that future plans, besides a men’s house, a women’s facility will be made. “A women’s facility needs to be in the city limits due to special needs they have, especially those with children. Men’s houses can be out in a rural setting.” He said he was looking at the possibility of using the Morgantown Fire Hall as a location for the women’s house. “The fire hall was built back when fire trucks would fit in it. Nowadays the newer trucks can’t fit inside the building and the road in front is too narrow to allow them to turn. We would build a newer, more modern fire hall near the park in Morgantown.”
The other project was the gas burn off program for the landfill. Mr. Vincent said this was a huge plus for the landfill, with the burn off program being calculated at reducing the odor of the landfill by at least 60 percent. It will be added to the new section of the landfill first and then to the current section.
"Our permits have been approved by TEDC and the bids for the project are being let out by Capital Waste,” said Mr. Vincent. “I have been working on this project since I was elected.”
He further added that TDOT is working on making a turn lane on southbound Highway 27 to turn into Smyrna Road.