Jellico Tennessee - Complaints

To start off I would like to refresh everybody on the fact that we are not affiliated with the City of Jellico Government in any way. We are independent. The city or any employee of the city does not fund or endorse us. This information can be found on our website.

With this said, it is astonishing at the amount of emails that we receive on a weekly basis from people voicing complaints about the town of Jellico. We always recommend that those complaints are taken to the city hall where someone can actually (hopefully) do something to help. There is nothing that we can do other than offer our advice and help you to find the appropriate contacts.

As I was checking the Mountain Community emails this morning and browsing through the collection of complaints yet again. I decided that maybe doing an article on these complaints would be both entertaining and useful. Some of these emails are down right funny while others offer valid arguments.

As stated above, we highly recommend that these complaints be directed to the City of Jellico Government. On our website we have a list of every possible phone number that you would need to put your complaints in the right hands. For entertainment sake, we have carefully decided to share some of these complaints and add our thoughts and opinions.

First, the number one complaint that we see in our inbox is "Too Many People Walking On The Streets."

First of all, to the best of my knowledge, there is nothing wrong or illegal with a person or person(s) walking on the street as long as they are peaceful and doing no harm. In fact, it's nice to see people moving about, it makes our little town feel more alive. Of course most of these emails go into detail about certain people which we refuse to indulge in. Let me ask this question, "Is it right or wrong to assume that just because someone does not look well dressed, that they are up to no good by walking down the street?" Even if you know who the said person is. Believe it or not, there are people unfortunate enough to not own a vehicle and walking to and from is the only way that they have to get around. It's not really anyone's business where they've been or where they're going. If they're walking down the street peacefully, let them be. If left unprovoked it's almost guaranteed that they will move right along to where they're headed and not even look twice in your direction. Enjoy your day and as the saying goes " live and let live."

Of course if you feel threatened by someone, you should most certainly contact the local police.

Here is another complaint that I personally found to be the most entertaining. "My neighbor always grows stinky flowers in the Spring, the smell comes straight through my kitchen window. Who do I talk to about this?

While we have listed an entire page of phone numbers on our website, I don't know of any "Stinky Flower" hotlines. I have to question this complaint to some extent. What kind of flower is it that the neighbor grows each year that smells so terrible? I personally can not think of any flower that would emit such a bad odor. Some plants repel mosquitos and put off a variant of citronella fragrances. I personally do not care for the scent, but I wouldn't call it terrible or unbearable. My only advice here is to just keep the kitchen window closed. You may also consider speaking with the neighbor and explaining that the scent is bothersome. A little kindness goes a long way and most people appreciate it and would be willing to work with you to find a solution. We'll chalk this one up to someone with entirely too much time on their hands.

Next in line, "Who can help keep possums out of my yard?"

By calling the City Hall, I am sure that anyone there can direct you to the proper people to contact if you have a possum problem. Living in a country town, surrounded by mountains, possums are just natural wildlife in our area. Some people might even say that we (humans) are trespassing on their land. Some advice that I can offer is to not leave pet food setting outside. Possums get hungry too and they scavenge for food at night, it's only instinct for them to come eat your pets food if left outdoors. You may also want to keep your trash in covered cans, possibly place a brick or heavy rock on top.

Allow me to tell you about how good having a possum around can actually be.

1. If you have a garden, they'll pick up rotten fruit and vegetables from the ground. They rarely ever bother fruits that are still on the vine and haven't fallen.

2. They keep away mice, snakes, insects and other small pest.

3. They eat hundreds of fleas and ticks per day.

4. If left alone a possum will run away from you, they rarely attack unprovoked. They're even known to befriend other animals.

5. Possums do not carry rabies, when they slobber and foam from the mouth this is a defense tactic used to protect themselves. They're actually happy, peaceful animals and are much more afraid of you than you are of them.

Next complaint, "My mail is often damaged or misplaced!"

With this complaint, you will need to contact the Post Office. I know that this is a problem that many people have had in recent months. I for one received a particularly important letter, with a torn envelope and a muddy footprint on it. My daughter has had her mail delivered to the wrong house and never was able to get it back, even with knowing who had received it. It is illegal to keep mail that does not belong to you so it's very important and just the right thing to do, to turn it back in.

Also, you may never fully know where or how your mail was damaged. Just because it is, doesn't mean that the local delivery people are responsible, so use kindness when inquiring about it. Mail carriers have a long, hard day at work every single day. It's entirely understandable that sometimes a piece of mail might be misplaced. However, it is not acceptable if it happens often. I have seen some horror videos online of how mail can be handled. Use patience and a little bit of understanding. If it continues to happen, contact the post office in charge of delivering your mail.

And to wrap it up for today, I have one last complaint. "Where's our tax dollars going? I don't see anything!"

Once again, I am unsure why anyone would ask us this question. This is a topic best directed to the City Mayor. But let's just take a moment to think about this. Yes, we all pay city taxes and we want to know what's being done with our money.

First, we have city employees being paid.

Truly, all you need to do is take a stroll through the city to see how your taxes are being used. Ask yourself some questions. How do the roads look? Are they in decent condition? Are the sidewalks upkept? Is there decorations and items being purchased to beautify the town? Is the city sponsoring public programs and events?

Jellico looks pretty good to me, it was a beautiful sight to see over the holidays. The downtown park was simply beautiful with the decorations and Christmas carols beings played over loud speakers. Good job! I also noticed some much needed road repairs being done over the recent days. Tax dollars at work!

However if you have questions and concerns maybe attending a city meeting would provide some answers.

Have a nice weekend Jellico! Thank you for reading this article and please feel free to contact us with your thoughts and opinions of future articles and stories. Although JMC is not the right place to direct your complaints, we're always happy to offer our help.

Would you like to see more articles like this? Let us know.