Topic of 5G dominated Commission's public input

At last week’s County Commission meeting, several concerned citizens addressed the Commissioners about 5G.

Jonathan Pitts, Constable of District Four, was the first to speak. “It’s been nine years since I last addressed the County Commission...where I explained what Agenda 21 was, how it would affect our lives and how a proclamation that our commissioners signed us onto was directly tied to it.

“Since Don Kasey of the Alliance for Citizens Rights was already using Lewis County as an example of how this program gets packaged and sold to unsuspecting county and city governments, I invited them here. Only three commissioners came and then Mayor Ward. They were alarmed by what they had signed. [In the commission meeting where it was later rescinded] I was ridiculed by one of the commissioners, so I understand how Mrs. [Jeannie] Ford felt the other night when she was before you. The late Commissioner Turner stood right here and told the Commission that I was paranoid and was creating something to worry about and all of this was a figment of my imagination. How do y’all like living in my imagination right now? Have y’all had enough of it? I hope not because it’s about to get a lot worse.

“I don’t have the time to talk to you tonight and give you a chemistry and physiology class on how 5G cell frequency erupts the bond between iron and oxygen and why that’s bad for all living things. In the age of information I shouldn’t have to,” said Pitts. “So my question is what kind of pedigree do I have to get to come in here and talk to ya’ll about what 5G frequency is and what it actually means to us for ya’ll to listen? The only difference between elected legislatures in Washington D.C. and the ones in Lewis County, TN, is ya’ll have to live among the people you represent, and I predict if you keep making decisions from a position of ignorance and arrogance that will become increasingly difficult as time goes on.”

The next citizen to speak to the Commission was Jan Tache.

“First I’d like to say that we don’t need 5G for speed. We have fiber optics which will cover our rural areas and will give us wired and safe technology,” she said. “[5G] attacks the way our bodies work. It attacks the biology of animals, birds, insects and trees. One could ask, why are billions of dollars being spent on rockets and satellites.. Is it really for fast download? I don’t think so. I think there’s an agenda here; a control agenda, a surveillance agenda. I think that if we care about our freedom for our future and our grandkids, we must take a stand right now. This is our time right here in Lewis County.”

She continued, “We have a moment of time here because there’s been a federal court case that was won which said 5G could not continue to be rolled out until the FCC has done testing on health. They had not done any testing. I saw the testimony in front of Congress on TV. They only did a test in the 1990s on heat. So right now we have a little window of time to do something in Lewis County. Whether it will succeed or not, we can make our voices heard and maybe we can inspire other communities. I think we need to learn about this and make our own decision based on knowledge.”

Tache thanked the Commission and returned to her seat, welcoming the next speaker, Ron Brajkovich. “The way I came to know about all of this is that my wife, my hero, was diagnosed with breast cancer maybe seven years ago.”

Brajkovich went on to explain that his wife’s treatment was extremely hard on her body and she eventually decided to stop taking treatment.

“We had to do something... The first thing we did was get rid of our microwave and in two weeks we got rid of Wifi. I eventually found a book called the Invisible Rainbow which kickstarted our learning journey,” said Brajkovich. “Everytime I pick up a new book and flip a page, I’m amazed at how at 56 years old, one told us these things could cause us harm.”

The next person to address the Commission was Ian Levy. “There are a lot of medical studies that I could certainly provide by people much more qualified than myself with PhD’s about 5G. I have a video that I could show you that tells how 5G radiation directly manipulates graphene oxide. Klaus Schwab [founder of the World Economic Forum] talks about the fourth industrial revolution, connecting humans to the Internet of things. It’s a surveillance state on steroids.”

Levy went on to explain that 5G frequencies can cause cellular disruption. He used snowflakes as an example, saying that if you look closely at a snowflake it has a unique geometric structure.

“But when you send 60 gigahertz signal through it, that water will be disrupted and it’s chaos. There is no structure to it... Our bodies are 70 percent water. So if we know that’s what it does to water, then one can only say that there is a potential health risk,” he said.

The next citizen to address the commission was Jeannie Ford. Ford was the first to bring the topic up to the Commission by means of a resolution, seeking to officially halt the install of 5G until the FCC’s study was completed at last month’s meeting. The resolution failed.

“I think as many people that would come up here to address you, would all have a different perspective on it.. I would like to speak to you Commissioners today just to see if there’s any interest in learning about the subject,” said Ford.

“Maybe we could find a way to bring people, experts, in who could help us understand it. I feel we can be ahead of the curve in Lewis County because you pay attention. And I’m really amazed, having lived here for the short time that I have, you guys are so far ahead of California.. I’m really honored to be a part of this community now,” she said, “If there’s something I can do, I’m not an activist. I’m just a community member and a farmer, but this is such an important topic that I can’t stay home and do nothing about it. So if there’s any way that I can support you guys because I know how busy you are with the potholes, water systems and all the things you guys have to take care of.”

Last to speak to the Commission was John Husaim, Lewis County Reserve Lt., “I wanted to start with the comments that Jeannie ended with. In my humble opinion, the days of the County Commission only looking at historically what your responsibilities are, are long gone. The world has changed and is moving forward, and not always in positive ways.

“About a month ago, I work with Joey Hensley and David Byrd on almost a weekly basis, and we defeated an end run called UN Agenda 2030. There are going to be more efforts and they’re going to repackage them to remove our freedoms and liberties that are God-given,” said Husaim. “When we need.. [our commissioners] to be the resident experts... So my request is that, and I ask the same of myself, that as our elected representatives that you’re not only aware of what’s happening in the world and filtering down to us, but you also establish a position. And as leaders, you need to have your constituents understand why you’re taking that position.. and if they disagree with you, that’s the way our system works.”

He continued, “In a very positive way, I’ve seen a change in how this Commission works. But I think that as a community and as a government that we have a long way to go to understand what’s coming our way, how to fight it and how to support it when it’s good.”

Purchasing Solid Tires for Backhoes at Landfill

A resolution was put before the Commission in order to purchase tires for newer and older backhoes for the Transfer Station from SETCO at a price of $14,817.52.

The resolution read, “Both the old and newer backhoes at the Lewis County Transfer Station are in desperate need of solid tires, due to glass and other debris constantly puncturing their regular rubber tires when they are used to push garbage off the floors of the buildings and to perform work around the landfill... This almost daily occurrence not only costs money for plugs and or tires, but also slows down the Landfill Attendants from doing their jobs.”

All Commissioners agreed that the purchase of the tires was necessary, but disagreed on where the money should come from. One option was to fund the tires from the Local Government Recovery and Rebuilding Direct Appropriation State Grant, and the other option would be to fund it out of the Solid Waste budget.

After several minutes of deliberation, the resolution was put to a vote where the Commissioners who voted “yes” would be in favor of using grant money, and those who voted “no” would prefer to use Solid Waste fund money.

Commissioners Doug Jobbitt and Wendell Kelley sponsored the resolution. Commissioners Larry Hensley, Timmie Hinson, Kyle Bobo, Patrick Halfacre, Jim Grinder, Paul Dyer, Ronnie Brewer and Robert Brewer voted against the resolution. Commissioners Wendell Kelley, Austin Carroll, Aren Ragsdale, Allison Tanner, Jobbitt, Jerry Ashmore, Larry Pigg, and Brian Peery voted in favor.

The resolution failed and the tires will be paid for out of the Solid Waste Budget.

Remaining Grant Money Uses

The last item before the Commission was an itemized list of projects the County could fund in order to spend the remaining $123,000 of the Local Government Recovery and Rebuilding Direct Appropriation Grant money that must be spent before June 30, 2022 [the grant’s deadline].

On the list was the drone for the Property Assessor’s Office and for EMA use during emergencies. Another project listed was infrastructure improvements at the old Courthouse which included remodeling the old Courtroom and Jury Room, replacing old windows, and repairing offices. The third and last project was installing LED lighting in other county buildings. Namely, the Justice Center, Library, War Memorial Building, Airport, Landfill and Park.

In previous Commission and County Committee meetings, it was discussed that the lighting company the County met with guaranteed the lighting and would be energy efficient and money saving. Lewis County Property Assessor Travis Hinson has also requested the drone in several past meetings. The drone would be used to access properties that are gated off and would also be accessible to law enforcement to aid in missing person searches and other emergencies.

Mayor Jonah Keltner said that the drone would reportedly cost an estimated $20,000.

Commissioner Kelley and Bobo motioned to table the item until there were estimates for all the choices. The motion was quickly voted down. The Mayor told the Commission that they can turn down whichever project they would like, but he needed to know which the Commissioners were interested in so he could get estimated prices.

After consideration, the Commissioners agreed that lighting and replacing the windows of the old Courthouse were a good cause to look into, and subsequently approved the Mayor to pursue items two and three.