We have heard a lot about ties between Commissioner Lewis, the Sheriff, and American Fidelity/Green Bank. In fact, if you follow local news and issues, American Fidelity comes up quite a lot (remember the Sports Complex?). So I got a chuckle when the spouse brought me a little fold-over envelope from the County Clerk's office after buying tags for a car. It seems to be what the receipt comes in, because it is only 4x2. One side of the envelope has the Realty III Logo, phone number, address, and website (I think this is owned by Darrell Tipton, occasional candidate for various offices and recently added to the Public Building Authority by County Mayor Jerry Cunningham). The other side says "Compliments of American Fidelity Bank" and has the logo and phone number. On the inside, it says "Roy Crawford Jr., Blount County Clerk, yada yada yada."

Given all the money that the county keeps in American Fidelity Bank, I'm hoping these little gems were free to the county! Pretty good advertising; but how much is too much when it comes to the county gov't advancing the interests of business? Would other banks and realty companies have liked for every vehicle owner in the county to have been exposed to *their* names and logos? (Or maybe this is a cyclical thing and companies take turns?)

What are your thoughts?

According to an article in the Daily Times (Link...) by Rick Laney on Wednesday, 8/29, our local housing market was in a "free fall". But by Friday, there was some sort of weird cross between an advertisement and editorial right there on page 3 painting quite a different picture. It wasn't marked as an ad, but didn't look like the usual news article either. Very confusing. Did anyone else notice it?

With plunging real estate prices and sales being the top of the news nationally, you would expect Blount County's market to follow the trend at least somewhat.

So which is it? And what's up with the DT?? Can't make up their minds? Or maybe too much pressure from the local powerbase: realtors and developers. I guess realtors DO place a lot of ads in the course of business. I'd like to think the paper would print the facts, though, and that those facts wouldn't change with the winds of outside pressure.