County mayor questions Blount-Russian program

By Iva Butler
of The Daily Times Staff

Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham wrote Sister City Coordinator Bill Hammon a letter this week criticizing programs that bring what he considers an excessive number of Russian delegates to Blount County, such as the Sister City program, and summer workers.

Cunningham, who also sent the letter to two county commissioners, said, “I have little love lost of the Russian government in particular” because Russia supplied armaments and advisors to the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army during the Vietnam war, which killed several of his buddies.

In a telephone interview Thursday afternoon, Cunningham criticized a lack of communication between Blount County government and the Sister City program.
Sister City organizers locally “sent an agenda without even checking to see if I was available that day. I wasn’t. I was involved in an emergency situation. We’ve just had delegation after delegation of Russians. We were overrun.”

He said in the interview that Sister City organizers should not have scheduled for him to “take a half day off and tell him to provide the Russians an education on county government, give them a tour of the courthouse, tour of the justice center and then feed them. They broke down the day into time frames without even asking me.”
Cunningham said today that Hammon had called him and apologized for the lack of communication and indicated “these kinds of things were thrust on him as well.”

Cunningham said there are a whole bunch of Russians “coming in here on an almost continual basis.”

He also said in the interview that recently the state department had governmental representatives from Russia visiting Blount County.

“I have no problem with the Russian people visiting on a reasonable basis nor do I have any problem with the Russian people. The problem I have is with the Russian government.”

When asked what does he consider a reasonable number of visits, he replied, “0nce a year.”

Jobs for Russians
He also addressed in the interview a jobs issue he brought up in the letter.

“People are complaining. I’m getting calls from Sevierville people asking why we’re sending all the Russian kids up there to take jobs away from Sevier County kids and Blount County kids,” Cunningham said. “We need to take care of our kids first. That’s just how I feel.

“I’m also getting calls from Blount County parents as well that Russian kids are taking Blount County jobs. We need to take care of our own kids first. The Russians should take care of their own kids. I don’t see the Russians offering jobs to our kids.”

Blount County Commissioner David Graham said the way he remembers the situation, there was a shortage of summer, part-time help in Dollywood and in the area and the Russian kids filled in the need.

“That would be a good way to rationalize or spin it,” Cunningham responded.

The mayor also took issue with a statement in a Daily Times story about the Sister City program in which Coordinator John Randolph said at a Dec. 6 dinner here for the Russians that he thinks a landfill for Sister city Zheleznogorsk is closer to fruition.

Cunningham said he would have a tremendous problem if his federal tax monies were spent on a landfill for the Russians. Cunningham said if there are any federal grants around he would love to have them for things like field lines that are failing all over Blount County and other infrastructure improvements.

“I’m sure it would foster good will to be on the receiving end of American dollars (in Russia), but it would foster good will here if we’d get federal dollars in Blount County. I’m committed to building infrastructure here before we go abroad,” Cunningham concluded in the interview.

Maryville and Alcoa contribute $5,000 a year to the Blount County Sister City program. The last time Blount County contributed to the Sister City program was $5,000 in 2005.

Cunningham said, “I’d like to know how much (federal) grant money is being spent on travel for folks to go from here to Russia and are we paying for Russians to come here with our tax dollars?”

Sister City supporters
Several Blount Countians who have been involved in the Sister City program extolled its virtues.

Hammon, Sister City coordinator and Alcoa assistant city manager to whom Cunningham wrote the letter, said in an e-mail response when asked about the letter, “Jerry is a good guy. I think a lot of him. I am also proud of the dozens of Blount County citizens that have donated thousands of hours volunteering toward working with the Blount County Sister City program. Blount County is truly a global community. I appreciate the contributions of countless volunteers toward the cultural and educational enrichment of our community.”

Blount County Commission Chairman Bob Ramsey said, “I have the highest respect for the mayor and appreciate the people that are working hard for the Sister City program. I do think the present atmosphere between Russia and the United States makes programs like Sister City even more important than ever.

“We had our commission Christmas party that night (of the 6:30 p.m. Dec. 6 dinner for the Russian delegates), and I unfortunately had to cut short my time with the Russian delegation, but I was certainly glad to be with them. I was happy to do it, and I’d be happy to do it again,” Ramsey said.

He delivered and presented gifts to all five delegates on behalf of Blount County government and the mayor’s office before the dinner.

Blount County Commissioner Monica Murrell, who was mentioned by name in the Cunningham letter, said, “Please note that I have not in any way collaborated with Jerry Cunningham on his letter regarding the Sister Cities organization. Nor do I endorse his letter or opinion of this fine organization.

“Also note that I am a board member of Sister Cities and very supportive of the organization and the vision of the volunteers of the organization. It is these visionaries that have hopes for cooperation and collaboration amongst groups of international communities and our local communities that move us together.

“Sister Cities International is a nonprofit, global diplomacy network which creates and strengthens partnerships between international communities, the United States and local communities, like Blount County. Right here in Blount County our community is very active in developing long-term relations with other countries, like Russia. So much that Sister Cities just this very year was awarded the Presidential Service Award for 2007.

“Sharing cultural, educational, technical and municipal information helps develop and strengthen our partnership internationally and locally. ... this is a good thing,” Murrell said.

Maryville Vice Mayor Tom Taylor not only supports the Sister City program, but has visited Sister city Zheleznogorsk, which is in the middle of Siberia.

Taylor said, “My experience with the Sister City program, as a volunteer with the program and in the semi-official role as Maryville vice mayor, has been very positive. I found the program to be well organized and very sensitive to the scheduling that we often have to work around as city officials and private citizens. I am a strong proponent of the program because it allows me as a city official to see how their government operates and gain some insight in how it can help improve our government here.

“The contacts I have had with the city officials in Zheleznogorsk is that they gained the same kind of valuable experience by visiting here.

“The final analysis is their city officials are doing the same thing we are over here, which is trying to made life better and happier for their citizens.” Taylor said.

When asked about the formation of the Sister City program between Maryville, Alcoa and Blount County and Zheleznogorsk, Taylor said, “The Sister Cities must have access to weapons of mass destruction. We are close enough to Oak Ridge to qualify. The goal is to make these cities economically viable without total dependence on destructive weapons.

“Besides being a people-to-people program, it is also an economic development for both cities.

“Zheleznogorsk has a nuclear reactor and the byproduct is that it provides steam for heat for the city and also is by far the driving employer of the area. The idea is to get another economic development for the city so when the reactor is shut down that will not make it a ghost town,” Taylor said.

Blount County Commissioner David Graham said, “I am supportive of the Sister City program or any program that helps build better relations between countries.

Hopefully this will help Russian citizens who visit here learn more about democracy and how they can build on their own democratic institutions established since the fall of communism.”

Blount County Commissioner Bob Proffitt said, “I realize that there are going to be differing opinions about the importance of these programs. I feel like the Sister City organization is very important. This is a chance like no other to exchange ideas with the people in Russia, some of whom are already in positions of responsibility. It gives them a chance to evaluate our system and values, as well as gives us chances to know their ideas about their own country. These are the future leaders of Russia. I feel like every reasonable chance we have to host them is worthwhile.”