Updated: 3/24/2009 6:00:12 AM
A brewing pay scandal in the Trustee's Office drew attention from Knox County Commisioners, but it was a relatively obscure zoning discussion that triggered a heated shouting match between a commissioner and a Knox County citizen.
Commissioners were in the middle of hearing both sides of a debate over a planned townhouse complex when Commissioner Greg "Lumpy" Lambert left the floor and went into the seating area.
He approached Daniel Humphreys, the man who showed up in opposition to the condos.
Lambert told Humphreys he should be ashamed of himself for working to prevent an elderly man and long-time tax payer from selling his land.
The conversation exploded and interrupted the meeting.
"I said 'You ought to be ashamed of yourself, hurting this poor old guy, when you're here all by yourself.' I said, 'You're not here representing a neighborhood or anything,' and I said, 'You should just be ashamed of yourself,"' Lambert said.
"It's a commission where we've gone through a lot of rough times together because of the lawsuits and the Sunshine Trial, and several of us, Mr. Lambert and I, have both been on there all through this and so it seems like sometimes we get a little edgey on issues and that's it," said Commissioner Tony Norman.
Before the shouting side-show took center stage, commissioners took on some important business regarding the Knox County fee offices.
They discussed the legality of a proposal put forth by Commissioner Richard Briggs that would bring all fee offices under the jurisdiction of the commission.
Commissioners also voted to pass a whistle-blower resolution that would protect Knox County employees if they divulge information about unlawful practices.
