It simply amazes me the lengths that KNS will go to in order to find one piece of dirt on Tim Burchett. And they will take that one grain and turn it into a mudhole if given a chance.

Romantically involved? When Tim has the most awesome wife and child that ever existed on this God's green earth? You have got to be kidding me. Hang on, I have to stop laughing the tears are hindering my ability to see what I am typing.

You know, when Tim ran for County Mayor the first time, not one peep out of anyone. When he ran for re-election, the same thing, but alas, KNS took his divorce, a personal incident, granted he was a public employee of the tax payers of Knox County, but it's a personal incident nonetheless, and tried their hardest to smear Tim into the ground. Didn't work did it, kinda backlashed on the ex-wife. Now he's running for Congress, and I have never, in my life, seen so much GARBAGE coming out of certain individuals mouths, that have not got the foggiest idea of what it is they are talking about.

Bring me HARD CORE EVIDENCE of any wrong-doings that Tim has done, then we will talk about it. In the meantime, as my Daddy tells me all the time, "Don't let your alligator mouth, overload your Hummingbird a$$, as it will come back to bite you."

Disgusting.

Kid should get a restraining order.

Democrats don't have to worry about being outed – nobody cares. Different story for Republicans, which is why they're always accusing each other of being gay.

I like people who work for McElroy, wish them well and am sorry that they have to kowtow to him. The only thing worse than a one-newspaper town would be a no-newspaper town, and I fear that is where we're headed. Bubba is performing an important service here (and has scooped Jack Mac on his own story, LOL!)

And that's all I have to say about that. I need to calm down about this –except I am pissed and offended beyond telling.

I don't believe McElroy would be out on an expedition like this unless he had a very strong reason to believe there's something going on here. Because the alleged relationship(s) are homosexual, it seems to some like the mighty newspaper editor is trying to "out" some closeted Republicans, which would be wrong. However, that's not what it looks like to me. If Caldwell is paying his lover for work he's not performing, this could be just as serious, and very similar, to the recent scandal involving the Nashville Mayor.

In the article linked to above, Caldwell publicly admitted that he forged Bean's signature and that his time cards are inaccurate. He also says the nature of Bean's work is secret (I'm not sure how that's even legal given open government laws but I'm not an attorney). If there could be a more devious reason for this employment arrangement on the taxpayer dime, I'm personally glad the paper is looking into it.

I don't know them personally and don't know if they are lovers, or even gay at all. But the story about the AirBnB seems fishy to me too. If Bean wasn't living at Caldwell's place then why would he need to move out of his friend's apartment?

Mayor Burchett is obviously worried about the potential story, as he has tweeted a link to this post. I'm also assuming Bean wouldn't have talked to this blog without the blessing of his superiors. Are the Mayor and/or Caldwell simply trying to get out in front of scandal?

If Bean wasn't living at Caldwell's place then why would he need to move out of his friend's apartment?

Probably because he has crazy old white men following him around and he
doesn't want to expose his friend to potential harassment.

Is Jeff a relative to Betty?

Who is Brad Mays?

The incident occurred late Monday while the commission meeting was underway. Caldwell was at the commission meeting.

Rereading the linked article there’s a claim that Mr. Bean was out of the country but paid for a full day? Couldn’t someone ask Mr. Bean for his passport to verify this?

Why do we have a right to know where Benjamin Bean goes after working hours? Because he got tagged for 8 hours last summer when his Facebook page said he was in London? (Would love to know how one arranges such a lightning visit.) Evidently someone is combing through the social media of county employees, looking for little fish to kill. Know anybody with such an M.O.?

I've covered the courthouse for decades. If I were going to go looking for who's hooking up, fooling around, canoodling or sneaking around behind spouses backs with bosses, co-workers or subordinates, I'd have time for little else. As Billy Stokes reminded me yesterday, evidently nobody at the NS remembers how they made Tim Hutchison a cult hero – and the founder of a dynasty – by their relentless hectoring.

To borrow a watchword from Michael Avenatti,

Basta.

Jamie, you have done excellent work for longer than I care to think about (since I am way older than you). I'm pissed at Jack, but not at you or your colleagues.

You have done remarkable service to this town, whether people realize it or not, and I've seen it first hand on numerous occasions – the death of Andre Stenson comes immediately to my mind. I hope you keep on keeping on for years to come.

I've changed my mind. Jeff Bean isn't Allison. Obsessed, but not nearly mean enough. Hi, Brad.

Looking again at that picture it appears that the reporters are in a Nissan Leaf. My dad has one of those. So I can say with confidence that if Mr. Bean wishes to lose his tail he needs only drive about 50 miles or so...

EDIT: re-reading the OP I see it is noted the car was a Leaf.

I'm primarily interested in whether Mr. Bean is or is not a ghost employee, and if so, who made him one?

The rest of it is just distraction.

This will take more space than I like to occupy on KV, but something's been nibbling on my memory banks. Let's see if I can keep you interested enough to hear me out:

Once upon a time in Knoxville, two men were running for the newly-created office of Public Defender. One was a Republican, Mark Stephens. He was extremely qualified and is a white guy whose wife is biracial (as well as stunningly beautiful and extremely nice).

The Democrat was Travis Brasfield.

There came a day when someone (we later found out it was the son of a local Baptist preacher) was distributing flyers trashing Stephens and his wife. I found one stuck under on my windshield at the Broadway Shopping Center.

Brasfield called a press conference to disavow responsibility for the trashy flyers.

I can't quote it precisely all these years later, but here's how I remember it:

"I'm sorry some lowlife is talking about my opponent's interracial marriage. I don't talk about my opponent's interracial marriage. If anything comes out about my opponent's interracial marriage, it won't be from me, because I would never say anything about his interracial marriage. I do not think my opponent's interracial marriage is anything we should be discussing."

I worked for the Journal then, and I remember looking across the room at my NS counterpart, Rebecca Ferrar. She shook her head. Afterward, she asked me if I'd counted how many times he said "My opponent's interracial marriage." Neither of us had a tape recorder, but we tried to total them up, and it was a bunch.

....

Still reading? Wondering when I'll come to the point, and what it has to do with this Knox Views thread?

Jeff Bean has been a KV member for about a day and a half now – since just before he started posting on this topic. Here are some excerpts from four separate posts.

...................................

If Benjamin Bean has been paid tax dollars for a job he doesn't show up for while living, and allegedly sleeping, with his direct supervisor (while also possibly having a romantic relationship with the County Mayor himself), the public should absolutely know about it.

I didn't say Bean was Caldwell's lover. I actually said that I don't even know if the two are gay at all. I did say that if it's true that Caldwell is paying his lover, then this would be comparable to the former Nashville Mayor's situation. I defended Jack McElroy for looking into the allegations and feel strongly that everyone's giving him a hard time before hearing from him.

Because the alleged relationship(s) are homosexual, it seems to some like the mighty newspaper editor is trying to "out" some closeted Republicans, which would be wrong. However, that's not what it looks like to me. If Caldwell is paying his lover for work he's not performing, this could be just as serious, and very similar, to the recent scandal involving the Nashville Mayor.

I don't know them personally and don't know if they are lovers, or even gay at all. But the story about the AirBnB seems fishy to me too. If Bean wasn't living at Caldwell's place then why would he need to move out of his friend's apartment?

Seems pretty clear to me what's on Cousin Jeff's mind.

P.S.: Mark Stephens is still our public defender – the only one we've ever had, and a recognized leader in his profession.

I think the REAL STORY HERE is Tim had a major story that he wanted released to the public. He also pushed hard on social media. I mean this is a big social media buzz story and it appears he decided to use his social media strength here. Randy, what I am curious about is did your web traffic spike? Would you be willing to share the telemetry?

Where 'bouts is this story?

Am I the only one that see's just how ironic and maybe even hypocritical this is?

Almost everything Brad Mayes is doing to Tim Burchett...was done to Brad Mayes.
(link...)

While it was done before Tim's watch and Tim did say he would clean the mess up and it looks like he did.

Brad Mayes, and with good reason, always felt anger towards Tim for not firing Salter.

I get both sides of the equation. For people who don't know the lawsuit that Brad Mayes filed and I still to this day encourage anyone who wants to go into investigative reporting to read that file (the Andrea Rudd divorce case, and Brian Hornback vs Ruthie)

Brad's case was mind blowing. you had a guy who took on the government and won. However the bad stuff took place before Tim took office. It only came to public attention after Tim took office.

However, as Betty pointed out 9 years ago. Brad's problem is he plays his cards wrong ususally with the media. Again the guy is great at finding things. However, when you go anonymous online it really hurts your credibility.

Also note, in Jack's defense. It appears we have the person in charge of our County finances, going on record, publically stating that he kept two seperate books and Time sheets for a secret mission. Which I can only guess is the TVA building possibly becoming the new school HQ as written by an awesome scoop by the Focus. Credit to Hunley my ex-boss, he has the best damn beat writer in the City County Building and I look forward every Monday to reading what is happenning in County and City government. Mike Steely busts his ass off.
So back to Jack. Um yeah, if someone is keeping two sets of books, as an ex-reporter I could totally see directing a newsroom to find out what is going on.

Please note: This post is in no way political. Nor is this post in any way a reflection on the values, beliefs or has any association with my current employer or former employer. This post is in no way an endorsement of anyone or any product except as written the good work that Mike Steely does.

The purpose of this post is to show why we as a society have gotten to this point and past events that might have lead to the original post. Please also note all information is written to the best of my ability and my memory. Any information that any individual would like to correct modify and change please send me a comment via the intercommunications of this website.
Also note it is 1:50 am and if my grammar is bad it is because I made a conscious decision to address this issue on my time and not on my employers time.

Not speaking from any specific knowledge here, but Knox County historically has kept certain projects confidential, usually having to do with land acquisition for schools, industrial parks, landfills and the like, until they are a done deal. There are many reasons for this, including not wanting the seller to jack the price up.

If that is the case, I would also bet that the reporter who researched the story knew what the deal was, and maybe was even told the facts off the record.

I agree that Mayes has an old obsession/vendetta that has consumed him and made him someone I'd cross the street to avoid.

But when you dig down to the bottom of this to find the real root cause, it's that the county mayor is running for a congressional seat and there are people willing to do almost anything to stop him. Ben Bean, sadly, is collateral damage and Jack McElroy is a tool. So is Mayes, although he's probably enjoying the attention (evidently he's a Ken Burns fan) enough to make it worth his while.

The KNS story...

(link...)

Whatta nothingburger.

Pity of this is that all it's going to accomplish is to drive away the most competent, open and accessible county finance director I've known since I started covering government in 1987.

Chris Caldwell never ducks questions, always returns calls and has a knack for translating complex financial data into understandable, real life language. If he leaves this office, I'll miss him, and I'm sure a lot of other people will, too.

So here's to you, USA Today Tennessee staff and your crack investigator!

ps: I rarely say anything good about bureaucrats. But Chris is damn good at what he does and is also a very nice guy.

Now I'm off to take a shower and try to wash away the stench of this sorry piece of crap.

In honor of John Bean on his birthday, I'll just add this:

I'm tired of dealing with chickenshit bastards.

The free press is there to be a check on government. If the books don't reflect the work, that's the story.

The rest leaps over a line the National Enquirer wouldn't cross.

Shameful.

The key point that many of you are missing is that the Knox County Nepotism Policy is not just limited to blood and legal "relatives." The policy says "any other person who resides in the same household" is considered a "relative."

The policy clearly states that an official cannot "advocate, recommend, supervise, manage or cause the employment, appointment, promotion, transfer, or advancement of his or her relative to an office or position of employment within the Knox County Government."

If Bean lives with Caldwell, or has lived with him up until now, then a clear violation has occurred. Frankly, there is enough evidence here that an investigation into the matter is probably warranted.

Furthermore, if there were a romantic relationship, and Bean was being paid for work not performed, then there could be more serious laws broken. Caldwell could very well be guilty of both theft and official misconduct, both felonies, in a case that would contain many similarities to the recent Nashville Mayor's scandal.

This could be much more serious than tabloid like reporting to expose people's private lives.

If Bean lives with Caldwell, or has lived with him up until now, then a clear violation has occurred. Frankly, there is enough evidence here that an investigation into the matter is probably warranted.

Furthermore, if there were a romantic relationship, and Bean was being paid for work not performed, then there could be more serious laws broken. Caldwell could very well be guilty of both theft and official misconduct, both felonies, in a case that would contain many similarities to the recent Nashville Mayor's scandal.

As Johnny Majors used to say, 'If wishes and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas.'

I presume you are familiar with libel law – didn't you sue somebody for that? You'd better be real, real sure of what you're speculating about. Ben Bean doesn't meet any definition of a public figure. IP addresses are traceable.

You seem quite obsessed with homosexuality. What do you dream about at night?

BB was having internet issues and asked me to post on her behalf this picture from last week's Ken Burns dinner, where a number of anti-Burchett people, including Mayes, seem to be at a table together. Will leave it to her to elaborate, to ensure I don't get anything wrong.

Dots, connected.

Did anything ever come of this? Does anyone know how Bean is doing?