A new poll reveals strong support for former Tennessee State Representative Joe Carr’s campaign for Rutherford County mayor. The Oregon-based Triton Polling and Research released the poll this week. The company polled 455 likely Rutherford County voters between January 19 through January 21 of this year, according to a press release.
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Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Rutherford County Mayoral candidate Joe Carr to the
newsmakers line to announce his candidacy and why he’s running.
Kelsey Ketron pleaded not guilty in Rutherford Monday to multiple charges related to fraud and her father’s business known as Universal International Insurance.
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Kelsey Ketron’s legal problems have reportedly worsened, as a grand jury, this week indicted her on charges of fraud, perjury, and money laundering.
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Former Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada and current Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron are both being investigated for allegedly misspending campaign money, according to NewsChannel 5. The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance unanimously voted Wednesday to look into both politicians’ campaign and political action committee accounts. Registry Board Member Tom Lawless told Channel 5 he wanted two things: transparency and integrity. “It’s not something I’m thrilled to ask for by any stretch of the imagination but I think we have to,” he said. “It’s of sufficient import to the folks that put us here and to the taxpayers and to the people elected that we do this.” The state’s election finance registry has had a hard time collecting fines for violating campaign and ethics rules. As The Tennessee Star previously reported, the registry has $1.5 million in outstanding unpaid fines, including fines against Ketron, who already owes $50,000 to the state. Casada, upon learning about the upcoming investigation, issued a statement to The Tennessean. “I am confident that an independent review of my PAC and campaign finances by the registry will make it clear that I have not used any funds inappropriately, and I urge them to…
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Former State Rep. Jeremy Durham, current Tennessee Rep. Joe Towns, (D-TN-84) and Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron owe the state of Tennessee $570,000 in unpaid fines, according to The Tennessean.
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Kelsey Ketron, daughter of Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, reportedly resigned as a member of the Tennessee Republican Party Executive Committee Tuesday. This, according to the Murfreesboro-based DJN.com, which also reported Kelsey Ketron was in her second term representing District 13 on the committee. “Her resignation letter was confirmed by Michael Sullivan, executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party. The letter was short, with Ketron saying it was an honor to serve the Republican party for the past five years, and that’s she is resigning from her position on the state executive committee,” DNJ.com reported. “Ketron didn’t give a reason for resigning, Sullivan said. The state GOP declined to release Ketron’s resignation letter, citing a policy of not releasing internal party documents.” As reported this month, Kelsey Ketron was reportedly accused of fraudulent practices at her Murfreesboro-based insurance company. Kelsey Ketron serves as vice president of Universal International Insurance agency. Bill Ketron owns the agency and is its president. According to NewsChannel 5, clients allegedly paid Kelsey Ketron for insurance policies, but they never got the coverage for which they paid. This week DNJ.com quoted Bill Ketron, who said Kelsey Ketron has taken a leave of absence from running the insurance…
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Murfreesboro Police reportedly administered a search warrant Wednesday at Universal International Insurance, owned by Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, as they investigate his daughter Kelsey Ketron. Murfreesboro Police spokesman Larry Flowers told The Tennessee Star little on Wednesday, other than the warrant was related to an ongoing investigation pertaining to Kelsey Ketron. As The Tennessee Star reported, people have accused Kelsey Ketron of fraudulent practices at the Murfreesboro-based insurance company. According to her LinkedIn page, Kelsey Ketron is the company’s vice president. She is also an elected member of the Tennessee Republican Party’s executive committee. According to the Nashville-based NewsChannel 5, two uniformed officers stood outside the office’s front door Wednesday to keep anyone from going in or out. “Kelsey Ketron has been banned by the state of Tennessee’s Insurance Division from all insurance related activities based on what the state called ‘fraudulent practices’ related to one of those clients,” the station reported. “She is also accused of selling insurance without a valid license.” The station also reported Bill Ketron and his daughter have not filed required campaign finance filings with the state in a timely fashion. The station also quoted County Commissioner Robert Stevens, who asked Bill Ketron for…
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An elected member of the Tennessee Republican Party’s executive committee was reportedly accused of fraudulent practices at her Murfreesboro-based insurance company. This, according to the Nashville-based NewsChannel 5 and various other news outlets, which reported that Kelsey Ketron, daughter of Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, is in potential legal trouble. Kelsey Ketron serves as vice president of Universal International Insurance agency. Bill Ketron owns the agency and is its president. According to NewsChannel 5, clients allegedly paid Kelsey Ketron for insurance policies, but they never got the coverage for which they paid. The station identified Susan Calvin of Shelbyville as one victim. “Calvin said she discovered she didn’t have a policy after a frozen pipe burst in her home and she filed a claim,” the station reported, adding that the same thing happened to Wade Hellemn of Lebanon. “He told police earlier this year that after his house suffered water damage last year, he filed a claim and found there was ‘no policy.’ Police called it ‘fraud’ and also mentioned theft of property and forgery in that report. Hellemn told police he had paid Ketron $4000 for that insurance policy that it turns out didn’t exist. And he’s not…
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MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — Although it’s hypothetical at this point, Rutherford County residents could have to pay a new monthly fee to handle the county’s growing trash problem, County Mayor Bill Ketron said last week. This could start a trend that reverberates across all of Middle Tennessee, said county residents who showed up for a meeting to discuss the matter. “One of our cities charges $5 on a local water bill per month. We may have to rethink the way we think about trash and the way we handle it. It may be that handling our trash becomes another utility bill with homeowners to look at,” Ketron told a gathering of about 100 people at Murfreesboro’s Patterson Park Community Center. “Now, I’m just saying maybe to this. Don’t quote me saying it will happen. These are all things that have to be considered. At some point in time, dealing with our trash is not going to be free. It’s getting to that point where we are all going to have to pay the price, but a lot of that will come from recycling and reeducating and now it’s time to be bold.” That boldness apparently will include stiffer penalties for people…
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Members of the Rutherford County School Board are interested in building a school on farmland in the Walter Hill residential community, even though it’s near a landfill with a history of potential hazards. Multiple neighborhoods, businesses and churches surround the property, near the existing Walter Hill Elementary School, said Rutherford County School spokesman James Evans. “The land for the schools has undergone environmental and geotechnical testing and has been deemed suitable for school construction,” Evans said in an emailed statement. According to a 2011 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation document, the landfill had aluminum waste deposited there between the 1990s and 2007. The landfill is on the north side of the East Stones River, one half mile east of Walter Hill and six miles north of Murfreesboro, according to the Consent Order between TDEC and BFI Waste Systems of Tennessee. In 2011, the document went on to say, this location had an apparent exothermic reaction, and that caused elevated temperatures. A series of piping was installed to draw off heat and pressure from the area. A hot void was discovered in the landfill. “The respondent has identified that aluminum waste within the Middle Point Landfill is undergoing an exothermic…
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