When members of the 911 Board arrived in the meeting room, copies of Friday’s Knoxville News Sentinel were on the table. It did not appear that any board member accepted the free gift as the papers were left on the table when the board members left.

What was the intended message to the board? Was it that you too can be the next Mike Lowe (the top of the fold main story)? Was it because Harris (the company recommended by county purchasing) bought several large ads during previous weeks along with numerous articles? Was it a thoughtful action by someone that went by the locally owned fueling centers and got them from the free Friday promotion? Was it the PR firm that represents both Harris, the fueling centers and the local paper and representing all with one action? Will the free papers be disclosed as gifts to the body that is to vote on a $8 million contract? Is it something else and not one of these questions. I guess we will never know.

Maybe at the next meeting on April 15, there will be copies of the Shopper, Focus, Farragut Press, knoxville Mercury, Daily Beacon, a promotional flyer for Hard Knox Independent, along with a BrianHornback.Com poster with the latest copy of the Knoxville News Sentinel.