Amacher pushes back in court proceedings
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Following the October filing of a petition challenging the right of Alderman Jenna Amacher to hold office due to questions of her residency, District Attorney Craig Northcott has submitted a request to inspect properties inhabited by Amacher throughout the proceedings.
The request to inspect the properties would permit agents of Northcott’s choosing to inspect and photograph the properties on Ledford Mill Road and Blue Creek Road, as related to Amacher in the filed petition.
Given that Amacher does not own the secondary property listed in the request, the legal owners are required to be provided with a written notice of inspection, which they may contest within a 30-day period. Action will not be taken until such time passes.
Amacher maintains ownership of the property on Ledford Mill Road, but she attests that any time spent on the Blue Creek Road property has been as a guest of her family, who own the property.
A permanent residence has not been completed on the Ledford Mill property, which Amacher has stated is due to damage from a tornado that struck in 2021, as well as unforeseen rising costs of building materials.
The topic of Amacher’s residency has been a matter of debate since her move from Macon Manor in February of 2021, six months after she took office. This move was prompted by a series of death threats following the release of a video of Amacher in late 2020, according to the alderman.
The original petition claims that Amacher no longer owns a residence within the city limits and has removed her primary place of abode from the city of Tullahoma, by operation of law and the plain language of the Charter of the city of Tullahoma. It further reads that by doing so, Amacher has vacated her position as alderman for the city of Tullahoma and forfeited her right to exercise the power of the office.
“I’m tired of it. That is not transparent government. It shouldn’t matter who you are or how much money you have; you should be treated the same,” said Amacher. “I don’t feel like that’s happened. I’ve had to fight that my land is agricultural, and I’m fighting for my kids to stay in school. I’m fighting with you to get out of my business and stop putting my personal information on Facebook! You tell me I’m getting special treatment? Come get you some then!”
Coinciding with the case filed and pursued by Northcott is Amacher’s own case against the Tullahoma City School system. The school system has requested multiple forms of proof that Amacher’s children reside within the district and, finding provided evidence insufficient, have requested that tuition be paid.
In court proceedings held on Thursday, Dec. 29, at the Coffee County Chancery Court, Judge Robert Carter recommended that Amacher pay the tuition and have it reimbursed, should she prevail in her case, given the timeline of students returning to school.
“Respectfully, I feel that paying the tuition would almost be an admission of not being a resident,” Amacher responded. “I’ve been advised not to do that. The other option, I guess, is I can move my kids’ schools. I was hoping to avoid doing that. I don’t want to do anything that’s going to preclude any of this and make it look like an admission.”
A special hearing was set for Tuesday, Jan. 3, with a motion to set a date of trial in the case pertaining to the Tullahoma City School system.
