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The Greeneville Sun Benchmarks Edition
GreenevilleSun.com
Saturday, March 27, 2021
USS Greeneville: Our Community At Its Best BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
real 362-foot-long ship as the USS Greeneville. hy name a “The christening was a happy, submarine after fun day in 1994,” said Dale Long, a Greeneville? longtime president of USS GreenAfter all, the No- eville Inc. lichuckey River’s not deep enough USS Greeneville Inc. became the for a submarine.” name of the group that won the In the late 1980s, some Greene Greeneville naming and continues Countians good-naturedly joked “to provide support, encourageabout that, after a grassroots team ment and friendship to the boat of citizens successfully began loband its crew,” Long said. bying the Navy to name a sub after Still thinking about a submarine the town. At the time, submarine presence in the town, USS Greennamesake towns were larger cities, eville Inc. proposed a Rubber Sublike Chicago, Louisville and Tucson. by Race for the town’s Big Spring Remembering the humorous and Richland Creek in the 1990s, Nolichuckey comments and similar to Rubber Ducky races knowing the real USS Greeneville conducted for other organizations could never come to East Tennesin the Knoxville area. see, community members built a The Rubber Subby Race didn’t 45-foot replica of the ship in 1999, happen here, after a couple of a star attraction of that year’s 3-inch test subbies got stuck in Greeneville Christmas Parade. Richland Creek, where the downSix years earlier, Tipper Gore, town waterway went under the wife of then-Vice President Al Gore, former Bernard’s Warehouse No. 2. had broken a Champaign bottle DiAnn Casteel, who was chair of over the real sub’s bow in Norfolk, the USS Greeneville Inc. MemberVirginia, o cially christening the ship Committee, said, “Our local
USS Greeneville committee has always sought ways to motivate and inform the community about our submarine.” While no Rubber Subby Races are planned, “we have fun with community projects and crewmember visits. Over the past couple of decades, crewmembers have talked in our local schools, done one-day civic projects and held get-togethers here.” Activities by the community have included recording of the “USS Greeneville Song” by Tusculum View Elementary School students under the direction of Carolyn Gregg and another USS Greeneville song by the Toby Jugg Band, a popular Southern rock band. “I still have the 45 RPM record of the Toby Jugg song,” Long said. In the late ‘80s, more than 30,000 people signed petitions requesting a USS Greeneville naming. Petitions and other materials were taken to Washington D.C. to show legislators how Greeneville would support the fast-attack nuclear ves-
“W
sel, if the naming were granted. A lot has been written about the USS Greeneville and her history over the years. However, whenever I ponder the USS Greeneville, I mostly think about pride, patriotism, community support and friendships. I think of my co-volunteers in USS Greeneville Inc. In my mind, I see Antoinette “Mama Zee” Zdaniewicz, Rose Harrison, Betty Ruth Alexander, Hal Jennings and so many other good Greene Countians. “Mama Zee” and Rose used to bring gigantic tubs of homemade desserts to USS Greeneville Inc. meetings, feeding more than 50 people at a time, with leftovers for us to take home. Betty Ruth and I were among a large delegation of Greene Countians who attended the boat’s commissioning ceremonies on Sept. 17, 1996, in Norfolk. We tried to clog to “Rocky Top,” performed by the Benny Wilson Band at the after-commissioning
celebration at the Omni Hotel. Betty was a good dancer, although I needed practice. I still do. Hal Jennings and I shared nearby “racks” (or bunks) on the USS Greeneville submarine when Dale, Hal, I and a dozen other local guys were guests aboard the Greeneville for five days in the mid-1990s, travelling from Norfolk to Port Canaveral, Florida. On the trip, we all briefly “drove” the boat, ate pizza prepared by Dale and other Greeneville chefs for the entire ship, and toured the areas of the boat for which we had security clearance, including where Tomahawk missiles are discharged. A trip highlight for me was sitting around a small table in petty o cers’ quarters of the submerged submarine and watching a VHS tape of “The Abyss,” James Cameron’s 1989 sci-fi film set on a submarine. “The movie got it wrong,” some of the petty o cers said. “You SEE USS ON PAGE 5
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USS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4
couldn’t do that with a submarine.” One of the o cers then chimed in, slapping his hand on the table, “Well, I don’t think, we’ll be meeting any space aliens in a submarine either.” The group erupted in laughter, and we finished the film. For me, the USS Greeneville is memories and future. I look forward to past and current USS Greeneville sailors and their families visiting Greeneville this summer to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our boat’s commissioning. We may not be able to get the USS Greeneville up the Nolichuckey River, but we can certainly hold the ship and her crew dear to our hearts. And, I think, as a whole, Greene County does exactly that. Brian Cutshall, director of Online Operations of The Greeneville Sun, U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MC2 RONALD GUTRIDGE has been a board member/publicity The Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Greeneville (SSN 772) returns to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after a six-month deployment to chair of USS Greeneville Inc. for the western Pacific region in this 2011 Navy photograph. three decades.
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Weekend Edition JUDD: A Lily Among Ashes Provides A Lesson At Union Chapel. 3A
SPORTS: Former Lady Husky Gets D1 Opportunity. 1B
An independent newspaper celebrating its 143rd year of service to Greeneville and Greene County
VOL. 143, NO. 152 | GREENEVILLE, TENNESSEE
3 SECTIONS | $1.50
SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JUNE 26-27, 2021
Vaccination Hesitation
USS Greeneville Sailors To Visit Next Week
Greene County Lags Behind State, Nation In COVID-19 Inoculation Rate
Several Days Of Activities Mark 25th Anniversary Of Submarine Named For City
BY SPENCER MORRELL STAFF WRITER
BY CAMERON JUDD Local residents Nick and Sarah D’Andrea were undecided on whether or not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The D’Andreas were wary of the vaccine and worried about how it may effect them. “We were worried because Sarah has asthma and diabetes, and we didn’t know if the vaccine would cause problems for her,” explained Nick D’Andrea, “We also were not sure if the shot would give us COVID.” However, their worries changed after Sarah D’Andrea became infected with COVID-19 in early April. She has been fighting for her life since then. Sarah D’Andrea was diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 10 and checked into Greeneville Community Hospital two days later. She would spend her birthday in the hospital, turning 40 on April 20. Her husband is 37. Sarah D’Andrea was put on a ventilator April 24 before being transferred to Johnson City Medical Center on April 28. On May 11 she underwent a tracheotomy, which is a surgical procedure that involves cutting the front of the neck open to establish a direct airway through the windpipe. Doctors then installed a tracheal tube in the incision in her neck, and this tube was attached to a ventilator to keep Sarah D’Andrea breathing. The next day she was moved to Select Specialty Hospital in Bristol. Select Specialty Hospital – TriCities is a critical illness recov-
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Sarah D’Andrea has had to relearn how to speak because of the tracheal tube in her neck which still provides oxygen. “We don’t know how long the tube will have to be in,” said Nick D’Andrea, “At least another month.” Sarah D’Andrea is out of imminent danger for now according to her husband, but their ordeal has changed their thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine. According to Nick D’Andrea, their hesitant stance on the
The sailors are coming to Greeneville next week, and local people are likely to see the nautical folk moving and even working among us. These are not just any sailors. They are past and present crew from the USS Greeneville submarine coming for a reunion and celebration in the town whose name their vessel bears. As a bonus, the timing allows them to participate in the town’s official Independence Day celebration, including serving, with their families, as grand marshals of the Independence Day weekend parade Saturday night. Plans are for the visitors to ride on a float in that parade, giving the people of two Greenevilles the chance to have a look at one another. Of particular relevance to the submariners is that the celebration next weekend honors not just the nation’s birthday, but the 25th anniversary of the USS Greeneville’s commissioning. A committee formed by USS Greeneville Inc. has been planning the weekend for months, much of that planning done while COVID-19 made it impossible to foresee just what would be possible in July 2021. With COVID’s impact now in decline, the committee has been able finally to work out more specific details for the celebrations.
SEE VACCINE, PAGE 11A
SEE SAILORS, PAGE 8A
SUN FILE PHOTO
Nurse Practitioner Tenicia Clark draws up a Pfizer vaccine during a clinic for students at Chuckey-Doak High School in May. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, about 36% of Greene County residents have gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That figure lags behind the state and nation.
ery hospital located on the fifth floor of Bristol Regional Medical Center. The hospital specializes in helping critically ill patients breath, speak, eat, walk, and think as independently as possible. “She was sent to Select Specialty to wean her off of the ventilator,” explained Nick D’Andrea, “We worried about her every day.” Sarah D’Andrea was successfully taken off the ventilator on June 5, 42 days after she was first placed on a ventilator. She was discharged from Bristol Regional Medical Center
on June 14, and transferred to Durham-Hensley Health and Rehab in Chuckey. There she underwent rehabilitation for 10 days to try to regain her strength. Seventy-three days after leaving home to check into Greeneville Community Hospital, Sarah D’Andrea was at last able to return to her home two days ago on June 24. However, Nick D’Andrea acknowledges that they are not out of the woods yet as Sarah will still have nurses coming in for home care to help her with physical and speech therapy.
Fire Destroys Greeneville House Friday left earlier and returned to find the house burning. “A gentleman was staying here. He walked to the store, and when he came A fast-moving fire Friday afternoon tore through a house at 325 Leonard St. back it was on fire,” Weems said. “On arrival, firefighters found the There were no injuries. Greeneville structure fully involved in fire. The firefighters confined the flames to the wood frame house, which burned to the house had been damaged in two preground. vious fires and was not connected to A neighbor called in the fire at electrical power, Weems said. 1:13 p.m. Friday, telling Greene County The fire was brought under control 911 “she heard an explosion and a in about 25 minutes. The house “was house is on fire.” mostly consumed by the fire,” Weems The caller “heard a lot of popping said. noises inside the house” as flames Weems said damage to two adjacent quickly spread throughout the older structures and two vehicles parked structure. in front of the house is estimated at The house was reported to be “fully $15,000. engulfed” at 1:15 p.m. “Firefighters protected exposures The occupant was confirmed to that were being damaged by radiant be out of the burning structure at heat from the fire,” he said. 1:24 p.m. A storage building with a red brick Greeneville Fire Marshal David SEE FIRE, PAGE 12A Weems said at the scene an occupant
BY KEN LITTLE STAFF WRITER
OBITUARIES
OUTSIDE
HAROLD EUGENE JEANNE L. ALLEN BURCHETTE JOHNSON JOHN EDWARD CREEDEN Sr. JULE DAVID HOPSON JERRY D. CALHOUN JOANN MYERS NORTON VICKIE GREGORY Obituaries on 10A
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The Greeneville Sun
GreenevilleSun.com
Saturday, June 26, 2021
FROM 1A
SAILORS FROM PAGE 1A
“It is a great honor to have the sailors come and celebrate their 25th celebration in our hometown,” said Dale Long, president of USS Greeneville Inc. “We continue close ties with the boat that bears our name. Please help us make them feel welcome!” Thursday will give the town and the sailors regional television exposure through a 10 a.m. talk show on Johnson City’s WJHL Television, “Daytime Tri-Cities.” That afternoon will find the visitors touring the campus of Tusculum University at 2 p.m., attending a Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting at 4, visiting the Greeneville Central Fire Hall at 4:45, and enjoying a Lyrics on the Lawn concert by the band Smooth Sailor between 6 and 9 p.m. Friday will be taken up mostly by private and invitation-only activities, with a pre-reunion luncheon at the General Morgan Inn. The day’s activities culminate from 4 to 10 p.m. with an invitation-only meet and greet event on the Terrace of the General Morgan Inn. Spouses of the crewmen will have the opportunity for a “Ladies Day Out” shopping/touring trip by bus starting at 8 a.m. Saturday. At 9 a.m., the crew members will begin work on selected community projects for Greene County Habitat for Humanity and the Town of Greeneville. Their work will extend into mid-afternoon. Greeneville’s Independence Day celebration starts Saturday at 5 p.m. downtown, heralded by a cannon-firing at the Niswonger Foundation. At 8:30 p.m., parade lineup will begin at Town Square Shopping Center, with the parade moving forward at 9:15 with sailors and families riding a float as grand marshals. A fireworks show at 10 p.m. will end the day’s official activities. The visitors will enjoy a Southern-style breakfast at First Presbyterian Church Sunday morning from 8 to 10 a.m. Golf at Link Hills Country Club will be available to the visitors, with tee time at 9 a.m. A downtown Greeneville walking tour for visitors is to begin at 10 a.m., with a private pool party and cookout at the residence of Dale Long, the man considered the “Father of the USS Greeneville” due to his conception and lead-
SUN FILE PHOTO
USS Greeneville Inc. President Dale Long, right, talks with a group of former USS Greeneville sailors during 2016’s USS Greeneville gathering here.
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
The USS Greeneville is shown at sea in this undated Navy photograph. SUN FILE PHOTO
Former crew members of the USS Greeneville and their families spent several hours painting and installing facade at Legion Field during their visit to Greeneville in 2016. The sailors are to perform further community service jobs during their visit here in the coming week.
ership of the project from its beginning and going forward. The culminating event of the Sunday will be a banquet gathering at 5 p.m. at the General Morgan Inn. For sailor families with small children, child care oversight and activities for the youngsters will be provided during the dinner. The USS Greeneville visitors will depart the next day, July 5.
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THE GREENEVILLE SUN
ACCENT EDITOR: LORELEI GOFF
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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2021
American Downtown: July 3 The Town of Greeneville’s American Downtown celebration will offer something for everyone on Saturday at the Big Spring area. The ninth annual celebration will begin at 4 p.m. with free live music, food, and kids activities behind the Greeneville-Greene County Public Library and will end with a nighttime Main Street parade and spectacular fireworks show at Greeneville High School. “We’re excited to return to a ‘normal’ celebration this year after 2020’s highly modified event under COVID-19 protocols,” said Amy Rose, public relations manager for the Town of Greeneville, in a release. “We think this year could be our biggest celebration, and we can’t wait to see the crowd that joins us to celebrate.” The Waste Industries Main Stage behind the Library will feature a variety of live music, from bluegrass and rock to hip hop and country. The music kicks off with a performance of the National Anthem by cast members of the Greeneville Theatre Guild at 4 p.m. After the National Anthem, local rock band Broke-N-Busted will take the stage, followed by the awards ceremony for the Youth Art Contest at 5 p.m. Next on the stage will be the Flying Js, fronted by local musicians John Brown and John Price, who not only bring classic country tunes but also share a laugh or two. At 5:45 p.m. the Possum Holler Boys will perform traditional bluegrass, followed by singer-songwriter Chris Johnson at 6:30 p.m. Contemporary bluegrass band Ten Penny Drive will perform at 7:30 p.m. and rounding out the night will be the hip-hop and rap artists of Imperial Inc., taking the stage at 8:15 p.m. “Our stage has always been a showcase for talented local musicians, and this may be one of the best lineups we’ve ever had,” Rose said.
HOT DOG CONTEST The Top Dog Hot Dog Eating Contest is returning this year after being cancelled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Organizers still have safety protocols in place,
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
The Andrew Johnson Bank Parade will begin at Towne Square Shopping Center on Summer Street at approximately 9:15 p.m. on July 3.
Bank Parade will begin at Towne Square Shopping Center on Summer Street at approximately 9:15 p.m. The parade will turn from Summer Street left onto Main Street and right onto Tusculum Boulevard, ending at Greeneville High School. When the final parade entry arrives at GHS, the fireworks show will launch from the hill behind Burley Stadium. Grand marshal for this year’s parade will be USS Greeneville crewmembers who are gathering in Greeneville for a 25th reunion. The parade will feature a variety of entries including floats, ATV’s, classic cars and trucks, walking groups, business and commercial vehicles, pageant winners, dancing troupes, clubs, civic organizations, churches, and more. “As always, we want our local veterans to join us so we can thank them for their service to our country. And this year, we also are asking essential workers like police, fire, healthcare workers and other emergency responders to join us near the front of the parade so we can thank them for their unwavering service during the pandemic,” Rose said. For more information on the parade, please contact Chan Humbert at 423-329-7400.
SPONSORS
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
The Top Dog Hot Dog Eating Contest is returning to American Downtown this year after being cancelled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
reducing the number of maximum entries to eight and providing enough space for social distancing among the competitors, the release says. Grand prize is $200, and second-place prize is $100, sponsored by Tony Jones Termite & Pest Control. The entry fee is $15. To enter, pick up a form at Town Hall, the Top Dog Hog Dog Stand, or call John Price at 423-6208340.
Competitors must be 18 years old or older.
KIDS ZONE Kids can enjoy a variety of activities in the Kids Zone, including a visit from a Greeneville Fire Department truck. A rock painting station will provide free rocks and paint, and other crafty activities, including sand art necklaces and special greeting cards. A bubble pool will
feature festive bubble wands, and sidewalk chalk will be provided for those who want to be artistic or share a festive message. Free patriotic goodies will be available while supplies last.
FOOD TRUCK RALLY Food vendors this year include: Top Dog Hot Dog Stand with Ella’s famous strawberry shortcake, Creamy Cup, Evia’s Little Buddies, Island Vibe Grill,
Project Waffle, Snappy’s Tacos, and Sno Biz. These vendors are planning to set up early for a Food Truck Rally beginning at noon in the Big Spring area. The early setup will allow everyone in downtown to enjoy a day full of delicious lunch, snacks, and supper from these vendors, Rose explained.
PARADE The Andrew Johnson
Thanks to generous sponsors, there are no admission charges for the celebration. In addition to Waste Industries and Andrew Johnson Bank, sponsors of American Downtown include: Ballad Health, Gateway Ford, Apex Bank, General Morgan Inn, Greeneville Federal Bank, Greeneville Flyboys, Greeneville Light & Power System, Greeneville Oil & Petroleum, MECO Corporation, TEVET, Consumer Credit Union, Creamy Cup, Food City, Gypsy Soul Market, Heritage Community Bank, John Deere Power Products, Miller Industries, Publix, Summers Taylor, and Walmart Logistics. For more information on any aspect of the celebration, please follow the Town of Greeneville on Facebook, visit www. greenevilletn.gov, or contact Rose at arose@ greenevilletn.gov or 423783-2860.
Clean Fun Coming To NPAC Henry Cho Will Perform July 23 With Limited Capacity Seating
I
f you’re in need of a night of laughter, look no further than the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Comedian Henry Cho will return to the NPAC stage on Friday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. The stand-up comic turned his life experiences growing up in the South into a comedy routine. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets range from $20-$30. Tickets are limited for this performance. Seating will be modified to a staggered seating pattern to accommodate 50% capacity, a release says. He’s appeared on NBC’s “The To-
night Show,” CBS’s “The Late, Late, Show,” and NBC’s “Young Comedians Special,” and the “Grand Ole Opry.” The 58-year-old Knoxville, Tennessee native also is known for the Comedy Central special “What’s That Clickin’ Noise,” now currently running on Netflix. He served two years as host of NBC’s “Friday Night Videos” and had many guest roles on various network sitcoms. Henry was co-creator, co-producer and co-writer of “The Henry Cho Show” on the Great American County cable network. Henry can also be heard daily on Sirrus, XM, Blue Collar Radio and Pandora.
Run in when you run out.
Some of Henry’s film credits include Universal’s “McHale’s Navy” with Tom Arnold and David Allen Greer; “Say It Isn’t So” with Heather Graham and Sally Field; and “Material Girls” with Hilary Duff and Angelica Houston produced by Madonna. Don’t miss Henry Cho on Friday, July 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30 for orchestra level seating, $25 for mezzanine seating and $20 for balcony seats. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased online at NPACgreeneville.com or by calling 423638-1679. The box office is currently closed for in-person transactions.
Specials Good Through June 30th. • Pepsi Brand 2 liters are 2 for $3 • Combos big bags are 2 for $4 • Body Armor 28 oz bottles 2/$4.00 • Jack Links 3.25 oz bags $4.99 each • Dr Enuf 12 oz bottles $1.19 each or 2 for $2
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Comedian Henry Cho will return to the NPAC stage on Friday, July 23. The stand-up comic who turned his life experiences growing up in the South into a comedy routine has many television, film and radio credits to his name, including “The Henry Cho Show” on GAC.
Arts & Leisure 2
THE GREENEVILLE SUN
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30, 2021
COMMENTARY
Han Young Featured In Online Exhibit
AP PHOTO/FRANK AUGSTEIN, FILE
In this May 21, 2020, file photo, Larry the cat walks outside 10 Downing Street, where Feb. 15 marked the 10th anniversary of the rescue cat becoming Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office to deal with a rat problem at the official residence of the British prime minister.
Not the Only Ones
I
would never have imagined any possible similarity between my residential address and Number 10 Downing Street, besides some brick in the construction. For those not familiar, 10 Downing Street is to the British government what our White House is to us. It’s where their sitting Prime Minister lives and has been since 1735, including such famous residents as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. In more recent history, though, just ten years ago, a pack of rats was seen near the official residence. The Prime Minister at that time, David Cameron, created a new position – Chief Mouser to the Cabinet – and brought in Larry to help with the problem. Larry is a handsome, A LOOK AROUND extremely photogenic PAIGE MENGEL white-and-gray-tabby cat, obtained through the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London, which is their local humane society. Apparently Larry was chosen by Battersea staff because of his personality and his penchant for playing with toys. As any cat person knows, though, “playing with toys” doesn’t automatically mean the cat is good at “catching live animals.” After two months of not chasing or catching any rats, Larry had to be coached by giving him toy mice in training. The British government has had a bit of fun with Larry and his position over the last decade. He has an official biography on their website that states, “Larry spends his days greeting guests to the house, inspecting security defences [sic], and testing antique furniture for napping quality. His day-to-day responsibilities also include contemplating a solution to the mouse occupancy of the house. Larry says this is still ‘in tactical planning stage.’” He even has his own Twitter account (@Number10cat). The public and the press have enjoyed Larry’s presence as well. A Google search provides several news stories and videos of Larry performing royal cat duties – sitting on the windowsill, being petted by dignitaries, and posing for photographs. Sometimes the policeman outside will knock on the iconic black door that sports ‘10’ in white numbers to alert the folks inside that Larry is waiting to be let in. Things aren’t always ideal for Larry, though. Royal felines aren’t exempt from political tensions between offices any more than their human counterparts. In 2016 a black-and-white tuxedo cat named Palmerston (also a rescue from Battersea) took up his post as Chief Mouser of the Foreign and Commonwealth Offices. It’s not clear whether Larry was threatened or if Palmerston just tried to take over, but there is video evidence of a couple of literal cat-fights on Downing Street. The police even had to break up one scuffle that resulted in a lost collar and medical treatment for Larry and a missing bit of ear for Palmerston. No formal charges were brought, though, and Palmerston left his office after about four years. Although Larry has reportedly only killed four mice since taking office, he’s been there for over ten years now, which is longer than any of the three Prime Ministers who have held the office in that span. Folks speculated that Larry might be ousted when Boris Johnson took over as Prime Minister after the 2019 election since Johnson is a dog person. But Larry’s position remains intact, and he’s still causing office staff and dignitaries alike to step over him and posing in embarrassing positions in the background of royal photos. On a morning like I had this week, when I was late to work because one of the porch kittens decided to play hide-and-seek in my car engine, I can’t help but take solace from some of the feline stories from Larry and 10 Downing Street. In 2019 during a visit from President Trump, Larry staged a bit of sit-in under Trump’s armored limo and refused to come out when the President was ready to leave. It’s comforting, somehow, to know that houses far grander than mine and people who are much more important can be just as inconvenienced and annoyed as I am at times, and yet still remain just as fond of those furry little four-legged monsters … er, felines. Greeneville native Paige Mengel is a Tusculum College alumna, CPA, arts admirer and Business Coordinator of Greeneville Theatre Guild. A Look Around is published every other Wednesday in Accent. Contact Paige at paigemengel@gmail.com.
The Greeneville Arts Council announces an online exhibit by Han Young from July 1 through July 31. In an artist’s statement Young said, “I am a fine artist and mainly paint realism in oil, watercolor and acrylic media. My favorite subjects include nature, landscape, still life, and modern abstract. “I was born in South Korea. I learned to work with watercolor and to do pencil drawings at a local art institute. I went on to attend college and majored in fine art. “I came to the United States in 2000. I started to paint realism. I became inspired by the beauty of nature in Florida. When I paint realism I always go for accuracy in my painting. It is actually amazing to see my art work looking like the real thing. I call it magic! Now I am painting the beauty of Tennessee nature!” The Greeneville Arts Council invites everyone to view Young’s exhibit online at greenevilleartscouncil.org. For more information about this or other exhibits, please contact Til Green, director of exhibitions, at 423-329-5366 or tilgreen724@yahoo. com.
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Penguins by Han Young
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Pink Roses by Han Young
Smooth Sailor Opens Lyrics On The Lawn July 1 Main Street Greeneville’s 2021 Summer Concert Series first show is Thursday, July 1 at 7 p.m. The free concert will be held on the lawn of the Dickson-Williams Mansion in the heart of downtown Greeneville, Tennessee. The concerts take place each Thursday evening in July. This week’s concert and the first one of the season will feature only one band, Smooth Sailor, beginning at 7 p.m. with intermission scheduled for 7:45 p.m. and taking the stage again at 8 p.m. For this first concert only, if severe weather occurs the concert may be moved to The Capitol Theatre, a sponsor of this concert. Should this happen, please be reminded the sailors and their families followed by the event sponsors and supporters will be given the first opportunity to attend the concert followed by the general public, so stay tuned to all forms of media for updates.
Smooth Sailor No stranger to Greeneville, Knoxville’s own Smooth Sailor charts a course for pure listening pleasure. This seven man band presents all the smooth golden hits from the 70s and 80s in a live experience that’s fun for all ages! A Hawaiian themed evening is in order so put on your best Hawaiian shirt or outfit and join in the fun. Get ready to rock and roll. Dancing is encouraged at all the concerts.
Special Opening Concert Salutes USS Greeneville Submarine 25th Reunion To get the reunion started and to show the love this community has for “our” boat and each sailor a very special concert has been planned in their honor by Capitol Theatre of Greeneville and TEVET, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business that sells electronic Test and Measurement equipment to the DOD and their prime contractors, a release say. When asked to sponsor,
ipate in this program. As a non-profit, we rely on the generosity of those in our community to support our efforts to revitalize our downtown. This match will help us move in the right direction after a year in which COVID devastated our fundraising efforts. We thank everyone for their generous donations.” The Lyrics on the Lawn series was created by Main Street: Greeneville in co-operation with the PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN Dickson-Williams HistoriSmooth Sailor presents all the smooth golden hits from the 70s cal Association as a way to and 80s in a live experience that’s fun for all ages. showcase regional musical talent. TEVET CEO Tracy Solomon vendors for this concert The Dickson-Williams said, “It’s the least I could Mansion is located at 108 include, Creamy Cup, do for my fellow shipNorth Irish Street, adjacent Island Vibe Grill, Munchie to the General Morgan Machine, Myers Farms mates!” Tracy served in the Kettle Corn and Main Street Inn in the heart of historic Navy from 2000 – 2006. downtown Greeneville, TN. Greeneville. Food service He also commented on how is scheduled to start at welcoming the crew was 6:00 pm. Note: Creamy when he visited the USS Event Partners Cup, Island Vibe Grill and Greeneville in 2015, “It was an unbelievable visit!” From Munchie Machine will loJoining The Capitol TheTracy and the TEVET team, cate across the street from atre and TEVET to bring they hope everyone enjoys the mansion. Main Street the community this conthe concert and their time Greeneville and Myers cert are Lyrics on the Lawn in beautiful Greeneville, TN. Farms Kettle Corn will be sponsors, known at press located near the stage. Othtime, Andrew Johnson Bank, Consumer Credit er options can be from the USS Greeneville SSN-772 Union, Gosnell’s Stereo & downtown area merchants. Music, Greeneville Federal USS Greeneville is a Los Bank, Greeneville Light & Angeles-class fast attack Family Friendly Power System, Heritage submarine, and the only Community Bank, Marsh vessel of the United States Lyrics on the Lawn Propane, Edward Jones InNavy to be named after concerts are family friendly Greeneville, Tennessee. The and open to all. Folks are vestments – Billy Endean, contract to build the boat encouraged to bring a lawn Skyline Restoration and was awarded to Newport chair or blanket. You are Maintenance, LLC, SouthNews Shipbuilding and Dry welcome to bring a picnic bound Real Estate and A. Dock Company in Newsupper. The event is Smoke Dave Wright Architect. Free with a designated area. Additional partners port News, Virginia, on 14 Please note pets are welof Main Street: GreenDecember 1988, and her keel was laid down on 28 come however they must eville helping to bring the February 1992. She was remain within the desigconcerts to life are the launched on 17 September Dickson-Williams Hisnated Fido Friendly area 1994, sponsored by Tipper during the event. torical Association, EMS, Gore, and commissioned on Aubrey’s, Creamy Cup, 16 February 1996. Depot St Nutrition, GenerDonations Being Matched The connection to the al Morgan Inn, Island Vibe Dollar for Dollar USS Greeneville is not Grill, Mamma T’s Eats & limited to only those in the Treats, Modern Woodmen Although the concerts immediate Greeneville area of America – Jake Otare free to attend, donabut the region as a whole tions are welcomed by tinger, Munchie Machine, due to the fact people were Main Street: Greeneville, a Myers Farm, Radio Greenemployed by companies non-profit 501c3 organizaeville, Road Show Mobile that made components tion. Donations collected at Stages, Sound Studio for Greeneville Industries the concert this year will be Live, Town of Greeneville, or Nuclear Fuel Services, matched, dollar for dollar, Public Works, Greeneville Inc. (NFS) the sole manup to $2500 by Modern Fire Department, and Woodmen of America’s Greeneville Police Departufacturer of nuclear fuel Matching Fund Program. for the U.S. Navy’s fleet of ment along with a host of Jann Mirkov, Main nuclear-powered air craft volunteers. Street’s Executive Direccarriers and submarines July 8th Lineup opens since 1964. with CHAZ followed by tor stated, “Words can’t headliner Mic Harrison and express how thankful we the High Score. Visit www. are to Vera Ann Myers Food Available mainstreetgreeneville,org and Modern Woodmen for for additional information. the opportunity to particOn site event food
GreenevilleSun.com
Thursday, July 1, 2021
The Greeneville Sun
Page 3A
LOCAL
USS Greeneville Celebration Begins A host of activities are planned for Greeneville, July 1-4, for the 25th Anniversary Celebration & Reunion for the town’s namesake submarine. Upon arriving in town, Robert Lane, the nuclear sub’s commanding officer, met with Dale Long, president of USS Greeneville Inc., and others to discuss the events, including service projects and the town’s Fourth of July celebration.
SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
Carrie Lane, wife of USS Greeneville Commanding Officer Robert Lane, and her dog Daphne were spotted at Aubrey’s in Greeneville Wednesday, after the Lanes arrived in town for the U.S. Navy submarine’s 25th Anniversary Celebration & Reunion. Daphne is already decked out for Independence Day, wearing a red, white and blue ribbon on her head and donning a patriotic cape. The out-of-town pooch seemed to make lots of new Southern friends, some possibly seeking fashion tips.
SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
Robert Lane, second from left, commanding officer of the USS Greeneville, makes a point, while discussing activities in Greeneville, July 1-4, for the 25th anniversary celebration of the nuclear submarine’s commissioning. Activities will include a reunion of past and current crew members, receptions, service projects, a parade and a banquet, all in Greene County. From left are: Bob Rediske, former USS Greeneville submariner, who now lives in Greene County; Lane; Lane’s wife Carrie with dog Daphne; Jonathan Render, “chief of the boat” (or top enlisted man on the USS Greeneville); and Dale Long, president of USS Greeneville Inc., which successfully lobbied the Navy to name a vessel after the town and maintains close ties with the boat. The Lanes and Render arrived in Greeneville Wednesday, meeting with Rediske and Long at Aubrey’s Restaurant.
American Downtown Shirts Available
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Wearing American Downtown T-shirts are, from left: Cathy Osborne, assistant to the city administrator; Chan Humbert, parade coordinator; and Todd Smith, city administrator. The shirts are available in a variety of sizes at Town Hall or during the event on Saturday.
T-shirts for Greeneville’s American Downtown celebration are now available. The shirts, commemorating the town’s ninth annual celebration on July 3, come in a variety of adult sizes, colors, and designs. New this year are shirts that feature the theme of the American Downtown Parade, “We All Live In A Greene Submarine.” The theme coincides with the 25th anniversary reunion of USS Greeneville crew members. The navy blue design on green tie-dye includes artwork of the actual USS Greeneville submarine. These submarine parade shirts can be purchased for $12 each at Greeneville Town Hall or during the event in the Big Spring area behind the Greeneville-Greene County Library. In addition to the new shirts commemorating this year’s parade, other shirts feature a navy blue design of an American flag, bald eagle, and the message “Catch the Spirit.” These shirts come in multi-colored tie-dye for $15 each, solid
neon green or solid neon pink for $10 each, or a limited supply of red and heather gray for $5 each. All proceeds from the shirt sales go back to the annual American Downtown celebration. The ninth annual American Downtown celebration starts at 4 p.m. at the Big Spring with live music, food trucks, and kids’ activities, followed by the Top Dog Hot Dog Eating Contest at 7 p.m., and a nighttime Main Street parade launching at 9:15 p.m., followed by a fireworks show at Greeneville High School. Admission is free, thanks to these sponsors: Waste Industries, Andrew Johnson Bank, Ballad Health, Gateway Ford, Apex Bank, General Morgan Inn, Greeneville Federal Bank, Greeneville Flyboys, Greeneville Light & Power System, Greeneville Oil & Petroleum, MECO Corporation, TEVET, Consumer Credit Union, Creamy Cup, Food City, Gypsy Soul Market, Heritage Community Bank, John Deere Power Products, Miller Industries, Publix, Summers Taylor, and Walmart Logistics.
IT HAPPENED HERE Two relatives involved in a physical altercation about 3 p.m. Wednesday at a house in the 2100 block of Pottertown Road in Midway were both charged with aggravated domestic assault, sheriff’s Deputy Peter Wellman said in a report. Charged were Billy A. Chamblin, 58, of 255 Peaceful Valley Lane, Bulls Gap; and Terry A. Chamblin, 42, of 2130 Pottertown Road. Terry Chamblin told deputies he was punched in the face. Billy Chamblin said he was struck in the head with a picture frame, the report said. Deputies were unable to determine a
primary aggressor. Both men had cuts on their heads but refused medical treatment. Both were held without bond pending first scheduled appearances Friday in court. Misty J. Clawson, 43, of 60 Mt. Hebron Road, was charged Wednesday afternoon by sheriff’s deputies with domestic assault and other offenses. Clawson was also charged with possession of a Schedule V drug, possession of drug paraphernalia and served an active arrest warrant for violation of probation. The alleged victim told deputes that she was shoved
911 Board To Hold Public Hearing Before Budget Vote The Greene County 911 Board of Directors will meet at 3:30 p.m. on July 13 in the conference room of the Greene County Annex, 204 N. Cutler St., to discuss and consider adopting the 2021-2022 fiscal year budget for 911 Dispatch. A public hearing will be held from 3:15 until 3:30 p.m. before the meeting.
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while trying to escort Clawson out of the house. A search of Clawson located a pill fob and cut straw with drug residue in one front pants pocket and two suspected Gabapentin pills in the other, the report said. Clawson was held without bond ending a first schedule appearance Friday in court. A man who allegedly exposed himself to a woman about 4:40 p.m. Wednes-
appear he was looking for day in the Walmart parking another parking spot, the lot will be issued an arrest report said. A traffic stop warrant for indecent on the van was made on exposure, a Greeneville East Andrew Johnson Highpolice report said. The woman called police after way near Walmart. The she walked to her car in a man denied the allegation, parking spot next to a van the report said. where a man was sitting. A rock was thrown through The man motioned her toward him and he exposed himself, the report said. The woman got in her car, locked the doors and called police as the man drove away, making it
the windshield of a 2013 Nissan sedan early Wednesday in the 900 block of Sinking Springs Road. The incident happened about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, sheriff’s Deputy Bobby Matthews said in a report. Damage to the windshield totals $300.
Contract Bridge
By Steve Becker
NEWS: Lyrics On The Lawn Opens At Capitol. 3A
SPORTS: Braves, Reds Get Walk-Off Wins. 1B
An independent newspaper celebrating its 143rd year of service to Greeneville and Greene County
VOL. 143, NO. 157 | GREENEVILLE, TENNESSEE
2 SECTIONS | $1
FRIDAY, JULY 2, 2021
Greeneville BMA OKs Water Rate Increase
A Tour Ashore
Board Welcomes USS Greeneville Sailors, Discusses Depot Street Project BY SPENCER MORRELL STAFF WRITER
how proud local residents are
The Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen gave unanimous final approval to a water rate increase after a public hearing Thursday. The Greeneville Water Commission will be raising water rates for the first time since 2015, with a hike that will increase the average customer’s monthly bill by about $2 according to Water Commission Superintendent Laura White. The 5% increase will go into effect Aug. 1. The monthly service fee will go from $8.50 to $9. The water rate for the first 1,000 cubic feet of water per month will increase from $1.30 per 100 cubic feet to $1.37 per 100 cubic feet. The water rate for the next 1,000 cubic feet per month will go up from $1.25 per 100 cubic feet of water to $1.31 per 100 cubic feet of water. All water used over 2,000 cubic feet per month will see a rate increase from $1.20 per 100 cubic feet to $1.26 per 100 cubic feet. The board also approved a resolution that will provide for $81,900 in IT upgrades at the G. Thomas Love Board Room in the Greeneville Light and Power Building. The funding will come from the $177,000 in COVID-19 relief money the city received from the Tennessee state government. “We have been struggling with audio and video issues in this room for a number of years,” noted City Administrator Todd Smith. “These upgrades will include new drop-down screens for the board to view, a new screen on the other side of the room, and two cameras at the back of the room that will automatically record the meetings,” Smith told the board. According to Smith the upgrades will also include a new interactive mobile system that will make presentations and programming much easier in the board room.
SEE SAILORS, PAGE 7A
SEE WATER, PAGE 6A
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
Dr. Scott Hummel greets the visiting USS Greeneville sailors outside of the campus welcome center.
USS Greeneville Sailors Look And Learn At Tusculum University BY CICELY BABB STAFF WRITER Thursday’s rain held off long enough for the USS Greeneville sailors’ tour of Tusculum University, which was among their first stops while they are visiting Greene County this week for the 25th anniversary of the nuclear submarine’s commissioning. Tusculum offers a full-ride scholarship each year to a USS Greeneville sailor or their spouse or children. The sailors were joined by some family members as well as Trevor Kahland, a rising Tusculum University senior attending the university cost-free through the scholarship program. His father Travis Kahland served on the vessel as a member of its first crew, and Kahland said he is studying environmental science and criminal justice with plans of becoming a park ranger or game warden in the area. The group was welcomed by Tusculum University
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
Chief of the Boat Jon Render, left, and Commander Robert Lane, right, presented Tusculum University President Dr. Scott Hummel, center, a new framed photo of the USS Greeneville. Hummel said he planned to hang it in his office on campus.
President Dr. Scott Hummel, who said in his first year in Greene County and in his
position at the university, one of the first things he learned about the area was
Greene County Volunteers Help In Search For Summer Wells BY KEN LITTLE STAFF WRITER Volunteers continue efforts to locate Summer Wells, the 5-year-old girl missing since June 15 from her Hawkins County home. Greene County volunteers have been among those making a maximum effort to locate the little girl, who was reported missing from the Beech Creek community. About 120 agencies from a multistate area have sent volunteers in the search for the little girl, according to the Church Hill Rescue
Squad. Between June 15 and last Sunday, there have been 1,150 searchers on the ground who logged 13,800 hours, a news release said. Among those were members of the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad. Rescue squad volunteers from Greene County have been to Hawkins County several times in recent weeks, Capt. Kevin “Bucky” Ayers of the rescue squad said. The first weekend after Summer Wells went missing, members of the SEE WELLS, PAGE 7A
OBITUARIES
CHARLES BEACH PEGGY JANE BOYD BEWLEY
State’s New Bathroom Sign Law Challenged Again BY KIMBERLEE KRUESI and California’s former ASSOCIATED PRESS Tennessee’s first-ofits-kind law that requires businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people use multiperson public bathrooms of their choice has been hit with another legal challenge. Mike Curb, founder of Curb Records in Nashville
Summer Wells
OUTSIDE
EDWARD GAIL HANEY BOBBY LYNN LAWSON Obituaries on 6A
Tonight — Mostly clear. Low around 53. Saturday — Sunny. High around 79. Sunday — Sunny. High around 85. Monday — Sunny & hot. High around 90. Tuesday — Chance of rain. High around 90.
www.g reenevillesun.com
lieutenant governor, filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday. In the complaint, Curb argues that the law violates his First Amendment rights because he is being forced to use the state’s “discriminatory message.” Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union SEE LAW, PAGE 7A
INSIDE
OPINION ..............2A LOCAL .................3A FAITH...................4A NATIONAL ............6A
STATE ..................6A SPORTS.............. 1B COMICS ..............8A CLASSIFIED ........ 5B
Page 6A
The Greeneville Sun
GreenevilleSun.com
Friday, July 2, 2021
OBITUARIES/STATE/NATIONAL/FROM 1A Peggy Jane Boyd Bewley
Bobby Lynn Lawson
Died: June 30, 2021
Died: June 24, 2021
Bobby Lynn Lawson, 62, of Mohawk, passed away MORRISTOWN — Peggy Jane Boyd Bewley, 78, of June 24. Bulls Gap, went to be with the Lord Thursday. Arrangements will be announced by Jeffers FunerShe was a life-time member of Robertson Creek Baptist Church. al & Cremation Service. Peggy retired from Magnavox after more than 30 years of service and was a member of the Eastern Star. She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years: Donald Duane Bewley; her parents: Charlie and Bobbie Boyd; BY JONATHAN MATTISE brothers: Miller Boyd and ASSOCIATED PRESS Raymond Boyd; and a niece: Delores Marsh. NASHVILLE (AP) — A white former Nashville Peggy is survived by police officer will plead guilty to voluntary mannumerous nieces, nephslaughter Friday just ahead of his first-degree murder ews, great-nieces and trial, three years after he fatally shot an armed Black great-nephews; and two fur babies: Roho and Maxie. man from behind during a foot chase, his attorney The family expresses a thank you to Peggy’s careconfirmed Thursday. Attorney David Raybin made the confirmation givers, Linda Wilder and Cathy Bowlin, Amedisys on behalf of former Officer Andrew Delke, who was Home Health of Rogersville, Fresenius Kidney Care of about to face trial for a first-degree murder charge Morristown, and her dear neighbors for all their care over the death of 25-year-old Daniel Hambrick in and support. July 2018. The shooting occurred before the death The family will receive friends from noon until 2 p.m. of George Floyd and the trial would have come after Saturday in the East Chapel of Allen Funeral Home. the conviction and sentencing of Derek Chauvin in Funeral services will follow at 2 p.m. in Allen Chapel Floyd’s murder. East with the Rev. Jonathan Bewley officiating. Delke, 27, submitted his resignation Thursday, MetInterment will be Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Hamblen ro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Memory Gardens. Aaron said. Delke had been decommissioned, which
Lawyer: Former Nashville Officer Reaches Plea Deal In Man’s Death
Edward Gail Haney Died: June 29, 2021 Edward Gail Haney, 83, of Johnson City passed away Tuesday at his home. He is survived by his wife: Alice Haney; children and their spouses: Eddie and Barbie Haney, Yvonne Thomas, and Julie and Marty Ayers; grandchildren: Amanda and Ricky Schmidt, Jackie and Brandon Hirschauer, Juan Camacho, Dalton Haney, John Knotts and Alexis Franklin; 13 great-grandchildren; a brother and sister-in-law: Carmen and Brenda Haney. He was preceded in death by his parents: Walter and Anna Mae Haney; children: Sonja Haney and Sheila Murphy; grandchildren: Serenity Fortulis, Timothy Murphy, Luke Knotts and Brittany Murphy; and brothers and sisters: Hubert Haney, Lawrence Haney, Franklee Haney, Juanita Haney, Dana Haney, Wilein Haney and Crawford Haney. He will be laid to rest in River Hill Cemetery with no formal services. Jeffers Funeral & Cremation Services are in charge of the arrangements.
Charles Beach
means he had to turn over his gun but was able to work a desk job and still get paid. The attorney for Hambrick’s family, Joy Kimbrough, said Hambrick’s mother, Vickie Hambrick, was not contacted or consulted and did not know about the plea deal until after it was done. Kimbrough said the deal includes a three-year prison sentence. Raybin declined to comment on any sentence length. A spokesperson for District Attorney Glenn Funk said he could not confirm anything. After COVID-19 delays and pretrial back-and-forth, jury selection was slated to start next week in the case. The trial was going to center on a handgun Hambrick was holding that Delke claims was pointed at him for a moment, which prosecutors dispute and video footage doesn’t show. Prosecutors focused on surveillance footage that captured the shooting, in which Delke stops chasing and shoots the fleeing man. Defense attorneys have contended there was a 36-foot blindspot and plenty could have happened there. There were dozens of cameras, and defense attorneys contended that it was possible that more footage was caught of that blindspot, but wasn’t reviewed by investigators before it was automatically overwritten on the system. The month after the shooting, Funk released surveillance footage of the shooting publicly, sparking wider attention and outcry. Delke was charged in September 2018, and the shooting caused enough backlash that voters that November installed a community oversight board for Nashville’s police department. Convicting an officer for an on-duty death remains a tall order. Since 2005, there have been 143 nonfederal sworn law enforcement officers with arrest powers arrested for murder or manslaughter resulting from an on-duty shooting throughout the U.S., with only 45 convicted of a crime resulting from the on-duty shooting, according to a tally from Bowling Green State University criminal justice professor Philip Stinson.
Trump Organization, CFO Indicted On Tax Fraud Charges BY MICHAEL R. SISAK AND TOM HAYS ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Trump himself was not charged, but prosecutors noted that he signed some of the compensation checks at the center of the alleged scheme. It is the first criminal case to come out of New York authorities’ two-year investigation into the former president’s business dealings. According to the indictment unsealed Thursday, from 2005 through this year, the Trump Organization and Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg cheated the state and city out of taxes by conspiring to pay senior executives, Weisselberg included, off the books, by way of lucrative fringe benefits and other means. Both Weisselberg and lawyers for the Trump Organization pleaded not guilty. Trump has said his company’s actions were standard practice in the business and in no way a crime. James Repetti, a tax lawyer and professor at Boston College Law School, said a company like the Trump Organization would generally have a responsibility to withhold taxes not just on salary but on other forms of compensation. Another prominent New York City real estate figure, the late Leona Helmsley, was convicted of tax fraud in a federal case that arose from her company paying to remodel her home without her reporting that as income. The case against Weisselberg and the Trump Organization is being led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats. Vance, who leaves office at the end of the year, has been conducting a wide-ranging investigation into a variety of matters involving Trump and the Trump Organization, such as hush-money payments paid to women on Trump’s behalf and whether the company manipulated the value of its properties to obtain loans or reduce its tax bills. In announcing the grand jury indictment, Carey Dunne, the top prosecutor in the district attorney’s office, outlined a 15-year scheme “orchestrated by the most senior executives” at the Trump Organization, the entity through which the former president manages his many ventures. Weisselberg came under scrutiny in part because of questions about his son’s use of a Trump apartment at little or no cost. Weisselberg’s son Barry — who managed a Trump-operated ice rink in Central Park — paid no reported rent while living in a Trump-owned apartment in 2018, and he was charged just $1,000 per month — far below typical Manhattan prices — while living in a Trump apartment from 2005 to 2012, the indictment said. Allen Weisselberg himself, an intensely private man who lived for years in a modest home on Long Island, continued to claim residency there despite living in a company-paid Manhattan apartment, prosecutors said. By doing so, Weisselberg concealed that he was a New York City resident and avoided paying more than $900,000 in federal, state and city income taxes, instead collecting about $133,000 in refunds to which he was not entitled, prosecutors said.
Died: June 30 2021 Charles Beach, 83, of Midway, passed away Wednesday. Arrangements will be announced by Jeffers Funeral & Cremation Service. Family Owned and Operated Richard and Justin Jeffers
FUNERAL
423-639-2141
& CREMATION SERVICE
CHARLES BEACH Incomplete
EDWARD GAIL HANEY No Formal Services Interment, River Hill Cemetery
SUN PHOTO BY SPENCER MORRELL
Sailors from the USS Greeneville stand at Thursday’s Greeneville Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting.
BOBBY LYNN LAWSON
WATER
Incomplete
Funeral Home 423-638-4141 • www.doughty-stevens.com ARLENE JONES DEATHERAGE Interment, 11 a.m. Friday Zion Cemetery, Baileyton
BILLY EUGENE LAWSON Funeral, 2 p.m. Saturday Doughty-Stevens Chapel Interment, Mosheim Central Cemetery
Kiser-Rose Hill Funeral Home 125 Idletime Drive • Greeneville, TN 423-638-3121 www.kiserrosehillfuneralhome.com FRED ALLEN RADER Funeral, 7 p.m. Friday Kiser-Rose Hill Chapel Interment, 11 a.m. Saturday GreeneLawn Memory Gardens
KENNETH HAL TRANTHAM Funeral, 7 p.m. Saturday Greeneville First Church Of God Interment To Be Scheduled
Tusculum Monument Co. Quality Monuments 111 Tusc. Blvd.
638-5546
Jeffers
Dan Jeffers
Brian Jeffers
increase is for capital projects the school system will undertake. The board also gave approval for the Greeneville Police Department to purchase a new vehicle, and to apply for a grant that would provide the department with funding for the purchase of 22 bulletproof vests.
the project all at one time. “I don’t think we should take a second look at not replacing the FROM PAGE 1A culvert,” Teague said. “They would run us all out of town if we dug that street up again in two years.” Howard Audiovisual Services will The board agreed with Teague’s undertake the project. sentiment that the culvert should most likely be replaced. USS GREENEVILLE Alderman Cal Doty was resolute in DEPOT STREET DISCUSSED his urgency that the project finally Thursday’s meeting was moved begin. from the normal scheduling on the At the end of the meeting the “I am very much in favor of movfirst Tuesday of each month to acBoard of Mayor and Aldermen again addressed the Depot Street revitaling forward,” Doty said. “I believe commodate scheduling with U.S.S. Greeneville sailors in town for the ization project, but did not officially if we don’t do it now, that some of those buildings that have not been 25th anniversary of the submarine’s vote on any measures. taken care of will crumble. If we put commissioning. However, the board did maintain it off another six months we’ll never Sailors from the USS Greeneville its present course of working with get it done.” submarine attended Thursday’s meet- Summer-Taylors’ bid instead of Daniels shared Doty’s sense of ing and received a proclamation from putting out the project to rebid. determination. Summers-Taylor submitted the Mayor W.T. Daniels. Daniels officially “Over the years we have looked at only bid for the project last month, declaring July 1 as USS Greeneville 12 plans for this project,” Daniels an $11.4 million bid that was well Day in the Town of Greeneville. over the city’s estimates, and the city said. “This is the twelfth. I agree Daniels made sure the sailors knew that the town is proud of them, has been in talks with the contractor with Cal that if we put it off six months it will never get done. We and that they are always welcome in since then in an effort to work the have to move forward.” bid down to a more palatable numGreeneville. Daniels expressed his belief that “You are all Greenevillians,” ber for the town. Daniels told the sailors. “This is your Smith gave an update to the board a healthy and vibrant downtown benefits the all residents of the city home. It was in the past, it is now, on the discussions with Sumand county. and it always will be.” mers-Taylor, and noted that some “Downtown is the nucleus of The sailors then presented Daniels options for decreasing costs had Greeneville,” Daniels said, “like with a photo of the U.S.S. Greenbeen found. Greeneville is the nucleus of Greene One option would be not totally eville’s last port call in Guam before County.” the COVID-19 pandemic brought the replacing the culvert under DeThe board members expressed submarine home to the U.S. pot Street as originally planned. hope that they would be able to In other business, the board However, this culvert could need formally accept the bid from Sumauthorized $35.9 million in school to be replaced and repaired in the funding for the 2021-22 fiscal year. next few years anyway, and Aldermers-Taylor and officially get the This is an increase from last year’s man Tim Teague expressed concern project underway at their July 20 school budget of $34.7 million. The about the prospect of not completing meeting.
GreenevilleSun.com
Friday, July 2, 2021
The Greeneville Sun
Page 7A
FROM 1A
SAILORS
LAW
FROM PAGE 1A
FROM PAGE 7A
of the USS Greeneville. “Very quickly I recognized how proud Greeneville and Tusculum are of the relationship with the USS Greeneville,” he said. Hummel discussed the university’s long history as an institution of higher education where former president Andrew Johnson learned. He also said that George Washington gave an early donation of $100, which he noted “was worth a lot more in his day.” Then, Hummel joined the group on their tour led by Robert Zirkle, a Tusculum graduate and enrollment representative. Zirkle and Hummel focused much on Tusculum’s history, including both the Garland Library, which sailors learned was originally a Carnegie Library, and the President Andrew Johnson Library and Museum. Zirkle also pointed out the Old Oak. “Tusculum is the oldest university in Tennessee, and that tree was here before Tusculum,” Hummel told the group. The tour also included visits to newer parts of campus including the cafeteria, the gym and the Meen Center, but the libraries were highlights for sailor Cole Jorgensen of Franklin, Tennessee, and Chief of the Boat Jon Render, originally from Dallas, Texas. “The library was amazing,” Jorgensen said after the tour. “I really liked seeing all the old books in the old library, and where they said they had Andrew Johnson’s deathbed,” Render said. “That definitely stuck out to me to be able to walk through there and see a bunch of 1800s volumes.” Render said the group enjoyed the tour overall and that he planned to bring plenty of information about Tusculum back to the ship so sailors interested in attending, potentially on the annual scholarship Kahland has, can learn more. “It’s a beautiful campus. We were all talking about that,” he said. “We’re going to get a bunch of materials from there to take back to the boat and make sure its available to the sailors. We’ve got at least one sailor that just recently got out who is interested, and I’m sure some others will be.” Render also said the group’s visit to Greeneville, his first time visiting, has been off to a good start. “People have been awesome. As we’ve started making the rounds, everybody has been super welcoming and friendly,” he said. Commander Robert Lane, originally from Houston, Texas, and
filed a separate lawsuit arguing similarly that the law illegally requires businesses to “communicate a misleading and controversial government-mandated message that they would not otherwise display.” The ACLU suit names the state fire marshal, state codes enforcement director and two district attorneys as defendants. Meanwhile, Curb’s suit names Gov. Bill Lee, Attorney General Herbert Slatery and Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk. A spokesperson for Slatery said his office will represent the state but declined to comment further. Funk, who is also named in the ACLU lawsuit, has said his office “will not promote hate” and won’t enforce the law. With the threat of misdemeanor penalties, the law requires that the following sign be posted in bold, uppercase letters outside public multiperson bathrooms, locker rooms or changing rooms wherever transgender people are not prevented from using the facilities of their choice: “This facility maintains a policy of allowing the use of restrooms by either biological sex, regardless of the designation on the restroom.” It’s one of five new Tennessee laws this year that have drawn backlash from LGBTQ advocates. The law went into effect Thursday. However, it’s unclear if and how it will be implemented throughout Tennessee. In June, Republican Senate Speaker Randy McNally told reporters he doesn’t think the requirement will be enforced. “The enforcement of that will be at the local level. We’ll watch and see how that goes,” Lee, a Republican, told reporters this week.
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
The USS Greeneville sailors paused on their Tusculum University campus tour to take a group photo at the arch. Dr. Scott Hummel, president of the university, and Robert Zirkle, an enrollment representative who led the groups tour, joined the photo at the far left and right.
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
After pausing for a group photo in front of the Tusculum University arch, Robert Zirkle, left, continues the campus tour.
also a first-time visitor to Greeneville, echoed the sentiment. “The amount of support and pride in Greeneville has been overwhelming. It’s amazing,” Lane said.
squad members have volunteered their assistance,” Holt said. FROM PAGE 1A Ayers said volunteer firefighters from departrescue squad deployed to the Beech Creek area three ments including Mosheim times. and United also spent time “We were staged out of a looking for Summer Wells. church there and we went Harold Williamson, chief down from the church of the Mosheim Volunteer toward the residence for Fire Department, said about a mile in the area Thursday that on June they thought she might be 18 he and six Mosheim in,” Ayers said. firefighters “searched Volunteers from the res- several hundred of acres along with other agencies cue squad spent the first weekend night looking for throughout the entire the missing girl. They were day.” The United Volunteer deployed by Scott Stewart, Fire Department disa captain in the Hawkins County Rescue Squad and patched six volunteers, Tennessee Association of and a member of the NewRescue Squads Region I mansville Volunteer Fire vice president. Department also partici“We were basically in pated in the search. with our own group. It’s “A lot of the terrain all mountain area, rough was very rough getting terrain and wooded area,” through but we all made Ayers said. sure to cover every inch of Twelve members of the what we was assigned to rescue squad were part of cover. All searchers done a the first search group, with fantastic job and I know I others participating in greatly appreciated every subsequent searches. single one of them,” WilThe rescue squad is liamson said. always busy with emergen“We all had a very imcies in Greene County, but portant job to do and we members remain willing all wanted to have a good to help however they can, outcome. Unfortunately, Ayers said. we all was unable to find “If we get a call again Summer that day, which and if we get enough peowas very sad for all of us,” ple to go, we’ll go back,” he he said. The volunteer searchers said. “We want to help if we can. I know there’s lots “had many fenced-in fields to cross, which made it of volunteers over there even that much harder to who have helped.” cross from one area to the Greene County Sheriff Wesley Holt said last week next.” “The heat really took that deputies have participated in the search for the a toll on everyone that searched that day and a 5-year-old. lot of the other days also. “Yes, we have had I respect each and every officers assist. In addiagency that has came out tion, many volunteer fire to search from across Tendepartments and rescue
WELLS
Lane and Render presented Hummel with a new framed photo of the vessel, which Hummel said he was eager to hang in his office. “It is a great honor and privilege to host these guys and give
nessee and other states,” Williamson said. As of last Sunday, 120 agencies from Tennessee, Ohio, Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina assisted in the search efforts, according to the Church Hill Rescue Squad. The Tennessee Highway Patrol, Appalachian Mountain Rescue, Great Smokey Mountain National Park rangers, numerous K-9 Teams and other agencies with specialized search training have participated. More than 3,000 acres have been searched since Summer Wells went missing. “The terrain and conditions have exhausted crews both physically and mentally. We are still utilizing local and regional resources, but have called upon and are utilizing resources from middle and west Tennessee along with out-of-state resources to bring a fresh set of eyes and rested bodies,” the Church Hill news release
them a tour of our beautiful and historic campus. We appreciate their service over 25 years, and we are honored to give an annual scholarship to them or their families,” Hummel said.
said. The search has since been scaled back “and efforts will continue on a more specialized team basis as needed and directed from local, state, and federal agencies,” the release said. The Hawkins County Rescue Squad was called in shortly after Summer Wells was reported missing. “The support that search crews have received from community, Hawkins County, area region, state of Tennessee, and neighboring/other states has been unbelievable and very much appreciated by everyone involved,” a rescue squad social media post said. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation continues to search for a pickup truck that had been seen in the area around the time Summer disappeared. The truck is described as a 1998 to 2000 maroon or red Toyota Tacoma. It may
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have a full-bed ladder rack and white buckets in the truck bed. “We want to stress that this individual is not a suspect, but is a potential witness who may have heard or seen something that may help us in our search for Summer,” the TBI said in a statement. Summer Wells has blonde hair, blue eyes, stands 3 feet tall and
weighs approximately 40 pounds. She was reportedly last seen wearing grey pants and a pink shirt and may have been barefoot. Anyone with information about Summer Wells can contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office at 423-272-7121. Tips can be emailed to TipsToTBI@tn.gov.
Weekend Edition JUDD: How An Insistent 4-year-old Saved A Life. 3A
SPORTS: Schofield To Speak At Boys And Girls Club Dinner. 1B
An independent newspaper celebrating its 143rd year of service to Greeneville and Greene County
VOL. 143, NO. 158 | GREENEVILLE, TENNESSEE
3 SECTIONS | $1.50
SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 3-4, 2021
Judge Wright’s Service Recognized By State Lawmakers BY KEN LITTLE
makers from the counties that Wright serves gathered at the Greene County Courthouse to present him with a State lawmakers know copy of the proclamation. how much soon-to-retire Wright, who informed Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Wright has contributed to Gov. Bill Lee in May that he will retire on Sept. 1, was the court system in over 20 grateful for the recognition. years on the bench. Also at the presentaState Sen. Steve Southerland decided to do sometion were several judicial colleagues of Wright and thing about it. On June 7, the Tennessee courthouse employees who have worked with him for State Senate approved a proclamation to “honor and years. “I appreciate your being commend” Wright for his service. On Friday, state law- here and coming up and preSTAFF WRITER
senting this proclamation. It means the world to me to be recognized by my representatives in state government,” Wright said. “I just want you to know how much you have meant to me and I appreciate your friendship.” “I appreciate you. You’ve done a great job,” Southerland, R-Morristown, told Wright. Southerland was instrumental in putting the proclamation honoring Wright before the state Senate. “I’ve known the judge for
several years and he has done an excellent job and he will be missed greatly,” Southerland said. “I hope get gets to enjoy his grandchildren now.” The 3rd Judicial District includes Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins counties. Wright has presided over numerous cases in each county. Among other lawmakers gathered at the courthouse to honor Wright were Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville; Sen. Frank Niceley,
R-Strawberry Plains; and Rep. Rick Eldridge, R-Morristown. Also present were Circuit Court Judge Alex E. Pearson and Criminal Court Judge John F. Dugger Jr. The proclamation states that Wright “has demonstrated the utmost professionalism, ability, and integrity, winning the unbridled respect and admiration of his fellow members of the bench and the bar, the SEE WRIGHT, PAGE 11A
Mission, Special Bond Go On
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/STS1 (SS) R.W. BACA
USS Greeneville Commander Robert Lane speaks at a press conference Friday on the terrace of the General Morgan Inn & Conference Center. Members of the USS Greeneville crew are in town this weekend celebrating the 25th anniversary of the submarine’s commissioning and Independence Day with residents of the boat’s namesake city.
USS Greeneville Will Be Around Awhile, CO Says To Namesake City BY CAMERON JUDD
properly dealt with, and new fuel is put in place. Lane was in Greeneville with 11 of the boat’s crew to celebrate Though the USS Greeneville the 25th anniversary of the is eligible for decommissionnuclear fast-attack submarine ing, Navy officials instead have approved it for refueling, which named after this town. Also in means the boat could remain in town are former crew members, service as long as about 20 years with more expected to arrive more, Commander Robert Lane Saturday. The sailors are lodgsaid in Greeneville Friday. ing with host families or staying The boat “could be around for in local hotels as they help the a long time to come,” he said Town of Greeneville celebrate during a press conference on the Independence Day. terrace of the General Morgan USS Greeneville crew memInn & Conference Center. bers and their families will serve Refueling a nuclear submarine as grand marshals in the town’s is a months-long process due Fourth of July parade, which to safety protocols necessitated begins at 9:15 p.m. in the downby the nuclear fuel, Lane said town area, and caps off with after the press conference. fireworks at 10 p.m. This means the boat will be The celebration leading up to dry-docked for about two years SEE USS, PAGE 8A while spent fuel is removed and ASSISTANT EDITOR
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/STS1 (SS) R.W. BACA
Bob Rediske, a member of the USS Greeneville crew when the submarine was commissioned 25 years ago and now a resident of Greene County, speaks Friday at the news conference.
OBITUARIES
CHARLES THOMAS BEACH BOBBY LYNN LAWSON Sr. NITA PARK MORRISON
Lynn
DAN CAMPBELL NOEL MARCIA ‘Beth’ RIGGS Obituaries on 10A
The Town of Greeneville’s American Downtown celebration will offer something for everyone on Saturday at the Big Spring area, the town said in a news release. The ninth annual celebration will begin at 4 p.m. with free live music, food, and kids’ activities behind the Greeneville-Greene County Public Library and will end with a nighttime Main Street parade and fireworks show at Greeneville High School. “We’re excited to return to a ‘normal’ celebration this year after 2020’s highly modified event under COVID-19 protocols, said Amy Rose, public relations manager for the Town of Greeneville. “We think this year could be our biggest celebration, and we can’t wait to see the crowd that joins us to celebrate.” The Waste Industries Main Stage behind the library will feature a variety of live music, from bluegrass and rock to hip hop and country. The music kicks off with a performance of the National Anthem by members of the Greeneville Theatre Guild at 4 p.m. After the National Anthem, local rock band Broke-N-Busted will take the stage, followed by the awards ceremony for the Youth Art Contest at 5 p.m. Next on the stage will be the Flying Js, fronted by local musicians John Brown and John Price, who not only bring classic country tunes but also share a laugh or two. At 5:45 p.m. the Possum Holler Boys will perform traditional bluegrass, followed by singer-songwriter Chris Johnson at 6:30. Contemporary bluegrass band Ten Penny Drive will perform at 7:30, and rounding out the night will be the hip-hop and rap SEE DOWNTOWN, PAGE 11A
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The Greeneville Sun
GreenevilleSun.com
Saturday, July 3, 2021
STATE/FROM 1A
THP Steps Up Enforcement Over Holiday Weekend The Tennessee Highway Patrol will conduct “a variety of traffic safety initiatives and utilize data-driven enforcement strategies” during the Fourth of July holiday period, according to a news release. The goal is “to help reduce serious injury and fatal crashes across the state,” the release said. The THP traffic safety campaign began at 6 p.m. Friday and concludes at 5:59 a.m. Tuesday. During last year’s 84-hour
Fourth of July holiday period, 13 people were killed. Of those 13 traffic crash fatalities in 2020, nine were vehicle occupants, two were motorcyclists, and two were pedestrians. Of the fatal crashes, six of the fatalities were alcohol-related. It is “the deadliest time of the summer for teens,” according to the release. “Over the past three years, the first two weeks of July have been the deadliest stretch for teenagers,
Sixteen teenagers were killed between July 1 and 14 during the three-year span. Statistics compiled by the THP show the deadliest few days of the period have been July 5 though 8, when 11 of those fatalities occurred. “Losing someone you love is heartbreaking,” said Jeff Long, commissioner of the The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security. “Imagine a day without a family member, friend, co-worker, or teammate.
Please help us to eliminate this heartache by driving the speed limit, wearing your seat belt, and never driving distracted or under the influence,” Long said. THP Col. Matt Perry said that troopers “are committed to preventing fatal traffic crashes.” “This should be the goal of every motorist. I have emphasized to our troopers that the strict enforcement of hazardous traffic violations such as speeding, distracted driving, driving
under the influence, and seat belt enforcement, will help us to accomplish our goal of preventing fatalities,” Perry said. The THP will maximize manpower by using predictive analytic data. “This data will aid supervisors in scheduling troopers to patrol target areas with historical data that indicates where an increase of future alcohol-related, serious injury or fatal crashes may occur during the Fourth of July holiday period,” the
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/STS1 (SS) R.W. BACA
John Render, current chief of the boat on the USS Greeneville, said it is “a joy to be in Greeneville” at the news conference Friday.
release said. Troopers will also conduct saturation enforcement patrols, sobriety, and seat belt checkpoints to help keep citizens safe. During the 2020 Fourth of July holiday period, state troopers arrested 50 individuals statewide on suspicion of impaired driving and cited 119 motorists for seat belt law violations. Law enforcement asks anyone who sees an impaired or reckless driver to dial 911 or THP (847).
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/STS1 (SS) R.W. BACA
Greeneville’s Dale Long, president of USS Greeneville, Inc., told the sailors Friday that “Greeneville loves you people, and this is your home.”
SUN PHOTO BY CAMERON JUDD
USS Greeneville crew members past and present and their families were welcomed to a “meet-and-greet” event Friday evening at the General Morgan Inn. Signing in at far right is Eric Carlson, who is a “plank owner,” or a member of the submarine’s original crew.
USS FROM PAGE 1A
the culminating events kicks off at 5 p.m. today with some of the sailors firing a cannon on the grounds of the Niswonger Foundation at 223 N. Main St. John Render, current chief of the boat, or COB, greeted the town and declared it is “a joy to be in Greeneville.” He also described the duties associated with his job on the boat, Former USS Greeneville COB Stan Simmerman amplified Render’s comments, noting that, in his view, a COB’s job is one of the most important ones in the U.S. Navy. The COB position on a submarine is particularly challenging in that the COB must understand almost every function on the boat and be prepared to respond to a wide array of situations that could arise. He described the job as providing an “interface between the commanding officer and the crew members.” Simmerman also spoke of his first visit to Greeneville soon after the boat was named, and how he and other uniformed Naval personnel stood in line at a local McDonalds, where some young men proudly informed them that they were in a town whose name was on a US Navy nuclear submarine. Greeneville’s Dale Long, president of USS Greeneville, Inc., recounted the grassroots history of how the boat came to be named after this small East Tennessee town, and assured the sailors that “Greeneville loves you people, and this is your home.” Bob Rediske, a “plank holder” of the boat, (Navy jargon meaning that he was was a member of the crew
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/STS1 (SS) R.W. BACA
Tyler Haley of Maryville and Cole Jorgenson from Franklin are the only Tennessee natives in the current crew of the USS Greeneville.
Keep up with the Vols!
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/STS1 (SS) R.W. BACA
Trevor Kahland, the son of a USS Greeneville crew member who is attending Tusculum University on a scholarship set aside for members of the submarine’s crew and their families, speaks at the news conference.
when the submarine was commissioned) now lives in Greene County and in his comments praised the submarine and the town for which it is named. Other former crew members are house-hunting in Greene County now, he said. Trevor Kahland, 21-yearold son of plank owner Travis Kahland, expressed his appreciation for Greeneville and his happiness at being able to attend Tusculum University through the USS Greeneville Scholarship. He has about a year of school remaining and is looking toward a career involving forestry. At present, Kahland works at Aubrey’s restaurant while attending school and does volunteer work in Cherokee
National Forest. Being in Greeneville for the past three years has given him a love of the mountains here. “I’m not going back to Nebraska anytime soon,” the native Nebraskan said. Mat Tanner, former fire control technician on the USS Greeneville, briefly explained the origin of the “plank holder” or “plank owner” phrase. It goes back to the early days of sailing, when ships were made of wood. Original sailors on those ships were given a plank from the ship in honor of their status. Eventually, USS Greeneville plank owners will receive some small piece of the submarine whenever it is decommissioned, he said.
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GreenevilleSun.com
Saturday, July 3, 2021
The Greeneville Sun
Page 11A
FROM 1A
Judge Selection Process Follows Specific Procedure BY KEN LITTLE STAFF WRITER
SUN PHOTO BY KEN LITTLE
Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Wright, who recently announced he will retire Sept. 1, was presented Friday by state lawmakers from the 3rd Judicial District with a Tennessee Senate proclamation recognizing Wright for his distinguished service on the bench. Attending the presentation at the Greene County Courthouse were, from left, Rep. Rick Eldridge, Rep. Gary Hicks, Sen. Frank Niceley, Sen. Steve Southerland, Wright, Rep. David Hawk, Circuit Court Judge Alex E. Pearson and Criminal Court Judge John F. Dugger Jr.
WRIGHT FROM PAGE 1A
parties appearing before his court, and the citizens of the State of Tennessee.” Wright was commended in the proclamation for “his exemplary tenure as a Circuit Court judge in the 3rd Judicial District, applaud his commitment to justice and impartiality under the law, and extend to him our best wishes for every continued success in his future endeavors.” Judicial colleagues spoke highly of Wright. “Tom’s a scholar. He knows the law. He’s done well on the bench and now it’s time to enjoy retirement and his new grandchildren,” Criminal Court Judge John F. Dugger Jr. said. Circuit Court Judge Alex E. Pearson said Wright has provided leadership from the bench throughout his tenure. “He’s been a pleasure to work with. I consider him a friend,” said Pearson, a Circuit Court judge since 2014. “Any time you lose a person who has been a judge for a number of years, a figure of stability, there will be big shoes to fill,” Pearson said. Wright, of Greeneville, has practiced law since 1984 and has served as a Circuit Court judge since 2006. He previously served as Greene County General Sessions
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/PENNEY DAVIS
Three judges who have served thousands of hours on the bench in the Greene County Courthouse were among a group gathered Friday at the presentation of a proclamation by the Tennessee Senate recognizing the service of 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Wright, at center. Wright will retire Sept. 1. At left is Circuit Court Judge Alex E. Pearson. At right is Criminal Court Judge John F. Dugger Jr.
and Juvenile courts judge from 1998 to 2006. Wright was reelected without opposition in 2014 to the Circuit Court judgeship, which has an eight-
year term ending in 2022. Wright said he has spoken with two people and heard of a third who have expressed interest in the Circuit Court judge position.
They are Greeneville lawyer Crystal Jessee, 3rd Judicial District Assistant District Attorney General Bradley Mercer and Rogersville lawyer William E. Phillips.
The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts will oversee the process of naming a replacement for 3rd Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Wright upon his retirement. Wright formally informed Gov. Bill Lee in a May letter that he plans to retire Sept. 1. Lee will send an official notice to the Trial Court Vacancy Commission to post the vacancy. “This comes to the Administrative Office of the Courts. The timing of this notice is up to the governor. It could be before Sept. 1, or maybe after,” AOC spokeswoman Barbara Peck said in an email answer to questions. The Circuit Court judgeship term of office expires in 2022. The person appointed by Lee must run for election for an eight-year term in August 2022. Here’s how the judicial selection process works: Once the AOC receives official notice of the vacancy from the governor’s office, the vacancy will be posted on the tncourts.gov website, under the judicial resources tab. A news release announcing the vacancy will also be generated, Peck said. The deadline to apply for the judicial position is usually two weeks after the vacancy is posted, Peck said. “There is an official application. The application deadline is strictly enforced. A news release is sent out on the day of the application deadline. It includes links to the applications,” she said. The Trial Court Vacancy Commission will review applications and interview references. Meanwhile, a public hearing will be held in the 3rd Judicial District, which includes Greene, Hamblen, Hancock and Hawkins counties. The location has not yet been specified,
DOWNTOWN FROM PAGE 1A
artists of Imperial Inc., taking the stage at 8:15. “Our stage has always been a showcase for talented local musicians, and this may be one of the best lineups we’ve ever had,” Rose said.
HOT DOG CONTEST The Top Dog Hot Dog Eating Contest is returning this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Organizers still have safety protocols in place, reducing the number of maximum entries to eight and providing enough space for social distancing among the competitors. Grand prize is $200, and second-place prize is $100, sponsored by Tony Jones Termite & Pest Control. The entry fee is $15. To enter, pick up a form at Town Hall, the Top Dog Hog Dog Stand, or call John Price at 423-6208340. Competitors must be 18 years old or older.
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN
A large crowd gathered to watch the hot dog eating contest in 2019. The contest will be returning at this year’s celebration.
art necklaces and special greeting cards. A bubble pool will feature festive bubble wands, and sidewalk chalk will be provided for those who want to be artistic or share a festive message. Free patriotic goodies will be available while supplies last.
FOOD TRUCK RALLY KIDS ZONE Kids can enjoy a variety of activities in the Kids Zone, including a visit from a Greeneville Fire Department truck. A rock painting station will provide free rocks and paint, and other crafty activities include sand
Food vendors this year include Top Dog Hot Dog Stand with Ella’s famous strawberry shortcake, Creamy Cup, Evia’s Little Buddies, Island Vibe Grill, Project Waffle, Snappy’s Tacos, and Sno Biz. These vendors are planning to set up early
for a Food Truck Rally beginning at noon in the Big Spring area. The early setup will allow everyone in downtown to enjoy a day full of delicious lunch, snacks and supper from these vendors, Rose said.
PARADE The Andrew Johnson Bank Parade will begin at Towne Square Shopping Center on Summer Street at approximately 9:15 p.m. The parade will turn from Summer Street left onto Main Street and right onto Tusculum Boulevard, ending at Greeneville High School. When the final parade entry arrives at GHS, the
fireworks show will launch from the hill behind Burley Stadium. Grand marshals for this year’s parade will be USS Greeneville crew members who are gathering in Greeneville for a 25th reunion. The parade will feature a variety of entries including floats, ATVs, classic cars and trucks, walking groups, business and commercial vehicles, pageant winners, dancing troupes, clubs, civic organizations, churches and more. “As always, we want our local veterans to join us so we can thank them for their service to our country. And this year, we also are asking essential
workers like police, fire, healthcare workers and
but Wright’s office is in Greeneville. “During the public hearing, anyone can speak out against a candidate,” Peck said. After the public hearing, judge candidates will be publicly interviewed. The interview will be held immediately following the public hearing on the same day and at the same place the hearing is held. Candidates will make an opening statement and then be interviewed by the members of the Trial Court Vacancy Commission. After interviews are concluded, TCVC members vote on the candidates. “How a member voted is not public,” Peck said. The top three candidates will be recommended to the governor, who usually interviews each candidate, Peck said. Lee will then make his selection. “There is no timeline. (Lee’s) selection is announced via a news release from his office,” Peck said. If the vacancy is not filled by Sept. 1, “other judges in the judicial district will pick up more cases,” Peck said. “If they take over a case already assigned to Judge Wright, it is an interchange. If the Supreme Court assigns a judge from outside of the judicial district, it is a designation. If the caseload in the district becomes too much for the sitting judges, a senior or retired judge can be utilized through the designation process,” Peck said. Wright has indicated his willingness to stay on as judge until Lee names a successor. The presiding judge for the judicial district is charged with managing the caseloads for the district and can initiate interchanges, she added. A designation request is sent to the AOC for designations, which are approved by the state Supreme Court chief justice.
other emergency responders to join us near the front of the parade so we can thank them for their unwavering service during the pandemic,” Rose said. In addition to Waste Industries and Andrew Johnson Bank, sponsors of American Downtown include Ballad Health, Gateway Ford, Apex Bank, General Morgan Inn, Greeneville Federal Bank, Greeneville Flyboys, Greeneville Light & Power System, Greeneville Oil & Petroleum, MECO Corporation, TEVET, Consumer Credit Union, Creamy Cup, Food City, Gypsy Soul Market, Heritage Community Bank, John Deere Power Products, Miller Industries, Publix, Summers Taylor and Walmart Logistics.
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Carrying on the tradition
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Explosive Start Kicks Off ‘Best Ever’ Celebration The cannon was set off at least four times and generated a deafening boom and great cloud of smoke with each blast. Both observPast and present crew members of the USS ing and taking part in the firing were present and former submariners of USS Greeneville, Greeneville nuclear submarine came town quietly late last week, then on Saturday made including some past commanding officers, or COs, of the boat. One of the latter, Lorin their presence known in a literally explosive Selby, is now a U.S. Navy rear admiral. manner. After a quick tour through the Niswonger The sailors officially signaled the kickoff Foundation building Saturday, the sailors of the town’s Independence Day celebration had some afternoon free time to join the by firing a cannon four times on the lawn local celebration or enjoy other activities. of the Niswonger Institute headquarters on With moderate weather for the first half Main Street just after 5 p.m. What sounded of the day, and with COVID-19 far less of a like bombardment of the town actually was concern than it was last year, the day seemed a loud beginning to what an event organiztailor-made for a community celebration. er called the best local Independence Day The Big Spring area between the downtown celebration to date. library and the State of Franklin capitol Most of the sailors involved in the cannon replica was crowded, as was the neighboring shoot wore T-shirts provided for the noisy, parking area of Walters State Community smoky event. Officers and current crew College, where food vendors had long lines of members were in uniform. The submariners had just completed a morning of work on community projects. SEE CELEBRATION, PAGE 7A
BY CAMERON JUDD ASSISTANT EDITOR
SUN PHOTO BY CAMERON JUDD
As white-clad USS Greeneville personnel look on, a cannon blast on the lawn of the Niswonger Foundation marks the official opening Saturday of the weekend celebration of Independence Day.
Scale, Details Of Massive Ransomware Attack Emerge
Giving Back To Greeneville
BY FRANK BAJAK AP TECHNOLOGY WRITER BOSTON (AP) — Cybersecurity teams worked feverishly Sunday to stem the impact of the single biggest global ransomware attack on record, with some details emerging about how the Russia-linked gang responsible breached the company whose software was the conduit. An affiliate of the notorious REvil gang, best known for extorting $11 million from the meat-processor JBS after a Memorial Day attack, infected thousands of victims in at least 17 countries on Friday, largely through firms that remotely manage IT infrastructure for multiple customers, cybersecurity researchers said. REvil was demanding ransoms of up to $5 million, the researchers said. But late Sunday it offered in a posting on its dark web site a universal decryptor software key that would unscramble all affected machines in exchange for $70 million in cryptocurrency. Earlier, the FBI said in a statement that while it was investigating the attack its scale “may make it so that we are unable to respond to each victim individually.” Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger later issued a statement saying President Joe Biden had “directed the full resources of the government to investigate this incident” and urged all who believed they were compromised to alert the FBI. Biden suggested Saturday the U.S. would respond if it was determined that the Kremlin is at all involved. Less than a month ago, Biden pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop giving SEE ATTACK, PAGE 6A
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
A large crew of current and former USS Greeneville sailors and Habitat for Humanity volunteers worked together to construct a ramp leading to Sarah Gregory’s back door.
Sailors’ Service Projects Benefit Local Residents “We’ve been helping clear out some old stuff from the second floor of the house, building a ramp, doing some landscaping and Current and former USS Greeneville sailors painting the porch,” said former USS Greenparticipated in several service projects to ben- eville Captain Gabe Anseeuw, who was part of efit their ship’s namesake town on Saturday. the crew at Gregory’s house. Projects included four houses where sailors Vicki Culbertson, executive director of teamed with Habitat for Humanity volunteers Greene County Habitat for Humanity, exto work as well as the Greeneville Greene plained that the four projects on which sailors County Public Library and the Roby Fitzcollaborated with regular Habitat volunteers included a range of tasks, as at Gregory’s gerald Adult Center. The sailors and other volunteers worked from 9 a.m. Saturday until home. “We’re just doing some things that these a little before 2 p.m., when they traveled to the home of Sarah Gregory on Newport High- families need done inside and outside the way for a lunch of Chick-fil-A and homemade house,” she said. “If you’re elderly or you have a disability, it can be hard to do some things baked goods. for the upkeep of the home, so we’re just tryGregory’s home was one of the sites where sailors were working on with local Habitat for ing to help out with some of those things.” Humanity volunteers. Gregory was active in volunteer and church
BY CICELY BABB STAFF WRITER
OBITUARIES
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outreach work in the community until last year, when she and her husband Dale both contracted COVID-19. “Dale and I got sick in October, and he passed away here at the house on the 16th,” Gregory said. For four days after the loss of her husband, Gregory said, she stayed alone in the house until, after she failed to answer or return her daughter Ellen Pittman’s multiple concerned phone calls, Pittman arrived with law enforcement for a welfare check, and Gregory was airlifted to the hospital. “The ER nurse told me that if I hadn’t come when I did, she’d have been gone,” Pittman said. Gregory said she was given a 10% chance SEE PROJECTS, PAGE 8A
INSIDE
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GreenevilleSun.com
Monday, July 5, 2021
The Greeneville Sun
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FROM 1A
SUN PHOTO BY CAMERON JUDD
Kristina Whaley was one of several youngsters who took advantage of face-painting opportunities at the Greeneville July 4 weekend celebration. Soon after this photograph was made, Kristina’s father, Ray Whaley, went on to become second-place winner in the hot dog eating contest.
CELEBRATION FROM PAGE 1A
hungry customers throughout the day. Amy Rose, Greeneville public relations manager, said Sunday precise figures on attendance throughout the day were not known, but generalized it as “thousands.” Rose told The Greeneville Sun, “Our ninth annual event was our best ever, especially our nighttime parade. We had record participation and our largest crowd of spectators. The weather was perfect, and it was great to see so many people of all ages come out to celebrate with us. I think they were ready to get out and get together following the past year.” She praised the team of people who worked to bring the celebration about, including John Brown and John Price, who kept the stage shows running and also performed together in their band The Flying J’s. Price, who operates a hot dog vending cart in Greeneville, operated his hot dog stand and also provided Nathan’s brand hotdogs for one of the day’s most crowd-drawing events, a hot dog-eating contest styled after the famous contest on Coney Island. This year’s contest sponsors were Top Dog, which is Price’s business, and Tony’s Restaurant. The 2021 winner was Brad Broyles, giving him three consecutive victories in the contest. He downed 10 hotdogs, just missing the contest’s record of 11, set by Broyles himself in 2019. Broyles said he prepared for the contest by stomach-stretching, eating 3.6 pounds of watermelon the previous day, along with 1.6 pounds of mixed vegetables and great volume of fluids, plus an additional half-gallon of water he drank early in the afternoon of the event. Coming in second was Ray Whaley, who devoured seven hotdogs, then afterward told a reporter in seeming seriousness that he was going to “get something to eat.” Though there is no thirdplace honor given in the contest, first-timer Daniel Willis got down one hotdog per minute in the five-minute eating time. Another first-timer, Greeneville’s Phil Shelton, entered the contest at the last second, stepping in when an entrant failed to show and a volunteer for the pre-paid contest slot was sought from the crowd. A relative of Shelton’s whispered to a reporter that Shelton was just entering “for the free food.” The jovial, high-spirited man managed to down two hotdogs and
a large bite of a third one during the allotted time. The well-attended parade began about 9 p.m., with the SUN PHOTO BY CAMERON JUDD Greeneville’s Scott Niswonger, foreground with back to camera, photographs sailors of the USS Greeneville on the lawn of USS Greeneville delegation the Niswonger Foundation Saturday evening. leading the way on their flatbed truck and receiving cheers, applause and greetings as they progressed. The crowd for the parade near the main downtown library was so big that it was difficult for some of the largest parade vehicles to make it through, Rose said. Businesses, churches, both major political parties and a few state and local political figures all took part in the parade, which began as the day waned and ended in the dark. Rose said that parade winners were: first place Gypsy Soul Market; second place Andrew Johnson Bank; and third place Apex Bank. Rose said that Chan Humbert, parade coordinator, “knocked it out of the park.” Fireworks kicked in at 10 p.m. Saturday night, filling the sky above the GHS stadium area with multi-colored light and reverberating sound. Rose said of the day: “This SUN PHOTO BY CAMERON JUDD event would not happen Lines at food vendor booths stretched out long at Greeneville’s downtown holiday celebration Saturday afternoon. without the hard work of volunteers and city employees and the generous support of our sponsors.” Sponsors were Waste Industries, Andrew Johnson Bank, Ballad Health, Gateway Ford, ETI Transportation, Apex Bank, General Morgan Inn, Greeneville Federal Bank, Greeneville Flyboys, Greeneville Light & Power System, Greeneville Oil & Petroleum, MECO Corporation, TEVET, Consumer Credit Union, Creamy Cup, Food City, Gypsy Soul Market, Heritage Community Bank, John Deere Power Products, Miller Industries, Publix, Summers Taylor, and Walmart Logistics. On Sunday, sailors took PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/AMY ROSE part in a poolside gathering A parade under darkening skies drew a large crowd of observers to downtown Greeneville Saturday evening to honor and cookout at the home of Dale Long, who is considered American independence as well as visiting sailors of the USS Greeneville submarine, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the “the father of the USS Green- town’s namesake boat. eville” in that he was the originator and driving force of the effort to get a submarine named for the town. The culminating event of the holiday weekend turned the spotlight back on USS Greeneville sailors, who gathered with locals and other visitors for a closing SUN PHOTOS BY CAMERON JUDD banquet at the General MorFireworks filled Greenevillle skies with fire and color Saturgan Inn Sunday evening. day night. Highlights of the approximately three-hour banquet, which included many speakers and presentations, will be be covered in the Clips to Keep column in Wednesday’s edition of The Greeneville Sun.
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Monday, July 5, 2021
FROM 1A
SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
Lots of work goes on by USS Greeneville and Greene County Habitat for Humanity volunteers on George Malone Road Saturday.
SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
Mike Mercer, USS Greeneville sailor, cuts brush at a community service project on George Malone Road.
PROJECTS FROM PAGE 1A
of surviving the ordeal, but after 72 days in the hospital, she was discharged. She stayed with Pittman for some time before returning to her home in January, and she is still recovering from the illness and missing the man she said she was always in love with since they were young and growing up together in Greene County. “It was hard being here just me. I miss him, and I miss doing our prayer cloth ministry with him, but I will see him again,” Gregory said. Gregory explained that as members of Crossroads Church, on a weekly basis, she and Dale anointed and prayed over prayer cloths, which they would bring to hospitals and nursing homes to give away. “Dale was full of life and laughter, and he loved his family,” Gregory said. Despite her significant trials in the past year, Gregory said she is blessed and that she was thankful for the crew at her home on Saturday. “I am beyond blessed. God has put a lot of good people in my life,” she said. She said she will never forget the crew at her home Saturday. “It’s been great seeing old shipmates and meeting new ones all for the good of the community we signed up to serve,” Anseeuw, a Florida native who captained the submarine from 2014-2017, said. Anseeuw said he was in town for the weekend before he will take
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
Sailors and volunteers worked together to repaint Sarah Gregory’s porch.
over as captain for the USS Florida, and that this trip is not his first to Greeneville. “There’s something special about Greeneville,” he said, adding that the local pride in and bond with the ship parallels the high quality of the ship and its crews. “The ship has always been above par, and the crews are always incredible,” Anseeuw said. Culbertson agreed “the sailors are incredible. They were the ones who asked to work with us and to
do a project. They are just awesome, and we are honored to work with them.” Commander of the Boat Robert Lane said the community service work began with the 20th reunion visit in 2016, when visiting crew members participated in a project to give the West Summer Street baseball complex Legion Field a face lift. “The group wanted to do something to support and give back to the community that shares our
name,” he said. This year, in the 25th reunion and Lane’s first time visiting Greeneville, Lane was helping to build a ramp for a community member and clearing out some brush that was growing into the homeowner’s carport, Lane said, before he joined the other current and former crew members, volunteers and community members at Gregory’s home for lunch. “We’re so happy we were able to come out and work on these proj-
ects. I think the guys really got a lot out of it,” Lane said. “We are just honored to have this opportunity to work with these sailors and to have the chance to help four families in the community who are in need,” said Culbertson. She said with the sailors’ help, Saturday was the biggest service day for Greene County Habitat for Humanity. “We have never done anything to this scope where we have done a blitz of houses like this,” she said. In a press release she wrote that in addition to the jobs done at Gregory’s and similar ones at the other sites, other tasks included pressure washing, cleaning gutters and replacing batteries in smoke alarms and bulbs in overhead light fixtures. Including Gregory’s, three ramps were constructed Saturday and a fourth was cleaned and painted with a protective sealant. “The homeowners were overjoyed to receive the help,” Culbertson wrote. “It was a beautiful day filled with hard work, joy, laughter, and compassion leaving us with a greater respect for all these USS Greeneville sailors and gentlemen.” “We’ve had a great time doing all these events and interacting with the community,” Lane said. “This has been awesome.” “These selfless, hardworking sailors left a positive impact in our community, giving of themselves and their time to help others. Their caring, kindness and willingness to help others they’ve just met is remarkable,” Culbertson wrote. “This, my friends, pure and simple, is the meaning of ‘humanity.’”
SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
John Render, USS Greeneville Chief of the Boat, drills into a new handicapped-accessible ramp at the Newport Highway residence of Sarah Gregory. The COB was one of numerous current or past USS Greeneville sailors who participated in Greene County service day projects at four Habitat for Humanity worksites, the Roby Adult Center and the Greeneville/Greene County Library on Saturday.
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
USS Greeneville sailors worked with Habitat for Humanity volunteers on many projects Saturday, including the construction of multiple ramps.
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
SUN PHOTO BY CICELY BABB
USS Greeneville Commander Robert Lane, former Captain Gabe Anseeuw, President of USS Greeneville Inc. Dale Long and Greene County Mayor Kevin Morrison talk on Saturday after enjoying lunch together with current and former USS Greeneville crew members and volunteers.
Sarah Gregory holds a photo of herself with her husband Dale, who passed away shortly after they both contracted COVID-19 in October. Gregory is sitting with her daughter Ellen Pittman and grandchildren 5-year-old Eliza and 3-yearold Henry.
“It’s a blessing,” says Rose Britton (second from left) of ramp construction at her home Saturday, in a joint project of USS Greeneville sailors and Greene County Habitat for Humanity. “It’s a real blessing,” she added, after watching workers, who also cleared brush on her George Malone Road property. Beside Britton is her granddaughter Erica Cooter.
Brandon Farmer, board member of Greene County Habitat for Humanity, stands in front of a ramp construction site that united Habitat and USS Greeneville volunteers.
SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
From left, former USS Greeneville Commanding Offers Scott Waddle and Gabriel Anseeuw enjoy a brief break at a home improvement site on Newport Highway Saturday. The site was one of six Greeneville-Greene County improvement sites during the USS Greeneville 25th Anniversary Celebration & Reunion. In the background, sailors Sam Lanier and David Williams (on ladder) continue working.
SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
ACCENT: Crowds Celebrate Downtown.
SPORTS: Team USA Comes To Pioneer Park. 1B
An independent newspaper celebrating its 143rd year of service to Greeneville and Greene County
VOL. 143, NO. 161 | GREENEVILLE, TENNESSEE
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 2021
Plan To Prevent Youth Opioid Abuse Takes Shape BY KEN LITTLE STAFF WRITER Input from Greene County youths at risk from becoming victims of opioid abuse is helping to shape an innovative program to address the issue. The plan to implement a
grant to help prevent opioid misuse by youths in rural counties like Greene is moving forward. University of Tennessee Extension, in partnership with the Greene County Anti-Drug Coalition, East Tennessee State University and the University of Wash-
‘Know That The Greeneville Is Out There’
ington received a two-year grant called PROMPT TN. The grant was announced in 2020. Planning associated with it has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. An important component of the process is a needs assessment survey filled out by 866 students that will
help “measure the need for prevention services among youth in the areas of substance abuse, delinquency, anti-social behavior, and violence,” said Linda Flanagan, program assistant for Greene County Extension who coordinates the Tennessee PROMPT initiative.
PROMPT stands for Preventing Rural Opioid Misuse through Partnerships and Training. The PROMPT program seeks to identify factors that put youth at risk using the “Community That Cares” model. A volunteer board to help shape the program,
the Community That Cares Board, was formed in 2020. Flanagan said last week that the CTC Board has reviewed the youth surveys and will meet in August. The plan is in phase three of a fivephase planning process. SEE OPIOID, PAGE 7A
Olde Greene Farmers Exchange
USS Greeneville Purpose Is To Deter Aggression, Former CO Says
I
n a world in which the international atmosphere resembles that of the Cold War, the most important role of the USS Greeneville today is deterrence, the 11th commanding officer of the boat, Marty Muckian, said Sunday night at the banquet that capped off the 25th anniversary reunion of the boat’s crew and officers. The well-attended banquet was held in the General Morgan Inn and brought together personnel of the boat and people CLIPS TO KEEP of the town CAMERON JUDD for which the boat is named. Though the atmosphere of the gathering was celebratory and light-hearted on the whole, Muckian also took time to address the serious purpose of military submarines such as the USS Greeneville. Muckian said that, despite the nuclear submarine’s ability to wage war, the real purpose of the boat is not to wage war, but to deter it. Muckian was one of six former commanding officers of the boat who spoke at the banquet. The current CO, Robert Lane, also spoke. Leaders of powerful nations “know that the Greeneville is out there,” Muckian said, and also know what the submarine is capable of doing. Because of that, problematic nations such as Russia and China, if inclined to aggressive hostilities against the United States, are far less likely to act on those inclinations. The message the mere presence of the USS Greeneville delivers daily to potential opponents, he said, is that “today is not the day” for hostile action. At present the world’s largest navy is that of China, he said, and the Russian
SUN PHOTO BY SPENCER MORRELL
Vendors serve customers at The Olde Greene County Tennessee Farmers Exchange on Tuesday afternoon at Fox Park on the corner of East McKee and Main streets.
Hot Weather Doesn’t Deter Vendors, Customers
H
SUN PHOTO BY SPENCER MORRELL
SEE JUDD, PAGE 7A
Vendors showed off a bounty of vegetables and homemade goods.
OBITUARIES
ELLEN DEREY BOLES LINDA EARLINE BOWMAN ANN G. CARTER SHANNON G. GOSNELL ALLEN KYLE GUINN
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JOHN GARLAND JONES RONALD CHARLES STEVENS WILLIAM WILLETT Obituaries on 6A
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ot weather did not keep vendors and customers from The Olde Greene County Tennessee Farmers Exchange on Tuesday afternoon at Fox Park on the corner of East McKee and Main streets. Vendors showed off their vegetables and homemade goods to customers in the shade. Temperatures touched 90 degrees on Tuesday, one of the hottest days of the year so far. The National Weather Service forecast calls for temperatures in the 80s the rest of the week, but gardeners in the area should not worry as there will be a good chance of showers each day through the weekend to keep gardens from drying out. The Farmers Exchange is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays throughout the summer and fall. Vendor fees are $5 and benefit the Greeneville-Greene County History Museum.
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From Maryville To Maritime
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN/ETSU
From left are Jacob Metz, Adam Miller, Katelynn Lowe, Dan Boner, Becky Buller, Tim Stafford and Justin Alexander.
ETSU Band, Alums Climb Bluegrass Music Chart With New Song SUN PHOTO BY BRIAN CUTSHALL
Tyler Haley, a USS Greeneville sonar technician and Maryville native, stands in the foreground on the General Morgan Inn Terrace after a Friday news conference that announced activities included in the submarine’s 25th Anniversary Celebration and Reunion, which concluded Sunday night. Eleven current crewmembers and scores of former crewmembers of the nuclear submarine participated in the celebration and reunion, held in the submarine’s namesake town. Events included a parade in which sailors were grand marshals, community service projects for Habitat for Humanity and the Town of Greeneville, receptions, a banquet and recreational activities.
Fire Destroys Old Mountain Road Barn A fire that started shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday destroyed a barn at 820 Old Mountain Road. No injuries were reported. Owner Jeffery Sauceman told sheriff’s deputies he was burning a brush pile in
front of the barn and left the fire untended. When he returned, “The whole barn was engulfed in flames,” Deputy Eric Cutshall said in a report. The first call to Greene County 911 Dispatch came
in at 6:52 p.m. Tuesday. The Camp Creek, Sunnyside and Tusculum volunteer fire departments responded and extinguished the blaze. Unspecified items were stored in the barn, which is valued at $8,000.
IT HAPPENED HERE value of $380. Two possible suspects are named in the report.
A shed was vandalized between Monday night and Tuesday in the 5900 block of West Andrew Johnson Highway, sheriff’s Deputy Chris Shuffler said in a report. The shed was intact at 5:30 p.m. Monday. When the owner returned Tuesday morning, windows were broken, along with ketchup bottles “with ketchup everywhere,” the report said. Similar vandalism happened in July 2020, the shed owner told deputies. Damage is estimated at $500.
The theft of a chain saw on June 14 or 15 from under a mobile home in the 1100 block of Carters Valley Road in Mosheim was reported Tuesday to sheriff’s deputies. Screws on a small door on the underpinning of the trailer were apparently pried out to access the chain saw, the owner told Deputy Brandon Baskette. The 20-inch Poulan chain saw is valued at about $250.
A weed trimmer and a power saw were stolen between Monday night and early Tuesday from a sport utility vehicle in a carport in the first block of Isley Lane, sheriff’s Deputy Saul Mancha said in a report. The SUV was unlocked. The stolen items have a combined
A riding lawn mower was stolen between June 29 and Tuesday from a barn in the 200 block of Delzie Randolph Road in Chuckey, sheriff’s Deputy Michael T. Jones said in a report. The owner told deputies the lawn mower needed repairs and was left in the barn.
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It was gone Tuesday night when she returned to fix it. The Husqvarna lawn mower is valued at $7,000.
Members of the East Tennessee State University Bluegrass Pride Band and director of ETSU Bluegrass, Old-Time and County Music Studies Dan Boner have been climbing national bluegrass charts alongside two nationally known alums. Together they released the single, “When the Water Goes Down,” to weave a tale of mystery that adds to the region’s rich folklore, a press release from the university said. “When the Water Goes Down” is a ballad written by award-winning ETSU alumni Becky Buller and Tim Stafford that combines regional history and storytelling set in the Northeast Tennessee town of Butler, the release said. Evacuated and flooded in 1948 by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for the creation of Watauga Lake, Butler has its own unique history, but Buller and Stafford’s song adds a fictional account set 35 years in the future, of a minister suspected of killing his wife after facts emerge when the lake is drained in 1983, according to the release. “Becky sent me this song more than a decade ago when I was looking for new material, and it captured my attention right away,” said Boner, who also produced the single and sings harmony on the track. “The true history of Watagua Lake and relocation of Old Butler is a fascinating story on its own. Who wouldn’t enjoy
adding a fictional murder mystery about a preacher gone to the dark side? “It has been great seeing the song chart in the top 20, and for it to have made the second round of eligibility for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 2021 Collaborative Recording of the Year. It’s another proud moment for ETSU, our students, and outstanding alumni, Tim and Becky.” Pride Band members performing on the track include: Adam Miller, who recently joined the Lonesome River Band, on lead vocal and mandolin; Katelynn Lowe on bass; Jacob Metz on reso-guitar; and Justin Alexander on banjo. They are joined by Stafford on guitar and Buller on fiddle and harmony vocals. All students enrolled in ETSU Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Studies must be part of a band. Bluegrass Pride Band members are chosen from among the program’s most accomplished students, then coached by Boner, the release said. A music video of the single recording session, produced by Will and Deni Films at Echo Mountain Recording in Asheville, North Carolina, is available on YouTube. “When the Water Goes Down” is available to broadcasters on AirPlay Direct at airplaydirect.com/music/WhenTheWaterGoesDown and available worldwide at all major digital outlets.
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Wednesday, July 7, 2021
The Greeneville Sun
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Biden: US Damage Appears Minimal In Big Ransomware Attack BY FRANK BAJAK AND ZEKE MILLER
or reserve the right to take action on our own.” What sort of action that ASSOCIATED PRESS would be is unclear. Biden has said repeatWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden edly that the Kremlin said Tuesday that damage bears responsibility to U.S. businesses in the for giving ransomware biggest ransomware attack criminals safe harbor, on record appears minieven if it is not directly involved. There is no mal, though information remained incomplete. The indication that Putin has moved against the gangs. company whose software Psaki said Russian and was exploited said fewer U.S. representatives were than 1,500 businesses worldwide appeared com- meeting next week and promised but cybersecuri- would discuss the matter. Further underscoring ty experts caution that the the geopolitical stakes in incident isn’t over. Also Tuesday, a security cyberspace, the Republiresearcher who chatted can National Committee online with representasaid Tuesday that it had tives of the Russia-linked been informed over the REvil gang behind the weekend that one of its attack said they claimed contractors had been to have stolen data from breached, though it was hundreds of companies, not immediately clear by but offered no evidence. whom. The RNC said no Answering a reporter’s data was accessed. question at a vaccine-reThe contractor, Synnex, lated White House event, initially said that the action “could potentially Biden said his national security team had updat- be in connection with ed him Tuesday morning the recent cybersecurity attacks of Managed Seron the attack, which exploited a powerful vice Providers,” a likely remote-management reference to the breaches tool run by Miami-based last week. But it backed software company Kaseya away from that claim in in what is known as a a second statement late supply-chain attack. Tuesday. “It appears to have Friday’s attack hobcaused minimal dambled businesses in at age to U.S. businesses least 17 countries. It but we’re still gathering shuttered most of the information,” Biden said. 800 supermarkets in the “And I’m going to have Swedish Coop chain over more to say about this in the weekend because the next several days.” An cash registers stopped official at the Cybersecuworking, and reportedly knocked more than 100 rity and Infrastructure Security Agency, speaking New Zealand kindergaron condition they not be tens offline. further identified, said no Kaseya said it believes federal agencies or critical only about 800 to 1,500 infrastructure appear to of the estimated 800,000 have been impacted. to 1,000,000 mostly On Wednesday, Biden small business end-users and Vice President of its software were affectKamala Harris will lead ed. They are customers an interagency meeting of companies that use to discuss the administra- Kaseya’s virtual system tion’s efforts to counter administrator, or VSA, ransomware. product to fully manage White House spokestheir IT infrastructure. Cybersecurity experts woman Jen Psaki held out said, however, it is too the prospect of retaliatory early for Kaseya to know action. What Biden told the true impact given its President Vladimir Putin launch on the eve of the in Geneva last month still holds, she said: “If the Rus- Fourth of July holiday sian government cannot or weekend in the U.S. They will not take action against said many targets might criminal actors residing in only discover it upon reRussia, we will take action turning to work Tuesday.
OPIOID
violence, and delinquency among youth. Each risk FROM PAGE 1A and protective factor can be linked to specific types of interventions that have Phase three “includes been shown to be effective identifying priority risk in either reducing risk(s) or and protective factors and enhancing protection(s),” conducting a resource assessment and gaps analysis according to Bach-Harrison. before moving into phase Flanagan said the CTC four (and) creating a ComBoard is reviewing the munity Action Plan.” survey results for prioritizaFlanagan said the CTC tion. Results will be shared program “uses the risk and with the Greene County protective factors model Anti-Drug Coalition and of prevention, which is a proven way of reducing sub- the community before the stance abuse and its related next phase, which involves implementing programs to consequences.” The prevention model “is address the risk and protecbased on the premise that tive factors identified. to prevent a problem from Flanagan said the virtual happening, we need to iden- survey was made available tify the factors that increase to 1,949 Greene County Schools students in grades the risk of that problem six through 12. The anonydeveloping, and then find ways to reduce the risks,” mous survey was completed Flanagan said. by 866 students, or 46 To identify risk and percent of the total. protective factors in Greene “Considering the circumCounty, the CTC Youth stances of the last year, Survey, which Flanagan we were grateful for the termed “a prevention needs response,” Flanagan told the assessment,” was administered to students virtually and anonymously in a supervised school setting. Bach Harrison, LLC, a Utah-based survey research and evaluation services company, was retained to oversee the process. The survey is designed “to assess students’ involvement in a specific set of problem behaviors, as well as their exposure to a set of scientifically validated risk and protective factors,” a news release said. The risk and protective factors “have been shown to influence the likelihood of academic success, school dropout, substance abuse,
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SUN PHOTO BY CAMERON JUDD
Dale Long, directly in front of the General Morgan Inn podium, helps USS Greeneville sailors hold a signed banner they presented to Long in honor of his initiation of the USS Greeneville naming and his subsequent leadership in maintaining ties between the town and boat ever since. The presentation to Long occurred during the banquet that closed the 25th Anniversary Reunion here over the holiday weekend.
JUDD
the idea of having a boat named for Greeneville, spent much of the banquet FROM PAGE 1A in smiles and sometimes in tears as his years of navy is ascending, with devotion and hard work Russian submarines near were recognized repeatedly our own West Coast. Beby presenters. A pinnacle cause of such circumstancmoment for him was the es, “the world is different presentation by the sailors today” than it was when of a huge banner bearthe USS Greeneville first launched. ing the name of the boat, Muckian said, “Life in the and hand-signed by crew submarine today is similar members. He received other to what it was for submamementos and statements rines during the Cold War.” of appreciation throughout For nuclear submarines and the evening as well. A difficult but proud their crews, “business is moment for him was when booming.” he spoke emotionally of the He also said that, should passing of his longtime friend the USS Greeneville ever and fellow USS Greeneville be forced to do battle, booster Ken Earl of Greensomething that so far has not happened, he is sure its eville, whose wife was part of crew will follow their train- the banquet audience. ing and “get the job done.” Other presenters in the Other former COs who banquet included Mat spoke were Duane Hatch, Tanner, a plank owner of Scott Waddle, Gabriel the boat who served from Anseeuw, Terry Nemec and 1994 through 1999; State Lorin Selby. Representative David The banquet included a Hawk; Greeneville Mayor bright and rousing openW.T. Daniels; Greeneville Fire Chief Alan Shipley; ing talk by Wayne Bettis, a Greeneville Chief of Police leader in the original USS Greeneville local effort, who Tim Ward; Main Street Greeneville’s Jann Mirkov; recalled the excitement of Tusculum University Presthe “dirty dozen” group of project advocates as they ident Scott Hummel; and traveled to the nation’s Trevor Kahland, Tusculum capital city to lobby for their University student, USS cause, and did so effectiveGreeneville Scholarship holder and son of a former ly despite the occasional awkward situations, such as crew member. Others who spoke were travel snafus. Dale Long, who conceived other former COs and
COBs, including eighth CO and now Rear Admiral Lorin Selby, chief of naval research, who emphasized the fundamental importance of the human beings who utilize the overwhelmingly sophisticated technology of the nuclear submarine. Without the people who operate the boat, the technology would matter little, Selby said. The boat’s first COB, Stan Simmerman, recalled both his life on the submarine and his enjoyment of interaction with locals who led the boat-naming effort. He said that the boat was never the sailors’ boat, but the Town of Greeneville’s boat, and “we just had the pleasure of operating it for you.” Scott Waddle, CO of the USS Greeneville at the time it was involved in an international news-making accident involving the striking of a Japanese fishing boat, resulting in fatalities of some on the fishing boat, called his visit here “bittersweet,” but said that being in Greeneville the town among fellow crew members from the submarine made him “feel safe” despite “horrific things that happened.” Waddle then spoke directly to the boat’s current CO, Robert Lane, and encouraged him to “enjoy this, sir,” referring to command of the boat. “It’s a blessing
and a gift.” Other highlight moments from the evening included: • the presentation of thank-you cards made by local school children for USS Greeneville crewmen; • presentation and retirement of colors (flags) by members of the Greeneville Fire Department, whose uniforms bear a patch including an image of the USS Greeneville; • a revelation by Tusculum University’s Hummel that the USS Greeneville scholarship has provided $500,000 worth of education so far; • a talk by Navy widow Lara Baily about the life of a Navy wife; • recognition of Bob Herndon, who helped develop the boat-naming project; • a slide show showing images of USS Greeneville life and history, and • an announcement that a 30th anniversary gathering already is in the works and promises to be an even bigger event than this year’s. The meal was prepared and served by staff members of the General Morgan Inn, who were brought out from the kitchen to resounding applause. The invocation and benediction was given by plank owner Eric Carlson. Plank owner Mat Tanner was master of ceremonies.
the state DMHSAS’ Institutional Review Board. The program is administered through PROMPT and made possible by the Greene County-targeted grant from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information about Communities That Care or how to get involved,
contact Lamanda Weston (lweston@utk.edu) or Flanagan (lflanagan@utk. edu), or call UT Extension in Greene County at 423798-1710.
Anti-Drug Coalition earlier this year. The survey was sent in a link to each county school counselor and then forwarded to students with the option to fill it out. Information gleaned from the questions will “pertain to factors that place youth at risk for substance use and other problem behaviors, along with the factors that offer them protection from problem behaviors, as well as the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and participation in various antisocial behaviors,” Flanagan said. Opioid overdoses in the eight-county Northeast Tennessee region continue to rise, Sherry Barnett, regional overdose prevention specialist and a nurse practitioner with the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, told anti-drug coalition members earlier this year. Flanagan is assisted by
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Crowds Celebrate Downtown C rowds thronged downtown Greeneville Saturday to enjoy the ninth annual annual American Downtown celebration. The event kicked off in the Big Spring area behind the Greeneville/Greene County Public Library at 4 p.m. with live music, food trucks, children’s activities and the ever-popular hot dog eating contest. Festivities continued with a nighttime parade and a spectacular fireworks show. Grand marshals for this year’s parade were USS Greeneville crewmembers who gathered in Greeneville for a 25th reunion. First Responders were asked to join the parade so they could be recognized for their service. Event sponsors included Waste Industries, Andrew Johnson Bank, Ballad Health, Gateway Ford, Apex Bank, General Morgan Inn, Greeneville Federal Bank, Greeneville Flyboys, Greeneville Light & Power System, Greeneville Oil & Petroleum, MECO Corporation, TEVET, Consumer Credit Union, Creamy Cup, Food City, Gypsy Soul Market, Heritage Community Bank, John Deere Power Products, Miller Industries, Publix, Summers Taylor and Walmart Logistics.
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Hometown Heroes Shane Malone
N
ot all Hometown Heroes serve within the community in which they live. One such hero is forty-five-year-old Shane Malone, who lives in Chuckey, but is a Lieutenant at Johnson City Fire Department’s Station 1. Before working his way up to Lieutenant with Johnson City, Malone started in 1998 as a volunteer with the Tusculum Volunteer Fire Department. Malone credits Alen Corely, former Tusculum Chief, with taking him under his wing and helping him set his foundation in firefighting. Malone served as a volunteer with Tusculum and the Town of Mosheim Volunteer Fire Departments. During that time, he was exposed to traumatic house fires and motor vehicle accidents that increased his desire for higher levels of training. It was also at this time he decided he wanted to make this a full-time career. With no openings in Greeneville, Malone applied to Johnson City Fire Department. At that time, Johnson City was transitioning away from the Public Safety Officer to the traditional fire department
HOMETOWN HEROES ERIC KALTENMARK
structure; Malone was in one of the first classes hired after Johnson City switched to a traditional fire department. During his sixteen years in the department, Malone spent twelve as a firefighter, three as a driver, and just over 1 in his current position of Lieutenant. That time provided opportunities to satisfy his desire for training, earning his certification for Advance-EMT, Hazmat Technician, Rescue Diver, Swiftwater Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue. The Urban search and rescue is a specialized rescue used to locate, stabilize and extricate victims trapped in a structural collapse in urban areas. “That’s the thing about the fire service,” Malone said reflecting on the variety of instruction firefighters go through. “We have to be the Jack of all trades and the
ERIC KALTENMARK
Shane Malone
master of some.” Malone credits mentors such as Greeneville Fire Department Lieutenant Ryan Holt and Limestone Volunteer Fire Department Chief Tim Jaynes for his passion for training. “We can never have enough training,” Malone said. “If you think you have had enough training, you need to go home.” As much as Malone loves his job, a job his wife Pam says he dearly loves, it is not a job without burdens. He can verbally and mentally paint a picture of every bad
call he has been on in vivid detail. Malone explained traumatic incidents first responders see and deal with are part of their job. The traumas are part of the dayto-day work that drives his desire to train – but the visuals, smells, and memories all remain behind. He feels he copes well by “building a wall,” keeping the memories compartmentalized and moving on. He credits his family for the compassion they give to him after difficult calls, almost as if to replenish a
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part of himself that he gives to the fire or medical call victims. “I don’t know, somehow it just all seems to balance out,” Malone said, looking at his upturned hands as if the left hand represents a victim and the right is his family with himself in the middle of a balance scale. Malone’s love of the fire service extends to his activities outside of the station. He is a member of the department’s Honor Guard, which presents the colors at military veterans and firefighter funerals.
“It is an honor to get to hand out the challenge coin, thanking the family for the firefighter’s service,” Malone said. Malone’s other work outside the station was the recent restoration of the department’s 1928 Seagrave ladder truck. The refurbishment was a massive team effort of members of the fire department, city garage, and businesses in and around Johnson City, of which Malone was an integral part. The truck, nearly identical to the new condition, is now stored at Station 1. Malone’s service as a firefighter and his work on the Seagrave restoration team did not go unnoticed. He was recently selected as the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2108 and Tennessee VFW firefighter of the year. The American Legion local, state, and Southern Region choose him for the firefighter of the year award as well. Hanging out at Station 1, even just for a few hours, it is easy to pick up on how much Malone loves his job. The Seagrave truck, the Honor Guard, the training, the calls, and his crew – each are a piece that makes his job whole. Eric Kaltenmark is an emergency services photographer located in Afton, Tenn. Comments and questions can be emailed to eric@ ek-photography.com
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THE GREENEVILLE SUN
FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2021
EDITOR: SCOTT JENKINS
Defenders And Opponents Of Critical Race Theory Are Prone To Exaggeration
P
ut aside what you may have heard — pro or con — about terms such as systemic racism or critical race theory (CRT) for a moment. There’s a lot of exaggeration out there among both defenders and critics. Instead, let me tell you a story. After the civil rights movement achieved its legislative goals in the 1960s, formal, legal racism was largely abolished. Yes, there was cleanup work to do in various states. But broadly speaking, deliberate discrimination was no longer protected by the law. There was still cultural racism, of course — and there still is. But looking at the big picture, the tumor of deliberate racism has shrunk on a staggering scale. This was the result of a massive legal, social and educational JONAH GOLDBERG effort. And it was a huge success that all Americans should take pride in. Racism isn’t an American phenomenon; it’s a human one that exists everywhere. But few societies have worked as hard to battle it as the United States has over the last half-century. And yet, disparities persist. Black Americans comprise 13% of the population but fall short of that percentage in a number of important areas — the ranks of affluent, the college educated, and a large number of professions we normally associate with affluence and education. CRT, structural racism, institutional racism, etc., represent efforts to explain why. It’s no accident that law schools and lawyers were at the vanguard. If you wanted to sue a business or agency for “disparate impacts” — e.g., the underrepresentation of minorities in certain jobs or unequal lending by banks — you needed to show that these disparities were the result of deliberately bigoted policies. The problem: Evidence of the disparities remained abundant while evidence of racist intent largely vanished. Enter critical race theory, which looks for systemic problems that perpetuate disparities even when no one in power intends them. These structural policies could be legacies of decisions made long ago that had racist intent behind them, or they could simply be the unintended consequences of rules people thought were neutral. For instance, in 2018, 1,197 people in America received a Ph.D. in economics. Of those, 18 were Black. I’m skeptical that attributing this underrepresentation to deliberate racism is a suitable explanation. Universities are almost as desperate to diversify their faculties as they are to diversify their student bodies. But the underrepresentation exists all the same. And it’s worth asking: Why? I won’t try to answer the question here, but reasonable people can point to any number of plausible explanations. One involves systemic problems in the larger culture. And some of those problems have to do with the legacy of racism, slavery and Jim Crow. We can differ on how much weight to give those factors. It’s also worth considering whether such underrepresentation is necessarily that big a problem. On one level, disparities by race, gender, religion and other categories have to do with individual choices. Nearly 84% of doctors specializing in obstetrics and gynecology are women, and roughly the same share of orthopedic surgeons are men. It’s not crazy to think this is largely the result of individual choices by individual women and only seems like a problem if you think the percentage should be perfectly proportionate to the share of women in the population. Forcing women into professions they don’t want to enter doesn’t strike me as a feminist victory. None of this is to say that all is fine for Blacks in America. Black poverty rates are a serious problem, as are disparities in wealth, education, etc. To the extent that critical race theory looks for explanations and remedies to these problems, there’s nothing to object to as far as I can tell. I might disagree with the explanations and the remedies some theorists propose, but I’m at a loss to understand why the effort to find them is anything but laudable. Here’s the problem: The stuff passing itself off as CRT in the national debate isn’t really that. An academic tool invented to help explain why racial problems endure even when conscious racism is no longer pervasive has morphed into a cudgel to accuse people of racism if they don’t agree with the proposed diagnosis or the cure. Defenders of CRT are often right when they say opponents are distorting what it means. But those same people often pretend that America hasn’t made enormous strides in fighting racism and claim that racism today remains the only explanation for the problems created by racism of the past. Copyright 2021 Jonah Goldberg, distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Thank You For Love And Support Of USS Greeneville Dear Sir: To the citizens of Greeneville and Greene County: On behalf of the USS Greeneville crew members, past and present, and our families, I would like to extend our gratitude for the outpouring of love and support shown to us again during our 25th Anniversary Celebration and Reunion. I could say a lot, but I will just share some of the comments that were written on our group Facebook page by various members of our group: “These last 4 days have been amazing. Greeneville, TN there are no words for your hospitality to the sailors and their families of the USS Greeneville.” “This little town has so much heart and the love and support for their boat and our military is something really special. Thank you to all who worked so tirelessly to bring us all together and thank you for opening
Dear Sir: There is a simple and sensible solution to cease all the endless arguing and bickering over our public communications platforms (Twitter, Facebook, Google, et al) from banning American peoples’ (President Trump, et al) constitutionally guaranteed free speech, while permitting and promoting bigoted, hate, and Anti-American speech by our sworn enemies in foreign lands as well as here at home (Iranian Ayatollahs,
USPS 228700 Published Daily Except Sunday 121 W. Summer St. Greeneville, TN 37743 Combination of three Greeneville newspapers: Democrat (established 1879); Combined with Searchlight (established 1905), May 1920; Combined with Sun (established 1895), October 1920. All material in this newspaper is copyrighted by Greeneville Publishing Company and, with the exception of the Associated Press, can only be reused with the express written permission of the newspaper’s management.
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Chinese Communist Party, Farrakhan, Antifa, BLM, et al). If they are private membership companies, fine, then get off the air. All we need to do is expand protection by a few words on an already existing law, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — “All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without
discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin”— to include these public accommodations and platforms, which obviously were not in existence back then, and include political beliefs and constitutional free speech rights to be protected. Why cannot our elected officials after all these years, draft a one-page document and make it federal law? Marc Bush Greeneville
BIBLE VERSE Read Psalm 119:1-8: Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight. — Psalm 119:35
(NIV) Prayer: Dear God, give us wisdom each day to follow Your way. Amen.
Thought For The Day With God’s guidance I can always find my way.
TODAY IN HISTORY BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Today is Friday, July 9, the 190th day of 2021. There are 175 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On July 9, 2004, a Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration had relied on to justify going to war. On this date: In 1540, England’s King Henry VIII had his 6-month-old marriage
Award-Winning Newspaper UT-TPA Press Awards Scott Jenkins Editor Cameron Judd Assistant Editor Lorelei Goff Lifestyles Editor Sam Bundy Sports Editor Tate Russell Assistant Sports Editor
their namesake Submarine and welcome crew members past and present as well as family members with open arms!” “It was our first trip to Greeneville and most certainly won’t be our last.” “Cheers to the Community of Greeneville who treat us as their own families as soon as our feet hit the ground.” “Thanks to the city of Greeneville for laying out the red carpet! You truly are the best namesake city the Navy has!!” In closing, I will tell you that there will be many more coming to town to celebrate with you for our 30th in 2026, and many plan to visit this great area in the interim. Bob Rediske Chuckey Navy veteran Bob Rediske is a USS Greeneville plankowner, meaning he was a member of the submarine’s first crew.
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your hearts and homes to us. We are so grateful for you. Our hearts are full. So much love!!” “Just as incredible are the men and women of Greeneville and Greene County Tennessee who have welcomed us into their city, their homes and their hearts for more than 28 years. Greeneville is like Mayberry on steroids” “Greeneville Tennessee, a town that takes patriotism very seriously. They rolled out the red carpet for us! I have never met so many nice people, such a great place to spend this 4th of July.” “Great day in this amazing town. Patriotism is alive and well.” “This town is truly remarkable. They give you hope in America and show you the USA is not what the news would like you to believe. I love this town” “I have never come across a more patriotic town in my life! They love
Edith O’Keefe Susong Publisher 1916-1974 John M. Jones Publisher 1974-2016 Gregg K. Jones Publisher 2016-2019
Regular Business Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday Telephone: (423) 638-4181 Fax: (423) 638-3645; Advertising Fax: (423) 638-7348 E-mail: news@GreenevilleSun.com Periodicals postage paid at Greeneville, Tennessee 37744. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Greeneville Sun, P.O. Box 1630, Greeneville, TN 37744. CORRESPONDENTS: The Sun makes every effort to provide the utmost in local news coverage for our readers, and would be grateful for items mailed, telephoned or emailed to the office by any interested party regarding any region within Greene County or our readership area.
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to his fourth wife, Anne of Cleves, annulled. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was read aloud to Gen. George Washington’s troops in New York. In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tennessee. The Distinguished Service Cross was established by an Act of Congress. In 1937, a fire at 20th Century Fox’s film storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, destroyed most of the studio’s silent films.
In 1943, during World War II, the Allies launched Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. In 1944, during World War II, American forces secured Saipan as the last Japanese defenses fell. In 1947, the engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced. In 1982, Pan Am Flight 759, a Boeing 727, crashed in Kenner, Louisiana, shortly after takeoff from New Orleans International Airport, killing all 145 people aboard and eight people on the ground.
BILLY GRAHAM From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham Q: I’ve been told that Christians show a lack of faith if they set goals. Is there any truth to this? — G.O. A: Attaining success in life is not wrong, but if we go about it without obedience to God’s Word it can lead us down the wrong path. The Bible tells us that God’s thoughts are different from our thoughts. The Psalmist’s pen presents a view of life that is the exact opposite of what the world around us promotes — through advertising, social media, entertainment, and even the lifestyles of the rich and famous. “Live for yourself,” the world proclaims. “Have a good time; indulge your senses; pursue every pleasure; strive for success. And if you do,” these voices add, “then you’ll be happy and blessed.” But God calls us to another way — His way. The Bible says, “Blessed are those who keep [the Lord’s] testimonies, who seek
Him with the whole heart!” (Psalm 119:2). Blessing, He says, comes only from following Him. Every other way promises what it cannot deliver — and delivers exactly the opposite of what it promised. Some of the most miserable people are those who are highly successful in the eyes of the world. But down inside they are restless and spiritually empty. Don’t fall into the world’s trap, following its self-indulgent goals and driven by its self-centered motives. It can happen without you even being aware of it. Our job in life is not to be successful, but to be faithful. Regardless of our cleverness, our achievements, and our gadgets and devices, we are spiritual paupers without God. Make sure Christ is first in your life, and make it your goal to live according to His Word. For then, you will know true contentment. (This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)
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THE GREENEVILLE SUN
SATURDAY, JULY 17, 2021
EDITOR: SCOTT JENKINS
RVing Trend Good For Civility
I
t’s an old dream of mine and I just may do it: Buy a travel trailer and live on the American road for weeks at a time. Recreational vehicle living is a growing trend, particularly for younger people, who, post-Covid, prefer to work at home instead of commuting to their company’s office building. Thanks to technology, your “home office” can now be in an RV parked next to a rushing creek in the middle of nowhere. I’ve been critical of the downsides of digital innovation, which has given us social media tools that cause many of us to embrace narrower viewpoints and become intolerant of anyone who disagrees with us. But here’s the big upside: All anyone needs now to live on the road is an RV with a solar panel and a cell phone that TOM PURCELL can provide a WiFi signal. That will allow anyone anywhere to access his company’s computer network, manage his finances and life online, and relax in the evening by watching hundreds of channels of television through streaming services. Better yet, technology is also enabling many of us to make our livings in unconventional ways. One family, reports CNBC, sold two houses, purchased an RV and is making a handsome living filing blog reports about its travels. As a long-time provider of communications and cybersecurity services, I’ve been able to work remotely for years. So why not hit the road with my Labrador buddy, Thurber? I’m searching daily for a modest RV that would meet my basic needs, which pretty much amounts to a small table where I can sit and write. Why not visit family and friends scattered all over the country? I can park in their driveway as long as I want or return to my house anytime I want. Why not take an extended trip to Alaska, a long-time dream, or to Nova Scotia, another place I’ve always wanted to explore? At this moment, I’m really longing for a visit to the ocean. The sound of large waves splashing has always held a restorative power for me. Every time I visit the Atlantic Ocean, my blood pressure drops and a calm comes over me. The biggest upside to the growing RVing trend, though, will benefit our testy society. RV-ing will help open minds and hearts by enabling people to have conversations with other people faceto-face around a campground bonfire, rather than swapping snarky insults while hiding behind the safety of a computer screen. Author Ken Stern, formerly president of National Public Radio, wrote a great road book in 2017 describing the year he spent outside of his politically “parochial” urban East Coast neighborhood. He set out to meet people across the American Heartland who he had considered wrong-headed on a variety of issues — until he sat down and actually talked with them. Stern discovered that Americans of all backgrounds have a much more nuanced understanding of their country and the world — and that our country would benefit from re-embracing the art of conversation. I’m hankering to do just that. I dream of parking my truck and travel trailer right on the beach at Assateague Island, Maryland. It only costs 30 bucks a night. I’ll wake early to make a pot of fresh coffee. I’ll sip it from a mug as I walk along the beach with my dog as the sun rises. As I think about making this my new reality, I can already feel my blood pressure dropping. Copyright 2021 Tom Purcell, distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.
BIBLE VERSE Read Isaiah 41:8-14 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. Prayer: Dear God, thank You for Your promise to strengthen us and help us. Open our eyes to Your many blessings. We want to have thankful hearts. Amen. Thought For The Day Rather than focusing on my fears, I can focus on giving thanks.
LETTERS Thanks To Volunteers for Habitat And USS Greeneville Project Dear Sir: I am taking this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all the people that volunteered their time and efforts for a cause to benefit others. These selfless, caring individuals give of their time and expect nothing in return for their efforts. They inspire us to serve, to give, and to care. On Saturday, July 3, I witnessed first hand well over 80 hardworking volunteers with our Habitat and USS Greeneville Project work together at four different job sites to help families in our community. In five short hours many tasks were accomplished by teamwork, God-given talents, and incredible effort. Through the support of our sponsors and the valiant work
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that August is National Immunization Awareness Month, set a dangerous new precedent. The governor has abandoned the most consequential compact between the people of Tennessee and its government: to promote the general welfare of every citizen. His actions have exacerbated the erosion of leadership from the Republican-controlled legislative and executive branches of our state government. It is a reminder of the fringe ideology that has consumed Republican Party leadership and its elected representatives, such as Tennessee Senator Rusty Crowe of Johnson City who claimed giving
COVID-19 vaccines to teens in the absence of parents would open other procedures, “even abortions.” Governor Bill Lee is all prepared to fly folks in to fill hotels, amidst the new onset of more easily contagious COVID-19 strain, while seeking to silence public health officials like Dr. Fiscus. At 34% vaccination rate where is the recommit by the Tennessee Department of Health to carrying out its mission to protect, promote, and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. Darrell Key Greeneville Darrell Key is chairman of the Greene County Democratic Party.
TODAY IN HISTORY BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks. In 1936, the Spanish Civil War Today is Saturday, July 17, the began as right-wing army generals 198th day of 2021. There are 167 launched a coup attempt against days left in the year. the Second Spanish Republic. Today’s Highlight in History: In 1944, during World War II, On July 17, 1975, an Apollo spaceship docked with a Soyuz spacecraft 320 men, two-thirds of them Afriin orbit in the first superpower can-Americans, were killed when a link-up of its kind. pair of ammunition ships exploded On this date: at the Port Chicago Naval Magazine In 1821, Spain ceded Florida to in California. the United States. In 1945, following Nazi GermaIn 1862, during the Civil War, ny’s surrender, President Harry S. Congress approved the Second Truman, Soviet leader Josef Stalin Confiscation Act, which declared and British Prime Minister Winthat all slaves taking refuge beston S. Churchill began meeting at Potsdam in the final Allied summit hind Union lines were to be set of World War II. free. In 1962, the United States conIn 1918, Russia’s Czar Nicholas II
Award-Winning Newspaper UT-TPA Press Awards Scott Jenkins Editor Cameron Judd Assistant Editor Lorelei Goff Lifestyles Editor Sam Bundy Sports Editor Tate Russell Assistant Sports Editor
our efforts during this special day: First Horizon Bank, Grand Rental, Premium Waters, Andrew Johnson Bank, D and A Woodworks, Artistic Printers, Greeneville Noon Rotary Club, and MC Septic. I urge you to please understand that helping someone no matter how big or small the gesture …. a simple act of kindness can make a tremendous positive impact in someone’s life. Our thanks to everyone that has volunteered for Greene County Habitat for Humanity or any service organization caring for people in our community. Vicki Culbertson Greeneville Vicki Culbertson is executive director of Greene County Habitat for Humanity.
Gov. Lee Chooses Abandonment Over Governing Dear Sir: Governor Bill Lee has chosen abandonment over governing. He has chosen to make our state unsafe, unhealthy, and uneducated through his lack of leadership and incompetent decision-making on issues ranging from the refusal to expand Medicaid to enacting permitless open gun carry laws. However, his latest action to fire Dr. Michelle Fiscus, his silence on reports that the Tennessee Department of Health has decided to halt all vaccine outreach to teens, and the issuance of an order to Tennessee Health officials to not acknowledge
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accomplished by our volunteers, we walked away that day with full hearts and incredible new friends. All the families we reached out to were very grateful and welcomed the help they received. We extend our deepest gratitude to the USS Greeneville, Inc. committee, all the USS Greeneville sailors that volunteered, and our Habitat volunteers. We also convey our thanks to Towering Oaks Baptist Church, First Baptist Church, and George Wertzel of Ginko Gallery for their exceptional work in constructing handicap-accessible ramps for families in need. Thank you, Reformation Lutheran Church, for helping us provide lunch to all these volunteers and also a “Big” thanks to our sponsors for helping support
Edith O’Keefe Susong Publisher 1916-1974 John M. Jones Publisher 1974-2016 Gregg K. Jones Publisher 2016-2019
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ducted its last atmospheric nuclear test to date, detonating a 20-kiloton device, codenamed Little Feller I, at the Nevada Test Site. In 1967, after seven dates, Jimi Hendrix quit as the opening act for the Monkees following a concert at Forest Hills Stadium in New York. In 1981, 114 people were killed when a pair of suspended walkways above the lobby of the Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel collapsed during a tea dance. In 1996, TWA Flight 800, a Europe-bound Boeing 747, exploded and crashed off Long Island, New York, shortly after departing John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing all 230 people on board.
BILLY GRAHAM From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham Q: I am studying human behavior and have to write about the things that influence people the most. My classmates do not agree on the most significant things that shape people’s lives. Doesn’t it seem that culture is the dominant influence? There is so much destruction within culture, how can we escape the bad and find the good? — L.I. A: Many things confront us in life that shape our thinking and our desires. When someone has been going to church and doing things that please God and suddenly their lifestyle changes, there is reason
for concern. We all should be on the alert, because for many people it doesn’t take much to divert attention from the more important things in life. There are so many messages that rain down on us every day: television ads, emails and social media, phone calls, magazines, junk mail, videos, billboards, conversations--the list is almost endless. How many of them subtly convince us that the road is paved with possessions, or beauty, or money, or fame, or any of a hundred other things? How many of them persuade us that the most important thing in life is financial success or
the esteem from others? It is hard to resist the cumulative impact of so many messages. What this world calls valuable, God calls worthless. What this world scorns, God exalts. Pray for those who have drifted from God and gone the way of the world. We must be consistent in life as a testimony to the Lord. God says our thinking must be shaped by His truth, and His truth is the Word of God. (This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.) © 2021 Billy Graham Literary Trust. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.