WATCHING THE DETECTIVES, AGAIN
DEC. 17, 2015 KNOXMERCURY.COM
1 / N.41
V.
After a series of use-of-force incidents,
CHECKS lawsuits, and policy changes, how well is
A ND the Knoxville Police Department policing its own?
BALANCES By S. Heather Duncan
NEWS
Legislators’ Threats to UTK’s Diversity Office Also Threaten Accreditation
JACK NEELY
Christmas in 1915: The Garden of Allah, Creeping Babies, and the Blue Rabbit
MUSIC
Jennifer Niceley Navigates Tradition, Country Music, and the Industry
THE VAULT
Screening the Forgotten Home Movies of Knoxville Families Past
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
Dec. 17, 2015 Volume 01 / Issue 41 knoxmercury.com
CONTENTS
“ Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
NEWS
11 Marks on Diversity
Threats by Tennessee lawmakers to defund the University of Tennessee’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion could have lasting impacts on the school’s academic standing if those representatives make good on their promises. Clay Duda reports.
Photo by Clay Duda
12 C hecks and Balances
COVER STORY
This year, the Knoxville Police Department and its officers have been involved in a series of cases that have raised questions of accountability. The city faces lawsuits over police brutality related to the shooting death of a fleeing man and the alleged beating of a Hispanic man, several officers have been accused of racial profiling in efforts to make drug arrests, dashcam recordings of altercations with police (including the K-9 mauling of a suspect) have been missing at trial, and a judge has said KPD needs to provide more training on citizens’ rights. In this first story of a two-part series examining the police department’s policies and management, S. Heather Duncan reports on how KPD polices its own.
Join Our League of Supporters! Maybe it could be a Christmas gift for someone you love dearly. Find out more at knoxmercury.com/join.
DEPARTMENTS
OPINION
A&E
4 Letters 6 Howdy
8 The Scruffy Citizen
20 Program Notes: Crowdfunding the
26 Spotlights: Punch Brothers,
10 Perspectives
21 Inside the Vault: Eric Dawson
FOOD & DRINK
Start Here: Roadside Sketches by Andrew Gresham, Believe It or Knox!, Public Affairs, Quote Factory PLUS: Words With … Holly Rainey
38 ’Bye
Finish There: At This Point by Stephanie Piper, Crooked Street Crossword by Ian Blackburn and Jack Neely, Spirit of the Staircase by Matthew Foltz-Gray
Jack Neely invites us to visit Knoxville 100 years ago.
Joe Sullivan doesn’t find much to celebrate in Tennessee’s #1 ranking as the state with the most regressive tax structure.
CALENDAR Women in Jazz Festival and Hellaphant’s new EP.
screens some orphaned home movies.
22 Music: Jack Neely talks with local songwriter Jennifer Niceley.
23 Home Video: Lee Gardner likes
KSO Clayton Holiday Concerts
36 Sips & Shots
Rose Kennedy actually enjoys a holiday cocktail recipe from Old Forge Distillery.
Goodnight Mommy’s trailer more than the actual movie.
24 Movies: April Snellings gets lost In the Heart of the Sea.
December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 3
LETTERS Delivering Fine Journalism Since 2015
ALCOA HIGHWAY REVISITED
I read Clay Duda’s piece about the Alcoa Highway plan this morning and had a bit of a revelation about “why.” [“Crash Protection,” news feature, Dec. 10, 2015] The relevant statistics aren’t traffic accidents or deaths, they are 1) how many voters drive the road, and 2) how much tax money can be spent with certain large political contributors. A minor part of #1 is how can we keep the outdated, but popular promise to never have traffic lights on Alcoa Highway despite the fact that most of the problems along that road—especially the access and left-turn problems—could be solved with half a dozen well placed lights. Thinking about the Alcoa situation I am reminded of Route 17 in New Jersey, a commuter and commercial road with a traffic volume that makes Alcoa Highway look like a country lane. Yet, at eight lanes in width, and car dealers, shopping malls, and dozens of major intersections, Route 17 uses traffic lights—and a brilliantly simple loop system for left turns—to move hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks every day. But here in Tennessee we have a proposal—the latest in a 20-year string of increasingly expensive “solutions” for Alcoa Highway—to spend $233 million (over $5,000 per commuter) with little apparent benefit. One further question on this project: What happens at the physical bottleneck near the Marine Corps/Navy base? To widen the road there, TDOT
will have to either blast away a large rock cliff (currently occupied by several homes) or fill in part of the river, or both. For $233 million we could probably build a monorail above the highway and several parking lots just over the Blount County line. That may sound irrational, but is it any more irrational than TDOT’s current plan? Jim Gray Knoxville
OUT-OF-TOWN FAVORITES
I’ve been enjoying your writing for years in Metro Pulse and now the Mercury, of which I was a Kickstarter backer. I live in Washington, D.C. now but still read online, and was a little surprised when I came back for the holidays not to find staples of Metro Pulse like Savage Love, Tom the Dancing Bug, and other cartoons in the print edition. Do you plan to add those back? Andrew Wiseman Washington D.C.
ED. NOTE
Nope! The short answer to why the Knoxville Mercury does not carry syndicated cartoons or columns is pretty simple: We can’t afford it. But the longer, editorial, reason why is because we prefer to publish local artists, writers, and photographers.
Personally, I am able to extract satisfaction from providing a venue for talented people to have their work seen—like Knoxville cartoonist Matthew Foltz-Gray and his Spirit of the Staircase comic strip. I’ve never really liked running alt-weekly “staples” much, anyway—it creates a sameness from publication to publication that dilutes their individual identities. That’s not to say those syndicated comics and columns aren’t good, but they’re just not my ideal way of finding content. I like the local stuff. —Coury Turczyn, ed.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR GUIDELINES
• Letter submissions should include a verifiable name, address, and phone number. We do not print anonymous letters. • We much prefer letters that address issues that pertain specifically to Knoxville or to stories we’ve published. • We don’t publish letters about personal disputes or how you didn’t like your waiter at that restaurant. • Letters are usually published in the order that we receive them. Send your letters to: Our Dear Editor Knoxville Mercury 706 Walnut St., Suite 404 Knoxville, TN 37920 Send an email to: editor@knoxmercury.com Or message us at: facebook.com/knoxmercury
WE’VE GOT A STOREFRONT! Check out our brand new online store! It’s your one-stop shop for all of our Knoxville Mercury goods and services. We’ve got merchandise (just in time for the holidays), League of Supporter memberships, and amazingly enough, classified ads! And remember, all proceeds go to a worthy cause: keeping your favorite weekly paper in business. Go to: store.knoxmercury.com 4
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
EDITORIAL EDITOR Coury Turczyn coury@knoxmercury.com SENIOR EDITOR Matthew Everett matthew@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Jack Neely jack@knoxhistoryproject.org STAFF WRITERS S. Heather Duncan heather@knoxmercury.com Clay Duda clay@knoxmercury.com CONTRIBUTORS
Chris Barrett Ian Blackburn Patrice Cole Eric Dawson George Dodds Lee Gardner Mike Gibson Carey Hodges Nick Huinker Donna Johnson
Rose Kennedy Dennis Perkins Stephanie Piper Ryan Reed Eleanor Scott Alan Sherrod April Snellings Joe Sullivan Kim Trevathan Chris Wohlwend
DESIGN ART DIRECTOR Tricia Bateman tricia@knoxmercury.com GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Charlie Finch Corey McPherson CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
David Luttrell Shawn Poynter Justin Fee Tyler Oxendine CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATORS
Ben Adams Matthew Foltz-Gray
ADVERTISING PUBLISHER & DIRECTOR OF SALES Charlie Vogel charlie@knoxmercury.com SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Scott Hamstead scott@knoxmercury.com Stacey Pastor stacey@knoxmercury.com
BUSINESS BUSINESS MANAGER Scott Dickey scott.dickey@knoxmercury.com
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 706 Walnut St., Suite 404, Knoxville, Tenn. 37902 knoxmercury.com • 865-313-2059 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR & PRESS RELEASES editor@knoxmercury.com CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS calendar@knoxmercury.com SALES QUERIES sales@knoxmercury.com DISTRIBUTION distribution@knoxmercury.com
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Terry Hummel Joe Sullivan Jack Neely Coury Turczyn Charlie Vogel The Knoxville Mercury is an independent weekly news magazine devoted to informing and connecting Knoxville’s many different communities. It is a taxable, not-for-profit company governed by the Knoxville History Project, a non-profit organization devoted to exploring, disseminating, and celebrating Knoxville’s unique cultural heritage. It publishes 25,000 copies per week, available free of charge, limited to one copy per reader. © 2015 The Knoxville Mercury
Hon. Gary R. Wade | Dean
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December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 5
Illustration by Ben Adams
HOWDY
Believe It or Knox! BY Z. HERACLITUS KNOX During Knoxville’s first 50 years, Christmas celebrations were rare. To many early Americans, the holiday was either unfamiliar or considered to be “foreign,” a Catholic holiday. Knoxvillians began celebrating it consistently in the 1840s—and may have been PROMPTED BY A NEW BOOK CALLED A CHRISTMAS CAROL BY CHARLES DICKENS!
Roadside Sketches by Andrew Gresham (agreshamphoto.com)
QUOTE FACTORY “ We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” —Randy Boyd, commissioner of the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development, responding to News Sentinel columnist Tom Humphrey’s question of whether he’d make a great governor.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
12/17HOMELESS MEMORIAL DAY THURSDAY
6 p.m., Volunteer Ministry Center parking lot (511 N. Broadway). Free. This candlelight walk honors the Knoxville homeless who died in 2015. It will be followed by a brief memorial service at St. John’s Lutheran Church, in which the names of those who have died homeless will be read, followed by a tolling of the bell and lighting of a candle for each person.
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
12/18 TOUR DE LIGHTS BIKE RIDE FRIDAY
6 p.m., Market Square. Free. Mount up and let’s ride! This ninth annual holiday bike parade draws around 1,000 bicyclists for a 5-mile tour of downtown, Fourth and Gill, and Old North Knoxville. Plus, there is a costume contest that includes the “Best Decorated Person” award. Info: ibikeknx.com/tourdelights.
12/19 WOZO BREAD AND ROSES BAKE-OFF SATURDAY
7-9 p.m., Birdhouse Knoxville (800 N 4th Ave.). $5 donation. Knoxville’s fledgling low-power community radio station, WOZO 103.9 FM, is pitting its disc jockeys against each another in a bake-off contest, and you get to judge. (Or you can compete with your own baked goods as well.) The station is staffed by volunteers, so the proceeds go entirely to operations.
Cormac McCarthy’s 1979 novel, Suttree, is based in Knoxville in the early 1950s. It’s remarkable in that most of its characters are real people, many of whom appear by their real names or nicknames. Jim Long, aka “J-Bone,” appears at his real address, on Fort Sanders’ Grand Avenue. Even his real phone number from the early ’50s appears in the narrative! Christmas Eve fireworks were part of Knoxville’s holiday celebrations in the late 19th century. In 1893, they got out of hand and resulted in a violent citywide riot known for years as the Saturnalia. Several people were injured, including some policemen, and a few buildings were burned down!
12/21 INTERFAITH GATHERING MONDAY
6:30 p.m., Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (2931 Kingston Pike). Free. No matter what your belief system may be, you are invited to join this assembly against religious terrorism and bigotry. Come for the prayer vigil for peace, stay for the food and conversation. Cosponsored by Women’s Interfaith Peace Initiative, Church of the Savior, Westminster Presbyterian Church, and the TVUUC.
HOWDY WORDS WITH ... Photo by Jamie Greig
Holly Rainey BY ROSE KENNEDY Holly Rainey, marketing and promotions manager for the Downtown Grill & Brewery and social media volunteer at the Love Kitchen, will help host the third annual Tacky Sweater Party to benefit The Love Kitchen at the DGB the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 23.
How does this event help the Love Kitchen?
It is actually part of a larger fundraiser DGB managing partner Dan Goss has planned; this is the third year for the sweater party. Volunteers at the Love Kitchen prepare and deliver seven meals a week, 52 weeks a year, to hundreds of people in the greater Knoxville area, and they serve warm meals twice a week for those who need it in East Knoxville. They also provide emergency food bags to 60-100 people every week. This whole month, DGB is collecting donations, and guests who donate receive 10 percent off their entrée. We will really encourage donations at the event, and part of the proceeds from that night’s reservation-only Bourbon Tasting and Dinner will go to Love Kitchen.
What are some things the Love Kitchen really needs?
They depend on donations to make every meal possible and they will use what they can get! For the kitchen meals, they need large cans of vegetables. For the toiletry bags, they need soap, towels, shampoo, toothpaste, hand lotion, razors, and such. And then any food for the emergency bags that is non-perishable and can stay on a shelf for a bit. People don’t really think about donating boxed food as much, but they can use mac and cheese, ramen noodles, peanut butter crackers, that sort of thing. And DGB is a convenient place downtown to drop these items off.
Will there be contests that night?
Every single person who wears a tacky holiday sweater, or should I say outfit, will receive a prize. Discounts, gift cards for free queso, and even cold, hard cash will be among the prizes randomly given out during the evening. Also, our employee Jason Staats and I will be live-streaming on Periscope and snapping photos in the festive photo booth throughout the night.
Does it have to be a Christmas sweater?
Not at all. It can be a holiday outfit of any sort, or you can just come in ordinary clothes. Rumor has it there will be a tacky tuxedo running around that night, too.
What’s your best Christmas sweater?
My sister Heather and I have joint custody of our mother’s collection of holiday sweaters from the ‘80s and ‘90s so I have a lot to choose from. My favorite is one with a sequined Christmas tree my mother made when I was probably like 5, and we made matching ones for my sister and I.
Any advice on finding a sweater to wear?
Be wary of overpriced holiday sweaters at vintage and thrift stores. I’ve seen sweaters for 40 or 50 bucks and that’s a lot of money to be spending! The sweaters become magically less expensive after Christmas has passed. If you don’t have a sweater, I recommend getting creative and making your own with an old sweater or plain thrift-store sweater. Use puffy paint and feathers.
Why do tacky sweater parties seem so popular these days?
I think it’s just fun. Everyone loves to get dressed up, but this isn’t much pressure. You get to wear something a little bit different and be casual and carefree.
What do you think makes a tacky sweater tacky?
I don’t really think any of them are tacky—I love them all and I wear them all the time. When other people look at a sweater and are like, “So tacky!” I am thinking, “That is so fabulous!”
A Christmas Carol Adapted for the stage by Dennis Elkins Directed by
Micah-Shane Brewer
clarencebrowntheatre.com
865.974.5161
#CBTChristmas Carol
Follow KnoxDGB on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Periscope. Find out more about The Love Kitchen, how to donate and to sign up to volunteer: thelovekitchen.org December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 7
SCRUFFY CITIZEN
The Enchantment of Days Gone By Christmas in 1915: The Garden of Allah, Creeping Babies, and the Blue Rabbit BY JACK NEELY
D
read was in the air that December, threats of terrorism and gruesome stories of mass killings in Europe. Even the pope was saying the level of killing was “unprecedented.” An editorial predicted the closing year would be remembered as “a year of unusual horror, wanton disregard for human life, and perplexing uncertainty….” You have to watch your step in downtown Knoxville this month. The streets are torn up, and you can look down into some holes and see the old streetcar tracks. Step into the wrong vortex, and who knows. You might find yourself in Knoxville 100 years ago. Politicians of both major parties were congratulating themselves for America’s peacefulness in the face of the daily gore in Europe, even after Americans had died on the torpedoed Lusitania. The Republican Journal offered a seasonal prayer: “Long may our country be known among the nations of the earth as a country whose victories are those of peace, brotherly love, and prosperity.” If you land in Christmas, 1915, you’ll notice a few differences. But then again, maybe not that many. Some of the same buildings are still centers of Christmas activity today. The department store known as Arnstein’s, notable for its fine imports,
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
its French kid gloves, its silk kimonos, its “Madeira hand-embroidered linens,” its “crepe de Chine undergarments,” is now a store called Urban Outfitters. A closer comparison, maybe, is the one then called Newcomer’s, a happy, bright, people’s department store with a toy department (the “Wonderful Toyland”) and a Santa Claus. Newcomer’s carried Tinker Toys, “Erecto Sets,” teddy bears, building blocks, and a mechanical “Creeping Baby.” The same building is now Mast General Store. A few days before Christmas, Newcomer’s hosted a delegation from “The Garden of Allah,” the traveling show down the street at Staub’s, featuring more than 100 performers, plus camels and horses right on stage. Newcomer’s Christmas-shopping throngs were invited to come look at some real Muslims, and even talk to them. “This will indeed be a treat to see the native sons of the desert in their quaint Oriental costumes.” Their leader, Sheik Ham-med, warned us they might not return our greeting, because they didn’t know much English. Later, Staub’s offered a Christmas-Day showing of A Fool There Was, a play based on Kipling’s poem, “The Vampire.” Banned in some localities, it was a cautionary play
about adultery. You could find live shows every night, especially at Staub’s and the Grand, which offered a steady diet of vaudeville. An act called Thurber & Thurber, “Eccentric Comedians,” advertised itself with a photograph of two guys with three heads and several legs each. One of the big shows on Gay Street Christmas week was a performance by the Yale Glee Club, featuring mandolins. They arrived on the train in three “special cars.” But now movies outnumbered vaudeville shows. There were seven cinemas on Gay Street alone. Short novelty films had been popular in Knoxville for more than a decade, but feature films were catching on. Movies were silent, but always had musical accompaniment. The Gay Theatre had an eight-piece band that accompanied movies, like Divorced, starring Hilda Spong. The city’s finest cinema was called the Queen. Lou Tellegen was starring in The Unknown. The Dutch-born heartthrob was one of moviedom’s idols in 1915. Just 13 years later, Tellegen would be on Gay Street in person, half-forgotten, as a sort of sideshow, part of a vaudeville bill at the Tennessee. In 1915 Knoxville it was hard to avoid images of Charlie Chaplin, the fresh new comic from England, just 26. He was in two different movies showing the same day, The Champion at the Rex, and A Night in the Show, at the Majestic, which played up the comedy about vaudeville with a big display ad featuring Chaplin’s already-familiar image. A survey of movies suggests tastes of 1915 were more cosmopolitan than today’s. Movies were about Algerians, Italians, Chinese in
interesting situations that didn’t necessarily involve Americans. At the Gay was a local attraction. Aunt Sally Visits Knoxville was a short, professionally made film starring recognizable locals, including Hugh Tyler, the professional artist who was uncle of young James Agee. It also starred “Mr. Ochs,” as if readers knew which one. Adolph Ochs, the New York Times publisher, occasionally visited to his hometown, but we can’t know whether he made a cameo. The film is considered to be lost. The Bijou had been mostly a live-performance theater for its six-year history, but in 1915 it was trying movies. On Christmas Day, it showed a movie that had gotten a great deal of national attention, The Battle Cry of Peace. Shown with orchestral accompaniment, it was an apocalyptic film by a pro-war producer, touted by Teddy Roosevelt, but criticized as a plea for militarism. Its motto was “Only the strong are safe.” It’s unclear how popular it was in Knoxville when it opened on Christmas Day. Besides movies, cars were the big thing. Rodgers & Co., which sold Hupmobiles, Hudsons, and Saxons, was already advertising itself as “The Oldest Automobile Dealer in the Southland.” It was still that, 95 years later, when Rodgers Cadillac finally submitted to national corporate interests. Automobiles weren’t a handy way to get around in town. There was hardly any place to put them. Downtown was so busy and land was so valuable, it was hard to picture justifying parts of it just for storing cars. “Spin out in the country away from the dust and confusion of the city,” advised Kuhlman Motors, who sold the Indiana-based
“You know that Christmas has lost much of its pleasure.” —VICE MAYOR SAM E. HILL, 1915
Overland automobile. Most people couldn’t afford cars anyway. On Christmas Eve—that one shopping day—the Knoxville Traction Co. estimated they sold 80,000 streetcar fares. The affluent contemplated trips. The L&N offered connections all the way to Miami, and one advertisement suggests you could even plan your trip to Cuba at the station on the corner of Henley and Western. Bennett Jared, the Vol substitute halfback critically injured in a mid-field tackle in a Vanderbilt game two months earlier, was reportedly “improving” in a Nashville hospital. He wasn’t improving much. Paralyzed by his injury, “Little Jared,” as he was known, died a few months later.
Market Street—it had recently abandoned its old name, Prince Street, allegedly due to the association with warlike Europeans—offered a big public Christmas Tree, electrically lit, right in the middle of the street, between Union and Clinch. It wasn’t the same place it is now—it couldn’t be, because there were buildings there—but it was an ornament’s throw from it. A huge crowd, estimated at about 8,000, perhaps the largest that ever gathered on that narrow street, watched quietly. Most were standing in the street. But if you looked up, you’d see that there were people in almost every window of every building’s upper floors. More people were on the roofs. A Boy Scout bugler opened the ceremony, leading into a trumpet call by the familiar local dance favorite, Crouch’s Band. The organizations that put it together included the Jovian Society, a club of men interested in the uses of electricity—it was the biggest electrical spectacle of the year, after all—and the Ossoli Circle, the women’s progressive intellectual group, with an assist from the Tuesday Morning Musical Club. “Municipal Christmas trees” were still unusual, introduced just three years earlier in New York, and this was Knoxville’s second. Knoxville led Tennessee’s major cities in establishing a Municipal Tree, and it was seen as a symbol of Knoxville’s progressive spirit. Mayor McMillan couldn’t make it
“Every one in Knoxville except the dead ones has caught the Christmas spirit.”
to the month’s biggest public gathering, for unnamed prior commitments. Vice Mayor Sam E. Hill spoke, voicing a melancholy observation heard from someone nearly every Christmas, if rarely in a speech from a public official lighting a Christmas tree: “You know that Christmas has lost much of its pleasure,” he said. “The enchantment of the days gone by no longer lingers….” Many people his age were nostalgic about noisier Christmases of the past, with bowling tournaments and fireworks parties. Students from the nearby Boyd’s School, on Union Avenue, 350 of them, formed a choir. Christmas in 1915 was not overtly religious—mentions of Jesus were scant—except in the selection of carols, which were hymns: “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” “Hark the Herald Angels,” and “Silent Night.” The crowd joined in when they sang “Joy to the World.” They finally threw the big switch, and “innumerable lights” lit up the giant tree, “tier after tier, circuit after circuit, until it was all aglow with the small electric globes emitting their lights of white, red, blue, green, orange, and purple, and above all, a handsome star of brilliant white light, suspended in the air.” Then, it being Christmas Eve, people went shopping. Stores were open later than usual. Some were even open Christmas morning, as was Dickens’ turkey vendor. On Market Square, farmers were usually told to remove their wagons every evening at 6:30, but on Christmas Eve, they were allowed to stay all night. Market Master “Uncle John” Montgomery, in charge of the Market House, was unapologetic for closing half a day on Christmas. Seriously, he said, people should do their Christ-
mas shopping on Christmas Eve. Not on Christmas. Maybe America was a little somber in 1915, due to what was happening in the world. If there were any wacky new toys, they weren’t obvious. Toy stores sold the basics, teddy bears and baby dolls and footballs, but nothing much they didn’t sell in 1914. Some books, children’s series like Tom Swift, the Bobbsey Twins, and the Motion Picture Chums, at Newcomer’s—or the Rover Boys and Our Young Aeroplane Scouts, at Miller’s, which also advertised Frances Hodgson Burnett’s ghostly novella, In the Closed Room. Some women wanted the stylish new “Jack Tar” middies, the sailor-style blouse you could get at Miller’s. Woods & Taylor’s sold “cravenette” raincoats, “silk sox.” S.H. George’s offered feather boas. But the big new thing in 1915 was kimonos, even if they were consistently spelled kimonas. (I looked it up; in 1915, “kimona” was the preferred English spelling of the Japanese word.) Kimonos were everywhere, high and low. Maybe the biggest difference between the Christmases was timing. Holiday shopping started early then, maybe as early as it does now. But in 1915, Christmas shopping wasn’t the same thing as Christmas. It was preparation for Christmas. It was understood that Christmas parties, Christmas trees, even Christmas decorating, wouldn’t happen until the Christmas shopping was over. Christmas began on Christmas Eve, and not until the sun went down. “Christmas Parties” and “Christmas Dances,” such as the one at Cherokee Country Club, were likely to be on Christmas Day, or in the days just
afterward. Every Christmas in those days had a curiosity, something nobody could figure out. In the past, especially during the saloon era, it had been a puzzling murder. Booze of all sorts was illegal in 1915 Knoxville. Not that it was hard to find. Former liquor dealer J.J. Ashe was in trouble for selling booze discreetly on Emory Place. Prohibition would engender new crimes, but in Knoxville at least it had seemed to put a damper on impulsive late-night shootings. In any case, Knoxville was quieter in 1915, and there weren’t any fresh murders to talk about. That year, the Christmas curiosity was the Blue Rabbit. Described as a “freak of nature,” it materialized in a crate on Market Square. It was said to have been captured in the forests of North Carolina. The fur was “rather blue, with an admixture of gray, and [it] was quite curly.” One country spectator declared it had to be “part possum.” Others speculated it was kin to a Belgian hare. “The pedigree of the animal was not learned, but it attracted much attention,” a reporter remarked. Later, a local celebrity, elderly artist Lloyd Branson, purchased the blue rabbit and put it on display in his shop window. Christmas in Knoxville always seemed to catch a sentimental reporter off guard. One remarked that a spectator needs only to “stand on one of the busy corners and watch the passing throng, listen to the honk of the automobiles, or catch the vari-colored twinkle of the electric signs, to realize that Knoxville is one of the coming cities of the Southland, and that it is coming fast. There is a cosmopolitan air about the streets. The many moving-picture palaces, offering all the latest theatrical stars, the show windows with their elaborate Christmas decorations, the florist shops with masses of handsome orchids, roses, and violets, the brilliant jewelry shops, the immense department stores, the wonderful market [Market Square, that is] containing everything that the most fastidious taste of modern man could wish to eat—all this goes to prove that Knoxville is a real city….” The unnamed reporter concluded, “Every one in Knoxville except the dead ones has caught the Christmas spirit, and when one gets that, one doesn’t mind spending money.” ◆ December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 9
PERSPECTIVES
#1 for Income Inequality Tennessee taxes are the nation’s most regressive BY JOE SULLIVAN
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
he dictionary definition of a regressive tax is one that takes a larger percentage of a lower income and a smaller percentage of a higher income. With a sales tax that accounts for a disproportionate 60 percent of state revenues and a combined state and local tax rate of a weighted 9.45 percent that’s the highest in the land, Tennessee is a poster child for regressiveness. That’s because lower-income families spend a much higher percentage of their income on taxable goods than the well-to-do. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Tennessee families with incomes below $31,000 spend 8.5 percent of it on sales taxes compared to 6 percent for middle-income families (between $31,000 and $78,000) and only 2.5 percent for families above $157,000. Now comes a study by three Federal Reserve economists evidencing that Tennessee is the worst state in the nation in terms of exacerbating income inequality. The study, entitled “The Role of Taxes in Mitigating Income Inequality Across the U.S. States,” measures the extent to which taxes reduce the percentage difference between the incomes of high-income families and low-income families. The study’s complex methodology compares the percentage difference between the incomes of taxpayers at the 90th and the 10th percentiles of the income distribution on a before-tax and after-tax basis. It concludes that “the federal tax system compresses the income distribution by about 30
percentage points.” To better understand how this comparison is being measured, one of the study’s authors offers the following example: Family H earns $100,000 and Family L earns $50,000. After taxes are applied, the incomes are H = $60,000 (tax rate of 40 percent) and L = $40,000 (tax rate of 20 percent. After tax, the high-income family is earning 50 percent more than the low-income family. The compression metric is simply the difference between the pre- and post-tax differences: 100 percent - 50 percent = 50 percent. Where state taxes are concerned, the study concludes that “on average, the influence of state taxes on income inequality is small relative to federal taxes.” However, a few states stick out like sore thumbs, and Tennessee’s is the sorest of the lot. Its taxes widen income inequality by 10 percent, topping Mississippi at 9.5 percent and West Virginia at 9.1 percent for the most regressive and “reversing about one-third of the compression caused by federal taxes.” These disparities are being worsened by the phase-out of one of the state’s two progressive taxes and
the prospective repeal of the other. Inheritance taxes, which fall exclusively on the wealthy, yielded the state $150 million in fiscal year 2012 but will go poof when the tax is repealed in 2016. Many legislators are also targeting for repeal the state’s one semblance of an income tax; namely, the 6 percent Hall tax on dividend and interest income, which yielded $302 million this past fiscal year. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, over 80 percent of the benefit from a Hall tax repeal would flow to the wealthiest 5 percent of Tennessee taxpayers. The notion that it hurts senior citizens living on fixed incomes is refuted by the $59,000 income exemption for seniors from the tax. The appetite for tax cuts is being whetted by the remarkable growth in state revenues over the past two years. Much of a $600 million surplus from fiscal 2015 has yet to be committed, and the State Funding Board is now projecting a $350 million surplus for the current fiscal year with further revenue growth of about the same amount in the fiscal year ahead. Sales tax revenues that keep growing by more than 7 percent year-over-year are the biggest contributor to these projections. If there is room for state tax reduction, it should start with the sales tax on food. Tennessee is one of only five states that imposes such a tax at all. And while it was reduced to 5 percent in 2013, it’s still double the rate of the next highest state, Virginia. The study by the Federal Reserve economists estimates that exempting food from sales tax reduces income inequality by about 3 percentage points. While the $500 million cost of a state exemption, before even taking local option sales taxes into account, is beyond the realm, anyone who cares a whit about tax equity should insist that a food tax reduction should take precedence over a Hall tax cut. ◆
Anyone who cares a whit about tax equity should insist that a food tax reduction should take precedence over a Hall tax cut.
A UT maintenance worker clears leaves around a permanent abstract statue that looks an awful lot like a Christmas tree in disguise. The university’s Office of Diversity came under fire this month for publishing suggestions for staff to “ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise.”
Photo by Clay Duda
Marks on Diversity Legislative action could impact university’s accreditation BY CLAY DUDA
T
hreats by Tennessee lawmakers to defund the University of Tennessee’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion could have lasting impacts on the school’s academic standing if those representatives make good on their promises. Several conservative legislators have called for action since that office published suggestions online earlier this month for making sure campus holiday parties did not emphasize one particular religion. In part, the recommendations (which have since been updated) advised staff to “ensure your holiday party is not a Christmas party in disguise,” and warned against participating in things like “Secret Santa” or “Dreidel.” That advice has sparked controversy from Nashville to Washington, D.C., making national headlines in the process. All nine Republican members of Congress representing Tennessee have denounced the posting, along with a number of East Tennessee state representatives. Some have called for the resignation or firing of Vice
Chancellor Rickey Hall (who heads the Office of Diversity), his boss Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, and members of the board of trustees who oversee the University of Tennessee system. “The people on the far left who claim to be tolerant seem to be tolerant of everything except traditional Christianity,” U.S. Congressman John Duncan, R-Strawberry Plains, said in a statement earlier this month. “They don’t object to Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or any other religion’s traditions. But they go unhinged on anything that hints at traditional Christianity. They try to take down Crosses and Christian emblems. It is a shame and very sad. And it is extremism.” Responding early to criticism, Cheek said the response had been overblown, noting that the university had no set guidelines for holiday parties and these were merely advisory suggestions for faculty and staff. “We are in no way trying to dismiss this very important Christian holiday,” he said in a statement. “As a diverse campus, we do promote ways
to be more inclusive of all cultures and religions. I am disappointed that our efforts to be inclusive have been totally misconstrued.” Other elected officials see a chance to reign in the Office of Diversity by curtailing its funding. State Rep. James “Micah” Van Huss, R-Johnson City, says he started drafting legislation seeking to defund the office earlier this year after it drew ire for another online posting, one advocating the use of gender-neutral pronouns that some transgender and LGBT students prefer. His idea is to take a portion of the estimated $5.5 million that goes to UT diversity efforts across the state each year and set up a voluntary fund to pay for state and local law enforcement officials to have “In God we trust” decals placed on their government-issued work vehicles. “I am not opposed to creating an environment where students of all backgrounds can find a place. However, this is NOT what the so-called Office of Diversity is doing,” Van Huss said in a post to his LordPickle Facebook page. “They are not celebrating diversity, they are wiping it out. It is the office of Political Correctness. Sadly, being a student with strong Judeo-Christian values, who wants to observe traditional celebrations, is no longer politically correct at UT.” However, if the state Legislature follows through in passing his bill, or if UT administrators are removed by its board due to outside political pressure, those actions could potentially impact on the university’s standing with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Commission on Colleges, an organization that accredits colleges throughout the Southeast. “If the Legislature were to take action, there is one accreditation standard that we could be called on the carpet for and found noncompliant,” says Mary Albrecht, an associate vice provost who oversees accreditation for the University of Tennessee Knoxville campus. “That’s section 3.2.4, which specifically states, ‘the governing board is free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies and protects the
institution from such influence.’” SACS spokeswoman Pamela Cravey says issues over outside influence have factored into compliance checks for various universities in the past, but it’s impossible to say what—if any—impact the current situation could have on UT until it plays out. “There are so many variables in this one, like how was it done, how is it proven, why did it happen,” Cravey says. “It’s just hard to predict something that hasn’t happened yet.” Accreditation is technically a voluntary process that allows universities and colleges to demonstrate they meet minimum standards on everything from coursework to hiring practices. It also allows students to apply for federal financial aid and may influence the availability of grants from some federal agencies and other organizations. University of Tennessee campuses maintain separate accreditations. (UT Martin last week was placed on a 12-month academic probation for failing standards related to evidence of institutional effectiveness and general education competencies.) Universities are fully evaluated on more than 70 accreditation standards every 10 years, with a mid-term report due every five years. Falling short of just one of those standards can lead a school to being monitored or placed on probation, depending on the situation, until the issue is corrected. UT Knoxville was fully accredited most recently in 2014. Citing similar concerns, the University of Tennessee Knoxville Faculty Senate last week unanimously passed a resolution calling on Gov. Bill Haslam (who chairs the board of trustees that oversees the university system) to “assert his support for the processes and procedures already in place” for managing the university. “We’re in an abusive relationship right now with the Legislature,” says Candace White, a UTK professor and Faculty Senate member. “They hold the economic purse strings while we just keep apologizing and we don’t even stand up for ourselves. I think our administration just feels like it can’t.” In a release last week, UT officials acknowledged missteps and said it had made changes to help “prevent further poorly worded communications” in the future, including counseling Hall and moving oversight of the Office of Diversity’s website to Vice Chancellor for Communications Margie Nichols. ◆ December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 11
After a series of use-of-force incidents,
CHECKS lawsuits, and policy changes, how well is
A ND the Knoxville Police Department policing its own?
BALANCES By S. Heather Duncan This is the first in a two-part series examining the KPD. This week: accountability. In our Jan. 14 issue: community relationships.
A
t Knoxville Police Department headquarters, about 50 officers scrunch behind desks or lounge along the wall in an overheated room. It’s a few minutes before 10 p.m., and the night shift is about to start. With two or three exceptions, they are white men with close-shaven hair, sipping coffee or Mountain Dew. Like churchgoers, they compete for seats at the back
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
as they joke quietly before roll call. An officer reads a Bible passage from the book of Jeremiah, the part when God has turned against Jerusalem for sacrificing its children to idols. “I will punish you for everything you’ve done, says the Lord,” the young officer reads. “I will set fi re to your forest and it will burn up everything around you.” The men rise and set out to pursue justice. But whose justice, what kind, and whether it’s the same justice for
everyone are questions that loom large for many Americans at the moment, especially black Americans. Knoxville is no exception. This year, national outrage about police shootings of unarmed blacks in Ferguson, Mo., New York, Charleston, and other cities led to the creation of a Knoxville Black Lives Matter chapter and packed local public meetings examining the relationship between police and the black community. Also in 2015, the Knoxville Police Department and the city faced lawsuits
over police brutality related to the shooting death of a fleeing man and the alleged beating of a Hispanic man, several officers have been accused of racial profiling in efforts to make drug arrests, dashcam recordings of altercations with police (including the K-9 mauling of a suspect) have been missing at trial, and a judge has said KPD needs to provide more training on citizens’ rights. “As a result of what is going on in the nation, there is a mistrust of law enforcement,” says Rev. John Butler,
death of a white man, Ronald Carden, after he wrestled with officer David Gerlach and then ran. The lawsuit, filed by Carden’s son, accuses Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch and the city of “failing to adequately respond to and investigate complaints of officer misconduct” as well as having a practice of exonerating officers accused of misconduct, “allowing officers to use excessive and/or unreasonable force without fear of discipline” and creating an atmosphere where “illegal and unconstitutional behavior is condoned, tolerated or approved.” Another lawsuit involves the Officer David Gerlach struggles with Ronald Carden as he attempts to arrest him alleged beating of an unarmed in July 2014. Shortly after this screen shot from Gerlach’s dashboard camera Mexican brick layer, Ernesto Rodrivideo, Carden ran out of the frame and, after a continued struggle with Gerlach, guez, when he failed to cooperate with was shot and killed. Carden’s son has filed a lawsuit against the city and being handcuffed. Gerlach, claiming his father was shot in the back in a display of unnecessary A review of the personnel files of force and wasn’t provided rapid enough medical treatment afterward. officers involved in both these incidents shows mostly stellar records, but the cases are still “There is a concern—some would say a making their way through court, with Rodriguez’s jury trial set healthy fear—that I could do everything for March. right and still get shot, and it be ruled While these situations might lead to questions about appropriate. The potential is really there.” police leadership, community —REV. JOHN BUTLER, president, Knoxville NAACP activists and watchdogs tend to praise Rausch, who came up through the department and took its helm in 2011. Earlier this month, an internal affairs investigaBY THE NUMBERS tion (of, among other officers, Rausch BEATING A HOMELESS MAN: himself) concluded with a press THE AFTERMATH conference to announce discipline In February 2013, a white, homeless, About 250 patrol officers against four officers for issues related mentally ill man named Michael Allen 300,000 calls for service a year to security side-jobs. (Rausch was Mallicoat was being arrested for 80,000 tickets written exonerated.) In 2013, Rausch came public drunkenness when he strug11,000 arrests down hard and publicly on police gled with two female police officers as 130 times, officers used force officers involved in the beating of a they tried to handcuff him. When homeless man in custody. other officers arrived as backup, some “I think my record stands pretty use of force after a complaint. KPD of them beat and stomped him in the strong in the way I have handled found the complaint was unfounded, street while he was hog-tied. The situations,” Rausch said at an based on dashcam footage.) The two subsequent investigation, punishment, FBI-sponsored forum about race and female officers, Haley Starr and and in some cases rehabilitation of law enforcement this fall. “I think our Cynthia Demarcus, lied to cover for the officers is a revealing case study of community has confidence in the their fellow officers. The women had how KPD handles police brutality. system and the way that it works.” originally apprehended Mallicoat, so Three officers quit under investigaRausch is making some policy his safety as their prisoner was their tion and pleaded guilty to charges of changes aimed at recruiting more responsibility. [Ed. Note: Through the misdemeanor assault and felony official responsible officers, reducing the use of KPD communications officer, the oppression, serving one-year sentences force, and more accurately identifying Mercury offered to speak with all on probation. None of them will be able problem officers early. But with KPD currently-serving KPD officers to work in law enforcement again. solely conducting investigations of its mentioned in this story to include their Personnel records show two other own officers, questions still linger about perspective, but received no response.] officers, Richard Derrick White and accountability, checks and balances, All four officers were suspended Nicholas Ferro, dropped to their knees and conflicts of interest, as investigators for various lengths of time (White the on the hog-tied prisoner’s back, and are tasked with casting a critical eye on least), and Demarcus was demoted. White purposely turned off his body the conduct of colleagues who are, in She has since been promoted back to microphone. (The previous year, White some cases, friends. her previous rank. had been investigated for unnecessary Photo courtesy of KPD/dashcam
president of the Knoxville NAACP chapter. “When you start having summits on what to do when stopped by police,” as Knoxville Community Step-Up did a few months ago, “obviously there is a concern—some would say a healthy fear—that I could do everything right and still get shot, and it be ruled appropriate. The potential is really there.” And the black community in Knoxville has less political clout to respond than in many Southern cities. In 2010, just 17 percent of Knoxville residents were black, according to the census. There is only one black person serving on City Council and Knox County Commission, respectively. In the police department, only three of 98 police officers ranked sergeant or higher are black. Andre Canty, a local Black Lives Matter organizer, says KPD needs to be more open about how it responds when officers behave badly. “When the public knows about that, there’s a lot more room for trust and transparency,” he says. “Is the punishment severity the same if I do a crime and a cop does?” He argues that officers who commit crimes should face prosecution. Are cops who show bias or who abuse suspects held accountable by the Knoxville Police Department? The Mercury examined the personnel files of more than 20 officers who have either recently been the subject of lawsuits related to use of force, had repeated misbehavior problems or high-profile errors, or who have been flagged for recurring problems by the department itself. In these officers’ cases, reprimands, “counseling forms,” and even suspensions often appear to have had little to no effect on officers’ annual reviews, pay raises, or promotions. The department itself investigates potential criminal allegations against its officers, even in cases that involve deadly use of force or shooting deaths. Although more than 100 officers have been flagged in the 14 years since an early intervention system was instituted to nip problem behaviors in the bud, only one of those officers has actually been enrolled in the correctional part of the program. In all other cases, supervisors decided the officers’ activities weren’t a problem. KPD faces lawsuits related to use of force in two separate July 2014 incidents. One involves the shooting
KPD on the Street
December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 13
Photo courtesy of KPD/public record
customer service on his 2013 review, despite the beating. Last year he was shot twice while pursuing a man who had allegedly beaten up and shot at his ex-girlfriend. White and partner Thomas Turner returned fire and killed the suspect as the man was reaching for a second gun. Afterward White, who was probably saved from death in the encounter by his bulletproof vest, received a KPD Medal of Valor and Purple Heart. This year he earned an honorable mention in the TOP COPS Awards from the National Association of Police Organizations. He was promoted this summer. But White, who has an associate degree in civil engineering, acknowledged when he first applied to KPD that he had been allowed to quit a previous job (at Walmart) At top, Knoxville rather than be fired, and he was Police Chief David “There is a brotherhood. We want rejected by the Maryville and Rausch. Clockwise Alcoa police departments. to make sure police understand they from top left, KPD White was the number-one Officer Richard really are there to uphold the law, and that user of force in the KPD during White, Nicholas 2014, according to internal includes dealing with one of their own.” Ferro, Brian reports. He was flagged by the Headrick, and —ROSA MAR, Police Advisory Review Committee department’s early warning Thomas Turner. system for two years straight. He is one of several officers whose dashcam recordings have been missing after disputed arrests of black suspects. BY THE NUMBERS “When those top 10’s come out (of assignments after their suspensions. officers who use force), and White was Anders, one of the supervisors who working for me—it hits you in the got in trouble for failing to thoroughly face,” says Thomas, who remained investigate the Mallicoat beating, was 2014: 47 complaints, White’s captain until she took the allowed to determine when White was 18 referred to supervisors, Internal Affairs job this spring. ready to return to his regular job. 31 percent sustained After the Mallicoat beating, A year and a half later, Thomas 2013: 40 percent sustained Thomas says she reviewed the full was appointed to run the Internal 2012: 25 percent sustained video and audio recordings every time Affairs investigation unit. 2011: 18 percent sustained White used force. “He’s very good at Rausch called her error “an verbal skills,” she says. “He can isolated incident” after a 21-year de-escalate a situation,” talking sports “spotless and impressive career.” with people he’s just arrested as he He adds, “I haven’t had an Three supervisors who reviewed takes them to jail. unblemished career. I’ve had reprithose use-of-force reports were “The community likes him,” mands.” (His personnel file indicates reprimanded for overlooking a Thomas says, recalling him foot racing he was once reprimanded for backing damning dashcam video during the with East Knoxville teenagers. “I left into another car.) “Should I never have initial follow-up investigation, which him there. But we did watch him.” become police chief? The key is you was taken over by Internal Affairs White’s July 2015 review states have problems, and you fix them.” within a few days. Those supervisors that he is “consistently involved in White and Ferro have had mixed were Sgt. John Shelton, Lt. Brad high-risk activities but uses due records since. Anders (a Knox County Commissionregard and sound judgment when Ferro was suspended again eight er), and Capt. Eve Thomas, who had executing his duties during these months later in connection with a been in charge of the East District for types of encounters in the field.” high-speed pursuit. This spring, he was just one month at the time. nominated for Officer of the Month for “What’s important on that case is his role in catching an armed robber. As we did deal with the supervisors,” DUE CONSEQUENCES? one of the few KPD officers fluent in Rausch says. Poor behavior or breaches of departSpanish, he often translates for other mental policy appear to have little Officers who were suspended officers even after his duty hours. effect on officers’ annual reviews, and underwent remedial training before White received high marks for have no effect on pay raises. returning to their regular duty
KPD Internal Affairs investigations
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
For example, during the review period that ended this June, Officer Zackery Herman received two counseling forms (for failing to appear in court and causing an accident) and two oral reprimands (for rear-ending someone in his squad car and failing to confiscate evidence in a timely way), yet still received an above-average score on his annual review. Behaviors such as failing to report the use of force to a supervisor, wrecking a police cruiser, not recording encounters with suspects, and repeatedly blowing off grand jury subpoenas earn only a “counseling” form or an oral reprimand—basically, a slap on the wrist. Until the last year, KPD didn’t even keep track of counseling forms. That changed because Internal Affairs officers realized new supervisors might not otherwise know when they are dealing with a repeat offender, Thomas says. Rausch says he has no control over officer pay, except when it comes to lost pay during a disciplinary suspension. Annual pay increases are determined by the city’s Civil Service Department based on years of service, education and similar factors. That can produce some odd results. After Ferro was suspended for his involvement in the Mallicoat beating, he received a 2.5 percent raise. He got the same the next year, after another suspension, and in 2015, when his productivity was deemed “exceptional” and he was nominated for Officer of the Month. Rausch says the department offered performance pay for a while, but stopped around the end of the administration of former Mayor Bill Haslam, who is now governor. “We never got to a place where we said it was a fair system, so it just went away,” Rausch says. However, Rausch says discipline does come into play when deciding promotions, training opportunities, and plum assignments. It could affect whether an officer works a day or night shift, as well as who serves on special teams like bomb technicians or bike cops. But personnel files show discipline sometimes has little bearing on these decisions. Ty Compton, who was one of the officers who pled guilty in the Mallicoat beating, caused three car accidents in his cruiser over 15 months; the worst discipline he
received was an oral reprimand. His next review was still good, and he was able to join the K-9 unit. Receiving one written and two oral reprimands in 2012 led to Officer Brian Headrick to be flagged by the department’s early warning program—and, also, promoted. In fact, he was promoted four times in 10 years, despite reviews citing repeated problems with dependability and an unusually consistent string of reprimands. In 2006, he was suspended without pay for three days after an Internal Affairs investigation found he had made harassing phone calls to a woman, drained the air from the tires of all the vehicles in her driveway, and threatened to use his police power against her. (He was not charged with any crimes as a result.) On the other hand, some years Headrick was a squad leader for arrests and received commendations. He was promoted again in July. Butler with the NAACP suggests that perhaps the Police Advisory Review Committee, a group of citizens appointed by the mayor to track complaints about police, should extend its reach to look at promotions within the department. He is concerned that officers involved in racial profiling, unnecessary use of force, and other destructive behaviors could be moved into leadership positions. “If you’re promoted and you determine a subordinate is behaving badly, you may find no problem with it, because ‘It’s not worse than what I’ve done,’” Butler says. Rosa Mar, who serves on the Police Advisory Review Committee, says she is concerned about the police “code of silence.” “There is a brotherhood,” she says. “We want to make sure police understand they really are there to uphold the law, and that includes dealing with one of their own.” The department created a “Professional Excellence Program” in 2002 to identify behavior patterns that might lead to problems. Officers are automatically flagged when they face a certain number of misconduct complaints or disciplinary actions, or when they cross a threshold for the number of car chases or times they use force, quarterly or annually. According to data provided by Internal Affairs, the number who make the list each year
KPD’s Internal Affairs unit often rules against its officers A key element of accountability is how the department investigates and chooses punishment for officers who break the rules. The Knoxville Police Department’s Internal Affairs unit has found against its own officers more often since David Rausch became chief. However, when officers break not only the rules but also the law, the criminal investigation is still conducted internally, presenting potential conflicts of interest. Capt. Eve Thomas, who heads Internal Affairs, says her unit looks into both internal and external complaints about officers, although it can decide which complaints rate opening an Internal Affairs case. In 2014, 220 complaints were determined “not to warrant an official investigation.” Minor complaints are referred to the officer’s supervisor to check out. According to KPD records, the department investigated 47 complaints in 2014. Of these, 18 were referred to supervisors, and the rest were investigated by Internal Affairs. KPD found officers had broken rules and deserved discipline 31 percent of the time, down from 40 percent in 2013. But the department found against officers even more rarely in 2012 (25 percent of the time) and 2011 (just 18 percent), which is when Rausch took over as chief. Even at its lowest, that “sustained rate”—
Photo courtesy of KPD/public record
EARLY WARNINGS
INSIDE INVESTIGATIONS the rate at which the department finds against its own officers—is more than twice the national average. “Wow, that’s really high,” says Liana Perez, director of operations for the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. Most law enforcement agencies have a sustained rate between 5 and 8 percent, she says. Does this mean KPD has more misbehavior than average, or less tolerance for it? It could be both, says Perez. It could also relate to the fact that the department decides which complaints to investigate as cases. Many agencies count every complaint in their tally, she says. “The high sustainability rate of cases can be attributed to the large number of investigations that are initiated internally (within the police department) where we believe a policy/ procedure has been violated and we are usually correct,” Thomas wrote in an email. “This would be a good thing because it demonstrates that accountability of our officers/employees to our standards through self-policing within the department—and that we address potential violations when we become aware of them rather than waiting for a complaint from the community.” According to the records of the Internal Affairs unit, it conducted nine investigations related to officer-involved shootings between August 2012 and August 2015; four related to in-car recording; and 14 involving excessive or unnecessary force. Almost all were determined to have been unfounded, meaning that the actions of which the officers were accused never occurred. Three of the four cases involving recordings were discovered—and sustained—in the course of investigating other charges. These resulted in a counseling form or “memo in the personnel file,” basically the mildest form of discipline. In one case, unnecessary force was sustained and the officer received a written reprimand. Once an investigation is complete, the process of deciding appropriate discipline begins. The officer’s captain and deputy chief make recommendations to Rausch, who meets with senior command staff (seven captains and
KPD Capt. Eve Thomas has overseen the department’s Internal Affairs unit since spring 2015.
four deputy chiefs) and an attorney to discuss the circumstances and the officer’s record. Then Rausch makes a final recommendation. If he proposes at least a suspension, a pre-discipline hearing is held with the officer before a final decision is made. Rausch freely acknowledges different officers who commit similar offenses may not face the same punishments. “You have to decide: Are you going to be fair, or are you going to be equal?” Rausch says. “I go with fair. It won’t always be equal.” This entire investigative and disciplinary process happens even when an officer has committed a crime. No one is ever fired on the spot, Rausch says. In fact, only one officer, Brian Kauffman, has been fired in the past three years. Internal Affairs documents indicate he disregarded an order to stop chasing someone in his squad car while leading his supervisor to believe otherwise, and without telling the dispatcher or using his lights and siren. Some officers resign before their discipline is decided. In other cases, Rausch says it is not uncommon for him to give an officer the option to either resign or be fired. These officers could be hired by another law enforcement agency without their behavior showing up on their records. “Whether or not other agencies ask the right questions is up to them,” Rausch says, noting that KPD always requests any past Internal Affairs cases involving applicants. “We report to (the Peace Officer Standards Training Commission) if they resign under investigation,” Rausch says. “While they can resign, they can’t hide from it.” When an incident or complaint might actually involve an officer committing a crime, parallel but separate investigations are run by Internal Affairs (for breaches of department policy) and by the department’s criminal investigators, Thomas says. Criminal investigators then turn over their results to the district attorney to make a decision about prosecution, she says. That’s just one of many ways that departments across the country handle such situations, and there is no single recognized “best practice,” says Maria Haberfield, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, one of the leading criminal justice programs in the nation. But her colleague, Candace McCoy, also a professor at John Jay, says criminal investigations of police officer conduct are almost always conducted by local prosecutors or, less commonly, the state attorney general’s office. This makes Knoxville’s approach “closer than the national norm” when it comes to the relationship between the investigator and the investigated, she says. —S. Heather Duncan December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 15
Photo by Clay Duda
Knoxville police officers question two people after making a stop along E. Fifth Avenue.
“If we see an officer that’s going off the reservation, we address that. I think the culture here is that people know what’s acceptable.” — KPD CHIEF DAVID RAUSCH
has dropped, from 21 on the 2007 annual report to just three or four a year during the past three years. The department continues to use this system for officer accountability even though Chief Rausch admits it’s arbitrary and flawed. A group of at least three supervisors evaluates each flagged officer to determine whether he or she needs additional training, supervision, discipline, or a new assignment, among other options. Almost always, the answer is no. Supervisors determine that the officer’s behavior was isolated or justified. Often, supervisors use what appear to be cut-and-paste stock explanations saying the situations were “isolated incidents” involving “a levelheaded officer who takes prudent action.” “There are times you have really hard-working, good officers who are going to be flagged,” Rausch says. “It could mean this is a hard-charging officer working… in a high-incident area.” The system has flagged officers 108 times since 2007. Yet only one officer has ever actually been “enrolled” 16
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
BY THE NUMBERS
Race/sex of citizens involved in response to resistance/use of force incidents in 2014: White male 66 White female 5 Black male 48 Black female 10 Hispanic male 2 Hispanic female 0 in the program as a result, Thomas says. The officer, Andrew Gyorfi, used force four times in three months and was suspended after two Internal Affairs investigations that found he had violated policy related to courtesy (twice), treatment of prisoners, knowledge of laws, and failing to report using force. He resigned a few months after he was enrolled and reassigned. Even officers who are flagged two or three times in a row, like White and his partner Thomas Turner, aren’t enrolled. Officer Joel Ascencio was flagged two years in a row after he used force nine times in 2012 and was
the subject of citizen complaints about rudeness and racial profiling, both of which KPD determined were unfounded. In 2013, Ascencio used force six times, received a counseling form for not having his microphone on while he did so, and received a written reprimand after pushing a suspect from a doorway into a parking lot. He resigned in 2014 before an Internal Affairs case for insubordination could be opened as his supervisor had requested, Thomas says. Thomas says the department doesn’t regard use of force as a problem in itself, although she acknowledged, “It shocks the conscience.” Its significance lies in whether an officer is using force inappropriately and being disciplined, she says. Some officers flagged by the early warning system are also squad leaders in arrests. In reviews, Ascencio was named MADD DUI Officer of the year in 2013; his supervisor called him “a model of productivity and consistency” and “quite simply among the very hardest workers in this department.” Thomas Turner is praised for “exceptional” productivity and won the department’s Medal of Merit for heroism in 2014, the year he was flagged. Officer Joseph Whitehead led his squad for arrests and DUI arrests and was the community liaison for Lincoln Park when he was flagged in 2012. So do high-performers simply have more citizen contacts, increasing the likelihood of complaints and violent confrontations? Or do they get a pass from superiors (or the benefit of the doubt) when their behavior is questioned? The answer is neither, Rausch says. “If we see an officer that’s going off the reservation, we address that. I think the culture here is that people know what’s acceptable,” Rausch says. “The question is, are they keeping the community safe? Not just arrests, but when we make contacts, are they positive?” There’s another way arrests aren’t always a good indicator of productivity: If they don’t stand up in court, they don’t get criminals off the street. Yet there seem to be few repercussions for KPD officers who don’t do their part in getting convictions. For example, when Headrick failed to show up for grand jury subpoenas three times in six months, all he received was an oral reprimand.
Investigator Michael Washam faced no discipline after misplacing key recordings in the double-murder trial of Norman Eugene Clark, which ended in a hung jury this summer. Rausch says officers “are prideful” and will take it to heart when they make mistakes that jeopardize cases. “We want to win every case. But we’re human, so human frailty comes into that,” Rausch says. Rausch says the early intervention program is flawed because it was not scientifically designed: KPD chose random numbers to use as warning flags. Now the department, along with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, is working through the University of Chicago to develop better criteria, he says. Data scientists are working backward from records of police officers who were fired, arrested, or disciplined for poor behavior to find out what they have in common. This will provide better indicators of when early intervention is needed. Rausch says the department will probably start using the new criteria next year.
USE OF FORCE
Rausch is considering gradually increasing the education requirements for new officers, now that the Tennessee Promise program eliminates financial barriers by paying for two years of community or technical college. He says some agencies making this change are seeing better applicants without a drop in minority recruitment. He envisions starting with a 30-credit-hour requirement with no specific degree or certification. Studies show this kind of change could significantly reduce the use of force by officers. A report early this year by Capt. Kenny Miller on behalf of KPD Internal Affairs recommended a five-year goal of requiring an associate degree, specifically because officers with at least some college coursework are less likely to use force than those with only a high school degree. The report also called for offering incentives to officers who obtain associate or master’s degrees. A 2010 study by Jason Rydberg, published in Police Quarterly, found that officers with no education beyond high school used force in 12 percent more cases than those with some higher education. Miller’s report noted that KPD set a positive record in 2014: Officers resorted to force fewer times than in
any previous year, 130 times. This continues a positive trend, since 2013 was the department’s second-lowest year ever for use of force. The Internal Affairs report stated that the improvement might be due to the increase in officers with four-year degrees. They made up 47 percent of the department in 2014. “In 2006, when force usage was at an all time high (316 incidents), the department had 101 officers with a four-year degree,” the report states. “In eight short years the department expanded that number to 193 officers. In essence, force usage dropped by 59% in 8 years, while the number of 4-year degrees increased by 91%.” KPD use of force has dropped significantly since 1998, when community outrage peaked after four men—three of them black—died within seven months as a result of confrontations with police. Today, Rausch ticks off the stats: About 250 patrol officers answer 300,000 calls for service a year, writing 80,000 tickets and making 11,000 arrests—all while using force just 1 percent of the time. “That’s pretty impressive,” he says. “That explains the skill set of our officers.” Nonetheless, police brutality remains high on the public radar. There is little agreement about who is primarily to blame for violent confrontations. In fact, there isn’t even agreement on what to call them: Inside the department, use of force is called “response to resistance”—putting the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the suspect. (And indeed, when a suspect fights or otherwise endangers the safety of an officer or bystanders, the law is clear that the officer has every right to use force.) KPD requires officers to immediately report every time they use force, from an open-handed shove to shooting a suspect. Unlike use of force in general, KPD officer-involved shootings do not seem to be following a clear downward trend. However, the numbers are small and vary so little that they might be statistically insignificant. In 2014, there were five officer-involved shootings, up from two in 2013 and three in 2012. A 2014 report by KPD Internal Affairs noted that just 13 officers were involved in 47 percent of all use of force incidents that year. White
topped the list with seven incidents, followed by Brian Mullane, Turner, and Herman with six each. “These figures by themselves provide no indication of improper conduct,” the report states. “Conversely, it is equally important to point out that four officers (25%) on the same list from 2012 were forced to leave the department for serious policy infractions in 2013.” Of the officers who made the department’s top-10 list for use of force in 2013, one resigned under investigation (Ascencio), a second was suspended for causing a car wreck, and a third resigned in April before a pre-disciplinary hearing. An Internal Affairs investigation had concluded this officer, Woody Bingham, had broken the law and behaved with “conduct unbecoming an officer” after he hit a decoration in a club parking lot while driving away drunk. He was arrested by Knox County Sheriff’s deputies, but charges were dropped before Bingham’s discipline was decided, Thomas says, adding that he probably would have faced firing or suspension for the type of violations sustained against him. The upshot is that the department has found some correlation between frequent use of force and other problem behaviors. The Police Academy attempts to weed out cadets who can’t keep their cool by putting them under stress to see how they react, said chief firearms training instructor Sgt. Shane Watson at a recent PARC meeting. He explained how officers are trained in when to use force—and when to stop. “It’s hard to teach a young officer to turn off those emotions,” he said, “because being attacked is a very personal thing.” His presentation prompted so many questions that Deputy Chief Nate Allen said the department needs to hold a forum exclusively about the use of force. PARC Executive Director Avice Reid says that when PARC was first founded, many complaints dealt with excessive force. Now those are rare, and the most common complaints deal with rudeness, she says. “I think officers are not as quick to use force,” she says. “I think it has a lot to do with the culture in the department, training officers to use less forceful means.” PARC received two complaints
BY THE NUMBERS
Top 6 call types resulting in use of force or mandatory blood draws* (2014): Domestic disturbance (9%) Disturbance call (9%) Public intoxication (6%) School disturbance (5%) Working security (5%) Traffic stop (5%) *Intoxication tests
Use of force/response to resistance incidents by year: 2014 130 2013 151 2012 218 2011 189
“It’s hard to teach a young officer to turn off those emotions because being attacked is a very personal thing.” —KPD SGT. SHANE WATSON
related to unnecessary force and one complaint related to police brutality from the beginning of 2015 to the end of September, according to PARC’s quarterly report. In 2014, there were four unnecessary force complaints and none were labeled “police brutality” on PARC’s annual report.
LEADERSHIP
Rausch says he has been pushing the department to open up more about parts of its work when it can. But earlier this year, Rausch and his department seemed to be setting a new course toward hiding how decisions are made and how officers do their jobs. Rausch and other members of the E-911 Committee discussed a controversial police radio contract outside of public meetings (with Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones as well as Mayor Madeline Rogero), in violation of the state’s Open Meetings laws. Rogero and Rausch said they didn’t realize this was a violation, but they took responsibility for their actions. A few months later, the News Sentinel revealed that the police department had begun withholding public access to police dashboard camera videos in an apparent policy change that was not approved by Rogero (or, it appears, by Rausch). The idea was quickly abandoned. This month, the department announced publicly that it was disciplining four officers in connection
with “secondary employment” work that took K-9 dogs out of state. An internal affairs investigation launched in response to a complaint by several officers in April concluded that the department needed clearer policies and oversight when it comes to officers moonlighting in security jobs. Many jobs were being done without required approvals, confiscated drugs were not documented and certain supervisors were charging scheduling fees deemed questionable. As a result, KPD is creating a command-level position to approve and track these jobs. The complaint was initially about two supervisors—one of whom was Chief Rausch. While still a leiutenant, he was one of the officers who began the practice of charging scheduling fees. Despite defending this as standard practice in a press conference last week, Rausch announced that the department will now ban it. The Internal Affairs Unit found that Rausch severed relationships with outside employers when he became chief, as KPD policy requires, and has since had no role in assigning officers to outside jobs. (Rausch’s entire personnel file, dating back to 1992, is full of perfect reviews and descriptions like “poster boy” and “overachiever,” and his ethics in particular were singled out for praise.) As chief, Rausch normally would have the final say in assigning December 17, 2015
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discipline. Because he was the subject of the complaint, however, Thomas says she ran the investigation through the city law department and met with Rogero to review the case first. “I’m the only Internal Affairs investigator I’ve ever met, even at national conferences, who’s had to interview their chief,” Thomas says. Rausch points out that he is responsible to the mayor, who appoints him. Before her recent re-election and again at a press conference about the recent internal affairs investigation, Rogero clearly stated her confidence in Rausch. Rausch is highly visible in the community. He attends events from East Knoxville back-to-school bashes to Save Our Sons Committee meetings aimed at reducing the number of young black men in jail. Andre Canty with Black Lives Matter, who serves with Rausch on the committee, says the chief’s work there has built his credentials as an ally to poor blacks. When residents attending the FBI-sponsored forum complained its panel included only white men, Rausch acknowledged that he could have sent a black deputy chief. But as the person with ultimate responsibility for his department, he thought he should show up himself. (This also highlighted the absence of Sheriff Jones and his decision to send, not even a deputy, but a lawyer in his place.) PARC’s Reid says Rausch works with her closely on addressing citizen complaints. “Things where years ago they might have said, ‘(That officer) is just having a bad day,’ now they take seriously,” Reid says. When people approach him with complaints in public meetings, Rausch is respectful and checks out anything specific. But he’s going to tell it like he sees it. He insists his officers do a wonderful job that is approved in most of the community. “The majority of things I hear are positive,” Rausch says. His officers go beyond what’s expected to help people, like buying groceries for residents or fixing their electric wheelchairs, he says. But they also do what is expected. On the night shift, they drain their coffee or Mountain Dew and strike out into the dark, hurrying to anonymous calls about gunshots. They seek, and dispense, justice as they understand it. And as they have been taught. ◆ 18
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
UNDER THE LENS Did KPD’s dashcam recordings go missing on purpose, or because of faulty technology and human error? BY S. HEATHER DUNCAN
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“When they lose audio and video, black people say, ‘There they go again lying to us.’ So if they could be more transparent, it would help.” —JOE KENDRICK, executive director of Knoxville Community Step-Up
mericans are uncomfortable with being watched. We react with outrage about government domestic spying or the possibility of drones breaching our privacy. Yet we love watching. We love the unexpected cell phone camera footage on YouTube and the way conflicts unfold before our eyes on reality TV shows—page views and TV ratings prove it. But the eye of the camera changes what it observes. Would you act differently at your computer if you knew your boss was watching? What if your boss and America was watching, and your job had a lot more riding on it than too much time on Facebook? Policing is one of those jobs. Cameras in police cars and on uniforms are generally seen as a stabilizing force. When Knoxville wanted to increase trust in the police after a string of shootings in the late 1990s, dashboard cameras and lavaliere mics were a big part of the answer. Many police departments today have taken it a step further by adding body cameras following police killings of unarmed black suspects. The Knoxville Police Department is still struggling just to make the cameras they have work. What happens when the eye of the camera blinks? In a handful of cases this year, KPD dashcam recordings were missing or corrupted, leaving no footage of confrontations in which citizens claim they were profiled or manhandled by police. The lack of video evidence affected the outcome of some prosecutions. “When they lose audio and video, black people say, ‘There they go again lying to us.’ So if they could be more transparent, it would help,” says Joe Kendrick, executive director of Knoxville Community Step-Up. The group seeks to keep black men from the cycle of jail. Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch says the missing recordings are caused by outdated technology, not a conspiracy. The police department has recently adapted some of its policies to cope with the problem, even as it considers updating its existing equipment and adding body cameras, too.
THE CURRENT SYSTEM
KPD dash cams can hold about 10-12 hours of video, says Gary Holliday, deputy chief and division commander for support services. Cameras make two kinds of recordings. The first are “background
recordings,” which shoot two frames a second and include metadata like the time and location. Holliday and Rausch say KPD’s use of background recordings is extremely unusual, gathering more information than any other law enforcement agency they know. “We do it for transparency,” Rausch says. Real-time video, which takes up more memory, is supposed to start automatically when a cruiser’s emergency equipment is activated or when an officer switches on the recorder as he heads to a call. Officers are also supposed to turn on their audio microphones when they speak with a member of the public. Sometimes they forget. A sampling of personnel files shows these failures often result in a “counseling form” (a pre-disciplinary measure) or reprimand. The video is stored on secure digital memory cards locked in the cruiser’s console. Only supervisors have the keys to access the recordings or turn the recorder completely off, Holliday says. Footage can be downloaded either manually by a supervisor, or wirelessly when cruisers pull into one of three locations. Wireless download is supposed to start automatically when a car gets close, but the system is five years old and isn’t fully equipped to handle the newer cameras in many cruisers, Holliday says. (This is the third generation of recording infrastructure for KPD in the last 17 years. Individual car cameras are updated as cars are replaced.) As a result, the wireless system can download from a limited number of cars at once. When there are more, as at a shift change, then some (read: a lot) of the video won’t download. Even when it does, it takes an hour for eight hours of footage to transfer, so officers often only get a quarter of their video downloaded at a time, Holliday says. “In most of the cases with missing recordings, the dashcam filled up,” Holliday says. That’s what Rausch says happened in a case involving drug charges against Isiah Devon Holloway, who was pulled over for speeding in 2012 by Officer Richard Derrick White. White claimed he could smell “raw marijuana,” not being smoked, in Holloway’s console. The dashcam video might have shown whether White had probable cause for searching the car, but police discovered White’s dashcam hadn’t been recording for weeks. Police information officer Darrell DeBusk says White believed a frayed cable in the car might
a technical glitch, but to an extent it was actually human error: According to department policy, when force is used, the officer involved is supposed to immediately call his supervisor to come physically remove the dashcam recording from the car. In the Foxx case, the incident happened close to police headquarters, so Turner drove there to meet his supervisor, Rausch says. The dashcam had started wirelessly downloading when his supervisor removed the memory card, corrupting the files, he says. Rausch says no one has gotten in trouble for the missing recordings. Attorney Scott Lanzon, who represented Foxx, declined to speak about the case. But Whalen says White and Turner, who attended the police academy together and started at KPD in 2011, need some “very serious scrutiny.” He finds the chief’s support of them troubling. “What that says to these two and anyone else paying attention is, ‘Chief’s got our back. We can do whatever we want to,’” Whalen says.
EQUIPMENT UPGRADES AND BODY CAMS
Dashcam recordings can’t be erased from inside a police car, Holliday says. After they are downloaded, Rausch says only an engineer can alter or erase them. Every 90 days, records that haven’t been flagged for use of force or for use as evidence are transferred onto Blu-ray discs and kept locked in the technical services department, Holliday says. But Rausch says the whole wireless infrastructure needs replacing. “Clearly we’re in for an upgrade,” he says. “The delay, quite frankly, has been because of body cameras.” Holliday began talking with an engineer in November about a system that might integrate new dashcam infrastructure with body cameras at a potential cost of $3.5 to $4 million. Rogero said in a prepared statement that she approved Rausch exploring the option but she awaits his recommendation before taking a position on body cameras or the expenditures. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, about 68 percent of local police departments were using dashcam video recorders by 2013, and about a third were using body cameras. But that number is believed to be growing rapidly since last year’s killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. set off a national furor. This May, the Department of Justice announced its plan to provide $20 million in grants to help purchase body cameras for local law enforcement agencies, part of President Barack Obama’s effort to buy 50,000 law enforcement body cameras over three years. Rausch has said he doesn’t favor body cameras unless the Legislature changes Tennessee open records laws to limit how much of the footage is public. It’s all public under today’s law. “What we don’t want is to see my own interaction with someone inside their home become a YouTube video,” Rausch says. He says the police and district attorney should decide when there is a public benefit to releasing the recordings. He says he’s hopeful that lobbying by law
Photo by Clay Duda
have been part of the problem. “The cable was replaced and the DVR inspected, but ultimately the cause of the missing video was the full memory card,” DeBusk wrote in an email. However, Holloway’s attorney, Mike Whalen, says that he requested paperwork showing the unit had been repaired, and he was told it wasn’t because it was “never broken.” The News Sentinel reported that a KPD technician at a hearing testified the dashcam had never been inspected or repaired. “The implications are the injustices that flow out of an unregulated system,” Whalen says. “As law enforcement, the response should be, ‘We will investigate, get the answers, and fix the problems,’ not, ‘Hey, looks okay to me.’ That’s always a wrong response because it holds you to a lesser standard than your citizen.” Whalen says he understands that although real-time recording starts when a police car’s blue lights come on, the officer can push a button to end it. (Holliday confirmed this, although the system will continue recording background video.) “My case was not about interrupted video, but who determines who’s pushing that button when,” Whalen says. He also argues someone should have noticed the absence of video sooner. Until the last few months, supervisors were supposed to check “regularly” to make sure recorders were downloading, Rausch says. In this case, that obviously wasn’t happening. Now they are supposed to check daily, Rausch says. Holloway was acquitted of a drug-free school zone charge but convicted of a lesser felony possession charge. White’s partner, Thomas Turner, was also involved in several arrests with no dashcam footage when he pulled over black suspects for minor traffic violations (in one case, “fuzzy dice” obstructing the driver’s view) and ended up searching them. A high-profile example involved Brandon Allen Foxx, whom Turner blue-lighted for illegally-tinted windows—before calling a K-9 unit. After Foxx allegedly fought officers, his leg was shredded by dog bites. Dashcam footage could have demonstrated whether Turner had probable cause to detain Foxx until the K-9 arrived. Instead—for the second time—a judge dismissed Turner’s charges against Foxx due to searches deemed legally questionable. In September, Knox County General Sessions Judge Charles Cerny ruled that Turner had violated Foxx’s constitutional rights and dismissed charges of felony cocaine possession, resisting arrest, and assault. The News Sentinel also reported that the judge criticized KPD for inadequately training officers about citizens’ rights. Rausch emphasizes his support for Turner and says he thinks Cerny misinterpreted two Supreme Court cases cited in his ruling. “He was applying standards to that (traffic) stop that weren’t applicable,” Rausch says. KPD blamed the missing dashcam footage on
enforcement associations will lead to change in the law this winter, paving the way for KPD body cameras. (Rausch says he’d be willing to wear one.) The Knoxville Sheriff’s Department is in the process of buying body cameras for its deputies, but—as at many agencies—these will come at the expense of discontinuing dashboard cameras. Rausch says he won’t give up dashboard cameras. He argues that more often than not, recordings help officers by proving citizen complaints unfounded. And the camera has a calming influence on suspects, as the footage has become important evidence of crimes from DUI to resisting arrest. “People are automatically assuming officers have changed their behavior because they know they’re on camera,” Rausch says. “The officers haven’t. The people have changed their behavior.” At the same time the cameras were installed in police cars, the city created a Police Advisory Review Committee (PARC), a group of citizens who act as a watchdog over the police department. From the beginning, the group monitored KPD’s installation and use of recording devices. The videos often show officers using admirable restraint when berated by citizens, says Rosa Mar, who serves on PARC’s audio-visual committee. Malfunctioning recording equipment has not been a factor in cases she’s heard since being appointed to PARC about a year ago. She was unfamiliar with White and Turner’s missing dashcam recordings. “It does raise red flags, but I don’t think it’s necessarily an intentional situation,” she says. Still, she adds that the recording equipment needs to be checked and double-checked. “That requires time and money, and we need to make sure we have that,” she says.
A patrol car’s dashcam video recorder rolls as Knoxville police officers load a man into a paddy wagon bound for the county jail. While the cruisers’ dashcam records automatically during police stops, issues with memory storage and downloading the footage have plagued the department.
“As law enforcement, the response should be, ‘We will investigate, get the answers, and fix the problems,’ not, ‘Hey, looks okay to me.’ That’s always a wrong response because it holds you to a lesser standard than your citizen.” —MIKE WHALEN, attorney
December 17, 2015
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P rogram Notes
Jazz Jam Kelle Jolly turns to the Internet for funding the 2016 Women in Jazz Festival
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noxville’s most prominent female jazz voice has launched an online crowdfunding campaign to help pay for her Women in Jazz Festival, a three-day event scheduled for March that will celebrate “women in all aspects of the jazz genre, throughout the jazz community.” Singer and radio host Kelle Jolly announced the festival in the spring. It’s set for March 18-20, with workshops for artists and concerts by local, regional, and national performers throughout that weekend. Through the Indiegogo campaign, which is aiming for $10,000, Jolly intends to pay artist fees and travel and lodging expenses, as well as raise money for marketing and publicity. (The cost of venue rentals has already been covered.) The campaign runs through the middle of February. Several perks are available: for $25, you get a public thanks on social media; for $50, a set of festival postcards designed by a local artist; for $100, a festival T-shirt; for $250, two weekend passes to the festival; and for $500, an original song written for you by Jolly. You can
contribute and learn more at indiegogo.com/projects/women-in-jazz-jamfestival#/ Jolly performs regularly around town, as a solo artist and with her husband, saxophonist Will Boyd. She is also the host of WUOT’s weekly Jazz Jam on Friday nights, an hourlong show covering classic and contemporary vocal jazz. The festival will keep all the money pledged to the campaign, whether it reaches the $10,000 goal or not. —Matthew Everett
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Inside the Vault: Family Footage
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
Hellaphant Hellaphant
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Music: Jennifer Niceley
ellaphant’s discography so far adds up to about 20 minutes—two EPs, 11 songs, none of them more than three minutes long, only two of them over two minutes. But it’s enough to mark the band’s progress over the year or so that they’ve been together. Last year’s self-titled debut was a promising belt of short-fuse basement punk, a thrashy, noisy little collection that made room for both ’90s pop-punk hooks and rifftastic guitar grooves. The brand-new Family Man, released last month, lives up to the promise of its predecessor—the production, by bassist Henry Pack, is a big step up from Hellaphant’s bedroom-recording quality without sacrificing immediacy or urgency, and singer/guitarist Alex Ferguson sings
more than he yells. The songs are still mostly ragers—there’s even one 32-second nugget called “Rage!!!”—but there’s more going on than just full-speed abandon; “Distance,” “Under Current,” and the title track reveal classic power-pop charm to go along with the punk attitude and volume. The trio gets relatively epic on the opening track, “Local Scene,” two minutes and 50 seconds of wistful, sun-drenched college rock, more Guided by Voices than Parquet Courts, with an irrepressible guitar hook and sing-along chorus. It’s a tuneful and well-executed departure that seems to suggest a new direction for Hellaphant, though some of us might want them to keep the volume and distortion up for at least a little while longer. (M.E.)
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Video: Goodnight, Mommy
Movie: In the Heart of the Sea
Inside the Vault
Family Footage What happens to our old home movies? BY ERIC DAWSON
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rphan films are of particular interest to universities and archives. Broadly defined, orphan films are those that lack an owner or copyright, and their variety seems limitless. One of the more popular types of orphan films is the home movie, where in most cases the filmmakers and subjects remain a mystery. In this they resemble found vernacular photographs, the popular appeal of which has extended well beyond academia. The Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound has several collections of orphaned 8mm home movies, found online, at estate sales, or at antique or thrift stores. Often they are donated, such as the collection that someone found in a used bureau he purchased. In the past month alone, we’ve acquired several collections that offer a look at an amazing variety of locations throughout the nation and the world. Except for a few minutes of McGhee Tyson exteriors, all four 30-minute reels of one collection were given to a couple’s 1958 European vacation. They went all out, making the rounds in Paris and the French Riviera, skiing in the Swiss Alps, floating down the Rhine, lingering in London, Amsterdam, and Venice. Another recent acquisition documents a family’s vacation to San Francisco in 1971. It’s interesting to see the photographer’s fascination with views of the sky and landscape from an airplane window. Film wasn’t cheap to shoot or develop
then, but more than five minutes are devoted to what may have been this person’s first time in an airplane. A quick cut takes us from an aerial view over snow-covered mountains to a baseball game in Candlestick Park. Then follows the typical images you’d expect from a tourist in San Francisco: streetcars, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate bride, the bay. All are familiar sights, but from a new view. Another reel from the same family documents a road trip to the 1965 Girl Scout Roundup in Idaho, and that same fascination with travel is apparent, as minutes of Western landscapes whiz by outside a car window. Road trips are a common subject of home movies. A 1952 film at TAMIS shows a middle-aged couple traveling throughout the eastern United States. They stop at several factories—Morrell Meats in Cincinnati, the Studebaker plant in South Bend, Ind., and the Iowa Steel and Iron Works—so one might speculate the husband worked in some factory-related industry. The 30-minute film is a minor wonder, not least for the images of downtown Knoxville shot through their windshield as they travel down Gay Street and then continue on to Oak Ridge. Several reels of 1950s-era film found in LaFollette offer an entirely different kind of road trip, as a group of friends’ vacation out West suddenly turns into an antelope-hunting expedition that’s frankly difficult to watch for the more squeamish of us.
The same reels offer more familiar images—lounging on a houseboat, fishing, bucolic nature shots, and an office Christmas party. You don’t have to watch too many home movies to realize most people tend to film many of the same things. Footage from the Smoky Mountains can start to look remarkably similar— the multitude of images of the monument at Newfound Gap, starting with President Roosevelt’s dedication of it, filmed by Jim Thompson. Group shots at lookouts are a given, as are mountain picnics and bears. You can see a lot of Christmas presents being opened in home movies. A cynical person might argue that advertisers have marketed a world in which we all seek to replicate moments that we’ve seen on television or in magazines, experiences that make us feel part of a shared culture. But the impulse to belong was present in society long before advertising came along to take advantage of it. Affordable motion-picture cameras allowed people to capture images of shared moments. The novelty and excitement of a middle-class family being able to do this shouldn’t be forgotten in the digital age. But take a look at your friends and family’s Instagram and Facebook accounts, and you’ll likely see it’s no less exciting to visually capture, say, the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace in 2015 than it was in 1958. There’s something reassuring in shared curiosity and experience. Having said that, every film is unique, and each contains something you’ve never seen before. In San Francisco, a group of Hare Krishnas chant while workers manually turn a trolley around, and a scowling young woman in a rainbow-colored crocheted sweater walks in front of the camera. In Geneva, a quick, stolen
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shot of a man on a rooftop putting on pants. In the Smokies, in 1946, a couple stands on a long-forgotten tree bridge, looking down at the river below, and a group of Native Americans in street clothes gather outside the post office in Cherokee, N.C., while a man in a headdress bangs a drum at a tourist shop nearby. One brief film opens with the numbers “1942” hanging above a chimney, then a cut to a Christmas tree. A young woman walks down a stairwell to open the front door. It is, we assume, her husband, in uniform. They sit by the tree as he gives her a watch. Then they move to the couch and flip through a book together. The whole thing is staged, filmed as an approximation of what probably actually occurred shortly before. That’s what the young couple’s beaming faces suggest, at any rate. They cannot stop smiling and laughing. Who are they? Has he come home from the war, or will he soon be leaving for it? We’ll probably never know, but we can still be moved by this film. It’s inevitable that you try to imagine what the lives of the people in these films might have been like. Sometimes you project stories on them. Given the chance to watch home movies with the people who shot or appear in them, however, you find you’re almost always wrong. Reality is always much more complex and interesting than what you’ve imagined. But many people in the older films have since died, and their families may never know what became of the movies in which they star. We are grateful to be able to provide them a home. ◆ Inside the Vault features discoveries from the Knox County Public Library’s Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound, a collection of film, video, music, and other media from around East Tennessee. December 17, 2015
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Music
Another Country Jennifer Niceley balances a country life, an unnamed genre, and a complicated music industry BY JACK NEELY
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hen we tracked Jennifer Niceley down, early this week, she was driving back home from a show at the Nashville club known as the Basement and pulled over near Mt. Juliet to chat. She’s popular in Music City, where she lived and worked for a decade. “Nashville’s obviously oversaturated with songwriters and singers, now more than ever,” she says. “But one thing I appreciate about Nashville is that 99 percent of the time, when I play there, people really do listen. The Basement has a very attentive audience, even though a lot of people there are really jaded. I’m putting something a little different on the
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table, and they appreciate that.” She’s playing at Pilot Light on Wednesday, Dec. 16, her first show there in several years. She has sometimes called her music country, just to have something to call it. “But it’s not accurate,” she says. “I wish I could just say, ‘I sing country music.’” But it doesn’t really fit any commercial genre. Acoustic guitar with original lyrics often gets lumped in the folk category, but Niceley’s singing voice has urbane jazz inflections, and the structure of most of her songs don’t follow familiar patterns, no verse-chorus-bridge-chorus expectations. “I still see it as poetry
put to music,” she says. If she did call it country, she’d have a more authentic claim to the word than most of Nashville’s broadbrimmed cowboys. On her last album, Birdlight, she sings the old Jimmie Rodgers blues tune, “No Hard Times,” a rare cover on a mostly original album, conveyed with an easy Western swing. When she sings, “Ain’t got no blues, got chickens in my backyard,” it’s no fib. Indeed she does have chickens in her backyard, and cows and horses and corn, like the guy in the song. Niceley lives in an old tenant’s cottage on a 400-acre spread along the Holston River, where her family has farmed for generations. “It’s a magical place, split between rolling hills, used for pastureland, and fertile river-bottomland,” she says. The land is in transition. “It’s kind of an exciting time” in agriculture, she says. Long a dairy farm, the Niceley spread is adapting to interesting new times. “Over the course of six or seven years, we have agreed, as a family, that we don’t want the food we raise to be sprayed or contaminated by any chemicals at all. We only grow non-GMO seeds. Our beef cattle only eat grass. We are still in the process of creating a diversified operation that in many ways mirrors what most small farms in this region were doing until not long after farming became industrialized.” She and her father, state Sen. Frank Niceley, are experimenting with heirloom corn, producing cornmeal and grits, and supplying raw materials for the new Knox Whiskey Works on West Jackson Avenue. They also grow spelt, a winter wheat, and alfalfa, plus multiple critters. It keeps her grounded, adding an interesting complexity to her music, which otherwise sounds ethereal, impressionistic, dreamy, elusive, like something far from the ground. Much of Niceley’s work on Birdlight sounds like the musings of a cheerful, contented ghost. It’s her second full-length album, after Luminous in 2008; she put out an EP in 2011, Body and Soul. Nashville bassist and
producer Jon Estes talked her into Birdlight a couple of years ago, when she performed at his wedding. He did most of the production on the record (the opening tune, “Nightbird,” was produced by Knoxville’s Scott Minor). It’s unusual among her work in that it employs a deft, often subtle mix of multiple instruments, including horns and strings. “Jon made a lot of the production decisions, but I was not opposed to them. He and I both wanted to see different colors and textures on this record.” Birdlight is mournful in tone, but she’s been writing more love songs recently. “I’m in a place where I’m trying to find balance.” Her whole album’s online, at jenniferniceleymusic.com. She makes no money on the website itself. Although she finds the current state of the recording industry “confusing,” she believes it’s “maybe more important than ever for people to keep making good music, recording good music, even though it can often feel pointless, or the competition overwhelming. I feel like it may be more important now than ever for an artist to keep separate the seeds of their artistry, their true creative drive, and what may or may not become of the finished product after being released into the world.” For now, she’s got goats to milk. “Now that it’s winter, things are less strenuous, physically, than they have been,” she says. “Which is great because I’ve had more time for writing and for riding my horse. Right now in the mornings I have to tend to my pastured laying hens. If I can, mornings are when I really like to write. Most of the rest of the day gets taken up fulfilling orders for farm products and deliveries. I take care of selling our heirloom corn—taking corn to a mill to be stone-ground and then delivering it in town. There’s always afternoon and evening chores, and inevitably various other things on the farm that someone might need help with. “Really living with the land—just being present to see what comes up and what needs to be done—is a big part of the way of life there. “And life is a work of art in itself.” ◆
Video
A&E
Sight Unseen Two divergent psychological thrillers new to home video BY LEE GARDNER
T
he twists in Goodnight, Mommy start as far back as the trailer that popped up earlier this year. In it, a pair of tousled pre-tween twins (Lukas and Elias Schwarz) welcome their mother home from facial surgery that has left her face swaddled in bandages, but they become concerned that the person behind the gauze is actually a malevolent stranger. It was, and remains, sublimely creepy. What’s more unnerving than the notion that you don’t really know the one person in the world to whom you’re closest? Now that it’s actually out on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming, however, the actual film bears little resemblance to its teaser. Reading the rest this paragraph runs the risk of ruining your pristine viewing experience, though Austrian writer/directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz do more than their share to ding it for you. If you’re really paying attention, you’ll spot the fi lm’s big twist within the fi rst few shots. Within 15 minutes, it should be
obvious. It turns out that Goodnight, Mommy has no interest in being the primal-fear-exploiting horror fl ick promised. Instead, it’s a tricksy psychological thriller with a sadistic bent. In fact, it brings to mind the clinical but brutal work of fellow Austrian Michael Haneke (Funny Games, The Piano Teacher), if Haneke suddenly got it in his head to try a straight-up gorno. That’s not to say that Goodnight, Mommy isn’t well made and dotted with some disturbing and tense moments. But given Fiala and Franz’s maladroit handling of the material and the meager insights they deliver, it’s hard not to wish that they’d gone ahead and made the movie in the trailer instead. For a more engaging and surprising take on the psyche of a cloistered woman, hunt down Blind, a recent Norwegian film new to DVD and streaming. As the title tips, Ingrid (Ellen Dorrit Petersen) has just lost her sight and has retreated to her apart-
ment while she adjusts to her condition. But her mind wanders, leading her to suspect that her architect husband (Henrik Rafaelsen) sometimes stays home and silently watches her from across the room. And writer/director Eskil Vogt’s script and camera wander, too, shadowing a ponytailed schlub (Marius Kolbenstvedt) with a thing for Internet porn and a growing thing for his single neighbor (Vera Vitali). Just when you think Vogt’s disparate threads might come together into one of those tiresome multi-character treatises on modern relationships and urban connectivity, Blind starts to veer toward Charlie Kaufman territory—it clearly has bigger, more meta things on its mind than who might sleep with whom. Here is a twist that works, and a fi lm that actually does say something relatively novel about Our Modern Condition, and Blind’s under-the-radar profi le in this country only helps it deliver the punch it packs. ◆
Adoption Event DEC. 21st-23rd
There’s no place like home for the holidays... Especially if you’re a shelter puppy or kitty.
Grayson Subaru, Young-Williams Animal Centers & The Humane Society of the TN Valley have teamed up for Grayson Subaru's ‘Home for the Holidays adoption event.’ All adoptable pets will be vaccinated, spayed or neutered, registered & microchipped. Special Adoption Fee:$25 For more details, visit: young-williams.org or humanesocietytennessee.com December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 23
A&E
Movie
Heartsick Ron Howard’s maritime disaster epic In the Heart of the Sea sinks to the bottom BY APRIL SNELLINGS
L
et’s get this out of the way right now: In the Heart of the Sea is no Moby-Dick, nor does it want to be. Though it draws from the true story that helped inspire Herman Melville’s masterpiece, the $100 million survival epic from Warner Bros. dodges the inevitable comparisons by removing everything that makes Melville’s novel a masterpiece. The themes that have kept us returning to the book for more than a century and a half are nowhere to be found in Heart’s lavishly produced but thinly scripted tale of survival, endurance, and dirty, wet men shouting incomprehensibly to one another as they’re occasionally interrupted by a scene-stealing, 100-foot whale. The movie draws on some lofty source material, though. Besides
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
taking cues from Melville’s classic, director Ron Howard and screenwriter Charles Leavitt work from Nathaniel Filbrick’s 2000 nonfiction book, In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, which was in turn based on a pair of gloriously titled firsthand accounts of said disaster: Thomas Nickerson’s The Loss of the Ship “Essex” Sunk by a Whale and the Ordeal of the Crew in Open Boats and Owen Chase’s Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex. In case those titles, and the film’s illustrious pedigree, leave anything to the imagination, Heart recounts the grim story of the ship’s final voyage. To say that it was an ill-fated journey is a colossal understatement; over the
course of their many months at sea, its crew contended not only with the rigors of whaling but also with violent storms, dissent among its ranks, a devastating attack by a enormous whale, and the even greater horrors of survival in the wake of the attack. If it sounds upsetting, don’t worry—the film employs a number of devices, both structural and stylistic, to check its occasional flirtations with tension and compelling drama. For starters, there’s the clunky framing device. One of Heart’s two storylines plays out over the course of one night as Melville (Ben Whishaw), seeking inspiration for his book, annoys a grizzled seaman into telling him a story that the sailor has thus far refused to tell. Tom Nickerson, played as an older man by Brendan Gleeson and as a boy by Tom Holland, is the last surviving crewman of the Essex, which sailed from Nantucket in 1819 and eventually became one of the most notorious maritime disasters in history. The bulk of the film is, of course, an account of that voyage. From the beginning, the ship’s politics are as choppy as the waters it sails. First mate Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) expected—and deserves—to command the ship, but that position is given to blue-blood neophyte sailor George Pollard (Benjamin Walker). The
tension between the men bubbles over soon enough, when Pollard makes the foolish decision to test his crew by steering the ship into a squall. Afterward, Pollard wants to turn tail and head home right away, but Chase convinces him they should stay at sea until they’ve filled their hold with precious whale oil. This sets them on a course that will eventually lead to their legendary confrontation with the storied white whale. The problem isn’t the cast. Hemsworth can’t quite reel in his character’s New England accent, but he’s a likeable lead, imbuing Chase with brawny swagger as he prowls the decks of the Essex, then channeling Errol Flynn when the action sends him climbing into the ship’s rigging or perching on its mast. Holland, who made such an impression in The Impossible, is largely wasted as a character whose only dramatic purposes are to act as a window into the story and to receive exposition about whaling and sailing, but his presence is nonetheless welcome. Unfortunately, the battle that Hemsworth fights with the Nantucket accent is more riveting than anything that plays out onscreen. From the moment they set sail, the actors are burdened with dialogue that’s as heavy-handed as the film’s well-meaning attempts at ecological commentary, and the characters never amount to anything more than one-note stereotypes of macho stoicism. While Howard’s previous feature, the exhilarating Formula One biopic Rush, framed its manly posturing in a wider, more thoughtful context of competition and ambition, In the Heart of the Sea appears to make a concerted effort to dodge anything as namby-pamby as theme and character development. But there’s spectacle, right? Sea monsters and shipwrecks and rollicking high-seas adventure? There is, and if you look closely enough you’ll catch a few great images amid the dizzying jumbles of close-shot, manically edited action. If the intent was to make us feel as if we’re on board a rapidly sinking ship, it was all too effective. ◆
Winter Contrary to some assumptions, Knoxville has a winter. Cold weather has played a big part in Knoxville’s history.
another truck driver died as a result of a blow to the head by a hard-packed snowball.
Some Knoxville industry was oriented toward contending with winter. Some major Knoxville-based businesses, notably C.M. McClung, sold cast-iron heating stoves. Knoxville Woolen Mills manufactured cold-weather clothing.
In early December, 1886, by some accounts, Knoxville received 22.5 inches of snow over three days. In late December, 1899, a group of gamblers borrowed a sternwheeler steamboat called the Oliver King, late at night. With a cargo of fighting chickens, they intended to leave town, where they were less likely to be harassed by the authorities. Cockfighting was illegal in Knoxville. However, as they got to the vicinity of Bearden and Lyons Bend, the boat was stuck in the ice. The men were trapped on the boat for two days until a yawl broke through the ice and rescued them.
C.B. Atkin made a fortune specializing in fireplace mantels, at a time when they were sometimes very elaborate. Atkin had an international trade, and claimed to be the biggest mantel manufacturer in America. Mantels made Atkins a major figure in Knoxville history. He was a leader in the construction of both the Bijou and Tennessee Theatres. Before the 1960s, Knoxville was infamous for its coating of soot. Industry was one culprit, but the bigger contributor was likely the thousands of residents burning the region’s high-sulfur coal in furnaces for heat. For decades, coal soot darkened buildings, cars, and even clothing.
Around 1895, a Knoxville boy named James Hall appears to be shivering as he poses by the frozen mill of a tanning yard on Second Creek, near the later site of the L&N train station.
There are tales of the Tennessee River freezing over in Knoxville, and also people who insist such an event is impossible. However, accounts from the Great Freeze Image courtesy of the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection of 1918, supported with a few rare cmdc.knoxlib.org photographs, sound credible. After several weeks of sub-freezing weather, beginning in December, 1917, the French Broad froze first, then ice flows joined together Many remember the most extreme example of cold weather in Knoxin Knoxville. Ice gathered around houseboats and industrial barges and ville. On Jan. 21, 1985, the temperature—the real temperature, unadjusted “ground some of them into kindling.” by “wind chill”—plunged to 24 below zero. That one day, Knoxville was the coldest point in the United States! The freakish event was one example of a “polar vortex.” In fact, the current Wikipedia definition of the term “polar vortex” shows a global weather map of the day. Knoxville had approached that mark before. The years 1877 and 1884 saw lows of 14 and 16 below, respectively.
Much more common was that shallower parts of the river would freeze, especially on the south side, near downtown, where there were shoals and a long island. So did area ponds, such as the pond in the vicinity of Jackson Avenue, known for a century as the Flag Pond. Ice-skating opportunities were so common that in the 1890s and early 1900s, Gay Street hardware stores sold ice skates, and often ran out of stock.
Many people also remember March 13, 1993, “the Blizzard of ’93,” when 15 inches of snow fell on Knoxville overnight. Some called it the Storm of the Century. However, Knoxville has seen heavier snows.
Knoxville had roller-skating rinks by about 1900, but the city’s first ice-skating rink opened in 1962. The Ice Chalet, in Bearden, is still open today.
On Nov.22, 1952, 18.2 inches of snow fell. An estimated 30,000 Knoxvillians were without power, some for as much as two weeks. It interfered with traffic to a Tennessee-Kentucky football game at Neyland Stadium. A reported 4,000 UK fans were trapped on the road to Knoxville.
About the same time, Knoxville launched its first professional ice-hockey team, the Knoxville Knights, who competed at the newly finished Civic Coliseum.
Another snow, in February, 1965, set the stage for a snowball fight on Cumberland Avenue that turned deadly when a truck driver, angered at being mobbed by snowballs, shot and killed a UT freshman. In an unrelated incident,
The Market Square holiday skating rink started in 1986, but after about three years it was abandoned for more than a decade. It returned after the revival of the Square in 2005.
Source: The Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection.
The Knoxville History Project, a new nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of and education about the history of Knoxville, presents this page each week to raise awareness of the themes, personalities, and stories of our unique city. Learn more on www.facebook.com/knoxvillehistoryproject • email jack@knoxhistoryproject.org December 17, 2015
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CALENDAR MUSIC
Thursday, Dec. 17 RYAN ROTH WITH CHUCK JOHNSON AND CHARLEYHORSE • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. FREE SLAY BELLS FIRE 2015 DIGITOUR • The International • 6:30PM • Featuring Sam Pottorff, Kenny Holland, Grant Landis, Diegosaurs, Andrew Fontenot, Maddie Welborn, and many more. All ages. • $25-$30 NEWSONG: VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TOUR • Niswonger Performing Arts Center (Greeneville) • 7PM • Grammy-nominated NewSong is set to bring their popular “Very Merry Christmas Tour” to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center this holiday season. The tour will also feature fan favorites Building 429, whose project, We Won’t Be Shaken, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Christian Albums chart. Plumb, who had runaway success with her hit single, “Need You Now,” and introducing, Reno. • $25-$35 3 MILE SMILE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 8PM • THE THIRST QUENCHERS • Mind Yer Ps and Qs Craft Beer and Wine Lounge • 8PM • The Ps and Qs house band. • SECRET CITY CYPHERS • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • This is Knoxville’s premier open mic-style event that allows M.C.s, poets, singers, musicians, dancers, comedians, visual artists, and others to not only have a place to showcase their talent, but a place to network with other artists. Signups start at 7:30, and are first come, first serve. Admission is $5 or $3 for performers. All ages. • $3-$5 THE ROAMIN’ JASMINE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM • Formed on the streets of New Orleans, the Roamin’ Jasmine bring a fresh sound to traditional jazz with tight 3 part horn harmonies and bluesy vocals. DAVID CHILDERS AND THE SERPENTS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Throughout his 20-year career as a singer, songwriter and bandleader, Childers has written about the tension between secular and religious impulses. His albums have always included songs of wild hedonism and uplifting faith but, as his new album, Serpents of Reformation,evolved, he found himself drawn to themes of salvation and repentance. “I wrote a few new gospel-type songs and the music took on a life of its own. The songs all look at the forgiveness that’s at the heart of Christian philosophy, even though you don’t see a lot (of forgiveness) in the world today.” • FREE JOSHUA POWELL AND THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up. BETHANY AND THE SWING SERENADE • Red Piano Lounge • 9PM MYFEVER WITH THE GILLS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. Friday, Dec. 18 JACOB JOHNSON WITH JAMES HATEM AND THE TRANSFERS • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. FREE DAVE SLACK TRIO • Pero’s on the Hill • 7PM • Instrumental and vocal jazz standards. • JOSHUA POWELL AND THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Everyone knows that people go to Florida to die, but fewer people know that there are people who get born there too. 26
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
Caught between the dualistic disenchanting scenes of Buffet cover bands and high school hardcore, a young Joshua Powell transplanted to the Midwest in pursuit of education and new art. Now a loudening voice in the Indiana independent music community, Powell has carved out a niche in his new home by setting his hyper-literate lyrics to broad swaths of psych-folk and shedding the vocal affectations of a varied past. FREE PUNCH BROTHERS • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • Punch Brothers are the acoustic quintet of mandolinist Chris Thile, guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjoist Noam Pikelny and violinist Gabe Witcher. Says the Washington Post, “With enthusiasm and experimentation, Punch Brothers take bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.” Their latest album, the T Bone Burnett-produced, The Phosphorescent Blues, was released in January 2015 on Nonesuch Records. • $34.50 FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 8PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. F REE A SCRUFFY CITY JAZZ CHRISTMAS • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM • Christmas music from the Scruffy City Jazz Band. All ages. FREE STATE STREET RHYTHM SECTION • Brackins Blues Club • 9PM NORWEGIAN WOOD • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. FREE GAMENIGHT WITH RALES • Pilot Light • 10PM • Full of chiming, cleverly orchestrated guitars, elaborate song structures, and warm, open-hearted vocals that somehow never sound treacly, Gamenight’s 2013 album, Pets Pets, is redolent of ’90s indie-rock influences. 18 and up. • $5 DEVAN JONES AND THE UPTOWN STOMP • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM F REE GRADY MILLIGAN • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 10PM KEITH BROWN • Red Piano Lounge • 6PM • THE BROWN FAMILY WITH DONALD BROWN • Red Piano Lounge • 9PM • THE JOHN FRAZIER BAND • Preservation Pub • 10PM • John Frazier, an A-Session musician’s musician, known for his brilliant mastery of the mandolin, guitar and the fiddle, and his Frazier Band, is kicking off their tour showcasing their soon to be released CD Some People Change. • THE KEVIN ABERNATHY BAND WITH THE FRENCH AND TRACTORHEAD • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM • Saturday, Dec. 19 TRAVIS HARRIS AND THE WEST COAST TURNAROUNDS WITH BRIAN “SHIMMY” PADDOCK • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. F REE THE RERUNS • Pero’s on the Hill • 7PM • Knoxville’s premier TV band plays your favorite television themes. TRAVIS HARRIS AND THE WEST COAST TURNAROUNDS • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Travis Harris comes from a bluegrass roots background and started his lust for music as an early age of 7. Pickin with locals and learning the ropes of how to get that special sound from the guitar and banjo. He writes from the heart of true life experiences that will draw the attention to the story first and the music second. Putting all his heart and soul into the music has been a destiny for him and it continues to consume his life daily. Travis writes all the groups songs and continues to turn the heads on music row. FREE PUNCH BROTHERS • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • Punch Brothers
are the acoustic quintet of mandolinist Chris Thile, guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjoist Noam Pikelny and violinist Gabe Witcher. Says the Washington Post, “With enthusiasm and experimentation, Punch Brothers take bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.” Their latest album, the T Bone Burnett-produced, The Phosphorescent Blues, was released in January 2015 on Nonesuch Records. • $34.50 COLD COLD SWEATS • Preservation Pub • 8PM • 21 and up. THE HOTSHOT FREIGHT TRAIN WITH HANDSOME AND THE HUMBLES AND JACOB JOHNSON • Open Chord Brewhouse
and Stage • 8PM • Knoxville natives The Hotshot Freight Train and Handsome & the Humbles are a breath of fresh air in the local Americana music scene. As for Greeneville, SC folk musician Jacob Johnson, it’s not just his guitar virtuosity that’ll stop you in your tracks. It’s his infectious joy for playing and performing that captures you, locks you in, and sends you back into your life two steps happier. All ages. • $5 BUDDY HONEYCUTT • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. FREE DEJA VU • Brackins Blues Club ( Maryville) • 9PM BEN SHUSTER • Bearden Field House • 9PM FREE
PUNCH BROTHERS Bijou Theatre (803 S. Gay St.) • Friday, Dec. 18, and Saturday, Dec. 19, at 8 p.m. • $34.50 • knoxbijou.com
Chris Thile must really love Knoxville: The singer/composer/mandolinist has made the Bijou Theatre his second home in recent years, performing multiple times with progressive bluegrass quintet Punch Brothers and, as a duo, with pianist Brad Mehldau. Now Thile has taken that artist-venue relationship to the next level, hosting a two-night stand with his band of virtuoso Brothers. It’s the ideal time to book back-to-back shows, given the glut of new material they’ll be promoting. Punch Brothers released their fourth album, the T Bone Burnett-produced The Phosphorescent Blues, in January, and followed in November with the EP sequel The Wireless. Both are loosely themed around the concept of digital disconnect in a hectic American culture. With the exception of some scattered drum kit and electric guitar, the format hasn’t changed on the new material: Punch Brothers weave Thile’s mandolin, Gave Witcher’s fiddle, Noam Pikelny’s banjo, Chris Eldridge’s acoustic guitar, and Paul Kowert’s double bass into deceptively complex tunes, a sprawl that traverses bluegrass, progressive rock, classical, and Brian Wilson-styled pop. With Anais Mitchell. (Ryan Reed)
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Spotlight: KSO Clayton Holiday Concerts
CALENDAR THE NAUGHTY KNOTS • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM FREE THE BURNIN’ HERMANS • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM MAGNOLIA SONS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria (Maryville) • 10PM AARON KIRBY AND THE TENNESSEE JAM BAND • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 10PM KATY FREE • Red Piano Lounge • 6PM • WILL BOYD • Red Piano Lounge • 9PM • Sunday, Dec. 20 SHIFFLETT AND HANNAH • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. FREE SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery • 12:45PM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. FREE DAVE SLACK TRIO • Pero’s on the Hill • 1PM • Live jazz. MIKE MCGILL’S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL SPECTACULAR • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM • Good ol’ Mike McGill and a plethora of local musicians play tunes that may or may not be related to the upcoming holiday. A JOHNNYSWIM CHRISTMAS • Bijou Theatre • 8PM • It’s easy to understand why A Prairie Home Companion declared that Abner Ramirez and Amanda Sudano Ramirez are “21st century troubadours.” As Johnnyswim, they embody the tradition of the well-traveled singer-songwriter while cultivating a modern style that’s uniquely their own. Heart Beats, the duo’s debut for Big Picnic Records, is the culmination of years spent shaping what Vogue calls an “infectious sound.” EVAN STONE’S FAMILY CHRISTMAS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. Monday, Dec. 21 ERIC CALDWELL WITH THE LAMP LIGHT BLUES SESSIONS • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE MIGHTY BROTHER • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • Mighty Brother is a songwriting duo honoring the folk tradition of lyrical storytelling while embracing the eclectic instrumentation of the indie folk genre. Like if you heard Fleet Foxes through the walls at the Neutral Milk Hotel and mistook it for The Avett Brothers. Through elaborate collaboration, songwriters Jake Ryan and Nick Huster channel their own brand of youthful enthusiasm and eclectic music tastes to explore the humbling concepts of growth and loss, love and letting go, longing and adventure set to an ethereal winter landscape. Their upcoming release, “Jettison. Reprise.” is a look at life as a process, a journey to maturity with a thoughtful glance over the shoulder. Mighty Brother perfects this with their cinematic single “Think It Wise,” released September 4th, with shimmering images of childhood adventure and the looming burden of adulthood. You can listen to “Think It Wise” on NUVO. net.Now based in New Orleans, Mighty Brother is preparing for their December 17th album release with a three-legged winter tour, hitting major cities through the South and the Midwest. • FREE DEVAN JONES • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 10PM THE PUNKNECKS • Preservation Pub • 10PM • High-energy twang. 21 and up. Tuesday, Dec. 22 KNOXVILLE BELLA CORDA WITH THE OH! JAZZ DUO • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE
THE LOST FIDDLE STRING BAND • Sugarlands Distilling Co. (Gatlinburg) • 7PM • The Lost Fiddle Stringband is a group of friends who met at a weekly jam session in downtown Knoxville. They all shared a love for fiddle tunes. Unfortunately, there was no fiddle player at the jam, but they weren’t going to let that stop them! Their material consists mostly of instrumental tunes, but they throw in an occasional traditional bluegrass singing number just to make sure nobody in the audience falls asleep and starts snoring at their shows. Since forming in the summer of 2015, they have played numerous shows around Knoxville and have started to tour regionally with shows around the East TN/West NC/Southwest VA area. They are quickly becoming Knoxville’s premier fiddle-tuneswithout-a-fiddle band! • FREE Wednesday, Dec. 23 DANIEL KIMBRO, JUSTIN HAYNES, AND HUNTER DEACON WITH DAVID LANGLEY AND AMANDA RAE OUSLEY • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-aweek lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE FROG AND TOAD’S DIXIE QUARTET • The Crown and Goose • 6:30PM • Live jazz featuring a mix of original music, early jazz and more. • FREE THE CASEY GREEN TRIO • The Bistro at the Bijou • 7PM • Live jazz. • FREE THE MODEL INMATES • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. Thursday, Dec. 24 TODD STEED AND THE CHRISTMAS SUNS • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE THE THIRST QUENCHERS • Mind Yer Ps and Qs Craft Beer and Wine Lounge • 8PM • The Ps and Qs house band. •
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Friday, Dec. 25 BETTER DAZE • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 10PM Saturday, Dec. 26 DAVID BAVAS WITH WILLOW AND WOOD • WDVX • 12PM • Part of WDVX’s Blue Plate Special, a six-days-a-week lunchtime concert series featuring local, regional, and national Americana, folk, pop, rock, and everything else. • FREE THE RERUNS • Pero’s on the Hill • 7PM • Knoxville’s premier TV band plays your favorite television themes. CAPTAIN SUCK AND THE MEDIOCRE BAND • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM MARK BOLING • The Bistro at the Bijou • 9PM • Live jazz. • FREE BEN SHUSTER • Bearden Field House • 9PM • FREE KUKULY AND THE GYPSY FUEGO • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 10PM • Kukuly Uriarte hails from Peru, by way of Argentina. In the Quechua language spoken in the Lima household where she grew up, her name means dove. Uriarte sings in multiple languages, plays guitar in many styles, and, since 2011, leads the multifaceted jazz ensemble Kukuly and the Gypsy Fuego. Numerous titles from the Fuego’s long and varied set list are associated with—or performed in the style of—the late Gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. In Paris between the World Wars, Reinhardt, with violinist Stephane Grappelli and others, invented the radical music still referred to as hot jazz.The Gypsy Fuego head count ebbs and flows as necessary, depending
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David Brian Alley as “Crumpet the Elf” • Photo by Elizabeth Aaron December 17, 2015
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CALENDAR on the engagement, the audience, and the availability of members, ranging from trio to septet. The core is Uriarte, violinist Seth Hopper, and often guitarist David Bivens and/or cellist Andy Bryenton, who is also principal cellist for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Uriarte speaks perfect English, with some charming and exotic mannerisms. Her singing voice, however, whether she’s singing Portuguese, Spanish, or English, is like her guitar-playing and superior to such trifling distinctions as nationality. Her voice becomes an instrument, joining those of her talented collaborators in making this terrifically festive and romantic music. • FREE THE JOJAX WITH GANASITA • Preservation Pub • 10PM • 21 and up. JACK’D UP • Two Doors Down (Maryville) • 10PM THE COVERALLS • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM • Knoxville’s long-running bar/wedding/special event favorites are masters of mood—they know what an audience wants, whether it’s Top 40 hits, Motown, classic rock, or jazz standards, and they deliver, on time, every time. 21 and up. Sunday, Dec. 27 SHIFFLETT AND HANNAH • The Bistro at the Bijou • 12PM • Live jazz. • FREE SUNDAY JAZZ BRUNCH • Downtown Grill and Brewery • 12:45PM • Knoxville’s coolest jazz artists perform every Sunday. • FREE DAVE SLACK TRIO • Pero’s on the Hill • 1PM • Live jazz. • THE BROCKEFELLERS • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 8PM
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
OPEN MIC AND SONGWRITER NIGHTS
Thursday, Dec. 17 IRISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the first and third Thursdays of each month. FREE Saturday, Dec. 19 OLD-TIME SLOW JAM • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 4PM • A monthly old-time music session, held on the third Saturday of each month. FREE Sunday, Dec. 20 FAMILY FRIENDLY DRUM CIRCLE • Ijams Nature Center • 3:30PM • Ijams monthly Family Friendly Drum Circle has moved indoors for the winter months. Join us inside at the Miller Building the third Sunday of the month. Bring a drum or share one of ours. All ages from toddlers to great-grandparents welcome. Follow us on Facebook: Drumming@Ijams. • FREE Tuesday, Dec. 22 PRESERVATION PUB SINGER/SONGWRITER NIGHT • Preservation Pub • 7PM • A weekly open mic. OLD-TIME JAM SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Hosted by Sarah Pickle. • FREE Wednesday, Dec. 23 TIME WARP TEA ROOM OLD-TIME JAM • Time Warp Tea Room • 7PM • Regular speed old-time/fiddle jam every
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long sleeve: orange.
short sleeve: grey, black, and white.
For the WUTK Fan on your list! Available at Disc Exchange, Fizz, and Open Chord. All sAlEs hElp suppOrt WutK.
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
Wednesday from 7-9 p.m. at the Time Warp Tea Room. All instruments and skill levels welcome. OPEN CHORD OPEN MIC NIGHT • Open Chord Brewhouse and Stage • 8PM BRACKINS BLUES JAM • Brackins Blues Club (Maryville) • 9PM • A weekly open session hosted by Tommie John. • FREE Thursday, Dec. 24 SCOTTISH MUSIC SESSION • Boyd’s Jig and Reel • 7:15PM • Held on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. • FREE
DJ AND DANCE NIGHTS
Friday, Dec. 18 RETRO DANCE NIGHT • Hanna’s Old City • 9PM • 80s and Top 40 hits with DJ Ray Funk. HEADROOM 5: CHRISTMAS PARTY • The Concourse • 10PM • Featuring Brad T, J Mo, Kevin Nowell, and Rick Styles. 18 and up. • $5 Saturday, Dec. 19 RETRO DANCE NIGHT • Hanna’s Old City • 9PM • 80s and Top 40 hits with DJ Ray Funk. TEMPLE DANCE NIGHT • The Concourse • 10PM • Knoxville’s long-running alternative dance night. 18 and up. • $5
CLASSICAL MUSIC
Friday, Dec. 18 KSO CLAYTON HOLIDAY CONCERT: AN APPALACHIAN CHRISTMAS • Knoxville Civic Auditorium • 7:30PM • The KSO and special guests, including the Knoxville Choral Society, GO! Contemporary Dance Works and local folk musicians celebrate the spirit of the season with “An Appalachian Christmas.” This concert features your favorite holiday songs and carols, beloved music of the Appalachian region, and even an appearance by Santa himself! Sponsored by Clayton Bank, Clayton Homes and Clayton Volvo. • $13-$44 Saturday, Dec. 19 KSO CLAYTON HOLIDAY CONCERT: AN APPALACHIAN CHRISTMAS • Knoxville Civic Auditorium • 3PM and 7:30PM • The KSO and special guests, including the Knoxville Choral Society, GO! Contemporary Dance Works and local folk musicians celebrate the spirit of the season with “An Appalachian Christmas.” This concert features your favorite holiday songs and carols, beloved music of the Appalachian region, and even an appearance by Santa himself! Sponsored by Clayton Bank, Clayton Homes and Clayton Volvo. • $13-$44 Sunday, Dec. 20 KSO CLAYTON HOLIDAY CONCERT: AN APPALACHIAN CHRISTMAS • Knoxville Civic Auditorium • 3PM • The KSO and special guests, including the Knoxville Choral Society, GO! Contemporary Dance Works and local folk musicians celebrate the spirit of the season with “An Appalachian Christmas.” This concert features your
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
favorite holiday songs and carols, beloved music of the Appalachian region, and even an appearance by Santa himself! Sponsored by Clayton Bank, Clayton Homes and Clayton Volvo. • $13-$44
THEATER AND DANCE
Thursday, Dec. 17 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: CINDERELLA AND EBENEZER • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Knoxville Children’s Theatre will present Cinderella And Ebenezer, a new holiday play, based on the timeless tales of “Cinderella” and “A Christmas Carol.”Dec. 4-20. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 BROADWAY AT THE TENNESSEE: THE SOUND OF MUSIC • Tennessee Theatre • 7PM • THE SOUND OF MUSIC features music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, suggested by The Trapp Family Singers by Maria Augusta Trapp. • $37-$77 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL • Clarence Brown Theatre • 7:30PM • Whether you are continuing your annual family tradition or beginning a new one…join us as we tell the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, the miserly businessman who needs the intervention of a few spectral guides to show him the true meaning of Christmas. Featuring beautiful live music, wonderful costumes, and exciting stage effects, Dickens’ tale of hope and redemption reminds us all what’s really worth celebrating. Nov. 25-Dec. 20. CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THE SANTALAND DIARIES’ • Carousel Theatre • 7:30PM • An unemployed, chemically dependent writer takes a job as a “helper elf” at Macy’s Santaland. Hear his tale of drunken Santas, screaming kids, and the un-wonderful insanity of the holidays. Sedaris’ cutting, sardonic wit is on full display in this one man show that is crazy funny! For mature elves only. Dec. 3-20. CIRCLE MODERN DANCE: MODERN DANCE PRIMITIVE LIGHT • Laurel Theater • 8PM • Circle Modern Dance is proud to present its 24th annual production of Modern Dance Primitive Light, an anticipated solstice celebration of movement and creativity in Knoxville. This unique performance brings together local choreographers, dancers, and musicians for an unforgettable community arts experience. • $10-$15 RISING SUN THEATRE: “THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE” • Rising Sun Theatre • 7:30PM • A year after his miraculous transformation, Ebenezer Scrooge is back to his old ways and is suing Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future for breaking and entering, kidnapping, slander, pain and suffering, attempted murder and the intentional infliction of emotional distress. Dec. 17-20. Visit risingsuntheatre.com. • $15 Friday, Dec. 18 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: CINDERELLA AND EBENEZER • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 7PM • Dec. 4-20. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE: MODERN DANCE PRIMITIVE LIGHT • Laurel Theater • 7PM and 9PM • Circle Modern Dance is proud to present its 24th annual production of Modern Dance Primitive Light, an anticipated solstice celebration of movement and creativity in Knoxville. This unique performance brings together local choreographers, dancers, and musicians for an unforgettable community arts experience. • $10-$15 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL • Clarence Brown Theatre • 2PM • Nov. 25-Dec. 20. CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THE SANTALAND DIARIES’ •
CALENDAR
Carousel Theatre • 2PM • For mature elves only. Dec. 3-20 BROADWAY AT THE TENNESSEE: THE SOUND OF MUSIC • Tennessee Theatre • 8PM • $37-$77 RISING SUN THEATRE: “THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE” • Rising Sun Theatre • 7:30PM • Dec. 17-20. Visit risingsuntheatre.com. • $15 Saturday, Dec. 19 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: “CINDERELLA AND EBENEZER” • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 1PM a nd 5PM • Dec. 4-20. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 BROADWAY AT THE TENNESSEE: THE SOUND OF MUSIC • Tennessee Theatre • 2PM and 8PM • $37-$77 CIRCLE MODERN DANCE: MODERN DANCE PRIMITIVE LIGHT • Laurel Theater • 7PM and 9PM • Circle Modern Dance is proud to present its 24th annual production of Modern Dance Primitive Light, an anticipated solstice celebration of movement and creativity in Knoxville. This unique performance brings together local choreographers,
dancers, and musicians for an unforgettable community arts experience. • $10-$15 OAK RIDGE PLAYHOUSE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL • Oak Ridge Playhouse • 7:30PM • Playing 18 characters on a bare stage, veteran actor Mark Cabus brings to the Playhouse his acclaimed one-man stage version of Charles Dickens’ classic tale of transformation and redemption. A special one-night-only performance. CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL • Clarence Brown Theatre • 2PM • Nov. 25-Dec. 20. CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THE SANTALAND DIARIES’ • Carousel Theatre • 2PM • For mature elves only. Dec. 3-20 RISING SUN THEATRE: “THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE” • Rising Sun Theatre • 7:30PM • Dec. 17-20. Visit risingsuntheatre.com. • $15 Sunday, Dec. 20 KNOXVILLE CHILDREN’S THEATRE: “CINDERELLA AND EBENEZER” • Knoxville Children’s Theatre • 3PM • Dec.
KSO CLAYTON HOLIDAY CONCERTS Knoxville Civic Auditorium (500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave.) • Friday, Dec. 18-Sunday, Dec. 20 • $14-$45 • knoxvillesymphony.com
The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra takes a bit of a detour this season with its Clayton Holiday Concerts—onto a country road and into the hills and hollers for an evening titled An Appalachian Christmas. Knoxville native Paul Brewster, a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter who has spent the last 18 years with Ricky Skaggs’ band Kentucky Thunder, joins the orchestra for a number of country/ bluegrass flavored selections, including “Tender Tennessee Christmas,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’.” Also on the bill is a local pick, the Knoxville Banjo Orchestra. KSO resident conductor James Fellenbaum, on the podium for his first holiday concert, will be joined by the Knoxville Choral Society, Go! Contemporary Dance Works, and, of course, Santa Claus. Last-minute additions to the Santa list? The jolly old elf will be holding court in the lobby before the concert to meet and greet good boys and girls. In addition to bluegrass twang, the program will feature the expected favorites, old and new—“The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and the always calming selection of traditional Christmas carols. The orchestra and chorus will perform Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” (Alan Sherrod)
December 17, 2015
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CALENDAR 4-20. Visit knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com. • $12 BROADWAY AT THE TENNESSEE: THE SOUND OF MUSIC • Tennessee Theatre • 1:30PM and 6:30PM • $37-$77 CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘A CHRISTMAS CAROL’ • Clarence Brown Theatre • 2PM • Nov. 25-Dec. 20. CLARENCE BROWN THEATRE: ‘THE SANTALAND DIARIES’ • Carousel Theatre • 2PM • For mature elves only. Dec. 3-20. RISING SUN THEATRE: “THE TRIAL OF EBENEZER SCROOGE” • Rising Sun Theatre • 3PM • Dec. 17-20. Visit risingsuntheatre.com. • $15 Wednesday, Dec. 23 MOSCOW BALLET GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER • Tennessee Theatre • 3PM and 7PM • Feel the spirit of Christmas at Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker with the whole family this holiday! New York Times raves, “Real beauty” and Los Angeles Times, “Bravura expertise.” Marvel at the astonishing 40 world class dancers; watch the kids giggle at the playful puppets, delight at the splendor of the enchanting Snow Forest. Get your seats to hear Tchaikovsky’s uplifting score at the Christmas event that thrills all! www.nutcracker.com. • $30-$177
COMEDY AND SPOKEN WORD
Thursday, Dec. 17 THIRD THURSDAY COMEDY OPEN MIC • Big Fatty’s Catering Kitchen • 7:30PM • We will showcase local and touring
talent in a curated open mic of 6 to 8 comics. The event starts at 7:30, and there is no charge for admission. The kitchen will be open as well as their full bar. FREE Friday, Dec. 18 THE FIFTH WOMAN POETRY SLAM • The Birdhouse • 6:30PM • The 5th Woman Poetry slam is place where all poets can come and share their words of love, respect, passion, and expression. It is not dedicated solely women but is a place where women poets are celebrated and honored. Check out our facebook pages for the challenge of the month and focus for our poetry every month. Sunday, Dec. 20 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic. Monday, Dec. 21 QED COMEDY LABORATORY • Pilot Light • 7:30PM • QED ComedyLaboratory is a weekly show with different theme every week that combines stand-up, improv, sketch, music and other types of performance and features some of the funniest people in Knoxville and parts unknown. It’s weird and experimental. There is no comedy experience in town that is anything like this and it’s also a ton of fun. Pay what you want. Free, but donations are accepted. • FREE Tuesday, Dec. 22 OPEN MIC STAND-UP COMEDY • Longbranch Saloon • 8PM • Come laugh until you cry at the Longbranch every Tuesday night. Doors open at 8:30, first comic at 9. No
PLENTY OF GIFTS FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST! FREE SHIPPING ON ALL WEB ORDERS OVER $50 NOW THROUGH 12/20/2015. 435 Union Ave. || nothingtoofancy.com
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
cover charge, all are welcome. Aspiring or experienced comics interested in joining in the fun email us at longbranch.info@gmail.com to learn more, or simply come to the show a few minutes early. • FREE Sunday, Dec. 27 UPSTAIRS UNDERGROUND COMEDY • Preservation Pub • 8PM • A weekly comedy open mic.
FESTIVALS
Thursday, Dec. 17 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • Knox County’s 17th annual Holiday Festival of Lights at The Cove at Concord Park will kick off Thursday, Dec. 17 and be open nightly from 6 to 8 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day. Visitors can walk the 3/4 mile greenway trail to view illuminated holiday displays and thousands of lights. Pets on leashes welcome. A food vendor will be onsite with kettle corn, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, cotton candy, ribbon fries, funnel cakes and other refreshments for sale. The event is free, but Knox County will collect non-perishable food items for The Love Kitchen. • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Friday, Dec. 18
HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • Knox County’s 17th annual Holiday Festival of Lights at The Cove at Concord Park will kick off Thursday, Dec. 17 and be open nightly from 6 to 8 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day. Visitors can walk the 3/4 mile greenway trail to view illuminated holiday displays and thousands of lights. Pets on leashes welcome. A food vendor will be onsite with kettle corn, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, cotton candy, ribbon fries, funnel cakes and other refreshments for sale. The event is free, but Knox County will collect non-perishable food items for The Love Kitchen. • FREE TOUR DE LIGHTS AFTER PARTY • Flow: A Brew Parlor • 8PM • Featuring a free photo session and a Yee-Haw bike track stand competition. • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Saturday, Dec. 19 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • Knox County’s 17th annual Holiday Festival of Lights at The Cove at Concord Park will kick off Thursday, Dec. 17 and be open nightly from 6 to 8 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day. Visitors can walk the 3/4 mile greenway trail to view illuminated holiday displays and thousands of lights. Pets on leashes welcome. A food vendor will be onsite with kettle corn, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, cotton candy, ribbon fries, funnel cakes and
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
other refreshments for sale. The event is free, but Knox County will collect non-perishable food items for The Love Kitchen. • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Sunday, Dec. 20 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • Knox County’s 17th annual Holiday Festival of Lights at The Cove at Concord Park will kick off Thursday, Dec. 17 and be open nightly from 6 to 8 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day. Visitors can walk the 3/4 mile greenway trail to view illuminated holiday displays and thousands of lights. Pets on leashes welcome. A food vendor will be onsite with kettle corn, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, cotton candy, ribbon fries, funnel cakes and other refreshments for sale. The event is free, but Knox County will collect non-perishable food items for The Love Kitchen. • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Monday, Dec. 21 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • Knox County’s 17th annual Holiday Festival of Lights at The Cove at Concord Park will kick off Thursday, Dec. 17 and be open nightly from 6 to 8 p.m. through Thursday, Dec. 31, excluding Christmas Day. Visitors can walk the 3/4 mile greenway trail to view illuminated holiday displays and thousands of lights. Pets on leashes welcome. A food vendor will be onsite with kettle corn, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, cotton candy, ribbon fries, funnel cakes and other refreshments for sale. The event is free, but Knox County will collect non-perishable food items for The Love Kitchen. • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Tuesday, Dec. 22 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Wednesday, Dec. 23 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Thursday, Dec. 24 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • FREE CHRISTMAS IN OLD APPALACHIA • Museum of Appalachia • 8:30AM • The simple joys of an old-fashioned Christmas await Museum of Appalachia visitors during December. For more information, contact the museum at 865-494-7680 or visit www.museumofappalachia.org. Saturday, Dec. 26
CALENDAR
HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • FREE Sunday, Dec. 27 HOLIDAY FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS • Concord Park • 6PM • FREE
FILM SCREENINGS
Monday, Dec. 21 THE BIRDHOUSE WALK-IN THEATER • The Birdhouse • 8:15PM • A weekly free movie screening. FREE Tuesday, Dec. 22 TWIN PEAKS VIEWING PARTY • The Birdhouse • 7PM • Bi-weekly viewing parties for every single episode of the cult TV series. Attendees encouraged to dress as their favorite characters. Trivia, Twin Peaks-themed giveaways, donuts and coffee, plus some surprises. Trivia begins at 7:00pm with viewing to follow at 8:00pm. • FREE Wednesday, Dec. 23 SCRUFFY CINEPUB 6000 • Scruffy City Hall • 10PM • A weekly program of movie screenings from the Scruffy City Film and Music Festival, Knoxville Horror Film Festival, and more.
SPORTS AND RECREATION
Thursday, Dec. 17 WHOLE FOODS GAME NIGHT • Whole Foods • 6PM • Join us for everything from Candy Land to chess, and feel free to add a pint and a pizza. • FREE CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • Join Cycology Bicycles every Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. for a road ride with two group options. A Group does a 2 to 3 hour ride at 20+ pace; B group does an intermediate ride at 15/18 mph average. Weather permitting. http://www.cycologybicycles.com/ • FREE RIVER SPORTS THURSDAY EVENING GREENWAY BIKE RIDE • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Every Thursday night from 6 to 7:30 join River Sports Outfitters on an easy paced, beginner friendly Greenway Ride. Bring your own bike or rent one for $15. Lights are mandatory on your bikes from September through March. After ride join us at the store for $2 pints. http://www.riversportsoutfitters.com/events • FREE NORTH KNOXVILLE BEER RUNNERS • Central Flats and Taps • 6PM • Meet us at Central Flats and Taps every Thursday night for a fun and easy run leading us right through Saw Works for a midway beer! • FREE FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 6PM • We have all levels come out, so no matter what your speed you’ll have someone to keep you company. Our 30 - 60 minute route varies week by week in the various neighborhoods and greenways around the store, so be sure to show up on time so you can join up with the group. All levels welcome. http://www.fleetfeetknoxville.com/events/runwalk-groups • FREE KNOXVILLE BICYCLE COMPANY THURSDAY GRAVEL GRINDER • North Boundary Trails • 6:30PM • Join Knoxville Bicycle Company every Thursday evening for their gravel grinder. Meets at 6:30 pm at North Boundary in Oak Ridge, park at the guard shack. Cross bikes and hardtails are perfect. Bring lights! Regroups as necessary. Call shop for more details. Weather permitting - call the store if weather is questionable. http://www.knoxvillebicycleco.com/ • CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY GREENWAY RIDE • Cedar
Bluff Cycles • 6:30PM • Join us every Thursday evening for a greenway ride at an intermediate pace of 14-15 mph. Must have lights. Weather permitting. http://cedarbluffcycles.net/ • FREE Friday, Dec. 18 TOUR DE LIGHTS • Market Square • 7PM • Fun, free bike parade, less than 5 miles, casual pace. Participants come decked out with lights and costumes. Hot cocoa and treats are available thanks to Mast General and Three Rivers Market. Streets are closed to traffic for the event. Presented by the City of Knoxville. • FREE RIVER SPORTS FRIDAY NIGHT GREENWAY RUN • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Greenway run from the store every Friday evening from 6-7:30 pm. Work up a thirst then join us for $2 Pints in the store afterwards. http:// www.riversportsoutfitters.com/events/ • FREE RCS HIKING CLUB: OLD SUGARLANDS TRAIL • Great Smoky Mountains National Park • 9PM • A 5+ mile easy to moderate hike will take the RCS Hiking Club up the Old Sugarlands Trail to the Rock House. Some of this hike will be off trail, so come prepared for possible “scrambling”. A creek crossing is necessary to get to the Rock House which is an amazing structure from the past. Wear appropriate footgear. Contact Kate 865-573-9258 or Ray 865-314-2279 for further info. • FREE Saturday, Dec. 19 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: BIG FROG WILDERNESS • Smoky Mountain Hiking Club • 7:30AM • Come explore the seldom-used corner of the Cherokee National Forest, and get a feel for what this remote wilderness area can offer. We’ll hike the Big Frog trail, which is also part of the longer Benton Mackaye trail, from the Low Gap Parking area to the top of Big Frog Mountain. While the trail gains 2000 feet in its five and a half mile length, it is a remarkably steady grade, mostly following ridge tops, with nice views to the east and the west. The hike is rated moderate due to length and elevation gain. There is an unreliable spring near the top of Big Frog Mountain, so be sure to bring enough water for the entire hike. We will also be near areas open to hunting, so safety orange is recommended. Hike: about 11 miles, rated moderate. Meet at Alcoa Food City at 7:30 AM. Leaders: Brad Reese, bradktn@gmail.com • FREE Sunday, Dec. 20 KNOXVILLE HARDCOURT BIKE POLO • Sam Duff Memorial Park • 1PM • Don’t know how to play? Just bring your bike — we have mallets to share and will teach you the game. https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleHardcourtBikePolo • FREE Monday, Dec. 21 KTC GROUP RUN • Mellow Mushroom • 6PM • Join Knoxville Track Club every Monday evening for a group run starting at the Mellow Mushroom on the Cumberland Avenue strip on the University of Tennessee campus. http://www.ktc.org/GroupRuns.html • FREE BEARDEN BEER MARKET FUN RUN • Bearden Beer Market • 6:30PM • Come run with us. Every Monday year round we do a group fun run through the neighborhood. Open to all levels of walkers and runners. Everyone who participates earns a $1 off their beer. Come be a part of Knoxville’s active beer culture. http://www.beardenbeermarket. com/-activebeerculture.html • FREE Tuesday, Dec. 22 WHOLE FOODS GAME NIGHT • Whole Foods • 6PM • Join us for everything from Candy Land to chess, and feel free to add a pint and a pizza. • FREE December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 31
CALENDAR CYTOLOGY BICYCLES TUESDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10:30AM • Join Cycology Bicycles every Tuesday morning at 10:30 am for a road ride with 2 group options. A Group does a 2 to 3 hour ride at 20+ pace; B group does an intermediate ride at 15/18 mph average. Weather permitting. http://www.cycologybicycles.com/ • FREE HARD KNOX TUESDAY FUN RUN • Hard Knox Pizzeria • 6:30PM • Join Hard Knox Pizzeria every Tuesday evening (rain or shine) for a 2-3 mile fun run. Burn calories. Devour pizza. Quench thirst. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Hardknoxpizzeria?fref=ts. • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES TUESDAY GREENWAY RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:30PM • Join us every Tuesday evening for a greenway ride at an intermediate pace of 14-15 mph. Must have lights! Weather permitting. http://cedarbluffcycles.net/ • FREE Wednesday, Dec. 23 CLIMBING FUNDAMENTALS • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Come learn the basics of climbing every second and fourth Wednesday of the month. Space is limited so call 865-673-4687 to reserve your spot now. Class fee $20. http://www.riversportsoutfitters.com/events/ • $20 KTC GROUP RUN • Runner’s Market • 5:30PM •During Daylight Savings Time, the run usually takes place on the Third Creek Greenway/Bike Trail. When darkness forces the courageous misfits off the trail, leaders generally head for the nearby Cherokee Boulevard/Sequoyah Hills neighborhood for a comfortably paced run of 5-6 miles.
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
Afterward, cool beverages and good company are shared by participants. • FREE FOUNTAIN CITY PEDALERS SHARPS RIDGE MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE • Fountain City Pedaler • 6PM • Join us every Wednesday evening for a mountain bike ride from the shop to Sharps Ridge. 6-10 mile ride with plenty of bail out points. Regroup as necessary. Lights required, call the shop if you need them. http://www.fcpedaler.com/ • FREE Thursday, Dec. 24 CYCOLOGY BICYCLES THURSDAY MORNING RIDE • Cycology Bicycles • 10AM • Join Cycology Bicycles every Thursday morning at 10:00 a.m. for a road ride with two group options. A Group does a 2 to 3 hour ride at 20+ pace; B group does an intermediate ride at 15/18 mph average. Weather permitting.• FREE RIVER SPORTS THURSDAY EVENING GREENWAY BIKE RIDE • River Sports Outfitters • 6PM • Every Thursday night from 6 to 7:30 join River Sports Outfitters on an easy paced, beginner friendly Greenway Ride. Bring your own bike or rent one for $15. Lights are mandatory on your bikes from September through March. After ride join us at the store for $2 pints. • FREE FLEET FEET GROUP RUN/WALK • Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville • 6PM • Sometimes, a group of workout buddies is just what you need to get out there run! Join us every Thursday night at our store for a fun group run/walk. We have all levels come out, so no matter what your speed you’ll have someone to keep you company. Our 30 - 60 minute route varies week by week in the various neighborhoods and greenways around the store, so be
sure to show up on time so you can join up with the group. All levels welcome. http://www.fleetfeetknoxville. com/events/runwalk-groups • FREE NORTH KNOXVILLE BEER RUNNERS • Central Flats and Taps • 6PM • Meet us at Central Flats and Taps every Thursday night for a fun and easy run leading us right through Saw Works for a midway beer! • FREE CEDAR BLUFF CYCLES THURSDAY GREENWAY RIDE • Cedar Bluff Cycles • 6:30PM • Join us every Thursday evening for a greenway ride at an intermediate pace of 14-15 mph. Must have lights. Weather permitting. http://cedarbluffcycles.net/ • FREE KNOXVILLE BICYCLE COMPANY THURSDAY GRAVEL GRINDER • North Boundary Trails • 6:30PM • Meets at 6:30 pm at North Boundary in Oak Ridge, park at the guard shack. Cross bikes and hardtails are perfect. Bring lights! Regroups as necessary. Call shop for more details. Weather permitting - call the store if weather is questionable. http://www.knoxvillebicycleco.com/ SUNDAY, DEC. 27 SMOKY MOUNTAIN HIKING CLUB: MOUNT DAVIS • Smoky Mountain Hiking Club • 7AM • This hike will take us to (or near) the summit of Mt Davis, named for Anne Davis---Mother of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Our hike will start in Tremont where we will follow Middle Prong 4 miles till we turn onto the Greenbrier Ridge trail. After another 4 miles we intersect with the AT and turn north a short distance before we head off-trail to the Mt Davis summit (or ridge crest depending on weather and terrain). We will return via the same route. Hike: Roughly 17 miles round trip, rated difficult. Dress for winter
weather. Meet at Alcoa Food City ready to depart at 7:00 AM. Leaders: Cindy Spangler, spangler@utk.edu ZZAMPZZ Ed Fleming, edwrdflm@aol.com • FREE KNOXVILLE HARDCOURT BIKE POLO • Sam Duff Memorial Park • 1PM • Don’t know how to play? Just bring your bike — we have mallets to share and will teach you the game. https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvilleHardcourtBikePolo • FREE
ART
Art Market Gallery 422 S. Gay St. DEC. 4-31: Artwork by Fran Thie and Robert Conliffe. Bennett Galleries 5308 Kingston Pike DEC. 4-31: Artwork by Richard Jolley and Tommie Rush. Bliss Home 24 Market Square DEC. 4-31: Aurora, paintings by Jane Nickels. Broadway Studios and Gallery 1127 N. Broadway DEC. 4-31: Feast Your Eyes on This, an exhibit all about food. The District Gallery 5113 Kingston Pike DEC. 5-30: From Knoxville to the Mediterranean, paintings by Joe Parrott.
Christmas Eve at Church Street
Business
Product awareness
Noon 3 p.m. 5 p.m. 10:30 p.m.
Company goodwill
All services include candlelight and Holy Communion.
There’s never been a better time to “go public.”
900 Henley at Main Across from the Knoxville Convention Center www.churchstreetumc.org 32
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
WUOT_Ad_5.5x4.25_WhyWUOT_KnoxMerc.indd 1
9/7/15 9:52 AM
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
Downtown Gallery 106 S. Gay St. DEC. 4-JAN. 16: You Call That Art?, an exhibition of editorial cartoons by Charlie Daniel.
1327 Circle Park Drive SEPT. 11-JAN. 3: Embodying Enlightenment: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas. ONGOING: The Flora and Fauna of Catesby, Mason, and Audubon and Life on the Roman Frontier.
Emporium Center for Arts and Culture 100 S. Gay St. DEC. 4-JAN. 29: Arts and Culture Alliance Members Show. An opening reception will be held on Friday, Dec. 4, from 5-9 p.m.
Pioneer House 413 S. Gay St. THROUGH DECEMBER: Knox County Warriors, portraits of UT football legends by Will Johnson.
Envision Art Gallery 4050 Sutherland Ave. NOV. 20-DEC. 19: Art for the Holidays, featuring work by Derrick Freeman, Inna Nasonova, and Kay List. Knoxville Museum of Art 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive NOV. 27-JAN. 10: East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition. ONGOING: Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in Tennessee; Currents: Recent Art From East Tennessee and Beyond; and Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass. Liz-Beth and Co. 7240 Kingston Pike NOV. 28-DEC. 31: New exhibits from recognized local and regional artists, featuring pottery, jewelry and wearable art, art glass, sculpture, and wall art. A holiday reception will be held on Friday, Dec. 11, from 5-8 p.m. McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture
FAMILY AND KIDS’ EVENTS
Thursday, Dec. 17 CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 1PM • Middle and high school students (or any age) are invited to play chess. Tom Jobe coaches most Saturdays in the Teen Central area of the library. On one Saturday of every month, there will be a rated tournament at the Blount County Public Library. FREE BABY BOOKWORMS • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • For infants to age 2, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. • FREE Friday, Dec. 18 SMART TOYS AND BOOKS ART CLASS • Smart Toys and Books • 10AM • Mommy, Daddy & Me Art Classes are every Friday at 10:00am & 11:00am. Reservations and payment are required in advance. Class fees are non-refundable.
CALENDAR
Ages 2+. • $10 Saturday, Dec. 19 CHESS AT THE LIBRARY • Blount County Public Library • 10AM • Middle and high school students (or any age) are invited to play chess. Tom Jobe coaches most Saturdays in the Teen Central area of the library. On one Saturday of every month, there will be a rated tournament at the Blount County Public Library. • FREE SATURDAY STORIES AND SONGS • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • A weekly music and storytelling session for kids. • FREE Monday, Dec. 21 WINTER WONDERLABS • The Muse Knoxville • Visit The Muse over winter break and enjoy a family-style lab in addition to the 4,000 square feet of educational exhibit and play spaces. Winter Wonderlabs are available on December 21, 22, 23 and December 28, 29, 30 at 10:00, 11:00, and 1:00 each day. MUSICAL MORNINGS • Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge • 10AM • This activity is designed for toddlers and their caregivers. Children can explore tone, melody, and rhythm in an age-appropriate environment. Singing and dancing are encouraged. Musical Mornings also are free with paid admission or museum membership. http:// childrensmuseumofoakridge.org/musical-mornings/ • SMART TOYS AND BOOKS STORYTIME • Smart Toys and Books • 11AM • Storytime with Miss Helen is every Monday at 11:00am. No charge. No reservations required. • FREE Tuesday, Dec. 22
TODDLERS’ PLAYTIME • Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge • 10AM • Toddlers’ Playtime is designed for children aged 4 and younger, accompanied by their parents, grandparents, or caregivers. Little ones have an opportunity to play with blocks, toy trains, and puppets; they can “cook” in the pretend kitchen, dig for dinosaurs, and look at books. The adults can socialize while the children play. Free with paid admission or museum membership. childrensmuseumofoakridge.org/toddlers-playtime. • PRE-K READ AND PLAY • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • Pre-K Read and Play is a pilot program specifically designed to prepare children to enter kindergarten. While the format of the program will still feel like a traditional storytime with books, music, and other educational activities, each weekly session will focus on a different standard from the Tennessee Department of Education’s Early Childhood/Early Learning Developmental Standards. • FREE EVENING STORYTIME • Lawson McGee Public Library • 6:30PM • An evening storytime at Lawson McGhee Children’s Room to include stories, music, and crafts. For toddlers and up. • FREE WINTER WONDERLABS • The Muse Knoxville • Visit The Muse over winter break and enjoy a family-style lab in addition to the 4,000 square feet of educational exhibit and play spaces. Winter Wonderlabs are available on December 21, 22, 23 and December 28, 29, 30 at 10:00, 11:00, and 1:00 each day. Wednesday, Dec. 23 BABY BOOKWORMS • Lawson McGee Public Library •
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2918 Sutherland Ave • Knoxville, TN 37919
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8203 Chapman Hwy. (7.2 Miles South of the Henley St. Bridge) STORE HOURS: Monday–Friday 10am–8pm
• Sat 9am–6pm • Sun 12pm–6pm
865.609.0480 Mon-Fri 10:30-6 • Sat 10:30-5 Facebook: Sally Greene | Instagram: SALLYS_ALLEY
December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 33
CALENDAR 10:20AM • For infants to age 2, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. • FREE PRESCHOOL STORYTIME • Lawson McGee Public Library • 11AM • For ages 3 to 5, must be accompanied by an adult. • FREE WINTER WONDERLABS • The Muse Knoxville • Visit The Muse over winter break and enjoy a family-style lab in addition to the 4,000 square feet of educational exhibit and play spaces. Winter Wonderlabs are available on December 21, 22, 23 and December 28, 29, 30 at 10:00, 11:00, and 1:00 each day.
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
Thursday, Dec. 17 PLANET MOTION WORLD DANCE FITNESS • Champion Ballroom Center • 10AM • All levels fun dance workout incorporating dance and music styles from around the world. GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted. CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: KNIT YOUR WAY TO WELLNESS • Cancer Support Community • 1PM • Whether you are a novice knitter or an old pro, you are invited to bring your own project or join others in learning a new one. Supplies provided. 865-546-4661. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals
Thursday, Dec. 17 - Sunday, Dec. 27
affected by cancer. BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 Saturday, Dec. 19 CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY: MINDFULNESS IN EVERYDAY LIFE • Cancer Support Community • 10AM • Call (865) 546-4611. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10AM • A weekly improv comedy class. FREE IJAMS WAGGING WALK • Ijams Nature Center • 9AM • Grab your favorite four-legged friend and join Ijams’ own veterinarian, Dr. Louise Conrad, as she walks her own canine companions. She’ll review good doggy etiquette at the park and help owners understand the special safety concerns for dogs in nature. The fee for this program is $5 for non-members and FREE for members. Please call (865) 577-4717, ext. 110 to register. http://ijams. org/events/ • $5 Monday, Dec. 21 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 5:30PM • Call 865-5772021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted. Tuesday, Dec. 22 GENTLE YOGA AND MEDITATION • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 12PM • Call 865-577-2021 or email yogaway249@gmail.com. Donations accepted.
THINK SMOKING DOESN’T AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS? THINK AGAIN.
YOGA WITH SUBAGHJI • The Birdhouse • 5:15PM Wednesday, Dec. 23 FLOW AND GO YOGA • Illuminations Alternative and Holistic Health • #N/A • Call 985-788-5496 or email sandylarson@yahoo.com. • $10 BELLY DANCING CLASS • Illuminations Alternative and Holistic Health • 7PM • Call 985-788-5496 or email sandylarson@yahoo.com. • $15 BIRDING WITH FRIENDS • Seven Islands State Birding Park • 8AM • Hosted by Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Ornithological Society (KTOS). Additional info and directions to Seven Islands: http://www.tnbirds.org/ birdfinding/SevenIslands.htm or https://www.facebook. com/events/554086528072298/. • FREE Thursday, Dec. 24 PLANET MOTION WORLD DANCE FITNESS • Champion Ballroom Center • 10AM • All levels fun dance workout incorporating dance and music styles from around the world. • BELLY DANCE LEVELS 1 AND 2 • Knox Dance Worx • 8PM • Call (865) 898-2126 or email alexia@alexia-dance.com. • $12 Saturday, Dec. 26 IMPROV COMEDY CLASS • The Birdhouse • 10AM • A weekly improv comedy class. • FREE
MEETINGS
Thursday, Dec. 17
mid century
OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS • Recovery at Cokesbury • 5:30PM • This is an OA Literature Meeting. After a short reading from a book, members may share their experience, strength and hope. Listening will help you find others who have what you want, whether it be weight loss, clarity, joy in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight, or freedom from the obsession of self-destructive eating behaviors. FREE ATHEISTS SOCIETY OF KNOXVILLE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 5:30PM • Weekly atheists meetup and happy hour. Come join us for food, drink and great conversation. Everyone welcome. FREE CANCER SUPPORT COMMUNITY FAMILY BEREAVEMENT GROUP • Cancer Support Community • 6PM • CSC is committed to providing bereavement services to those who have lost a loved one to cancer. Please contact our clinical staff before attending. Call 865-546-4661 for more info. All Cancer Support Community programs are offered at no cost to individuals affected by cancer. THE SOUTHERN LITERATURE BOOK CLUB • Union Ave Books • 6PM • Union Ave Books’ monthly discussion group about Southern books and writers. FREE Saturday, Dec. 19 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Al-Anon’s purpose is to help families and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living with the problem drinking of a relative or friend. Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@ Farragutalanon.org. • FREE
radio
O I D A R AM Tune in now! www.1120wkce.com
The American Cancer Society estimates that on average, smoking employees cost their employers an additional $5,800 a year compared with non-tobacco users. That all adds up to major losses for businesses of all sizes.
For more information on how to help your employees quit and how to keep all areas around your business smoke-free, contact the Knox County Health Department at 865-215-5170.
34
KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
ADVERTISING EQUALS SUPPORT. Thanks to our advertisers for their help in keeping our presses running. Let’s return the favor by supporting them.
CALENDAR Sunday, Dec. 20 SILENT MEDITATION SUNDAYS • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • Narrow Ridge invites you to join us for our Silent Meditation Gathering on Sundays at Narrow Ridge. The gatherings are intended to be inclusive of people of all faiths as well as those who do not align themselves with a particular religious denomination. For more information contact Mitzi Wood-Von Mizener at 865-497-3603 or community@ narrowridge.org. FREE LARK IN THE MORN ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCERS • Laurel Theater • 8PM • Call 546-8442. 17th-18th Century Social Dancing with live music. Beginners welcome, no partner is required. Also Rapper Sword dance group meets most Sundays at 7:00. Free. Monday, Dec. 21 KNOXVILLE CONTRA DANCERS • Laurel Theater • 8PM • Call 599-9621. Contra dancing to live acoustic music. No experience or partner required. • $7 ASPERGER’S SUPPORT GROUP • Remedy Coffee • 6PM • Are you an adult with asperger’s and looking for others who have the same strengths and challenges in life? Come join us for a casual meetup every other Monday. Contact Saskia at (865) 247-0065 ext. 23. • FREE LOVE OUR NEIGHBORS: FAITH OVERCOMES FEAR • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 6:30PM • People of all faiths are invited to come together to pray for peace, to meet, greet and socialize with each other as neighbors. The program will begin with a brief offering of prayers and words from many different faiths followed by a time for sharing food and being in dialogue with one another. As Christians, Muslims, Jews and people of conscience of all beliefs attendees will join together to stand against religious terrorism, oppose reactive religious bigotry, and appreciate religious freedom. Cosponsored by Women’s Interfaith Peace Initiative, Church of the Savior, Westminster Presbyterian Church, and the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. • FREE GAY MEN’S DISCUSSION GROUP • Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church • 7:30PM • We hold facilitated discussions on topics and issues relevant to local gay men in a safe and open environment. Visit gaygroupknoxville.org. Wednesday, Dec. 23 KNOXVILLE SWING DANCE ASSOCIATION • Laurel Theater • 7PM • Call 224-6830. Dedicated to the purpose of promoting swing dance. Lessons at 7 p.m., open dance at 8 p.m. COMITE POPULAR DE KNOXVILLE • The Birdhouse • 7PM • A weekly meeting of the local immigrant advocacy organization. Thursday, Dec. 24 OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS • Recovery at Cokesbury • 5:30PM • FREE ATHEISTS SOCIETY OF KNOXVILLE • Barley’s Taproom and Pizzeria • 5:30PM • Weekly atheists meetup and happy hour. Come join us for food, drink and great conversation. Everyone welcome. • FREE Saturday, Dec. 26 AL-ANON • Faith Lutheran Church • 11AM • Al-Anon’s purpose is to help families and friends of alcoholics recover from the effects of living with the problem drinking of a relative or friend. Visit our local website at farragutalanon.org or email us at FindHope@
Farragutalanon.org. • FREE Sunday, Dec. 27 SILENT MEDITATION SUNDAYS • Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center • 11AM • For more information contact Mitzi Wood-Von Mizener at 865-497-3603 or community@narrowridge.org. • FREE LARK IN THE MORN ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCERS • Laurel Theater • 8PM • Call 546-8442. 17th-18th Century Social Dancing with live music. Beginners welcome, no partner is required. Free. SUNDAY ASSEMBLY • The Concourse • 10:30AM • Sunday Assembly is a secular congregation without deity, dogma, or doctrine. Our motto: Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More. Our monthly celebrations feature a different theme every month, with inspiring speakers and lively sing-alongs. To find out more, visit our web page (http:// knoxville-tn.sundayassembly.com) or email saknoxville. info@gmail.com. • FREE
ETC.
Thursday, Dec. 17 KNOX HERITAGE SALVAGE SHOP HOLIDAY MARKET • Knox Heritage Salvage Shop • 12PM • Come shop in warmth at The Knox Heritage Salvage Shop this December and enjoy handmade gifts, artwork, antiques and more from local vendors during our regular retail hours. Proceeds benefit the vendors and Knox Heritage which advocates for historic preservation in East Tennessee. Visit knoxheritage.org/salvage for more information. Dec. 2-19. FREE PAINT NITE KNOXVILLE ULTIMATE UGLY SWEATER PARTY • Armada Craft Cocktail Bar • 6PM • Meet us at Armada in Old City to create your own awesome ugly sweater using materials provided by Goodwill. Get all the details and reserve your spot (and your sweater and canvas) at www.goodwillknoxville.org/sweater. Friday, Dec. 18 KNOX HERITAGE SALVAGE SHOP HOLIDAY MARKET • Knox Heritage Salvage Shop • 12PM • Come shop in warmth at The Knox Heritage Salvage Shop this December and enjoy handmade gifts, artwork, antiques and more from local vendors during our regular retail hours. Proceeds benefit the vendors and Knox Heritage which advocates for historic preservation in East Tennessee. Visit knoxheritage.org/salvage for more information. Dec. 2-19. FREE Saturday, Dec. 19 KNOX HERITAGE SALVAGE SHOP HOLIDAY MARKET • Knox Heritage Salvage Shop • 10AM • Visit knoxheritage.org/ salvage for more information. Dec. 2-19. FREE MARKET SQUARE HOLIDAY MARKET • Market Square • 12PM • Nourish Knoxville continues the holiday tradition of shopping local this year with its festive Market Square Holiday Market, to be held Saturdays, December 5, 12 and 19. The Market Square Holiday Market is open 12 to 6 p.m. with farm vendors selling until 3 p.m. near the Market Square stage, and craft vendors and food trucks open until 6 p.m. on Union Avenue adjacent to Market Square and along Market Street. For more information, visit MarketSquareFarmersMarket.org or NourishKnoxville.org. FREE
Send your events to calendar@knoxmercury.com
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COMMUNITY
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200+COMICS FOR $200 Includes: Eightball, Neat Stuff, Verotika, Marvel, DC, and EROS. Call 865-206-1843 BLUE VINTAGE NORTHFACE HIKING BACKPACK, aluminum external frame. Early 1980's or so, about 90 liters. Great condition for its age, but some wear. $100 OBO. 678-313-7077
FUN AND FESTIVE JEWELRY , local and handmade, unique felted or modern faceted beads, hand-painted geometric necklaces, and more. etsy.com/shop/triciabee PLACE YOUR AD AT STORE.KNOXMERCURY.COM
PRICILLA IS A LARGE BLACK AND WHITE 1-YEAR-OLD FEMALE DOMESTIC LONGHAIR MIX. When adopted, she will be spayed, up-to-date on vaccines and microchipped. For more information, call 865-215-6599 or visit www.young-williams.org MARYVILLE’S FAIR TRADE SHOP. Unique gifts from around the globe. Hours: Wednesdays 2-8 pm and Sundays 8:30-9:15 am and 11:30 am-12:15 pm. Monte Vista Baptist Church 1735 Old Niles Ferry Road. For more information call 865/982-6070.
LOST DOG IN SOUTH KNOXVILLE ON 12/2/15. Wheaton Terrier, Golden with gray markings. Limited hearing and vision. May answer to Ellie May or Rufus. Cash reward. Call or text 865-680-8126 or 865-776-5346.
1BR APARTMENT IN PARKRIDGE - $425. 2BR $465. Take half off rent for first month, for December or January leasing. 865-438-4870 DOWNTOWN PRIME 1st fl 4500 sq. ft. office space w/ parking. Easy I-40 access. 637-8400
SERVICES J. DAVID REECE, Master Electrician. State of Tn. and City of Knoxville licensed. Insurance and references. Over 25 years experience. Commercial and residential service and repair, remodeling, and new construction. CCTV, home theater, generators. Residential and commercial electrical design, inspections and consulting. 865-228-8966.
NORTH KNOXVILLE’S PREMIER RENTAL HOMES pittmanproperties.com COMING SOON! One-level living in Farragut School Zone Numerous updates 3BD/1.5BA Stonecrest Subdivision Call Jim today @865-924-2941 for more details! Keller Williams Reaty 865-966-5005 PLACE YOUR AD AT STORE.KNOXMERCURY.COM
Live Music | Dancing | Spirits | Food & Fun! Alive into
2016!
New Year’s Eve Party December 31st
@ 9pm (Doors @ 8pm) Featuring
Jenna & Her Cool Friends Admission: $60, $50, $40
*Includes supper and breakfast buffets by Rocky’s Jamaica Sunrise, and complimentary toast of bubbly at midnight.
For tickets / info: 865-934-2039
January 8 “Alive After Five” winter series premier Featuring
Aftah Party Like us on c
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ALIVE AFTER FIVE - KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF @RT
December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 35
DRINK
Sips & Shot s
Photo courtesy of Old Forge Distillery
Cheers Here’s to a holiday cocktail worth having BY ROSE KENNEDY
Y
es, I was skeptical. A woman named Courtney Sandora wrote to give me the welcome news that Old Forge Distillery, opened since summer 2014 in Pigeon Forge, has added bourbon, vodka, and rum to its moonshine offerings. And she included three “festive” cocktail recipes with the news. She had no way of knowing my checkered past with cocktails meant to be sipped in December, presumably in the company of little black dresses at parties—but more likely with a big galoomph of a St. Bernard in a Santa hat while surrounded by piles of gifts you’ll soon wrap in kraft paper and twine.
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
But I have been drawn in more than once by a drink that, as I discovered, had mostly its jewel-toned green or red going for it. Exhibit one: The Scarlet O’Hara of my college youth—I wince to share that its main ingredients were, ah, Southern Comfort and cranberry juice. I nearly got escorted out of the bar for ordering it in a Cincinnati working class bar that Christmas holiday, and far from learning from my mistake, got the same reception at a fancy downtown New York bar a few days later. Yes, it was deep, deep red. And sort of sweet and icky. I can still conjure a headache after-effect if I
think about it for too long. But did I mention it was pretty red? Then there was the time I was editing some section of the website for HGTV’s Fine Living Network (no longer with us) or maybe the White House Christmas. Can’t remember, only that I curated a recipe for a Christmas cocktail: a deep, pretty Kelly green. Mercifully, HGTV and Google have drawn the Internet curtain on this particular concoction, but I faithfully tried to introduce it around with our groups of revelers throughout the holidays. I carried my oversize bottle of Midori melon liqueur, the key ingredient, to Christmas Eve in Island Home and onto post-Christmas fun in Chapel Hill, N.C. with my cousins. It was sort of tropical, with a silky suggestion of fresh-sliced morning melon worked in there. Imagine my shock when only I enjoyed this melon hit. I probably still have most of that Midori somewhere. Here’s the thing: I really do think it’s nice to have a signature holiday cocktail. But I’ve learned to be super picky about what I adopt. For example, homemade eggnog with a shot of dark rum is delectable—but only at my sister-in-law Kathy Hall’s house. Because she is willing to whip lots of heavy cream and such, and I am not. And so. This Old Forge recipe for the Peppermint Martini. The one I really liked. It is neither red nor green, but does involve some peppermint candy. The combination of lime and peppermint candy seemed odd at first, but it yields kind of a vodka-mojito effect, even if, like me, you use candies accumulated from Sonic visits. I’m going with it for 2015— though sorry Old Forge, I can’t promise only to use your vodka when I make it, particularly since it may not wend its way to South Knoxville for a few more weeks and we may go through more than this one bottle I bought at your place. I did, however, find your new bourbon at Southland Spirits and Wine on Young High Pike. Oh, how we mature. I only wondered for a few seconds how it would taste in a Scarlet O’Hara. ◆
OLD FORGE PEPPERMINT MARTINI For each drink: Fresh lime juice, crushed peppermint candy 2 oz Old Forge Vodka .75 oz peppermint schnapps Garnish: mint sprig, vanilla bean (optional) Place juice of 1 lime and candy on separate small plates. Rim a stemmed cocktail glass with lime juice, then dip in candy. Combine Old Forge Vodka and peppermint schnapps in a cocktail shaker; add ice and shake to chill. Strain into rimmed glass. Garnish with mint sprig and vanilla bean, if using. OLD FORGE WHITE CHRISTMAS For each drink: 1 oz Old Forge Chocolate Moonshine 1 oz Old Forge Vodka .5 oz peppermint schnapps (or 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract) Vanilla bean pods scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean 2 oz heavy cream Combine Old Forge Chocolate Moonshine, Old Forge Vodka, peppermint schnapps, and vanilla bean pods in a shaker; shake and pour over ice in a rocks glass. Pour in cream. CRANBERRY COSMOPOLITAN 1.5 oz Old Forge Vodka 1.5 oz unsweetened cranberry juice 1 tsp sugar dissolved in 1 tsp very hot water .5 oz amaretto .5 oz fresh lime juice Garnish: mint sprig, fresh cranberries Combine Old Forge Vodka, cranberry juice, sugar water, amaretto, and lime juice in a cocktail shaker; add ice and shake to chill. Strain into stemmed cocktail glass; garnish with mint leaves and fresh cranberries.
Knoxville
Check y o and che ur list ck it tw ice! Grandp arents Teacher s Mom & D ad Employ ees Stockin g Stuffe rs
Kabobs Shawarma Hummus Falafels ––––––– N EW! ––––––– MEDITERRA LUNCH BUFNFEEATN
11A-2P MON-SAT
Yes, we are open this Christmas. Check for individual restaurant hours. DINE-IN | TAKE OUT | DELIVERY
Come celebrate with our family!
9115-C Executive Park Drive | Knoxville
865-691-9100
www.mamamiacuisine.com December 17, 2015
KNOXVILLE MERCURY 37
’BYE
Spir it of the Staircase
BY MATTHEW FOLTZ-GRAY
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KNOXVILLE MERCURY December 17, 2015
www.thespiritofthestaircase.com
At This Point
Comfort and Joy Finding peace in a season of fear BY STEPHANIE PIPER
I
could use some calm and bright. My craving for silence, kept at bay by small daily rations, has gathered intensity in the past few weeks. I’m fantasizing again about a remote island with no phone service, no TV, and no Wi-Fi. No sound but wind and waves and the crackle of a wood fire on the hearth. Maybe a carol or two played on a guitar, preferably by someone I love. It’s not happening, of course. It’s December, season of lists. Season of click to order. Season of mall aversion and overcharged credit cards. And now, season of fear. I wake early and lie in the darkness and wonder about the day ahead. This used to be the time when I would sort through my inventory of worries, conducting a mental triage. By the time my feet hit the floor, I would have the rough draft of a plan. Now my catalogue of woes seems flimsy compared to whatever waits on the CNN homepage. As for a plan, I’m drawing a blank.
Terrorism is about unpredictability. The bombs and bullets are devastating, but so is the sacrifice of ordinary days, days when the unthinkable was just that and people whined about traffic and the weather as though these were real problems. Now an uneventful day feels like a luxury. I scan the headlines and breathe a sigh of relief when the news turns back to politics and celebrities behaving badly. I lie in the dark and think about refuge, and how people threatened by violence have found some measure of peace. When I was growing up, World War II was a proximate and vivid memory for the adults I knew. My father’s reserve uniform hung in the front hall closet, pressed and ready. The war stories I remember best came from the women, black-andwhite snapshots of the home front. No one seemed to spend much time cowering or trembling. My grandmother made ration-card meals of meat loaf with cornflakes and apple-
sauce cake without eggs and spent her afternoons volunteering at the veteran’s hospital. We kept busy, she told me. There was plenty to do. On Christmas Eve in those wartime years, she and my mother trimmed the tree with blue and silver ornaments and hung the tinsel strand by strand as they always did. They spiked the eggnog and opened the door to friends and neighbors who might otherwise be alone that night. They sang carols and joked and laughed. It was what we did then, my mother recalled. It was a way to stay strong. I rise and treat myself to an extra ration of silence, watch the sun gild the edges of gray clouds as the morning begins. The news will break through soon enough, whatever it may be. For now, silence fosters wholeness and creates space for the holy. I haul the crèche up from the
’BYE
basement and set it in its accustomed place, arrange the plaster figures as I have each December for 40-something years. The shepherd is down to one lamb, and the stable roof could use some work. Still, the story is intact: travelers seeking shelter, a baby in peril from Herod’s unthinkable violence, the makeshift comfort of a homely refuge. An angel who says what angels always say: Fear not. I sit at the table and start another list. In a few days, our house will fill up with small children and their assorted parents, uncles, and cousins. We wait for their arrival to decorate the tree, unwrapping blue and silver ornaments from long ago. The youngest child will place the angel on the highest branch, and someone will turn on the lights, and the world will be still. Calm. And for a moment, bright. ◆
BY IAN BLACKBURN AND JACK NEELY
My catalogue of woes seems flimsy compared to whatever waits on the CNN homepage. As for a plan, I’m drawing a blank.
December 17, 2015
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