‘WALKING TALL’
THE WAY WE WERE
JAKE MABE, A-2
GOVERNMENT, A-4
Daughter remembers Pusser in new book
Larry Van Guilder remembers MLK
HALLS/FOUNTAIN CITY
Vol. 50, No. 3 • January 17, 2011 • www.ShopperNewsNow.com • 4509 Doris Circle, Knoxville 37918 • 922-4136
The MO for the snow
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD TDOT at Gibbs The Tennessee Department of Transportation will conduct a highway design meeting 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 20, in the cafeteria of Gibbs Elementary School, 7715 Tazewell Pike, to discuss intersection improvements at Tazewell Pike (SR-331) and Emory Road (SR-131). The public meeting will include a short presentation and a question and answer period. TDOT reps will outline the proposed improvement and tentative schedule.
Highlighting KCS’ procedure for calling off school By Jake Mabe
T
ime was, or so a colleague’s joke goes, the way Knox County Schools used to decide whether to delay or call off schools was when (former deputy and interim superPrivate middle school intendent) Roy Mullins looked up into the sky on his way to feed the for Gibbs area cows on his Corryton farm. Organizers have launched a webAll kidding aside, the Shoppersite touting a “private, affordable” News sent in a query to director middle school for the Gibbs area. of public affairs Melissa Copelan Corryton Middle School will serve last week to get the MO for the students from Corryton, Gibbs and snow when the school system deRitta at a cost of $75 per week, and applications will be accepted starting cides whether to call off or delay in February. First year enrollment is schools. The sole decision lies with the limited to 30 students with prefersuperintendent – in this case Dr. ence given those zoned to Holston Jim McIntyre – per school board Middle School. policy. But beforehand, he gets a The school curriculum will emphasize STEM topics of science, tech- little help from his friends. According to the procedure, the nology, engineering and mathematics. Classes such as environmental chief-of-staff (Russ Oaks) confers studies, Spanish and cooking will be with the supervisor of transportaincluded with the core classes. Info: tion (Jeff Graves), the chief of sewww.corrytonmiddleschool.com/. curity (Steve Griffin) and “other appropriate school system staff Halls B&P returns and local governmental entities to gather information and make a to Beaver Brook recommendation to the superinThe Halls Business and Profestendent concerning the status of sional Association will resume schools. monthly meetings “The intent is to make the deciat Beaver Brook sion as early as possible to allow Country Club at parents to have time to make apnoon Tuesday, Jan. propriate arrangements. In the 18. Buffet lunch is event that the decision to cancel $10. This month’s school or delay school must be speaker will be made in the early morning hours, Dr. Doug Leahy of this decision should be made prior Summit Medical to 5 a.m. if at all possible,” the proGroup, who has Doug Leahy cedure reads. chaired several The school system first annational committees on health care. nounced the decision to close at All are welcome. The meeting will roughly 4:40 a.m. Monday, Jan. begin promptly at noon.
Jessica Jordan enjoys a day off from school last week by sledding on a snowboard near Brickey-McCloud Elementary School. Photo by Ruth White 10, after last week’s snowstorm hit the area after midnight. Copelan says that “our intent is to make calls as soon as we can, but when that call is made that it is the most informed decision we can make. There are a variety of things we look at, No. 1 being the safety and security of our students and staff. It’s rarely an easy or simple decision. “Living in the (Tennessee) Valley, things change (i.e. the weather).” She said that the forecast for Friday, Jan. 7, is a perfect exam-
ple. Forecasters were calling for significant snow the night before only to see rain fall throughout the day. School security officers and four bus contractors (one assigned each to the north, south, east and west) are the primary source for bus route assessment. Copelan says that other agencies are also consulted, including the National Weather Service, the Tennessee Department of Transportation, city and county traffic engineering departments and lo-
cal law enforcement officials and emergency first responders. Schools maintenance and security personnel survey 90 school facilities to determine their conditions as well, Copelan said. A group of school personnel headed by Oaks evaluates all the collected data before Oaks makes a recommendation to the superintendent. This group also includes assistant superintendent for administrative services Bob Thomas, assistant superintendent To page A-3
Mayor Brown takes charge By Betty Bean Becoming mayor overnight is a big adjustment – just ask Daniel Brown, whose new office affords him a panoramic view of the Tennessee River between the now-closed Henley and Gay Street bridges. “Looking over there, the Gay Street Bridge is jammed,” Brown said. “A lot of times over the past few days, I’ll think ‘They should do something about this and they should do that.’ Then I realize ‘they’ is me.” The 6th District City Council member was named interim mayor by his City Council colleagues last Monday in the 11th round of voting. He succeeds Gov. Bill Haslam, who resigned shortly before Brown was selected. He will serve until a new mayor is elected and sworn into office in December. Meantime, there’s a city to run.
He says he plans to lean heavily on the services of Haslam mainstays Larry Martin and Bill Lyons. “I’m very glad they’re here,” he said. “If they had resigned or if the governor-elect had taken them with him, that would have been a major upheaval. This means stability. Those two gentlemen remaining in place will allow us to move smoothly during this transitional period. They really are the movers and shakers. And City Recorder Cindy Mitchell, she is of great help as well.” Brown, 64, is a retired employee of the U.S. Postal Service, a longtime community volunteer and election worker, and a graduate of Tennessee State University. He has been a council member for a year and was considered something of a sleeper for the job of interim mayor because he
played his cards so close to the vest. “When people first started asking me if I was interested, I just answered, ‘We’ll see.’ Then when the mayor gave his press conference announcing when he’d resign, I saw where five of my colleagues said they were interested. I thought I better start letting people know that I was interested, too. “The morning we voted, because of the Sunshine Law, I had no idea how things were going to turn out. I knew I would get one vote – my own. Then, when we started voting and things were at a standstill, I thought ‘This may not work.’ But it did. “I believe that everyone on that council has integrity. I’ve said it before and will say it again – any one of us could have done this job and I respect and admire each and every one on that council. I
think we’re going to be just fine during this transition.” Brown is divorced and has a daughter, Stephanie Burgess, who teaches school in Shelby County. He has two grandchildren: Miles, 6, and Maya, 2. His brother, Warren, is a bishop with the AME Zion Church and is off on a business trip to England where he oversees the AME churches. When he returns, he plans to organize a celebration for the new mayor, who has become the first African-American to hold that position. And that thought brings up something that has been on the minds of many over the past week: “I hope we can get past the question of race,” Brown said. “But since this is happening the week that we are remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and February is Black History Month, that fact
Last Chance to Register
Pat Summitt and Knoxville Mayor Daniel Brown at the Riverwalk. Photo by Betty Bean
is not lost on me. I know that many in the African-American community are happy – well, maybe some are not – but it might be a good thing for the young people of this
city to see that whoever they are, wherever they might be, if they work hard and prepare themselves, they can be whatever they want to be – if they prepare themselves.” 2707 Mineral Springs Ave. Knoxville, TN 37917 Ph. (865) 687-4537 280 N. Fairmont Ave.
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