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Vol. 5, No. 4 • January 24, 2011 • www.ShopperNewsNow.com • 10512 Lexington Drive, Suite 500 37932 • 218-WEST (9378)
dismissed. He later pleaded guilty to destroying a video tape of the incident. Beck represented U.S. Air National Guard Maj. Bill Umbach, who was charged when he, along with wingman Maj. Harry Schmidt, fired upon and killed four Canadian soldiers near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 2002. The pilots thought they were being fired upon when the Canadians were conducting a training exercise. Charges against
Umbach were dismissed, and the story is chronicled in “Friendly Fire: The Untold Story of the U.S. Bombing that Killed Four Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan,” by Mike Friscolanti. Beck has been interviewed about his high-profile cases by the likes of Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer. But he has stories that haven’t been told on national television, like how he was shadowed by the KGB during a morning run while in Moscow to prosecute Lonetree. (The Russians couldn’t keep up.) Then there was the time he may have accidently caught a ride with the enemy in Malaysia. (He was sent there in 1984 by Major General Bob Haebel to help train paracommandos.) He’ll never know for sure. Beck is plagued with health problems that began after he returned from defending the friendly fire case in Afghanistan. He is still sought after as a public speaker and enjoys occasional invitations to conduct chapel for college athletes. His relationship with the Auburn football coaches won him a spot on the bus that carried the football team to the stadium and a seat on the 50-yard line with the coaches’ wives at the Tostitos BCS National Championship game on Jan. 11. His success as a pilot, an attorney and a husband come from following the advice of his father. Marshall Beck told his son to do three things: seek first the kingdom of God, surround himself with good people and do the right thing in every situation. Dave Beck credits Melinda, as well as the staff at Lewis, King, Krieg, and Waldrop, with helping him achieve the success he’s enjoyed. He doesn’t let his poor health affect his outlook. “If I die tomorrow, or if I die 100 years from now, I will have been blessed more than I ever dreamed was possible.”
man said. Car companies embraced EV production and are introducing more options into the market like the 100 percent electric Nissan Leading Environmentally friendly Affordable Family car, or LEAF, and the hybrid Chevy Volt. The Nissan LEAF will even be made at Nissan’s Smyrna, Tenn., plant starting in 2012. Grossman said Nissan’s EV is the best choice in the new car market. Recently, money from a $100 million federal grant was awarded to local officials for installation of more than 40 solar-powered EV fueling stations in Knoxville and Oak Ridge. The stations also are slated for completion in 2012. Grossman said Tennessee has easily surpassed California as the leading state in the nation for embracing alternative fuel-powered transportation. And she couldn’t be more thrilled. “When I watched the movie ‘Who Killed the Electric Car?’ I was so pumped,” Grossman said of her appreciation for electric vehicles. “I realized our choices were taken away from us, and that made me mad.” Grossman said the movie outlines the rebirth of EVs in the United States and the efforts that followed to remove those vehicles from the mainstream market.
Electric vehicle history in this country actually starts with invention in the 1800s. By 1900, EV sales peaked domestically. Henry Ford’s wife drove an EV because she didn’t want to turn the cumbersome and often dangerous crank, Hrivnak said. With the invention and mass production of gas-powered vehicles, EV interest faded. In just the last two to three years with the rise of gas prices and the infamous BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, American interest in alternative fuels is once again piqued. “The waiting list (to purchase a LEAF) is nine to 10 months long if not a year,” said Bryan Rigney, Internet sales manager at Ted Russell Nissan on Kingston Pike. He said it’s likely Nissan’s new EV will be on the roads in three to six months if not sooner. The LEAF can only be obtained now via a Nissan.com waiting list, Rigney said. The LEAF runs approximately $32,000, and there is a federal income tax credit that can reduce the price to around $25,000. And as the electric transportation movement increases, KEVA plans to be part of it. “Electric is the way of the future,” Hrivnak said.
A storied career
By Wendy Smith
W
est Knoxville resident Dave Beck is quick to tell anyone who will listen about his wife of more than 40 years, Melinda, their five children and 13 grandchildren. He talks freely about his love for God and his church, Cedar Springs Presbyterian, and seasons his speech with scriptural references. If the conversation turns to his parents, who both passed away more than 20 years ago, he tears up. But this retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel also has stories up his sleeve that might be mistaken for tall tales if not for the number of books that verify them. Beck is, without a doubt, one of Knoxville’s most fascinating characters. He grew up in Kingsport and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1971, desperate to join the Marines. His father, Marshall, was a P.O.W. in World War II and his cousin, Butch Beck, had survived being shot down three times while flying Cobra helicopters in Vietnam. Dave Beck couldn’t wait to follow in their footsteps. Even though he skipped T.B.S. (the Basic School) and finished flight school six months early, the war ended before he flew his first mission. He became the first second lieutenant to serve as a NATOPS (Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization) officer while a fixed-wing flight instructor at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla. In 1980, Beck graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Law and went on to handle some of the most publicized cases
Retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Dave Beck celebrates Auburn’s victory at the Tostitos BCS National Championship game. Beck was a pilot, prosecutor and judge during active duty, and handled several high-profile military cases during his civilian career. He occasionally conducts chapel for sports teams at Auburn, his dad’s alma mater. Photo submitted in U.S. military history. He prosecuted the Marine Corps’ first-ever espionage case against Sgt. Clayton Lonetree in 1987. Lonetree was an embassy guard in Moscow when he was lured into a romantic relationship by the KGB and began handing over secrets. He received a 25-year sentence, but received clemency after eight years – at Beck’s recommendation. The case is the subject of “Dancing with the Devil” by
Rodney Barker. Beck was a military judge for three years before retiring from the Marine Corps in 1991 and moving to Knoxville, where he began practicing law with Lewis, King, Krieg, and Waldrop. In 1998, Beck defended Captain Joseph Schweitzer, the navigator of a Marine jet that clipped a cable of a ski gondola in northern Italy, killing 20. Manslaughter charges against Schweitzer were
Look Ma! No engine! By Valorie Fister The outside of Leslie Grossman’s black 1997 Jeep Wrangler looks just like many other Jeeps on the road. But ask her to pop the hood or the fuel door and let the surprise sink in. Rows of yellow batteries rest under the hood where once there was a gas-powered engine. And there is now an electric outlet behind the fuel door instead of a gasoline receptacle. “There are only three electric Jeeps in the world,” said engineer David Hrivnak. Hrivnak is the mastermind who custom converted Grossman’s now 100 percent electric powered vehicle. “There are not a lot of kits out there for it.” Grossman’s vehicle now travels 30 miles on a charge – which is just what she needs for Knoxville driving. She pays the equivalent of 60 cents of electric per gallon of gas for a charge, and her approximately $15,000 conversion is expected to last for up to 10 years. Grossman and Hrivnak want to see many more electric vehi-
Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association president Leslie Grossman lets people see what really powers her 1997 Jeep Wrangler. Rows of batteries are lined up where a motor once was. Photo by Valorie Fister cles in use around town and on the highways. Grossman is the president of the Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association. The local stock broker and former WATE television journalist has teamed up with Hrivnak, an industrial engineer at Eastman, and 35 members of KEVA to promote electric transportation.
The group recently met at EarthFare in Turkey Creek and is plugging ahead with plans for a Feb. 19 free public workshop. The location and exact time will be announced. KEVA wants Knoxville residents to know just how real and affordable electric travel is today. This is a crucial time for EV travel, especially in Tennessee, Gross-
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