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Interns head downtown
Last week, the ShopperNews interns toured the Knox Area Rescue Ministries, the health department and ate lunch at the Knoxville Visitors Center during a WDVX Blue Plate Special concert.
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See their story on pages A-10, 11
Mose’s mark There’s an underground campaign to influence Mayor Tim Burchett to reappoint Robert M. “Mose” Lobetti to a third term on Metropolitan Planning Commission. Lobetti already has left an indelible mark.
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See Betty Bean’s story on A-4
UT revitalization This is the revitalization time of Tennessee football, says Marvin West. “Hope is here. Rebirth is likely. Improvement is just around the corner. Derek Dooley is optimistic.” Marvin says, “There had to be changes.”
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See Marvin’s story on page A-6
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Realtor info Coldwell Banker Wallace & Wallace Realtors will host career nights at each of the firm’s offices 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 28. The principal broker at each office will answer questions about obtaining a Tennessee real estate license. No appointment is necessary. Career night will be held at: Bearden Hill, 140 Major Reynolds Place; Farragut, 10815 Kingston Pike; and West Town, 124 N. Winston Road; Info: Mike Pappas, 693-1111 or mpappas@cbww.com, or visit www.cbww.com.
Wendy Smith A3 Government/Politics A4 Anne Hart A5 Malcom Shell / Marvin West A6 Faith A7 Interns A10,11 Business A12 Health/Lifestyles Sect B
10512 Lexington Dr., Ste. 500 37932 (865) 218-WEST (9378) news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com GENERAL MANAGER Shannon Carey shannon@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Sandra Clark sclark426@aol.com BEARDEN REPORTER Wendy Smith shopperWendy@comcast.net ADVERTISING SALES Laura Lyon Laura.Lyon@ShopperNewsNow.com Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly at 10512 Lexington Drive, Suite 500, Knoxville, TN, and distributed to 24,267 homes in Bearden.
By W Wendy endy en dy Smith Smi mith th
David Lockwood had never heard of Maria Compere before she called to ask for help with an orchard. His quick Internet search revealed that 96-year-old Compere is the founder of Knoxville Green Association, which is responsible for numerous beautification projects, including the planting of 1.7 million daffodil bulbs along Pellissippi Parkway. Lockwood, like many others before him, caught Compere’s vision and agreed to design an orchard for the Knox County Detention Facility in East Knox County. He recently received an award from Knoxville Green for his efforts there. “He’s the sweetest guy,” says Compere. A pilot program allows a crew of six to eight female inmates from the county jail to work at the garden three days a week. Before it was established three years ago, the only work programs available to women were in the jail’s kitchen and laundry room. The garden has flourished under the care of the enthusiastic crew. “They want to be outside, out in the sun,” says Knox County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Peggy Branson, who supervises the program. Knoxville Green had already donated a greenhouse, seeds and plants for the garden. But Compere wanted to add an orchard, and Lockwood was perfectly suited for the task. As a UT extension fruit and nut crop specialist, he works with growers from across the state and was able to procure nearly 100 peach and apple trees for the project from a grower in McMinnville. He also worked well with the prisoners. He taught the inmates without talking down to them, says Branson.
An inmate from the Knox County Jail stakes tomato plants at a garden at the Knox County Detention Facility. A pilot program allows female inmates to work there three days a week. “It doesn’t matter how hot it is, they’d rather be outside than in,” says Knox County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. Peggy Branson. The respect was mutual. “It was a delight to work with them because they were very interested in how to do it,” says Lockwood. Working in the garden is a new experience for inmates who have spent their lives in housing projects, says Branson. Some don’t even know what a goat is when they first see one on the farm. But they come to love caring for them, as well as the donkeys and chickens. They also love watching the seeds sprout in the greenhouse and are amazed at how quickly the plants yield a harvest.
David Lockwood of UT’s Plant Science Department was recently recognized by Knoxville Green Association for his work on an orchard at the Knox County Detention Facility. Photos by Wendy Smith
The orchard, which was planted in April, will take a little longer to produce. Lockwood says the peach trees could bear fruit in three years, and the apple trees in four. The trees are already flourishing, and Branson doesn’t mind the wait. The orchard will be a source of pride to those who planted it long after they have served their time, she says. Federal regulations prohibit the inmates from eating the produce from the garden. Instead, it’s used to feed KCSO staff and donated to
neighbors. Lockwood hopes that the women who work there will reap other rewards, like an interest that leads to growing a few vegetables at home or even a career in horticulture after they are released. The program has been so successful that representatives from two other prisons in Tennessee have contacted him for more information. Branson, who loves her job, says anyone can do it. “If you’ve got a little patch of land, then you can have a garden.”
How high? Neighbors oppose tall sign at Westland Weigel’s Neighbors of the new, 16gas pump convenience store Weigel’s plans to build on the corner of Ebenezer Road and Westland Drive will meet with Weigel’s representatives at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 28, at Ebenezer United Methodist Church to discuss the way the convenience store will look. The neighbors will convey their hopes that the Ebenezer/Westland store will look more like the new Weigel’s store in Choto with its rustic architecture, numerous trees, muted lighting, faux wood fence and low-lying monument sign than the prototypical Weigel’s store on the corner of Northshore and Ebenezer, with its bright lights, abundant neon and tall, pole-mounted sign. Some 40 area residents met at the church last week to plan for the meeting, and appeared to be unanimous in their preference for a store that they said would blend better with the surrounding neighborhoods. Council of West Knox County Homeowners president Margot Kline led the discussion and told the group that
Keep Your Me Memories emo SAFE!
she is hoping that Weigel’s CEO Bill Weigel will be able to attend this week’s meeting (he has had some recent health issues). Weigel’s failed to get useon-review approval at the June meeting of the Metropolitan Planning Commission (the vote ended in a 5-5 tie), and the MPC board members voted to postpone it until the July meeting to give Weigel’s and the neighborhoods an opportunity to work out their differences. Kline hopes the neighbors will be able to persuade Weigel, whom she described as “a really nice man,” to do it their way. But she has her doubts: “Ideally, Mr. Weigel will say, ‘You’re the customers,’” Kline said. “But I do get the sense that he has a very strong opinion that what he sees (on the Ebenezer/Westland corner) is what’s on the corner of Northshore and Ebenezer – a big tall sign and a building that looks like one out on the highway. That is going to change the nature of this community.” The Weigel’s store at Choto looks the way it does because that property is zoned Neighborhood Commercial. Pilot Oil was looking at the Ebenezer/Westland property when it was rezoned from Low Density Residential to Planned Commercial in 2006. “They had asked for General
Weigel’s at Choto, a look preferred by Westland neighbors.
A prototype Weigel’s store with taller sign. Photos submitted Commercial, which is pretty much ‘anything goes,’” Kline said. Faced with neighborhood opposition, MPC granted Planned Commercial as a compromise, whereupon Pilot lost interest, possibly due to the requirement for 50-foot setbacks. “That just kind of left the door open,” Kline said. Weigel’s wants only two of the parcel’s 20 acres, which has Kline even more concerned because she says the Weigel’s decision will set a precedent. “There’s no way to change the zoning back,” she said. Kline predicted that the new Weigel’s customer base will be
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JJune 25,, 2012
How a garden grows
By Betty Bean
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drawn from people who live in the area, since Ebenezer carries mostly neighborhood traffic. A member of the audience reminded the others about the gas station that was constructed on the property of the historic Baker-Peters House over strong neighborhood opposition. “How many people have ever traded at the Baker-Peters place?” he asked. No hands went up. “What does that tell you? Most of us opposed that and said we’d never trade there, and we don’t,” he said. The county has committed to building turn lanes at the Ebenezer/Westland intersection.