Bearden Shopper-News 062711

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GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | KIDS A12 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B | BUSINESS SECTION C

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VOL. 5, NO. 26

JUNE 27, 2011

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Mayoral candidate Ivan Harmon, second from right, joins grandson Connor Cummings, daughter Amy Cummings, Karen Casteel and City Council candidate Sharon Welch around the watermelon.

When Sam taught school

Photos by Wendy Smith

City Council candidate Marshall Stair visits with Chip Barry, Madeline Rogero’s campaign manager.

Jake Mabe tours the Sam Houston Schoolhouse See page A-6

Politics at the park By Wendy Smith

‘University Twit’ tells all

Barbecue, watermelon and politicking were on the menu at the annual West Hills picnic last week, and

Mark Harmon seeks publisher for new book See Larry Van Guilder’s story on page A-7

no one went away hungry. Mayoral and City Council candidates joined a number of current city and county office holders, plus

members of Knoxville’s Fire and Police departments, in the shade of the West Hills Park gazebo. To page A-3

City Council likely to close fireworks ‘loophole’ before July 4

FEATURED COLUMNIST BETTY BEAN

By Betty Bean Last month, Knoxville City Council voted 6-3 to deny a request from the city’s police and fire chiefs to close an unintended loophole in the city code that legalizes fireworks inside the city limits. Two weeks ago, council member Nick Pavlis moved to reconsider the action, and council reversed itself by an 8-1 vote. The ordinance comes up for a second reading Tuesday night, and if it is approved, amateur fireworks displays will again be illegal in time for the Fourth of July holiday. Pavlis said he voted “no” in May because he considered the ordinance unenforceable, but changed his mind after conversa-

GOP meddles in mayors race Bean says it doesn’t matter ... See page A-4

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tions with Knoxville Police Department Chief David Rausch. He cited fire and injury hazards. “There was a time when I put a rocket in a bottle,” Pavlis said. “When it goes up in the air, nobody has any control over where that device ends up. If it’s dry outside, there’s a good chance it could cause a fire.” Council member Joe Bailey voted with the majority in May and remains unconvinced in June. “This is a good time for us to promote personal responsibility,” he said. “I still have 10 fingers and haven’t had my eye blown out. I learned from my parents the dangers of matches, gunpowder and dry fields. I wish this hadn’t been brought up. If we start seeing people’s

roofs are being burned, I’ll do something else.” Rausch told council members that KPD’s most serious enforcement problem comes from nonspecific complaints: “somebody’s shooting off fireworks in my neighborhood.” “If someone calls us and gives us a specific address and location, we will dispatch officers. And if we catch someone with illegal fireworks, we will take action,” Rausch said. Knoxville Fire Department Chief Stan Sharp explained that consumer fireworks (not the smaller novelty items like “poppers” or the miniature sparklers sold in party stores) had been illegal for decades under the old Southern Building Code. When the city moved

Nick Pavlis Photo by B. Bean to modernize its codes, fireworks were not addressed. “It was not done intentionally,” Sharp said. “Apparently, at the time no one realized it could open up that door.” The chiefs emphasized that outlawing amateur fireworks will have no effect on profes-

sional pyrotechnics like those over Fort Loudoun Lake or Chilhowee Park. Council member Brenda Palmer voted to close the loophole in May and remains a strong supporter of closing the fireworks loophole. She said she had been researching the issue and learned that large sparklers heat up to 1,800 degrees and are responsible for many children’s injuries. “It would have been a positive thing for me to be able to say to my rambunctious son ‘No, Don, you may not purchase those because it’s illegal to have them.’ It’s a support mechanism for parents, many of whom do not have a clue what their kids are going to do on the Fourth of July.”

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Mayor gets creative with Carter financing

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Will ‘show the money’ to school board next week

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d Nominate one of ’s N “East T Best”!

Larry Van Guilder We’ve been asking Knox County government, the school system, the developer and the Industrial Development Board to “show us the money” for a new Carter Elementary School. Mayor Tim Burchett came through with a plan

Analysis last week to raise money by selling county properties and using a portion of $5 million in capital funds denied to the school system in its FY 2011 budget request. Knox County Purchasing negotiated a $13.88 million price tag

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with Devon Group, the successful bidder. The developer will arrange its own construction financing, and the county will make a lump sum payment to Devon when the school is ready for occupancy. The mayor will propose to school board, County Commission and the IDB that $2.5 million of that payment be drawn upon the school board’s resurrected $5 million capital request for renovations to the aging elementary school, a new Carter Middle School gym and other improvements. Burchett’s plan would restore $2.5 million in funding for the gym and various improvements, with the balance going to Devon. Burchett proposes raising the lion’s share of the money, about $11.38 million, by selling county properties. With the exception

of the property on Joe Daniels Road, currently occupied by Natural Resources Recovery and appraised for about $1.19 million, the mayor’s office will not specify which properties may be considered. Burchett will present the plan to Burchett the school board at either its July 5 workshop or at the regular board meeting on July 6. As of last Friday, he was meeting individually with board members. If the plan meets with school board, commission and IDB approval, neither the county nor the school board would take on new debt, nor will the IDB need to issue bonds.

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The school board still must convey the property for the new school to the IDB. With the school system effectively receiving a new elementary school for $2.5 million under the mayor’s proposal, that shouldn’t hold up the deal. What may hold it up is finding enough debt-free properties around Knox County to generate more than $11 million in cash in a depressed market to pay the rest of the bill. Even the Joe Daniels Road property will effectively sell for a loss if sold at the appraised value. Knox County has invested millions in upgrades to the property since NRR began operations there. The mayor’s plan still lacks specifics about what properties are available to close the cash gap. It’s creative, but not complete.


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