Bearden Shopper-News 070411

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GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | INTERNS A9 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B | BUSINESS SECTION C

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VOL. 5, NO. 27

JULY 4, 2011

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Happy Fourth of July! NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ

Knoxville Green plant sale starts Saturday The Knoxville Green Association will host a perennial plant sale 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, July 9, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 10, at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. Plants for sun and shade will be offered, including different varieties of daylilies, hosta, iris, astilbe, canna, dahlia, and geraniums. There will also be fruit-producers, including raspberry plants, strawberry plants and grape vines, and rare and exotic species. All will be priced at $1 per plant. Knoxville Green Association was founded by Maria Compere, who is responsible for the Pellissippi Parkway Beautification project. Milllions of daffodils and 3,000 trees have been planted along the parkway due to her efforts. Proceeds from the sale will fund new projects, including a new edible garden at the Knox County Women’s Detention Center.

New jobs Adam Parker is moving from Gibbs Elementary School where he has been principal since 2004 to become principal at Parker A.L. Lotts Elementary School. He joined Knox County Schools in 1995 as a teacher at Powell Elementary and has also been principal at Corryton Elementary and assistant principal at Beaumont Magnet Honors Academy.

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By Wendy Smith What if schools did more than educate children? What if parents, or even community members who don’t have a child at the school, could further their own education there? What if they could get the most basic resources, like a hot meal, a dental check-up or emotional support there? What would that look like? It would look like Pond Gap Elementary School. Pond Gap is currently the focus of the University-Assisted Community School Project (UACSP), which was spearheaded by UT College of Education, Health and Health Sciences professor Bob Kronick 13 years ago. Four other Knox County Title I schools have offered limited services to the community, but a large gift from UT alum Randy Boyd, founder of Radio Systems of Knoxville, has allowed Pond Gap to offer a full gamut of services during a three-year pilot project. No tax dollars are spent on the program. The primary beneficiaries of the project are children. Thirty students in grades one through five were chosen to participate in the project. During the school year, the students stay

Pond Gap Elementary students and volunteers practice a dance during the school’s summer program. A donation from Randy Boyd, founder of Radio Systems of Knoxville, has allowed the school to offer a variety of services to both students and the community as a University-Assisted Community School. Photo by Wendy Smith at the school from 3-7 p.m. In addition to extra instruction in math and reading, they participate in art, music and physical activity like a popular circus class. They also have dinner. The school is open to parents and

other members of the community laundry at the school. And they can during those hours. They are invit- eat dinner, too. “It’s a one-stop shop. You can get ed to participate in parent groups or enroll in a GED or ESL class. They it all here,” says Kronick. The idea behind the UACSP is can get help with taxes or writing a resume. They can even do their To page A-3

Human cost of ending seniors’ free bus tickets will be high, users predict By Betty Bean Ernest Muller, 91, was once known as the “South Knoxville Litter Getter.” “We would go to parks and he would pick up trash and clean up, just to have something to do,” said his son, Ken Muller. “Now, because of balance issues, he can no longer do that.” Ernest was a design engineer with the Nevada Highway Department who retired in 1977 and became a private land surveyor until he had to give up driving at age 84. When his wife fell ill, he became her caregiver. Later, they came to Knoxville to live with Ken and his wife, Cynthia Andreson. “We deliberately chose a home on the bus line,” said Ken, who is a disabled veteran. “With both my wife’s and my disabilities, using the bus is a necessity. She used it to go to work every day, and we’ve

I’ve never been here before.’ ” The Mullers counted on getting Senior FREEdom bus tickets, provided by a Knoxville Area Transit/Knox County partnership that was started in 2006 by former Mayor Mike Ragsdale’s “No Senior Left Behind” initiative. The program will end in October because the county whacked two-thirds of its appropriation. County Mayor Tim Burchett said the cut shouldn’t matter since buses run whether empty or full, and KAT should let seniors ride free. KAT general manager Cindy McGinnis says the county’s reduced participation leaves a hole in the KAT budget during a time of volatile gasoline and employee health insurance costs. Ken Muller and his father, Ernest Photo by B. Bean James Harmon, 70, also been using the bus system ber, and this is a way for Dad lives in South Knoxville, more since my parents came. to see something out the win- is on a fi xed income and My mother died last Decem- dow and say ‘What is that? is about to suffer a double

whammy since his only supplemental income is from his job with KAT’s federally-funded Senior Aides program, also on the chopping block. He has organized efficiency surveys of the KAT system and participated in a study of how the trolley system could work better. “They are in the process of making changes that come from the data we collected,” he said. He is angry about Senior FREEdom ending. “Look what’s happening – a huge percentage of the senior population depends on those buses. I would classify this as a life-threatening decision at a time when gas prices are so high that a lot of people cannot afford to operate a vehicle. I am one of those. I’m already in subsidized housing, trying to supplement my small Social Security income. It’s not going to be easy on To page A-3

Woodson earns ‘thanks’ for good work By Betty Bean When the Tennessee General Assembly wound up its 2011 business, a group of students and administrators at the University of Tennessee went out and painted The Rock with a special message: “Thank You, Jamie.” They were saluting Senate Speaker Pro Tempore Jamie Woodson, whose deSenate Speaker Pro Tempore parture from the state SenJamie Woodson Photo by B. Bean ate to become the president

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and CEO of SCORE – the State Collaborative on Reforming Education – means that Knox County is losing its most influential legislator and UT its most powerful ally. Prior to being named to the No. 2 position in the Senate, Woodson, who holds degrees in political science and law from UT, chaired the Senate’s education committee and developed a reputation as state govern-

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ment’s leader in education policy. She says it is that passion that compelled her to give up her Senate seat to head the foundation created by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Woodson likely made a strong impression on Frist in 2009 when she was on the Race to the Top team that made Tennessee the first state in the nation to win the coveted $500 million federal education grant.

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“I have worked with Sen. Frist for many years and have been inspired by his dedication. It is such an honor to be a part of this group, which is at the forefront of education reform. I will have the opportunity to move from policy work into implementation. At the end of the day, it’s all about making sure students in Tennessee are prepared for success in the global marketplace.”

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