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Miracle Maker
A veteran Knox County Schools educator says Copper Ridge Elementary School 1st-grade teacher Natasha Patchen is “the most creative and organized teacher I have ever seen.” But the description goes beyond organized in the sense of use of classroom space, and Patchen’s creativity is quickly apparent.
See Jake Mabe’s story on page A-9
Next year is now for UT hoops Good teams are gathering for the peak of this exciting basketball season. Tennessee, not being one of them, is pondering “next year.” Cuonzo Martin is on the clock. He must know NIT one and done is unacceptable. Too much is invested for a 20-13 return – big building, rich recruiting budget, $$$ checks to coaches. See Marvin West’s story on A-6
Meet Merri Lee Merri Lee Fox has owned G&G Interiors in Cherokee Plaza for five years, but she’s been in the business of selling pretty things for nearly 20 years. Her business began with gift baskets, when the demand for ornately-wrapped bundles of goodies was high. But that was several years ago, and she is now perfectly happy filling homes from Sequoyah Hills to Washington, D.C. with high-end design.
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See Coffee Break on page A-2
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Update on taxes
Craig Leuthold will talk taxes at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, at Peace Lutheran Church, 612 N. Cedar Bluff Road. Knox County reassesses property every four years, and Leuthold will discuss the process and ways to communicate with the assessor’s office. The Council of West Knox County Homeowners meets monthly. Info: www. cwkch.com/.
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By W By Wendy end en dy Smith dy Smi mith th
The men who mined mine mi ned d TenTenTen nessee pink marble at Mead’s Quarry during the late 1800s lived and worked on property that is now part of Ijams Nature Center, and executive director Paul James wants to hear their stories. “It was really hard living,” he says. “I’d like to get a detailed, three-dimensional picture of what happened at Mead’s Quarry.” Ijams is hosting an informal information-gathering and show-and-tell session from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, April 6. Those who have family members who worked in East Tennessee marble companies, and those who have marble items or features in their homes, are encouraged to attend. Public historian Susan Knowles and Carroll Van West, director of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University, are collecting stories, documents and photographs for a survey of East Tennessee’s marble industry. Knowles is also nominating Mead’s and Ross Marble Quarries at Ijams to the National Register of Historic Places. James hopes to use the information to lure more visitors to Ijams. Self-directed outdoor tours that provide interpretations of Ijams Nature Center executive director Paul James looks into the Ross Marble Quarry gorge. the area’s history and culTwo former marble quarries are now part of the 275-acre natural area. Photo by Wendy Smith ture are popular, he says, and smartphone technology offers exciting new ways to convey information without additional staff. Marble quarries were abundant in the Forks of the River area at the end of the 19th century. Marble that was mined in the Knoxville area was transferred to New York City or Washington, D.C., via railroad or river, and used in such famous structures as the National Gallery of Art and the Washington Monument, James says. Mead’s Quarry began operation in 1881, and another quarry owned by Ross MarA photo from the Thompson Photograph Collection, part of the Calvin M. McClung Historic ble Company began operatCollection, documents a few of the men who harvested marble in East Tennessee during the ing just south of Mead’s 20 early 20th century. Photo submitted years later. The marble in-
NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Wendy Smith | Anne Hart ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Shannon Carey | Patty Fecco Jim Brannon | Tony Cranmore Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly. the Bearden edition is distributed to 24,646 homes.
By Sandra Clark Lincoln Memorial University’s Duncan School of Law opened with great promise, but now it’s fighting for its life.
Analysis With enrollment underway for the Class of 2016, students and staff await a decision on accreditation by the American Bar Association, a decision that may not come until year’s end. Pessimists worry. Without accreditation, graduates who pass the state bar exam can practice law only in Tennessee.
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Optimists don’t. The ABA’s accreditation committee was in town March 17-20, touring the campus (the Historic City Hall on Henley Street downtown), talking with students and meeting with members of the bar. The Tennessee Bar Association gave a boost, saluting the school for pro bono work in excess of 5,165 hours by 84 students assisted by faculty. And the optimists are counting on the credibility of the interim dean, the legendary Parham Williams. With a degree from Yale School of Law, Williams has 35 years of Parham Williams, interim dean at LMU’s Duncan School of Law experience having served as a professor and dean at Chapman Uni- University’s Cumberland School of sippi School of Law. He has chaired versity School of Law, Samford Law, and the University of MissisTo page A-3
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dustry went bust during the Great Depression, but the quarries produced gravel and agricultural lime until the 1970s. Mead’s became part of Ijams in 2005, and the Ross Marble Natural Area was added in 2010. Ijams has seen an explosion of new visitors, mostly hikers and bikers, since the properties were added. The 275-acre natural area now has 12 miles of trails, and is the gateway to the south loop of Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness. The addition has changed the nature of Ijams so much that “nature center” is no longer an accurate description, says James. “We’re still trying to wrap our arms around what it means to be a recreation area.” One thing it means is that Ijams needs a bigger parking lot. Spaces have been added to accommodate those who want to look for the freshwater jellyfish that live in the 25-acre lake in Mead’s Quarry. Swimming is off-limits, but River Sports rents canoes and paddle boards, as well as bikes, during warm weather months. Hikers are drawn to spectacular views of the Ross Marble Quarry gorge, with its sheer walls of pink marble covered in moss. Mountain bikers flock to Amber and Hickory trails, which wind through the former quarry. Part of the beauty of the “pocket wilderness” is that it is minutes from downtown Knoxville. That’s one reason why the edge of the lake at Mead’s Quarry has been chosen as the site of the city’s budget presentation on Friday, April 26. A staging area built to accommodate the event will be left in place for other uses. While the Mead’s and Ross Marble quarries have found new life as a recreation area, James doesn’t want to lose their history. The cabins that housed the men who worked in the Mead’s Quarry are long gone, and their stories will be, too, if family members don’t share them, he says.
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