BEARDEN www.ShopperNewsNow.com
|
Coffee Break
See page A-8
Miracle Maker Central High School’s dynamic choral director Beckye Thomas hasn’t got much time to relax during the holiday season. With all of her students’ upcoming performances, it would be easy to excuse Thomas if she happened to be a bit tuckered at this point. But she’s not.
➤
See Betty Bean’s story on A-9
Can Butch beat losing’s high cost? How much does it cost to win? Doesn’t matter. Just write a check. If you owe payments on a big ballpark, you must have people occupying seats. Pay whatever it takes to attract customers. Losing is not an acceptable alternative. It is too expensive. Can Butch Jones solve the problem? Dave Hart has bet the entire estate that he can. All Butch has to do is win.
➤
See Marvin West’s story on A-6
An app for that! There’s an app for nearly everything else. Why not The District in Bearden? Bebe Vogel, who manages the merchants group there, says The District has just acquired its very own app. It’s available at no charge at the app store – just in time for holiday shopping and dining right here at home.
➤
See Anne Hart’s story on A-14
Craft Fair West Towne Christian Church hosted a craft fair with 50 vendors, and Theresa Edwards was there. See her photos inside.
➤
See page A-7
10512 Lexington Dr., Ste. 500 37932 (865) 218-WEST (9378) 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.
twitter.com/shoppernewsnow
December 10, 2012
Preserving the Fort
IN IN THIS THIS ISSUE ISSUE
➤
|
A great g communityy newspaper p p
VOL. 6 NO. 50
Heather Sutton dreamed of being a journalist until an internship at public relations firm Moxley Carmichael set her on her present course, and she is now media relations and project director at the nonprofit Metropolitan Drug Commission. “It’s different from what I envisioned, but it’s never a dull moment.” Enjoy a coffee break with this engaging young woman.
www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow
By Wendy Smith Peter Hall has worked in the construction business all of his rather short life. But when a Realtor suggested he purchase three houses on Highland Avenue as a renovation project, Peter balked. They were in terrible shape, and he wasn’t sure they were worth the effort. Peter’s dad, Empire Construction founder Steve Hall, talked him into purchasing 1701, 1703 and 1705 Highland Avenue. As it turned out, the poor condition of the houses worked in Peter’s favor. “Nobody else wanted to mess with them,” he said. He purchased the property a year ago, and by August, the houses had been converted into six duplexes. The renovation project recently received a Preservation Rehabilitation award from Knox Heritage, as did another Fort Sanders property Fort Sanders – Knoxville’s Front Porch two Victorian homes at 1300 and 1304 Clinch Avenue. Attorney Carl Eshbaugh renovated the houses. Peter is just 26, but he has extensive experience with restoring properties. His projects with Empire Construction have included Cherokee Mills on Sutherland Avenue and historic buildings in the Maplehurst community, and he’s purchased and renovated other homes as rental properties. His interest in the Fort Sanders neighborhood is both aesthetic and practical. He appreciates the architecture of the community, most of which was built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It’s also a good investment because of constant demand for student housing. Rental contracts for his six renovated duplexes were signed before construction was completed, and students continue to show interest. The easy market for rental property doesn’t always work in favor of the neighborhood, he says. Many of the properties aren’t managed well, and owners don’t have incentive to make improvements because even
Peter Hall’s renovations to 1701, 1703 and 1705 Highland Avenue earned a 2012 Preservation Rehabilitation award To page A-3 from Knox Heritage. Photo by Wendy Smith
Bearden teacher denied incentive pay By Sandra Clark Bearden High School science teacher Bob Savery says he feels “kicked in the teeth” because he was denied APEX incentive pay. Speaking at the school board workshop last Monday, Savery said he is one of 10 teachers at Bob Savery Bearden High School who were deemed ineligible for the performance-based bonus ($1,500 for model performance and $2,000 for explemplary). “And there could be hundreds systemwide.” On Wednesday, Nakia Towns responded to our interview request. Towns was recently appointed chief accountability officer for Knox County Schools; previously, she facilitated the APEX design team which included teachers, principals and central office
Keep Your Me Memories emo SAFE!
administrators. She strongly defends the APEX standards which she says were written based upon “teacher feedback from 18 listening tour meetings, a teacher survey (to which 72 percent of teachers responded), and teacher focus groups who reviewed and proNakia Towns vided feedback” on the model before the local and state school boards approved it. Towns led several workshops at this summer’s Charting the COREse professional development program which drew 3,200 teachers. “We evaluated 3,423 certified staff under TEAM. Of these, 3,172 were eligible for the bonus,” she said. “We tried to over-communicate (the requirements). … So 3,172 people met the criteria and 251 did not.” Of the teachers who did not
meet the criteria, the largest group (145) failed to meet the in-service requirements. This was Bob Savery’s issue. He had enough in-service hours overall, but did not achieve 12 hours of unscheduled, district level professional development. Towns said it’s now too late for Savery and the others to remedy the problem because a new cycle has begun. However, teachers unhappy with their status could file an inquiry with a five-teacher panel established to review and resolve such issues. Committee members are Sarah Clarke, gifted and talented coach for Chilhowee and Sequoyah schools; Carolynn Clemons, science teacher at Halls High School; T.J. Eubanks, fourth grade teacher at Mt. Olive; Sharon Harder, science teacher at Whittle Springs Middle School; and Gayle Santich, math teacher at Farragut High School. The deadline to appeal for high school teachers is Dec. 21. During his talk to the school
board, Savery said he was “not trying to grandstand,” but he gets attaboys every time he speaks out for teachers. He said others don’t speak out because they are afraid. “In 2011-12, teachers were bombarded with tons and tons of (requirements) that weighed heavily on teacher morale,” he said. “We did what you asked; now don’t move the finish line.” The APEX (Advance, Perform, Excel) incentive is based 70 percent on TEAM evaluations, 20 percent on teacher instructional leadership and 10 percent on continuous service in a highneeds school. The terms are defined (exhaustively) in an APEX folder which was distributed to teachers and is available online. Towns said teachers who scored 65 or higher on a 100-point scale received the $1,500 incentive; those who reached 80 or higher got $2,000. Savery did not respond to an email request for an interview.
SALES S ALES • SERVICE SERVICE • MAINTENANCE MAINTENANCE
Preserve those old Pr reels, slides & vhs tapes today! GI F T CA RD
$10 off $50
order
Cannot be combined with any other discounts or offers.
Audio & Video Conversion
Expires 12/15/12 SN121012
686-5756
www.DigitizeItNow.com 12752 Kingston Pike, Renaissance Farragut, Ste 103, Bldg E
Family Fami Fa mily mi lyy Bus B Business u in us ines esss Se es Serv Serving r in rv ng You Y u for Yo ffo or Over Ovver 15 15 Years Ye ear as Old Tazewellll Pike 5715 57 15 O ld dT Pik Pi k • 687-2520 687 252 5 0
Cantrell’s Cares Financing available through TVA Energy Right program* *Restrictions May Apply