VOL. 9 NO. 2 NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Military hero to headline meeting U.S. Naval and Marine hero Edgar Harrell will speak at the next meeting of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) at noon Tuesday, Jan. 20, at the DoubleTree Hotel, 215 S. Ed Harrell Illinois Ave. in Oak Ridge. Everyone is invited. Harrell survived the sinking of the Heavy Cruiser U.S.S. Indianapolis by a Japanese torpedo weeks before the end of World War II. He jumped into shark-infested waters of the Pacific Ocean and was rescued five days later. At the meeting, Harrell will sell and sign copies of his book, “Out of the Depths.” All proceeds will be given to the National Memorial in Indianapolis dedicated to the crewmen who perished and to the memory of the U.S.S. Indianapolis. Registration begins at noon, a hot lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. and Harrell will begin at 1 p.m. Reservations are required. Cost of lunch is $14 and includes dessert, tax and tip. Info: 482-4625 or 938-4532.
IN THIS ISSUE Happy Birthday! On Jan. 16, sing a “Happy Birthday” verse to the town of Farragut. Farragut was incorporated on that date in 1980. Our first mayor, Bob Leonard, was elected April 1, 1980, along with four aldermen. In its 35year history, the town has had three mayors: Mayor Leonard, Mayor Eddy Ford and current Mayor Ralph McGill.
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Read more on page A-3
Berry Strong “Eric Berry is already a model for younger players, an example of how to do it. Before that, he was just a model citizen. I remember a high school story of him volunteering as a helper in a dentist’s office. I always suspected the receptionist was pretty. “I recall, at UT, him showing up in the equipment room the night before a game to help team managers clean and polish helmets. Think about that, star with a scrub brush.”
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Read Marvin West on page A-4
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January 14, 2015
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Body building
TeacherPreneur grant will give FHS students a hands-on education
By Betsy Pickle Holly Kelly wants her students to work on their muscles – after they get their bones in place. Kelly, who teaches biology and anatomy at Farragut High School, was one of six Knox County Schools teachers to win an inaugural TeacherPreneur grant from Great Schools Partnership and KCS. Her proposal – “Anatomy and Physiology From the Inside-Out!” – will use the Anatomy in Clay Learning System in a variety of disciplines throughout the school. “Our group had a strong crosscurricular emphasis, and that was perhaps an intriguing factor to the committee,” Kelly theorizes. Students put together skeletal models and then add other systems – which they form out of clay – layer by layer to learn about anatomy. “Kids today are not auditory learners,” says Kelly. “They like hands-on. Students gravitate to that.” The models also can be used
2015 TeacherPreneur grant winner Farragut High School teacher Holly Kelly is pictured with her teaching skeleton. “His name is Ben Dover, and he’s the star of the classroom. We dress him up and generally have a lot of fun with him,” To page A-3 said Kelly. Photo by Nancy Anderson
One step closer to a Farragut downtown By Wendy Smith After months of discussion by the Municipal Planning Commission and the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen, five ordinances intended to foster the development of a downtown Farragut were quietly approved on first reading by the FBMA on Thursday evening. The cake served during a reception held in honor of Farragut’s 35th anniversary was still settling when the ordinances were passed. “As of next week, the town of Farragut will be 35 years old,” said Mayor Ralph McGill at the beginning of the meeting. “People said it wouldn’t last.” Ordinance 14-21 will amend Farragut’s General Commercial District (C-1) by adding new requirements for the Mixed Use Town Center (MUTC) district. The MUTC is the preferred
location for a downtown area, said Community Development Director Mark Shipley. While there are new standards for how new construction should look in MUTC − timeless, with a significant masonry element − the district also provides more flexibility. Reduced setbacks provide more options for building placement, and modifications to height requirements allow taller buildings that could accommodate residential use on non-ground floors. Ordinance 14-22 will officially adopt the area and text identified as MUTC on the Future Land Use Plan outlined in the Farragut Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Ordinance 14-23 will amend the Town Center District (TCD) to a minimum lot size of one acre rather than 15 acres. The TCD was Town Administrator David Smoak recognizes Town Recorder Allison Myers created in 2007 to fit a concept for her work on the fiscal year 2015 budget, which won the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers To page A-3 Association. Photo by Wendy Smith
A great day to stay home By Sandra Clark Knox County Schools will be giving a state-mandated “writing assessment” to children in grades 3-11 in February. The mom of a thirdgrader contacted Shopper-News.
Analysis The tests will be given on computer, and third-graders will be required to type their answers, she said. The teacher wrote: “This is an online assessment, which means they will read two articles online and then TYPE their 5 paragraph response.”
The kids will have an hour and a half to complete the test with a 30-minute break “in between,” according to the teacher. Dr. Elizabeth Alves, chief academic officer for Knox County Schools, said this is the first year the test will be administered in grades 3-11. “In the past, it was only given in grades 5, 8 and 11. The test was piloted across the state last year. Our teachers opted not to participate in the pilot.” Alves said the writing test for grades 5, 8 and 11 was administered by computer last year and grades 8 and 11 have been tested
on computer for two years. She said student performance will be reported, but it will not count for teacher evaluation or system accountability purposes. My final question: In what grade are children taught to type and expected to be proficient in the skill?” Alves said: “Instruction in the use of technology and typing varies from school to school. Currently, there is no curriculum from the state for teaching typing at the elementary levels; however, there are state standards at each grade level that identify performance expecta-
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tions. Elementary students are not graded on proficiency in typing.” The parent who contacted Shopper-News is concerned that her 8-year-old will be typing a fiveparagraph response in a timed format. She said her kid visits the tech lab every six days, hardly enough to become proficient at keyboarding. The teacher who contacted her said typing practice at home would be helpful because, “Capitalization, punctuation and indentions will be taken into consideration on their assessment grade.” This might be a good day to keep your 8-year-old at home.
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