VOL. 7 NO. 19
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IN THIS ISSUE
Big Swing Everyone was feeling lucky on May 7 at Egwani Farms. Not only were the golfers ready for a fun day on the links, but members of the “Swing Big for Students” golf committee were breathing sighs of relief as the gathering clouds moved on and only threatened rain in the morning, with the afternoon session enjoying some welcome sunshine.
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May 13, 2013
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Celebrating with C-SPAN
See Farragut Faces on A-3
Coffee Break As Dr. Alan Gassel prepared to have his picture taken for this week’s Coffee Break, two of his six dogs wanted their turn in the limelight. Alan was only too happy to indulge them. Keeping pets happy – and healthy – has been his life’s work.
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See Coffee Break on page A-2
Miracle for Evie Jessica Ashton was 34 weeks pregnant with her second baby when she received news no mother wants to hear. A routine ultrasound showed fluid in Jessica’s baby girl. On April 5, 2011, a specialist diagnosed the baby with non-immune hydrops, an abnormal collection of fluid in at least two areas: the skin, abdomen, space around the lungs or the pericardial sac around the heart.
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See Ashley Baker’s story on A-7
Barbecue blast West Knox Rotary’s big barbecue cook-off, which drew nearly 50 teams from across the country, was a first-time event, but those in charge say it won’t be the last.
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See Anne Hart’s story on page A-12
No way to know “Ten years ago, when Doug Dickey was finishing up as athletic director at Tennessee, dear friend Nancy Siler and I had an interesting conversation about potential replacements,” Marvin West writes. “Her candidate was Bill Schmidt. “Nancy said he met all requirements. He had been an Olympic athlete and a Tennessee coach, a Chuck Rohe assistant. He had a Master’s degree in business with emphasis on accounting.”
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See Marvin’s story on page A-6
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Proud first-place winners in the C-SPAN StudentCam documentary contest pose at Farragut Middle School with the “big check.” From left are Doug Hemmig of C-SPAN, Farragut Mayor Ralph McGill, winners Nalin Varma, Parin Bhaduri and Austin Hoag and Knox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre.
By Betsy Pickle Learning is its own reward. But winning prizes for learning somehow feels even better. That’s what came across as 12 students at Farragut Middle School were recognized for their achievements in the C-SPAN StudentCam 2013 documentary competition. In front of local dignitaries, proud family members and peers, the StudentCam winners were praised and honored May 8 in a ceremony in the FMS gym. All members of the 8th grade C-SPAN class taught by Karen Rehder, the students, working in teams of three, created five- to eight-minute-long videos with the
theme “Message to the President: What’s the most important issue that the president should consider in 2013?” Parin Bhaduri, Austin Hoag and Nalin Varma won first prize in the middle-school category for their entry, “Public Transportation in the Nation.” Not only did they receive a ceremonial giant check for $3,000 (they’d already been given the smaller, legal version, split three ways), but they also received a commendation from U.S. Sen. Bob Corker. Three FMS teams won third prize: Lauren Fiet, Tali Graham and Eunice Baek for “A Game of Risk: Israel and Iran”; Grace Shoff-
ner, Julia Hammon and Maggie Murr for “Education Across the Nation”; and Delaney Weller, Lauren Dickerson and Maggie Olson for “Inefficient Government Spending: The Foundation of Our Debt.” All 12 received a proclamation of congratulations from Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, at the request of state Sen. Stacey Campfield. C-SPAN representative Doug Hemmig introduced the winners and elicited reactions from them, while Mayor Ralph McGill and Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre shook their hands. “I come here every year, seems like,” said Hemmig. Indeed, FMS has won at least one prize yearly
Getting that ‘vol’ spirit into schools By Sherri Gardner Howell The Little Engine That Could will have to pick up some steam to overtake the Farragut/Knox County Schools Joint Education Relations Committee in perseverance. For five months, this committee of civic-minded volunteers has been trying to do a good thing for Farragut schools, and it just keeps getting more and more complicated. Here’s the idea in a nutshell: Enrich the curriculum and education of students in the Farragut schools by drawing on all the expert knowledge found in
the Farragut citizenry. The idea came first from Mayor Ralph McGill, who proposed it in early January as a project for the committee. Committee members jumped on the idea and started with a query to their contacts in the Farragut
Analysis schools. Many reported a lukewarm response, with teachers citing too much mandatory curriculum to think about anything else. But there were a few – those little points
of light – who said, “Oh, if I had known an architect, an engineer, a chef for this or that, how that would have enriched the study or project.” So the committee kept going. Next was to see just how someone goes about volunteering to help in the schools. That led to a Knox County Schools website where volunteers fill out a form outlining how they would like to help, submit it and wait to hear from the schools. A couple of committee members filled out the form to test it. They heard nothing. But, they were hearing from some principals
since starting participation in the StudentCam contest in 2007. The biggest haul was in 2011, when Rehder’s students earned one first prize, two second prizes, four third prizes and one honorable mention. “This is getting to be a habit,” said Mayor Ralph McGill. “And it’s a good habit. The accolades that come to this school as well as the other schools in Farragut just blow us away. We’re not paying tuition to go to those schools, we’re paying taxes, but they are great schools.” This year saw a record number of entries, Hemmig said, with To page A-3
and businesses and professionals that this idea had merit, so they kept gathering information and having conversations with school officials. And they are still digging (see the story on page A5), because this is an idea that has no down side. It is good for the teachers because they have a resource that will give added value to concepts they are teaching. It is good for the professionals and business owners because they get to share their knowledge with today’s students. And it will be good for the schools, because it will get today’s professionals and businesses into the schools. They will see all the good, and all the needs. And we are Volunteers, so they will want to help.
Not back yet: Moncier’s struggles continue By Betty Bean Not so fast, Mr. Moncier. That’s the message Herb Moncier received from U.S. District Court after a newspaper article announced that he is once again practicing law in federal court after serving a five-year suspension for contempt of court for disobeying a judge who ordered him to shut up. He says he doesn’t know exactly what he must do to be reinstated. “Evidently there’s a glitch,” he said. “Now I’m being told there’s something more I have to do. I did not expect to be in the position that I’m in today after 43 years of practicing law – at the center of this controversy. “I’ve cancelled three appointments this week with
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new clients who wanted to hire me to be their attorney in federal court.” Actually, Moncier’s pretty much always been in the center of controversy, whether for representing a Group W Bench full of infamous criminals or for forcing the local political establishment to comply with laws that they’d just as soon ignore, and doing it with a frequency, bluster and degree of success that members of the political establishment have found maddening. His highs are stratospheric, his lows tragic. And they’re almost always public. As one friend says, “Good or bad, things happen big to Herb.” Herb’s father, James C. Moncier, was a successful entrepreneur who founded
a chain of 17 Easy Way Five & Ten Cent Stores and acquired three cattle farms where he raised registered Aberdeen Angus. Every spring, Herb, a lifelong animal lover, would adopt a calf to raise and show at the fair in the fall. And every year it was the same – the trauma of selling the calf to the highest bidder, always the White Stores, inevitably followed the triumph of winning a blue ribbon. “I knew where the calf that I slept with at night in the barn (at the fair) was going to end up, and as long as the White Stores were in business, I would never eat beef from there. I wouldn’t even walk by the counter,” he said. To page A-4 Herb Moncier at work
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