VOL. 8 NO. 22
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Sun, sun, baby…
‘ROUND TOWN
June 2, 2014
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Cool Sports heats up green efforts with new solar panels
By Betsy Pickle
Cool Sports, Home of the Icearium is looking for sunny days. The ice rink and indoor sports facility, 110 S. Watt Road, has just had solar panels installed on its roof, and the more the sun shines, the better. “As a business, it’s a great way to cut our costs,” says Nadia Kogeler, general manager of Cool Sports. “The more we can cut our costs, the more we can do for our community in the long run.” The solar array was installed by Green Earth Solar. It took about two weeks to complete the project. “It’s a 50-kilowatt solar-electric system connected to TVA’s grid,” says Trevor Casey, director of sales for Green Earth Solar. Cool Sports is still using conventional electric power on its premises, but the power produced by its solar array is helping to make East Tennessee greener overall. “They’re selling that power back to TVA as part of the TVA Green Power Providers Program,” says Casey, “and all the power that is sold is credited to them against their electric bill.” Most people won’t even notice the panels, which are on the back
➤ Brush up on your
local history The history of the town of Farragut and this area of East Tennessee is just a quick stop away. Once at the Farragut Folklife Museum, however, you may find yourself spending more time than you anticipated. Recent attendees to the Dixie Highway Garden Club art and flower show were also amazed at the collection of history at the Folklife Museum. The museum is committed to preserving the heritage of its East Tennessee community and features a remarkable collection of artifacts from the area, including an extensive collection of the personal belongings of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut, first Admiral of the U.S Navy and hero of the Civil War. Stop by. The museum, staffed by volunteers who are very knowledgeable about the artifacts, is in Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive. It is free and open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Info: www.townoffarragut.org/ museum.
A new solar array on the roof at Cool Sports will produce power for TVA and help the business save a lot of money on its electric bill.
part of the roof over the ice rink. Installing solar panels is just But Cool Sports will know they’re one more measure Cool Sports there. The panels should produce has taken to be environmentally enough power to save the compa- responsible. ny $10,000 a year. “With a lot of our machinery,
we are trying to use technology that saves on energy and costs as well,” says Kogeler. “We have everything from an electric ZamboTo page A-3
➤ Upcoming at
Town Hall
Liquor tax dispute challenges Farragut’s budget
Farragut/Knox County Schools Education Relations Committee – 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 3
By Sandra Clark Farragut’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen has asked Knox County to consider donations made to Farragut-area schools in negotiating a settlement for mixed-drink taxes not properly reimbursed to Knox County Schools. Knox County Law Director Bud Armstrong said he would file a lawsuit against the town by June 1 at the request of the school board. At stake is $1.3 million, which represents half of the $2.7 million mixed-drink taxes collected by the town since 1987. During this period, the town has donated $747,500 to Farragut-
Arts Council Meeting – 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 3 Economic Development Committee – 8 a.m. Wednesday, June 4 Stormwater Advisory Committee – 3:30 p.m. Thursday, June 12 Board of Mayor and Aldermen – 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12 Personnel Committee – 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 17 Farragut Municipal Planning Commission – 7 p.m. Thursday, June 19 Farragut Folklife Museum Meeting – 1 p.m. Tuesday, June 24
New pub date
By Betty Bean When Stan Kelly and Peggy Leland retired two weeks ago, 45 years of teaching experience at Central High School walked out the door with them. “I kept asking Stan, ‘Are we really old enough to be doing this?’ ” said Leland, who taught art at Central for 20 years and directed her students in creating high-profile art projects like the huge banners hanging in the school commons and other areas. “In my mind, I just thought this was a chance to expose kids who had never had a chance to experience the visual arts to the great artists. Later, I started another project to do framed pictures in the hallways. I hope someone continues it,” Leland said. “Most of the time, you just know when it’s time,” said Kelly, who spent 25 years teaching history and was one of a dwindling handful of educators left there who were also Central High School alumni. And he says he worked at Central much longer than his teaching tenure. “While I was at UT, Mr. (Dan)
Day with the Lions Walk for Sight, sponsored by the East Tennessee Lions Clubs, is set for 9 a.m. Saturday, June 7, at the Karns Lions Club Community Pool, 6618 Beaver Ridge Road. Registration is $25.
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ferentiator?” What makes Farragut stand out in the marketplace? The survey will be up until June 27 at www.townoffarragut.org/branding. North Star’s contract is for $62,000. ■ Gary Palmer, assistant town administrator, has received a scholarship from Harvard University to attend the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government during June. ■ Architectural Design Guidelines is the topic for a 3:30 to 5 p.m. meeting Thursday, June 5, at the town hall. It’s a joint session with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen Gary Palmer and several committees.
Educators bow out early; cite ‘attack on teachers’
Expect delivery of your Shopper-News on Wednesdays rather than Mondays starting June 11. As always, the Shopper will be delivered with the daily paper to News Sentinel subscribers; it will be delivered solo to non-subscribers. If you have questions about delivery, call our office at 922-4136 or 218-9378.
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area schools, and BOMA wants that subtracted from the amount due; but at last week’s school board meeting, Farragut’s board member, Karen Carson, suggested the board could seek interest, pushing the total due to $3 million. Armstrong said negotiations will continue. State law requires one-half of the mixed-drink tax to go to the schools. ■ North Star Destination Strategies has posted a survey online in efforts to develop a “brand” for the town to assist in marketing to visitors, residents and businesses. CEO Don McEachern asked, “What is the community’s competitive dif-
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Central High School lost 45 years of teaching experience with the early retirement of teachers Stan Kelly and Peggy Leland. Leland’s art students produced the banner behind them. Photo by Betty Bean Boring let me work as a janitor here, and after that Mr. (Rex) Stooksbury. Then I was a student teacher here and came here for my first and only teaching job. It all adds up to about 37 years,” Kelly said. His father, the late Cecil Kelly, spent many years as principal of Fountain City Elementary School and was later a member of the school board. His mother, Polly,
was a kindergarten teacher. “We saw a young man at church yesterday; Mama had him in kindergarten, Dad had him in elementary school and I had him at Central. It’s that community connection,” Kelly said. Leland nodded. “That’s what I have loved so much about Central,” said Leland, who grew up in Oak Ridge, where
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everybody was from somewhere else. “There just wasn’t that longterm connection.” Kelly is 60, Leland 62. They don’t seem tired. Kelly’s going to do a lot of hiking and kayaking this summer and enjoy the luxury of fall travel, for the first time. Leland is going to spend the summer working in her studio and traveling to Italy and will start a parttime job in the fall. So why are they leaving early? “I do not believe in a lot of things that are being done – the overly zealous emphasis on data, on test scores – it is an outright attack on teachers,” Leland said. “I’ve always been evaluated by people who have never taught art. Teaching art cannot be compared to an academic class.” Kelly agreed: “Teaching cannot be compared to a business. We’re doing so much wrong in education. It’s bad for teachers and horrible for kids. But teachers are easy to push around. We see these cycles come and go,
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