Farragut Shopper-News 081915

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VOL. 9 NO. 33

‘ROUND TOWN

g August 19,, 2015

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Analyzing Alzheimer’s

Davis Y launches first of kind study program

By Carolyn Evans

➤ Upgrades at

Mayor Bob Leonard Park The town of Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen cut the ribbon on the new playground at Mayor Bob Leonard Park on Aug. 13. The project includes an ADAapproved playground surface and energy-efficient LED lighting. This playground replacement was funded in part by a Local Parks and Recreation Fund (LPRF) grant from Gov. Bill Haslam and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. In 2014, Haslam awarded $6.6 million to fund local parks and recreation projects across Tennessee; the town received a $43,000 matching grant for the new playground. Mayor Bob Leonard Park is at 301 Watt Road in Farragut. Info: Parks and Leisure Services Director Sue Stuhl at sue.stuhl@ townoffarragut.org or 966-7057.

➤ Town offers

tree memorials The town of Farragut offers a unique way for community members to remember or honor their loved ones – through the Plant a Tree Program – by purchasing a tree to be planted in one of Farragut’s parks or along a Farragut greenway. Those interested can donate a fee between $200 and $250 and choose from more than a dozen tree varieties. With assistance from town staff, a location will be chosen for the tree, which will be installed during the optimal planting season of November or December. A small marble commemorative plaque will be set in concrete at the base of the tree, and the town will provide year-round, lifetime maintenance. This year’s deadline to purchase a tree is Monday, Aug. 31. Info: Athletics and Parks Coordinator Alden Rosner at arosner@townoffarragut. org or 966-7057.

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Bearden: Kate Moore juggles jobs; Wendy Smith goes to Pub Talk at Cedar Springs. North/East Knox: In-depth coverage of festivities at Knoxville Botanical Gardens; red carpet at Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Academy. Powell: The Crown College and Temple Baptist Academy impact community; interstate interchange landscaping goes to bid. Karns: Church of Christ offers special camp for special kids South: Urban bioblitz; Marble Springs prepares for fundraiser. Halls: Sterchi School gets new playground; Ridgecrest area gets a cell tower.

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The Knoxville community knows all too well that early-onset Alzheimer’s can strike successful and quick-thinking people, as it did University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. A new program at the Davis Family Y at Jefferson Park will study the effects of exercise, brain stimulation and socialization on those diagnosed with the disease. The first indication that earlyonset Alzheimer’s is near may come from a brain scan. Rising protein levels in the brain can restrict blood flow, affect personality and cause short-term memory loss, says Matt McGee, wellness coordinator at the Y and manager of the program. “Stay Sharp as a Tack” begins in September and will be the first of its kind at any Y in the state. The Y is partnering with Alzheimer’s Tennessee, Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, University of Tennessee Medical Center, Asbury Place, The Pat Summitt Foundation, Purple Cities Alliance, ActivTrax, Daxko Inc. and United Way, says McGee. The yearlong program is offered at no charge to participants and includes a free membership to the Y. “The YMCA is proud to bring this program to the Knoxville community,” says McGee. “We’re looking for 20 people who have

Matt McGee, wellness coordinator at the Davis Family Y, demonstrates a CyberCycle, one of the tools to be used in a To page A-3 new Alzheimer’s study. Photo by Carolyn Evans

Citizens’ group aims to fight rezoning By Wendy Smith Mike Wilson has lived in Farragut for only a year and a half, but he’s passionate about preserving its small-town feel. That’s why he’s spoken out against a proposed 220-unit apartment complex off of Smith Road, and that’s why he’s working to organize Farragut Citizens for Responsible Growth and Development. Approximately 75 attended an organizational meeting held last Mike Wilson speaks during the week at Farragut Town Hall. Wilfirst public meeting of Farragut son pointed out how the proposed Citizens for Responsible Growth and development conflicts with the Development. Photo by Wendy Smith town’s Comprehensive Land Use

Plan (CLUP). Strategy No. 3 of the CLUP requires that the town “protect existing neighborhoods” through transitions. R-6 zoning shouldn’t be adjacent to properties zoned R-1, R-2, R-4 and B-1, according to his handout. According to the CLUP, medium density residential units should have access to “ample pedestrian amenities such as parks, trails or landscaping.” The Smith Road parcel is two miles from the nearest park, and a proposed walking trail will connect only to Baldwin Park.

As described in the CLUP, medium density residential “may include single-family houses as well as small multi-family dwellings such as duplex, triplex, townhomes and small condo/ apartment buildings.” A 220-unit apartment complex on 22 acres with 387 surface parking spaces “is well outside the description of a ‘small’ apartment building,” the handout states. Plans are moving forward for the Overlook at Campbell Station, which is expected to have 250 To page A-3

Church and state and zoning By Betty Bean Last week, the Northside Church of Christ in Heiskell, facing a Metropolitan Planning Commission staff recommendation to deny its request to rezone its property from low density residential to commercial, removed the proposition from MPC’s August agenda just hours before the meeting. In deep West Knoxville, neighbors who oppose First Baptist Concord’s request to rezone 26.4 acres at 9635 Westland Drive from public institutional/planned residential to commercial are hunkered down until October, awaiting the results of a traffic study conducted while schools are in session that will consider the effects a shopping center could have on the neighborhood. Meanwhile, North Knoxville

neighborhoods are organizing to fight a chain of events triggered by Centerpointe Church’s decision to sell out to a developer who also proposes to buy the iconic Howard house next door and build a “neighborhood” Walmart on its North Broadway location. A 24hour payday loan company is already under construction on the south end of the formerly churchowned parcel and a popular independent Apple computer shop that has been there for 37 years will be displaced. Even though there is considerable commercial activity here, the developer will need to get the property rezoned to accommodate the new use. In Inskip, the new owner of a former church building long abandoned by its Presbyterian congregation and surrounded by single-fam-

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ily homes was successful in getting the parcel rezoned from low density residential to office over the protests of its nearest neighbors. Churches enjoy a special status under city and county zoning ordinances. The city allows them to move into residential neighborhoods, subject to use on review requirements. County zoning regulations are similar for residential neighborhoods and allow them as a permitted use in agricultural zones (use on review is required in city Ag zones). But problems between churches and neighborhoods are becoming more common as churches decide to relocate, expand or disband and attempt to maximize their profits on the real estate market. Former City Council member Carlene Malone says it’s time to

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reconsider churches’ legal status. “We’re not looking at churches as perhaps they really are today. We need to realize that this is not the little neighorhood church that’s going to stick around forever. It’s a business model. Land is held like a portfolio, and when the time comes to sell, even though they bought it at residential or agricultural prices, they want to sell it commercial – at commercial prices.” Malone said that modern mega churches are a far cry from the traditional concept of churches that are active on Sundays and Wednesday nights. “These are not small uses – not to say they are bad things – but their impact is greater than the old neighborhood churches. The other

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