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VOL. 6 NO. 36
IN THIS ISSUE
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September 3, 2012
Vol exhibit at Folklife Museum
Fashion, style, chic, vogue, it’s all here in the latest edition of New York to Knoxville. Start spreadin’ the news...
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Miracle Maker “Read, Read, Read” has long been Nancy Maland’s motto. She’s still preaching the gospel of the written word as Knox County Schools’ executive director of elementary education and is proud to report that an early literacy initiative piloted in five elementary schools last year has expanded to nine more schools.
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See Jake Mabe’s story on page A-9
Coffee Break If you want to see town of Farragut’s Human Resource manager Janet Curry’s face light up, ask her about her grandson. She and her husband, Michael, look longingly down the road these days, as their first and only grandchild is a sixhour drive from Knoxville. Mett Janet over this week’s Coffee Break.
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See page A-2
Lets talk academics ... “Georgia State?” Marvin West asks. “I think not. Let’s talk about something exciting, like academics.”
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See Marvin’s story on page A-5
Index Coffee Break A2 Sherri Gardner Howell A3 Government/Politics A4 Marvin West/Lynn Hutton A5 Dr. Bob Collier A6 Faith A7 Kids A8 Miracle Maker A9 Business A12 Health/Lifestyles Sect B Calendar B3
10512 Lexington Dr., Ste. 500 37932 (865) 218-WEST (9378) news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com GENERAL MANAGER Shannon Carey shannon@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Sherri Gardner Howell gardners@tds.net FARRAGUT REPORTER Suzanne Foree Neal papernews@tds.net ADVERTISING SALES Jim Brannon brannonj@ShopperNewsNow.com Debbie Moss mossd@ShopperNewsNow.com Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly at 10512 Lexington Drive, Suite 500, Knoxville, TN, and distributed to 33,237 homes in Farragut, Karns and Hardin Valley.
R. Larry Smith has provided a host of UT basketball memorabilia for an exhibit at the Farragut Folklife Museum. This poster depicts a century of fan favorites. Smith points to the photo of Bernard King, “the most famous” basketball Vol, he says. Noteworthy is the change in the length of the men’s shorts. Photo by S.F. Neal
By Suzanne Foree Neal It’s more than a passion. Preserving UT basketball memorabilia is a calling for R. Larry Smith. The Knox County commissioner is sharing a small portion of his treasures with the Farragut Folklife Museum for its “Pride & Traditions of Tennessee Basketball” exhibit now through Nov. 16. Smith has been collecting for 15 years, starting when his son, Tyler, opened a pack of basketball cards and gave his father a couple of UT players. Smith is willing to travel to track down any former basketball Vol or family member to collect anything from stories to ticket stubs to shoes and uniforms. “Nothing will ever be sold,” he says of his vast collection stored in various places. An admitted meticulous organizer, Smith has a file for every year UT played bas-
ketball and a file on every player. He also collects in multiples when possible. That’s “insurance” in case something disappears from any displays or just wears out over time from use. Smith estimates he’s got 1,200 game programs with many of those multiples. “I like to collect extra programs so I can give one to a player’s grandchild,” he says. When he visits, he also brings a high-quality printer and a stack of photo paper. When he copies photos for his files, he makes a few extras to give a player for family members, especially the young ones. “I buy in bulk so I can keep the cost down to 50 cents a photo,” he says. “They were my heroes growing up. I like to bring them joy in their later life.” Smith knows exactly who has given him what. When possible, the player’s name is etched on the item along with the years he
played. eBay is also a source for items, like one former Vol’s championship ring. Smith bought the entire Alumni Hall gym floor from UT and hands out pieces 6 to 8 inches long to players. “It tears them up,” he says. “Now you’re 70 or 80 and there’s a piece of the floor you played on.” One of his favorite photos was taken outside the gym as the players engaged in a snowball fight. A copy of any group photo goes into each player’s file. If all his photos were stacked together, he figures they would measure about 5 feet tall. As for one favorite collectible, he laughs and says he hasn’t found it yet. Smith wants to go to every Southeastern Conference school to see what he can find. Louisiana State University’s media department gave him “a bunch of UT stuff” and he gave them all the
LSU items he had in exchange. Programs from away games are the hardest to collect, he says. Every year UT gives out different items for fans. Smith finds out when each will be distributed and makes sure he’s in line to get it – collector cup, pocket schedule, coin purse, whatever it is, he wants it. As players age, he feels like he’s got to step up his collecting to save all he can. “Preservation is the big thing now,” he says. Someday he’d like to see his vast collection displayed at UT, but for now he’s happy to share it as often as he can. Smith will talk about his collection and UT basketball at a free lecture at the Farragut Folklife Museum at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 4. If you have anything UT basketball related you’d like to be rid of, Smith says call him at 679-4106. He’s not kidding. That’s his number.
Nothing Petty about perfection Farragut chiropractor helps former Vols to Olympic triumph By Stefan Cooper Justin Gatlin claimed a bronze medal in the fastest 100 meters ever run in an Olympic Games. Oh, how close the former University of Tennessee track star was to silver or better, Farragut chiropractor Mike Petty said. In a landmark sprint won by Jamaican Usain Bolt in an Olympic record 9.63 seconds, the top four finishers in the race at the London Games ran an Olympic record time for their respective placing. Yohan Blake, Bolt’s Jamaican teammate, finished second in 9.75. Gatlin, third in 9.79, looked to have run the perfect race un-
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likely not enough to overtake Bolt for the gold but, “That cost him the silver, I think,” Petty said. Gatlin’s near miss notwithstanding, the trip to London and the Games proved a success on all fronts for the Concord Chiropractic Clinic founder. Petty made the trip at the request of the Vol trio. Having worked with each for years, he’d come to know Trotter, Merritt and Gatlin almost as well as they knew themselves when it came to competition. When hundredths of a second Dr. Mike Petty pauses in Olympic Village for a photo with Justin Gatlin, left, can make all the difference, the Dee Dee Trotter and Aries Merritt. Photo submitted smallest glitch in spinal alignment can be costly. til Petty, a member of Tennes- an overhead view there in the Petty said it’s not about see’s sports medicine staff who’d Olympic Village. whether it hurts “here or there” made the trip in support of GatGatlin caught his spike leav- but whether the athletes will be lin and former Vols track stars ing the blocks and twice overcorAries Merritt and Dee Dee Trot- rected to avoid stepping out of ter, got a look at the video from his lane. It was a little thing and To page A-3
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