Farragut Shopper-News 031517

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Childhelp ➤ VOL. 11 NO. 11

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Teacher offers support for Bob Thomas By Lauren Hopson

At the public forum for the final two candidates for Knox County superintendent of schools, I witnessed two ends of the spectrum. One struck Hopson me as a used car salesman who talked a lot but avoided answering the questions. What he said did not match up with the stories I have heard from people who have worked with him. The other was sincere and clearly connected with the crowd. On many occasions, he has asked for my input on how best to move our school system forward and restore a culture of respect and professionalism to our system while keeping the focus on our kids. When my term as president of the Knox County Education Association ends, I will most likely be returning to the classroom. Leaving KCS would cost me my tenure and likely my ability to advocate for public education. It could jeopardise my career and ability to provide for my family. However, I will not work for another superintendent who puts on one face for the public and another out of the spotlight. I will not work for another superintendent who refuses to genuinely collaborate with the people who do the heavy lifting every day. I will not work for another superintendent who makes teachers feel afraid to be an active part of their professional association and advocate for our students. I will not work for another superintendent who won’t support my right to challenge the Department of Education when it enacts policies that are harmful to our profession and our children. I will not work for another superintendent who rewards those who publicly agree with him, no matter how they feel in private, and punishes those willing to speak the truth. However, I will proudly work for a man who exemplifies integrity and decency while building relationships with teachers and students based on a desire to help both groups succeed. I will proudly work for Bob Thomas. The Board of Education will choose the next superintendent in less than two weeks. I encourage everyone to contact all school board members and voice your opinion, even if it is not the same as mine. My opinion is only one. They need to hear all of them. Lauren Hopson can be reached at 865-5229793.

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world

Faris Ashkar shows off one of his larger art pieces. The wooden calligraphy is done in Arabic. In the center is “God” and surrounding that is Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” The large outside circle says “You are the light of the world” four times. The piece shows off many techniques he uses, including wood burning, wood inlay and fret work. The piece is one of six he’s made and is meant to be hung as a diamond shape. Photos by Suzanne Foree Neal

shows limitless vision By Suzanne Foree Neal

“If you can dream it, I can make it,” says Faris Ashkar. He’s been crafting wooden items since he was 6 years old. Sitting at home wasn’t an option, and his father saw to it that his son didn’t have idle time. Ashkar helped his father’s friend who was a woodworker. “He taught me how to sweep floors

without creating dust and how to plane wood,” he laughs. Of Lebanese descent, he came to the United States to attend Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C., and never went home. After working in the corporate world of textiles, systems management, accounting and engineering, he promised himself he would own his own business by the age of 35.

He creates everything from jewelry to massive furniture pieces. Wood speaks to him, and he’ll work with the graining that nature provides when possible. While he will stain or paint furniture, he would much rather let the natural wood shine through a lacquer coating. “I don’t like to duplicate,” he says of furniture, wall units, entertainment centers, mantels

and cabinets he creates. All his business comes by word of mouth; he’s never advertised. “I love a challenge,” he says. “I get bored quickly doing the same thing. The more complicated the better.” Ninety-five percent of his design work is done by hand. “Keeps my brain busy,” Ashkar To page A-3

New business parking allocation approved By Margie Hagen Under discussion over the past couple of months, an ordinance to amend current zoning requirements of the Architectural Design Standards was passed by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on the second reading.

The ordinance specifically addressed parking for businesses in Farragut. Available land for development is limited, so looking at how to maximize use and accommodate large and small business parking has been looked at closely by the board.

According to Community Development Director Mark Shipley, “The goal is to soften the visual and functional impact for surface parking placement, screening for parking lots along street frontages and increasing the size of parking lot islands.”

Some sites are “over-parked”, meaning their lots are largely unused during most of the year. Several big-box stores on Parkside Drive use only a small portion of their parking except for a To page A-3

Bye-bye sidewalks if developers prevail By Betty Bean Mayors and planners across the state are lining up to oppose a bill that would require local governments to pay developers for rightof-way acquisition. “We need to maintain the ability to require developers to dedicate that right of way – their developments contribute to creating the need, and we want them to contribute an equitable share of the costs of making those improvements. This bill would make it very challenging for local governments to finance road improvements,” said Gerald Green, executive director of the local planning commission. A bill (SB1368/HB0496) sponsored by two Middle Tennessee lawmakers, Sen. Paul Bailey and Rep. Ryan Williams, would require local governments or planning agencies to pay fair market value for the right-of-way acquisition rather than demand it as a

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Woodworker’s

FIRST WORDS

See Sherri’s story on page B-3

Scott Davis

Gerald Green

condition of rezoning. “The cost of acquiring easements would tax our financial ability to undertake road improvements, and as a result, many needed projects (including sidewalks) would not get done,” Green said. “Using taxpayer money to pay developers for right-of-way rights will siphon funds away from much-needed infrastructure projects. And we’re speaking out of both sides of our mouths – saying we don’t have the funds to undertake necessary transportation improvements, so we’re having to

consider a gas tax increase at the same time we’re thinking about escalating costs by not requiring dedicating easements.” Developer Scott Davis is also watching this bill. Not surprisingly, he takes a different view. “In some cases, we’re forced to give up substantial amounts of right-of-way where there are no plans in place to widen the road or make improvements. Generally, we’re buying land on a per acre basis, and this reduces our usable acreage, taking land from us for ‘possible’ road improvements sometime in a distant future that never happens,” Davis said. He’s skeptical of the value of sidewalks in subdivisions in outlying areas with no possibility of connecting to amenities, and said that right-of-way acquisition leaves developers with less usable acreage and drives up the selling price of the homes that will be built.

“Remember I’m a greedy developer – if I thought adding sidewalks would increase the value of my lots, I would definitely put in sidewalks. People are not considering development costs. They’ve gone up so high that we are not able to produce affordable housing,” Davis said. Green has strong backing from Mayor Madeline Rogero, who said (through a spokesperson), “We share the concerns that Gerald Green expressed to you, about shifting the cost of infrastructure to support a development from a private developer to public taxpayers. We oppose the bill for that reason.” Green said it would be shortsighted to change the law in this matter. “Our society’s attention span has been limited to the time it takes us to type out 144 characters (on Twitter). We need to take a longer perspective on this.”

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