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VOL. 10 NO. 13
BUZZ School safety School board member Karen Carson has organized a public meeting for 6-7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the Farragut High School library to discuss school safety and communications with parents during emergencies following last week’s lockdown at Farragut High School. Carson has invited parents from other communities to attend as well.
Korda speaks Just 15 minutes after a lockdown at Farragut High School ended last Wednesday, Captain Robby Lawson of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office told members of the Rotary Club of Farragut that there was no danger. He called schools and shopping centers “soft targets� and said sooner or later a terrorist attack will happen in the United States. Then the speaker, George Korda, said public gatherings “are the way free people live.� He cautioned against those who “silo themselves� and said sometimes the steps taken to avoid a possible attack do more harm than good. Lawson announced a second KCSO precinct in Farragut will open in May. Korda cited high negatives for front-runners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and said the person who wins the presidency “could be so bloody and scarred they can’t do anything. And sometimes with government, doing nothing is OK.� He said Trump lacks the temperament to be president.
– S. Clark
Impact fees forum The town of Farragut invites the community to a public forum on developer impact fees from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 31, at the town hall. Town leaders are studying existing and future traffic impact on the road system with the intent to develop an infrastructure fee-based-formula for the town to use to require impact fees on future development. These fees will help maintain or improve the road system.
Pilates class The town of Farragut is offering a six-week Pilates class on Tuesdays, April 12 to May 17, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. at the community room at town hall. The instructor is Simon Bradbury. The cost is $60 with registration and payment deadline Monday, April 11.
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March 30, 2016
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Sliding to the forefront
Sled hockey opens new path for disabled in competitive play
By Carolyn Evans Cool Sports, home of the Icearium, hosts nearly 400 kids and more than 200 adults on hockey teams. Those numbers are about to increase with the addition of a group who have previously been unable to play. The Knoxville Amateur Hockey Association (KAHA) has been chosen as one of 10 programs across the country to receive a $25,000 grant as part of Labatt’s “Pass It Forward� initiative to help USAHockey create new sled hockey programs. Children and adults who are physically challenged play sled hockey by sitting on small individual sleds. Colby Flatt and his dad, Mark, drove across the county to Cool Sports to be part of the kickoff event. Colby is handicapped because of a birth defect and uses a wheelchair, and he’s excited to be adding sled hockey to the other sports he plays.
Guests at the announcement of a new grant to bring sled hockey to Farragut give the sport a tryout at Cool Sports. Photo by Carolyn Evans
“This is actually really fun,� he says, “I would say come try it!� “Anytime you can get a competition specifically for kids who are disabled, it’s a plus,� Mark says. “Colby plays in baseball and
basketball leagues, but they don’t keep score. He’d rather play a real game and keep score.� “It’s a brand new sport for the community,� says Rob Link of KAHA, who will be the local sled
hockey director. Link is a hockey player himself and spearheaded the effort to apply for the grant.
To page A-3
Board approves bid for new turf field By Wendy Smith The Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen (FBMA) approved a contract with Playrite to install synthetic turf on field No. 1 in the northwest corner of Mayor Bob Leonard Park at a cost of $585,391. The field is the largest in the town’s park system. Field No. 2 was converted to a synthetic surface in 2013, and it’s been a “resounding success,� said town engineer Darryl Smith. Requests for the turf field are high even though the rental rate is twice that of a natural turf field. Being able to use the field in any weather appeals to athletic clubs. Three companies bid on the project, but two of the bids were rejected. Playrite installed the
previous turf field and had a good working relationship with the town, he said. The board approved, on second reading, three amendments to the zoning ordinance that will provide a clearly defined zoning district for assisted living facilities. The three ordinances will align definitions with state law, amend the community service district (S1) to allow for low-impact elderly care development and remove elderly care from R-6 and OSMFR districts, and add up-to-date language regarding senior living communities to Chapter 4 of the zoning code. At its March 17 meeting, the Farragut Municipal Planning Commission recommended an amend-
ment to the 2012 Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) and a rezoning that will allow a proposed 40-unit assisted living facility at Campbell Station Road and Herron Road to move forward. Unlike previous discussions of the project, all community feedback during the meeting was positive. The CLUP amendment and rezoning of the 4.5-acre parcel will go before the FBMA in April. The board approved, on first reading, a request to rezone two parcels on McFee Road, totaling six acres, from Rural Residential (R-1) to General Single-Family Residential (R-2) to allow for development of a small subdivision. There is already a house on the property, and the owner would
like to build six more homes. R-1 zoning requires lots without utility district sewer to be one acre. R-2 lots can be 25,000 square feet. The board discussed whether the subdivision would support the vision of the CLUP, which shows a mixed use neighborhood around the southern roundabout on McFee Road. They agreed that the proposed development was too small to interfere with the CLUP. Town Administrator David Smoak congratulated the board on Farragut being ranked the 6th Happiest City in Tennessee by www.zippia.com. Criteria used for the ranking include education level, employment, commute time, cost of living, poverty rate and home ownership.
AG says drug war ‘a colossal failure’ By Wendy Smith The Farragut West Knoxville Chamber of Commerce hosted a panel discussion on drug use at last week’s Breakfast Speaker Series event. While it wasn’t a business-related topic, Knox County Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief Deputy Lee Tramel said drug problems touch everyone. “It’s an epidemic of Biblical proportions.� Tramel sat on the panel with Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen and Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond. Drug problems used to be limited to certain parts of town, and Farragut wasn’t one of them, Allen said. But that’s changed. “Nobody’s immune from this problem.� The judicial system is facing a major shift in the way it handles drug offenders. The War on Drugs was a colossal failure, she said. According to a list she receives from the Knox County medical examiner, there were 84 overdose deaths last year. Just over 80 days into 2016, there have been 43. The primary culprit is heroin, which
Moderator Mike Arms with panelists Lee Tramel, Charme Allen and Mike Hammond at the Farragut West Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Speaker Series event at Fox Den Country Club Photo by Wendy Smith appeals to young adults because it’s cheaper than pills. Tramel estimates that 99 percent of those in jail are there because of drugs, at least indirectly. The county houses approximately 1,200 inmates every day, and 23 to 25 percent are mentally ill. “It’s no place for a sick person to be.� The county is closer to having a
safety center than ever, but many details need to be addressed, he said. Allen agrees with the concept, but struggles with deciding who should be prosecuted and who should be sent to a safety or rehabilitation center. It could take three different forms − a mental health facility, an addiction treatment facility, or jail diversion for those committing low
level crimes, like public intoxication or disorderly conduct. Repeat offenders are good candidates for a safety center, she said. Those offenders are costing the county money, said Hammond. Two Sessions Court repeat offenders owe over $1 million each. “All the stakeholders are coming together. I think we can pull this off,� said Allen.
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