VOL. 10 NO. 15
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April 13, 2016
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Pat Sloan honored for years of service
‘ROUND TOWN
Contractor workshop The town of Farragut Building and Fire Codes staff will host “Pre-Engineered Wood Products� – a free workshop for contractors – at 5:30 p.m. Monday, April 18, at the town hall board room. The codes staff will be discussing the use of preengineered wood products and the required information for residential plan review submittals in order to obtain a building permit. Brian Powers and Adam Pittman with Truss/ Joist, a division of Weyerhaeuser, will attend as special speakers to discuss the proper use of pre-engineered wood products and other topics in structural framing. Contractors, builders, designers, homeowners and the general public are invited to attend. No registration is required. Info: Adam Price at aprice@ townoffarragut.org or John Householder at jhouseholder@ townoffarragut.org or 6752384.
Pat Sloan is presented accolades and an award for 30 years of volunteer service to the town of Farragut. From left, Mayor Ralph McGill, Sloan, Vice Mayor Dot LaMarche and Alderman Louise Povlin. Photo submitted
By Carolyn Evans Magician Michael Messing went table to table doing tricks at a recent town of Farragut banquet at the Fox Den Country Club. The yearly event honors Farragut’s volunteers, and 90-plus members of Farragut’s Unsung Navy (FUN) came to enjoy the evening and receive thanks from a grateful town and community. Messing wasn’t the only one who had to pull a rabbit out of his hat. The town had to come up with
Mandala art class The town of Farragut is hosting Energy Mandalas: Create a Lotus Mandala from 10 a.m. until noon Tuesday, April 19, at the town hall. Cost is $33 which includes all supplies. Registration and payment deadline is Friday, April 15. Registrations may be made at townoffarragut.org/register, in person at the town hall or by calling 865-218-3375. Cash and check payments are also accepted.
an appropriate award for a volunteer with a 30-year record of service. She received a crystal vase engraved with the town seal, her name and the message “For 30 Years of Dedicated Service to the Town of Farragut.� Pat Sloan began her volunteer career on the recreation committee (later renamed the Parks and Athletics Council). “I cannot believe that it has been 30 years since my first ap-
pointment to the recreation committee,� Sloan says. “Through the groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting of each park, attendance at the many events and even sitting through long committee meetings, I have had a great time.� The town of Farragut pays special attention to volunteers, collecting records of hours spent in service – whether on a committee, assisting at town hall or helping with events. “Ranks� are assigned,
and volunteers can work up from Ensign to Admiral in this volunteer Navy. “I have had the great pleasure of working with Pat Sloan for 25 of her 30 years of service on the parks and athletics council,� says Sue Stuhl, Parks and Leisure Services director. “She is a wonderful volunteer for the town of Farragut To page A-3
Alley finds service niche as municipal judge By Wendy Smith Farragut’s new municipal judge, Keith Alley, has been trying to find ways to give back to the town since moving to Farragut in 2007. But his “limited skill set� didn’t make him a good fit for the Beautification Committee, he says. Fortunately, his experience allows him to offer legal service. He earned a law degree from UT in
1995 and has practiced in civil and criminal litigation in East Tennessee since then. He currently practices with Holbrook Peterson Smith in West Knoxville. Former Farragut Municipal Judge Jerry Martin encouraged Alley to apply for the post when he stepped down in 2010. Lucinda Moyer was given the position, but town leaders were impressed with
Alley, so they suggested that he serve on the Board of Zoning Appeals. He was recently reappointed for a second five-year term on the BZA. He was appointed to the judgeship earlier this year when Moyer moved out of town. It’s a position that doesn’t take much time away from his young family and law practice. The mu-
nicipal court hears cases once a month, and his first hearing was unusually lengthy because it took two hours to hear two cases. The town doesn’t prosecute crimes, just violations of town ordinances and adopted codes. It also has jurisdiction over red light cameras. Because fines are limited
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South schools: Turmoil spreads as Rountree seeks answers By Betty Bean
With major problems at three South Knoxville schools, board member Amber Rountree wants answers. She also wants equity. Rountree has asked Superintendent James McIntyre for a side-byside comparison of class offerings at South Doyle Middle School and Bearden Middle School. “Our kids in South Knoxville deserve equal curriculum opportuRountree nities,� she said. A brave sixth-grader spoke on behalf of students and teachers at last week’s school board meeting in response to proposed class cuts at South-Doyle Middle School for the upcoming school year “All these classes that have been cut are classes that children look forward to during the school day,� she said. “What does this mean for the teachers who taught these classes? These beloved teachers
S.O.R. Losers Catch week two of our 14-week serial story, “S.O.R. Losers,� the story of a misfit sports team written by Newbery Award Winner Avi and illustrated by Timothy Bush. Sit with your child as he or she reads about the antics of Ed and Saltz. Or read the story to them, so you all can enjoy it!
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have lost their job. Why? Because of the budget, or test scores? Have other middle schools lost their Spanish, keyboarding, music, PE, AVID, focus block, jazz band and singing groups?� She said that students “were crying or screaming from anger and surprise� when they heard the news. Meanwhile, at Mt. Olive Elementary School, parents are repeating last year’s complaints about principal Paula Brown. This year, 113 parents and relatives have signed a petition demanding Brown’s removal. The petition says that the school has lost “a number of great teachers� because of Brown’s actions, and that parents are tired of having their complaints ignored. “How many great teachers do we have to lose before someone steps up and makes a leadership change? Our parents are unhappy, and our children are suffering while our teachers are being bullied. We stand together as parents and as a community in asking for the im-
mediate removal of the principal at Mount Olive Elementary School.� South-Doyle High School has been under interim leadership since principal Tim Berry and assistant principal/head football coach/athletic director Clark Duncan were placed on administrative leave Feb. 8. They are suspended with pay pending an investigation by the Knox County District Attorney General. Rountree says these high-profile problems are overshadowing the good things happening in South Knox schools. She can’t comment on the high school situation, and expressed sympathy for the Mt. Olive parents “who are frustrated by a lack of communication� with the principal and Knox County Schools administration. “These parents came to a board meeting this time last year (with the same complaints). As a board member, I don’t make staffing decisions, but I do pass on what folks share with me.� Rountree has had plenty to say about the impending changes at
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the middle school, though, and in an email she sent to McIntyre the day after the board meeting, she makes it clear that she is not happy with SDMS principal Taiwo Sutton’s decisions nor with how he is communicating with parents. In an April 6 email to parents, Sutton downplayed the changes, which he described as adjustments in class sizes and “minor staffing and programmatic changes� that won’t impact student schedules or related arts classes. Rountree told McIntyre she is “appalled at the administration willfully painting an inaccurate and incomplete picture of the ‘minor staffing and programmatic changes’ at SDMS to students and parents. Furthermore, I find these curriculum changes unacceptable. These changes will not benefit the students. “As you heard yesterday, students are passionate about these classes and without them many of them will lose interest in school.
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