VOL. 10 NO. 23
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Off to the show!
BUZZ Retiree works more with ESL When Mary Beth Hooker cut back her working hours to part time a few years ago, she wasn’t trying to do less. Matter of fact, she wanted to do more. The Farragut resident has achieved her goal. Now in addition to being a nurse, she helps with an English as a Second Language (ESL) program, works with a mobile health care ministry and heads up a new refugee resettlement ministry.
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By Carolyn Evans
From his vantage point in the tree, the regal peacock casts a sideways glance over his kingdom. The aqua and brown bird, surrounded by blooms and tendrils, is a work of art created by Farragut resident Linda Roy. “Charming Chintz� brought her $600, a special ribbon and Best of Show at the Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild Show last year. The hand-appliqued and handquilted original design could have a partner in a matter of days. Roy is putting the final stitches on another large quilt, “Aztec Sunset,� for this year’s 36th annual quilt show and competition presented by Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee. There will be plenty of competition, which is just what Roy and other guild members always hope. This year, 160 quilts and other special exhibits will be on display at the show June 17-18 at the Knoxville Expo Center, 5441 Clinton Highway. Competitors will vie for $5,000 in awards in categories that include bed quilt, wall quilt, excellence in hand workmanship and innovative design. Throughout the show, attendees may shop the more than 30 vendors, a small quilt sale benefiting the guild’s charitable work and the SMQ Boutique, which offers a unique selection of handcrafted items. Scissor sharpening will also be offered. One of Roy’s fellow quilters, Farragut resident Cathy Bingham,
Read Carolyn Evans on page A-7
PSCC grows food Pellissippi State has a history of launching sustainable and service-oriented gardens. In partnership with other local organizations, the college opened the Pond Gap Elementary School community garden in 2013 as part of the ServiceLearning program.
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Learn more on page A-3
Take One ministry Of the thousands of men and women who are released from Tennessee prisons each year, nearly half will find themselves behind bars again within three years, state officials say. But the new Take One program by the Tennessee Department of Correction aims to reduce that number by partnering with faith-based groups and non-profits to help those recently released from prison make their way back into society.
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By Wendy Smith
An interest in beer that began with a beer-of-the-month club membership may result in Farragut’s first craft brewery. Farragut resident Steve Dedman discussed the concept at the Municipal Planning Commission’s May meeting. New zoning would have to be created for a craft brewery, which differs from a restaurant because the product is created and consumed on-site and also distributed off-site. Dedman received a beer membership from his wife, Jennifer, 10 years ago. After sampling craft
Read J.J. Stambaugh on page A-7
Envision Art Gallery is pleased to introduce West Virginia artist Mark H. Cline to the Knoxville art scene. Cline’s works will be displayed June 10 through July 8 at Envision Art Gallery, 4050 Sutherland Avenue. This is his first exhibit in the Knoxville area. Meet the artist while enjoying live music, wine, beer, punch and refreshments from 5-8 p.m. Friday, June 10.
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Read Jake Mabe’s take on County Clerk Foster Arnett’s latest move, in the Halls edition.
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has been working on “Primrose and Promises,� a large black, pink and green hand-pieced, hand-appliqued, hand-quilted and handbeaded quilt that boasts nearly 2,000 Swarovski crystal beads. Her work of art isn’t ready for this year but will be entered in next year’s show. “I learned to quilt from my grandmother, Leola Eldert,� says Bingham. “She quilted right up till she passed away at 96.� Bingham made her first quilt when she was in junior high. Roy, on the other hand, learned to quilt
beers, he was frustrated that he couldn’t find local brews. So he bought a kit and began brewing with friends in his garage. The five partners have spent years thinking about starting their own brewery, he says. “Brewing is one of those things that you’re probably not going to go into it halfway.� According to Dedman, there are currently 10 operating craft breweries in the city of Knoxville, and seven others will open in the next 24 months. There are two outside of city limits in North Knoxville. Smoky Mountain Brewery in Tur-
By Betty Bean Two weeks ago, Amber Rountree, who served on a task force that studied disparities in academic performances among Knox County students, told her school board colleagues there’s something badly wrong with the state’s funding formula for education. “You need to be talking to your state legislators about the fact that the BEP (Basic Education Plan) is broken, and our kids are not getting what they need,� said Rountree, who said that working on the task force taught her that most student disparities are caused by poverty, regardless of ethnicity or disability. “We all have to come together as a community. We have to all reach out to come up with a solution.� When asked to elaborate, Rountree said Knox County Schools’ greatest need is for additional so-
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Farragut quilters Cathy Bingham and Linda Roy hold Roy’s “Charming Chintz� quilt that won Best of Show last year at the Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild Show. Photos by Carolyn Evans
as a young adult. “I moved to Arkansas with my husband’s job transfer. I joined the Arkansas Quilters. I made my first quilt with a pattern. The next quilt I designed myself and have been doing it ever since. We’ve lived in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Mississippi and here. The first thing I did when we moved was find a quilt guild – for the friendships and the sharing.� The Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee meets on the first Tuesday of each month at Messiah Lutheran Church, at the in-
tersection of Papermill Drive and Kingston Pike. Roy says the guild is open to everybody, and there are several bees around town that anybody can attend. “We have all different levels,� she says. “We have people who do household items like placemats and table runners. Some people do quilted clothing, utility quilts and quilts that are wall hangings. We have a lot of talented quilters.�
To page A-3
key Creek is within city limits, and because it serves food, it’s considered a brewpub. Craft breweries are one of 11 signs that a city will succeed, according to a March story in The Atlantic, he says. Although Farragut Mayor Ralph McGill told Dedman at the MPC meeting that he was too early in his planning for a zoning change, the mayor and the Municipal Planning Commissioners were generally in favor of a craft brewery in Farragut, encouraging Dedman to continue investigating the concept. One point of contention may
be that Dedman and his partners don’t want to offer food service. Brewing is a big enough task, he says, and the group would rather focus on distribution. But he’s optimistic that any issues can be resolved through dialogue with town staff and leaders. The partners have looked at three potential sites, but Dedman isn’t convinced that they’ve seen their future brewery yet. It’s important to them to stay in Farragut, though. To page A-3
Rountree calls state funding formula ‘broken’
Learn more on page A-11
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Farragut quilters put final stitches on their creations
Dedman wants to build town’s first craft brewery
Artist Mark Cline comes to town
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June 8, 2016
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Rountree
Brooks
cial workers and guidance counselors. She said these positions have never been adequately funded by the BEP, which was created by the Education Improvement Act of 1992 to settle a lawsuit filed by a group of small school systems that challenged the way the state distributed money between urban and rural school districts. The BEP was updated in 2007 (becoming BEP 2.0), but leaders of the state’s larger school systems complain that the state has simply shifted the burden for paying
for education to urban districts like Knox County. Periodically, lawmakers consider bills requiring the state to fully fund the BEP, but those measures invariably get punted to a summer study committee black hole. Rountree said many of the “enhancements� included in the BEP 2.0 reforms have never been fully funded – guidance counselors and social workers among them. “Whatever money (Gov. Bill) Haslam put forth this past year hasn’t enhanced that area.� She said Moreland Heights Elementary School shares a social worker with Pleasant Ridge Elementary. “That’s one person trying to meet the needs of 800-plus students,� she said. “I don’t think there’s a perfect solution, but the way we’re doing it now is obviously not working. We’re at the bottom of the barrel with educational
funding, and I’m not sure how anyone in the state can rah-rah the virtues of the BEP.� Rountree said she feels “a lack of connection with representatives at the state level – like when Bill Dunn was trying to push his voucher bill through, saying he had a letter from the school board, when in reality it was a letter from (board chair) Doug Harris. The majority of the board did not support Dunn’s bill. And the conversations I’ve had with Harry (Brooks), I’m not sure he thinks the BEP needs to be fi xed.� Brooks, who chairs the House Education Administration and Planning Committee and served on a task force convened by Gov. Bill Haslam to work on finding more money for education, said that state government has worked hard To page A-3
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