VOL. 7 NO. 43
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IN THIS ISSUE
Back to Old Concord
Old Concord is perhaps one of Farragut’s best kept secrets. Nestled off Concord Road with a view of the lake – and the occasional train – the small community has lots of history and even more community pride.
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Read Farragut Faces on A-3
Coffee Break
Sometimes indulging your creative nature takes some creativity. Erin Morgan Lovely, a 2001 Farragut High School graduate, found her love of painting and art leading her to a different career from what she expected: Owning her own hair salon. The result was The Art Room, Erin’s own salon in the Cedar Bluff area.
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See Coffee Break on A-2
Miracle Maker
Hardin Valley Academy teacher Tim Lee has organized a team of 62 peer tutors to work with special education students. He says it benefits both groups. The most important education Lee had in preparation for his career took place at home when he was a child, first in Nashville and then in Corryton.
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Read Betsy Pickle on A-9
What a difference a year makes
Missouri, SEC East leader, is the surprise of the season. At the end of 2012, there was talk of firing the coach of the Tigers, Gary Robin Pinkel. He was said to be distant, distressed, distracted, discombobulated and disengaged. What a difference a year makes.
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Read Marvin West on A-5
Carol Z
On a recent Friday night, some of the best folks on the planet got together for a party. At the center was someone very special.
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Read Carol Zinavage on B-2
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Historic hauntings Step b back ackk iin n time wi with ith ha spooky cave walk By Sherri Gardner Howell There is no shortage of places to “Trick or Treat” and “Trunk or Treat” in the West Knoxville area, but one nearby place has a tag line that’s hard to resist: “Over 300 million years in the making …” Gotta admit, that’s a venue with some staying power. Cherokee Caverns isn’t open every day, but come October, they put on a haunting face that is family friendly. The cave, located at 8524 Oak Ridge Hwy., will be open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. through Oct. 31. Decorated inside the cave and on the walk to the cave, Cherokee Caverns offers visitors more than 50 costumed characters, a fire pit, giant inflatable black cat, vendors and candy. It is handicapped and stroller accessible. Tickets are $8 for ages 3 and older. According to the cavern’s website, the caves show marks that indicate Native Americans first found them. They were rediscovered about 1854 by Robert Crudington, a farmer who noticed fog emerging around rocks. After moving the rocks, he entered the caverns. In 1866, Crudington bought 800 acres of farmland, including the caverns. Crudington’s daughter, Margaret Crudington Gentry, was urged by friends to open the caverns to the public. In 1929, the first commercial tours were given under the name Gentry’s Cave, but within a year she renamed it Grand Caverns. Margaret passed away in 1946, and her family sold the caverns in 1947. The property and cave was leased resulting in it being renamed Atomic Caverns.
Farragut native publishes fantasy book that looks at happiness By Sherri Gardner Howell What does “happily ever after” look like? Farragut native David Meredith addresses that question in his first book, “The Reflections of Queen Snow White,” a fantasy novel that steps beyond the “they lived happily ever after” ending of the beloved storybook tale. Meredith, who self-published the book that is now available for download on Amazon, says this story is an expanded version of a short story he wrote that won an award. “I wrote a short story that won an award on a fantasy website in 2006,” says Meredith. “I got a lot of encouragement from people who read it to expand it into a novel. Back in January, I sat down and turned the short story into a full novel.” Writing is not yet Meredith’s
In the mid-1950s, the caverns were redeveloped once again and opened with the name Caveman’s Palace, but after a short time the name was changed to Palace Caverns. In the 1960s, much improvement was made to the cavern trail and lighting. A restaurant was built over the cavern entrance, and the cave was reopened with a new fifth name, Caverns of the Ridge. In 1970, the caverns underwent further development and were once again renamed: Cherokee Firesite Ceremonial Caverns. This long name was soon changed to its seventh and current name of Cherokee Caverns.
In October of 1980 Cherokee Caverns Restaurant was destroyed by a fire believed to have begun in the kitchen area. The fire destroyed the restaurant, the gift shop and the adjoining stone cottage. During the next eight years the caverns experienced extensive vandalism and became the local “party” place. Over 22 years ago, the cave was brought under the protection of volunteers. Events are held several times a year to raise money to pay annual insurance that allows the cave to be open to visitors. Money is also raised for regular maintenance, preservation and upgrades.
“day job,” but he is hoping that won’t be too far down the road. Meredith graduated from Farragut High School in 1995 and from East Tennessee State University with bachelor’s and master’s deMeredith gree in economics. His minor at ETSU was in Japanese. “I took Latin in high school, but when I got to college, I really wanted to try a new and different language, so I signed up for Japanese,” says Meredith. The two-year language requirement grew to a four-year commitment for Meredith. After graduation, he went to Japan and taught English for three years, returning in 2002 to get his master’s. He then returned to Japan and taught another six years. “Our first two children were born in Japan,” says Meredith. “It was a great experience.” It was also in Japan where he began to develop his interest in creative writing. “I have always
read a lot, but English books aren’t as easy to get in Japan. I had more time that wasn’t occupied, so I began to write several novels. Then life got in the way, and I just stopped.” The desire to write didn’t go away, however, and Meredith found himself working on the novels again when he and his wife, April Harrison Meredith, came back to Tennessee. The couple now live in Nashville with their three children. David is an English teacher in the public school system. “I kept submitting stories to publishers and kept getting good feedback, but no takers,” says Meredith. “Then I began to investigate the self-publishing world and decided to try it for my first book.” Meredith has a “major work” on his plate – one he has been working on for years. “It is a trilogy based on Japanese mythology and folklore. I am working on getting it published soon and have a publishing company that has expressed interest.” The audience for “Reflections of Queen Snow White” is “anyone who enjoys fantasy, fairy tales and
romance,” says Meredith. “I hope the book will tap into this growing market of re-telling fairy tales and taking a look beyond those childhood stories we love so much.” As for his trilogy, Meredith says Japanese mythology and folklore is rich in stories and characters that are not familiar to most Westerners. “The working title of book one is Shirobara Fall. Folks can follow me on Twitter at dmeredith2013 and ‘like’ my Facebook page at The Writing of David Meredith to keep up with my progress!”
Town continues ban on guns in parks
NEWS
By Sandra Clark Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 3-2 to retain the town’s ban on handguns in public parks and greenways, despite efforts by Alderman Bob Markli to overturn the 28-year ban. Markli soldiered on despite a
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Spooky greeters welcome visitors to Cherokee Caverns. In front are Shania and Dante Lionheart; at back, Laura Lopez and Wendy Lionheart. Photo by Nancy Anderson
Beyond Snow White
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October 28, 2013
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survey that showed 55 percent of park users did not want the ban lifted. Among park users who lived in ZIP code 37934, the response was 64 percent supporting the ban. Markli was joined by Vice Mayor Dot LaMarche on the vote.
Several residents spoke at Thursday’s 2-hour meeting. Farragut High School AP calculus teacher Wanda Lacy was honored by the BOMA as Mayor Ralph McGill proclaimed Oct. 25 “Wanda Lacy Day” in the town of Farragut.
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Lacy was recently selected as the state’s high school teacher of the year and will represent Tennessee in national competition. A crowd formed in the back of the auditorium, most thought to talk about guns. Nope. They had come to support Lacy.
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