GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | FEATURES A6 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A11-12 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B | BUSINESS A7
A great community newspaper.
VOL. 50, NO. 37
halls / fountain city
SEPTEMBER 12, 2011
INSIDE
IN THIS ISSUE New York to Knoxville
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Businesses boost CTE The newly-stocked truck reflects the diversity of the program these days. The Ford F350 Super Duty was purchased by the school By Greg Householder system as a wreck. The kids in the Remember the old high school auto repair and auto body classes dilemma: vocation education verfixed it. The students in the graphsus college prep? Today’s students ics classes designed and created can have both. the decals. Career and Technical EducaLawson said the truck will be tion (CTE) is now available to every shared among all CTE programs Knox County high school student. and students will benefit from the And under the leadership of Don latest tools. Lawson, the program is evolving Lawson said 70 percent of Knox new offerings with a business support system that makes the courses County high school students take three or more CTE courses and 90 relevant to today’s workplace. Last week, Superintendent Dr. percent take at least one course. Jim McIntyre joined the celebration The CTE students graduate at a rate as Home Depot and O.G. Hughes and of 92 percent – better than the sysSons presented Knox County with temwide average of almost 87 per$15,000 worth of tools (from Home cent. For a complete listing of CTE Depot) and $7,500 in on-board tool storage (compliments of O.G. Hughes programs, visit the CTE Partnership and Sons) for the CTE jobsite truck. website at www.ctepartnership.org.
Career training available to all
Takin’ it to the streets Madeline Rogero hits the road in search of votes.
Donation is boost for construction classes
See page A-4
Locks of Love Teacher has hair cut for good cause. See Sandra Clark’s story on page A-9
FEATURED COLUMNIST JAKE MABE
How it used to be Remembering the early days of the Halls Community Park, duo says goodbye to longtime volunteer See page A-2
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By Jake Mabe North Knox Vocational School carpentry teacher Jeff McMurray says the recent donation by The Home Depot and O.G. Hughes and Sons Inc. totaling $22,500 for new tools and a truck tool bed that will be shared by Knox County Schools’ Career and Education construction classes will be a boon for his carpentry classes. “The CTE truck will go from school to school for use by the construction industry classes for a week or two (each). It will allow our kids to use brand new, up-to-date, stateof-the-art tools.” McMurray teaches construction core, which is basically a beginner class that introduces students to safety and using hand and power tools, as well as Carpentry I. In the latter class, McMurray says, “we start out with wood building materials, fasteners, foundations (and go to) concrete, floor, window and roof framing, and end with windows and doors.” The core class makes wooden tool boxes, birdhouses, boards for
Knox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre accepts a pipe wrench from Home Depot Pro account representative Stan Rudder (right) as Knox County Schools CTE director Don Lawson looks on. Home Depot donated tools worth $15,000 to stock the jobsite truck. O.G. Hughes and Sons Inc. donated onboard tool storage worth $7,500 for the truck. Photo by Greg Householder The carpentry class builds a house as its major project. It is later Jestin Moore works on an outbuilding sold with proceeds going back into that North Knox Vocational teacher the CTE program to fund the next Jeff McMurray’s carpentry class is mak- year’s house building project. The ing for a customer. Money raised from class also builds sheds that are sold. the sale goes back into the program. Carpentry I students also do weekPhotos by Jake Mabe ly projects around the Halls High campus, which includes building the popular Cornhole game, dog- picnic tables, a new display case at houses, etc. the school’s entrance and work at “We sell those and that puts the outdoor classroom. McMurray helped teach a twomoney back into the program.”
day seminar last month for Knox County CTE teachers that showcased collaborative learning projects between his classes and Thomas Pendleton’s technical geometry classes. The point of the collaboration is to show students how geometric principles can be applied in real-life situations. “He’s really involved with the projects, doing exercises as we To page A-3
Fed bucks feed county government By Larry Van Guilder For fiscal year 2011, Knox County’s budget topped $647 million. According to the county’s chief financial officer, the federal government supplied about 8.5 percent of that amount. John Troyer says the federal contribution to the county last fiscal year was about $55 million, with roughly $41 million going to schools and another $14 million dollars spread around various county departments. With budgetcutting running at a fever pitch in Washington, what do county residents stand to lose if the federal well runs dry? Grant Rosenberg heads Community Development for the county. Rosenberg’s department funds local grant programs through two sources of federal money, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). HUD funds were reduced by 12 percent this
program year, and CDBG were cut more than 16 percent. Rosenberg anticipates more cuts next year in the range of 10-15 percent. The federal money funds a laundry list of programs and services, including money for renovating or building housing for seniors and low to moderate income families. Currently, Rosenberg says, money has been set aside to replace a roof at the YWCA and renovate the Pleasant Tree apartments managed by Child and Family Tennessee. Other recipients include the Volunteer Ministry Center dental clinic, the Helen Ross McNabb Center and the Public Defender Community Law Office. Rosenberg notes that the housing programs provide an additional benefit. When the KnoxvilleKnox County Community Action Committee contracts for construction services, jobs are created or maintained.
Continuing cuts in federal funds will be felt across the board, but arguably hit housing hardest. “It limits affordable housing for seniors,” Rosenberg says, just as the baby boomer generation is hitting retirement age. The school budget is already strained, and the future looks grim enough without additional cuts in federal funds. The current budget includes a one-time boost of $8 million from the Education Jobs Program. The money primarily is used to fund teacher salaries and benefits. According to the line item detail in the school budget, $6.8 million of those funds are directly tied to teacher compensation. To maintain the same level of instruction next year would require an 8-cent property tax increase. The Knox County Health Department received nearly half of the $14 million disbursed to the “rest” of the county apart from schools. Dr. Martha Buchanan
manages a $24 million budget, and federal dollars supply about 25 percent of the department’s operating costs. Federal money goes to programs for “everything from TB to STDs to immunizations,” Buchanan says, but she expresses confidence in her department’s ability to carry on even if the spigot is turned off tomorrow. “We’ve got a great team at the health department,” she says, and it may need to “work smarter.” “Fortunately, we’ve had some ‘heads ups’ from our state partners (about possible cuts),” Buchanan adds, and if necessary the department will reorganize and restructure. Every department head in Knox County may not share Buchanan’s confidence, but her forward thinking outlook is a must. Federal funding of state and local programs is in a downward spiral and the bottom is nowhere in sight.
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