Halls Fountain City Shopper-News 041111

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GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A10-13 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B | BUSINESS A15

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halls / fountain city

VOL. 50, NO. 15

APRIL 11, 2011

INSIDE www.ShopperNewsNow.com

Even ducks need a home

See Jake, Page A-2

Is Tony Norman the devil? See Larry’s story on page A-4

FEATURED COLUMNIST JAKE MABE

A jewel of a hobby Mother and daughter schoolteachers make and sell jewelry. See page A-6

A smile from a spider bite? Bo Shafer found one! See Page A-2

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Eldridge named pastor at Salem Baptist Eldridge did not attend church until he was 16 years old. “A lot of who I am is determined by that – the fact that I was not a church kid. As a 16-year-old, a friend invited me to church and began to share Christ with me. The flip side of that, the tell-tale, is that that was the first time I was hearing the Gospel. Here we live in the ‘Bible Belt’ and there’s only one person sharing the Gospel with me. Our initial effort (at Salem) will be for us to be outward with our faith instead of being content to settle with what we have inwardly.” Eldridge and his wife, Dale, will celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary later this year. They have two children: Abigail, 9, and Daniel, 4. Dale and the children will stay in Henderson until the end of the school year. Salem Baptist Church is located at 8201 Hill Road. Info:922-3490.ReadMichael Eldridge’s blog at http:// my s t r e ng t h a ndp or t ion . blogspot.com/.

By Jake Mabe The Rev. Michael Eldridge has been named pastor of Salem Baptist Church in Halls. He preached his first sermon as pastor April 3. Originally from Tullahoma, Tenn., Eldridge comes to Halls from Henderson, Ky., where he served as pastor of Immanuel Baptist Temple. He also pastored churches in Alabama from 1999 to 2006. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UT before entering Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Louisville, Ky.), in 1996. While in college, he attended Central Baptist Church of Fountain City for about a year. “I didn’t have any prior knowledge about Salem,” Eldridge says. “I knew about Halls because of my time in college but never had spent any time here.” John Hill, who chaired Salem’s search committee, says Eldridge’s resume “kept coming to the top” among the 340 resumes the committee considered. “And, as it turns out, Steve Cash (a member of the church’s search committee) and I have a friendship from a prior church,” Eldridge says.

The Rev. Michael Eldridge is the new pastor at Salem Baptist Church in Halls. Photo by Ruth White

Halls cyclist motivates self and others By Valorie Fister

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4509 Doris Circle 37918 (865) 922-4136 news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Larry Van Guilder lvgknox@mindspring.com ADVERTISING SALES Patty Fecco fecco@ShopperNewsNow.com Darlene Hutchison hutchisond@ ShopperNewsNow.com Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly at 4509 Doris Circle, Knoxville, TN, and distributed to 27,825 homes in Halls, Gibbs and Fountain City.

Competitive cycling enthusiast Jason Jeansonne warms up on a hill near his Halls home. Photo by Valorie Fister

training and racing schedule even in the midst of health issues and family tragedy. In 2002, just a year into his new hobby, Jeansonne discovered a heart condition that temporarily slowed him down but didn’t stop him. After undergoing a medical procedure called a radio frequency

ablation, he was up and riding a few days later. In 2004, he and his wife suffered the loss of a baby boy named Nicholas. Jeansonne describes that time as one of the most difficult in his life. A year later, he underwent reconstructive knee surgery. Then, a

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2007 biking accident left him with a pelvis broken in three places. After every setback, Jeansonne climbed back on his bike and rode. His journey to top physical fitness started in college. As a student at Jackson State Community To page A-3

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Jason Jeansonne’s 62-mile round trip commute from Halls to work at Oak Ridge each day is not the usual stop and go car ride down the highway. This commuter’s vehicle is a racing bike, and he sometimes breezes along at speeds of 30 to 40 mph. The competitive cycling enthusiast rises at 3:50 a.m. each day to train and stay in shape for his weekend races. He’s been in training for 10 years. “I’m an all or nothing kind of guy,” Jeansonne said. “I certainly do not have as much talent. … I have tenacity.” The 38-year-old engineer at Oak Ridge’s Pro2Serve is modest. Since he started cycling and racing in 2001, he has progressed to a level just below that of a professional without a contract. Jeansonne races with the FGS Elite Cycling Team. He has sponsors that include the Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains, Harper’s Bike Shop and Rudy Project, which outfit him for races. His wife, Carmen, and 5-year-old son, Nathan, are also supportive. “When you’re doing 15,000 miles a year, the bike is always with you,” Jeansonne said. “It’s an ever-present factor in planning. (Carmen is) very patient in that respect.” Jeansonne has maintained his

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