HALLS/FOUNTAIN CITY
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VOL. 51 NO. 30 NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ IN THIS ISSUE
New principals Fountain City area schools will have new principals when students return Aug. 14. Crystal Marcum is the principal of Fountain City Elementary School, replacing Wendy Newton who is now principal of Beaumont Magnet Academy. Last year, Marcum Marcum was the interim principal at Rocky Hill Elementary School where she has also served as an assistant principal since 2008. She joined Knox County Schools in 1997 and has taught at Dogwood Elementary School and Green Magnet Academy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s in curriculum and instruction from the University of Tennessee. Jack Nealy is the principal at Shannondale Elementary School, replacing Dr. Joy Foster who requested reassignment. Nealy joined Knox County in 2005 as an Nealy administrative assistant at Farragut Primary School and was later appointed to the position of assistant principal there. He has served as principal at Sunnyview Primary School and has been principal at West Valley Middle School since 2010. He was previously a middle school teacher and an elementary administrator in Palm Beach County, Fla.
Water’s on the way for McMillans By Betty Bean
More than three years after the well on the McMillan family farm was contaminated by excavation work on a construction project next door, Alicia McMillan sees relief on the horizon. “We’ve hauled water in gallon jugs for cooking and drinking and brushing our teeth. We’ve been showering and doing our laundry at my in-laws’ house. It’s been really hard,” she said. The water went bad on the morning of May 5, 2009. Her father-inlaw, Charles McMillan, discovered the problem when he turned on the spigot in the lower pasture to water the cattle and found that it was running bright orange. He called Alicia’s brother-in-law James McMillan and told him to bring his camera. They were convinced from the beginning that excavation work on the development next door was the cause of their problems. Alicia is relieved that construction has begun on a waterline to the rambling farmhouse (parts of which are more than 200 years old) where she, husband Mike and their sons Jay and Jesse live. Mike runs McMillan Wildlife Damage Control and specializes in removing and relocating wildlife from business and residential areas. Charles and Betty McMillan and James McMillan have homes on the north side of the 179 acres that the family has worked for seven generations. The McMillans are old school. They have three acres of ambrosia corn divided into three plantings, 3,000 heirloom tomato plants (six
bins,” – smaller ears that aren’t up to Alicia’s exacting standards – to friends and neighbors, particularly to those he thinks might be in need. Charles spends most of his time caring for Betty, who is in ill health. Jay is studying engineering at UT and Jesse is a student at Central High School. The waterline work is being financed with the proceeds of a lawsuit the McMillan family filed against Babelay Farms LLC, Clear Creek Construction LLC, Sharp Contracting Inc, Legends at Oak Grove LLC and Hathaway Construction Inc. The original developer, Victor Jernigan, ran into financial trouble and was no longer involved in the project by the time construction began, but the McMillans, who have seen their farm encircled by residential development, had battled his plan for years in court and at County Commission, to no avail. The Legends of Oak Grove’s website describes the development as a luxury apartment complex whose amenities include a saltwater pool, a dog park, maple cabinetry and faux granite countertops. It sits on the ridge between Washington Pike and McCampbell Lane, Alicia McMillan and James McMillan work on their family farm. Photo by Betty Bean just east of the McMillans’ farm. The settlement was finalized last month, and James McMillan, who, varieties, three plantings) and a the day when she can shower in her variety of other garden vegetables own bathroom and do laundry in ironically, is one of Knox County’s best-known clean water activists, that Alicia sells at the farmers mar- her own washing machine. ket in the Laurel Avenue Church of James takes care of the cattle says the money is inadequate. “The waterline is costing about Christ parking lot on Tuesdays and and during corn season stays busy Fridays and at the Saturday mar- cutting and hauling corn stalks to $30,000 to put in. By the time the ket in Oak Ridge. It’s hot, sweaty the pastures to feed the cattle. He lawyers got their money, there rework, and she’s looking forward to also gives away countless “nub- ally isn’t much left.”
He holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Florida Atlantic and a master’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He also holds a Certificate of Educational Leadership from Florida Atlantic University.
Index Business A2 Jake Mabe A3 Government/Politics A4 Marvin West/Malcom Shell A5 Jake Mabe A6 Faith A7 Interns A10,11 Kids A13 Health/Lifestyles Sect B
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Jenna, Kevin, Melissa and Sean Purdy in a 1998 family photo by Fred Cannon Photography.
When ‘RAGE’ ruled A tribute to Kevin Purdy
FEATURES EDITOR Jake Mabe jakemabe1@aol.com
By Sandra Clark
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In 1992 the Halls High School football team surged to a 12-2 season after posting an average 5-5 record the year before. The difference was a guy named Kevin Purdy and a program called RAGE (Responsible Athletes Getting Education). Kevin passed away July 11 at age 60, and at his celebration of life – an East Tennessee Irish wake in a
Methodist Church – three players from that ’92 team stood to address his family and friends. Ryan Nichols, Brent Shaw and Justin Teague each said Kevin’s influence continues today. Nichols was especially eloquent (paraphrasing here) saying, “Kevin brought unity to our team. He respected us and taught us to respect each other. We are brothers today because of Kevin.” Shaw, now an assistant principal in Georgia with kids of his
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own, said, “There’s no telling what might have happened to some of us if Kevin hadn’t been there.” Nichols told Kevin’s kids, twins Sean and Jenna, that they will always have friends in Halls. “We are just a phone call away.” Jenna and Sean, now in their early twenties, were blessed with two good parents. Their mom, Melissa, passed away in 2002. Kevin threw his tremendous energy and passion into raising them as best he could. They stood at his service
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as strong witnesses to his success. Sean read from the scripture and told a really funny story about his dad deciding to cut a tree that was growing too close to their home. “Of course, the tree fell wrong and landed on our roof. He had me up there with him and Jenna on a ladder, and he was yelling, ‘Help me here!’ We were maybe 14. I’m still not sure what he wanted us to do.” Jenna read an Irish blessing which ended, “My life’s been full, I’ve savoured much; good times, good friends, a loved one’s touch. Perhaps my time seemed all too brief, don’t shorten yours with undue grief. Be not burdened with tears of sorrow, enjoy the sunshine of the morrow.” Kevin’s sister, Kerry Fitzgerald, came in from Maine for the service. “Kevin always had a personality that was bigger than life,” she said. “He was able to make close connections with people.” Melissa’s mother, Betty Barry, said she and husband Ed were concerned when their quiet, studious daughter brought home the brash and lively Kevin. “They seemed to be complete opposites. As it turned out, we were wrong. No man could have loved her more. And when Ed got sick, Kevin showed his love for us, too. … .” Wait! Did some saint pass by? Hardly.
Forming the SAP Kevin Purdy was at least a “heck-raiser” who lived a rough and tumble life before he met Melissa. Perhaps that’s why he related so well with teenagers – those in trouble and those who loved them. To page A-4