HALLS/FOUNTAIN CITY
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Rescuing refugees Central Baptist Church Fountain City does great work in reaching people in foreign countries, bringing both assistance and the gospel to them. But to help one particular family in need, the church took a different approach. In 1986, the church financed and moved a family of eight from Cambodia to the U.S. The household had escaped slaughter by heading to Thailand during the Khmer Rouge rule of Cambodia.
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Point of order! Sandra Clark never saw it coming. Knox County Commission shot down Dave Wright’s proposals for an elected school superintendent and for partisan school board elections. Also, the commission finally adopted a watered-down billboard reform, prohibiting new digital boards. It was a signal win for Scenic Knoxville and Richard Briggs.
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By There Theresa esa Edwards ds Several local schools performed at Knox County High Schools “Choral Showcase 2013” at Bearden High School last Thursday. Central High School, led by Beckye Thomas, sang “Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye” by Alice Parker and “I Got Shoes” by Alice Parker and Robert Shaw. Halls High School ensemble performed under the direction of Elizabeth Williams, singing “Prayer of the Children” by Kurt Bestor. Director Emily Anderson led Gibbs High School ensemble which sang “Sing Joyfully” by William Byrd and “Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal,” arranged by Alice Parker. “Tomorrow starts March. What a great kickoff since March is ‘Music in our Schools’ month nationally, statewide and in Knox County,” said master of ceremonies Richard Mitchell, K-12 choral music specialist.
Director Beckye Thomas and the Central High School Bel Canto choir: (row 4) Hannah Zechman, Corey Grooms, Kasey Goins, Michael Hines; (row 3) Chris Alleman, Abby Bolton, Denzel Williams; (row 2) Brett Hopper; and (row 1): Jordan Barkley and Luke Sheridan. Photo by T. Edwards of TEPHOTOS.com
“I want you to do some homework,” he told the students. “Write your director a surprise thank you for all the work they have done.” Mitchell asked the direc-
tors to stand, and the audience honored them with a huge ovation. The performances were videotaped and will be put on the Knox County Schools
TV, Comcast channel 10, according to Mitchell. Knox County Middle Schools “Honors Choir Concert” will be 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, at Northwest Mid-
The UT College of Veterinary Medicine is now accepting applicants for its Veterinary Summer Experience. High school juniors and seniors with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 are eligible. Folks, this is truly a golden opportunity for any teen who is considering veterinary medicine as a career. It’s offered by one of the most prestigious veterinary schools in the country, and it’s a paid position as an employee of The University of Tennessee. See story on page B-2
7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Jake Mabe ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Shannon Carey | Patty Fecco Jim Brannon | Tony Cranmore Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly and distributed to 27,813 homes in Halls, Gibbs and Fountain City.
Spring cleaning After
At left, Ronnie Smith and Todd Taft stand on the grounds of Four Seasons Lawn Care in Powell.
Todd Taft, owner of Four Seasons Lawn Care in Powell, stepped back and took a second look at his facility after this newspaper published photos of the “front door” to Powell. Then, without a dirty lot order or prodding from the county, he set about cleaning up the lot. Taft cleared debris and added a new roof to the building to help beautify his property. Photos by Ruth White
Cultural, legal changes affect clerks’ bottom line By Betty Bean County Finance Director Chris Caldwell’s report on the court clerks’ collections sounded pretty grim when he gave his financial update at last week’s County Commission chair’s luncheon. The numbers are down from last year. Criminal, Criminal Sessions and 4th Circuit Court Clerk Joy McCroskey’s collections are running $140,000 behind last year’s figures. Circuit, Civil Sessions and Juvenile Court Clerk Cathy Quist’s collections are $69,000 behind last year. On the surface, Clerk and Master of Chancery and Probate Court Howard Hogan’s collections seem to be a bright spot, since they are running about $4,000 ahead of last year, but he
says that number is deceptive, because although collection numbers are up, case filings are down, giving him cause for concern about the future. Jokingly, Caldwell breaks it down to this: “Judges say clerks aren’t collecting. Clerks say judges are too quick to forgive (court costs). We take that into account as we do the budget.” Behind the numbers, however, are existing problems and brewing societal and cultural changes that are affecting the fee offices’ bottom lines. While Chancery Court has a reliable revenue source from handling county tax sales, other traditional sources are drying up. Many divorces that used to be heard in 4th Circuit Court
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are now going to Chancery Court instead (more on that later), but the divorce filings are down overall, probably because of the economy. “Fewer divorces are being filed because people can’t afford them,” Hogan said. Additionally, while the trend away from taking disputes to trial in favor of mediation may ease the financial toll on citizens, it has taken a toll on Chancery Court collections. Much of the child support collection that used to be done in Chancery Court is now being handled at the state level, creating another loss of fees. And the long-term judicial commitments that used to bring in thousands of dollars in fees annually vanished with the 2012
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closing of Lakeshore Mental Health Institute. “There’s just not as much trial work, which means there’s not as much filing to generate fees to clerks. From a clerk’s perspective, the more work involved in a case, the higher the court costs. No filings means no counterclaims, no hearings, no subpoenas or notices, so fees and commissions to the clerks tend to be lower,” Hogan said. “Since my appointment, we have lost four to five positions because of decreasing workload.” The financial stress isn’t likely to ease anytime soon – Hogan is keeping an eye on a new workers’ compensation bill that will take those cases out of local courts entirely. Cathy Quist, who is also
an attorney, says the effects of tort reform (another Haslam administration priority) have affected her bottom line. “We are seeing less of the cases that typically generate the most billing because of mediation and arbitration,” she said. “And while our collection rates range between 95 percent and the high 80s, cases aren’t being filed that generate intermediate case billing. A large number of cases are filed and closed the same day. In a lot of cases, settlements are announced the day they are filed. The culture has changed in the civil courts.” When the recession hit, Quist’s office saw a 45 percent increase in civil sesMore on A-3
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dle School. Knox County Elementary Schools “Honors Choir Concert” will be 3 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at South-Doyle Middle School.
Before
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Animal experience
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March 4, 2013
Choral Showcase 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee did not come to Christ United Methodist Church to talk about the law. She came instead to talk about courage, common bonds and cabbage. Lee spoke in Halls last Wednesday. Her presentation included the story of her father, Charles Lee, and of James Hugh Ross, Harold Leibowitz, David Goldin and Bruce Foster.
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VOL. 52 NO. 9
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