VOL. 53 NO. 17
IN THIS ISSUE
Bob and Marilyn to come home for anniversary Bob Johnson did it right. When he retired, he and Marilyn sold their house, turned over the family business and moved to Crossville. But they’re coming home this weekend to help Ben and Doug and the gang celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bob Johnson Insurance. Come by and say hello. It’s 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at the office on Afton Drive.
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Read more on A-14
Marvin makes a list The approaching pro football draft has the attention of forum children playing in the sandbox. They asked each other a very heavy question. Who was the greatest Volunteer who did not play in the NFL? Easy answer: John Majors, all-American tailback, leader of the great 1956 team, rooked out of the Heisman Trophy by the Notre Dame mimeograph machine.
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See the list on page A-5
‘Inasmuch’ boosts Gresham grounds Community members from area churches worked together to clean up the grounds at Gresham Middle School as part of Operation Inasmuch. The idea of the program, founded by then-pastor of Central Baptist Fountain City David Crocker, is to move congregants out of their seats and into the streets and is based on Jesus’ saying that “inasmuch as you did it for the least of these, you did it for me.” Ruth White has pictures and more inside.
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Story on A-7
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Halls has cars! By Ruth White The annual car show hosted by the Halls High band grows bigger every year. This year 117 vehicles were registered. Band director Eric Baumgardner called it the biggest show to date. The Best of Show was the 1936 Ford Coupe driven by George Hacket. The Band Director’s Award went to Judy Hamrick, who entered a 1946 wrecker in memory of her husband, Bill. Other winners included top club, Muscle Car Ministries; top motorcycle, Joe Wilkinson’s 1997 Harley Springer; top truck, John Crismon’s 1998 GMC Sonoma; top import, Carol Hall’s 1965 red VW bug; Top modified winner was Tom
George Hacket’s 1937 tangerine pearl Ford Coupe was named Best of Show at the Halls High band car show. Photo by Ruth White
To page A-3
Band director Eric Baumgardner selects the vehicle to receive the Band Director’s Award. This year, for Baumgardner, the story behind the vehicle made his decision easy. He awarded the trophy to Judy Hamrick, who entered her late husband’s 1946 wrecker in the show. When the name was called, Hamrick was speechless and hugged Baumgardner tightly.
Receiving the trophy for the Best Import was Carol Hall with her 1965 Volkswagen bug. Photos by Ruth White
New middle schools inch forward By Betty Bean
For months, groups from Gibbs and Hardin Valley have been making the case for new middle schools in their communities. Hardin Valley residents cite their community’s booming population. Gibbs supporters talk about the unfairness of three-hour school bus rides over to Holston. Superintendent James McIntyre addressed those concerns in his 2015 Capital Budget and Planning Priorities memo earlier this month but said that middle school issues cannot be discussed individually and recommended a long, thorough study: “… I am recommending we designate a modest level of resources ($75,000) for a complete review of our middle school infrastructure
and analysis of student population growth/enrollment patterns during FY15. Such a study will provide important data and insights that will inform our future decisions regarding capital resources, enrollment planning and zoning strategies. “In light of recent public discourse, we have estimated potential expenditures in the capital improvement plan for construction of a new Hardin Valley Middle School and a new Gibbs Middle School should the study recommend this course of action.” The school board approved the recommendation, and the internal study will be conducted. But on “Inside Tennessee,” when John Becker asked board chair Lynne Fugate how people can find out where their school project ranks
on the capital plan, she said there is “no per year list.” It’s a “falsehood,” she said, that there is a ranking somewhere. “Needs change.” Reactions from the communities most affected are guardedly optimistic. Lisa Starbuck has been a consistent and vocal booster for a Gibbs Middle School: “I am encouraged that Dr. McIntyre is listening to community concerns about the middle school need in Gibbs and delighted to see a Gibbs Middle School on the five-year capital plan. “I understand his reasoning for doing a system-wide middle school study because factors such as feeder patterns, transportation costs and impacts to
other middle schools should be evaluated. I am confident that there are sufficient numbers of students ... to fill a middle school in Gibbs and that building a new school will solve overcrowding and transportation issues, among others.” If Starbuck sees the glass as half-full, boosters on the Hardin Valley Supports a Middle School Facebook page are more guarded than optimistic: “Turns out that the board does not specifically vote on the next five years so the HVMS and Gibbs Middle are a ‘blueprint’ but weren’t specifically approved or rejected tonight. But the results of the study will help drive the actions taken by the board in the near future.”
Pellissippi prepares for Tennessee Promise By Betsy Pickle Now that Gov. Bill Haslam’s free higher-education plan, Tennessee Promise, has earned legislative approval, the state’s community colleges are facing the possibility of significantly increased enrollment, which could put a burden on teachers and classrooms. Pellissippi State Community College, with 10,600 students on five campuses in the Knoxville area, is the largest local school affected by the legislation, but the mood there is preparation, not panic. President Anthony Wise says
Pellissippi State should be able to accommodate any influx beginning with the registration for the 2015-16 school year. “We are starting to look at it and to think about it,” says Wise. “It’s really built on the modAnthony Wise el of Tennessee Achieves, which started here in Knox County and Blount County. I don’t know that we’ll see the
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huge enrollment increases that we might see in other parts of the state because in essence you can have free access to a community college in Knox or Blount County right now through Tennessee Achieves.” Faculty and facilities are two of the main areas of concern. “We’re committed to having full-time faculty as much as possible teach our classes on campus,” says Wise. “We want to make sure that we have the right kind of academic and student support programs in place for the new popula-
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tion of students. “We’re a little bit off our historic enrollment high of three or four years ago, so we have some capacity to grow into that. We do have the new facility at Strawberry Plains, which hopefully can absorb some of these new students.” Other potential measures include adding classes later in the afternoon, offering Saturday classes and making science labs available on Sundays. Students who take advantage of the Tennessee Promise plan to To page A-3
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