VOL. 53 NO. 21
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IN THIS ISSUE
Fountain City’s best
VBS 2014 It is Vacation Bible School time. Check inside to find a VBS near you.
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See listings starting on page A-8
May 26, 2014
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McCoys win beautification award
New head for Halls Branch Library
Halls Branch Library has a new head librarian, Jamie Osborn. She has been with the Knox County library system for the past 12 years and is excited to be in Halls. Osborn previously worked in the research area of the library and loves the interaction she has had with the patrons at the Halls branch. “I love seeing families come in to the library, spending time together,” she said.
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Read Ruth White on page A-3
Politics and more
Shopper publisher Sandra Clark weighs in on city pensions and this newspaper’s position on them; Betty Bean talks about all the Republicans at Daryl Fansler’s fundraiser – so many she forgot to photograph Fansler; and Victor Ashe ponders whether Troy Whiteside will ever come to trial.
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The home of Alfred and Melanie McCoy, 318 Lynnwood Drive, has won the Beautification Award, which will be presented at 3 p.m. today (May 26) during Honor Fountain City Day at Fountain City Park. Photos by Ruth White
Sydney Stahlcup plays with her dog, Daisy Mae, in the beautiful yard of her great-uncle and great-aunt, Alfred and Melanie McCoy.
The front porch features comfortable furniture to enjoy a nice evening and has an old bicycle built for two as a conversation piece.
See columns on page A-4
Brothers open K Brew on Broadway
Brothers Pierce and Michael LaMacchia decided to make their dream a reality when they opened K Brew seven months ago. Their goal was to have a place for people to get an amazing cup of coffee, meet, talk and hang out – a local place to meet interesting people. Located at 1328 N. Broadway at the corner of Glenwood, K Brew features a different coffee roaster each month. According to the LaMacchia brothers, this is the model for only 24 cafes in the country.
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Read Nancy Whittaker on A-18
Bold prediction
Marvin West says the football Vols will be 8-4 or maybe 4-8. But for certain the players will work hard and grow stronger.
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See Marvin’s analysis on page A-5
Voices heard
Tom and Shirley Everett have stories to tell from their work as home missionaries.
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See story on page A-7
7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Jake Mabe ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Shannon Carey Jim Brannon | Tony Cranmore Brandi Davis | Patty Fecco
O’Dell to head Shannondale Elementary By Sandra Clark Megan O’Dell is the new principal at Shannondale Elementary School, replacing Jack Nealy, who resigned to return to Florida. O’Dell entered school administration in 2012 as an assistant principal at Brickey-McCloud Elementary School. She’s finishing a year in the Leadership Academy, a collaboration between the University of Tennessee and Knox County Schools. As part of that experience, she has worked as an assistant principal at Northshore El-
ementary School with veteran principal Susan Davis. O’Dell joined Knox County Schools in 2004 as a teacher at East Knox County Elementary School. She has also Megan O’Dell served as a teacher at Sunnyview Primary School, a TAP master teacher at Sarah Moore Greene Elementary and a curriculum coach at South Knox-
ville Elementary. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Carson-Newman University and a master’s in education from Tusculum College and will receive an education specialist degree in educational leadership from UT upon completion of the Leadership Academy. Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre announced a flurry of administrative changes late last week. Susan Espiritu, who innovated
both the TAP and community schools programs as principal at Pond Gap Elementary School, was dispatched to Sarah Moore Greene Elementary School where nothing has worked yet. Other new principals are Kim Cullom, Maynard Elementary; Reggie Mosley, Farragut Intermediate; Megan O’Dell, Shannondale Elementary; Dr. Chad Smith, Carter Middle; Sharon Yarbrough, Amherst Elementary; and Terry Nieporte, Cedar Bluff Middle.
Career Magnet Academy meeting enrollment goals By Betty Bean Knox County’s new Career Magnet Academy, on track to open in August in the former Panasonic building on Pellissippi State’s Strawberry Plains campus, also appears to be on track to meet enrollment expectaMike McMillan tions. It has also won over at least one important skeptic. The $3.785 million academy is in school board member Mike McMillan’s 8th District, not far from Carter High School, which has a thriving vocational department of its own. McMillan had some initial reservations about the new school, primarily about how it would affect Carter, but says he’s gotten in-
formation that has persuaded him to put his misgivings aside. “It’s still a little too early to tell, but if it does what they are promoting it as doing, it should be a very positive thing for our students. It gives them more choices. “I had some concerns initially, about how the school would affect the traditional vocational classes, but now I’ve come to believe that it won’t hurt them because this school is trying to attract a highercaliber student.” The Career Magnet Academy will have 13 classrooms, two science labs, a media center, a wellness center, teacher workrooms and a cafeteria. It will be housed on the ground floor of the former Panasonic building. The upper floors are utilized by some 300 college students. CMA students will choose one
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of four “learning pathways” – advanced manufacturing, sustainable living, homeland security (pre-law enforcement), or teacher preparation – but still must meet Common Core academic requirements. They won’t be expected to choose a career path until sophomore year, and dual-credit courses will be available for juniors and seniors to earn college credit while still in high school. CMA principal John Derek Faulconer has visited every middle school in the county to talk up the Career Magnet Academy, and McMillan said he has been “pleasantly surprised” with the success of those recruiting efforts. “So far, they’ve got 110 students enrolled, which means they’ve still got about 15 slots open. They didn’t have to hold a lottery,” McMillan said, noting that Faulcon-
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er’s efforts to attract students to the school on the eastern fringe of the county were particularly successful at Holston and SouthDoyle middle schools but diminished in West Knox County. “They say they are rebranding vocational education. It’s not going to be the vocational education that your mom and dad experienced. And the thing about this school is kids will only be six hours short of having an associate’s degree when they graduate, so theoretically, if you are a go-getter, when you graduate, you can go to work for somebody, take three hours in the fall and three hours in the spring and have your associate’s degree.” McMillan said. “And here’s the thing: It’s really going to benefit the 8th District more than any other district.”
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