VOL. 54 NO. 21
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BUZZ Too many tests? Those concerned about excessive testing in Knox County Schools are invited to a community forum at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, at West High School. Following a brief overview, participants will form breakout groups for discussion and each will report to the full group.
‘Kicking the can’
on Gibbs Middle School
IN THIS ISSUE
Patti Bounds (back to camera) talks with Ed Brantley, John Fugate and Bob Thomas. Photo by S. Clark
By Sandra Clark
City Council secretary Susan Wilson plans to pass on her rubber band ball when she retires later this year.
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Read Wendy Smith on page A-4
Sunshine’s downside There are folks in this town who act like the sunshine law is the Magna Carta. It isn’t. Ultimately, the sunshine law doesn’t make local government more open. Instead, the law merely shifts power away from the legislative branch and puts the power in the county mayor’s office.
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Read Scott Frith on page A-5
Still cookin’ Rosa Nussbaumer has had her share of disasters from cakes falling out of cars to food left behind, but she and her staff always pulled things together; usually without her clients knowing anything had gone wrong. From catering for 15 to 5,000 people the Nussbaumers successfully turned a love of cooking into a thriving business. She is quick to say it was all God.
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Read Cindy Taylor on page A-3
Shannondale awards Principals, teachers and kids come and go, but those uniquely named awards roll on. There are smart-as-a-fox, named for longtime principal Emma Fox, the Dixie Cup, named for teacher Dixie Inglehart and more.
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This year’s winners on page A-10
7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Ruth White ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Patty Fecco | Tony Cranmore Alice Devall | Shannon Carey
The Gibbs community has advocated for a middle school for so long that a second generation is now being bused to Holston Middle. “Twenty-four years is too long to wait,” said Knox County Commissioner Ed Brantley. He and fellow at-large commissioner, Bob Thomas, hosted an “Ed and Bob” neighborhood meeting last week at Henry’s Deli on Tazewell Pike. Brantley said he was disappointed at the 5 p.m. turnout. “They’re all picking up their kids
May 27, 2015
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at Holston,” quipped Steve Hunley. The former school board member has made it his life’s work to get a middle school at Gibbs. Pam Clevenger said she’s homeschooling her granddaughter after sending her daughter to Holston Middle in the 1990s. She was blunt: “That (zoning) was done for desegregation and that law has changed. … I just didn’t want my kids to go to an inner-city school.” Chris Caldwell, the county’s finance director, was invited as a resource. “Mayor (Tim) Burchett would like to build all three schools
(requested by the school board), but we cannot afford them.” He said the county can’t borrow the funds without a tax increase. “And even if we could fi nd a way to build them, when they come online, in 2019 or so, we could not afford to operate them without a tax increase.” Hardin Valley, in deep West Knox County, is also clamoring for a middle school. Like Gibbs, Hardin Valley has a high school and an elementary school but disperses children to other areas for middle school.
Patti Bounds (school board District 7) said the system has already cut its budget. “We won’t even be waxing floors this summer. We’ve made cuts already but we’re still $6.5 million short.” Jack Huddleston raised questions about a proposed four percent raise for teachers. “Why doesn’t the state fund that?” Caldwell said the state will provide about $4.4 million toward the $10 million required to raise all teachers. That’s because Knox County Schools has substantially more positions than required by state regulations. Mike McMillan concurred: “They send (money for) 4 percent based on the number of teachers the state thinks we should have.” Bob Barker asked, “How long can we kick this can down the road? Then he answered his own question: “They come up with the money to build what they want to … and ignore us out here.” Gregg Lonas offered a solution: “Pull the kids back who are now being home-schooled and defund Vine Middle School. Use those principals and teachers to operate a Gibbs Middle School.” Brantley is a new commissioner, but he’s showing an aptitude for can-kicking: “I will vote for a middle school in Gibbs,” he said. “But I will not vote for a tax increase.”
Beware of seasonal scams, says KPD By Wendy Smith Last month, West Hills Community Association president Ashley Williams was alerted to the regular presence of a man selling security systems door-todoor. The man was taking pictures of houses and asking residents who already had security systems which doors and windows were monitored. He would then ask to put a sign in the yard. At least one neighbor had a break-in a few days after speaking with the man. Williams approached the salesperson on the street and asked to see his license. He presented an application rather than an actual license. Williams then contacted the company, and was passed to an attorney. After Williams spoke to law enforcement, the attorney said the company would no longer work in the neighborhood. But Williams
has visited the company’s West Knox office, and salespeople, primarily driving cars with Utah license plates, are still working in the area, he says. He hopes other neighborhoods can benefit from what his neighbors have learned. “A legal solicitor’s permit should be notarized and should have a permit number on it. If they don’t have it, say you’re not interested and call the police dispatch number. You have the right to say ‘Get off my property.’ Don’t feel obligated to listen to a pitch.” Darrell DeBusk, public information officer for the Knoxville Police Department, says late spring and early summer are prime time for a variety of doorto-door scams. That’s when scammers who spend the winter in the south head north. Many are selling services like driveway paving, painting and
roofing, and they appeal to homeowners hoping to save money. But DeBusk warns against using service providers who shows up on your doorstep. Instead, homeowners should contact local providers who are licensed and bonded and have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau. A request for payment up front should be a red flag, he says. A common scam is linoleum sales. Accomplices enter the home while homeowners are looking at samples. Those selling magazine subscriptions may be legitimate, but salespeople often have criminal records, he says. Neighborhoods, as a whole, cannot prohibit solicitors if they have public roads. But individual property owners can prohibit solicitors on their property with a clearly visible sign, says Ron Mills of the city law department. Gated neighborhoods or those with pri-
vate roads can prohibit solicitors. Knox County requires a license to sell goods and services door-todoor. Knox County Commissioner John Schoonmaker says his neighbors in Tan Rara subdivision typically ask to see a solicitor’s license. If none is presented, they give the solicitor five minutes to leave the neighborhood before calling the sheriff’s office’s non-emergency number. “I have seen solicitors being escorted out of our neighborhood in the back seat of the sheriff’s cruiser. The word gets around to other solicitors that our neighborhood doesn’t like solicitors,” he says. In April, county commission approved an ordinance that gives the Knox County Clerk the authority to withhold a solicitor license from someone who has an outstanding warrant or has been convicted of a crime of moral turpitude in the last 10 years.
No meeting of the minds at budget talks By Betty Bean The only clear consensus reached at the joint school board/ county commission meeting last week came when district members of each body promised to get together with their counterparts and talk about school needs before the county budget comes up for a vote next month. This meeting of the minds came at the conclusion of a dinner and discussion get-together at the East Tennessee History Center. The board members, commissioners and Dr. James McIntyre were seated around a horseshoe-
shaped table in the middle of the room to facilitate conversation. The most powerful player in the budget discussions, county Mayor Tim Burchett, who has veto power over any commission vote (it would take eight votes to override him) was seated in the audience and was not asked for his opinion, perhaps because his views on the subject are well known. He’s not going to go for anything that requires raising taxes. Things went the way they usually do this time of the year, with most (but not all) school board members pleading for increased funding and
most (but not all) commissioners advising them to shut up and live within their means. There was majority agreement on an issue Knox County Schools has been pushing this year – the balanced calendar commonly (but not quite accurately) called yearround school: It’s too expensive to talk about at a time when the county is struggling to find a way to pay for long-overdue teachers’ raises and communities are clamoring for new school buildings. Commission chair Brad Anders repeated his warning that the county has been living off the pro-
ceeds of a 1999 property tax increase and has no more fat to cut. School board member Terry Hill, who represents the Hardin Valley area, which is hoping for a new middle school, implored members of County Commission to think about doing something to raise money to build new schools. “More people than you might think would be willing to pay their fair share,” she said. Commissioner Ed Brantley said his hands are tied because of his no-new-taxes campaign promise, To page A-3
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Located off Emory Road in Powell
Located off Emory Road in Powell