VOL. 53 NO. 35
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From Elvis to fighting epilepsy
IN THIS ISSUE
Walking to cure cancer
By Cindy Taylor
Sue Spicer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. Having worked in the information center at Tennova North, she used the knowledge she had gained through resource materials as power. Sue Spicer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. Having worked in the information center at Tennova North, she used the knowledge she had gained through resource materials as power.
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Read Ruth White on page A-3
Big Ridge super, Howell, retires John Howard Howell, superintendent for 35 years, is bowing out. His office walls are bare, and personal treasures are packed away. He says there will be no retirement party, no gold watch, just a quiet goodbye and sincere thanks to those who helped make good times better.
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Read Marvin West on page A-2
Mike Lowe back in the news When Tommy Schumpert ran for county executive in 1994, Mike Lowe made his move. He ran for trustee as a reformer and promised to depoliticize the office, institute an anti-nepotism policy and end the practice of dunning employees for campaign contributions. Criminal trials currently underway show how that worked out.
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Read Betty Bean on page A-4
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Women’s League plans fall gala The Halls Crossroads Women’s League will host the 2014 Classy Country Autumn Gala 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at the Foundry. The event will feature dinner, a silent and live auction, and music. Tickets are $75/ person. Info: 679-0184.
Della Volpe to speak at Town Hall City Council member Nick Della Volpe will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, to Fountain City Town Hall, meeting at Church of the Good Shepherd, 5337 Jacksboro Pike. This is a general membership meeting to which community residents are invited.
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The Epilepsy Foundation of East Tennessee partnered with the North Side YMCA for their 10th annual golf tournament benefit. Music personality Armond Morales took time from his packed schedule to join the Aug. 22 fundraising effort at Three Ridges Golf Course. Morales sang backup for Elvis Presley, performed with Presley in Las Vegas and is the last surviving member of the “Elvis Posse.” But he is so much more. As bass singer with The Imperials, Morales had a deep voice that resonated to the bone. The group won four Grammys and was nominated 13 times. The quartet had four albums ranked in the top 50 Christian albums in the 1990s, received the first Dove Award for Male Group of the Year and had 17 No. 1 songs. Morales is in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. He and wife Bonnie still tour to proclaim the gospel in word and song. Morales was humble and excited to take part in the worthy cause. “Armond is a very special person but also very modest,” said Roy Kruse, Epilepsy Foundation board secretary. “I am excited to be in his presence.” The foundation will use portions of the proceeds for client Golfers Bill Brown, Epilepsy Foundation board president; special guest services to provide seizure mediArmond Morales; Mason Richardson; and Roy Kruse, Epilepsy Foundation cation to people who have epilepsy board secretary, at the 10th annual golf tournament Photo by Cindy Taylor and no access to insurance. The Epilepsy Foundation also pays for diagnostic testing such as EEGs The YMCA will use proceeds and MRIs, assists with dental plies free materials to those affrom the tournament for scholneeds related to seizures and sup- fected by the disease.
Former 3rd District Knox County Commissioner Tony Norman jokingly takes his shot during the Epilepsy Foundation golf tournament. (Norman’s term ended Aug. 31) Photo submitted
arships and youth development programs for teens dealing with addiction. Winners of the tournament were Ray Kitts, David Northern, DeWayne Arnold and Danny Shropshire. More than $9,000 was raised for the YMCA and the Epilepsy Foundation by tournament participants.
Smith leaves commission ‘better, more transparent’ By Sandra Clark R. Larry Smith is a fi xture in virtually every organization in Halls, Powell, Heiskell and Fountain City. He was there before winning election as a county commissioner in 2006, and there’s no reason to think he will disappear since term limits ended his official service this week. Charlie Busler was sworn in Sept. 2 as the District 7 commissioner. Smith, 60, served with 42 different colleagues during a tumultuous time for the Knox County Commission. He was present during Black Wednesday but was never implicated in wrongdoing. He served twice as vice chair and voted on eight budgets totaling $5 billion without a property-tax increase. He’s proud to have changed
the way the commission conducts business, saying, “We’re more transparent now than when we took office eight years ago.” His wife, Sharon, was recognized during the final meeting. “It’s an honor and privilege to be Larry’s wife and to watch him serve,” she said. “I think he’s done a great job. We’re all proud of him.” Smith organized “night out” events, bringing department heads to District 7. He donated heavily to community organizations (laughing that Heiskell’s Janice White got most of his money) and led efforts for common districts for the commission and school board. Controversy followed Smith on some initiatives – such as his resolution to ban peddlers from county roadsides. He went after unsightly signs as well, and even
the abandoned house on Cunningham Road. It was demolished last week, possibly in his honor. Some call it meddling, but Smith ties together these initiatives. “I’m big on community pride,” he says. “You don’t see this stuff in Sequoyah Hills or Farragut. I want Maynardville Highway to look like Parkside Drive.” Would he have liked to do more? Sure, but Smith served during a stagnant economy. “We’ve all got our wish list, but we worked with the money we had coming in.” Smith was ahead of Mayor Tim Burchett in pushing for Knox County to divest its surplus property, preferably “before it was falling down.” He supported selling the Tazewell Pike property at Hillcrest, pushed to sell Rule High School and would have sold Three
Ridges Golf Course, “but we found it was making $100,000.” Smith refused to be silenced in demanding justice for John Duncan and his staff at the Trustee’s office who took payments for continuing education that they never completed. Call it political courage or folly, but Smith made his position clear. He passed a plan to give incentives to county employees who make money-saving suggestions. He negotiated a deal between the Heiskell Fire Department and Rural/Metro that led to better fire service, he says. He’s excited about the Powell extension of Emory Road being completed this year and about improvements to MayTo page A-2
The destruction of Coach Roach By Betty Bean On election night in Grainger County, supporters of longtime state Rep. Dennis “Coach” Roach got together to await the 35th House District Republican Primary returns. Their candidate fought hard to overcome a tsunami of negative advertising financed by as much as $500,000 from out-of-state special-interest groups blasting Roach for “ghost voting” (the common and fairly innocuous practice of seat-mates pushing the voting button for neighbors who have stepped out to use the restroom or take a smoke). The ads painted it as dan-
to get his showing, but it turned out we got our showing,” said Grainger County Commissioner James Acuff. When the final tally was in, Roach lost by nearly 1,000 votes to opponent Jerry Sexton, a preacher turned furniture manufacturer whose Facebook page describes him as “More pro-life than Coach Roach Jerry Sexton your pastor, more for the Second Amendment than Davy Crockett, gerous and lazy, but Roach’s sup- and more for traditional marriage porters were cautiously optimistic than Adam and Eve.” The real issue that got the atthat Roach, a popular teacher and basketball coach who had served tention of 501(c)(4) groups like the Koch brothers’ Americans for since 1994, would survive. “We thought Jerry was going Prosperity and the Tennessee FedA subsidiary of RIGGS DRUG STORE
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eration for Children wasn’t ghost voting at all. “It all came down to my vote on the vouchers,” said Roach, whose district includes Grainger and parts of Union and Claiborne counties. Roach was particularly disappointed in his Union County showing, where he lost 670-320. “We thought we might do a little better than that after saving them $497,000 (by pushing to keep the K12 Inc. Virtual Academy open against the wishes of Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman). To page A-2
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