HALLS/FOUNTAIN CITY
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Living to tell the tale Cut Vallie Collins off in traffic? She isn’t going to get upset. If the dog chews on her new shoes, no big deal. She’ll just buy another pair. Collins, to use the cliché, doesn’t sweat the small stuff. She’s stared death in the face and lived to tell the tale.
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See Jake Mabe’s story on page A-3
Halls has bricks! The first phase of the Halls Alumni Association’s Walk of Fame brick fundraiser project is complete. The first 60 bricks were installed last week.
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See page A-3
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Halls B&P to meet Tuesday The Halls Business and Professional Association will meet at noon Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Beaver Brook Country Club. Lauren Hensley of the American Cancer Society will speak. Lunch is $10. Info: Shannon Carey, 922-4136
State of the Schools address is Thursday Knox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre will deliver the second annual State of the Schools Address at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, at Powell High School, 2136 West Emory Road. School board chair Karen Carson, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, and Randy Boyd, founder and CEO of Radio Systems, will also share their perspectives on public education in our community. The event is open to the public. The address will be broadcast live on Comcast Cable Channel 10, AT&T UVerse Channel 99, and WKCSRadio 91.1 FM and streamed live at www.knoxschools.org.
4509 Doris Circle 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.
Three funny dudes By Betty Bean
When Nita Buell Black puts on a revue, she’s like a presenter on one of those Japanese steak knife commercials – just when you wonder how she’s producing such an embarrassment of riches, there’s more! This week’s Powell Playhouse offering, “Comedy Night – Rhythm and Laughter,” will not only feature a ventriloquist, a magician and a gypsy jazz swing band, but will also feature three popular stand-up
Traffic backs up along Andersonville Pike toward Halls Elementary School as parents wait to pick up students in the afternoon. Note the motorist who is illegally passing traffic in the oncoming lane. Photo by Ruth White
has received no complaints about the red light since it was installed. The afternoon bottleneck occurs along the portion of Andersonville Pike near TDS that is strictly a two-lane road. Two vehicles nearly wrecked there Thursday afternoon and one motorist was spotted bypassing the school traffic illegally by veering into the oncoming lane. “We encourage parents to show up at 2:45 or 2:50,” Henderson says.
“The backup happens in part because we have a few folks who come early to pick up their children, some as early as an hour (prior) and wait until dismissal. And there’s no need to do that because once traffic gets moving, it’s OK. I’ve even told a few parents they can come at 3 or 3:05 p.m. Or, having your kids ride the bus is great.” Henderson also encourages parents to arrive in the afternoon “from the north entrance to the school”
comics in the show that will start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at Jubilee Banquet Facility off Callahan Drive. Ron Daughtrey, Alex Stokes and Drew Whitney have other careers, but find time to perform on the comedy club circuit. They have different styles and are all “Best Comedian” competition winners. Daughtrey is a loan officer who has been married for 32 years. Doing stand-up was on his bucket list, and he was 53 the first time he stepped on stage. He draws on stories from his childhood and from the family experiences he’s had raising three children. When asked what kind of comedy he prefers, he
had a simple answer: “The funny kind.” Drew Whitney is a lawyer who grew up in such a small town that his graduating class only had 43 people. His comedy is inspired by backwoods preachers and a mammaw who used colorful language. Nevertheless, he says his parents meant well and shouldn’t be blamed for anything he says or does. He and his wife, Andi, have a dog called Mick Jagger Pup. Whitney claims to be a good dancer. Financial manager Alex Stokes is a born storyteller, whose stories are based on true-life experiences that usually end with an unexpected twist. He has performed with more
traveling southeast along Andersonville Pike, “because there’s a big, long turn lane up there and it doesn’t block traffic. There’s plenty of room from the north.” He says his biggest concern is the 10 minutes in the afternoon when traffic comes to a halt near TDS at the bridge that crosses North Fork up to the school entrance. “Because if something did happen and an emergency vehicle needs to get through, it’s a bottleneck.”
Ron Daughtrey
Alex Stokes
Drew Morgan
than 100 comics from Comedy Central, HBO, Fox, Showtime and movies, and has a way of winning over his audiences, who end up feeling sorry for him while laughing.
The Hillcrest-Carter connection By Sandra Clark Knox County Commission may vote this month to sell property that is home to 500 individuals and employs 500 more. The residents range from indigent seniors to the disabled. The Other Paper let Mayor Tim Burchett get away with saying that while he may take political heat for selling the Hillcrest properties for half ($5.275 million against $11.3 million) of appraised value, he’s doing it for the seniors.
Analysis We submit that he’s doing it to pay for Carter Elementary School. And that’s a steep price to pay. Knox County needs another $6 million to fulfill its contract for the Carter school. The contract calls for the transaction to conclude between June 1 and July 15, 2013. A quick $5.275 million from the Hillcrest Healthcare Communities could solve the Carter problem, but would leave a myriad of unanswered questions. For instance: ■ What happens to the residents and staff if the new owner decides to build condos?
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■ What happens if the new owner defaults on a loan, having used the property as collateral? Hillcrest management has hired Moxley Carmichael public relations and attorney Arthur Seymour Jr. to make its case. They’re spinning at full speed. Meanwhile, the commission chair, Tony Norman, has placed another item on the JanuTim Burchett ary agenda. Cosponsored by Burchett, it would require money acquired from the sale of county assets to go toward debt retirement. While specific properties are not named, it begs the question of how the $6 million Carter deficiency would be covered if this resolution passes. Finance director Chris Caldwell says the proposed Hillcrest sale is not about Carter. There are other properties available for sale to close the gap, he said, and “the folks from Hillcrest approached us.” The Tazewell Pike property that includes Beverly Park and par-3 golf course will be retained by the coun-
Paying for Carter Under its agreement with Carter School developer Partners Development, the county will swap $13,879, 334 for a key to the finished building by July 15, 2013. Mayor Tim Burchett boldly promised to raise the money by selling unneeded county assets. To date, almost $10 million has been collected toward the project:
ty, Caldwell said. Cynthia Moxley, CEO of Moxley Carmichael, said 70 percent of Hillcrest’s residents are supported by TennCare. Repairs are needed. Hillcrest cannot borrow for upgrades without using the property for collateral, she said. In setting the sales price, Knox County considered the $2.3 million already spent for improvements by Hillcrest and the estimated $1.6 million needed to tear down the old tuberculosis hospital (not used for patients) and an old water tower. Seymour said nonprofit corporations such as Hillcrest Healthcare operate under more restrictive laws than for-profit corporations. For instance, a nonprofit must notify the state attorney general prior to selling or leasing its assets or merging with another entity. The AG can intervene if the nonprofit’s assets are being misapplied or wasted, or it is no longer able to carry out its purpose. He suggested that Knox County could be liable for clean-up of hazardous waste sites or if “it knows or should have discovered the existence of some dangerous condition.” Mike Ragsdale tried to sell Hillcrest facilities a few years back, but
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■ $892,550 – JP Morgan settlement ■ $2,010,000 – Solway mulch facility and adjacent park ■ $943,818 – City of Knoxville payoff of Animal Center ■ $2,500,000 – Knox County Schools Capital Plan contribution ■ $3,419,250 – E-911 payment for building
The clock is ticking on the remaining $4 million (plus $2 million for furnishings).
was rebuffed by commissioners concerned that the sale price was too low or worried about the future of residents and staff. It’s a different day with a new mayor, but those concerns remain.
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By Jake Mabe
If you’ve ever found yourself driving by Halls Elementary School around 2:30 p.m. on a school day, you know the problem. Traffic backs up – particularly as one travels northwest along Andersonville Pike from the crossroads at Emory and Andersonville. “It’s been an ongoing issue,” says principal Chris Henderson, “since I’ve been here and well before. Certainly our biggest priority is getting 800 kids out as safely and as efficiently as we can.” Henderson says that school officials successfully lobbied County Commission to have a short right turn lane installed, and a traffic engineer helped redesign traffic flow in and out of the school campus a few years ago. “And that’s helped some, but we’re always looking at it. We’ve talked to just about everybody we can to help us with it.” Henderson says that traffic flow is smoother in the morning, particularly since the county installed a red light at the Emory Road/Andersonville Pike intersection in December. Jim Snowden, deputy director of Knox County Engineering and Public Works, says that his office
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Traffic trouble
… at Halls Elementary
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To enjoy teaching kindergarten, you have to not mind being touched, or needed, or occasionally being called “Mommy.” It’s not for everyone, says Angie Johns, but it’s definitely for her.
January 14, 2013
Maynardville HWY.
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VOL. 52 NO. 2
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