HALLS/FOUNTAIN CITY
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Raising awareness for colon cancer Country music artist Wade Hayes is best known for Billboard chart toppers from the ’90s including “Old Enough to Know Better” and “On a Good Night.” Hayes was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer last year and is now drawing attention to the disease through his music.
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See Sarah Barrett’s story on B-2
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Del Moro named to U.S. Army AllAmerican Band Halls High School senior Daniel Del Moro has been selected to be a member of the 2013 U.S. Army All-American Marching Band. Del Moro is the Del Moro first student from Knox County Schools to achieve this honor. A recognition ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, in the middle school auditorium. Superintendent Dr. Jim McIntyre and representatives from the U.S. Army AllAmerican Bowl will participate in the ceremony. The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band recognizes the top 125 high school senior marching musicians and color guard members from across the country, showcasing their talents during the largest celebration of high school football in America, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, televised live on NBCTV at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Tennova North Tennova has scheduled a ribbon cutting and reception from 8-9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, to celebrate the opening of the previously unused fifth floor of the North Knoxville Medical Center, located at 7565 Dannaher Drive off Emory Road at I-75.
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 | Debbie Moss Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly and distributed to 27,813 homes in Halls, Gibbs and Fountain City.
By Jake Mabe A project to ease erosion along a 1,400-foot stretch of Beaver Creek at Mill Run subdivision in Halls is all but complete. Knox County watershed coordinator Roy Arthur said the last piece of the project, planting trees and brush to create a riparian (or buffer) zone, will happen soon. Resident Joe Bush, who has owned his house since 2000, said last Tuesday that he contacted Knox County Stormwater about a year and a half ago asking for advice about the erosion after his insurance company told him that flood insurance would not protect his house because of creek erosion. “I had lost a lot of yardage,” Bush said, with Arthur adding that Beaver Creek had eroded about 12 feet during the last 12 years. “And it (had created) a straight, up-and-down slope, probably about four feet.” “The stream was dissipating its energy,” Arthur says. “It wanted to move up to Joe’s house.” During heavy rain, Bush says everything from swing sets to furniture would come floating down the creek. Bush contacted project manager Tracy Jones at Knox County Stormwater Management about the problem. Jones said that county money cannot be used for projects on private property, but she approached Arthur, who had secured grant monies for Beaver Creek a few years ago. Jones contacted six other homeowners who all agreed to the project.
Knox County watershed coordinator Roy Arthur, Knox County Stormwater Management project manager Tracy Jones and homeowner Joe Bush inspect the work that has been done along his property line in Mill Run subdivision to ease erosion at Beaver Creek. Photo by Jake Mabe
“It’s very rare that we could do this project and it was perfect timing,” Jones says. “So far, compared to what it looked like, it looks good,” Bush says. Arthur says the buffer zone will “look ugly” for a few years, “but then it will take care of itself.” UT journalism student Debo-
rah Robbins brought her camera to Bush’s house last Tuesday. Her assignment for Dr. Sam Swan’s Journalism 414 class was to produce a “problem/solution package.” “I had to find a problem, preferably here in East Tennessee, that started with one person but affects a larger number of community members,” Robbins says.
Cassie is tops!
Copper Ridge Elementary student Cassie Norris is surprised by her mother, Jennifer, with the award she received for being the top seller of the Original Knox County Schools Coupon Book. Photo by Dave Armstrong
Copper Ridge Elementary School student Cassie Norris is the top system-wide and elementary school-aged seller of the Original Knox County Schools Coupon Book. Cassie and other top sellers were honored at a special luncheon at the Sarah Simpson Center last week. Cassie sold 330 books in the annual fundraiser. As the top system-wide seller, she received a $500 gift card. Her photo will appear on the cover of next year’s coupon books. As the top elementary schoolaged seller, she received a $350 gift card, a bicycle from Walmart
Petitioners seek HPUD rate review By Shannon Carey Halls resident Russ Rymer has started an online and pen-andpaper petition in an attempt to trigger a rate review of Hallsdale Powell Utility District. The petition needs 10 percent of HPUD customers, meaning the primary name on the HPUD account. According to HPUD’s Sandy Liford, customers total 29,077 for water and 22,254 for sewer. The online petition had 2,133 signatures at the time of this writing. Rymer says that pen-andpaper signatures raise the total to around 2,400. Rymer says he started the petition over concerns that HPUD’s rates are too high, a sentiment echoed by many ratepayers after
see Comptroller of the Treasury. According to board spokesperson Blake Fontenay, the petition’s signatures will be compared to an HPUD customer list to verify that each signor is a primary HPUD account holder. Once the signatures have been verified, the case will be docketed several years of rate increases. and assigned to an administra“I just wanted to start the pro- tive law judge. Both sides will be cess and open a dialogue for rate- allowed to accumulate evidence payers with concerns about where and formulate arguments. Then, the money is going,” he said. “This the hearing will be held before the is not us versus them, but more UMRB and assigned a judge in like open the doors and let’s solve Knox County. the problem.” But, according to HPUD presiA successful petition would dent/CEO Darren Cardwell, the appeal to the state Utility Management Review Board (UMRB), which operates under the TennesTo page A-3
“I don’t have anything to hide. Why fight it?” – HPUD CEO Darren Cardwell
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and free pizza for a year from Papa John’s. Other local elementary winners include: Brayden Clapp, Corryton Elementary (184 books); Bryce Olinger, Brickey-McCloud Elementary (107 books) and Austin Thompson (100 books), Sterchi Elementary. Local middle school winners are Violina Turcan, Powell Middle (300 books); Francisca Rayho, Powell Middle (109 books) and Hailey Gann, Halls Middle (101 books). This year, 153,642 coupon books were sold for a profit of $1.35 million, the majority of which stays at the school level.
By Jake Mabe
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The project will also be used as a demonstration site for other UT students. Arthur says when another grant is secured, phase two of the project will be to fix problems along Beaver Creek from the edge of the current project to Brown Gap, including reconnecting a wetland that is isolated from the creek.
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Russ Rymer of Halls started a petition for rate review of Hallsdale Powell Utility District at change.org. The petition needs almost 3,000 signatures to trigger a rate review by the state Utility Management Review Board. Photo by S. Carey
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Beaver Creek erosion project complete
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Holiday cheer and more!
November 12, 2012
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