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GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A10-11 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B | BUSINESS SECTION C
karns / hardin valley
VOL. 5, NO. 14
APRIL 4, 2011
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Feeding the hungry By Joe Rector
Soaring high Hardin Valley Academy junior Dakota Lee elected president of the Tennessee Association of Student Councils See story on page A-10
A difference in the heart Organizations partner to repair homes See story and photos on page A-3
FEATURED COLUMNIST LARRY VAN GUILDER
Calling 1-900WHO-KNEW The Shopper’s own ‘Mr. Hotline’ answers some pesky questions about your county government. See page A-4
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10512 Lexington Dr., Ste. 500 37932 (865) 218-WEST (9378) news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Larry Van Guilder lvgknox@mindspring.com ADVERTISING SALES Paige Davis davisp@ShopperNewsNow.com Darlene Hacker hackerd@ShopperNewsNow.com Debbie Moss mossd@ShopperNewsNow.com Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly at 10512 Lexington Drive, Suite 500, Knoxville, TN, and distributed to 33,237 homes in Farragut, Karns and Hardin Valley.
Last Wednesday evening, a Dave Kahn and Mike Williams lower the first load tractor trailer pulled into the of food from the Second Harvest trailer. parking lot of Beaver Ridge United Methodist Church. After the driver unhooked the load and pulled away, members from the church liams says that the church purand other community organizachases the food that is given away. tions went to work. They spent the The program is about helping the next few hours unloading canned community. goods and other nonperishable “Look at the economy and Karns food items for the church’s Second community. Many families have Harvest Food Drop and Distribubeen negatively impacted and still tion outreach program. struggle to meet their needs. Our Between 25 and 40 church job as a church and Christians is members worked with Boy Scout to fill in the gaps and help people and Girl Scout troops, as well as a with their lives,” she said. Little League baseball team, setThe hardest part of the give ting up the food at various stations away program is making sure all in the family life center. the bases are covered. That reThe food distribution was quires lots of organization and scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. last volunteer efforts from a number Saturday. Fliers had been distribof groups. uted throughout the community In the end, the hard work is inviting families in need to atworth it. Williams says that the tend. Now in its third year, the smiles on family member’s faces program’s only stipulation is that as they load their groceries are refamilies take only what they will ward enough. She’s also glad that use. Last year, more than 100 fampeople aren’t required to sign anyilies were served, some who began thing to take part in the program. lining up as early as 6 a.m. on the Most of all, knowing that a need morning of the event. has been met for neighbors and “We want to help people, and friends is satisfying. sometimes they are hesitant to Beaver Ridge Methodist plans accept that help when personal to hold a second giveaway in Ocinformation is required or when tober. The food drop and distribuorganizations begin to preach at tion committee welcomes others them. Our goal in these programs to join in the program. The prois simply to help others,” said Pengram also gratefully accepts monny Williams, the program’s cooretary donations so that more food dinator. can be purchased. More informaIngle’s donated the use of gro- Penny Williams, Vera Harvey and Patty Underwood stack canned goods in tion can be obtained by calling the cery carts for the giveaway. Wil- preparation for last Saturday’s distribution. Photos by Joe Rector church office at 690-1060.
Old school trumps ‘new urbanism’ Southwest elementary recycles Gibbs By Larry Van Guilder Northshore Town Center was conceived as a compact urban neighborhood combining residential and retail establishments that featured innovative architecture.
Analysis But the design for a new elementary school, which will become a prominent feature of the development when the school is completed in August 2013, reflects old ideas based on cheap land and outdated acceptance of urban sprawl. The new school’s footprint mimics Gibbs Elementary School. With the exception of its capacity for 200 more students, “It’s exactly like Gibbs,” said Knox County Purchasing Director Hugh Holt. Gibbs Elementary, completed in mid-2000, is a fine facility. But its onestory footprint, suitable where land is plentiful, is out of place in Northshore Town Center. How this “old school” school came to be slated for a neighborhood conceived as a step toward “new urbanism” is a story in itself. Before Cope Associates was selected as the architect for the project and awarded the $542,000 fee, the Knox County Schools system had never used a design competition to select an architect. And although Lanis Cope recently told the Shopper-News that the county wanted to “re-use … (something)
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Gibbs Elementary School served to furnish the design template for the new southwest elementary school. Photo by Ruth White already designed,” the solicitation for proposals issued by county purchasing disagrees. In an addendum to the solicitation, Deputy Director of Purchasing Matt Myers wrote: “All designs will be considered. The intent of the competition is to allow consideration of all facilities, including those that have been previously designed and constructed, not to establish a prototypical design.” Cope’s firm designed Gibbs Elementary School, granting Cope a clear advantage over competitors starting from scratch with the costly design phase. Although there is no indication that the evaluation and selection process was biased (the designs were evaluated “blind,” with nothing to identify the submitter), some bidders were not satisfied. One local architect, who asked to remain anonymous, was scathingly critical of the process: “Knox County public schools,
meaning the buildings themselves, are remarkable for their mediocrity. I challenge you to find more than one or two built since 1950 which embody architectural merit. The recent ‘competition’ was simply lip service, the anonymous-submission drawings comprising but two ledger-size sheets, in conjunction with the usual non-anonymous boiler plate. A design competition normally involves original work, which then informs the project design developed by the winner.” The American Institute of Architects (AIA) publishes a handbook, “Architectural Design Competitions,” which is comprehensive in scope, beginning with “appropriate conditions” for a competition and ending with “post-competition activities.” According to the AIA, one of the advantages of design competition is to “generate a wide range of new ideas in the approach to a design.” Ironically, the design competition
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handbook adds that “a well-organized design competition, with selection based on ideas rather than past portfolio,” gives the designer an opportunity to “acquire expertise in a new market or building type.” The original ideas in the winning design are notable only for their absence. The usual suspect, money, is driving the school system’s bus. Replicating Gibbs is the economyminded choice, and a school system already faced with deteriorating buildings around the county can hardly be blamed for its decision. The school as designed is a poor choice architecturally and conceptually for the “new urbanite” Northshore Town Center. For a 2 cent property tax hike, the county could generate more than enough for the school system to pay for a building whose design would reflect something other than “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
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