GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A10-11 | HEALTH & LIFESTYLES SECTION B | BUSINESS SECTION C
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karns / hardin valley
VOL. 50, NO. 19
MAY 9, 2011
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A life filled with honor By Valorie Fister
Sprechen sie Deutsch?
Ilona Ray and her Karns High students pursue their love of all things German See Valorie’s story on page A-10
‘Scoop’ Remembering old-school newspaper reporter Bob Cunningham See Dr. Tumblin’s column on page A-7
FEATURED COLUMNIST JAKE MABE
How four teachers made a difference Chad Edwards says thanks, 50 years later See page A-6
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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.
As the nation reacts to the death of Osama Bin Laden, the terrorist leader responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the U.S., one local military family continues to cope with the death – and celebrate the life – of U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Frank D. Bryant Jr. “I couldn’t comment on that, it’s difficult at this time,” Bryant’s sister, Amie Whitworth, said of the Bin Laden announcement. “I’m not going to go there.” Bryant, 37, died April 27 at the Kabul International Airport, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in gunfire when an Afghan military trainee opened fire on Americans at the airport. Eight U.S. service members and one contractor were killed that day. Bryant was a native of Karns and graduated from Karns High School. He was assigned to the 56th Operations Group, Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., where he was described as “a member of our Luke family” there since August 2007 according to base officials. He was well known in the military as a veteran F-16 pilot who taught others. And before his time in the military, he was well known in Karns for his love of wrestling, his wit and his drive to accomplish his goals. “We’re devastated by the loss of Lt. Col. Frank Bryant,” said Brig. Gen. Jerry D. Harris, 56th Fighter Wing commander. Harris described Bryant as an “excellent pilot, wingman and airman. He excelled in everything he did and gave his life defending the
Norman says fire was ‘meant to send me a message’ By Betty Bean April 4 was unseasonably hot, with gusty winds up to 35 miles per hour. Around 10 a.m., a resident of Plumwood Road in West Haven noticed smoke billowing up from Tony Norman’s yard and called the Knoxville Fire Department. Before it was doused, the flames had climbed about 35 feet up a hickory tree, consumed a 15-foot section of a wooden privacy fence and destroyed a storage shed and its contents. The remains of a blue plastic Waste Connections container are puddled on the ground. Some small ornamental cedars closer to the house are badly, probably fatally, singed. Arson investigators told Norman and his wife, Jani, that the fire had been deliberately set, and although the damage was relatively minor, the “what ifs” were frightening. The property is heavily wooded, the fire not far from the wood-frame house. The Normans say the “whys” are disturbing as well. “I have a friend who was a private investigator who looked at it, and he said. ‘Obviously, somebody had been to your house at least twice (once to case property, once to set the fire).’ He
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week as a blur of media interviews and preparations for her brother’s military funeral. Due to Bryant’s high military profile, national news agencies in addition to local news outlets have called the family continuously requesting interviews. Whitworth said members of Bryant’s family, who still live in Knoxville, are traveling to the Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., for burial services there. But Bryant’s family and friends all over the country have found an outlet they can all plug into to share words of comfort – the Web. “Have you gone to Legacy.com?” Whitworth asked, adding that a family friend told her about the website full of more than 20 different comments and memorials dedicated to the fallen Air Force instructor. “Thank you, Frank, for fighting for my freedom,” writes friend Jennifer Brock Callais of Maryville. “You are my hero! Sadly missed but happily remembered. Blessings to your sweet family during this time.” Some notes are written to Bryant personally. “LTC Bryant, I had the honor of meeting you after you arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan,” writes Larry ZiKarns High School graduate and U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Frank D. Bryant Jr., 37, yad LeiBrock of Texas. “It was truly died April 27 in Kabul, Afghanistan. His leadership and contributions as a top an honor to have met you. Your love F-16 instructor are recognized nationwide. Photo submitted of your country, life and your family was clearly apparent. I am honored nation he served for 16 years.” “He was a senior officer there, to have served with you as a warrior “He went on so many missions and he won an award,” Whitworth here in Afghanistan, and my life is in the air, he was just teaching and said. “He was the top F-16 instruc- better for having known you. leading,” Whitworth said, describ- tor in the Air Force last year.” “May you find peace in knowing ing her brother as “pretty respected Whitworth, who now lives in you have touched many lives in this in the Air Force.” Morristown, described the last war.”
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The burnt fence on Norman’s property.
Tony Norman surveys the spot where someone set his property on fire. Photos by Ruth White said it was an amateurish job meant to send me a message.” The Normans hadn’t spoken publicly about the fire until a meeting of the West Knox County Council of Homeowners when Tony Norman was called upon to talk about the Hillside and Ridgetop Protection Plan, which County Commission rejected by a 6-5 vote at its April meeting. The slope protection plan is a joint city/county project developed over a threeyear period by a group of
volunteers and Metropolitan Planning Commission staffers. Norman is the cochair and the face of the plan, which would apply to slopes of 15 percent or more, prohibit development on 50 percent grades and impose stricter guidelines for clearing and grading on steep slopes. The plan would allow narrower roads and shorter setback requirements for higher elevations with incentives for developers to place ridgetops under conservation easements. It is unpopular with de-
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velopers, real estate interests and the Chamber of Commerce, and Norman has become a target of hate mail and Internet invective, which he says ramped up after Mayor Tim Burchett became a vocal critic of the plan. “A group of people and the Chamber decided this is not good for economic development,” Norman told the homeowners’ group. “In the end, the Chamber decided this needed to be killed, and they came up with their strategy to kill it.”
After Norman said that his wife and son would like to see him step back from the plan, Jani asked to be recognized. She said they have received “hate mail” and called the last few months “a horrible, horrible ordeal. “Three weeks before the vote, our property was set on fire. If we hadn’t had a Good Samaritan neighbor, 10 minutes later our house would have been set on fire.” City Council will be taking up the slope protection plan next, and Norman said he doesn’t plan to quit advocating for it. “This just makes me more determined,” he said.
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