VOL. 8 NO. 8
IN THIS ISSUE WHERE the
JOBS ARE Unity gets new owner
In our quest to discover “where the jobs are,” we found a homegrown business that has provided jobs along with compassionate community service for 35 Dr. L.C. Powell years. We also found an indomitable woman with an inspiring story. Come along.
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The oldest Democratic women’s club in America is throwing itself a party. The Knox County Democratic Women’s Club, established March 28, 1928, will celebrate its 85th anniversary year 6:30 Saturday, March 8, at the Southern Depot, in conjunction with Women’s History Month. The public is invited and descendants of charter members will be there. There will be music, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. It’s not a costume party, but period attire will be welcome. Read Betty Bean on page A-4
Spring sports No doubt you are delighted, perhaps even bubbling over, with the coming of spring sports at the University of Tennessee. What, you hadn’t even thought of Volunteer track, baseball, tennis or golf? These are the fun and games funded by football and donations. Please mark your calendar. Enjoy.
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Read Marvin West on page A-5
Karns Fair Board starts planning Karns Fair Board president Rodney Pointer led his first meeting last week, starting planning for the annual parade and fair. Pointer wants to have the best fair ever and to have a good time pulling it off. He’s looking for people to organize competitive exhibits, commercial booths and the parade.
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The case of the
February 24, 2014
www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow pp
migrating headstone
It is a mystery worthy of Sherlock Holmes. Members of the Karns History Club heard all about the headstone of Mary Sivley, wife of Absalom, at last week’s meeting. Robert McGinnis, a local historian with a passion for old cemeteries, brought the headstone and its unusual history to the meeting. Despite being in possession of the headstone, McGinnis would not make Sherlock’s list of suspects. For more on the “migrating headstone,” see page A3. Photo by Nancy Anderson
Read Sandra Clark on page A-11
Dem women prepare to party
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Read Nancy Anderson on page A-3
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Aviation Academy offers backstage look at
Knox airport
By Betsy Pickle Amid all the discussion and controversy over schools in Knox County, there’s one that gets As from everyone who’s been involved with it. The Aviation Academy at McGhee Tyson Airport is an acclaimed, groundbreaking endeavor that has become a model for programs across the country. And it takes only five days to graduate! The Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority is accepting applications through March 14 for the program, which runs on five consecutive Wednesday evenings April 23 through May 21. “This will be our third class,” says Becky Huckaby, the authority’s vice president of public relations. “The Aviation Academy was created during the year the airport was celebrating its 75th anniversary. “We were looking for ways to help bring the public in and interact with the facility, instead of just thinking of our building as a place where people come to take a trip or to rent a car or to pick someone up. We wanted people to know about the people who work here, about the significant operations that go into keeping the facility open and also what kind of impact we have
Class members get up close to an engine.
Aviation Academy participants examine a military helicopter at McGee Tyson Airport. Photos submitted
just being in the community. The academy is free, but there because we’re taking them behind “We had such wonderful mo- is a rigorous screening process the scenes and taking them into ments with the people who par- for applicants. areas of the airport that the genticipated (the first year), we opted “They have to go through a to make this an annual program.” background-clearance process To page A-3
Opting out: Parent says K-2 testing harms daughter By Betty Bean Jennifer Nagel’s 7-year-old daughter spent her snow days reading a book. That might not sound like a big deal, but to Nagel, it’s almost miraculous because reading has been an ordeal for her daughter, who has an undiagnosed learning disability. Nagel says her daughter’s teacher has been very helpful, but the school system has not. So she started looking for solutions on her own. Almost by accident, she found a critically acclaimed series of books co-written by actor Henry Winkler and the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity for and about dyslexic kids – who knew the Fonz has a master’s degree from Yale, and dyslexia? As of last week, Nagel’s daughter is halfway through a book
Jennifer Evans Nagel
Photo by Betty Bean
about a resourceful dyslexic boy named Hank Zipzer, printed with a special font designed for dyslexics, who frequently have problems with letters that seem to float
ALL-INCLUSIVE
around the page. Nagel says her daughter has finally found joy in reading, no thanks to Knox County Schools. Knox County Schools director of Student Support Services Melissa Massie said she cannot comment on Nagel’s daughter’s situation and is not familiar with the Winkler books. “But we have a number of interventions that look at multisensory approaches (for learning disabilities),” Massie said. Back in December, Nagel, who is PTA president at Amherst Elementary School, fought back tears as she stood at the lectern and told the school board how her youngest daughter is being affected by the 17 district-mandated tests she has to take during the school year. Once a happy child, she’s now anxious and
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overwhelmed by her struggles with a yet-undiagnosed reading disorder, Nagel said. “She hates school because she thinks she is stupid,” Nagel said, calling the K-2 Assessment (formerly known as SAT 10) “a test that is set up for her to fail.” She expressed frustration at what she sees as the school system’s inflexibility, And because of the difficulties her child had as a 1st-grader, Nagel says she will not subject her to the K-2 Assessment again this year. “My daughter has been struggling since kindergarten, saying there’s something wrong. She couldn’t get phonics, and that’s all they taught. I kept saying she needs more help, but they just
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