VOL. 8 NO. 14
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IN THIS ISSUE How about that Career Magnet?
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Knox County Schools’ new Career Magnet Academy seeks the 8th-grader who can visualize post-high school work-life, not as a chemical engineer but as a homeland security or sustainability technician, whatever that even means. Anyone who has known (or been) an 8th-grader has cause to cringe, says Sandra Clark. See tour pictures on page A-5
This textured “landscape” showcases the work of Neranza Noel Blount and her work with beeswax.
New York to Knoxville Fashion, style, chic, vogue, it’s all here Spring in the latest edition of New York to Knoxville. Start spreadin’ the news ...
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Hardin Valley artist uses beeswax in ancient painting style
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Kathy Burrow is ‘retired’ volunteer Kathy Burrow got to know East Tennessee when she came to study at Maryville College, so when she and her husband, Norvell, a native Virginian, were thinking about retiring and leaving California, it wasn’t a strain to decide where to go.
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Read Coffee Break on page A-12
Grace students excel in musical When Marybeth Davis as Dorothy took the stage at Grace Baptist Church and sang the first few notes of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,”the audience sat in stunned silence. A diminutive Marybeth delivered the classic tune with absolute power and clarity.
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Read Nancy Anderson on page A-3
By Laura Cline For a Hardin Valley couple, spring means honeybee heaven. Artist Neranza Noel Blount and her husband, Don Sobsczak, have a farm that does double-duty, especially in the warm months. The farm doubles as both honeybee and encaustic artist paradise. Encaustic art, an ancient art method and medium, uses colored hot beeswax to paint on a variety of surfaces. The 15 hives located behind their house and maintained by Sobsczak, a beekeeper, this artist’s wax supply never runs dry. Five years ago, Blount didn’t know anything about encaustic art. “I was at the Knoxville Museum of Art, and I overheard people talking about art they saw at an international show in Miami. Someone mentioned encaustic art, and I was intrigued,” she said. “For one month, I read everything I could about it and watched videos. I was hooked.” Although the community of encaustic artists is growing today, this artistic medium has a long history. “The Egyptians figured
Central Baptist Church of Bearden recently hosted Tu Dia, or Your Day, an outreach to local Hispanic women. Held in conjunction with International Women’s Day, Tu Dia featured pampering, spiritual inspiration, crafts and education on health and family issues.
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Neranza Noel Blount works on a piece of encaustic art. Photos by Laura Cline
her artwork as a platform. “Even if my subject matter doesn’t have a bee in it, it gives me the opportunity to talk about the importance of honeybees. People don’t realize that pesticides put out during the day will kill the bees. It’s all about education. We must learn to live with the honeybees.” Blount learned the importance of living with the bees as a child. Her father, O.J. Blount, has been a beekeeper for 50 years and now lives in Southern Alabama. “My dad educated me about the importance of honeybees, so it seems like a natural progression to do it with my art.” Blount enjoys doing different art series that highlight a particu-
lar theme or cause. She has done, for instance, a series on plants helpful to the honeybees and a series entitled “Barely There” that promotes environmental awareness and responsibility. Additionally, Blount has donated art to various causes including a fundraiser organized by Community Television benefiting East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and the non-profit organization Random Acts of Flowers, which donates flowers to hospital and nursing home patients. Blount will be showcasing her art at the Dogwood Art DeTour April 12 and 13 and the 4th Annual Art in the Park in Farragut on April 26 and 27.
Patrols are adequate, says sheriff By Sandra Clark
Church serves community
out that wax could seal the water out of boats, and that it can also hold pigment. So they then started decorating their boats with it,” Blount said. Egyptians also used this method for tomb portraits. “They would paint a portrait of somebody in their prime. It would hang in their home, and then when they died, it would go on the outside of their tomb.” After getting exposure to this portrait style at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Blount added this method to her encaustic repertoire. “Encaustic is both the medium and the method,” said Blount. The artist uses a hot plate to heat the wax and then applies it to a surface. “You have to go fast,” she said. “When you pull it out of the hot plate, you only have about two seconds before it cools.” Blount can also use a heat gun to extend the amount of time to work with and manipulate the wax. “This is it for me. I just love it,” Blount said. Not only does the artist love the medium, but she also loves to use
Knox County Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones says he has all the patrol officers in neighborhoods that he can afford, that he’s almost doubled the count from January 2007 when he became sheriff, and that Bobby Waggoner knows better than to scare people about home safety.
Analysis Waggoner, who is challenging Jones in the May 6 Republican primary, earlier said neighborhood patrols are thin – fewer than 30 officers on a shift – and it’s a question of the sheriff’s priorities. The former chief of detectives promised more officers on patrol if he’s elected. In an interview last week, Jones said his office continuously monitors calls to allocate officers to areas of highest crime. “When I took over we had some 17 to 18 officers
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on (patrol) duty. Now it’s about 30.” Knox County outside the city (the Knoxville Police Department patrols inside the city) is divided into 12 zones with a patrol car assigned to each. Jones There is overlap during peak times (9 p.m. to midnight) and times of heavy traffic. Jones says response time is crucial, so he has fewer officers on patrol during the middle of the night when traffic is sparse. South Knox has two zones, East Knox has two, North has three plus Halls and West has three plus the town of Farragut. There are precinct stations in Halls and Farragut and “about 44 to 50 square miles in each zone,” Jones said. In addition to the patrol officers, other certified, gun-carrying officers are in the field, Jones said, especially during the day when
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ues to turn up the heat. He’s the most serious opponent Jones has faced since he was beaten by thenSheriff Tim Hutchison in the GOP Primary in 2002. He then refused to endorse Hutchison and worked for Attorney General Randy Nichols, a Democrat, before patching things up with Hutchison and returning to the sheriff’s office. Hutchison has endorsed Jones in this election. Waggoner said last week that Jones could spend more on patrol if he didn’t serve as a “retirement home for former county commissioners.” Waggoner said six of them work for Jones, costing the county about $170,000 per year. The six are: Greg “Lumpy” Lambert, Mark Cawood, Ivan Harmon, Larry Clark, Lee Tramel and Fred Flenniken. Four were on Knox County Commission when Jones was appointed to replace the term-limited Hutchison on the day now known as Black Wednesday. One was hired the next day, said Waggoner.
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civil and criminal warrants are served. “We have 220 officers (in addition to patrol) out in neighborhoods and in school zones. The men and women of the sheriff’s office do a great job.” Jones pegs Waggoner neighborhood safety as “8 to 8.5” on a 1-10 scale. “People feel safe because we work hard,” he said. “People don’t want to live in a neighborhood that’s crawling with cops. What people want is quick response – an officer there when they need one.” As to Waggoner’s criticism about “luxury SUVs,” Jones said his 4-wheel-drive vehicles were bought “straight off the state bid list and cost about $2,000 to $3,000 more than a regular police car.” He’s glad he had them during the snows of the past winter. “Vehicles are not a luxury item for law enforcement.” Meanwhile, Waggoner contin-
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