VOL. 9 NO. 24
BUZZ Lance Owens to perform at Beck Knoxville Jazz Festival and Beck Cultural Exchange Center will present Lance Owens and Friends in a concert celebration of his 92nd birthday at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, in the Beck Center auditorium, 1927 Dandridge Avenue. Admission is free. Lance Owens has been a staple on the local jazz scene since moving to Knoxville in 1948 to play tenor saxophone with the Illusionaires. Info: knoxjazzfest.org.
Fitness in Farragut The town of Farragut is offering Pilates, yoga and Zumba fitness classes beginning in July at the Farragut Town Hall. Yoga is offered 9-10 a.m. Tuesdays, July 14-Aug. 18. Instructor is Susie Hill; cost is $60. Pilates focuses on core muscles, spinal alignment and proper breathing. Instructor Simon Bradbury will offer the class from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, July 14-Aug. 25 (no class Aug. 11). Cost is $60. Zumba uses Latin music for a cardio workout. Classes are Mondays, July 27-Aug. 31 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. with instructor Karen McKinney. Cost is $45. Info: 218-3375.
IN THIS ISSUE Karen Carson in race for state rep School board member Karen Carson is a candidate for state representative from District 14, replacing Ryan Haynes who resigned to lead the state Republican Party. An Aug. 12 election favors a well-known and wellorganized candidate, writes Sandra Clark.
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Analysis on page A-4
June 17, 2015
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Karns Car Guys plan record show
Dustin Ford with a 1933 Ford Coupe, restored by Glenn Shabus, featuring suicide doors – so called as a nod to 1930s-era mobsters who exposed themselves to gunfire when the doors were open. Photos by Nancy Anderson
David Newman with his self-described pride and joy, a 1989 Corvette 6-speed.
By Nancy Anderson “My interest in cars started when I was about 6. I picked up a wrench, and I’ve never set it down since. I want to build cars that are loud and cool and custom,” says Dustin Ford, Karns Community Fair car show chair. “You know, something that turns heads. I just want to bring all that to the fair. We’re all about giving back to the community, and I believe in that 100 percent.” Six years strong, the Karns Car Guys – a group of 10-15 area car enthusiasts – are planning to fill the Karns High School parking lot
with more than 140 custom cars and motorcycles from antique to classic to hot rod to custom rolling works of art for the 2015 Karns Community Fair on July 25. Ford said he has gotten interest from a number of major car clubs such as Acrophobia, an international group; Muscle Car Ministries, a 200-member-strong Christian-based club; and Summer Knight Cruisers, a popular local group. The car show is expected to draw hundreds of new faces, breathing life into the fair’s attendance while raising funds for a
Karns community car enthusiasts Tammy Newman, David Newman, Dustin Ford and Chase Daniel surround a custom 1933 Ford Coupe. worthy cause. registration fees from the car show “We do at least one big show to Cedar Bluff Baptist Church’s a year to help out a need in the building fund. Karns Community, whether it be “Last year we had about 140 for a child, a family in need or a To page A-3 church. This year, we’ll donate the
Hardin Valley Middle School ahead By Sandra Clark Knox County school board member Terry Hill says the agreement reached last week between Mayor Tim Burchett and Superintendent Jim McIntyre will enable the school system to move forward with teacher raises and two new schools. “The facts and numbers absolutely support construction of a middle school at Hardin Valley,” Hill said. “I commend the commission for seeing the need.” Knox County Commission voted Monday to support the agreement hammered out between Burchett and McIntyre. It was a political win for both.
The agreement also must be approved by the school board. The board’s next regular meeting is 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, at the City County Building. Chair Mike McMillan said he won’t call a special meeting. Gibbs area residents have lobbied for a new school since the middle school students were moved out of Gibbs High School some 24 years ago and have been bused to Holston Middle School. Supporters argue that long trip has stifled growth in Gibbs and depressed real estate values. The agreement calls for the school system’s administrative offices to vacate the Andrew John-
son Building downtown. At Powell on Tuesday, Burchett called the AJ “17 stories of bureaucracy.” He wants the building back on the tax rolls. Burchett agreed to a one-time payment of $3 million so earned bonuses can be paid. In addition, teachers would get roughly two percent pay raise plus annual step increases. Construction of two middle schools will require rezoning, never a happy task. Knox County will oversee construction, through its purchasing department, with requests for design/build proposals. The agreement calls for “high-
quality, modern buildings” built to state standards with “every effort” made to meet local design standards. The agreement allows up to $34.5 million for the Hardin Valley project, with bonds to be repaid by the school system. McIntyre said that won’t require new funding because bonds issued for construction in the 1990s and early 2000s are paying out. Hill is hopeful that the schools can be constructed below budget. The school system will pay $21 million toward the Gibbs project with Knox County kicking in up to $9 million if needed.
New John Bean tape discovered By Betty Bean
Interns at Clinton The Shopper-News interns report from Clinton where they toured the Green McAdoo Cultural Center, Ray Varner Ford, Hammer’s and Hoskins Drug Store.
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The caller ID showed a Knox County government number when my phone rang last Monday morning, so I figured the call was going to be something that would put me to work. I was pleasantly surprised when the voice on the other end turned out to be that of Bradley Reeves of the Tennessee Archive of Moving Image and Sound (TAMIS). It’s always something good when Bradley calls, because he’s doing remarkable work down there in the bowels of the East Tennessee History Center where he and his wife, Louisa Trott, are preserving ephemeral pieces of our regional history and discovering forgot-
John Bean circa 1971, with his niece Rachael Schafer standing on a chair and his sister Jeanette behind him, giving him an extra set of arms. Photo by Albert Bean
ten gems. So I knew it was going to be good.
Maybe some heretofore-unknown Cas Walker stuff? Some old newsreel nobody knew existed? But when he said he suspected that he’d found a brand new John Bean tape, it almost blew me out of my chair. After all, my brother died 31 years ago, long before his crazy prank calls and off-kilter humor made him the Whupass Man – AKA LeRoy Mercer, the Rev. Raleigh Arnwine, Charlie Strawfields and Bill Morgan from just this side of Maynardville and the guy who bought the bad oil filter from Eddie Harvey and the bad boots from Thom McCan. Yeah, that guy. The one who wrote a love song to his home state called “Tennessee,” that, as sung by Con Hunley, joined the list of state
songs four years ago. Bradley recently acquired a trove of audio and video recordings from another local character, Carl Warner, who worked in radio, TV and print media for about 20 years, beginning in the mid-sixties, and is moving to California to live with his son. He was a reporter at Channel 10 and served as editor of Cas Walker’s “Watchdog.” He ran unsuccessfully for state senate against Victor Ashe in 1978 and challenged incumbent Ashe to a fistfight. When asked if he remembers Warner, Ashe said, “How could I forget him? He slugged me.” Among Warner’s stuff To page A-3
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