VOL. 8 NO. 24
IN IN THIS THIS ISSUE ISSUE
A Day with the Lions in Karns Lions Clubs from across East Tennessee met for a day of fun, food and fellowship in Karns on June 7. Members of the East Tennessee district of Lions Club International sponsors “A Day with the Lions” every year to raise money for Lions-sponsored programs. For pictures from the funfilled day, turn the page.
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Read Nancy Anderson on page A-3
Basketball is now a summer sport
Donnie Tyndall generated so much excitement with his remarkable recruiting roundup, a spur-of-the-moment thing, that basketball is suddenly a summer sport. People who didn’t know there was a Rocky Top League are now asking about rosters and schedules. Youngsters wonder if there has ever been anything like this outburst of enthusiasm.
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Read Marvin West on page A-5
Alexander, Corker differ on bills
Tennessee’s Republican senators split on two important votes last week, leaving little doubt which is currently running for reelection. Sen. Lamar Alexander voted for a bill to allow veterans to avoid VA hospitals under certain conditions, while Sen. Bob Corker said it would add $35 billion to the deficit.
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Read Sandra Clark on page A-12
Interns return for summer fun
Lies, awesome apple butter and more lies highlighted a visit to the J.C. Baker Lodge when WATE-TV news anchor Gene Patterson dropped by to video some authentic country cooking. Shopper-News interns came along to watch a real television production. Patterson made everyone feel at ease, and Joe McDonald fired up the oven with some “homemade” biscuits from Food City. Making apple butter is a four-hour process, Don Bridges explained. Luckily, members of the Apple Butter Brothers had arrived early, and the pot was bubbling to the perfect consistency. The interns got plastic spoonfuls of the mixture, straight from the kettle. “Is this hot?” asked one. Yikes!
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Read more on pages A-8 to 9
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Spell home K-n-o-x-v-i-l-l-e
Adult d l speller ll b brings competition to town By Laura Cline
A marriage of math and words works well for Scott Firebaugh. The Grace Christian Academy high-school math teacher loves studying words and participating in spelling competitions. The Firebaughs’ Cedar Bluffarea home, with its impressive collection of spelling trophies, speaks to the entire family’s enjoyment of and success in spelling bees. Firebaugh says there are many similarities between math and words. “I approach words and language in a systematic way. A lot of spellers like math, and both math and spelling share that systematic approach. I’ve always liked studying words and their patterns,” he says. This star speller’s love for words started early. “When I was in third grade, my brother won the school bee his eighth-grade year and made it to the regionals. I wanted to try to beat his record,” says Firebaugh. This friendly spirit of competition among brothers gave Firebaugh the drive to study and improve his skills. “I don’t know that I had a special aptitude for spelling. It was more just something that I could compete in. I remember going to Florida with my family in second and third grades and studying on the Greyhound bus there and back.” In 1967, his eighth-grade year, Firebaugh’s hard work paid off. “That year I got second in the county, won the regional bee and then went to Washington, D.C., for the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I came in 16th place. In the 12th round, I missed the word “pasigraphy” because I spelled it P-A-CI, like the Pacific Ocean.” Firebaugh did not compete in spelling bees for years, leaving the tradition to be picked up by his daughters: Sara, Stephanie and Stacia. They all competed during their school years, going to the Scripps National Spelling Bee four times. In 2005, Firebaugh got back
Scott Firebaugh holds his trophy from the local adult spelling bee while sporting his spelling T-shirt. Photos submitted
into the ring. “When I heard about adult spelling bees, I went back to the dictionary and began to study again,” he says. Preparation for these competitions was anything but child’s play. “I had a list of 7,000 words to study, and I would study about 100 words a day.” His training also involved working through a dictionary containing about 100,000 words. His efforts paid off again in 2010 when he won first place in the National Senior Spelling Bee in Cheyenne, Wyo. Now Firebaugh is taking his love of spelling bees to a new level. For the past year, he has been working to bring the National Senior Spelling Bee competition to Knoxville. On July 12, he can spell success: The competition will be held at the Knoxville Convention
Contestants at the 2013 National Senior Spelling Bee included Mike Petrina, Scott Firebaugh and winner Tony Johnson. This year’s competition will be in Knoxville. Center for the first time. Cheyenne had been home to the nationals since the competition’s 1996 beginnings, but 2013 was its last year to host. That was when spellers from across the nation approached Firebaugh about keeping the bee alive. “They asked if I could keep the tradition going, and I said I’d do my best.” Unlike the student competition, there are no state or regional requirements needed to enter the adult bee. Recruiting for the event is now Firebaugh’s focus. Anyone 50 years or older can compete. Firebaugh says it is a great activity
for seniors. “It’s fun, exciting and good for your brain. There’s also good camaraderie among participants, and you might win $1,000,” he says. Awards include $1,000 for first place, $500 for second, $300 for third and $200 for fourth. Firebaugh is hoping to have at least 20 spellers on July 12. “Right now, we have 15 signed up. This could be a recurring event here in Knoxville, but it depends on the success of this year.” Entry fee is $40 if registered by June 30 and $50 after. Info and registration: nationalseniorspellingbee.com.
Burchett gears up consolidated government push By Betty Bean Supporters of combining city and county governments tried and failed to get it done in 1959, 1978 and 1983 before launching a high-dollar, go-forbroke 1996 attempt that ended as the most embarrassing Tim Burchett failure of all. Tommy Schumpert, then county mayor and a unification supporter, predicted it would be 15 or 20 years before anybody tried it again, if ever. And he figured it might take some kind of crisis to trigger such an attempt. Eighteen years later, after multiple county scandals – from a series of term limits and sunshinelaw violations that led to “Black Wednesday,” to the indictments of two consecutive elected trustees – a new unification movement is emerging, this time from a different direction than the usual busi-
ness elites who have been met with suspicion by county residents. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett sees benefits from unification and seems determined to avoid the failures of the past. The popular Republican is running unopposed for reelection and appears ready to make unified government the “big idea” of his second term. He’s been dropping public hints and engaging in oneon-one discussions about it for months. “Just don’t call it metro,” he said, drawing a distinction between his plan and Metro Nashville, which combined its city and county governments in 1963. It’s governed by a 40-member metro council. The top cop is appointed, and the elected sheriff is a glorified jailor. Burchett wants to blunt the opposition of city employees, who fought the 1996 referendum. He calls the Knoxville Fire Department “one of the best in the country.” He strongly supports keeping
the elected sheriff as the top cop. But his biggest talking point is saving money. He cites duplication in parks and recreation, human resources and tax collection among others. He doesn’t foresee wholesale firings and thinks city and county staffs could be combined and trimmed through attrition and retirements. He works well with city Mayor Madeline Rogero whose chief policy officer, Bill Lyons, said Rogero will gladly talk about unification. “We are always interested in finding ways to deliver quality service at a lower cost. However, Mayor Rogero has not yet had discussions with Mayor Burchett on this matter.” The animosity between Sheriff Tim Hutchison, who opposed unification, and Mayor Victor Ashe, who supported it, proved insurmountable in 1996. Neither holds office today, and Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones is a former KPD employee who has populated his command staff with KPD retirees.
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Lyons, a consultant and pollster in the failed 1996 unification attempt, says combining the two governments won’t be easy, despite a friendlier political climate. He’s not sure what happened before, but “we do know that it has never won outside the city.” Ashe said it could be even harder to sell unification to city voters this time around. “Even though Tim and Madeline appear to get along, they are totally opposite on almost everything. … Why would (city residents) vote to have a less progressive government that won’t ever vote to raise taxes?” Burchett is undeterred. “We’ve got to get the discussion started,” he said. “It’s not something you just say and it happens. You have to have a lot of community input. If the community decides it wants to continue with duplication of services, then, we’ll stay on this road. But if they realize there’s a problem, this might resolve it.”
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