VOL. 8 NO. 26 NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Beasley is national champ Brooke Beasley of Karns High School earned first place in physical therapy at the HOSA National Leadership Conference, according to Carolyn Greenwood on Beasley “I Love Karns” blog. “Brooke’s trip to nationals was partially supported by the Karns Community Club,” she reported. HOSA is a national student organization (originally called Health Occupations Students of America) recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Education Division of the Association for Career and Technical Education.
Weddington to visit Knoxville Democratic Women of Knoxville’s 12th annual Women of Faith Luncheon will be 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 12, at The Foundry, World’s Fair Park. The featured speaker, Texas lawyer Sarah Weddington, successfully argued the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade at age 26. She is believed to be the youngest person ever to win a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Tickets are $40, and reservations may be made by contacting president Betty Reddick at 865-525-5580 or jsrdk@aol.com.
IN THIS ISSUE Tribute to Baker Victor Ashe pays tribute to the late Sen. Howard H. Baker Jr., whose election in 1966 launched the modern day Republican Party in Tennessee. Ashe was there, serving as a staff assistant for Baker and then winning his own first election to the state House of Representatives in 1968 at age 23.
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Read Victor Ashe on page A-4
Coyote alert! Carol Zinavage writes about the plague of coyotes in rural and even suburban parts of Knox County. What they’re after and how you can protect your kids and small animals from the predators.
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Read Carol Zinavage on page A-5
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STEM camp pushes for that scientific
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Ball Camp Elementary School teacher Paul Smith explains to campers how the “Bungee Jumping Dinosaur” experiment works. Photos by Bonny C. Millard
By Bonny C. Millard There were lessons to be learned from bungee-jumping dinosaurs at the Two Blues STEM Camp last week at Hardin Valley Academy. The dinosaurs taught campers about science and engineering, math and its applications, robotics and technology, and health and nutrition. Never seen a bungee-jumping dinosaur? Ball Camp Elementary School teacher Paul Smith showed the kids how to attach a long rubber band to a plastic dinosaur and push it over the railing of a staircase at the Hardin Valley school, the location of this year’s summer camp.
“We’re giving them real world applications,” he said. “It gets kids looking at science and math as fun at an earlier age.” Smith partnered with Hardin Valley STEM Academy math teacher Jerri Parker to modify the lesson plan in a way that elementary age students could understand. With each drop from the staircase rail, the students measured the distance before adding another rubber band, and repeating the exercise. They used a total of 10 rubber bands on each dinosaur. Smith said the experiment teaches campers different concepts about falling objects and how size and other factors influence the dis-
During snack time at Two Blues STEM Camp, Rhys Vincil groups the different colors of Skittles.
tance the objects fall. “This is my third year working with this camp, and the kids really enjoy it,” Smith said. In past years, two separate camps have been held: one at Farragut High School and one at Hardin Valley STEM Academy, said Debbie Sayers, who was formerly at Hardin Valley and accepted an administrative position at Far-
ragut last year. George Ashe, the STEM Academy principal at Hardin Valley, and Sayers had coordinated the camp at Hardin Valley each year while Farragut held its own. This year, they decided to combine the two. The name comes from the fact that one of the school To page A-3
Knox loses grant for Plumb Creek Park By Betty Bean Knox County has forfeited a $300,00 state grant plus $100,000 from Randy Boyd for a dog park at the 32-acre Plumb Creek Park off Hickey Road just south of Lovell Road. Doug Bataille, director of Parks and Recreation, confirmed last week that the county missed its deadline on a state Recreational Trails grant acquired in 2011. The grant required construction to begin within six months. When that didn’t happen the funds reverted to the state and Knox County would have to reapply. Michael Grider of Mayor Tim Burchett’s office said $300,000 was put into the county’s capital budget for the Plumb Creek project. “There is no intention not to
complete the park,” he said. Knox County paid the architectural firm Barge Waggoner Sumner Cannon $6,240 to develop plans for the park in 2009. The project was launched under Mayor Mike Ragsdale. The county was unable to meet its deadline, said Bataille, because of problems at Clayton Park in Halls. Back in 2009, the MPC-produced Knoxville Knox County Park, Recreation, Greenway Plan said this about the Plumb Creek Community Park: “This former KUB-owned property (approximately 32 acres) should be developed as a community park, providing multiuse fields and playgrounds, natural area conservation and a multipurpose trail.”
In 2011, a Knox County press release announced that County Commission had greenlighted the money for the Plumb Creek Loop and a greenway at Clayton Park. The Plumb Creek Loop was to be a mile-long track. PetSafe CEO Randy Boyd committed to building a dog park there, as well, and Bataille believes Boyd will honor that pledge when the park is underway. “Both of these greenway projects will increase the quality of life for Knox County’s residents,” said Mayor Tim Burchett. “We have a strong park system, and it is important that we continue to focus on maintaining our existing park properties and ensuring that they are great places for families to spend time together.” But three years later, little
progress has been made on these projects, and time has run plumb out on Plumb Creek’s state grant. The county has three months to fi x legal problems with Doug Bataille associated Clayton Park before that grant expires. What’s the hold-up? It’s not just one thing, said Bataille, who cited turnover in the greenway director’s position and legal difficulties with easements for the Halls trail as factors in slowing down the development process. He said the Halls project needs to get done before the county can proceed with work on the Plumb Creek Loop.
Greenway from Knox to Oak Ridge By Sandra Clark Walkers, bikers and general fitness buffs crowded a room at Pellissippi State to mark on maps and talk about greenways. And while there’s no funding (yet) for their ideas, last week’s meeting united people with similar interests. Suddenly, the idea of linking West Knox to Oak Ridge via greenways seemed both logical and possible. The brainstorming session was coordinated by the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and the Great Smoky Mountains Regional Greenway Council. Facilitators were
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Don Kostelec and Kimberly Williams from Equinox Environmental Consultation & Design Inc., based in Asheville, N.C. The two conducted a meeting for business owners along proposed sites earlier in the day. Organizers hope to identify routes for linking three greenway segments: ■ the 10 Mile Creek Greenway in West Knoxville and West Knox County ■ the Pellissippi Greenway in West Knox County ■ the Melton Lake Greenway in Oak Ridge. Jim Wiggins touted the success
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of greenway activists in Maryville and Alcoa. “They used the flood plains creatively. That should be a model. Stay away from roads and follow natural features such as a creek. “Instead of following Pellissippi Parkway, we should follow Beaver Creek,” Wiggins said. Will Skelton, a lawyer who has visioned and built more greenways than anyone in the room (except maybe former city greenway coordinator Donna Young), said property owners are resistant to opening their land. And a majority of the land along Beaver Creek is private.
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Williams agreed, saying that while many businesses are interested, liability is a concern. One participant said he commutes from Oak Ridge to Knoxville via bike. “It’s easy going in but I have to cross the double lanes of Pellissippi Parkway coming home.” Kostelec said a bicyclist will choose to bike based on the worst point of the trail. He projected five to six months to process information gathered at the hearings and return with drawings and options. Info: ellen.zavisca@knoxtrans. org, 215-4014 or http://knoxtrans. org/plans/greenway.htm
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