VOL. 8 NO. 30
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Kids
When Sophie Thompson is asked why she donated her hair to Locks of Love, her big expressive brown eyes search the corners of the room. “Well, for a lot of reasons,” replies the rising third-grader at Cedar Bluff Elementary School thoughtfully. First of all, “my hair was too long and mom just wanted it cut.” But she wanted to have it cut for Locks of Love because “they turn it into a wig for people who caught that cancer.” And someone very near and dear to Sophie was affected that way. “Grammy had it.” Don’t miss this story and more in My Kids.
Community Fair officials face difficult parade decision By Nancy Anderson
There were more than a few frowns and considerable grumbling on Saturday before the start of the 61st annual Karns Community Fair Parade. In the end, parade participants marched to the beat of a different drummer – and a shorter route, but the parade did go on. Fair organizers received bad news just a few hours before the scheduled start of the parade, said Fair Board president Rodney Pointer. The excitement over a longer route this year – scheduled to travel from Grace Baptist Church along Oak Ridge Highway to Walgreens – was doused when the Knox County Sheriff’s Office advised Pointer that there were not enough officers available to accommodate the longer route. Pointer said he had obtained approval in March. On Friday, however, Pointer said the sheriff’s office gave him the option of shortening the route with officers there to manage traffic or continue along the planned route with no
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Credibility “It’s tough to balance the interests of good people holding public office with the public’s right to know and question relevant matters. “And it falls to a newspaper’s editor to decide what to print and when to print it.”
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Read Sandra Clark on page A-4
Donaldson under fire from all sides “The major unreported news this week is the letter signed by numerous neighborhood leaders in both the city and county calling for the departure of Mark Donaldson as head of Metropolitan Planning Commission.”
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Read Victor Ashe on page A-5
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Closing sidewalk link
Knox County road crews will close the missing sidewalk link at the intersection of Cedar Bluff Road and Middlebrook Pike with County Commission’s approval of the funds to acquire rightof-way, slope and construction easements on property fronting the shopping center containing businesses including Aubrey’s, Walgreen’s and Gondolier. The gap is probably about 600 feet, most of it in rightof-way. Dwight Van de Vate, director of Public Works and Engineering, said the work should commence later this year and will cost around $75,000 that will come from “our limited funds to do sidewalk construction.”
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After a rocky start, it was up to the clowns to bring smiles to the Karns Community Fair Parade. “Slick,” from the Kerbela Motor Corps, did his job well. Photo by Nancy Anderson
To page A-3
Connor Road bridge work to start next month By Betty Bean If all goes as planned, there will be a bigger, safer, two-lane Connor Road bridge over Bull Run Creek by January 2015. County Commission was set to approve a $991,755.58 contract with Charles Blalock and Sons Inc. for the bridge replacement at its July meeting, clearing the way for construction to begin in August. The old single-lane Connor Road bridge structure is one of a handful of bridges in Knox County rated in poor condition by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. “Right now, we see a 150-day time frame for completion,” said Jim Snowden, deputy director of Knox County Engineer ing and Public Works. “The existing bridge is one lane, and you can’t see it until you’re
right up on it. “The new bridge will be a two-lane bridge with much better approaches and an improved sight line.” The condition of the bridge makes Knox County eligible for a federal grant for bridge construc-
tion, administered by the Tennessee Department of Transportation, which includes $91,160 to be reimbursed to Hallsdale Powell Utility District for relocation of water lines. Eighty percent of the bridge’s
total cost will be funded from Federal Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program funds. Knox County will be responsible for 20 percent of the cost (an estimated $180,119.12, funded in the current budget).
County plugs away at north-to-west corridor By Betty Bean The long-awaited north-towest corridor first proposed during the administration of Tommy Schumpert comes a step closer to reality with County Commission’s approval of a $146,000 contract for professional engineering services to Robert G. Campbell & Associates for an updated survey, bridge design, environmental per-
mitting and construction plans for Phase II of the Schaad Road Project (Middlebrook Pike to Ball Road). “This was something that originated with Mr. Schumpert in ’97 or ’98,” said Engineering and Public Works deputy director Jim Snowden. “The preliminary plans were completed in 2001 or 2002 and the right-of ways were ac-
quired in 2004-05. The first phase on the east end at Oak Ridge Highway and extending west was completed in 2007. This current fiscal year, there’s construction money for Phase II.” This leg of the connector will extend two miles eastward. Phase III of the connector will be the To page A-10
Burchett not happy with new Beck director By Betty Bean Last week, the board of directors of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center chose independent consultant Renee Kesler as its new executive director. She was elected by a 9-2 vote after an executive committee selected her from a pool of candidates for the position. Kesler resigned Renee Kesler under fire in 2006 after a lengthy investigation into personnel and grant issues in the city’s department of community development, which she headed.
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Board chair Sam Anderson said he’s comfortable with this decision, but Kesler’s hiring is not sitting well with Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, who has tangled over budget matters with Beck’s leadership in the past. “I’m gravely concerned. We’ve had some issues with the leadership and the bookkeeping at Beck, and we’ll just have to see what kind of relationship we’ll have going forward,” Burchett said, adding that he believes the Beck Center is “grossly underutilized.” The Beck Center is at 1927 Dandridge Ave. in the former home of the late James Garfield Beck and Ethel Benson Beck, who were
leading African-American educators and entrepreneurs. The Beck Center has been renovated and expanded in the past decade and contains extensive collections of history and artifacts of East Tennessee’s African-American community as well as a large meeting hall and space for children and others to access computers and tutoring services. The Beck Center is slated to receive $25,000 each from the city and county (a total of $50,000) this fiscal year. Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero (who replaced Kesler as the city’s community development director in 2007) was more positive in tone than Burchett:
“The Beck Center is a community treasure for all of Knoxville. Its archives hold materials of great historical and cultural significance, and the city is committed to supporting its mission and future growth. On personnel matters, we respect the decisions of the Beck Center board of directors, and we will continue to work with the board and staff.” The Beck Center saw its county funding slashed from $150,000 to $12,000 in 2011, the first budget prepared by Burchett. The center’s founder and heartbeat, Robert Booker, has been serving as interim director. Fundraising is one of the executive director’s primary duties.
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