VOL. 11 NO. 8
www.ShopperNewsNow.com |
FIRST WORDS
Opportunity for whom?
February 22, 2017
www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow
Flying High in Hardin Valley
By Lauren Hopson
By Margie Hagen
Tennessee legislators have recently rebranded private school vouchers as “opportunity scholarships.” Vouchers have undergone this transformation Hopson in the hope that unsuspecting taxpayers will forget what they are, but also because they provide real opportunities for poor, minority students to escape underperforming schools in their neighborhood, right? How is this accomplished? A poor minority student in a community far from here, let’s say Memphis, has suffered through the effects of fetal drug addiction. His mother, now in recovery, hopes to improve his chances of success by moving him out of his zoned school, which the state has branded as failing. His teachers work hard, but she fears the influence of his peers with similar issues may be too much to overcome. She accepts an opportunity scholarship with hopes of sending him to an excellent private school. However, the private school of her choice charges tuition substantially in excess of the scholarship. She can’t afford to make up the difference, and pay for books, uniforms and transportation. Consequently, she elects to send him to another private school that gladly accepts the scholarship as payment in full. The school doesn’t provide the special education services needed to deal with the fallout of her son’s fetal addiction, but it’s a private school, so it must be better, right? He struggles without those much-needed supports, and his mother is ultimately forced to return him to public school, where those services are guaranteed by law. Other parents, similarly disillusioned with the “opportunity,” follow suit. But wait, private schools backers were promised an increased enrollment by legislators. Maybe the scholarships need to be expanded to regular education students who can afford to make up the tuition difference. Never mind that this plan has had disastrous effects on public education in other states. Our private school backers need the “opportunity” to make more money, so let’s give our taxpayers the “opportunity” to fund those private schools.
For the Knox County Radio Control club, it’s the love of flying that keeps them soaring. Chartered by the Academy of Model Aeronautics, the club has operated its own air strip in west Hardin Valley since 1973. Think model planes, helicopters, drones and even jet fueled turbines. A dedicated membership of about 80 gather monthly to share tips about the finer points of flying. In good weather they gather at their field on Williams Bend Road for camaraderie and the sheer fun of flying their aircraft. Most club members volunteer time and money to keep membership costs low and foster education. Performing community benefit shows is another way they give back. Both ORNL and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have used the field for testing and to conduct training. Unmanned aircraft have come a long way. “In the old days, beginners used to crash a lot of planes,” said Rick Thompson, current president. “The technology is unbelievable now. We have ‘buddy boxes’ with dual controls that allow instructors to take control if a novice pilot gets in trouble. With auto-leveling and bail-out features you learn to fly and land without wrecking your plane.”
NEWS News@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark – 865-661-8777 Sarah Frazier – 865-342-6622 ADVERTISING SALES Ads@ShopperNewsNow.com 865-342-6084 Amy Lutheran | Patty Fecco Beverly Holland | Mary Williamson CIRCULATION 844-900-7097 knoxvillenewssentinel@gannett.com
Video Tape to DVD cial
Spe
A Mustang plane hovers over the field. submitted
Showing the scale of the Skybolt plane
Photos
To page A-3
Jim Scarbrough gets ready to fly his Ryan STA model plane.
Smith could head business club; Thurman talks litter By Sandra Clark Former Knox County Commissioner R. Larry Smith is the nominee for president of the North West Knox Business & Professional Association. The election will be 6 p.m. Thursday, March 16, at the Karns Community Club Center, 7708 Oak Ridge Smith Thurman Highway. Other officers nominated at ett, secretary; and Roger Kane, the Feb. 16 meeting are: Spencer treasurer. Lunch was from Bella Gross, vice president; Alisa Pru- Roma.
Drew Thurman talked about litter. “Roadside litter is getting worse,” he said. “It’s unfathomable to me why people throw out waste on the road.” Thurman works with the division of solid waste for Knox County. He said litter has worsened since the Legislature changed the punishment for DUI offenders. Effective July 1, 2016, the offenders must spend 48 hours in jail; previously they served 24 hours
in jail and did 24 hours of mandatory litter pickup. “Now we’re relying on voluntary community service and are competing with Young-Williams and others (for workers).” The Karns trash and recycling center is under-used, he said. “We’ve moved it off of Oak Ridge Highway for safety; we increased the number of compactors and added all recycling services including a Goodwill dropoff.”
Brooks goes to bat for utility customers By Sandra Clark State Rep. Harry Brooks has slipped on a three-cornered hat and gone to war over taxation without representation. Brooks wants consumers to be represented on utility boards, such as KUB.
Analysis “We want some level of representation for the folks served by the utility,” he said. His bill (HB 0269/SB 0684 by Ken Yager) was slated to be heard Feb. 21 in a subcommittee of the House Business and Utilities committee. In an interview last week, Brooks anticipated amendments and promised a more comprehensive explanation after that hearing. This bill will draw lobbyists like flies to honey. Utilities are iceberg
$10.95 Fleetwood
archiving . designing . framing . printing
(865)584-4554
65 0 4 Ki n g st o n P i ke Kn ox v i l l e , T N 37 9 1 9 www. f leet woodphot o.com
INCLUDES VHS - VHSC - 8MM 10 TAPE MINIMUM . PREPAID ONLY . $17.95 IF LESS THAN 10 TAPES . STANDARD PRICING $29.95
governments – operating mostly out of sight with autonomy to set rates for vital services. Some charge more for the same service to customers who live outHarry Brooks side the municipal boundaries. Many have buy-out provisions and pensions for top execs to rival athletic departments; often they co-opt the very commissioners chosen to oversee them with benefits like health insurance and trips to tradeshows. Godspeed, Brooks and Yager.
Partisan elections State Rep. “Landslide Eddie” Smith has introduced a bill to require municipal elections in cities 100,000 or larger and all of the state’s school boards to be parti-
ADDICTED TO
san. His bill (HB1039/SB0582 by Delores Gresham) allows political parties to nominate candidates. Leaving the cities to fend for themselves, let’s assume this bill is a reaction to Knox County’s last two school board elections. Fed up with S up e r i nt e nde nt Eddie Smith Jim McIntyre’s high-handed treatment of teachers (among other things), several educators mounted successful campaigns: Patti Bounds, Terry Hill and Amber Rountree in 2014; Tony Norman, Jennifer Owen and Susan Horn in 2016. Suddenly, Mike McMillan found allies while Lynne Fugate and Gloria Deathridge saw their former majority eroded. McIntyre resigned. Would partisan elections have
PAIN PILLS?
TIRED OF DAILY DOSING? OUR DOCTORS WILL HELP! OUTPATIENT APPOINTMENTS
865-882-9900 EHCMedical.com
prevented McIntyre’s woes? Doubtful. McMillan and Norman had previously won election to county commission as Republicans; Bounds and Hill are long-time Republicans; Horn had solid support in Farragut where she was active in the campaign of Republican state Rep. Jason Zachary. Political allegiances are less clear for Rountree and Owen, but Owen represents District 2, a toss-up area previously represented on the commission by Democrat Amy Broyles. So the anti-McIntyre majority is firm – with or without partisan elections. If Smith’s bill passes, however, it could have the unintended consequence of getting education activists involved in partisan politics at the district level … and their next election just might be to run for the Legislature.
REGISTER EARLY for 2017-2018 2 Day, 3 Day, 5 Day Classes for 3 & 4 year olds
Before and after school care for enrolled students until 6:00pm. Small teacher-to-student ratio • Reasonable tuition
WEST END KINDERGARTEN – 5 DAYS A state-approved kindergarten class
We Care – Since 1969
8301 E. Walker Springs Lane Knoxville, TN 37923
Same location for 48 years KN-1474442
CALL 690 - 0900