Real Andy Holt ➤
VOL. 11 NO. 16
FIRST WORDS Homey stay or animal house next door? By Nick Della Volpe The hot zoning topic these days is about the potential benefits and problems of Short Term Rentals (STR), more commonly referred to as AirBNBs. These include stays at a residence for a Della Volpe short weekend up to a 30-day rental. To judge by comments at the city’s April 4 neighborhood meeting to discuss the draft regulations, this is all the rage among new homesteaders interested in owning and rehabbing older neighborhood homes for such business. They argue that short-term rentals can help raise funds needed for the rehab, or to support a more leisurely lifestyle in semi-retirement. Tough questions need to be explored before Knoxville will have answers and a workable set of STR regulations. First among them is: What will this do to established single-family neighborhoods? Will this introduce a business element into bedroom communities, where residents count on quiet streets and the welcome nosiness of neighbors to keep tabs on strangers in the area and the potential for criminal activity brewing down the block? Does such commercial conduct portend the gradual breakdown of traditional zoning that separates business activity from residential – sort of mixed-use activity gone riot? Administration officials conducting the meeting also expressed concern that STR conversions may exacerbate the shortage of affordable longterm rental housing. The issues are more than theoretical. According to Deputy Mayor Bill Lyons and Codes Director Peter Ahrens, there are already over 200 AirBNBs operating in Knoxville ... an illegal use in single-family residential districts. Like Uber in the taxi/ride-share world, this idea is spreading. The administration is proposing a permit system to add a modicum of control to the present laissez-faire situation. The proposal currently requires homeowners to live in the home they are attempting to rent on a short-term basis (Type 1 permit). They would apply for a permit, pay a modest $70 fee, collect hotel and sales taxes, and be responsible to have someone on call within To page A-3
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Cavett Station Daughters of the American Revolution honor Vietnam vets By Nancy Anderson Several members of the Karns community were honored at the monthly meeting of the Cavett Station Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (a volunteer women’s service organization dedicated to promoting patriotism) held at the American Red Cross building on Middlebrook Pike Saturday, April 8. William M. Price, U.S. Army, and Daniel Foster Brown III, U.S. Air Force, of Karns were awarded the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Vietnam Veteran lapel pin awarded by the Secretary of Defense to recognize, thank, and honor United States military veterans who served during the Vietnam War. Brown was not able to attend. His pin and certificate were received by his daughter Stephanie Thomas. The commemorative lapel pin is reserved for U.S. veterans who served on active duty from Nov. 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, regardless of location. The pin features an eagle’s head representing courage, honor and service, six stars to represent the allies who served and sacrificed together, stripes and William M. Price of Karns receives his Vietnam 50th anniversary commemorative lapel pin from National Society blue color to represent the nation’s Daughters of the American Revolution member and sister-in-law Barbara Stevens at the NSDAR monthly meeting flag and the message “A Grateful held at the American Red Cross building Saturday, April 8. “I appreciate the pin very much. There were a lot of guys Nation Thanks and Honors You” who didn’t come back and many who could not be honored here today, so I’m here today to honor them as well,” To page A-3 said Price. Photos by Nancy Anderson
Wheelin’ and dealin’ for the Lakota By Nancy Anderson
From hot rods to muscle cars and from clothes to electronics, the seventh annual “Wheels and Deals” car show and yard sale fundraiser held at West Towne Christian Church had it all plus barbecue, beautiful weather and record crowds Saturday, April 8. The car show drew 95 entries. There was a steady stream of customers to the yard sale and to the barbecue lunch sponsored by the West Towne Christian Church Holy Smokers. More than $5,000 was raised to send
members of the youth ministry on a mission trip in June to a Lakota reservation in Wamblee, S.D. “We have about 26 people going,” said Youth Minister Marshall Barnett. “It’s the poorest county in America with about 90 percent unemployment, 80 percent alcoholism rate, and just an unreal suicide rate. We just want to go and bring the word of God and play with the kids. Just bring them a little fun and give them a break from the monotony of crushing poverty.”
Barnett said with the unemployment rate so high, even if young people graduate high school, there are no jobs for them. The goal is to show the Lakota that there is life outside the reservation. “This is our third year going and our relationship with the Lakota has grown. We now sponsor many families at Christmas, write letters, and just try to help out any way we can throughout the year. We’ve fostered real relationships. To page A-3
Family’s loss becomes a cause
By Betsy Pickle
Elizabeth Psar’s daughter, Julia, has been gone almost a year, but her short life is still an inspiration. “I have derived strength from her,” says Psar, a child-advocacy lawyer whose career and personal life are primarily focused on helping children. Psar and her husband, Rado, had a “perfect” life until December 2015, when their 2½ -year-old daughter, Julia Barbara, suddenly started having balance problems. “I thought she had an inner-ear infection,” says the attorney. “It never occurred to me that she had a brain tumor.” Psar was at Juvenile Court when her husband took their daughter to the pediatrician. She remembers thinking that Julia would have to have tubes put in her ears. “That was going to be the worst thing that we were going to have to do,” she says. “That was that Monday morning, and by the evening
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they’re saying she has a brainstem tumor. And then the next day they’re saying she’s going to die.” The Psars learned that their little girl had DIPG – Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma – a brainstem tumor that is inoperable and incurable. The tumor usually strikes between the ages of 5 and 7, but it can be found in younger children and teenagers. The Psar family, including son Vasil William, now 5, went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital just before Christmas 2015 to have a port put in for the medications she would have to have. They returned home for the holiday because the doctor said that it would probably be Julia’s last Christmas. The four returned to St. Jude in January 2016. Julia had to endure a grueling regimen of radiation, chemotherapy and experimental drugs. Steroids were part of her treatment and, Psar says, had a horrific effect. Julia bore it all
bravely, but: “She just never smiled anymore, and she was a child who smiled all the time. The steroids just altered her so dramatically.” There were times when Julia seemed slightly better. But during a Make-a-Wish trip to Slovakia to visit Rado’s family, she started experiencing nausea again. Julia died in her sleep on May 17, 2016, exactly one month short of her third birthday. A few months later, Elizabeth and Rado started the Julia Barbara Foundation to raise awareness of DIPG and raise funds for research. Last month, state Sen. Doug Overbey of Maryville and state Rep. Jason Zachary of Knoxville sponsored a resolution to make May 17 DIPG Awareness Day in Tennessee. The Julia Barbara Foundation is hosting a Gala Celebrating DIPG Children at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at the Women’s Basketball
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Hall of Fame, 700 Hall of Fame Drive. Tickets, $60, are available on eventbrite.com. The Chillbillies, whose lineup includes Juvenile Court Judge Tim Irwin, will perform. Psar says the entire Juvenile Court team has been very supportive of her family and the foundation. It’s appropriate that the event is taking place at the Hall of Fame. One of the most high-profile DIPG victims is the late college basketball player Lauren Hill, who was inducted into the hall. Hill passed away in April 2015, but her foundation has raised millions for DIPG research and awareness. Psar says the incidence of DIPG is low – about 400 children are living with the diagnosis right now – but “that doesn’t include the children that die from it that nobody catches. It’s a very invasive tumor. It’s like a weed in your garden – it grows so quickly.” To page A-3
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