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VOL. 10 NO. 18
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Learning from the locals
BUZZ Karns High School ‘Night of the Arts’
By Sara By Sar ara a Barrett Barret Barr Ba ett tt
It was standing room only in the Karns High School auditorium as nearly 500 people watched the band perform its last concert of the year during Night of the Arts on April 28. Organized by art teacher Frank Juan as a venue for the kids to display their talents, nearly every creative department was represented. In addition to music, skits from the drama students, interior design displays and goodies from the culinary arts department, more than 130 pieces of art represented a year’s worth of work from the art department.
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Hardin Valley Academy students Max Jones, Clay Gannon and Jack Brayton will take learning to the next level this summer when they head to China to live with the locals. All three AP Chinese students have received scholarships through the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), awarded by the U.S. Department of State in cooperation with American Councils for International Education. “I even get nervous when I talk to English speakers,� says Max, when thinking about speaking Chinese to the natives. This will be his first time out of the United States. Juniors Max and Clay will visit China for the summer, and Jack, a senior, will stay for an entire academic year before coming back to the states to begin college. Max will stay in Shanghai, Clay will stay in Nanjing and Jack will be based in Beijing. This will be the second trip to China for both Clay and Jack, who visited with AP Chinese teacher Frank Chen during previous sum-
Read Nancy Anderson on A-3
Thomas kickoff Knox County Commissioner Bob Thomas will kick off his campaign for county mayor at the same place Tim Burchett announced his candidacy seven or so years ago. All are invited to a free baloney lunch with R.C. Colas and Moon Pies from 11:30 to 1 p.m. Wednesday, May 11, at Powell Auction and Realty, 6729 Pleasant Ridge Road behind the Clinton Highway Walmart. Commissioner Ed Brantley will serve as master of ceremonies for his friend and colleague Thomas. Entertainment will be provided by the Chillbillies, and Sammy “Barney� Sawyer will make the rounds.
By Sandra Clark Mayor Madeline Rogero called for $2.7 million for sidewalks and crosswalks across the city, when she presented her budget last week, including $750,000 for sidewalks within school Parental Responsibility Zones and another $750,000 for new sidewalk construction. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will present his budget Monday, May 9. We’ll see then what he proposes. Regardless, sidewalks present a dilemma – residents at planning meetings consistently request them; some like those in West Hills even rally at 7 a.m. to demonstrate the need for sidewalks. Yet sidewalks are a low budget priority for decision-makers, al-
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life and experience, their language skills will not flourish,� says Chen. “To me, that is how a language learner becomes a lifelong learner.� The HVA students are three of 100 NSLI-Y scholarship recipients nationwide.
Gannon
Jones
“From a teacher’s perspective, I am thrilled for them and very proud of them,� Chen continues. If you think about the odds, it is really rare to choose three national recipients from the same school.� To page A-3
Jeremy Davis and Barbara Chandler engage with MPC planner Liz Albertson (not pictured). Photo by S. Clark Pellissippi Technology Corridor might mean an increase in mixed use development â– Residents want amenities such as a park in Hardin Valley, a way to walk or bike to parks, and stream protection through an overlay in the Beaver Creek watershed. The draft report also calls for a possible north/south road from
Lovell and Yarnell to Hardin Valley Road to reduce traffic on Pellissippi Parkway. It suggests restricted direct access to the parkway. Looking toward widening of the Schaad Road connector from Clinton Highway to Oak Ridge Highway, the report suggests no need for additional strip commercial development there. It recommends light
manufacturing or mixed use development for the 165-acre McCarter farm on Schaad Road, now for sale. The report calls for “downtown Karns� to become a special opportunity area with pedestrian-oriented development. Albertson entertained questions and said the staff recommendations “are not set in stone.� The plan must be adopted by the Metropolitan Planning Commission and forwarded to Knox County Commission. In response to a question, Albertson said about 2.5 miles of sidewalk was built on Beaver Ridge Road in Karns, to connect the middle school, library and elementary school. Farms can be converted to subdivisions under existing zoning regulations, she said. The agricultural zone allows one home per acre. If land is rezoned to “low density� residential, it can have up to five units per acre in the county. “Medium density� zoning allows 5-12 dwelling units per acre in the county or 6-24 units per acre inside the city of Knoxville.
Sidewalk study shows needs in school zones
Details online in South Shopper
mer excursions. Chen says he recommends applying for the NSLI-Y scholarship to all his students in Chinese III H. classes or above. “Until a language learner ties in the language with his or her daily
Brayton
By Sandra Clark MPC staff are wrapping up revisions to the northwest county sector plan. Public meetings were held April 26 at Hardin Valley Academy and May 3 at the Karns Community Center. Planner Liz Albertson is leading the study, which will inform zoning decisions for the next 15 years. She said 476 surveys were completed, showing support for sidewalks and concern about the loss of the fastgrowing area’s rural character. Karns, Ball Camp, Solway, Cedar Bluff, Hardin Valley and Amherst are communities within the NW county sector. The sector is bordered by Powell on the north, Oak Ridge on the west, Farragut on the south and West Hills on the east. Knox County Commissioner Ed Brantley and his wife, Linda, attended the HVA session. Their home is in Hardin Valley. Issues identified by the surveys include: ■Solway, as a gateway to Knox County, needs design guidelines for a mixed use special district ■Changing dynamics of the
Vestival is turning Sweet 16 this year, and it will be the hottest destination in SoKno this Saturday, May 7. However, on Friday, May 6, an even older event will be celebrated at the Vestival kickoff reception at Candoro Arts & Heritage Center: the 225th anniversary of Knoxville. “We’ll have a toast to the 225th anniversary of Knoxville and a toast to the 16th annual Vestival, says Sharon Davis, Candoro board president and chair of Vestival. Davis has ordered a birthday cake from Village Bakery for the reception, and the bakery is donating 1,000 cupcakes to be given away at the Candoro booth on Saturday.
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Clay Gannon and a classmate teach locals at an elementary school in Taiwan during their first trip with HVA teacher Frank Chen.
Northwest sector plan nears end
Vestival (festival) is Sweet 16
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May 4, 2016
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most at the bottom of the wants and needs list. A January 2014 study prepared for the Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works by Transportation Consultants Inc. identified locations within the county having the greatest potential and actual usage of walk-toschool trips. The study showed 22,322 of Knox County’s 59,276 students live within the Parental Responsibility Zones where bus transportation is not provided. Using a complex formula, planners determined the top schools for walkers if sidewalks were installed. These are, in order: Cedar Bluff Elementary, Londsdale Elementary, Blue Grass Elementary, Belle
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Morris Elementary, Norwood Elementary, Powell Elementary, Powell High School and BrickeyMcCloud Elementary. “Using this knowledge about where the greatest pedestrian demand and/or potential exists should provide a focused starting point for pedestrian project planning,� the report concluded. Seems sensible, yet Knox County has built sidewalks over the past 3-4 years at Halls Elementary and from Karns Elementary to Karns Middle – both areas where political pressure was intense and neither was on the priority list. Just a thought, but why not drop by to chat with Burchett at one of his nine meetings over two days following his budget presentation. And we dare you to walk:
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Monday, May 9: â– Budget presentation, 9 a.m., City County Building â– South Knoxville Senior Center, 11:30 a.m., 6729 Martel Lane â– Strang Senior Center, 1:30 p.m., 109 Lovell Road â– Halls Senior Center, 2:45 p.m., 4405 Crippen Road â– Carter Senior Center, 4 p.m., 9040 Asheville Highway â– Burlington Branch Library, 5:30 p.m., 4614 Asheville Highway Tuesday, May 10: â– Karns Senior Center, 1 p.m., 8042 Oak Ridge Highway â– Cedar Bluff Library, 2 p.m., 9045 Cross Park Drive â– Bearden Library, 3 p.m., 100 Golfclub Road â– Fountain City Library, 4 p.m., 5300 Stanton Road
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