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VOL. 10 NO. 20
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BUZZ
May 18, 2016
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Kaye awarded Hornaday badge
Karns cleanup The Knox County Democratic Party 6th District (Karns, Hardin Valley, Solway, part of Powell, Norwood, Pleasant Ridge, Ball Camp, Concord North) will meet at Hardees on Oak Ridge Highway at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 21, to clean the Byington Beaver Ridge Road for the Adopt-a-Road project. This will be the group’s 11th cleanup. Info: Janice Spoone, 865-771-5920, or Al Stults, 865-691-2116. Gloves, green vests and tongs will be provided. All are invited to help.
Undy 500 Scoles Family Chiropractic is partnering with the Knox County Schools Clothing Center to collect new underwear for kids in need and hosting a community yard sale 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 21, at 7555 Oak Ridge Highway. Space is limited; reserve by May 17. There is no charge. Donate new pairs of underwear through May 31 in the Undy 500 promotion. Any and all sizes are accepted, but there are special needs for girls (8, 10, 12, 16); boys (6, 8, 10, 12); and women’s (5/6). Info: healthyknox.com
Bob Thomas is running for mayor Bob Thomas, radio guy and at-large county commissioner, kicked off his campaign for Knox County mayor last week with a baloney-cutting at Powell Auction. He followed Mayor Tim Burchett’s path (Burchett also launched his campaign there), but two years ahead of the election. Turnout was huge, and it was great to see old friends.
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Read Sandra Clark on page A-5
Remembering Pop Wendy Smith recalls her grandfather, A.K. Bissell, longtime mayor of Oak Ridge.
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Read Wendy Smith on page A-4
Derby Day The dining room at Sherrill Hills Resort Lifestyle Community was filled with seniors wearing their finest duds and fanciest hats as they gathered for “Derby Day,â€? a horseracing event featuring all the excitement of the Kentucky Derby ‌ but none of the mud.
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Read Nancy Anderson on page A-6
(865) 218-WEST (9378) NEWS (865) 661-8777 news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Sara Barrett ADVERTISING SALES (865) 342-6084 ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Patty Fecco | Tony Cranmore Beverly Holland | Amy Lutheran CIRCULATION (865) 342-6200 shoppercirc@ShopperNewsNow.com
Pictured during the Hornaday Award presentation are Taylor Clark, Mark Kaye, Collin Killins and David Williams. Photo submitted
By Sara Barrett The Boy Scouts of America’s Great Smoky Mountain Council has awarded one of its longtime local leaders the Gold Hornaday badge, an honor the BSA’s National Council describes as “equivalent to an Olympic medal bestowed by the earth.� Scout volunteer Mark Kaye received the Hornaday award for his dedication to conservation. He was surprised by the honor during a banquet hosted by GSMC. “I was in shock,� says Kaye. “I was humbled by the honor. It reinvigorated me in my own conservation efforts and toward encouraging more Scouts to work on earning their own Hornaday.� The Hornaday awards program was begun in 1914 by Dr. William T. Hornaday, director of the New York Zoological Park and founder of the National Zoo in Washing-
Two downtown projects – construction of public restrooms in the Market Square Garage and drainage improvements in Strong Alley – are getting underway this week, according to a city advisory. The $373,000 five-stall restroom will be built in the street-level northwest corner of the garage. The restrooms – which will include a roof, graffiti-resistant paint, topiary screens and LED-lit glass panels that will glow at night – will be easily accessible, adjacent to the garage attendant booth.
Southern Constructors Inc. is the contractor, and the restrooms are expected to be open in August. Meanwhile, improvements to Strong Alley – which runs behind Gay Street and Market Square, between Union Avenue and Wall Avenue – include replacement of the drainage system within the alley and connecting adjacent building roof drains to the new drainage system. The alley will be resurfaced, and a three-foot-wide $40,000 cobblestone walkway will be laid in the center.
Adams and Sons, the project contractor, is expected to finish the upgrades by mid-summer. Strong Alley is an increasingly popular walking path because of its large colorful murals, painted by regional artists with the consent of the building owners. “These are two new amenities that will be very popular,� said Rick Emmett, the city’s downtown coordinator. “The cobblestones and drainage improvements will make Strong Alley smooth and dry, so it’ll be safer for pedestri-
ans. And, of course, people will be very happy to have attractive and comfortable restrooms. There are so many family-friendly events and festivals on Market Square, this was definitely needed.� There are more downtown improvements to come: Two stretches of West Jackson Avenue – a section between World’s Fair Park and Gay Street, and another section east of Gay Street through the center of the Old City – will get new curbs and sidewalks, trees and underground utility lines.
Old Sears building targeted for sale By Betty Bean The Andrew Johnson building on Gay Street isn’t the only iconic, county-owned structure Knox County is looking to sell. Last week, Mayor Tim Burchett told the Shopper News that he intends to put the former Sears store at 1000 N. Central on the block before he leaves office in September 2018. “That’s part of the long-range plan,� he said. “And it’s in keeping with my philosophy of putting government property back on the tax rolls.� Sears, Roebuck & Co. started construction on the new department store on the south end of Happy Holler in 1946 on a 3.9-acre
servation Plan for Camp Buck Toms, and Kaye has worked with Pellissippi Lodge of the Order of the Arrow to ensure conservation projects will be available as part of camp service. “I have had many positions over the years and I have enjoyed them all, but my work as a Hornaday adviser has been one of the most rewarding as I watch these young men become excited about their own conservation projects.� Kaye says people can have either a negative or positive effect on the world around them; it’s their choice. “We are just temporary caretakers of this world. Conservation efforts can have a positive and lasting impact for our children and future generations. I want to be able to say that I left the world in a better condition than how I found it.�
City starts alley upgrades, restrooms
member of the Pellissippi Lodge ton, D.C. Hornaday was a champion of of the Order of the Arrow. He also natural resource conservation and currently serves as the GSMC’s a leader in saving the American Conservation Committee chair. The Hornaday award is rare. bison from extinction. Initially named the Wildlife In 2015, only 99 Hornaday badgProtection Medal, the award’s es were awarded throughout the purpose was to challenge Ameri- United States, compared to more than 54,000 Eagle cans to work conScouts during that structively for wildlife conservation and same time. Fewer than 400 habitat protection. Gold Hornaday badgThe award was reThe Gold named after Hornaes have been awarded Hornaday badge nationwide since day upon his death 2000. in 1937 when it also Kaye is currently working with became a BSA award. Kaye has more than 30 years’ GSMC Scouts on multiple Hornaexperience volunteering with the day projects including developing Scouts, including leading his son’s bee habitats, building fish habitats troop and being a member of the for red breasted sunfish and rock National Jewish Committee on bass around ORNL, removing invasive species and controlling eroScouting. Kaye is an Eagle Scout, Silver sion. Beaver recipient and Vigil Honor In 2013, he wrote the new Con-
parcel in the Dameron Addition that consisted of 21 residential lots. The sprawling, Streamline Moderne/Art DECO store opened in 1948 and operated until the mid-1980s, when Sears, Roebuck & Co. sold it to the East Towne Mall Company for $800,395.92. Knox County bought it in February 1988, during the administration of County Executive Dwight Kessel. The purchase was controversial, in part because residents of surrounding neighborhoods – already riled because the neighborhood had been chosen as the site of a solid waste incinerator – feared that the county intended to use the former depart-
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ment store as an intake center for the jail. Others were suspicious because the sellers’ identity was shielded by a trust agreement for an investors group that acquired the property for $850,000 in 1987. Fears died down over the years as county government converted the building to more benign uses, including the purchasing department, a satellite sheriff’s office, a clothing depot, an office of veterans’ affairs and storage space for county archives. Burchett said he intends to take advantage of the hot market for Downtown North redevelopment, and that no employees will lose jobs when these services are
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relocated. “The time is right – the ‘Holler’ is hopping, and some people tell me (the old Sears building) may be even more valuable than the AJ Building.� As a historical note, although Dwight Kessel isn’t generally credited as a preservationist, his administration presided over the restoration of the historic Knox County Courthouse, the acquisition of the former Andrew Johnson Hotel and the purchase of the old Sears building. (Hat tip to Register of Deeds office manager Richie Beeler for his research on old Sears building history.)