VOL. 7 NO. 43
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IN THIS ISSUE
The wheels rolled off
At Karns High School on Oct. 21, when Shelby Berkley sang Willie Nelson’s “Blue Skies,” I turned to Superintendent Jim McIntyre on the front row and said, “He’s singing your song!” To his credit, McIntyre laughed.
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Read Sandra Clark on A-4
Coffee Break Sometimes indulging your creative nature takes some creativity. Erin Morgan Lovely, a 2001 Farragut High School graduate, found her love of painting and art leading her to a different career from what she expected: Owning her own hair salon. The result was The Art Room, Erin’s own salon in the Cedar Bluff area.
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See Coffee Break on A-2
Miracle Maker Hardin Valley Academy teacher Tim Lee has organized a team of 62 peer tutors to work with special education students. He says it benefits both groups. The most important education Lee had in preparation for his career took place at home when he was a child, first in Nashville and then in Corryton.
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Read Betsy Pickle on A-9
What a difference a year makes Missouri, SEC East leader, is the surprise of the season. At the end of 2012, there was talk of firing the coach of the Tigers, Gary Robin Pinkel. He was said to be distant, distressed, distracted, discombobulated and disengaged. What a difference a year makes.
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Read Marvin West on A-5
Carol Z On a recent Friday night, some of the best folks on the planet got together for a party. At the center was someone very special.
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Read Carol Zinavage on B-2
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October 28, 2013
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Teacher morale top topic for schools By Sandra Clark There was a different energy at the Insight Session at Karns High School last week – anger, a larger crowd and a willingness to speak out. As the meetings move across the county, a couple of issues stand out. ■ Gibbs residents are showing up in droves to demand a new middle school on land adjacent to the relatively new Gibbs Elementary School. ■ Teachers and their loved ones are increasingly speaking out about unfair evaluations and a perceived lack of respect from the system’s central office. The six Insight Sessions were designed to enable parents, teachers and community members to offer suggestions for the school system’s next five years. One remaining session will be 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, at Austin-East Magnet High School. Breakout sessions, facilitated by Leadership Knoxville, are limited to 12 participants, and everyone is heard. People are asked: What’s good; what’s not; what’s next.” “The system is completely unstable,” said the husband of a teacher. “There is too much change. Teachers are living in a threat environment.” A teacher said, “We do not have respect; we are teaching the way
we know is wrong.” One participant complained about school food: “Healthy or not, it’s just wasted.” Yet another teacher cited a “major decline” in teacher morale. The evening ended without Karns-specific suggestions. School board members Lynne Fugate, Pam Trainor and Mike McMillan attended, along with former board member Cindy Buttry, who lives in Karns, and county commissioner Dave Wright. Participants were asked to rank priorities: At the top were: More computers, Gibbs Middle School, more input from teachers, better funding for schools, equal distribution of technology across the county, simpler teacher evaluations, fewer tests and less emphasis on testing, re-evaluate the TEAM evaluation and APEX strategic compensation plans. The best idea? Focus on realistic goals.
More pictures on Page A-3 Sonya Shafer and Beth Caballero, 4th grade teachers at Karns Elementary School, fill out an exit survey following the school district’s Insight Session at Karns High School. Photo by S. Clark
Wider road, business park proposed for Karns By Sandra Clark Karns High School’s auditorium was packed with county employees but no elected officials last Tuesday – a sure sign that somebody was going to be mad. (At-large commissioner Ed Shouse was present.) Angry voices came from the area where engineers Jim Snowden and Cindy Pionke showed the county’s plan to extend Karns Valley Drive, a project called the Karns Connector, from Oak Ridge Highway to Garrison Road and beyond. Actually, they had modified the plan from an earlier public meeting at Karns, making two crucial changes recommended by attendees. Snowden explained: “We originally had Byington-Solway Road terminating; now it will go on through. It will cost more, but it’s the right thing to do. We were going to isolate the cemetery (on Garrison Road); now we’re going to put a gate on (Karns Valley) and only the cemetery association will have the key.” While funding is lined up, officials still must talk with property owners about rights-of way, he said. “We hope to finalize the design plan in 2013 and start land acquisition in January. That will take 4-6 months. Hopefully, we can start construction next summer, and the road will be open by the end of 2015.” David Dunaway, who lives on Garrison Road, said the county’s
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plans aren’t enough. Calling himself a newcomer by Karns standards, the 20-year resident said promises have been repeatedly made and broken. “Years and years ago, when Knox County first built the indus-
trial park, they promised to widen Byington-Beaver Ridge Road from the red light (at Oak Ridge Highway) to the park. They promised to eliminate the one-lane railroad underpass.” Nothing was done. Dunaway’s chief concern is
This map shows the 70 acres on Garrison Road proposed for commercial use and its proximity to Karns High School (red flag in center).
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with The Development Corporation of Knox County’s plan to buy and rezone 70 acres on Garrison Road for commercial use, a zoning classification euphemistically called “Employment Center Zoning.” The land is currently zoned for agriculture. It abuts the Karns High campus. Todd Napier, president of the Development Corporation, fielded questions across the room. And Buz Johnson, deputy director of MCP, said the planning commission will take up the rezoning request at its November meeting. Garrison Road would be widened “about a quarter mile” in front of the business park, Dunaway said, but not where it connects with Byington-Beaver Ridge. He questioned the need for another business park when nearby Westbridge “is not full.” Garrison Road is 17-feet wide with no shoulders, he added. “With school buses and UPS trucks on the road, it is dangerous. My driveway is wider than my road,” he said. “And we need a traffic light at Garrison and Beaver Ridge.” Snowden said widening Garrison from end-to-end is not an option. “We’re just trying to do the best we can with the resources we have. Once (the connector) is open, traffic will move over to the new road, lessening traffic on Byington-Beaver Ridge Road.”
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