NORTH / EAST VOL. 3 NO. 9
IN THIS ISSUE In the sunshine Does the Sunshine Law go too far? Not far enough? Does it give too much power to mayors and political operatives? Attorney Scott Frith lays out the pros and cons of the law here in Shopper-News.
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pp www.ShopperNewsNow.com
March 4, 2015
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KCDC seeks funds
to redevelop Five Points housing
Read his story on page 4
KCDC has applied for state funding to begin phase one of a construction project that will replace the Walter P. Taylor and Lee Williams low-income homes.
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Mayor’s meetings Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will host constituent meetings in March to invite comment from citizens. These meetings are open to the public. Times and locations are: ■ Thursday, March 5, 4-5 p.m., Fountain City Library, 5300 Stanton Road. ■ Monday, March 9, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Cedar Bluff Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. ■ Thursday, March 12, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Bearden Library, 100 Golf Club Road. ■ Monday, March 16, 9-10 a.m., Strang Senior Center, 109 Lovell Heights Road. ■ Thursday, March 19, 11 a.m. to noon, Karns Library, 7516 Oak Ridge Highway. ■ Monday, March 23, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Powell Library, 330 W. Emory Road. ■ Wednesday, March 25, 9:30-10:30 a.m., Corryton Senior Center, 9331 Davis Drive. ■ Friday, March 27, 11 a.m. to noon, Carter Senior Center, 9036 Asheville Hwy. ■ Monday, March 30, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Howard Pinkston Library, 7732 Martin Mill Pike.
‘Standardized’ The public is invited to a free screening of the movie “Standardized: Lies, Money & Civil Rights: How Testing Is Ruining Public Education” from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Bearden Public Library, 100 Golf Club Road. A panel discussion will follow.
By Bill Dockery The paperwork is in and the waiting has started. Knoxville’s Community Development Corp. completed its application Feb. 2 for low-income tax credits that will allow KCDC to build 90 new apartments on the site of two 1960s-era housing developments in the Five Points neighborhood of East Knoxville.
In June, KCDC will find out whether it has financial support from the Tennessee Housing Development Authority to break ground on the project in early spring 2016. “The program is very competitive,” said Art Cate, KCDC’s chief operating officer. “We are dependent on the annual funding cycle through the THDA.”
SOUP time
Raised beds A free public gardening presentation on raised garden beds by Knox County Master Gardeners will be noon Thursday, March 12, at Cansler Family YMCA, 616 Jessamine Street. The “lunch and learn” event is free and includes lunch. RSVP requested to 865637-9622.
7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Bill Dockery ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Patty Fecco | Tony Cranmore Sara Whittle
at Five Points. At the same time KCDC was using Hope 6 monies to remake Mechanicsville several years ago, the agency also razed 183 of 500 units in the Taylor and Williams projects. “Since that early work was off the footprint of Taylor/Williams To page 3
Dinners to boost micro-grants
SOUP, which started in FebruBy Betsy Pickle ary 2010 and in its Your SOUP is on the way, Knoxfirst four years disvville. tributed $55,000 Inspired by a program that to community sstarted in Chicago and now has projects. Bradttaken hold around the globe, shaw immediately the South Knoxville Alliance is th thought it was a la launching Knoxville SOUP, a great idea, and m micro-funding program that conas she shared the n nects community improvement concept with SKA p projects with the community. Bradshaw members, they It’s like Kickstarter, only in perembraced it, too. sson. And with food. The SKA will present the first Debra Bradshaw, chair of the S South Knoxville Alliance, was Knoxville SOUP event Saturday, ““coaxed” by her daughter into March 14, in the community room rreading an article about Detroit To page 3
FC Town Hall Fountain City Town Hall will hear from TDOT officials regarding improvements to the Broadway/I-640 interchange at a special called meeting Monday, March 9, at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 5337 Jacksboro Pike. All are invited. Info: fountaincitytownhall.org
The current proposal is for ffo o orr phase one of a four-phase, 10-year ear ar plan intended to replace the exististing Walter P. Taylor and Lee WilWiilliams homes with new low-income me quarters. It will occupy the empty pty ty tract at the corner of Bethel and and McConnell. The upcoming project is not not the first to create new apartartt ments and tear down old housing
Rotary barbecue cook-off headed to World’s Fair Park By Anne Hart Not since the 1980s has Knoxville seen an event like the one set for the World’s Fair Park in late May. If you’re a lover of barbecue, you might want to start dieting right now because QueFest, the 2015 Tennessee State Barbecue Championship, is going to be an opportunity to nibble your way to pork paradise. On May 29 and 30, the heavenly aroma of barbecue will waft over the park as it did when the events called “Riverfest” dotted the site for a few years after the fair closed, when local groups competed for the best barbecue in town. Those events will look like beginner stuff when the Rotary Club of Bearden hosts some 50 or so con-
testants from all over the country at the Kansas City Barbecue Society (KCBS)-sanctioned QueFest, which will feature two days of intense competition for the best barbecue in four categories, live music and lots of other entertainment for the entire family. The cooking competition for KCBS honors is fierce and like no other. It is closely monitored and judged by professionals. No amateurs here: the winners’ purse totals more than $10,000. The big rigs and fancy motor homes hauling all manner of grilling equipment will start arriving at
the park’s South Lawn early on Friday, May 29. By 5 p.m., when the event opens to the public, the cooking will be underway, along with enter tainment for the evening. Legendary concert promoter Stephen Gudis of Nashville is lining up topflight entertainers and bands to perform Friday until 10 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors will be able to wander the site and talk with contestants about their “secret recipes” and special techniques. And there will be plenty of good food. Event chair Ted Hotz says vendors will include local
favorite Dead End BBQ, whose owner, George Ewart, has shared his expertise with Rotarians as they have planned this event. “We will also have two other vendors from outside this area,” Hotz says, “because we want to give folks Ted Hotz the opportunity to experience the regional differences in barbecue.” While the list of vendors isn’t complete yet, and while barbecue will unquestionably be the “main course,” Hotz says ice cream and To page 3
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2 • MARCH 4, 2015 • Shopper news
health & lifestyles
Making a lifesaving decision No matter how many diets she tried, Tracie Kitts of Sevierville, 44, couldn’t keep the pounds off. “I had tried many diets over the years. I could lose weight, but then I’d gain it back and more,” she said. “I did not really have morbid obesity at first, but I was always 20 to 30 pounds overweight growing up,” she said. “Then, after I got married I gained even more. And then I got pregnant and gained even more!” By the time Kitts was 40, she was 100 pounds overweight and taking blood pressure and cholesterol medication. “I had hypertension, high cholesterol, and I had a lot of back and joint pain. After talking with one of my doctors, they told me I needed to lose weight or I would develop diabetes because it’s in my family.” The weight took a toll on her family life as well. “I had a baby and she was growing up, and I couldn’t play with her,” said Kitts. “I went to Dollywood and wasn’t able to ride in the swings with her, which embarrassed me big time.” Kitts works as a patient advocate in the office of Dr. Jonathan Ray, a bariatric surgeon with the Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery. Kitts helps patients prepare for weight loss surgery, and in 2011, she decided the surgery was right for her as well. On Dec. 27, 2011, Ray performed a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy on Kitts. Using laparoscopic instruments and several small incisions, Ray removed about 80 percent of Kitts’ stomach. The “gastric sleeve” procedure, as it’s commonly called, is an increasingly popular option over the older and more traditional gastric
Exercise has become a key to maintaining Kitts’s weight loss.
Tracie Kitts shows off her new figure. We think she looks great!
With any weight loss surgery, the lifestyle changes afterward are even more important than the surgery. Kitts’ whole family, including her husband, David, and daughter, Sarah, made changes bypass procedure, according to compared to 2 ounces for gastric to their diet and exercise habits. “We cut out high carb food, anyRay. bypass and 64 ounces, a half-galthing white,” said Kitts. Both procedures reduce the lon, for a normal stomach. The sleeve also carries fewer side “We don’t eat a lot of sweets, size of the stomach, but the sleeve procedure leaves a slightly larger effects and complications than the and we really push the protein and vegetables and water. We don’t stomach size, about 4 ounces, bypass procedure, Ray said. Tracie Kitts before bariatric surgery.
The ‘How?’ and ‘Why?’ of bariatric surgery Obesity has become a significant national health issue. Our society is overweight. The foods we eat are often poor choices and can lead to obesity. Morbid obesity, defined as having a BMI over 35 and being at risk for obesity-related health issues, Mark Colquitt, MD and is closely correlated with Jonathan Ray, MD serious medical conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. port and encouragement. Many of The Fort Sanders Center for our staff members have undergone Bariatric Surgery is the answer to bariatric surgery and use their exthe prayers of many who battle perience to help others be successobesity and its accompanying is- ful on their journey. The surgeons offer two main sues. Bariatric surgeons Dr. Mark Colquitt and Dr. Jonathan Ray options for their patients: laparohave helped more than 2,200 scopic gastric bypass (usually done patients lose close to 200,000 as a robotic procedure), in which a pounds through a combination of smaller stomach pouch is created surgical, spiritual and emotional and a portion of the small intestine is rerouted to the pouch; and support. The atmosphere at the Center sleeve gastrectomy, which removes for Bariatric Surgery is one of sup- a portion of the stomach and cre-
ates a narrower digestive tube. “The safety of bariatric surgery has improved greatly,” Dr. Colquitt said. “Today, the surgical risk of the procedure is comparable to having a gallbladder removed.” He said in most instances, the patient goes home within 24 hours after surgery. “But in order for bariatric surgery to succeed, people have to commit to making the lifestyle changes to support the choice,” Dr. Colquitt said. Dr. Ray added, “Our team will be there for the patient before and after the procedure. We can get them to the door, but they have to walk through it.” “Our goal is to promote health and wellness and support an obesity-free lifestyle,” they say, “and to help our patients become more productive – and fully engaged in life.”
drink a lot of carbonated drinks. I don’t drink anything carbonated, although my husband and daughter may drink it when they go out to eat.” All three of them joined a gym and go three to four days each week. “And if I’m not able to go over the weekend, we do activities like walking, swimming and camping.” Kitts lost 108 pounds within a year of her surgery. Her husband and daughter lost weight as well. “I have kept it off; I continued to try to eat right and exercise,” she said. “My daughter, husband and I do a lot of outside things now. We walk the track at a local church, we go swimming. And it’s being more mindful of what you put in your mouth, too.” Ray said his staff helps each patient to learn new ways of cooking, eating and exercising through several classes before and after surgery. “What we have learned in the last 60 years with bariatric surgery is that this is a lifestyle change,” he said. “It’s a change mentally, spiritually and psychologically. “To lose one pound you have to burn an extra 2,600 to 3,600 calories, but walking a mile only expends about 50 to 100 calories. So that’s a whole lot of calories to expend to lose that weight, and it’s almost impossible when you’re 100 pounds overweight.” Kitts said she would recommend Dr. Ray to anyone struggling with obesity. “Dr. Ray is a joy,” she said. “He talks about God, and I’m a Christian. He sits down and talks with you, explains things to you, any questions you have, he’s there for you. Every time my daughter sees Dr. Ray, she always says, ‘He saved my mom’s life.’ ”
Learn more about bariatric surgery Register for informational seminars conducted by surgeons and staff from the Fort Sanders Regional Center for Bariatric Surgery by calling 865-673-FORT. Seminars will be held on these Thursday evenings:
Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center 1901 Clinch Ave., Knoxville, TN 37916 Classroom #1, Lobby Level ■ Thursday, March 12, at 6 p.m. ■ Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m. ■ Thursday, April 9, at 6 p.m. ■ Thursday, April 23, at 7 p.m. ■ Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m. ■ Thursday, May 28, at 7 p.m. ■ Thursday, June 11, at 6 p.m. ■ Thursday, June 25, at 7 p.m.
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NORTH/EAST Shopper news • MARCH 4, 2015 • 3
From butterflies to beautification City’s best neighbors get shoutouts The accomplishments of the nominees for Knoxville’s highest award for neighborliness are many and varied. One started a neighborhood watch. Another knits socks for her elderly neighbors. A third created a neighborhood garden for monarch butterflies. A fourth makes her neighbors feel like they live in Mayberry.
Bill Dockery
In all, 14 people have been recognized by their neighbors for their good works. All will be honored at Knoxville’s Neighborhood Conference on Saturday, March 7, and one will be selected for the Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year award, given annually by the city’s Office of Neighborhoods. “These are the people who have become known for their leadership and their service to their neighborhoods all over the city,” said
David Massey, Knoxville neighborhood coordinator. “They make many contributions, but most make their marks in community beautification and/or attention to the wellbeing of the people living near them.” The 2015 Neighborhood Conference will be held at the Knoxville Convention Center and will feature 32 workshops, including five for young people, 82 information booths and three breakout sessions. Door prizes will be awarded at the end of the day. “Early-bird registration ended March 3,” Massey said. “Everyone is welcome to come right up through Saturday, but we may not have a box lunch ready for them.” The KAT bus system is offering free rides to the
14 people have been recognized by their neighbors for their good works conference, and the Smart Trips program is available for those interested in carpooling, he said. Mayor Madeline Rogero will recognize the honorees
KCDC seeks funds and used a different funding source, we don’t consider it a part of the current project,” Cate said. The agency used federal stimulus and neighborhood stabilization funds to put back 85 units on the site of the decommissioned Eastport Elementary School. The Residences at Eastport combined new construction with part of the existing school structure adjacent to the Taylor/Williams tract.
COMMUNITY NOTES ■ Alice Bell Spring Hill Neighborhood Association. Info: Ronnie Collins, 637-9630. ■ Beaumont Community Organization. Info: Natasha Murphy, 936-0139. ■ Belle Morris Community Action Group meets 7 p.m. each second Monday, City View Baptist Church, 2311 Fine Ave. Info: www.bellemorris.com or Rick Wilen, 524-5008. ■ Chilhowee Park Neighborhood Association meets 6:30 p.m. each last Tuesday, Administration Building, Knoxville Zoo. Info: Paul Ruff, 696-6584. ■ Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association meets 7 p.m. each third Tuesday, Larry Cox Senior Center, 3109 Ocoee Trail. Info: edgewoodpark.us./ ■ Excelsior Lodge No. 342
Good Neighbor of the Year award
From page 1 “Because Eastport was housing for the elderly, we took a few more precautions and made it highly secure by design,” Cate said. If funded, the first phase will include units to house 90 elderly residents in a single three-story building with elevators and an interior hallway. “We use a build-relocatetear-down model of development,” Cate said. “We build new residential units
Soup time at Flenniken Landing, 115 Flenniken Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m., and those entering are asked to make a suggested donation of $5. At 7 p.m., four groups or individuals selected in advance will have four minutes each to describe the projects for which they seek funding. They will have a few more minutes to answer questions from attendees, and then everyone will eat a meal of soup, salad, bread and dessert. People will be able to discuss the projects as well as get to know each other in a relaxed setting. At the end of dinner, attendees will vote on the project they want to be funded. The secret votes will be tallied, and the winner will get the “gate.” Deadline for submitting a proposal is Saturday, March 7. Details are at knoxvillesoup.org. “It’s meant to be very
■George Conner, a leader in the Adell Ray Park homeowners association, is known as the goto guy for neighborhood problems of all sorts in Northwest Knoxville off Merchant Drive. ■ Sylvia Cook, who at a noon luncheon and will name the recipient of the lives in the Residences at Eastport Good Neighbor of the Year and has award. started a The nominees are: neighbor■ Kirk Anderson, “the hood watch mayor of Timbercrest,” is in the Eastknown for pulling people port/Dr. Lee together for social events, W i l l i a m s/ tending to neighborhood Five Points signage and landscaping, neighborand keeping up with elderly Sylvia Cook hood, has neighbors. ■ Tanisha Fitzgerald also has been instrumenBaker, a Project GRAD ad- tal in providing training in ministrator at Austin-East computers, fire safety and High School, is credited with social security matters for giving her Pleasant Knoll the neighborhood. ■ Linda Denton, a neighborhood a “Mayberry feeling” of belonging and leader in beautification in safety for local children. Her North Hills, lends her garvillageofknox.com website dening expertise to beginpromotes positive events in ners in the neighborhood and keeps up with neighEast Knoxville. ■ Beth Booker is bors in need. ■ Ben and Heather known for her work on Burchfi eld Ream were beautification projects, the Old North Knox home tour nominated for founding and the creation of Old the South Knoxville Old Brooms Brigade, a volunteer North Park.
on the vacant footprint of the old development, then relocate the residents to the new space, and then tear down the old structures they vacated.” In addition to the new build at the Taylor and Williams projects, KCDC has facilitated the construction of 29 homes in the larger Five Points neighborhood surrounding the city park at South Chestnut Street and Wilson Avenue. From page 1
simple and accessible to everybody,” says Bradshaw. She is excited about seeing the proposals, but since she is not on the proposal team she will have no say as to which four will be chosen for presentation. While this month she personally favors projects that will help to beautify South Knoxville in preparation for the Dogwood Arts Festival, the crowd will determine the winner. The winning project won’t necessarily be from South Knoxville. “We’re kind of biased about South Knoxville,” she says of the SKA, “but the concept is bigger than just South Knoxville. Detroit … has a citywide dinner, and then they have (several) neighborhood dinners besides. “We wanted to start with the idea of Knoxville SOUP, not just South Knoxville SOUP. Maybe we’ll end up with a South Knoxville
meets 7:30 p.m. each Thursday, 10103 Thorn Grove Pike. Info: Bill Emmert, 933-6032 or w.emmert@att.net. ■ First District Democrats meet each first Monday, Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Info: Tony Brown, 973-4086, or Evelyn Gill, 524-7177. ■ Historic Fourth & Gill Neighborhood Organization meets 6:30 p.m. each second Monday, Central UMC, 201 Third Ave. Info: Liz Upchurch, 898-1809, lizupchurch1@gmail.com. ■ Inskip Community Association meets 6 p.m. each fourth Tuesday, Inskip Baptist Church, 4810 Rowan Road. Info: Betty Jo Mahan, 679-2748 or bettymahan@ knology.net. ■ Oakwood Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association meets 6:30 p.m. each third Thursday, Community Club House, 916 Shamrock Ave. Info: Bill Hutton, 773-5228 or s_wlhutton@ yahoo.com.
SOUP and a West Knoxville SOUP and other groups under that umbrella. In the meantime, we didn’t feel like we needed to limit ourselves to just us and our neighbors.” Bradshaw, who expects to see at least 100 attend the kickoff dinner, says the SOUP organizers are still seeking food donations from restaurants. SKA is donating all the non-food supplies. Future SOUP dinners will move around town. “Unless something obvious and free and perfect comes up, this first year we’re going to pick a different spot every month,” says Bradshaw. “We figure, the more we move it, the more people are going to get exposed to it. “All we need is a big room and some bathrooms. And a kitchen would be nice, so we’d have sinks.” For more info, email soup@ southknoxvillealliance.org.
■ Old North Knoxville meets 6:30 p.m. each second Monday, St. James Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1101 N. Broadway. Info: Andie Ray, 548-5221. ■ Parkridge Community Organization meets 6:30 p.m. each first Monday except holidays, Cansler YMCA, 616 Jessamine St. Info: Jerry Caldwell, 3299943. ■ Second District Democrats meet 6 p.m. each second Thursday, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 2504 Cecil Ave. Info: Rick Staples, 385-3589 or funnyman1@ comic.com. ■ Thorn Grove Rebekah Lodge No. 13 meets 7:30 p.m. each second and fourth Monday, 10103 Thorn Grove Pike. Info: Mary Jo Poole, 599-7698 or mjp1101@aol.com. ■ Town Hall East. Info: Eston Williams, 406-5412 or eston_ williams@yahoo.com; www. facebook.com/townhalleast/ info.
community group some 300 strong that cleans up and beautifies neglected corners of their community. They also help deliver church food baskets. ■ Sandy Robinson, a 59-year resident of Wesley Hills, has served in various offices of the Wesley Hills and West Hills neighborhood associations and delivers the association newsletters. ■ Rita Schwartz, nominated for starting a morning exercise group at Love Towers in Old North Knoxville, knits stockings for older residents and founded the Win Our World urban ministry that sends young people and teenagers to serve the community. ■ Monte Stanley spearheaded the creation of an Old Sevier neighborhood garden for monarch but ter f lies and supplies South K nox v ille Monte Stanley Elementary School and its students with plants from the greenhouses that bear his name. ■ Ronnie Thompson, who serves as president of the Montgomery Village
World’s Fair Park other treats will be available. QueFest represents a tremendous success story for Bearden Rotary. It was just three years ago that club member Oliver Smith IV and Ewart convinced the group that a barbecue cookoff could be a tremendous fundraiser for Rotary’s proj-
residents
association off Mar y v ille Pike, works with comm u n i t y agencies on e duc at ion, health and parenting issues, and started the Ronnie Paint the Thompson Street project. ■ Nancy Wallace, who is known to her West View neighbors for being first on the scene in emergencies, provides church pantry food to non-driving neighbors and mows the lawns of eight neighbors. ■ Tonja Warren, past president and current treasurer of the Montgomery Village residents association, is program director for Montgomery Village Tonja Warren M i n i s t r ie s and helps residents with personal needs. ■ The award is named after the late Diana Conn, who received the first award posthumously in 2013. Info: 215-2113.
From page 1 ects, both locally and internationally. Episcopal School of Knoxville hosted the first two years on its West Knoxville campus, but the crowds quickly outgrew the available space. The number of volunteers who make it all happen has
also grown. Hotz says a few dozen have been working on QueFest for several months. By the time this year’s event opens, that number will grow to a few hundred. Mark your calendars. This is one event you don’t want to miss.
4 • MARCH 4, 2015 • Shopper news
The saga of Section X Select civic club members may have heard this tale in times past. I think of it each time football winter workouts are mentioned. Exercises between bowl games and spring practice are now very sophisticated, professionally designed to add strength, adjust bulk and enhance certain skills in conjunction with ideal diets. I suppose they work. Long, long ago, the first winter workout I observed was more primitive. Some still think it was hell on Earth. Others have blocked it from their memories. From more than 50 years away, a few now think it wasn’t all that bad, just a little toughening-up process.
Marvin West
Winter workouts for Tennessee football arrived with young Doug Dickey. The new coach called the program “off-season conditioning.” Best he could tell, the Volunteers had no experience in getting better in January and February, before they practiced getting better in the spring. Since Tennessee had no workouts, Dickey did not
find it surprising that Tennessee had no place set aside for such activities. He sent forth a search committee. It didn’t find much. As Dickey tells the story, scouts discovered running room at a tobacco warehouse and the agriculture campus. They reported, almost incidentally, some dirty, drab, dreary space once used for storage, on the ground floor, in the northwest corner of Neyland Stadium, under Section X. Dickey inspected it and said the room looked like something left over from the Civil War, except the cobwebs appeared older. Dickey could have made it better. He made it worse.
He installed old mats on the floor and hung a heavy rope from on high. Those who thought they wanted to be on his football team were going to do agility drills, wrestle, fight and scratch – and then climb that blasted rope, hand over hand, until they bumped their head on the concrete ceiling. Center Bob Johnson remembers the one-on-one wars, Vols on opposite sides of the mat, no rules, do anything you want to get to the other side. The training tempo was fierce, frantic, run here, jump there! Down on the mat, up on your feet, seat roll right, jump up again, forward tumble. Everywhere a player looked or landed, there was an assistant coach yelling for more speed and greater effort.
Dickey said some players were overcome by the afternoon exercises and ambiance – and lost their lunch. He admitted the smell was terrible. He spent one of his most dramatic terms on describing the winter workout scene: “A stinking mess.” Joe Graham hit right in the middle of it. “There wasn’t room under Section X for all of us at once,” said Graham. Everybody dreaded checking the dorm list for when to report. Early was better. “Our group arrived to the sound and smell of some of the guys throwing up. In the middle of the winter, the room seemed nearly steamy. Everybody was sweating. I don’t remember the exact time we worked, but it seemed forever.”
Dewey Warren was there and it matched his imagination of Marine boot camp, only worse. “Under Section X was like a dungeon, dark and smelly, the worst place I’ve ever been.” Bert Ackermann said it was a learning experience for those who survived. “It laid the foundation for the great comeback of Tennessee football under Doug Dickey.” Robbie Franklin believes Coach Dickey used the first winter program to find out who really wanted to play football at Tennessee. Today’s Vols think winter workouts are challenging. Today’s Vols live in a different world – music, lights, refreshments, exhaust fans. Marvin West invites reader reaction. His address is westwest6@netzero.com.
The politics of ‘sunshine’ If you paid attention only to local media, you might be forgiven for believing that the most pressing problem facing our community is a lack of openness and transparency in government. Each breaking scandal, it seems, involves a county commissioner, city council member or public board member violating the Open Meetings Act (sunshine law) by sending an email or lobbying a fellow board member outside of a public meeting. The Open Meetings Act states that “… the formation of public policy and decisions is public business and shall not be conducted in secret.” As a result, members of County Commission, City Council and other local public boards cannot delib-
Scott Frith
erate about public business in private. Violations of the law void the actions of the violators and require open deliberations on the issue and another vote. Nearly all would agree that open, public meetings and the public discussion of the people’s business is a good thing; however, less understood are the problematic and perhaps unintended consequences of the law that give increased influence to the mayor and third parties over the members of legislative bodies.
In county government, the mayor (unlike commissioners) is indirectly empowered by the law by being able to lobby the commission directly and in private. (As you can imagine, it is easier to keep track of how each commissioner will vote when you can ask them privately.) This same dynamic applies with the superintendent of schools and the board of education. More troubling is that local political bosses can also lobby commissioners and council members independently, lining up their votes and pushing their own agendas. In fact, because of the restrictions of the open meetings law, well-connected politicos often have a better idea of how the commission will vote than the commissioners who actu-
lowed to discuss the pros Regardless, until there are and cons of their own radio changes, expect more headcommunication system out- lines, more “gotcha” politics side of a public meeting. over communications beally get to vote. Unfortunately, few have tween public officials, and Ultimately, the open the political courage to ad- further distraction from meetings law doesn’t in- dress these problems with more important issues faccrease openness and trans- the law. Either the so-called ing the community. parency in government “sunshine law” goes too far Scott Frith is a local attorney. You can contact him at scott@pleadthefrith.com. as much as folks believe. or doesn’t go far enough. Plenty still happens behind closed doors. Instead, the law merely takes political power away from individual Neighborhood event commissioners and shifts The city’s annual Neighborhood Conference will be that power to the mayor, po7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7, at the Knoxlitical bosses and other lobville Convention Center. byists. Designed for both city and county residents, this Recently, the E-911 Board free event is an opportunity to connect with other has been in the news due to neighborhoods and neighborhood leaders as well as allegations (later substantimeet elected officials and department heads. ated) that board members The conference includes 32 workshops from fightcommunicated with one ing crime to grappling with legal issues faced by homeanother outside of a public owner associations. Also featured are 80-plus informeeting about a new E-911 mation booths, a free continental breakfast, free box radio communication syslunch, door prizes and a neighborhood T-shirt contest. tem. Info: David Massey, the city’s neighborhood coorAs absurd as it may dinator, at www.cityofknoxville.org/neighborhoods or sound, under current law, 215-2113. the city police chief and the county sheriff are not al-
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government Emerald recruitment letter angers Shopper news • MARCH 4, 2015 • 5
Christenberry faculty
The letter from Emerald Academy came during the snow days and was addressed to the parents/ guardians of children zoned to Knoxville’s urban elementary schools and signed by Emerald’s director, Dr. Jon Rysewyk . Five of the recipients were Christenberry Elementary School faculty members who bring their children to school with them. One faculty member said reading it was like a slap in the face. It began like this: “You have a choice – Emerald Academy! Do you know the grades for the school your child is zoned to attend next year and how they compare with Knox County Schools’ overall grades?� Next came a chart comparing three years of Christenberry’s math and reading scores with Knox County Schools’ scores. Christenberry’s are all lower, although they improved from Ds in 2012 to Bs in math and
Betty Bean Cs in reading in 2013 and 2014. KCS scored As in both subjects in 2013 and 2014. The faculty member said the test scores tell only half the story. The other half is the value-added scores, which show that Christenberry students have made steady gains from one school year to the next. These scores were not included in the letter. Christenberry assistant principal Tonya Davis Cash posted a scathing comment on her Facebook page, calling the letter misleading and ending with an offer: “I have more current data if you would like to include that with your next propaganda. Steve has my number.� “Steve� is Emerald Youth Foundation CEO Steve Diggs, who lives a
few blocks from Christenberry and sent his two children to school there. Many Christenberry students are involved in after-school programs at Emerald Youth Foundation. Diggs announced his charter school plan a year ago. “I, historically, was a huge fan of Steve Diggs and consider him very bright, hard-working and visionary. My husband and I have always bought a table at his fundraising things, but I am real disappointed about this,� said Martha Bratton, who retired five years ago and was Christenberry’s first principal (she was also the last principal at Brownlow and principal at Inskip elementary schools before that). Bratton said Emerald’s major advantage will be that parents will “self-select� and must agree to be actively involved in their children’s education. She believes Rysewyk could have touted what his school has
to offer without disparaging other schools. Rysewyk said he got the students’ addresses from Knox County Schools and wasn’t “taking a shot at Christenberry.â€? He said that when he was principal at Fulton High School, his students got similar letters informing them of openings at higher-performing schools like Farragut and Bearden. “The intention was never to upset teachers anywhere,â€? he said. Diggs said all parents from all the urban feeder schools got the same letter, but he believes Christenberry is performing well. “Maybe we should have had a PR firm write the letter. I just hope everyone will look at our track record. We’re going to try and do it right ‌ I have no desire to start a private school.â€? Next week: A closer look at the program at Emerald Academy, set to open July 15 in the old Moses School downtown.
Down and (even more) out in South Knox News that David Dewhirst was rescuing another endangered Knoxville property was widely hailed in the city last week. Dewhirst and associates bought the 84-yearold Kern’s Bakery building on Chapman Highway just across the Henley Bridge from downtown and quickly announced speculative but elaborate plans to transform the industrial site into a vague complex of boutique eateries and performance venues like the ones that have brought fresh life to the center city. No one seemed unhappy. After all, the bakery building is intimately connected to Knoxville’s history, and making it productive again would be a worthy effort. Dewhirst has a record of turning historic but decrepit urban-core properties into moneymaking real estate ventures. Dewhirst was expansive about the effects the development could have on South Knoxville. The News Sentinel quoted him as saying, “A lot of people don’t come to South Knoxville because they don’t think there’s a reason to. But we’re going to give them a reason to come to South Knoxville.�
Bill Dockery
We’ll ignore for the moment the fact that – practically speaking – the bakery is hardly in South Knoxville at all. Let’s examine that remark again: “A lot of people don’t come to South Knoxville because they don’t think there’s a reason to.â€? Apparently a man of Dewhirst’s real estate savvy isn’t aware that (according to the 2009-2013 census estimates) almost 38,000 people have found a reason to go south of the river – without benefit of bodegas or brew pubs or trendy cafĂŠs or music stages. They go (or stay) because South Knox (city and county) is home. Dewhirst’s notion is but the latest in a tradition of dissing South Knoxville that goes back at least half a century. In the 1950s and ’60s, South Knoxville was derided as “South Americaâ€? by its more sophisticated northern neighbors. When the James White Parkway
bridge was built in the early 1980s, it was quickly labeled “the Bridge to Nowhere.â€? In current parlance, South Knoxville is a “wildernessâ€? suitable mainly for hiking, jogging or mountain biking expeditions by some of our more urbane urbanites, many of whom hail from West Knox suburbs. No one has labeled South Knox as District 12 – yet. Another recent news item illuminates the overall attitude toward South Knoxville: At the behest of the city, the Urban Land Institute has released a study that calls for Henley Street – the six-plus lane connection between I-40 and the Henley Bridge – to be made pedestrian-friendly, with a reduced capacity to handle traffic headed south and an increase in cafĂŠs, shops and other accoutrements of the good life. Again, this isn’t the first time South Knox has been slighted. A couple of years ago, the extension of James White Parkway to deep South Knox County was vetoed by the city mayor, despite support for the extension from county mayors of Knox and Sevier. And during the planning stages, the six-lane rehab of the
Henley Bridge was scrapped for a five-lane version at the behest of urbanites who wanted bike lanes instead of vehicular traffic. There are still some of the wags that tail the dog who insist that the city should take a jackhammer to the concrete roadways in the First Creek canyon, letting the creek run free again – the connectivity needs of South Knoxvillians be damned. South Knox County and its neighbors in the Seymour community are the only sector of greater Knoxville that are not now served by a limited-access, freeway-engineered roadway. Isolation is the kissing cousin of scorn. The thinking that dominates political culture in Knoxville right now sells “South of the River� short not only in the language it uses but in its dreams of how to connect that area to the wider community. It ignores the longterm harm that can come to the whole region if one sector is systematically cut off from the whole. The revitalization of Knoxville’s downtown can’t be allowed to strangulate the development of the rest of the city.
A home for Estes The Estes Kefauver office and collection that was once displayed at the Hoskins Library on the UTKnoxville campus will not go to the Tennessee State Museum, despite earlier reports to the contrary. The Museum Commission voted in January not to accept the collection due to lack of space for storage or display. There was a feeling it would set a precedent for other Tennessee senators to place their papers and memorabilia at the museum that would have to be honored. In addition to this writer, Knoxvillians Deborah DiPietro and Jan Simek serve on the commission board. Other recent Tennessee senators have reached greater national prominence than Kefauver did as Howard Baker and Bill Frist were majority leaders of the Senate and a third (Al Gore) was president of the Senate as Vice President of the United States. Kefauver sought but did not attain such status during his career. Meanwhile the UT library, led ably by Steve Smith, will continue to keep the material in storage. The issue at some point will become whether storage is the permanent site for the collection or will it be made available for public viewing as it once was? When will the Hoskins Library be renovated? Only UT knows. Pay: When City Council adopted a $12,500 annual pay raise for the mayor, only five members signed on as sponsors. Interestingly, the only former mayor in the nine-member group, Dan Brown, did not sign it. He said “the timing was not right.� Eyesore: If there is one new recent eyesore that is harming the aesthetics of downtown Knoxville, it is the south wall of the Langley garage, which faces Union Avenue and the Pembroke. It is the size of a football field and all a grim gray. It offends residents of the Pembroke who look out to the north. It is hideous and stunning. How did the city administration let this happen? Putting brick around it would help. Graffiti even would help, too. Majors: Retired UT
Victor Ashe
football coach Johnny Majors is having a hip replacement this week. He will not let it slow him down as he heads in mid-April to Australia. ■The E 911 Board now meets March 13, and Mayor Rogero will attend her first meeting ever as mayor. It should be a standing-room-only event. It seems the mayor and her police chief may vote differently on the radio contract. No doubt Rogero wishes it would all go away and her failure to attend this significant board would be forgotten. ■Kim Trent, head of Knox Heritage, recently moved to Carta Road near Holston Hills and had an open house a few weeks ago that was packed with political types, including council members Marshall Stair and Finbarr Saunders. Trent is being urged to run for City Council in 2017 when Nick Della Volpe cannot seek a third term. ■DeFord: Also present at the event and being talked up as a council candidate was longtime Fort Sanders resident and architect Randall DeFord. Asked if he might run for Nick Pavlis’ seat, also up in 2017, he said, “I am flattered so many people have mentioned it to me. The city faces important and serious issues. I will consider it.� DeFord was ignored by the Rogero administration when they appointed a task force on the World’s Fair Park. Neighborhood activists were stunned that Fort Sanders was excluded; however, the task force appears to have accomplished little and has become a distant memory. ■Hannah Parker, 28, becomes one of the youngest persons to serve on the Knox County Election Commission. She’s the first Republican woman in 28 years. As the choice of the Knox GOP legislators, she must be appointed by the state election commission.
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6 • MARCH 4, 2015 • Shopper news
Mrs. Kapoor (Lillete Dubey), Sonny (Dev Patel), Guy (Richard Gere) and Sunaina (Tena Desae) dance the night away in “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.”
Dan (Vince Vaughn), Timothy (Tom Wilkinson) and Mike (David Franco) wind up in a pasture while in Europe to close the most important deal of their lives in “Unfinished Business.”
Let’s hear it for the boy wonder There are some big names showing up this week in movieland, including Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Vince Vaughn, Richard Gere, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson. But no one dominates the screen like Dev Patel, mainly because he’s starring in two of the week’s new films: “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and “Chappie.” Patel, now 24, first caught the world’s attention as Jamal in “Slumdog Millionaire,” which won eight Oscars, among them Best Picture of 2008. His two new films are very different from “Slumdog” – and from each other. “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is a sequel to the 2012 international hit “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” about a group of senior citizens who get an unexpected new lease on life at a ramshackle hotel in India. The hotel’s manager, Sonny (Patel), now has a huge success on his hands and dreams of expanding his empire as he prepares for his own wedding. A new guest named Guy (Gere) adds to the romantic drama at the hotel.
Betsy Pickle
Most of the original cast – Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Celia Imrie, Tena Desae, Lillete Dubey, Diana Hardcastle and Ronald Pickup – return for the PG-rated sequel, along with director John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”). “Chappie” is set in the near future, where law and order around the world are enforced by an oppressive mechanized police force directed by Hugh Jackman and owned by a company headed by Sigourney Weaver. When one robot cop, called Chappie, is stolen and reprogrammed with artificial intelligence, his owners will stop at nothing to retrieve him and end his sentient streak. Patel plays the lonely engineering prodigy who reprograms Chappie and gives him the ability to think and feel. Chappie becomes more human than humans,
though his human “parents” – Ninja and Yolandi of the South African rap act Die Antwoord, playing a version of themselves – are confusing role models with their differing bents toward good and evil. South African director Neill Blomkamp used his “District 9” and “Elysium” star Sharlto Copley to play Chappie on the set, after which animators created an animated version of Chappie from Copley’s movements and expressions. The film is rated R. The “Marigold” effect also exhibits itself in the week’s third film as Tom Wilkinson – who starred in the original “Best Exotic” movie – stars with Vince Vaughn in “Unfinished Business.” Vaughn plays a small business owner who travels with associates Wilkinson and Dave Franco (James Franco’s little brother) to Europe. Their goal is to close the biggest deal of their lives, but they get detoured constantly and improbably, including to a massive sexfetish event and a global economic summit. Ken Scott (“Delivery Man”) directed the R-rated comedy.
Chappie (Sharlto Copley) tries to understand humanity with the help of Deon (Dev Patel) in “Chappie.”
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weekender
Shopper news • MARCH 4, 2015 • 7
FRIDAY ■ Deep Fried 5 will perform, 10 p.m., Barley’s in the Old City, 200 E. Jackson Ave. Info: 521-0092.
Jazz Jill-of-all-trades Emily Mathis headlines a tribute to women in jazz this coming First Friday. Photo by Daniel Taylor
■ Houndmouth in concert, 8 p.m., Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay St. Tickets: $16.50 plus applicable service fees. Info/tickets: http://www.knoxbijou.com. ■ Midnight Voyage Live: Downlink, Dieselboy and Trollphace, 9 p.m., The International, 940 Blackstock Ave. Tickets: $25. Info/tickets: www.intlknox.com. ■ Red, Islander, 3 Years Hollow and Tears to Embers will perform, 6 p.m., The Concourse, 940 Blackstock Ave. Presented by Night Owl Music. Tickets: $25. Info/tickets: www. intlknox.com.
Cellist Andy Bryenton, violinist Gabriel Lefkowitz and pianist Kevin Class will join other local classical music stars in performances tonight and tomorrow night at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Photo by Stacy Nickell Miller
■ Subtle Clutch will perform, 6 p.m., Scruff y City Hall, 32 Market Square. Free and open to all ages.
Musical talent will be in abundance tonight, Thursday and Friday of this week when two different events – one classical, one jazz – take place at the Knoxville Museum of Art and the Emporium’s Black Box Theatre. The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s popular Concertmaster Series will present concerts tonight and tomorrow featuring KSO Concertmaster Gabriel Lefkowitz and Kevin Class in a series of very entertaining short violin and piano pieces. The program opens with the delightful swing and sway of Fritz Kreisler’s “Rondino on a Theme by Beethoven.” Classical music is often self-referential. Here Kreisler, the great violin virtuoso and composer, takes a familiar theme by another composer and adapts it to his style. Maybe you could call it “sampling,” in a very broad sense. Kreisler as P. Diddy? Why not? At any rate, it’s the kind of piece that will make you smile. Maurice Ravel’s sensuous “Pièce en Forme de Habanera” follows on the program. I know a piano teacher who says, “The French guys write better Spanish music than the Spanish guys do.”
Plate it
Carol Shane
Ravel certainly does shine in his Spanish writing, and this piece is no exception. Gabriel Fauré’s tender “Berceuse” (“Lullaby”) has one of those beautiful, melting melodies so typical of the composer. And violin fireworks will fly on “Perpetuum Mobile” by Franz Ries. It’s a real showpiece, and Lefkowitz, who plays the most difficult passages with ease and flair, is sure to keep audience members on the edge of their seats. The concert concludes with Dvorak’s “String Quintet in G Major.” Joining Lefkowitz on that work will be violinist Gordon Tsai, violist Katy Gawne, cellist Andy Bryenton and bassist Steve Benne. Having just performed Dvorak’s religious cantata “Stabat Mater” in conjunction with the Knoxville Choral Society, these musicians are wellversed in the composer’s lyrical, romantic style. “Gabriel Lefkowitz and Friends,” part of the
KSO Merchant & Gould Concertmaster Series, will be presented on Wednesday, March 4, and Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m. at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Tickets are $20. Info: 865-523-1178 or www. knoxvillesymphony.com Over on Gay Street, the Black Box Theatre at the Emporium will be the venue for “Women in Jazz,” featuring local jazz stars pianist/vocalist Emily Mathis, trumpeter/vocalist Pamela Klicka, bassist Cheryl Dow and vocalist Kelle Jolly. In recognition of Women’s History Month, the group will highlight the contributions of women jazz composers and performers, including Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Mary Lou Williams and others. Mathis, who is overseeing the project, is well-known to local jazz fans for her laidback style and versatility – she plays flute in addition to singing and playing piano. “I’m really excited about performing in a concert that features the music of women jazz composers,” says Mathis. “I appreciate the opportunity to learn about women in jazz and the contributions they have made to this area of music.” KSO conductor Lucas
Richman, who also knows a great deal about jazz, has said that singer Jolly reminds him of “a young Sarah Vaughan.” Jolly is also the host of WUOT’s Jazz Jam. Bassist Cheryl Dow, a decades-long veteran of the Knoxville music scene, is highly regarded in both the classical and jazz worlds. And trumpeter Pamela Klicka brings her bright sassy style into the mix. Klicka teaches trumpet at Knoxville’s Community School of the Arts and is known for getting her students involved in jazz projects of all types. Under her guidance, the kids lead local luminaries in bands of their own. Mathis is looking forward to sharing the stage with her colleagues. “It will be a great joy to perform with them,” she says. “Each of these very talented musicians will bring something unique to this special night of jazz. It should be fun!” “Women in Jazz – a Tribute Concert” will be presented from 7 to 9 p.m. on First Friday, March 6, at the Emporium Building’s Black Box Theatre, 100 S. Gay St. in Knoxville. Admission is free. Send story suggestions to news@ shoppernewsnow.com.
By Mystery Diner
egories, with two of those being grand championships. The chicken has won statewide first places in Tennessee and North Carolina. So, it was with confidence that the Mystery Diner ordered the chicken. Sides could be chosen from a long list that includes two baked-bean dishes, macaroni and cheese, corn on the cob, green beans, chips, potato salad and more. I chose the Red, White and Bleu Slaw and Beans with Smoked Sausage. The chicken thighs – two good sized ones – come topped with a little
■ Appalachian Ballet Company presents “Cinderella,” 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday, Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St. Tickets: all Ticketmaster outlets; Tennessee Theatre box office, 684-1200 option 2; ticketmaster.com; 800-7453000.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY ■ “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Clarence Brown Theatre Mainstage, 1714 Andy Holt Ave. Performances: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: 656-4444, 877995-9961 or http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.org. ■ “Alice’s Rumpus In Wonderland,” Knoxville Children’s Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Ave. Performances: 7 p.m. Friday; 1 and 5 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $12 and under. Info/tickets: http://knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com.
SATURDAY ■ Boss Awesome will perform, 8 p.m., Preservation Pub, 28 Market Square. Tickets: $5, free before 8 p.m. Info: 524-2224. ■ The Dr. E.V. Davidson Teen Step Show, 6 p.m., Knoxville Civic Auditorium, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave. Tickets: Knoxville Civic Auditorium-Coliseum Box Office, 215-8999; KnoxvilleTickets. com, 656-4444 or 877-995-9961. Info: 215-8999. ■ Rico Stache Bash, Barley’s, 200 E. Jackson Ave. Charity event for the UT Small Animal Oncology Department. Info: 521-0092. ■ Swing Dance with The Gamblers, Flynn Dance Center, 828 Tulip Ave. Lindy Hop workshop, 5-7 p.m. Free beginner lesson, 7:15-8 p.m.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY ■ Phoenix Rising Out of Ashes Tournament No. 2, 7 a.m., Knoxville Convention Center, 701 Henley St.
SUNDAY ■ Fleetwood Mac: On With the Show, 8 p.m., ThompsonBoling Arena. Tickets: KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444 or 877-995-9961; Thompson-Boling Arena box office, 974-0123.
Dead End BBQ
It’s not too often that a menu item has trophies to back up claims of deliciousness. At Dead End BBQ, George’s Championship Chicken has the trophies and ribbons to back up the bragging. George is George Ewart, a co-owner with Robert Nutt of the restaurants in Knoxville and Maryville. He is the mastermind behind the whole Dead End concept. Ewart and the Dead End Society barbecue team have brought home around 50 Top 10 finishes in meat cat-
FRIDAY-SATURDAY
■ “The Tempest,” 3 p.m., Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre, Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville. Performed by Aquila Theatre. Tickets: Box Office, 981-8590 or 981-8591; www.claytonartscenter.com; www. knoxvilletickets.com.
George’s Championship Chicken features juicy thighs with a delicious barbecue sauce. Sides are the diner’s choice. In this case, it was Beans with Smoked Sausage and Red, White and Bleu Slaw. Photo by Mystery Diner
sauce with Texas toast and a corn muffin. They were so juicy that additional napkins were required. Cooked perfectly with just
a hint of smokiness, the chicken had no need for any other sauce. Just out of curiosity – and because this is, after
all, a barbecue joint – I tasted the three sauces offered for those who think the meat is a side dish to the sauce. Peacefully Dead is very mild and has a sweet flavor. Gratefully Dead is very smoky and just a little sweet, but not very spicy. Dead End Red is the spiciest of the three, but still not
three-alarm hot. The restaurant’s name is a tribute to the home cook who started it all. Ewart and his neighbors would gather at the end of a dead-end street to barbecue. From that neighborhood gathering, the barbecue team and eventually the restaurant were born.
PANCAKE FEST 2015 O’Connor Pancake Fest & Senior Service Directory Debut Pancakes Hot Off the Griddle & Directories Hot Off the Press! An abundance of pancakes, sausage, orange juice, milk, & coffee. In addition to the regular pancakes, Outback Steakhouse in Sevierville will prepare gluten-free buckwheat pancakes with apple or blackberry toppings! Shuttle service will be provided for those who park at Bill Meyer Stadium or Ashley Nicole Dreamland Playground in Caswell Park. Previously purchased tickets will be good for this event. Tickets available at the door for $5 & include the “all you can eat” pancake menu & admission to other activities, including the craft & gift fair, informational resource booths, & a new event: The debut of the CAC Office on Aging’s Senior Service Directory!
FEB 17TH- CANCELLED
NEW DATE: friday, march 13th 7:00 am – 1:00 pm O’Connor Center - 611 Winona Street O'Connor Center - 611 Winona Street Phone: 523-1135 Cost: $5.00 @ the door.
Phone: 523-1135 Cost—$5.00 @ the Door Ad space donated by
kids
8 • MARCH 4, 2015 • NORTH/EAST Shopper news
Fulton’s Elicia Faulkner hustles down the court for the Falcons in regional basketball action against Kingston. Fulton girls defeated Kingston, 73-47, to advance to the semifinal round.
Fulton hosts region basketball All the recent snow put a hold on area district and region basketball action. Once the roads cleared, Fulton opened the gym and the games got underway before the second round of snow.
Carter’s Blake Dutton goes airborne and lays in two points in the region semifinals against CAK. The Hornets won, 76-48, and faced Fulton in the finals. Photos by R. White
Region update: Fulton High’s Jody Wright Gymnasium was packed last weekend for the semifinal and final rounds of basketball. In the semifinal round, the Fulton girls defeated CAK, 56-51, and advanced to play Gatlinburg-Pittman in the finals. The Falcon girls defeated GPHS, 55-45, to win the 2AA region title.
For the boys’ teams, Fulton defeated Catholic, 71-65, in the semifinal round and Carter rolled over CAK, 76-48, to set a face-off between Fulton and Carter in the finals. During the Region 2AA championship game, the Carter Hornets defeated the Fulton Falcons, 62-52.
Fulton’s Joe Kimber gets his hands out and deflects a shot by Catholic’s Chase Kuershen. Fulton went on to beat Catholic, 71-65, in the semifinals and faced Carter in the region final round.
Beaumont to host exhibit night
Kay Kay Fain passes the ball to a teammate during a recent game of the regional tournament.
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THROUGH FRIDAY, MARCH 13 Volunteers needed for the Saturday, March 14, “Lucky Kidney Run,” benefitting the East Tennessee Kidney Foundation. Info/to register: volunteerknoxville.org.
THROUGH FRIDAY, MARCH 27 Call for local authors of children’s books for “Farragut Book Fest for Children” to be held 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 11, at Founders Park at Campbell Station. Info/to register: www.townoffarragut.org/ register and click the Programs tab; Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive; 966-7057.
Makaley Black, the only senior basketball cheerleader, shows spirit as the Falcon girls’ and boys’ teams both defeat Kingston to advance to the semifinal round of the region tournament. Photos by R. White
Kentel Williams brings the ball downcourt for Fulton during recent basketball action in the regional tournament.
Beaumont Magnet Academy will host Exhibit Night, 5-7 p.m. Thursday, March 5. The event will feature student artwork and give parents an inside look at the accomplishments of the students.
THROUGH FRIDAY, APRIL 10
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4
Tickets available for Rhythm N’ Blooms music festival, on stages set exclusively along downtown Knoxville’s historic Jackson Avenue. Features first-timers, chart-climbers and highly lauded acts from varied musical backgrounds. Info/tickets: www.rhythmnbloomsfest. com.
AAA Driver Improvement Course, 5:30-9:30 p.m., AAA office, 100 W. Fifth Ave. Four-hour course. Helps reduce points for traffic offenders and teaches how to reduce risk while driving. Cost: $30 members, $35 nonmembers. Must preregister. Info/to register: Kate, 862-9254, or Stephanie, 862-9252. Computer Workshop: Introducing the Computer, 2 p.m., Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Info/to register: 525-5431.
THROUGH WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 Applications accepted for the Great Smoky Mountains Trout Adventure Camp for middle-school girls and boys, sponsored by the Tennessee Council of Trout Unlimited, to be held June 15-20 at Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMIT) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Info/applications: http:// www.tntroutadventure.org.
THROUGH SATURDAY, JUNE 20 Online registration open for Race to benefit the Corryton Community Food Pantry, to be held Saturday, June 20. Event is part of “The Run and See Tennessee Grand Prix Series.” To register: https://runnerreg.us/ corryton8mile. Info: corryton8miler@yahoo.com; ron. fuller@totalracesolutions.com; or Joyce Harrell, 7057684.
THURSDAY, MARCH 5 Knoxville Alzheimer’s Tennessee Walk Kickoff Luncheon, noon, Buddy’s BBQ Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike. Walk will be held Saturday, April 18, at UT Gardens. Info/reservations: Kay Watson, 544-6288, x225 or kay.watson@TNalz.org. Pajama-rama Storytime, 6:30 p.m., Powell Branch Library, 330 W. Emory Road. Info: 947-6210.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY, MARCH 5-8 2015 Boat Show, Knoxville Convention Center, 701 Henley St. Times: 2-9 p.m. Thursday, noon-9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission: $9 adults, children under 10 free.
business
Shopper news • MARCH 4, 2015 • 9
Revitalization includes new boutique Just talk to Nick Pavlis a few minutes and you’ll have no doubt about the future of South Knoxville. “People are starting to see the resurgence since the (Henley) bridge has reopened. This is what I have been waiting for. It just excites me so much,” says Pavlis. Pavlis, Knoxville vicemayor and city council member, can’t hide his enthusiasm. “The announcement of the mixed-use plans for the Kern’s facility, four new businesses along Sevier Avenue that are in various stages before opening, plus the new Dunkin’ Donuts show confidence in the area,” Pavlis says. “We also have new businesses along Chapman Highway.” One of those new businesses is Foxx Trott Fashions. Owner Charles Brown
Nancy Whittaker
is proud to be part of the new growth in South Knoxville. Originally from Kentucky, Brown moved to Knoxville 25 years ago. With a background in retail and management, Brown knew he wanted to open a fun business with a wide variety of fashions. After visiting numerous stores and learning new trends, Brown opened his boutique. When it comes to women’s apparel, Foxx Trott Fashions definitely has
something for everyone. When asked what age group he markets to, Brown laughs and says, “I cater to young, middle age and senior … pretty much everyone. I carry traditional clothes for office, church and work but also have fun and trendy fashions.” Brown has been busy working to find top designs at great prices. His goal is to have name-brand boutique clothes with prices closer to outlet prices. “Our inventory all comes from New York and California,” says Brown. Jon & Anna New York fashions are found throughout the store, as are Aggie, Daisy, Potter’s Pot and Leshop. Check out any of these designers online to see their amazing clothes – then head to Foxx Trott to find amazingly low prices.
Brown stocks many accessories as well. Scarves are currently popular, and Foxx Trott Fashions has a great selection. Costume jewelry, including vanilla and chocolate faux pearls, is also available at affordable prices. “Seventy percent of everything in the store is between $3 and $30,” says Brown. Sizes from small to extra large and plus sizes are all available. Located in the Chapman Commons Center at 4560 Chapman Highway (Big Lots Shopping Center), the store is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Gift certificates are available. A grand opening is planned for March 14 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Look for details in next week’s Shopper. Contact Foxx Trott Fashions at 540-6947.
Good things for good people Named Desire” and “Sweeney Todd.” She will receive an honorary Master of Fine Arts degree. Marian Wright Edelman heads the Children’s Defense Fund, whose headquarters are Sandra at the forClark mer Alex Haley farm in Clinton. Her work has made a Dale Dickey’s mom, dif ference Missy, started coaxing her Edelman in the lives friends to see Dale of numerous kids over time. p e r f o r m She will receive an honorary when the Doctor of Humane letters kid was a and speak at the College of street ur- Communications and Inforchin in “Oli- mation commencement on ver Twist.” May 8. These will be just the Even then ninth and 10th honorary deshe was de- grees that UT-Knoxville has Dickey t e r m i n e d awarded. ■ Paul Degges, deputy to make her living as a percommissioner and chief enformer. And she has. Dale’s career has includ- gineer with the Tennessee ed roles in “Winter’s Bone” Department of Transportaand the TV series “My Name tion, has been honored with Is Earl,” but folks around the Tennessee Tech Engihere recall her powerful neer of Distinction award. The award recognizes presence on the Clarence excellence, Brown Theatre stage, most professional recently in “A Streetcar character and dedication to The University of Tennessee is awarding honorary degrees to two different yet deserving people.
Tech’s College of Engineering. I covered Degges’ visit with t he n - s t at e Sen. Jamie Wo o d s o n . They stood on the corner of Emory Road Degges and Norris Freeway and talked about a greenway connector from Clayton Park to Halls Elementary School. Pictures on the front page of this week’s Halls Shopper show that construction now underway. ■ Jared Fogle, “The Subway Guy,” will be showing up around town this summer. He’s a partner with Thompson Cancer Sur-
Charles Brown, owner of Foxx Trott Fashions, is proud to be part of South Knoxville’s revitalization. Photo by Nancy Whittaker
Jared Fogle and Michael Holtz at the Covenant press conference.
vival Center and Covenant Health in the annual Race Against Cancer. Subway will be the named sponsor of the 5K race. Covenant CEO Tony Spezia said Subway is widely known for promoting active and healthy lifestyles. “The Subway Race Against
Cancer is an asset for the community because all of the funds raised stay here to support health care needs in East Tennessee.” ■ John Schoonmaker may yet secure consistency in parking space sizes between the city (162 square feet) and the county (200
square feet). While on the Board of Zoning Appeals, he watched new businesses “file an appeal, stand in line, wait a month or more and pay $200 to ask (BZA) to let them conform.” Now Schoonmaker is a member of the County Commission. He pounced on Dave Hill, representing the MPC, at last week’s meeting. Hill, who rejoined MPC in April, said he was aware of BZA’s request. He first asked the city and county mayors what they thought. Then he launched a comprehensive review of parking lot regs including stormwater runoff. “I guess we could break out that one line,” he said. “I make that motion,” said Schoonmaker. “And I second,” said Commissioner Mike Brown. Wow! At this rate we might see a change sometime this year.
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UT Law offering free tax help As part of the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, UT Law students will offer free tax preparation help and electronic filing to qualifying members of the community. The program is available to those who generally make $53,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly and limited-English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in
preparing their own tax returns. The services are available 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through April 15 in Suite 157 of the College of Law, 1505 W. Cumberland Ave. Appointments are not required. Visit www.tiny. utk.edu/vita to learn what documents are needed. Info: Morgan, 974-2492 or rmorgan2@utk.edu.
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versalist Church, 616 Fretz Road: 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, through April 14. Documents needed include: Social Security card and birthday for each person on the return; taxpayer photo ID; original W-2s, 1099Rs, SSA1099s, etc., for all income; proof of health insurance – a new requirement. Optional documents: last year’s return, proof of account for direct deposit and expenses for deductions. Info: www.irs.gov.
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Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which offers free tax preparation by certified volunteers to low-to moderateincome families and households, is available at three locations: Goodwill, 5307 Kingston Pike: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays, through April 15. Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays through April 10. Westside Unitarian Uni-
10 • MARCH 4, 2015 • Shopper news
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