NORTH / EAST VOL. 2 NO. 35
IN THIS ISSUE
A-E tailgaters enjoy the game
Beep-beep! That sound means the Austin-East Roadrunners are coming. Wherever the road leads them you will find the Margaret Manning Austin-East Tailgaters not far behind.
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Read Patricia Williams on page 3
Carter seniors dig in There are many good cooks in the Carter community. A recent spread had fresh fried corn, fried okra, baked beans, salads and a variety of desserts.
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Patricia Williams has more on 3
Mike Lowe back in the news When Tommy Schumpert ran for county executive in 1994, Mike Lowe made his move. He ran for trustee as a reformer and promised to depoliticize the office, institute an anti-nepotism policy and end the practice of dunning employees for campaign contributions.
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Read Betty Bean on page 4
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Della Volpe to speak at Town Hall City Council member Nick Della Volpe will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, to Fountain City Town Hall, meeting at Church of the Good Shepherd, 5337 Jacksboro Pike. This is a general membership meeting to which community residents are invited.
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Honaker joins Tennessee Theatre Foundation The Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation has named Lila Honaker its communications and development manager, a move that brings the entertainment marketing professional ba ck to her roots at the Tennessee Theatre. “My first job after graduating from the University of Tennessee was with AC Entertainment, marketing entertainment for the newly reopened theatre,” said Honaker. “From the very beginning of my career, it was ingrained in me how special and beautiful the theatre is. I consider it a tremendous opportunity to be working for the foundation that preserves this historic treasure.” A native of Lebanon, Virginia, Honaker currently resides in the Lincoln Park/Oakwood community in North Knoxville. She served on the board of the Bijou Theatre from 2011-14 and is involved with Lila Honaker Theatre Obsolete, a small, grassroots performing arts group that makes and performs with puppets. Most recently, Honaker worked nationally as marketing manager Theatre executive director, said, with Scripps Networks Interac- “Lila brings with her a background tive. Becky Hancock, Tennessee and skill set that will serve the
theatre well. With her background vation, we believe Lila will be a in the performing arts and music terrific brand ambassador for the and her love for historic preser- Tennessee Theatre.”
and fifth grades. Students took an active role in creating dances and they thrived when given a problem and were able to come up with solutions. Through the program, the students don’t copy dance steps but they create their own movement vocabulary. The students also learn history and culture, but the instruction stresses being an artist. As Whelan retires, she will miss the children and dancing the most. She will continue to teach and is planning to work with inDeborah Whelan tergenerational dance. Her dream is to have a place for her Beaumont In 1995, Whelan started a DanceWorks students to continue dance company called Beaumont their study. She also enjoys makDanceWorks for students in fourth ing pottery and is a bogey golfer.
Dance teacher retires from Beaumont By Ruth White Deborah Whelan began her career teaching university-level teachers how to teach dance. She will end it teaching children at Beaumont Elementary School and the Beaumont Magnet Academy the art of movement and dance. Whelan moved to Tennessee in 1991 when her husband accepted a job at the University of Tennessee. She had worked with dance companies of all ages, and now turned her focus to the smaller audience members. In 1993, she began work at Beaumont, teaching children to
appreciate the art. She taught the students to be comfortable at performances. “We are creating a whole generation of people who will be advocates for dance,” she said. “They may not be professional dancers but it is part of their DNA now.” Beaumont had the state’s first elementary dance program and was among the first elementary magnet schools in Knox County. Initially, the dance program was for the students tagged “talented and gifted,” but it soon became obvious that all children benefited from the instruction.
The destruction of Coach Roach By Betty Bean
On election night in Grainger County, supporters of longtime state Rep. Dennis “Coach” Roach got together to await the 35th House District Republican Primary returns. Their candidate fought hard to overcome a tsunami of negative advertising financed by as much as $500,000 from out-of-state special-interest groups blasting Roach for “ghost voting” (the common and fairly innocuous practice of seat-mates pushing the voting button for neighbors who have stepped out to use the restroom or take a smoke). The ads painted it as dangerous and lazy, but Roach’s supporters were cautiously optimistic that Roach, a popular teacher and basketball coach who had served since 1994, would survive. “We thought Jerry was going to get his showing, but it turned out we got our showing,” said Grainger County Commissioner James Acuff. When the final tally was in, Roach lost by nearly 1,000 votes
Coach Roach
Jerry Sexton
to opponent Jerry Sexton, a preacher turned furniture manufacturer whose Facebook page describes him as “More pro-life than your pastor, more for the Second Amendment than Davy Crockett, and more for traditional marriage than Adam and Eve.” The real issue that got the attention of 501(c)(4) groups like the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity and the Tennessee Federation for Children wasn’t ghost voting at all. “It all came down to my vote on the vouchers,” said Roach, whose district includes Grainger and parts of Union and Claiborne counties.
Roach was particularly disappointed in his Union County showing, where he lost 670-320. “We thought we might do a little better than that after saving them $497,000 (by pushing to keep the K12 Inc. Virtual Academy open against the wishes of Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman). We helped (Union County) save that revenue, and they ran a thank-you in the News Sentinel. “But I guess what we did didn’t impress them enough to overcome those ads. They were good ads but just about 99 percent false.” Roach cast the fateful vote on March 5 in the House Finance Ways & Means subcommittee (aka “the Black Hole”) opposing a school voucher bill that would have directed taxpayer money to private schools. “I could have very easily voted for them and saved myself this trouble, but I’ve been in education all my life, and it’s not a real good time to be taking money out of public education,” Roach said. “I’ve run 10 times before but spent
more money in this race than in all my other contests combined. “We raised about $57,000, and we spent it. The TEA did a mailer or two that didn’t cost me, spent about $7,500 or so, but you compare that to $400,000-something … And they did radio, too. We came back and did what we could, but you spend what you’ve got and no more.” Final contribution tallies won’t be disclosed until October. Several of Roach’s colleagues chipped in campaign contributions in an attempt to fend off the onslaught, including Rep. Ryan Haynes, who says he’d like to dam the flow of outside money. “Coach is exactly right. The voucher bill is what got him, and there’s way too much money in politics. I’ve never had a constituent come up to me and tell me they wish they could get more money in my hand. The public is right to be concerned about this, and I think it’s incumbent on voters to start saying, ‘Hey, where’s this coming from?’ ”
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