NORTH / EAST VOL. 2 NO. 51
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December 24, 2014
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‘Be our guest’
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Christmas greetings! In this drawing by Carol Chilton of Greeneville, Bill and Wanda Williams say it best. “Straight from the heart.”
Lights fantastic at Chilhowee Park Tour Chilhowee Park by car after dark to see the citysponsored forest of lighted trees floating on the lake. The exhibit will continue to Jan. 1.
Festival of Lights Walk around Concord Park to see the Knox County Festival of Lights, running from 6-9 p.m. through Dec. 30. It’s sponsored by the county’s Parks and Recreation Department. Come for a Dam Road Ride Saturday, Dec. 27, at 9 a.m. as the Knoxville Bicycle Company sponsors the Saturday Dam Road Ride. Meet at 10657 Hardin Valley Road. Info: www. Legacyparks.org/.
IN THIS ISSUE Bill Dockery Five Points UP brought singing, dancing, cider and snacks to the neighborhood on Dec. 16 in an effort to build community and promote involvement.
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Wendy Smith Judging at Tour de Lights was a challenge. In the end, there were 1,023 riders, most of whom sported lights, tinsel or costumes. “It was nothing short of magical to watch them depart for a tour of the Fourth & Gill neighborhood, even though my toes were numb.”
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See story on page 5
Betsy Pickle Christmas is a huge day for movies, and Shopper-News previews two of the best ones: “Into the Woods” and “The Imitation Game.”
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See previews on page 6
7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Bill Dockery ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Shannon Carey Jim Brannon | Tony Cranmore Patty Fecco | Wendy O’Dell
The cast of “Beauty and the Beast” perform “Be Our Guest” for the crowd gathered at Carter High School last week. Performing with the ensemble group are (front) dancer Takiela Bone, Babette (Julia Thress), dancer Elizabeth Benn; (back) Mrs. Potts (Semaja Reed), dancer Hannah McCann, Cogsworth (Nate Paul), Belle (Elizabeth Wilson), dancing china (Garrett Sandifur), Lumiere (Blake Jackson) and Madame de la Grande Bouche (Olivia Martin). More photos on page 8. Photo by R. White
Color brightens Burlington By Bill Dockery
A landmark in the Burlington business district is getting a colorful makeover for its new role in the East Knox community. The old McCarty Mortuary building at the corner of Martin Luther King Avenue and Holston Holland Drive is transforming into a child-care center for Knoxville youngsters. Beverly Holland, the owner of God’s Creative Enrichment Center, is supervising architectural and engineering upgrades to the The somber hues of the old McCarty Mortuary building have disappeared under a bright palette as Beverly Holland prepares to move God’s Creative Enrichment Center into the Burlington landmark.
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Blasius is new director of design center By Wendy Smith Wayne Blasius, who began his new job as executive director of the East Tennessee Community Design Center this week, remembers having coffee with Annette Anderson back in 1977. Anderson was executive director of the design cenWayne Blasius ter from 1973 to 1995. She was one of the first people Blasius met when he arrived in Knoxville to begin graduate work in urban planning. They talked about the importance of getting involved in the community, and the conversation stoked his enthusiasm for civic engagement. In the years since, Blasius has volunteered for the design center,
Knox Heritage, Leadership Knoxville, the Central Business Improvement District and the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, along with other organizations. “I strongly believe in giving back, that our community is only as good as the work its citizens are willing to put into it.” He grew up in the Chicago area and didn’t intend to stay in Knoxville. But the South grew on him − especially the warm winters. After Blasius finished his degree, he was hired as a planner for the Metropolitan Planning Commission. He worked on the downtown master plan that ultimately led to that area’s renaissance. His firm, InSite Development, also contributed to downtown’s revitalization with the redevelopment of the Phoenix and the Mast General Store/Gallery Lofts.
Knoxville has an incredible historic building stock, he says. “If you look down Gay Street, there are not many missing teeth.” The area has remained intact because businesses had little economic incentive to be there during the 1960s and 1970s, he says. If downtown had been booming, some of the buildings would have been torn down and replaced with modern equivalents. When it comes to good design, there’s always room for improvement, and he hopes the design center will continue to be a player in that. Blasius took the reins from interim executive director Mary Linda Schwarzbart, whom he commends for her leadership. He also praises the design center’s staff and volunteer board. He thinks his ability to envision a new future for downtown’s
big, empty buildings will help him lead the design center, though its scope goes far beyond the city center. Knoxville and its outlying communities depend on each other, and good design is beneficial to everybody, he says. The ETCDC, which serves a 16-county region, provides professional design and planning services to communities and nonprofit organizations that would not otherwise be able to afford such services. Conceptual designs for projects, which are chosen based on service to the public, help organizations focus their vision and seek funding. The design center was founded in 1969 by renowned Knoxville architect Bruce McCarty. Staff is composed of three full-time and two part-time employees. Funding for the nonprofit comes from grants and donations.
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2 • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • Shopper news
health & lifestyles
Local entrepreneur receives ‘excellent care’ during two hip surgeries As an interior designer of professional office spaces, Amy Taylor of Knoxville knows how to make her clients comfortable at work. But several years ago Taylor became very uncomfortable herself, whether sitting or standing. She had severe pain in her back and hips that made it difficult to bend and walk. “I had a lot of lower back pain and leg pain. It progressed to hip pain, deep pain, in my back and lower legs. At night, I couldn’t sleep on my side. I’d wake up with a lot of hip pain,” she said. “It got to the point where I came home and went straight to the recliner and put my legs up, because that was the most comfortable position. I used to walk daily, but all of that stopped – going to the park or going outdoors. It definitely affected my level of exercise and activity.” Taylor was diagnosed with femoroacetabular impingement, or FAI, of the hip. It’s a condition in which the ball of the femur (thigh) bone isn’t perfectly round and with activity patients can experience pinching, tearing and premature wear. This can damage the cartilage of the both the ball and socket and, ultimately, lead to bone-onbone arthritis. “But not everyone needs a hip replacement,” said Dr. Paul Yau, an orthopedic surgeon at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. “Caught early enough, tears can be repaired, the hip can be made round and balance can be restored to the joint. With modern techniques in hip arthroscopy, we can accomplish a lot of work through three tiny incisions. “Hips are much like tires. If they’re not round, they’ll wear out sooner,” said Yau. “A lot of what I do is similar to being a mechanic. If your tires are out of balance, you balance them to help them run smoother and last longer. If there is a hole or a tear, repair it. But if your treads are completely worn, it makes the most sense to replace the whole tire.”
Amy Taylor, pictured here on vacation with her son, Bryce, came to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center earlier this year due to crippling hip, leg and back pain. Now, she’s back on her feet thanks to Dr. Yau and the team at the Joint Center of Fort Sanders Regional.
Taylor tried steroid injections to calm the pain, without success. So she went to see Dr. Yau. Even though Taylor is only 42 years old, Yau suggested replacing both of her hips with artificial joints. “Yes, it is quite unusual to be that young and need replacement surgery. I certainly spend a lot of time repairing and saving hip joints when possible. However, past a certain point, replacement surgery has a much better chance of providing decades of pain relief. Recent data show the average age of hip replacement patients has dropped below age 50 and Amy’s not far from that,” said Yau.
Taylor had her hips replaced one at a time, one side in late August 2014 and the second two months later. Both were done at Fort Sanders, with Taylor staying just one night in the hospital each time. Taylor was able to go home so quickly because Yau used a minimally invasive technique called direct anterior hip replacement. It requires only a 4-inch incision, and the muscles and tendons are spread apart to make room for the new hip joint instead of cutting them. This leads to a quicker recovery. Yau does a high volume of direct anterior hip replacements each year.
A closer look at direct anterior hip replacement Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is among only 15 percent of U.S. hospitals with the staff and facilities available to perform the latest approach in hip replacement surgery, called direct anterior hip replacement. In this procedure, the surgeon goes through the front (anterior) portion of the hip, instead of the side or back. This allows the surgery to separate important muscles and tendons instead of cutting through them to position a new hip joint implant. “When I first started doing hip replacement surgery Paul Yau, MD this way, I thought it was just another option to access the joint, but people have done amazingly well with this approach,” said Dr. Paul Yau, an orthopedic surgeon with Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. “With traditional hip replacements, we have to cut muscles or tendons, which prolongs the recovery process and may require limitations on hip motion,” said Yau. “It
is common to hear patients being told not to bend at the hip more than 90 degrees, squat, reach to the floor or cross your legs after hip replacement because it would risk a dislocation. “With the anterior approach, none of these typical ligaments are cut, which means all of these common activities are safe, immediately after surgery,” Yau explained. The anterior approach does require a specialized surgical table and intraoperative X-rays. “The specialized table allows for safe leg placement not possible with a traditional surgical table,” said Yau. “This unique table improves access to the hip joint and permits the use of intraoperative X-rays to ensure accurate implant position. “Traditionally, leg length discrepancies are a well-known complication after total hip replacement. The use of live, real-time imaging during surgery allows the surgeon to make both legs balanced and symmetric in length,” he said. “This means the implant will last longer. I no longer say you have to be a certain age to get a hip replacement.” With the anterior approach, the patient
should expect usually one or two nights in the hospital. “Some people even go home the same day,” said Yau. “People recover so much faster, it’s unbelievable.” Yau said he began doing the anterior surgery routinely about a year ago and uses it today for about 95 percent of his hip replacement and repair surgeries. “It does require special facilities and a trained staff, which we have at Fort Sanders. There are a lot of moving parts to the surgery and they all need to be coordinated or you’ll have problems,” he said. Studies have backed up Yau’s opinion of anterior hip replacement. “You know how progress tends to happen in increments?” he asked. “I want to say this is a giant leap instead of an incremental one in orthopedic surgery. I haven’t seen anything this dramatically improve people’s outcome from surgery, ever.” For more information on direct anterior hip replacement, call 673-FORT or visit our website at www.fsregional.com/orthopaedics.
Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center wishes you and your family a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year. fsregional.com • (865) 673-FORT
“This is a much easier way for patients to recover from hip replacement surgery,” said Yau. “I have some patients where I did one hip the old way and then we did the other one the new (anterior) way, and patient feedback reports the new way is about 70 to 80 percent easier.” Taylor said in both surgeries, she felt dramatically better quickly. “In both cases by the third week I felt so much better and was off all my pain meds,” she said. She is going through physical therapy to strengthen her muscles again after years of not exercising. “I still have some back pain; I have a limp in my gait,” she said. “Dr. Yau recommended I go to some physical therapy because my muscles are weak because I haven’t used them for two years. The pain in my hips is gone, and right now I just have muscle related pain.” Taylor said she would recommend Fort Sanders to anyone facing hip surgery. “Dr. Yau is so personable,” said Taylor. “He talks to you, listens to you. He talked to my husband. He called me after the surgery and stayed in touch. “Dr. Yau and Fort Sanders did a great job. The care at Fort Sanders was outstanding,” said Taylor. “They were very attentive to any needs I had, all very knowledgeable, with excellent care. I’ve already recommended them to about three of my friends.”
Tips on how to avoid joint injuries ■ Avoid doing too much, too soon. Never increase the length of your workouts by more than 10 percent from one week to the next, and never increase both the length and intensity of your workout at the same time. ■ Maintain strength in the muscles surrounding the joint area. To strengthen the knees, do calf raises, lunges, squats and leg lifts. ■ Train smart by cross-training. Repetitive-motion injuries caused by doing just one sport or workout are some of the most common. You can prevent them by doing different sports or activities that work different muscles. ■ Never skip your warm-up or cool down. Tight or stiff muscles around a joint will make the area more prone to injury. ■ Always use proper technique and body mechanics when playing sports involving repetitive motion, such as tennis and golf. Taking lessons from a certified coach or trainer every once in a while can help you learn and stick with proper form, which can reduce your injury risk substantially. ■ Keep in shape. A high cardiovascular fitness level is crucial to avoid joint injuries. Otherwise, as you tire your form can fail and your joints carry unbalanced weight. ■ Be sure to wear proper shoes that provide adequate support during exercise.
community
NORTH/EAST Shopper news • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • 3
Quineka Moten of Great Schools Partnership and Jasmine Siler of Project GRAD answer questions about their programs during Winter Wonderland.
Christy Cozart, Elizabeth Rhone and Mariah Cozart from the Eternal Life Harvest Center praise and dance team perform for the ma Battle, an elder of TaberWinter Wonderland program staged by Five Points UP at Tabernacle Baptist Church. nacle Baptist, sang a solo. “Folks need to focus on unifying our neighborhood,” said Battle. “We need to celebrate the places we can come together.” Battle serves in a number of community and religious organizations. Baker announced that the CAC East Neighborhood Five Points UP brought of groups and organizaCenter is taking donations singing, dancing, cider and tions to produce the event, of Christmas lights and decsnacks to the neighborhood including Big Brothers/Big orations for use in the Five on Dec. 16 in an effort to Sisters, Community Action Bill Points community. build community and proDockery Committee’s East Neigh“Some of the children borhood Center, Knoxville mote involvement. never really see their neighand Knox County governWinter Wonderland was borhood decorated and ments, Project GRAD and an initiative by the Knox celebrated,” she said. “The Pellissippi State CommuCounty Health Department parades and other holiday to promote neighborhood seeking not only the health nity College, among others. activities are in other parts activities that support im- of the individual but the Tabernacle Baptist Church of town.” hosted the gathering. proved individual and com- health of the community. The health department “We want people to be Eternal Life Harvest munity health. received funding from the “Our goal is to beautify safe and respected, and to Center praise and dance Robert Wood Johnson and unify East Knoxville,” enjoy the place where they team members performed, Dean Rosalyn Tillman brings Foundation to engage three followed by singers from greetings from Pellissippi at-risk neighborhoods in said Tanisha Baker, a Proj- live and worship and play.” The health department the Overcoming Believers State Community College, ect GRAD leader and memaddressing environmental ber of Five Points UP. “We’re partnered with a number Church praise team. J. Tom- Magnolia Avenue campus. barriers to good health. The
Five Points UP
celebrates holiday community
department facilitates Five Points UP to create events and programs to improve the community. The activities are open to anyone who lives, works or plays in the Five Points neighborhood.
FAITH NOTES ■ First Lutheran Church, 1207 N. Broadway, will host the following special services: Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 24; Christmas Day service, 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 25; worship service, 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 28; New Year’s Eve service, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 31. Communion will be served at all services. The public is invited. ■ Macedonia UMC, 4630 Holston Drive, will hold a Candlelight Christmas Eve and Communion Service at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 24.
Finding the baby in a ‘Walk Through Bethlehem’ By Sherri Gardner Howell Rumors were flying all through “Bethlehem.” The innkeepers were abuzz, and the shepherds shook their heads in wonder. Someone said a baby had been born, and that his birth was announced by angels. Thousands of visitors to Church Street United Methodist Church found the church transformed into the village of Bethlehem as it might have looked 2,000 years ago, with wood chips on the floor, sand spread all around and the village populated with shopkeepers, shepherds, animals and guests, some in town to pay their taxes and some to look for this new baby. For 17 years, Church Street has created a Walk
Burlington building, which opened as a mortuary in 1968. She describes the facelift as a way to bring something back to the community. “I just love red,” Holland said. “And we’ve accented the windows with primary colors that kids like.” Holland has operated her three-star center on Woodbine Avenue for 10 years and is continuing to do so as work on the Burlington site extends into next summer.
Little Brady Kaplan gets an early taste of acting as he plays the baby Jesus in A Walk Through Bethlehem with his mother, Kelly Kaplan, and David Rosecrance as Mary and Joseph. Ainsley Lamar works the dough to make some bread at a Walk Through Bethlehem. Through Bethlehem, an interactive village where guests can be transported back to what a village might have been like at the time of
From page A-1 She employs seven staff members now but eventually plans to increase that number, depending on the maximum number of children the Metropolitan Planning Commission will allow her to serve at the new site. The Christian-based center enrolls children from 6 months to 12 years old. “The center is not a dropoff service or babysitting. It’s a place where working parents can provide
Finnian Gilbert works as a metal smith in the Walk Through Bethlehem.
their children with something more than TV after school,” Holland said. She and her staff try to provide an educational curriculum promoting parent-child engagement. “We give the children homework to complete with their parents.” The old funeral home chapel is being converted to a gym, and another room will become a library. Part of the paved parking lot will be converted to a playground. Holland recently completed the Greater Knoxville Chamber of Commerce’s
Jesus’ birth. It takes hundreds of volunteers to produce, all receiving coaching for their positions – training in what a shopkeeper might say, what wares he would be selling and what kind of interaction he was likely to have with visitors.
The marketplace offers United Methodist Church’s authentic food, potters who children’s minister, back in let visitors try their hand at 1997. Sue and her husband, making clay pots, a jewelry- Rick, went to a similar vilmaking shop and animals lage creation when they lived in Nashville. outside in a stable. The live nativity has Joseph, Mary and baby JeWould you like to start a sus. Two babies shared the NEW CAREER? honors of playing Jesus this Come to the American Red Cross Nurse Assistant year, splitting the duties Training information sessions every mentor/protégé program. into two shifts. Wednesday at 10am! Prior to opening a child-care The tradition began with 6921 Middlebrook Pike, Knoxvillle, TN 37909 No obligation & scholarships available business, she had a 20-year Sue Isbell, Church Street to those who qualify. career as a licensed dental assistant. She and husband Charles have two children, a daughter who just graduated from the University of Memphis and a son who is doing the painting on the new center. Gift “Every child deserves to Certificates be loved, cared for and nur$ New Patient Special! $31 Savings Available tured, regardless of race or Pain management, allergies and much more. gender,” Holland said. “I love www.angiesacupuncture.com the satisfaction of seeing the 11729 Chapman Hwy, Swe 5 letters and cards when we Coupon expires 3/1/15. Appointments only: 865-250-7737 graduate another class.”
Ginny Hill tells the story of David and Goliath to a group of children at the Walk Through Bethlehem at Church Street UMC. Photos by Justin Acuff
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4 • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • Shopper news
The first Martha Ashe Forty years ago, in 1974, the first woman to represent Knox County in the state Senate was elected in November. Her name was Martha Ashe, and there is quite a story as to how it all happened in an unplanned way. She was this writer’s mother, and the reader needs to be 60 to have much current memory of the fall campaign in 1974 in Knox County. In fact, the full story will take up much of two columns, so this story will be continued on Dec. 31. Martha Ashe was also the first Republican woman ever elected statewide to the Senate. Since then three more women (Jamie Woodson, Becky Massey and, briefly, Sue Atchley) have represented Knox County in the state Senate, and many more have served other parts of the state. At the start of 1974, I was completing my third term in the state House and decided to run for the state Senate that year. Tennessee’s Constitution requires that a state senator be 30 years old. In 1974, I was 29 and would turn 30 on Jan. 1, 1975. Since the Senate would not convene until the second Tuesday of January in 1975, I would then be 30. I sought and secured a state Attorney General’s opinion that said I was eligible to run and the Senate would determine the qualifications of its own members. The state Constitution also provides that the term of office begins with the day of election in November.
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Victor Ashe
There is not a lame-duck period for state legislators. My mother at that time had no inkling she might seek the Senate seat but was a vital supporter in my campaigns. I declared my candidacy in the GOP primary and won the nomination over longtime Sheriff Bernard Waggoner in August. In addition to the Democratic candidate, Betty Cathey, there was an independent candidate, former state Rep. Jack Comer, whom I had defeated two years earlier for state representative in the GOP primary after redistricting. Comer was irate over his loss. He filed as an independent candidate to gain legal standing to sue over my eligibility. The lawsuit is styled Comer v. Ashe and was first heard in Chancery Court by the late Len Broughton, who ruled in my favor, holding that the Senate alone would decide the eligibility of its members. Since the Senate would not convene until January, when I would be 30, the issue would be moot. However, Comer quickly appealed the decision and asked that the state Supreme Court hear the case, bypassing the appellate court. The Supreme Court agreed to hear it.
I was ably represented by Jack Draper and the late Robert Ritchie, father of former state Rep. Wayne Ritchie. To my dismay, the court quickly ruled that I was not eligible to run since I would not be 30 the day of the election and ordered my name removed from the ballot. There were less than seven weeks to the November election and now no Republican nominee. The public reaction was mostly in my favor and against the court, which was seen by many as an arm of the Democratic Party. The story continues in next week’s column with the battle to name a GOP nominee and the five-week campaign to election day. ■Gov. Bill Haslam has made an outstanding choice in Randy Boyd as commissioner of Economic Development. Boyd previously helped Haslam on education issues as an unpaid assistant for one year. Boyd, founder of PetSafe, has been a community leader. He follows another Knoxvillian, Bill Baxter, who served in this position under Gov. Don Sundquist from 1998 to 2000, and Alex Fisher, who lived in Knoxville then but has now moved to Columbus, Ohio. ■Former Knoxville Mayor Kyle Testerman, 80, and retired city Fire Chief Eddie Cureton, 77, are recovering well from accidents and were patients recently in adjacent rooms at NHC in Farragut. Best wishes to them as they get back on their feet and become more mobile.
Jacksons celebrate Christmas Knox County General Sessions Court judge Andy Jackson and his wife, Janet (at right), celebrate with daughters Rachel and Rebecca at the family’s annual Christmas party at their home in Solway. Judge Jackson is a descendant of President Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. Photo by A. Hart
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Last week, after President Obama announced we would normalize relations with Cuba, I tuned in to a local radio station’s daily talk show anticipating wing-nut hysterics at the news. I came away gratified. One caller expressed his displeasure at trading with any Communist nation by asking rhetorically, “Why are we (trading) with Vietnam, anyway? They killed 55,000 of our men.� Then, for emphasis: “We shoulda nuked ’em back to the Stone Age.� For that fellow, nothing exudes Christmas cheer like a glowing, radioactive crater. Although Obama’s most recent treasonous action was enough in itself to curl his toenails, it turned out the caller was equally outraged over the origin of his jockey shorts: made in Vietnam. After East Tennessee’s version of Gen. Jack D. Ripper (of “Dr. Strangelove� fame) hung up, I tried to empathize with him. My jockey shorts are “immigrants� as well, made in Honduras, but we haven’t had a war with Honduras lately. If we had, I might feel differently. Then I considered what
Larry Van Guilder this country would look like today if we had “nukedâ€? Vietnam: probably a lot like Vietnam but without the jungle. But our actions would also have precipitated World War III, and we would have been nuked in turn by the Soviet Union and Red China. (Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers ‌â€? As opposed to “peacekeepers,â€? now-retired ICBMs once deployed by the United States.) However, fair-minded individual that I am, I conceded that the caller might be on to something. Vietnam is the wrong target, especially now that it produces serviceable underwear. But there are people, places and things that could do with a good Christmas nuking, so I made this list and checked it twice. Denmark. Peaceful little Denmark, you say? Ha! Danes, with their well-paid McDonald’s workers and their cream-cheese pastries may seem to be the last people on earth who deserve in-
dustrial-grade irradiation, but read on. Denmark has decided to lay claim to part of the Arctic surrounding the North Pole. Because the continental shelf running under Greenland stretches to the pole and Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the pushy Danes think they can just grab territory like it was formerly part of Mexico. Anyone who writes or says anything preceded by a hashtag (#). If you’re like me, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to restrain the impulse to strangle the next person who uses a hashtag to communicate feelings, as in, “I feel #blue today,â€? or opinions like “#DanesAreNuts.â€? Nuking on this scale would mean the end of Twitter, a sweet collateral benefit. The National Football League. The conduct of pro football players makes a strong argument for nuking. I’ll exclude Peyton Manning if he agrees to stop making Papa John’s commercials. The next politician who says, “I’m not a scientist, but ‌â€? We’ve been hearing a lot of this from climate-change deniers in recent years. We know you’re not scientists; we only wish you would listen to them.
government
Shopper news • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • 5
Lunching in the sunshine News gets hard to come by during the holidays, which made this announcement from Knox County Schools’ prolific public information office enticing: “PUBLIC NOTICE: (14173) Please note that two or more Board of Education members may meet on Monday, Dec. 15, at 11:30 a.m. at Panera Bread, 2000 Cumberland Avenue. Education issues will be discussed and minutes will be taken. All board members are welcome to attend and will pay for their own meals.” So it was no surprise that two reporters played Cumberland Avenue parkingspot roulette and showed up
Betty Bean
at the popular campus café. No telling what they were going to be talking about, right? But there was no news broken at the meeting, which was attended by board members Patti Bounds, Amber Rountree, Terry Hill and Doug Harris, as well as assistant superintendent Elizabeth Alves (who got stuck taking notes). Also present were
Knox County Education Association president Tanya T. Coats and Rountree’s 3-month-old son, Teddy, for whose affections Hill and Bounds competed as they discussed problems finding substitute teachers. Afterward, Bounds was a little embarrassed about the announcement. Turns out that she, Hill and Rountree, who regularly attend Bible study together, just wanted to have lunch. In an abundance of caution, they reported it to KCS spokesperson Melissa Ogden, who “sunshined” the meeting, i.e., sent out a formal notice in compliance with the state’s sunshine law.
“We were just going to get together and have lunch. … Our intent was to convey that business ‘may be discussed,’ but it was really just some people wanting to get together and have lunch, but not wanting our conversation to be limited to small talk. I’m surprised we didn’t have cameras rolling,” Bounds said, barely stifling a laugh. This abundance of caution is typical of Knox County elected officials, who are still smarting from the aftermath of “Black Wednesday,” when County Commission got itself into a world of trouble by appointing spouses, kinfolk
and drinking buddies to seats they were being forced to vacate after the state Supreme Court forced Knox County to abide by termlimits laws, thumbing their collective noses at Tennessee’s Open Meetings Act in the process. Even though school board members weren’t the offenders, they are extremely careful about such things, unlike some of their colleagues across the state. Take the Metro Nashville school board, for example, which recently attempted to choose a new superintendent by secret ballot. Astonishingly unaware of
Tour de Lights is holiday magic My favorite Christmas memory isn’t really a memory at all. It’s a feeling. It’s the excitement I experienced when I walked out of my grandmother’s house on Christmas Eve knowing Christmas was the next day. My brother and I couldn’t stop grinning during the car ride home. “Can you believe it? Tomorrow, when we wake up, it will be Christmas!” we’d say, and five minutes later, we’d say it again. It was sheer bliss knowing that something magical was going to happen, and no matter what we found under the tree, it was going to be good. Each Christmas, I try to find something − twinkling lights, a delicious smell or a beautiful carol − that makes me feel like a kid again. This year, it was the eighth annual Tour de Lights. This was the first year the annual bike ride was part of Knoxville’s Christmas in the City, and I was honored
Wendy Smith
to be asked to help judge the event’s costume contest. When I arrived at Market Square, I was handed a clipboard and asked to mingle with the hundred or so costumed participants. The categories included best costume, best helmet, best group, best bike and best overall. I met a man wearing a top hat made out of a coffee can and adorned with a candle. I met Mayor Tim Burchett’s cousin, P.J., who restored the 1950s bike ridden by his wife, Beaumont Elementary art teacher Cheryl Burchett, as well as his own 1930s-era bicycle, which he found leaning against a tree in the woods.
Lindsay Lee, Angela Wampler, Stephanie Lee and Pam Lee, also known as the Snowflakes, don’t mind the chilly weather at the 2014 Tour de Lights. Photo by Wendy Smith He had to cut the bike out of the tree, which had grown around it. I met the Three Wise Men, two of whom were women. They followed a star that hung from a pole attached to one of the bikes.
Saul Young, my favorite News Sentinel photographer, looked more like Alice from “The Brady Bunch” than a wise man in his ruffled bath robe. I met Steve McGhee, who had so many lights on
his bike and helmet that I thought he must be an engineer. He turned out to be a pharmacist. My job would’ve been easy if not for the continuous stream of entrants. I thought I’d picked my favor-
the state’s open-meetings law, they were publicly humiliated when Jeff Woods of the alt-weekly The Nashville Scene pointed out that state law is pretty clear: “No secret votes, or secret ballots, or secret roll calls shall be allowed.” A do-over followed. Sometimes scoop-hungry local media get a little aggravated by investing time covering meetings that produce no fireworks. But those of us who’ve been around long enough to remember the bad old days can’t help but appreciate the transparency that has become a way of doing business.
ites until I met David Stair, with a shiny, red present on his helmet, and his wife, Debbie, who wore a Christmas tree costume made of real hemlock branches. I also ran into my friend from the Dogwood Knitters, Lyndsay Crawford, who was dressed as the Doctor from Dr. Who. In the end, there were 1,023 riders, most of whom sported lights, tinsel or costumes. It was nothing short of magical to watch them depart for a tour of the Fourth & Gill neighborhood, even though my toes were numb. Judging was a challenge, given our absurdly creative community, but it was a pleasure to whittle down the finalists with my fellow judge, Erin Donovan of Visit Knoxville. It was even more fun to watch the winners, most of whom were grownups, grin as they accepted their prizes. Perhaps the key to finding childlike Christmas bliss is forgetting that you’re a grown-up − just for a little while.
Rejoice! With exceeding great joy, we wish you and your family much peace, love and harmony this Christmas season.
Merry Christmas! “Cantrell’s Cares”
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6 • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • Shopper news
Turing film explores depths of humans, machines pects him of being a spy. There are several flashbacks to Alan as a youth (played by the appealing Alex Lawther) at school, but the bulk of the screen time is devoted to the adult Turing’s work on building a machine to decode Enigma at Bletchley Park. Director Morten Tyldum, working from Graham Moore’s screenplay, based
By Betsy Pickle Two intense stories are at work in “The Imitation Game.” The first is Britain’s race to unravel the mysteries of Nazi Germany’s Enigma coding machine during World War II. The second is the lifelong emotional and sometimes physical assault on mathematical genius Alan Turing, who took the lead on breaking Enigma but suffered greatly as a gay man because of his country’s laws against homosexuality. The movie jumps around in time, framed by an interrogation of Alan (Benedict Cumberbatch) after the war, when his home has been burglarized but nothing seems to be missing. A zealous police detective, Robert Nock (Rory Kinnear), becomes suspicious when he is unable to learn what Alan did during the war and sus-
Keira Knightley is surprisingly good as a bright mathematician stymied by the male-dominated world she inhabits, and Mark Strong is deliciously manipulative as MI6 chief Stewart Menzies. The weight of the movie is on Cumberbatch, however, and he carries it brilliantly. He uses Alan’s struggles – with relationships, working with those who are far from
his intellectual equal and creating his early computer – to move the film forward as well as to make Alan sympathetic. A quote from childhood friend Christopher Morcom (Jack Bannon) is the light that shines on and through Alan throughout his life. It, and the film, testify to the complexity and potential of all human beings.
Sturdy ‘Woods’ slyly twists fairy tales By Betsy Pickle
Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) works on a machine that will break the Nazis’ Enigma in “The Imitation Game.”
Early presents Five of the six films hitting town this week – “Big Eyes,” “The Gambler,” “The Imitation Game,” “Into the Woods” and “Unbroken” – will play once or twice tonight (Dec. 24). “Foxcatcher” arrives Christmas Day. ■ In “Big Eyes,” Amy Adams plays painter Margaret Keane and Christoph Waltz her husband, Walter, who tries to take credit for her work. Tim Burton directed. ■ A literature professor borrows money from his mother and a loan shark to pay off a debt in “The Gambler.” Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Lange, Brie Larson and John Goodman star in a film adapted from the like-titled 1974 film starring James Caan.
on the biography by Andrew Hodges, tends to overdo the friction between Alan and his boss, Commander Denniston (Charles Dance), and between Alan and his colleagues, led by chess champion Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode). But aside from that two-dimensional bent, the characters and plot twists are absorbing and suspenseful.
■ “Unbroken” tells the story of Olympic distance runner Louis Zamperini, who enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces before the attack on Pearl Harbor and survived for 47 days at sea after a search plane he was on crashed in the ocean, only to be captured by the Japanese, who mistreated and tortured him in a POW camp. ■ “Foxcatcher” stars Steve Carell as eccentric multimillionaire John du Pont, who recruits goldmedal-winning wrestler Mark Schultz and his wrestling-coach brother, David, to train to compete in the Seoul Olympics. Bennett Miller (“Moneyball”) directed. – Betsy Pickle
Before the novel and stage smash “Wicked,” before the TV fantasies “Once Upon a Time” and “Grimm,” theater had “Into the Woods,” a dark fairy-tale mash-up that united characters from “Cinderella,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Rapunzel” into one bewitching story. The musical’s colorful, often-doomed characters and sly lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim won over critics and audiences. Now, 28 years after the stage debut, comes director Rob Marshall’s fi lm version of “Into the Woods,” with terrific singing and acting by stars such as Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp, Chris Pine, Christine Baranski and Tracey Ullman and a host of lesserknowns. While it deserves to find a strong following – much more so than the recent “Les
The baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) get instructions from the witch (Meryl Streep) that will help them undo a curse in “Into the Woods.”
Miserables” or Marshall’s own “Chicago” – “Into the Woods” lacks a true showstopping tune to act as a defining siren song, which may hinder its popularity with short-attention-span moviegoers. James Lapine adapted the screenplay from his book for the musical, and with Sondheim’s words and
music the film is a tantalizing spin on familiar stories. The plight of a childless baker (James Corden) and his wife (Blunt) cursed by a witch neighbor (Streep) weaves the classic tales together. Everyone has some kind of dilemma, and some of the twists and turns are indeed Grimm (and unsuited
for little ones). Though there isn’t a “hit” among the songs, the lyrics are wonderful examples of Sondheim’s clever word-smithing and build to an emotional wallop with “No One Is Alone.” It’s always a joy to hear talented actors like Streep, Blunt and Kendrick show off their pipes, but it’s also fun to discover breakthrough performers like James Corden (the baker) and Billy Magnussen (Rapunzel’s prince) and youngsters like Lilla Crawford (Red Riding Hood) and Daniel Huttlestone (Jack) who can sing as well as act. “Into the Woods” takes viewers on an engaging journey through atmospheric sets and timeless questions. It’s a reminder that “happily ever after” does not come smoothly – or predictably.
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weekender
Shopper news • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • 7
Christmas lights and little kids Here at the ShopperNews, we’re all counting our blessings this week.
Carol Shane
Among mine, I count the fact that I can claim as my hometown not one but two picturesque, charming North Carolina towns. One of them – Waynesville – is now a real tourist destination, though it had little more than a drugstore and a five-and-dime when I moved there as an adolescent in the late ’60s. But my little-kid years were spent in the sweet hamlet of Shelby, where there’s still a courthouse in the town square. I took a friend there a few years ago. “It’s Mayberry,” she said. Shelby has done well; it’s on the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places and has experienced a renaissance, thanks to several downtown preservation groups. It was a wonderful place for a child. And the best time of all was Christmas. Downtown became a fairyland. The lights strung across the streets were the prettiest I’ve ever seen. I’ve tried to Google them; no luck. So they’re stored only
The Cleveland County Courthouse in Shelby, N.C.
mitted
in my admittedly rose-colored memory. But they really were special: red, gold and green curlicues culminating in a spectacular crown in the center. The most anticipated night for me during Christmastime was my family’s tour of lights. Mama, Daddy and I would bundle up and pile into the Dodge station wagon armed with a thermos of hot chocolate. And we’d drive all over town looking at the lights. As an only child, all I had to do was sit, look, wonder and thrill. Some of the more modern-minded decorators in those “mad men” days favored pastel-colored wheels and artificial silver trees, or monochromatic color schemes. Though I appreciate them now, at the time I didn’t care for them. They didn’t “speak”
Photo sub-
to a 5-year-old. For me, the only decorations that mattered were bright lights of red, green, gold and white. Maybe a little blue. I could spot them as we started down a street and couldn’t wait until we were in front of the vivid, glowing colors. My parents were egalitarian and wanted me to see how everyone lived, so we didn’t just confine ourselves to the “better neighborhoods.” But it didn’t matter to me if those lights were sparkling on a majestic fir in front of a threestory colonial or gleaming dimly behind a sheet of plastic taped to a cracked window in a wooden shanty. I loved them all. To this day, though my neighbors in my 100-yearold Fountain City neighborhood favor elegant allwhite light displays, I still put up colors for the little kids whose parents might
be driving by. They’ll be in an SUV, not a station wagon, and they’ll probably be glued to a CGIsaturated adventure on the overhanging DVD screen, or immersed in an adrenaline-pumping computer game. But I hope they glance up, at least for a few seconds. I hope they get a glimmer of that sweeter, gentler kind of thrill. You can view some Christmas lights yourself this weekend at the Concord Park Holiday Festival of Lights presented by the Knox County Parks and Recreation. Every evening except Christmas, from 6 to 9 p.m., visitors can walk a .75-mile greenway trail to view the spectacular display of several hundred thousand lights. The park staff at The Cove did all the decorating – including a series of lights coordinated to music – and they’ve even provided bonfires for roasting marshmallows. What a wonderful place to take your family and friends! Pets on leashes are welcome, too. The event runs through Dec. 30. It’s free, but please bring a nonperishable food item for the Love Kitchen, which provides meals and other types of aid to those in need. Info: 215-6600 or www.knoxcounty.org/ parks.
THROUGH WEDNESDAY, DEC. 24 ■ Christmas in Old Appalachia at the Museum of Appalachia, 2819 Andersonville Highway. Info/schedule of events: 4947680 or www.museumofappalachia.org.
FRIDAY, DEC. 26 ■ Movie & Popcorn: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 10 a.m.-noon, Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Free. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.
THROUGH SATURDAY, JAN. 3 ■ The Knoxville Watercolor Society exhibit at the Rose Center, 442 W. Second North St., Morristown. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Thursday until 7:30 p.m. Info: www.knxvillewatercolorsociety.com.
THROUGH SUNDAY, JAN. 4 ■ Holidays on Ice presented by Home Federal Bank, on Market Square. Hours: 1-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 1-9 p.m. Sundays. Info: www. knoxvillesholidaysonice.com.
THROUGH FRIDAY, APRIL 10 ■ 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.
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Slamdot founder and CEO Sean Christman and chief operating officer Daniel Monday get a visit from Rocky Top Air owner and Slamdot client Gerald Allison, dressed as Santa Claus.
Plate it
Panera Bread
Santa will probably leave a little something extra in your stocking if you treat him to a Mitten Cookie from Panera Bread. Throw in a Candy Cookie and some hot chocolate, and you might just jump from the naughty to the nice list!
In May 1999, all Au Bon Pain Co. businesses were sold, and the company was renamed Panera Bread. Panera is now a bakery/café with homemade soups, salads and sandwichMystery es on the menu. Diner Fresh bakery items range from bagels to muffins to coffee cakes and Panera is the bakery that the specialty cookies. The grew. The company began in Mitten Cookie is replaced 1981 as Au Bon Pain Co., lo- each season with a “new” cated primarily on the East seasonal shaped cookie Coast. The purchase of the – Easter eggs, jack-o-lanSt. Louis Bread Company in terns, spring flowers. 1993 added 20 bakeries and The Mitten Cookie is a a change in growth plans. shortbread cookie with a
Slamdot relocates By Sara Barrett
Slamdot has officially opened its new location in Northshore Village at 2053 Thunderhead Road. The web design and hosting group was founded in 2005 and has about 900 clients, ranging from mom and pop stores to large corporations. Rocky Top Air owner and Slamdot client Gerald Allison attended the ribboncutting and had nothing but praise for the folks who built his website. Allison exSanta won’t be disappointed with a plate of pected several meetings and Panera Bread cookies and some hot chocoa long, involved process, but late. Photo by Mystery Diner said he met with the folks at Slamdot one time for an initial consultation, and everything afterward was done online. He said his business crunchy-sweet icing. Pane- regular and gourmet – is has benefitted from Slamra’s hot chocolate – both the perfect accompaniment. dot’s ongoing support and
training in “Slamcamps,” which are customized training sessions in small group settings. Originally based in downtown Knoxville, the company moved westward “for a number of reasons,” said web consultant Wade McLemore. “We’re a growing company, so we need more space. This is convenient to downtown and also has a small-town feel,” he said. While CEO Sean Christmas prefers to work behind the scenes, COO Daniel Monday has a large personal footprint. He has served as an officer for several business groups and is active in both the Knoxville and Farragut West Knox chambers. Info: 238-5600 or www.slamdot.com.
Want to adopt? come to our kitten adoption Fair Coming soon! 2nd Kitten Adoption Fair location! New Petsmart at 2437 University Commons Way
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8 • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • NORTH/EAST Shopper news
Lumiere (Blake Jackson) and Babette (Julia Thress) welcome Maurice (Cameron Ellis, center) into the castle to keep warm.
Carter theater department presents Olivia Martin portrays the bureau in the castle.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ The Carter High School theater department performed Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” and it was nothing short of magnificent.
Ruth White
Maurice (Cameron Ellis) and Belle (Elizabeth Wilson) discuss life in their small town during Carter High’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” Photos by R. White
The so-called silly girls, played by Takiela Bone, Elizabeth Benn and Katelyn Dailey, are distraught over the news that Gaston plans to marry Belle.
Elizabeth Wilson was magical in the lead part of Belle. Acing the comedic role of Gaston, the egotistical villager in love with Belle, was Noah Fawver. Gaston’s bumbling sidekick, LeFou, was played by Bryce Massey. Inside the castle were Lumiere (Blake Jackson) and Cogsworth (Nate Paul), the prince’s enchanted candlesticks and clock. Both actors nailed the essence of their characters, bringing many laughs to those in attendance. Rounding out the cast were Alex Drinnen as the Beast, Semaja Reed as Mrs. Potts, Haley Myers as Chip, Olivia Martin as Madame de la Grande Bouche and Julia Thress as Babette. Adding to the spectacular cast were silly girls, villagers and a host of dancing china and napkins.
Mrs. Potts (Semaja Reed), the Beast (Alex Drinnen) and Lumiere (Blake Jackson) discuss how the Beast can charm Belle.
Gaston (Noah Fawver) tries to convince Belle (Elizabeth Wilson) to marry him in a scene from “Beauty and the Beast.”
MILESTONE Hubert Anderson turns 100 A 100th birthday celebration to honor Hubert Anderson of Gibbs will be held noon-2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, at New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Park Lane. The public is invited. Vine Middle School choral director Shawn Turner, principal Cindy White and dance instructor Sarah Hobbs seem happy to receive a $10,000 grant from Great Schools Partnership.
Group provides stroke survivor support Sarah Moore Greene technology teacher April Lamb is stunned The Knoxville Stroke social and recreational supto learn that she has received a grant from Great Schools Part- Group welcomes stroke sur- port as they go through the nership president Buzz Thomas. Photos by R. White vivors and their caregivers. recovery process. It meets the second Tuesday At the January meetof each month at Tennova’s ing, the group will have a Shamrock Room (next to speaker from the Disability Fulton High School). Law Center. February is the The group offers help to annual bingo night and chili stroke survivors with edu- dinner. Info: Kerry Jones, they were handed a $10,000 materials, prop designs and cation as well as emotional, familykjones@juno.com. more. check from Thomas. At Vine, the grant will be used for a spring production that will encompass all ■ Enrollment assistance for the Affordable Healthcare and of the STEAM components Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP): (science, technology, engi3-7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, South Knoxville Community Center, neering, arts and math) and 522 Maryville Pike; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, Mount Calvary tie in academic classes with Baptist Church, 1807 Dandridge Ave.; 3-7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 12, the arts. The money will Montgomery Village, 4530 Joe Lewis Road. Info: www.healthcare. help purchase literature, gov.
Area teachers receive grants Several magnet school teachers received a surprise last week as Buzz Thomas, president of Great Schools Partnership, popped in to say hello and present grant money. Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Academy teacher April Lamb was speechless as principal Susan Espiritu
entered her classroom followed by Thomas and several camera crews. The $7,000 grant for SMG will be used to purchase iPads for screen casting to sharpen math skills. Vine Middle School teachers Shawn Turner and Sarah Hobbs could barely contain their excitement as
HEALTH NOTE
NORTH/EAST Shopper news • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • 9
Affordable housing for seniors There is a quiet and peaceful community just off Washington Pike that I have driven by many times. Little did I know what a special place it is.
Nancy Whittaker
In 1896, Ballington and Maud Booth founded Volunteers of America, which today is one of the region’s largest and most diverse service organizations. VOA offers numerous housing projects to people across the U.S., including Maud Booth Gardens in Knoxville.
Maud Booth Gardens was built in 2001 but looks brand new. Located at 4452 Maud Booth Way just off Washington Ridge Way, it has 37 one-story, one-bedroom apartments. Four are wheelchair accessible. These cute and cozy apartments are perfect for seniors who are ready to downsize but still want independent living. Karen Dunn has worked here as the community administrator for more than a year, and it’s obvious how much she enjoys the interaction with the residents. Dunn accepts applications from individuals age 62 or older. Rent is based on income. Water and sewer are included, but residents are responsible for their individual electric bill. All maintenance is in-
cluded. Landscaping, plumbing, heat and air – Maud Booth Gardens is maintenancefree living. There is a laundry room conveniently located onDunn site and even a “library” where residents can check out books. Belinda Rogers Dyer is the service coordinator for Maud Booth Gardens. Dyer assesses residents to help them find community resources so they can maintain their apartments for as long as possible. Dyer also schedules educational programs and social events including crafts, bingo and exercising. These events
are held in the community room, which is also available for residents’ personal use during normal business hours. Dyer has also lined up Second Harvest Rogers Dyer to include Maud Booth Gardens as one of their food drops. Residents get to pick up free food twice per month. The apartments are also conveniently located close to the KAT bus lines. There are parking spaces in front of each resident’s entrance. If you or someone you know is in the market for affordable senior housing, call Dunn at 865-546-7090.
The Rotary Club of Knoxville 2015-16 board of directors: (front) Allen Pannell, Sandra T. Martin, Roy King; (back) Brent Midyett, Tiffany Walker, Ed Anderson, Jennifer Sepaniak, Ginny Weatherstone, Bill MacGrath, Jody Mullins and Jim Decker. Not pictured is Don Hasson. Photo submitted
Rotary Club selects new board The Rotary Club of Knoxville has elected its 2015-16 board of directors, which will be led by president Sandy Martin, retired president of Corporate Interiors Inc., when the board begins its term July 1. Allen Pannell, owner of Allen Pannell LLC, is president-elect and membership director. Edwin A. Anderson of Cannon & Anderson, Attorneys, is vice president and communications director.
Bill MacGrath, senior vice president and financial adviser with Pinnacle Financial Partners, is secretary. Jennifer A. Sepaniak, chief financial officer for Schaad Companies, is treasurer and chair of the Financial and Audit Committee. Outgoing president Roy King, M.D., a dermapathologist with Dermapathology Partners PC, will represent
past presidents. Other directors are: Jim Decker, chief executive director of Medic Regional Blood Center; Don Hasson, president of House-Hasson Hardware; Jody Mullins, senior district manager for Takeda Pharmaceutical USA Inc.; Brent Midyett, vice president of DFA/@home audio-video; Tiffany Walker, vice president of Elite Service Mortgage; and Ginny Weather-
stone, retiring CEO of the Volunteer Ministry Center. Founded in 1915, the Rotary Club of Knoxville is among the oldest and largest Rotary Clubs in Tennessee. The club was instrumental in the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and sponsor of several park projects. It is also the creator and steward of The Rotary Foundation of Knoxville, which provides college scholarships and special projects.
business ‘Give us a proposal’ Rogero challenges East entrepreneurs By Betty Bean Putting the infrastructure in place to make things happen in East Knoxville is a slow, deliberate process, Mayor Madeline Rogero told members of the East Knox Business and Professional Association. “We promote reinvestment where there’s been disinvestment,” she said, citing the ongoing work on the “model block” of Magnolia Avenue (actually four blocks, from Jessamine Street to Bertrand Street) that will serve as the gateway to East Knoxville from downtown. She predicted that the $4.2 million project will have the same effect on East Knoxville as the city’s façade grant and infrastructure projects that have spurred and promoted growth on North Central. On the other end of the Magnolia corridor, she reported that the Prosser Road redesign and improvements will be completed in January, alleviating the area’s chronic flooding problems and opening up a critical connector between east side and north side neighborhoods. Improved bus routes should ease transportation issues, and grants and forgivable loans to homeowners are helping spruce up neighborhoods. When the meeting was thrown open for questions, it became clear that the impending closing of central East Knoxville’s only drugstore – Walgreens on Magnolia – is a major concern for many residents. Rogero said she has talked to Walgreens officials but didn’t make much headway. “You can’t make a business stay. You can’t artificially prop up a business. We need to think about what will work (in that location). We don’t mind tak-
McNabb builds home for eight vets
Present at the ribboncutting are Randy Boyd, Helen Ross McNabb president and CEO Jerry Vagnier, HRM board chair Susan Conway, assistant director of housing and support services Jana Morgan and Mayor Tim Burchett. Photo
By Ruth White Thanks to Helen Ross McNabb, Mayor Tim Burchett, KCDC, United Way, Federal Home Loan Bank, the Veterans Administration and a host of donors, volunteers and community partners, eight homeless veterans will have a place to call home by Christmas. Pat Polis, pastor of Washington Pike United Methodist Church, blessed the event and the home, saying “today we are making a difference.” Jerry Vagnier, president and CEO of Helen Ross McNabb, added that he and his staff were “honored to deliver this kind of care to veterans.” The new home is located in the Inskip community at 4821 Coster Road.
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FRIDAY, DEC. 26 Knitting Caps for the Homeless, noon-1:30 p.m., Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Free. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.
Exterior of the new veterans’ home located in the Inskip community
by R. White
Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Grades 1-5. Info: 5255431.
TUESDAY, DEC. 30 Senior Tai Chi, 3-4 p.m., Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 31 New Year’s Eve Celebration, 9 p.m., the Rose Center Council for the Arts, 442 W. Second North St., Morristown. Featuring the Al Curtis Orchestra. Tickets: $35. Info/tickets: 423-581-4330 or info@rosecenter.org.
SATURDAY, JAN. 3
Thunder Road Gospel Jubilee, 7 p.m., 1388 Main St., Maynardville. All gospel singers welcome. Info: Joe, 201-5748.
Friends Mini Used Book Sale, 1-4 p.m., Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Info: 525-5431. Thunder Road Gospel Jubilee, 7 p.m., 1388 Main St., Maynardville. All gospel singers welcome. Info: Joe, 201-5748.
MONDAY, DEC. 29
MONDAY, JAN. 5
SATURDAY, DEC. 27
Burlington Lego Club, 6 p.m., Burlington Branch
ing some risks, but we don’t want to be stupid about it.” She challenged the audience: “What will work? We’re willing to invest, but we need some proposals.” Rogero D o u g Minter, EKBPA president and business development manager for the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, said the closing of Walgreens should be viewed as an opportunity. “Walgreens’ closing is unfortunate. I’m not dismissing that, but I don’t see it as a negative. Good things are happening. Infrastructure is being built. Good things are happening in the warehouse district, and the city’s still doing streetscapes. We’ve brought in 1,500 new jobs down the road (at Forks of the River Business Park). You can look at things on balance and say they’re bad, but I don’t buy the doom and gloom. This is a business decision Walgreens had to make. Now we have to make a community decision.” He suggested an “idea contest” to determine what would be the best fit for the Walgreens location. “This isn’t just an East Knoxville thing. We need to look at it as a city thing, a signal that we need to look at where’s the next opportunity to make up for that health-care gap.” City Redevelopment assistant director Dawn Michelle Foster addressed rumors that Kroger has plans to close its Asheville Highway supermarket. “I’m investigating that with Kroger corporate, and Kroger denies having any intentions of closing the store,” Foster said.
Kids Crochet Class 1: Beaded Chain Stitch Brace-
let, 9:30 a.m.-noon, Hobby Lobby classroom, 6580 Clinton Highway. Cost: $20. Info/to register: Monica Schmidt, 406-3971, monicaschmidt.tn@gmail.com or myquiltplace.com/profile/monicaschmidt.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 7 AAA Driver Improvement Course, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Knoxville AAA Office, 100 W. Fifth Ave. Cost: $30 members; $35 nonmembers. Must preregister. Info/to register: Kate, 862-9254, or Don, 862-9250. Computer Workshop: Introducing the Computer, 2 p.m., Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Info/to register: 525-5431.
THURSDAY, JAN. 8 Halls Middle “Pink Out” basketball game. Donations to The Butterfly Fund will be accepted during the school day and at the basketball game that afternoon. Info: Jill Wright, jill.wright@knoxschools.org or 922-7494. Knoxville Choral Society auditions for all voice parts, 6-8 p.m. To schedule an audition time: 312-2440 or membership@knoxvillechoralsociety.org. Once a time is set, location and other details will be provided. Info/ audition form: www.knoxvillechoralsociety.org.
10 • DECEMBER 24, 2014 • Shopper news
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