GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A10 | BUSINESS A11
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VOL. 50, NO. 12
MARCH 21, 2011
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FEATURED F CO COLUMNIST L LARRY VAN GUILDER
Power play See Larry’s take on legislation introduced by Sen. Stacey Campfield to expand the powers of the county mayor at the expense of county commission. And look for Sandra Clark’s interview with Commissioner Richard Briggs. See page A-4
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Patriotic pets Dress up your dog and wrap a flag on the cat. It’s time to prepare for Powell’s annual 4th of July celebration including a contest for Patriotic Pets (that last part is a fundraiser for the Knox North Lions Club). See Greg, page A-2
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4509 Doris Circle 37918 (865) 922-4136 news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Larry Van Guilder lvgknox@mindspring.com ADVERTISING SALES Patty Fecco fecco@ShopperNewsNow.com Darlene Hutchison hutchisond@ ShopperNewsNow.com Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly at 4509 Doris Circle, Knoxville, TN, and distributed to 8,314 homes in Powell.
First Baptist Church of Powell Motorcycle Ministry member Dave Stewart pays for breakfast on March 12 at the Powell Lions Club Pancake Breakfast. Standing to take the money is Powell Lion Edd Miller. FBC-Powell Motorcycle Ministry members joining Stewart are (clockwise) Don Wadley, Hal Bernard, Kathy Wadley and Tammy Stewart. Photos by Greg Householder
The Motorcycle Ministry thunders across Norris Dam during the group’s Motorcycle Ministry member Bill Jackson unloads bicycles last December at benefit ride for the Western Heights the Western Heights Baptist Center. Baptist Center in 2009. One of the bigger projects the group participates in is its bicycle ministry for the children of Western Heights. Throughout the year, the ministry collects bicycles, repairs and refurbishes them and just before Christmas hauls them to the Western Heights Baptist Center. The folks at the Baptist Center take care of distribution. The ministry also works in the mobile home park ministry of the church, providing Christmas gifts for deserving children. The work is needed in Western
Ray probes for a Midway solution By Larry Van Guilder On a recent Friday afternoon downtown, the irresistible force met the immovable object. Between the two stood Gloria Ray, president and CEO of the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation. You don’t go to
Analysis work in a building that bears your name unless you’ve carved more than a few notches on your gun, but finding an accommodation to suit both Midway community residents and The Development Corporation may be impossible even for the redoubtable Ray. “By design,” Ray said, “there are no politicians in this group.” Yet even without the schisms created by political affiliations, the gulf between what the community wants and what TDC insists it must have is vast.
The 18-member ad hoc committee is an eclectic group, with representatives from the private sector, ORNL, UT, the Knoxville Chamber and TDC, a quasi-governmental organization. Early in the committee’s initial meeting, Tom Ballard, who heads the partnership directorate at ORNL, encapsulated Ray’s dilemma when he said, “It’s unclear to me whether we can even form a consensus.” Bob Wolfenbarger, who has been a leader in opposing TDC’s plan for a business park, said the community has “a vision” of where it wants to go. “The land, in our opinion, belongs to Knox County’s citizens,” he said, and asked rhetorically what one would do with 380 acres along with the funds TDC had initially set aside to develop the property. Speaking as chair of The Development Corporation, Roger Osborne said, “We’re coming here with an open mind,” seeking an “effective economic development plan for Knox County” that will create jobs. But Osborne quickly revealed TDC’s “open mind” has limits:
Party
“We paid $25,000 an acre for that land, and we intend to get our money back.” Ray (literally) strung a clothesline in the meeting room and pinned a piece of paper reading “Midway Business Park” at one end and a second piece reading “Ochs Center Report” and “USDA Farm Presentation” at the other. Before the meeting was over, the space between was filled with ideas including “Sustainable City,” “Solar Farm Switchgrass,” “Business Incubator,” “Retail Outlet” and “Farmers Market and Teaching Center.” Elaine Clark, president of the French Broad Preservation Association, noted that opportunities “in the middle” hadn’t been studied, and Ray gamely tried to address that deficiency. Ray suggested using at least part of the land for a demonstration city boasting the latest in energy-efficient housing that might include a solar research facility or a solar product manufacturer within its boundary. She speculated that the “10 million tourists” who visit the Smokies might be attracted to
offering collected at each monthly meeting. None of the funds come from the church budget, the ministry is self-sustaining. So if you ride a motorcycle and would like to make some new friends with some good folks while helping your community, check them out. The ministry meets at 7 p.m. the last Tuesday of each month in “The Spring,” the annex between Powell Elementary School and the church. The group rides, weather permitting, the second Saturday of each month.
such an innovative project. But Ray is in a tough spot, dangling green enticements for the opponents of the business park while simultaneously acknowledging the importance of return on investment for TDC. Where the “twain shall meet” is far from clear. For at least some of those who fought the Midway development for the past decade, nothing short of the dissolution of TDC and the return of its assets to Knox County would prove satisfactory. The Chamber, the TDC hierarchy and local power brokers would fight desperately to stave that off, and dissolving the corporation would require approval of its board of directors. That won’t happen except under enormous political pressure from the highest office in Knox County, although in the past Mayor Tim Burchett has hinted that the responsibility for economic development rightfully rests with the county’s executive branch. For TDC, then, the strategy seems clear: wait. Wait for a friendlier reception on County Commission, or wait for your opponents to tire out. If Ray can find a middle ground, she’ll be the unanimous selection for “Woman of the Year.” Move over, Katherine Hepburn. 2707 Mineral Springs Ave. Knoxville, TN 37917 Ph. (865) 687-4537
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Heights. According to 2009 data the population density in Western Heights was 4,415 persons per square mile compared to the Knoxville average of 1,877. Median household income in Western Heights for 2009 was $12,185 compared to $31,898 in Knoxville. The motorcycle ministry has also been known to step in and help in individual crisis situations. The bulk of the funds for the ministry come from the proceeds of its annual benefit ride for Western Heights held in July. The rest come from an
Mission impossible?
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By Greg Householder Don Wadley, the leader of the First Baptist Church of Powell’s motorcycle ministry, will be the first to tell you – they have taken a different twist on the old biker motto of “Live to Ride – Ride to Live.” The FBC Powell folks like to say they “Ride to Eat.” The group, a ministry of the First Baptist Church’s Powell and Fountain City campuses, definitely has a good time on their rides. Over the past several years they have ridden to Robbinsville, N.C.; visited the Cumberland Gap Park; been to the National Storytelling Center in Jonesboro; ridden to the Ocoee Whitewater Center. Rides usually start with an early morning meet-up in the parking lot across Ewing Road from the Youth Worship Center at 8 a.m. and a quick trip to Bojangles for a breakfast. After breakfast, the group heads out for their ride, taking a break at about the 50 mile mark. Arrival at the destination usually involves lunch, the “Ride to Eat” motto. Most rides return to Powell by 4 or 5 p.m. On March 12, the FBC bikers had their first ride of the season. Breakfast was at the Applebee’s on Cedar Lane in the Merchant Road area where the Powell Lions Club was holding a pancake breakfast and where possible the FBC folks try to support other groups. Last summer, the ministry participated in the Knox North Lions motorcycle event and the benefit ride sponsored by the Blood Brothers Motorcycle Club for the Chris Newsom and Channon Christian families. The FBC motorcycle ministry ride on March 12 took the group on a short jaunt out U.S. 70 to Ozone Falls, a destination most had never visited before. But eating and riding are not all the ministry does.
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FBC motorcycle ministry rides for fellowship and good
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Now we wait Pondering Bruce Pearl See MARVIN WEST, page A-7
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