GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | KIDS A11 | BUSINESS A12
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powell
VOL. 50, NO. 25
JUNE 20, 2011
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Weigel’s – an American story Powell company celebrates 80 years By Greg Householder
Memories of KGH Alumni reminisce about their student nursing days at Knoxville General Hospital See page A-9
Behind the scenes Interns tour Gourmet’s Market and WBIR-TV See page A-10
The Weigel’s Farm Stores Inc. story is the quintessential American business story. It is a story of a family business launched to fill a need and adapting to changing times, succeeding with perseverance and luck. The Powell-based dairy and convenience store company is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year with “80 Days of Wow” which kicked off June 13 and runs through Aug. 31. The company will be giving away $200,000 in prizes through social media and in-store promotions. The celebration culminates with a grand prize cookout in early September. Weigel’s Stores is East Tennessee’s only family-owned local dairy. Weigel’s operates 56 stores with more than 500 employees in Knox and surrounding counties, including the recently opened Lake City location. Weigel’s was founded in 1931 by brothers William and Lynn Weigel. The company is run today by William’s son, Bill Weigel. Bill grew up in Powell being called Billy, and graduated from Vanderbilt University where he ma-
Bill Weigel stands on the Weigel’s farm at Broadacres in Powell. Photos by S. Clark jored in pre-med. His dad told him there would always be a job for doctors, but as Bill neared the end of his undergraduate work, his dad wrote to him, inviting him to join the family business. After years of organic chemistry, Bill was ready. “Lots of time, you’re just plain lucky,” he said last week. “You’re just not smart enough all the time.” Bill’s son, Kurt, has joined the company and is waiting in the wings to succeed his father. But things are
Object lesson Montori Hughes leaves Vols See page A-7
ONLINE Hallsdale Powell Utility District officials are all smiles to learn that the wastewater treatment plant on Beaver Creek Drive has successfully maintained 60 months without a violation. Pictured are President/CEO Darren Cardwell, board member Kevin Julian and board chair Jim Hill. Photo by Ruth White
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By Larry Van Guilder County Commission’s practically unqualified approval of Mayor Tim Burchett’s FY 2012 budget stands as a blowout victory for the administration. Governing less is governing best, says the mayor, and the effectiveness of the few naysayers on commission declined even as their voices rose at last week’s budget meeting.
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To page A-3
Hallsdale Powell Utility District must spend more than a quarter million dollars to repair two damaged basins at the Melton Hill Water Treatment Plant. Hayward Baker Inc. was the low bidder at $297,750. President/CEO Darren Cardwell said one of the basins had a sinkhole form deep under it; HPUD’s insurance carrier has exclusions on sinkholes in most of East Tennessee. HPUD commissioners learned that 16 meters were set in May and 13 sewer hookups inspected. These low numbers in what is usually a
strong month are symptomatic of the grim economic times. HPUD treated 247.8 million gallons of water in May and 237.2 million gallons of wastewater. For the 60th month, no violations were reported. Payments of $1.37 million were approved, with the largest being to Merkel Brothers ($662,116) for water line improvements on Highway 33. Pending approval of the bond counsel, HPUD commissioners voted to allow sewer credits for pool filling under certain conditions. Pool owners should contact HPUD for details. – S. Clark
Burchett gets blowout budget win
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“official” beginning is hard to peg. The Weigel family experience in the U.S. dates back to 1847 when Carl Augustus Weigel brought his family over from Germany. Originally, the plan was to move to Wisconsin, but upon arriving in New York, Weigel met George F. Gerding who was the chief working partner of the East Tennessee Colonization Company. Gerding
HPUD: Five years violation free
FEATURED COLUMNIST MARVIN WEST
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tough right now. “We’re suffering like the rest of the country,” says Bill Weigel. “It’s not a sales problem but a margin problem. Sales are fine but expenses keep going up.” Weigel’s has tried to hold prices, and Bill expects the economy to improve. He’s confident Weigel’s will survive and thrive. “We have square buildings on corners. We’ll be selling something.” Like any family business, the
Editorial The debate over funding the Beck Center and other nonprofits is over for now. But the mayor is edging toward providing his own answers to larger questions: Should any tax dollars be used to fund nonprofits? Can government do anything more efficiently than the private sector? It seems the mayor’s answer to both is “no.” Newly emboldened by a legislative branch more comfortable with rolling over than standing up, the mayor’s success should
alarm those who see a legitimate role for government outside of law enforcement and street paving. Even the underlings who perform the work for the government he heads receive little sympathy from Burchett, who threatened a veto if commission voted a pay increase for county employees. It’s a populist stance, feeding off the widespread impression that government employees are underworked and overpaid. The fact is, some are, but incompetents are found in every organization. The great sin this courthouse shares with just about every municipality is cronyism and nepotism. Crush those evils and you can say you’ve accomplished something. If there is a theme to this budget, it’s that of the tea party writ small. Behind the neat rows of numbers and the pages of charts, schedules and head counts lies the belief that self-reliance trumps government at nearly every turn. But that simplistic notion isn’t necessarily so. A community is
made up of more than laws to be enforced and streets to be maintained. There are any number of things which strengthen a community and are beyond the ability or the will of the private sector and individuals to provide. Libraries are an Tim Burchett obvious example. File photo What’s the value of a well-stocked library? How much are we willing to pay to see that every resident who wants access to books has it? Public library funding, which had been declining under the former mayor, took another cut in this budget. Burchett promised no property tax increase. He held to that promise, but at a cost. Commissioner Richard Briggs noted, for example, that not one word was uttered about education during the budget meeting, but a lot will be said, and soon.
Superintendent Jim McIntyre pulled off a minor fiscal miracle with this year’s school budget. He’s not likely to do it again without increased revenue or cutbacks in teachers and programs, even as the county looks for money to pay for new schools at Carter and on Northshore. The county’s resources are finite, and the local economy has seen better days. But a budget that cuts assistance for senior citizens who use bus transportation says that, as a community, we’ve decided that compassion for the least able among us is too expensive. The $45,000 cut in the KAT senior ride program amounts to less than one-twentieth of 1 cent on the property tax rate, about an additional 17 cents on the property tax bill for a $150,000 residence. Burchett has never tried to hide his intentions. Even if the economy rebounds, look for more of the same next year. Elections have consequences.
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