GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | BUSINESS A15
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VOL. 50, NO. 31
AUGUST 1, 2011
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County to dump site: Clean it up No action against developer in detention pond collapse By Betty Bean
Cool rides The car show at the Karns Fair was a big hit. Greg has snapshots of the winners. See page A-2
UT’s big blunder Jimmy Hyams says charging students for football tickets is a big mistake See Jake Mabe’s story on page A-13
FEATURED COLUMNIST VICTOR ASHE
Good news, bad news Analyzing the Rogero poll See page A-4
Last Tuesday, Knox County inspectors identified an unpermitted dumpsite on Copper Ridge in Powell as an illegal demolition landfill and sent a registered letter to property owner Claude Yow ordering him to clean it up. This dump site was the source of the fiberglass hot tubs and other debris that was washed into the yard of Gary and Marsha Carter on June 24 when a detention pond at a Rufus Smith Developmentowned project on Childress Road collapsed, sending a wall of muddy water down the hill and into the Carter home on Dawson Hollow Road. “The (Yow) property is not permitted and cannot be permitted in its present location, which is in a drainage way and is clearly prohibited by the zoning ordinance,” said Dwight Van de Vate, Knox County director of Engineering and Public Works. Van de Vate was not as clear whether any action will be taken by the county against Southland Excavation, which shares a Ball Road address with Smithbilt Homes and Rufus Smith Properties. “Since the pond failure occurred, the developers have been very cooperative with our inspectors,” Van de Vate said. On June 6, Knox County stormwater inspector Derek Keck visited the Childress Road site and issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Southland, citing defects to
The remnants of two hot tubs that washed through Gary Carter’s yard and were deposited across the road. Photo by Ruth White the detention basin, including “a large channel that has eroded and deposited a large amount of sediment into detention basin #1.” Southland was given 15 days to fix the problem but asked for more time on June 22, two days before the basin collapsed. There is no indication in the file that an extension was given. On July 13, after the basin had been rebuilt post-collapse, county inspectors still found violations. “Even if we had gone back on Day 15 and issued another NOV, it wouldn’t prevent a catastrophic event,” Van de Vate said.
Smithbilt director of development Joe Madron told the Shopper-News that the detention basin collapse was an unavoidable “act of nature” caused by the heavy June rains and a county regulation requiring drainage basins to remain plugged up until the project is substantially complete. “We were doing everything we could do, and it still spills over the top. I really wouldn’t call it anybody’s fault, and we’re doing everything we can to make sure everybody is taken care of,” he said. Last Monday, the day the first Shopper-News story about this
event was published, Carter said that Madron, Tom Smith and a third Smithbilt representative showed up at his house wanting to inspect the damage and asking what they could do to help. “It took them a month and a day to start getting cooperative,” Carter said. “They left Marsha and me and our animals out in the heat and the mud and the mold all this time, and the reason they finally did come out was because of the article. It forced their hand. And when they did come out, all Tom Smith could tell me was that it wasn’t their fault.”
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The view of Pleasant Ridge Road at Clinton Highway and Rhealand Lane. Photos by Greg Householder
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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.
The view from the intersection of Pleasant Ridge Road and Old Callahan Drive near Powell Auction.
County mulls closure of part of Pleasant Ridge Road By Greg Householder Drivers southbound on Clinton Highway who try to save time to Walmart by cutting down Pleasant Ridge Road at the Airplane Filling Station may have to rethink their shortcut plans if property owners get their way. On Aug. 22, the proposal to close a section of Pleasant Ridge Road from Clinton Highway and Old Callahan Road is scheduled to have its first reading before County Commission. According to signs posted at the Pleasant Ridge Road/Clinton High-
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way intersection, the first reading was supposed to be last Monday. However, Dwight Van de Vate, head of the county Department of Engineering and Public Works, asked to postpone the first reading. Though 11 of 12 property owners along the stretch have signed the canvass form (the lone non-signer has not been contacted as yet), Van de Vate explained that a littleknown road, Rhealand Lane, intersects with Pleasant Ridge and Clinton Highway, making the northern intersection essentially a three-way. According to Van de Vate, there are about three or four houses on Rhealand Lane. “We just wanted some time to get a look at that,” he said.
He said the optimum sight distance for a right turn is 500 feet. At the Rhealand Lane/Pleasant Ridge/ Clinton Highway intersection, it is 450 feet. But drivers on Rhealand Lane now have two right turn options at the intersection – either onto Pleasant Ridge Road or Clinton Highway. Property owners along Pleasant Ridge Road want the stretch closed. Howard Phillips, CEO of Powell Auction and Realty, has been instrumental in getting the issue before the county. “It’s just a dangerous dad-gone place,” he says as he described wrecks that have occurred in front of his shop.
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According to Van de Vate, the average speed clocked on the stretch was 44.9 mph. The speed limit is 30. Van de Vate says that if the Rhealand Lane issue can be resolved, upon first reading his department would erect signage warning of the closure with temporary barriers at Clinton Highway. Upon second reading, a permanent barrier will be erected, “probably in the form of a guardrail.” The first reading is scheduled for Aug. 22 and the second reading would be Sept. 26. According to Van de Vate, most who object to the closure cite the congestion at the light at Clinton Highway and Old Callahan when trying to get to Walmart. However, Van de Vate says that particular light has been tested and it is an efficient, congestion-free intersection.
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