POWELL/NORWOOD VOL. 53 NO. 6
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IN THIS ISSUE
Where’s Jim?
Looking for Dr. Jim Tumblin’s history feature? Find him inside this week’s Shopper-News. He delves into the story of former Knoxville Mayor Martin J. Condon, who presided over the construction of the old Market Square City Hall and some of Knoxville’s first sewers. After serving his first term, he chose not to seek re-election. He moved out of town and later went bankrupt.
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February 11, 2015
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It’s ‘All that!’
Chocolatefest 2015
See his story on page A-16
Level playing field for students? Unexpected barriers awaited the Austin-East Robotics Team when they applied to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition, an international program that challenges talented high schoolers to solve high-tech science and engineering problems.
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See Bill Dockery on page A-4
Meet the toreador Bass-baritone Ryan Kuster thinks that most people can relate to George Bizet’s opera “Carmen,” which is being performed by the Knoxville Opera Company this weekend. “For one thing, people will recognize the music. Most people know a lot more of ‘Carmen’ than they think they do. And the story is compelling. There’s no real hero. It’s very human – there’s not a clear moment where you say, ‘Oh, this is the person that I root for.’”
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See Carol Shane on page A-11
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Fort Sumter Cemetery notes Fort Sumter Community Cemetery is accepting bids for the 2015 mowing season. Forms may be picked up at the cemetery office, 4828 Salem Church Road, after Feb. 20. Bids must be turned in to the cemetery office by March 6. Info: 660-6949. ■ The community is invited to the Fort Sumter Community Cemetery annual meeting 7 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at the cemetery office building, 4828 Salem Church Road. An update on cemetery developments and improvements will be provided. Volunteers are needed to help with the future of the cemetery. Info: 6606949.
7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Cindy Taylor ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Patty Fecco | Tony Cranmore Wendy O’Dell | Sara Whittle
Drew Schultz with wife Nice (pronounced Neecee), who entertains as a Paula Deen impersonator at Chocolatefest
By Cindy Taylor Just when you thought holiday eating had passed and it was safe to go back on a diet, along came Chocolatefest 2015. But no one attending seemed to care. Vendors and shoppers looking to perk up a dreary time of year while supporting a good cause focused on delicious desserts instead of calories. The second annual event to benefit Ronald McDonald House was again held at the Knoxville Expo Center. Due to last year’s enormous turnout, 2015 vendors
and entertainers switched from the banquet facility area to the exhibit hall, where they had twice as much space. The hall was filled with beautiful sights and delicious smells. Vendors stood ready to distribute more than 1,500 samples to a soldout show attended by more than 2,000, many of whom had bought tickets just to get samples. Others came to shop the confection-filled booths and variety of exhibitors in the Main Street Shopping Area and to enjoy the entertainment. One highlight of the stage show
was Paula Deen impersonator Nice Schultz. “This is my very first appearance,” she said. “I was so nervous.” She hid her jitters well. Schultz wowed the audience with her Deen-like drawl and friendly, comedic demeanor, along with her cooking demonstration, while husband Drew played her straight man. If you missed Schultz’s performance you can follow her at www.ilooklikepaula.com. Many Knoxville business owners attended in support of
Chocolatefest. Sharon Morton, Jubilee Banquet Facility owner, waited in the long line for an opportunity to encourage friends who were baking and selling at the festival. “We’re friends with everyone here,” she said. “We do a lot with Visit Knoxville and other groups, so we are happy to come out and support the event.” Jennifer Johnsey, owner of Imagination Forest in Powell, co-sponsored the event with To page A-3
250 apartments proposed for Emory Road By Sandra Clark Metropolitan Planning Commission will consider rezoning land on Emory Road near Central Avenue Pike for 250 apartments. MPC meets at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, and its staff is recommending approval. The 14.6-acre tract is currently zoned for planned commercial and mixed use. It contains a house and vacant land which extends to Beaver Creek. The applicant is TDK Construction Company, represented by at-
torney Arthur Seymour Jr. Knox County Commissioner Charles Busler said the applicant is willing to grant an easement to allow construction of a greenway along the creek and has promised to build a ramp for canoe access. The site is less than one mile from the I-75 interchange at Emory Road and is 2/10 of a mile from the Powell Branch Library. MPC staff is recommending up to 19 dwelling units per acre for the buildable portion of the property, resulting in 250 units.
“Planned residential is a preferable zone for this site because it allows clustering of units in the less-constrained portions of the site and requires development plan approval by MPC prior to construction,” the recommendation reads. Planners estimated 66 public and private school kids, ages 5-18, and 2,175 average daily vehicle trips. At press time, no objections had been recorded at the MPC. Information is available on the MPC website at www.knoxmpc.
org, and viewers may watch Thursday’s meeting on Comcast Cable Channel 12. Busler said the plans call for “high-end apartments.” Construction of Tennova’s hospital near I-75 has driven development in the area. Powell property owner Dr. Bob Collier said he counted 22 eating establishments around the interchange.
Love, love me do By Sherri Gardner Howell
I have bad news for greeting card companies, restaurants and florists. When it comes to filling hearts with love on Valentine’s Day, you have some heavy competition that you will never beat. Elementary schools. My sweet husband, who groans like all men when February rolls around, has presented me with some very lovely cards, beautiful flowers and delicious dinners for Valentine’s Days through the years. Nothing can compare, however, to the Popsicle sticks picture frame with crayon red hearts on all sides and a second-grade photo of our younger son grinning from ear to ear. The scrawled “I love you Mommy” on the back completes the heart-tug. And then there is the plaster of Paris handprint from our firstborn
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Siblings Rachel and Sam Cox perform at Chocolatefest.
when he was 5 with a teacher-assisted poem on the back: “Here’s my hand on Valentine’s Day; Hold me close as I grow and play.” Even now, in the midst of trying to declutter, I can’t part with the schoolmade Valentine’s Day cards. I have been away from elementary schools so long that I don’t even know what’s “allowed” anymore as far as giving Valentines to classmates. I remember my own Valentine’s Days at school, however. Who knew so much could be read into the size and sentiment on silly “tear on the dotted line” Valentines? Yes, class lists were sent home with proper admonishments for every child to provide a card for every other child and that no additional “gifts” could be brought to school, unless there was one for everyone. And, yes, we followed all the
rules in my small town in the 1960s. But that doesn’t mean each chipper “Barbie says: You’re the grooviest” or Yogi Bear’s “I can’t BEAR to be without you” we received wasn’t analyzed, dissected and conclusions drawn. I knew Greg Hart loved me after Valentine’s Day in fourth grade. Greg and I both bought The Beatles Valentine’s pack to pass out in our classroom that year. We both gave each other the same card: the largest one in the pack with all FOUR Beatles on it and the sentiment: “Love, Love Me Do. Happy Valentine’s Day.” I knew it was true love. I, personally, had spent almost an hour deciding between that card and the “All You Need Is Love” smaller card for Greg. It was destiny. (Destiny took an ugly turn the next year when Greg threw me
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over after I won Miss Lexington Junior First Princess. He immediately declared his love for Teresa Smith, who won queen. He moved out of town shortly thereafter, but I had nothing to do with that.) Unfortunately for adult men and women today, all this competition from elementary school crushes and children’s handprints doesn’t take the pressure off for Valentine’s Day. We all love to be loved, and we love to be reminded that we are loved. The point, of course, is to look inside the heart of whoever it is you love. You’ll find the right “gift” in whatever brings that smile to his or her face. And if you just can’t figure it out, call an elementary school teacher.
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