POWELL/NORWOOD VOL. 53 NO. 20
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Hansard hits cancer at
IN THIS ISSUE
May 19, 2014
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Johnson on glide path to re-election
Relay for Life
If anyone is on a glide path to easy re-election it seems to be state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who squeaked out a 299-vote win 18 months ago to win a seat in the House of Representatives. It was a district Mitt Romney carried by 1,100 votes, but several Romney voters pushed the button for Johnson, who has become one of the most popular legislators among Democrats and least popular among Republicans (who control the House by a 71 to 28 margin.)
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Read Victor Ashe on page A-4 Cancer survivors carry the banner for the Relay for Life event held May 9 at Tennova North.
Cookie sales reflect economy You can figure how the economy’s doing by counting customers in the cookie aisle. That’s the gospel according to Steven C. Smith, president/ CEO of Food City, who said, “Unemployed or underutilized people don’t go down the snack aisle or the cookie aisle.” And although the economy is coming back, there are slightly fewer people working today than in 2007, Smith said.
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Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero attends her share of grand openings. It’s part of the job. But it’s one thing to cut the ribbon at a new store or park. It’s something else to do the honors at an, um, ice machine. See how Powell guy Andy Wallace got the mayor to his opening and learn about the best ice in town. Read Betsy Pickle on page A-12
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Celebrating Greek traditional dance Traditional dance is alive and well in Greece, says Christos Papakastos, a teacher at the University of Athens who visited Knoxville. Wendy Smith was there for pictures and an interview. See her story on Page A-7 of the Bearden Shopper-News.
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breast cancer in public,” she said. “It brings on a whole new view of this event once you’ve been through the disease.” Hansard says talking about her personal battle with cancer has become a mission. She often sports a T-shirt that states “Yes, they’re fake. The real ones tried to kill me.” “Cancer is sometimes hard, sometimes easier, but never fun,”
she said. “The loss of your breast is hard, but once you know cancer is in your body you want it out.” The crowd was slimmer for the fifth annual event than in years past due to the weather. Those who turned out did so because their lives or the life of someone
To page A-3
PBPA launches Emory Road project
Read Sandra Clark on page A-10
Ice machine hosts grand opening
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By Cindy Taylor Kim Hansard, a local radio personality and six-month cancer survivor, spoke May 9 at the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at Tennova Health & Fitness Center. Hansard has supported the event for years but says it has a new meaning for her now. “I have just recently begun to speak about my experience with
Cancer didn’t beat the smile of special guest speaker Kim Hansard.
By Cindy Taylor Emory Road through the Powell business district will soon get a facelift, thanks to a partnership between the Powell Business and Professional Association and Knox County. Sage Kohler, PBPA president, announced a committee charged with developing a plan and funding it. Volunteer labor will be key, and private property owners must “buy in” for a unified project. Sandra Clark, publisher of Shopper-News, is committee chair. Members include Kim Severance, Roy Arthur, Laura Bailey and Gary Cunningham. Cliff Brooks, a Powell resident and landscape architect with Carol R. Johnson Associates, presented options for the beautification at the May PBPA meeting along with
Cliff Brooks, landscape architect, talks about beautification plans for Emory Road. Photo by Cindy Taylor ideas for getting started. “This is not a presentation as far as saying this is what we’re going to do,” he said. “It’s more of a dialogue to pro-
mote discussion and ideas.” Brooks said key locations on public property have been identified as starting points, and he hopes businesses will become engaged and want to support the project. Artist’s renderings were available for review showing suggested improvements. Comments will be taken on the PBPA website at www.powellbusiness.com/. Clark said the idea is to attract traffic to downtown Powell after the new section of Emory Road opens. “The new road will divert a lot of traffic away from the Powell business district,” said Clark. “We must be proactive in developing a place where people will want to come and shop.” Targeted areas include the junction of old and new Emory roads
at Gill, Powell Station Splash Park, Powell High School streetscape and the Emory/Brickyard intersection. Also at the PBPA meeting, Mark Field, senior vice president of membership with the Knoxville Chamber, spoke briefly about signage in the community. He said the Metropolitan Planning Commission is drafting a proposed ordinance for Knoxville City Council to consider that would restrict the height and design of signs. “And what the city adopts often follows into the county,” he said. Once completed, the proposal will be available to view on both the MPC and chamber websites. The PBPA meets at noon each second Tuesday at Jubilee Banquet Facility.
Powell singer wins county competition By Betty Bean Lauren Kitts did a good job of hanging onto her composure the first few minutes after she was declared the winner of CTE goes Live, the talent show featuring vocalists from every high school in Knox County. Sure, she shed a couple of tears when her name was called – who could blame the Powell High School junior for being overwhelmed at having prevailed over tough competition in the biggest talent contest of the year? But she pulled herself together when MC Jack Ryan summoned
her up to the Market Square stage and asked her to sing an encore. She belted out the first few lines of “I Will Always Love You” (the Whitney Houston version, not the Dolly Parton one) without a hitch. And then she saw her daddy. “I’d gotten my composure back until I looked down and saw him, and I started crying again. He was laughing and crying – he said he felt like he’d won it himself. And Mama? She was just filled with joy. I just lost it.” The contest was on the night of her 17th birthday. Offstage, Lauren is a little bash-
of gospel singers Michael and Delilah Kitts, aka Michael and Delilah, the Sonny and Cher of gospel music (because of Michael’s diminutive stature). She’s been joining them onstage for several years and hopes to jumpstart her career as soon as she graduates next year. Winning a trip to Nashville to record a song at Nash10 Studios won’t dampen her plans a bit. Music runs in the veins of the Kitts family, a supersized clan out Lauren Kitts, CTE goes Live winner of Luttrell that is closely related to ful, but singing comes as naturally the equally musical Hunley and to her as breathing. In fact, it runs Brewer families. Con Hunley is a in the family. She is the daughter To page A-3 2704 Mineral Springs Ave. Knoxville, TN 37917 Ph. (865) 687-4537
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