GOVERNMENT/POLITICS A4 | OUR COLUMNISTS A6-7 | YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS A10 | BUSINESS A11
A great community newspaper.
powell
VOL. 50, NO. 21
MAY 23, 2011
INSIDE www.ShopperNewsNow.com
|
www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow
|
twitter.com/shoppernewsnow
Heiskell seniors get safety tips Rachel and Andrew’s love story Jake Mabe tours The Hermitage See page A-6
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Fountain City Road to reopen May 30 Knox County deputy director of engineering and public works Jim Snowden said last week that the portion of Fountain City Road closed during the Dry Gap Pike/ Fountain City Road/ Dante Road intersection project should be open by Monday, May 30. Snowden said that the project’s final closeout – “final asphalt surface, striping, sodding, etc.” – should take an additional couple of weeks and that the project should be entirely completed by July 1. – Jake Mabe
FEATURED COLUMNIST LARRY VAN GUILDER
It’s a numbers game … See Larry’s column on page A-4
By Greg Householder The Heiskell Seniors got some good advice from Knox County Sheriff’s Office volunteers Charlie Wright and Bill Dunlap on May 12. What the two said was sobering. Knox County has approximately 1,192 inmates incarcerated on any given day. If they are “normal,” it costs the county about $76 per day. If they have mental issues or are on drugs, the cost can go up to $152 per day. Those amounts are per inmate, per day. According to Wright, Knox County ranks twice the national average for murders. He said that break-ins are usually oriented towards drugs.
Wright also said that 50 percent of the inmates have a lifestyle improvement with incarceration. The speakers advised the seniors to be aware of their surroundings, look and act confident, and treat “everyone as a suspect.” They advised that scams are prevalent and frequent, and told the seniors to strengthen exterior doors and install peepholes. Women were advised to always keep their purses close to their bodies and men to carry their wallets in their front pockets. It is a good idea to make a list of all credit cards and always hit “clear” Bill Dunlap and Charlie Wright from the Knox County Sheriff ’s Office discuss when using credit or ATM cards at safety with the Heiskell Seniors at the group’s May 12 meeting. Photo by Greg Householder the gas pump.
Heiskell fire department enters negotiations with Rural/Metro Tight budgets force merger By Greg Householder For the folks in Heiskell, the past several weeks have been anxious ones indeed. The big questions on everyone’s mind were what would be the future of the Heiskell Volunteer Fire Department and how would that future affect the cost of homeowner’s insurance and fire protection. Unfortunately, there was a good deal of inaccurate and unrealistic information floating around through other media outlets. Many questions were answered at the HVFD board meeting May 14. The department, founded in 1981 by retired Oak Ridge firefighter Glenn Davis, had been providing protection for the approximately 1,500 homes in the Heiskell area. Recently Rural/Metro notified the department that it would no longer provide free dispatch service to the department. It would soon start charging approximately $26,000 annually for the service.
The board of directors sent out communications to the community soliciting input and holding meetings. The board also appointed a committee, called the “Path Forward Committee,” to study the issue. The HVFD’s bylaws require that it be funded through fundraising, donations or grants. The annual budget has run around $35,000 per year. However, for the past eight years, training and equipment requirements have pushed those costs to more than $60,000 annually. For the past year, the department has received about $15,000 in contributions from the community. In 2010, the department received $15,000 in contractual funding from Knox County in the form of a grant. In 2011, that figured was reduced to $13,500 and County Mayor Tim Burchett’s proposed 2012 budget only provides $9,500. The department also raises money through events such as rummage sales, spaghetti suppers and the like. In a perfect scenario, with the new factor of the dispatch fee to Rural/ Metro, it should cost about $61,000
to run the HVFD. If Burchett’s budget proposal passes as proposed, the department is still faced with raising more than $50,000. As projections are seldom perfect, the cost could go as high as $86,000 or more to keep the department running. This would require the department to raise more than $75,000 – a daunting task in today’s economic and fundraising conditions. After much study, the “Path Forward Committee” determined that there were essentially two options: become a paid subscription service or enter into a contract with Rural/ Metro. The subscription service option would require the development of a business model and the establishment of a business entity separate from the fire protection division per the department’s bylaws. The subscription option would also require the establishment of procedures and policies to execute the business plan. There had been preliminary discussions with Rural/Metro and RM chief Jerry Harnish was at the May 14 board meeting. In principal, Rural/Metro has agreed to hire HVFD
employees, take over protection of the area and maintain the HVFD equipment while providing a community flavor to the service. The details would be worked out in the negotiations. The committee recommended a written ballot vote. The board voted 6-4 to enter into a contract with Rural/Metro. What does this mean for homeowners in Heiskell? The financial implications are unclear as yet. Harnish explained that Rural/Metro charges a sliding scale based on square footage on file in the county assessor’s office. The fee ranges from 6 cents to 14 cents per square foot. The more square footage under protection the less the per square foot rate. For example, if one has a 2,000-square-foot home with no outbuildings, using the 14 cents per foot as a worst case scenario, the annual Rural/Metro subscription would run $280 using the figures provided by Harnish. There are still questions to be answered and they won’t be answered until the contract negotiations, which are scheduled to begin this week, are complete.
ONLINE
Tax talk highlights culture clash DO YOU
LIKE? TELL US! www.facebook.com/ ShopperNewsNow
By Larry Van Guilder It’s no secret that Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett’s proposed budget, notable for its austerity, has not been met with universal acclaim. That was dramatically illustrated when dozens of black and white resi-
Analysis 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.
TITAN A SELF-STORAGE
dents turned out at last week’s County Commission workshop to oppose a 92 percent reduction in county funding for the Beck Cultural Center. A more surprising reaction to the budget came two days later at a community meeting called by 2nd District Commissioner Amy Broyles and 1st District Commissioner Sam McKenzie. Nearly all who attended were Knox County Sheriff’s Office employees or spouses of employees. Some characterized the mayor’s lean budget as a response to a “manufactured crisis,” and none opposed the idea of a property tax increase.
Commissioner Sam McKenzie Broyles intends to propose a 3 percent across-the-board pay increase for county employees in the current budget with a property tax increase to follow for FY 2013. If a tax increase translates to a pay raise, that’s reason enough for KCSO employees and other county workers to support it. But more than purely selfish motives were evident as the discussion passed between the commissioners and their audience last Wednesday. Reflecting on the dozen years that have passed since the last property
tax increase, KCSO employee Jeremy McCord said, “At some point taxes are going to have to go up. … We’re not a parish in Louisiana which has no money. This old Ross Perot theory of no new taxMcCord es (doesn’t work.)” McKenzie agreed. “We’re going to have to start talking about our revenue,” he said. Broyles’ assessment of the proposed budget cut to the heart of what is shaping up as a cultural clash before the budget comes to a vote on June 13: “Our administration is trying to sell a financial crisis that isn’t there.” Burchett strongly disagrees. Months ago the administration began spreading the word that the county was facing a $3 million shortfall. To meet the challenge, unfilled positions will remain vacant, a few employees will be terminated, and the mayor has
Lowest prices in town.
938-2080
Climate and non-climate controlled units, indoor and outdoor, RV storage, 24/7 access, month to month rentals, fenced, lighted and security, convenient to Halls and Powell.
NOW OPEN! Norris Freeway location
BOOT CAMP Register by May 24
859-7900
mercy.com
proposed sizeable cuts in community grants and contracted services. None of these moves should surprise. Burchett’s campaign stressed his belief in small government – the smaller the better. At the same time, contracting with the Hope Resource Center, which provides counseling for unplanned pregnancies and opposes abortion, is consistent with the conservative principles of the mayor and his base. Pushing through any substantive changes to the proposed budget will be a challenge. Broyles and McKenzie may gain a couple of allies before June 13, but if the vote divides along city/ county lines, which seems as likely as any other outcome, they can’t count enough noses. The mayor’s constituency lies outside the inner city districts, and Burchett’s years in Nashville taught him how to assess the prevailing political winds. McKenzie summed up and framed the question for those who oppose this budget: “Does the mayor have six votes already?”