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VOL. 56 NO. 11
www.ShopperNewsNow.com |
March 15, 2017
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FIRST WORDS
Teacher offers support for Bob Thomas By Lauren Hopson
At the public forum for the final two candidates for Knox County superintendent of schools, I witnessed two ends of the spectrum. One struck Hopson me as a used car salesman who talked a lot but avoided answering the questions. What he said did not match up with the stories I have heard from people who have worked with him. The other was sincere and clearly connected with the crowd. On many occasions, he has asked for my input on how best to move our school system forward and restore a culture of respect and professionalism to our system while keeping the focus on our kids. When my term as president of the Knox County Education Association ends, I will most likely be returning to the classroom. Leaving KCS would cost me my tenure and likely my ability to advocate for public education. It could jeopardise my career and ability to provide for my family. However, I will not work for another superintendent who puts on one face for the public and another out of the spotlight. I will not work for another superintendent who refuses to genuinely collaborate with the people who do the heavy lifting every day. I will not work for another superintendent who makes teachers feel afraid to be an active part of their professional association and advocate for our students. I will not work for another superintendent who won’t support my right to challenge the Department of Education when it enacts policies that are harmful to our profession and our children. I will not work for another superintendent who rewards those who publicly agree with him, no matter how they feel in private, and punishes those willing to speak the truth. However, I will proudly work for a man who exemplifies integrity and decency while building relationships with teachers and students based on a desire to help both groups succeed. I will proudly work for Bob Thomas. The Board of Education will choose the next superintendent in less than two weeks. I encourage everyone to contact all school board members and voice your opinion, even if it is not the same as mine. My opinion is only one. They need to hear all of them. Lauren Hopson can be reached at 865-5229793.
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Donny Rector and Mickey Blazier of Food City; Anna Freshour, Bill Evans and Dale Grubbs of KUB. Photos by S. Clark
Project Help recaps winter campaign By Sandra Clark Powell played host to executives from KUB, Home Federal Bank and Food City on March 6 as checks totaling $40,000 were presented to KUB for Project Help. Powell manager Donny Rector welcomed guests with refreshments provided by the store’s deli/bakery. KUB officials said 667 needy families were assisted in 2016 with overall donations of $166,170.36. Food City has assisted in col-
Help clients may have an emergency need because of job loss, illness, injury or disability, or they may be seniors struggling with the rising cost of living. The Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee (CAC) administers Project Help. KUB collects donations with customer bills and sends 100 percent of the funds to CAC. Assistance is available to KUB customers in Knox and surrounding counties. Dale Grubbs of KUB said a pro-
gram for more permanent assistance has been funded through a grant from TVA, available only to city of Knoxville residents. “We’ve weatherized 110 homes already, are working on 1,200, and have another 2,000 on a waiting list,” he said. “The need is huge.” Individuals can donate directly by mailing a check to Project Help, P.O. Box 59017, Knoxville, TN 37950, or by “rounding up” on their monthly KUB bill. To apply for assistance, contact CAC at 865637-6700.
Hoffmeister had strong North Knox ties By Jake Mabe
Just about every North Knox native of a certain age can tell you an Earl Hoffmeister story. My favorite is the time Mr. Hoffmeister, Knox County Schools superintendent from 1976-92, persuaded Eugene Hall to sell 10 acres on Andersonville Pike to the county to build the present-day Halls Elementary School. “Mr. Hall,” Earl said, “if you’ll sell us this land, I promise I’ll name the school after you.” And he did – Halls Elementary School. Mr. Hoffmeister died last week. He was 90. Born in Maryville, Mr. Hoff-
meister grew up in South Knox and played football and basketball at the old Young High School. He was also a World War II veteran. After the war, he attended UT and Hoffmeister played football briefly before transferring to Wofford College. His North Knox ties are tight indeed. In addition to building houses in the area, Mr. Hoffmeister moved to Powell and taught at Powell High and at Central High,
where he later became vice principal. Popular with students, he was affectionately nicknamed “Hoff.” He continued to build houses during the summers for a time, and wife JoAnne, to whom he was married for 67 years, was his partner in business, too. They attended Powell United Methodist (now Powell Church) for 63 years. Mr. Hoffmeister defeated Knox County Schools Superintendent Mildred Doyle in 1976 in a major upset. She had been superintendent for 30 years. He surrounded himself with good staff at key positions and was popular with people in an era when voters elected the superin-
tendent. He helped oversee the merging of Knoxville City Schools into the county school system in 1986-87 and won re-election each time he ran for superintendent. He took particular interest in special education. Steve Wells grew up in Emory Estates, a subdivision Mr. Hoffmeister developed, in a house Mr. Hoffmeister also built. Wells can tell you some fishing tales and said, “His sense of humor was second to none.” Jeff Newgent knows, too. A Central High grad, Newgent found himself on the receiving end of To page A-3
Bye-bye sidewalks if developers prevail By Betty Bean Mayors and planners across the state are lining up to oppose a bill that would require local governments to pay developers for rightof-way acquisition. “We need to maintain the ability to require developers to dedicate that right of way – their developments contribute to creating the need, and we want them to contribute an equitable share of the costs of making those improvements. This bill would make it very challenging for local governments to finance road improvements,” said Gerald Green, executive director of the local planning commission. A bill (SB1368/HB0496) sponsored by two Middle Tennessee lawmakers, Sen. Paul Bailey and Rep. Ryan Williams, would require local governments or planning agencies to pay fair market value for the right-of-way acquisition rather than demand it as a
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lections for 17 years, said executive vice president Mickey Blazier. This year’s effort ran from Jan. 9 to Feb. 3, and collections totaled $38,601. Home Federal Bank was represented by vice president Amy Williams, who presented a check for $1,968. Project Help is an emergency heating-assistance program that buys electricity, natural gas, propane, heating oil, wood or coal for people who need temporary help with their heating bills. Project
Scott Davis
Gerald Green
condition of rezoning. “The cost of acquiring easements would tax our financial ability to undertake road improvements, and as a result, many needed projects (including sidewalks) would not get done,” Green said. “Using taxpayer money to pay developers for right-of-way rights will siphon funds away from much-needed infrastructure projects. And we’re speaking out of both sides of our mouths – saying we don’t have the funds to undertake necessary transportation improvements, so we’re having to
consider a gas tax increase at the same time we’re thinking about escalating costs by not requiring dedicating easements.” Developer Scott Davis is also watching this bill. Not surprisingly, he takes a different view. “In some cases, we’re forced to give up substantial amounts of right-of-way where there are no plans in place to widen the road or make improvements. Generally, we’re buying land on a per acre basis, and this reduces our usable acreage, taking land from us for ‘possible’ road improvements sometime in a distant future that never happens,” Davis said. He’s skeptical of the value of sidewalks in subdivisions in outlying areas with no possibility of connecting to amenities, and said that right-of-way acquisition leaves developers with less usable acreage and drives up the selling price of the homes that will be built.
“Remember I’m a greedy developer – if I thought adding sidewalks would increase the value of my lots, I would definitely put in sidewalks. People are not considering development costs. They’ve gone up so high that we are not able to produce affordable housing,” Davis said. Green has strong backing from Mayor Madeline Rogero, who said (through a spokesperson), “We share the concerns that Gerald Green expressed to you, about shifting the cost of infrastructure to support a development from a private developer to public taxpayers. We oppose the bill for that reason.” Green said it would be shortsighted to change the law in this matter. “Our society’s attention span has been limited to the time it takes us to type out 144 characters (on Twitter). We need to take a longer perspective on this.” 2704 Mineral Springs Ave. Knoxville, TN 37917 Ph. (865) 687-4537
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