POWELL/NORWOOD VOL. 55 NO. 23
BUZZ Quilters prepare Pamela Werner of Corryton loves to learn and says she’s “collecting projects for my retirement.� Werner is a member of the quilting bee that meets monthly in North Knox County. The group is preparing for the Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee’s annual show June 17-18, at the Knoxville Expo Center, 5441 Clinton Highway. rs.com
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Read Shannon Carey on page A-3
Gill vs. Staples??? Betty Bean profiles Democratic nominee Evelyn Gill from District 1, only to learn that Rick Staples, the man Gill beat 1704-1507 in the primary, might jump into the race as a write-in candidate. The Republican nominee is Michael Covington. It could get crowded in District 1.
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Read Betty Bean on page A-5
Take One ministry Of the thousands of men and women who are released from Tennessee prisons each year, nearly half will find themselves behind bars again within three years, state officials say. But the new Take One program by the Tennessee Department of Correction aims to reduce that number by partnering with faith-based groups and non-profits to help those recently released from prison make their way back into society.
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Read J.J. Stambaugh on page A-7
Benefit sale June 10-11 in Luttrell A benefit/garage/yard sale is planned in memory of Union County resident Sarah Howe, 28, who died in a car accident Feb. 3 leaving behind two young boys. Rain or shine Friday and Saturday, June 10 - 11, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Redbud Circle, Luttrell.
Nicholas Gibbs open house The Nicholas Gibbs Historical Society will host an open house 11 a.m. Saturday, June 11, at the original log home of Nicholas Gibbs, 7633 E. Emory Road. There will be food, music and an opportunity to learn local history. Bring a folding chair and a potluck dish. Everyone is invited. In case of rain, the meeting will be moved to Clapps Chapel UMC, located just past the homesite. Info: Joe Longmire, 687-0314.
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Missing Man ceremony brings tears at
Morning Pointe
By Cindy Taylor It was an emotional afternoon May 27 with many tears shed when staff and residents at Morning Pointe Powell, along with local officials, participated in the Missing Man Table and POW/MIA Flag Dedication ceremonies in remembrance and honor of our military men and women. The ceremony was presented by Rolling Thunder Tennessee Chapter 3. “Our mission is to support and assist our veterans,� said Rolling Thunder member and veteran Brenda Owensby. “We try to keep those we have lost uppermost in people’s minds. Many people don’t even know there are still service members who are missing and have never returned home. More than 15 veterans attended. Most were residents of Morning Pointe Powell. Three resident veterans traveled from Morning Pointe in Clinton. The Rev. Jim Waddell, senior adult pastor at First Baptist Powell, opened the event with prayer. Morning Pointe staff member Leslee Wilkinson sang the National Anthem. Singer/songwriter Ann M. Wolf read the script for the Missing Man Table ceremony as patriotic music swelled in the background. Suzy Dauber guided the Missing Man Table. Many items used during the ceremony came from Morning Pointe resi-
dent veterans. After the ceremony, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and at-large County Commissioner Bob Thomas presented a certificate of appreciation and thanked each veteran as state Rep. Bill Dunn read each name aloud. Veterans honored were Jim Lyons, Charles Lord, John Moyers, Leon May, Ronald Fritts, Sam Dyer, Dwight Patterson, Harry Ogden, Clyde Hubbs, Bobby Dupes, Fred Pardue, John Simmons, Paul Summers, Gerald Heard, Bill Jones, Earl Hoffmeister and Walton Gene Woods. Veteran Dwight Patterson, 91, served in three major wars; WWII, Korea and Vietnam. “This is a great tribute to veterans in the United States and other countries as well,� said Patterson. After the indoor ceremony, the POW/MIA flag was raised below the American flag on the Morning Pointe flag pole in front of the facility. According to the National League of POW/MIA Families more than 1,500 U.S. personnel are still missing and unaccountedfor from the Vietnam War alone. When veterans present were thanked for their service, the response was, without fail, “It was my honor and privilege.�
Rolling Thunder Tennessee members/ veterans Brenda Owensby and Robert Sullivan raise and salute the American and POW/MIA flags during a ceremony at Morning Pointe Powell.
‘Opal’s Million Dollar Duck’ is next for Powell Playhouse By Charles Denney The world’s most kind-hearted hoarder is, once again, having to fend off numb-skulled crooks looking to swindle her. Eccentric but sweet Opal Kronkie lives near the city dump, and operates “Opal’s Antique Junk Shop,� which is a nice way of saying her home is a mess. She’s visited by local actors Desmond and Queenie, the “stars� of a nearby summer-stock company. While rooting through Opal’s treasures, they come across a painting of a dead mallard and an apple. Mistaking this for valuable artwork from a museum, the two devise a
plan to buy the painting for nextto-nothing, and return it for a handsome reward. Opal wants to give the painting to her best bud Rosie for her birthday. The picture reminds Rosie of her pet duck, who met a tragic end in an encounter with a truck. Meantime, Desmond and Queenie summon all their acting skills and engage in outrageous flattery and lies to get their hands on the duck painting. Will they get their greedy paws on the picture? Will Opal outsmart the swindlers? It’s the story line of “Opal’s Million Dollar Duck,� a comedy coming soon from the Powell Playhouse.
“Opal’s Million Dollar Duck� will be performed Thursday, June 23; Friday, June 24; and twice on Saturday, June 25, at the Jubilee Banquet Facility on Callahan Road. The play starts at 7 p.m. for the three evening performances, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. Tickets are $10 for all performances with a $5 senior discount for the matinee and can be purchased at the door – or online at powellplayhouse.com Dinner will be offered at each performance with a lunch before the Saturday matinee. Dinners prior to evening performances are $15, and the lunch is $10. For meal
reservations, call the Jubilee Center at 865-938-2112. “‘Opal’s Million Dollar Duck’ is, hands-down, the funniest script I’ve ever had the opportunity to work with,� says Scarlet Bell-Silva, director of the play. “The humor is non-stop, and the laughter is contagious.� Bell-Silva was recently co-director of “Harvey,� and has appeared on the PPH stage in “Crimes of the Heart� and “A Nice Family Gathering.� She’s a graduate of Powell High School, and holds a degree in theatre and
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Rountree calls state funding formula ‘broken’ By Betty Bean Two weeks ago, Amber Rountree, who served on a task force that studied disparities in academic performances among Knox County students, told her school board colleagues there’s something badly wrong with the state’s funding formula for education. “You need to be talking to your state legislators about the fact that the BEP (Basic Education Plan) is broken, and our kids are not getting what they need,� said Rountree, who said that working on the task force taught her that most student disparities are caused by poverty, regardless of ethnicity or disability. “We all have to come together as a community. We have to all reach out to come up with a solution.� When asked to elaborate, Rountree said Knox County Schools’ greatest need is for additional so-
June 8, 2016
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Rountree
Brooks
cial workers and guidance counselors. She said these positions have never been adequately funded by the BEP, which was created by the Education Improvement Act of 1992 to settle a lawsuit filed by a group of small school systems that challenged the way the state distributed money between urban and rural school districts. The BEP was updated in 2007 (becoming BEP 2.0), but leaders of the state’s larger school systems complain that the state has simply shifted the burden for paying
for education to urban districts like Knox County. Periodically, lawmakers consider bills requiring the state to fully fund the BEP, but those measures invariably get punted to a summer study committee black hole. Rountree said many of the “enhancements� included in the BEP 2.0 reforms have never been fully funded – guidance counselors and social workers among them. “Whatever money (Gov. Bill) Haslam put forth this past year hasn’t enhanced that area.� She said Moreland Heights Elementary School shares a social worker with Pleasant Ridge Elementary. “That’s one person trying to meet the needs of 800-plus students,� she said. “I don’t think there’s a perfect solution, but the way we’re doing it now is obviously not working. We’re at the bottom of the barrel with educational
funding, and I’m not sure how anyone in the state can rah-rah the virtues of the BEP.� Rountree said she feels “a lack of connection with representatives at the state level – like when Bill Dunn was trying to push his voucher bill through, saying he had a letter from the school board, when in reality it was a letter from (board chair) Doug Harris. The majority of the board did not support Dunn’s bill. And the conversations I’ve had with Harry (Brooks), I’m not sure he thinks the BEP needs to be fi xed.� Brooks, who chairs the House Education Administration and Planning Committee and served on a task force convened by Gov. Bill Haslam to work on finding more money for education, said that state government has worked hard To page A-3