Shopper-News 021714

VOL. 2 NO. 7

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On stage

NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ

New Play Festival schedule The Tennessee Stage Company will present the world premiere of “Tic Toc” by Gayle Greene at Theatre Knoxville Downtown, 319 N. Gay St. Shows are at 8 p.m. March 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 and 3 p.m. March 9, 16 and 23. Tickets are $15 ($12 for students and seniors).

There is no admission charge for other festival events.

Staged readings will take place at Theatre Knoxville Downtown. “I Am the Way” by Scott Strahan will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 15. “Birds on the Bat” by Craig Smith will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 22.

The remaining table readings are: ■ “Let Them Eat Cupcakes”

by Leslie Agron at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Farragut Branch Library and 3 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 23, at Lawson McGhee Library.

■ “Found Objects” by Marilyn Barner Anselmi at 10:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 22, at Lawson McGhee and 11 a.m.

Saturday, March 1, at Bearden Branch Library.

■ “A Cocaine Comedy” by Harrison Young at 1:15 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 23, at Lawson McGhee and 2 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at Bearden Branch.

– Betsy Pickle

Parkhill follows ‘accidental’ path from history to Shakespeare, New Playy Festival

By Betsy Pickle Growing up in South Knoxville near what was then the Ijams family home, Tom Parkhill carved out his own trails in the not-so-urban wilderness.

As an adult, he has carved out a career in the jungle of the acting business – theater, for the most part, but with forays into film.

He is legendary in certain circles for appearing in 1986’s “King Kong Lives,” director John Guillermin’s sequel to his more successful 1976 “King Kong” remake.

“I was in the movie from the first day of shooting till the last day of shooting,” says Parkhill, who is credited as “Radioman.” “I didn’t do that much in it, but I was there.”

What isn’t as widely known is that while he was shooting in Wilmington, N.C., his hotel neighbor was Ozzy Osbourne, who was in town filming a role in the horror film “Trick or Treat.”

“His suite faced the beach,” says Parkhill. “My small room around the corner faced the parking lot. But we were right there, me and Ozzy.”

He says the rock musician-turned-reality star was very neighborly.

“There was a party in his suite every night. He graTo page To pag ge 3 Tom Parkhill visits his old stomping grounds – the area at Ijams Nature Center near where he played as a youth and where the Tennessee Stage Company often used to perform a version of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for children. Photo by Betsy Pickle

Kelle Jolly reset The “Season of Music” event at Pellissippi State’s Magnolia Avenue campus has been rescheduled to 10:45 a.m.

Wednesday, Feb. 19, because of snow last week.

Kelle Jolly, local jazz musician, will headline the event.

The singer-songwriter’s appearance is part of the campus’ month-long celebration of Black History Month.

The event is free and open to the community.

– Nancy Whittaker

IN THIS ISSUE

Pat Patterson: Effective detective Malcolm Shell recalls the legendary county detective Pat Patterson; and Marvin West explains why college basketball really is rocket science.

➤

Read both on page 5

School-board races Betty Bean profiles the 6th District school-board race; and Jake Mabe looks at David Dewhirst’s plans for a new restaurant complex.

➤

Read both on page 4

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February 17, 2014

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In a Tennessee Stage Company performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in Maryville, Titania (Suzanne Ankrum) and the fairies attend to Nick Bottom (Tom Parkhill) as Helena, Hermia, Demetrius and Lysander sleep. File photo

Randy Boyd dreams big, now employs 650

By Betty Bean PetSafe founder and CEO Randy Boyd is a native South Knoxvillian and a graduate of Doyle High School. The son of Tom and Dale Boyd, he took his first paying job in 1968, when he was 8 years old.

“I worked for my father for $1 an hour,” he said.

“He paid me out of his pocket, so I don’t think he broke any childlabor laws.”

Randy finished high school at age 16, entered the University of TenRandy Boyd nessee and worked his way to a business degree in three years. He paid his tuition by working on an injection molding machine, again for his dad, and was 19 when he graduated in 1979.

He jokes that he accomplished his warp-speed education not because he was smart, but because he was a penny pincher.

“When I discovered I could take 22 hours for the same price as 18, that’s what I did.”

Upon graduation, he went back my desk was in the Customer Care to work for his dad, who owned an area.”

(The state job Boyd mentioned electric-fencing business. A few years later he struck out on his own was a yearlong assignment – withand soon expanded into invisible out pay – from Gov. Bill Haslam to fences for pets. From reinvent Tennessee higher WHERE education. It began as that beginning, a the the “Drive to 55” multimillion-dollar proposition to inbusiness was born.

PetSafe is a crease the number different kind of of the state’s colcompany with a diflege graduates to 55 percent by 2025 and ferent kind of management philosophy, evolved into a plan to offer and the difference is obvious to high-school graduates two years visitors who walk in the door. Em- of community college at no cost. ployees, who are called associates, Haslam unveiled Boyd’s plan durare allowed – even encouraged – ing his recent State of the State adto bring their dogs to work. And dress.) the boss doesn’t have an office.

PetSafe’s parent company, Radio Or, as Randy Boyd prefers to Systems Corporation, also owns describe the work environment at Invisible Fence Brand (the world’s 10427 PetSafe Way, he has a great leading wireless fencing), Sportbig office: DOG Brand (the leader in train“Actually, we only have an open ing equipment for sporting dogs), area. I like to tell people that I as well as Premier Pet Products, maintain an office of 6,000-10,000 Drinkwell Pet Fountains and Insquare feet; however, I do share notek training products. In all, it with my associates, and I move Boyd estimates that the company my desk to a different department produces around 4,600 pet prodevery year. Before the state job, ucts.

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Worldwide, Radio Systems has some 650 employees, 350 in Knox County. Additionally, there are 3040 employees in Virginia, 40-50 in Ohio, 100 in China, 30 in Ireland, 15 in Australia and three in Japan, with offices in seven countries. Employees can apply for jobs overseas, Boyd said.

“I always dream big, but (the business has) definitely gone in directions that I didn’t expect and directions that I’m very proud and happy about. We have focused less on electronics and more on pets, and I’m happy that we are.

“And the scope of giving back to our community has exceeded anything I could have imagined.”

The first step to applying for employment at PetSafe is to prepare a resume and go to http:// www.petsafe.net/about-us/working-at-petsafe for instructions.

And Boyd has a hint for applicants: The Customer Care department offers important entry-level opportunities with the potential for advancement.

To page 3

2 • FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

Maryville man thankful for ‘gift’ of minimally invasive surgery Bill Kendall of Maryville, 68, is a retired railroad worker who has spent a fair amount of time on his feet and bending down. At 6 feet, 3 inches tall, that’s a long way down.

“It’s simple physics,” Kendall pointed out.

“There’s more leverage placed on the spine when you’re taller.”

Over the years, Kendall developed lower back pain. “I did it to myself through 35 years of railroad work and abuse,” he said.

About four years ago, the pain became significant. “It started slowly, but it got to the point where I had to look where my right foot was, because I lost feeling in it. The pain started in the lower back and radiated down the leg. I began to have a loss of strength and standing was very uncomfortable.”

Kendall tried non-surgical treatments.

“The chiropractor helped but it didn’t cure anything,” Kendall said. “He put things back into alignment, and that was great for a couple of days, but then the pain would start slipping back in.

“Then I tried physical therapy, and I went through rounds of steroids. Nothing was working for good, and it only provided temporary relief,” he said.

“I refused to take pain medication, because that doesn’t cure anything. It only masks the pain.”

At a monthly meeting of retired railroad workers (“We swap lies and stories,” Kendall said), one of his friends shared his own story of a good experience with minimally invasive back surgery by Dr. Joel Norman at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

So Kendall visited Dr. Norman in September 2013. After an MRI test and X-rays, Norman diagnosed Kendall with spondylolisthesis, a degenerative condition in which one vertebra slips forward on the other, rather than being lined up together.

The slippage in Kendall’s vertebrae had caused some of the fluid between the vertebrae to ooze out and form a cyst that was pushing onto a nerve. This is called a synovial cyst, and it caused the pain radiating down Kendall’s leg.

Spondylolisthesis is a degenerative condition, meaning it only gets worse. Norman recommended surgery to repair the damage.

Dr. Joel Norman performs surgery on Bill Kendall on Oct. 1, 2013, at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

Using a minimally invasive technique, Norman would realign the two vertebrae and fuse them together so there would be no more slipping.

“He said, ‘I think I can give you your life back,’ ” said Kendall. “He was confident enough in his abilities and the people working at Fort Sanders, and that gives you confidence in your surgeon and the staff.”

Kendall had minimally invasive spinal fusion surgery at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center on Oct. 1, 2013.

“After surgery it was miraculous,” said Kendall. “When I woke up, the pain was gone!

I had had pain medicine during surgery, and I thought that would wear off, but after two days, I didn’t need pain medicine at all.”

Kendall went home less than 24 hours after surgery and said he would recommend Fort Sanders to anyone facing spinal surgery.

“Everyone was so professional and courteous,” he said. “They kept asking, ‘Is there anything I can do for you, do you need anything?’

It was great. All the anxiety of going to the hospital was waylaid.”

Even the food was good, he added. “You could tell someone cared about what it looked like, how it was arranged. It was presented in

a healing manner,” he said.

Kendall is now working to strengthen his leg and back muscles.

“I’m regaining strength in the leg,” he said.

“I can go seven minutes on the treadmill, and I have no problem with my back. Before, I couldn’t go 30 seconds on a treadmill.”

Kendall said he only wishes he had done the surgery sooner.

“It’s a gift I’ve been given. I just can’t express how grateful and appreciative I am, because I’ve got my life back. I tell everybody, go to Tennessee Brain and Spine and Fort Sanders, and get a second opinion.

“They’re great. In my book I made the right decision,” said Kendall. “I’ve gotten my life back. Until you have it you don’t understand how great it is when the pain is gone.”

What is spondylolisthesis?

Almost everyone experiences back pain – especially lower back pain – at some point in life.

For about 5 to 10 percent of people, back pain comes from a condition called spondylolisthesis. From the Greek words “spondylo,” meaning “spine,” and “listhesis,” meaning “slip,” spondylolisthesis is when one vertebra

Specializing in minimally invasive surgery

New year, new program: ‘Covenant presents’ at Strang Center Once a month, a group of senior adults gathers at the Frank R. Strang Senior Center in West Knoxville to learn information about a variety of health and lifestyle topics called “Covenant Presents.”

“We have for many years enjoyed a close partnership with the Strang Senior Center,” said Debby Saraceni, Covenant vice president of marketing and physician services. “Our goal with ‘Covenant Presents’ is to expand on an already very solid and successful program that now will include physician speakers not only from Parkwest Medical Center, but from the other hospitals and affili-

ates within Covenant Health.”

Covenant Health includes nine hospitals, employs thousands of medical professionals, and is affiliated with more than 1,300 of the region’s elite physicians of many different specialties. The new, expanded program will connect medical professionals with local seniors to present health and lifestyle topics of interest to the group, topics such as medication safety, diabetes education, vision and neurological conditions. The program’s purpose is to provide valuable health care information, as well as create an opportunity for participants to have concerns and questions answered.

The presentation schedule for the first and second quarters of 2014 includes: *** Wednesday, Feb. 26 Joel Norman, MD Neurosurgeon, Tennessee Brain and Spine at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Presentation: Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Wednesday, March 26 Michael P. Bernard, MD Internal Medicine, Southern Medical Group Presentation: Pitfalls of Treatment for Hypertension

slips in relation to another above or below it.

The misalignment can press against a nerve or allow fluid between the vertebrae to bulge and cause a painful cyst. In both cases, the pain can radiate from the back down the leg.

“Spondylolisthesis is often missed on initial MRIs,” said Dr. Joel Norman, a neurosurgeon with Tennessee Brain and Spine and the Center for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at Fort Sanders Regional.

The vertebrae tend to slip back in place when the patient is lying down for the MRI scan. To get a better image, the patient must have X-rays standing up or bending forward and leaning back.

“That way you’ll see the slippage of the bones in there,” said Norman. “Usually the person’s pain is much worse when walking or standing.”

Spondylolisthesis is one of the main reasons for spinal fusion surgery, said Norman.

At Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, this surgery can be done with a minimally invasive approach.

Using special imaging and instruments, the surgeon operates through several small incisions instead of one large one. The goal is to reposition the bones so they’re not compressing a nerve and to fuse them together, to stabilize the area.

The small incisions mean less blood loss and quicker healing.

“This gets people back on their feet faster and back to regular activity much sooner than a large incision operation does,” said Norman.

“After a hospital stay of one to two days, most people return to normal activities within one to four weeks.”

Spondylolisthesis can be caused by an injury or a malformation at birth, but is more often the result of arthritis and aging.

“The typical patient is 50 to 60 years old,” said Norman. “Spondylolisthesis is a condition causing back pain that I feel confident I can fix with an operation,” he said. “In most cases we’re able to return people to their normal way of living.”

For more information about the Center for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at Fort Sanders Regional, call 865-541-2835 or visit fsregional.com/minimallyinvasive.

Wednesday, April 23 Mary E. Dillon, MD Medical Director for the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center Presentation: Stroke Rehabilitation Wednesday, June 25 Sunil M. John, MD Internal Medicine, Southern Medical Group of Knoxville Presentation: Dementia *** For more information about “Covenant Presents,” or about the programs and services of Covenant Health, call 865-541-4500.

Dr. Joel E. Norman, of Tennessee Brain and Spine and the Center for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery at Fort Sanders Regional, will present at the next “Covenant Presents” program on Wednesday, Feb. 26. Dr. Norman will address the topic of minimally invasive spine surgery.

Dr. Norman has extensive expertise in the treatment of surgical Joel E. Norman, MD disorders of the brain, spine and peripheral Neurosurgery nerves. His expertise includes endoscopic pituitary surgery, image-guided stereotactic surgery for intracranial disease and minimally invasive image guided spinal surgery. He also is certified for Gamma Knife procedures used to treat neurosurgical diseases including brain tumors and trigeminal neuralgia.

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Shopper news • FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • 3

In the parking area at I.C. King Park, Matthew Kellogg measures a beam as Brian Hann prepares to cut at the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club’s workday at the park. Photos by Betsy Pickle

The work crew grows as club members make a final push to Randy Farmer, foreground, arranges planks at the correct an- complete the bridge. gle as Jay Basile drills screws to hold them together.

Building a bridge and more at I.C. King “I love work. I could watch it for hours.” – slogan button from the 1980s In the continuing adventures of the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club, work stints seem to outnumber fun events. And yet there’s no shortage of club members when a workday rolls around – probably because they know that their toil will pay off in trail-riding bliss.

Dan Newton hoists a paver to place on the trail.

On stage

From page 1

ciously invited me over a lot. I behaved very modestly and went to bed early.”

That’s the official story.

But Parkhill clearly survived, and though he continued to travel for jobs in theater and film, he eventually settled down in Knoxville and became the founding artistic director of the Tennessee Stage Company.

TSC is beloved for putting on Shakespeare on the Square each summer on Market Square. But its winter tradition is the New Play Festival. Gayle Greene’s “Tic Toc” is this year’s featured production and will have its world premiere with a March 7-23 run at Theatre Knoxville Downtown.

Table readings of other new plays will take place at various Knox County libraries Feb. 18-March 1, and staged readings will be held March 15 and 22 at Theatre Knoxville Downtown.

TSC’s first production in November 1989 was “The Foreigner,” the award-winning 1984 play by Larry Shue.

Its second production in December 1989 was a world premiere of a new play.

“Developing and producing new plays was always one of the absolute tenets of the idea for the company,” says Parkhill. “In the first few years we did four world premieres. In ’95, we started what we called the New Play Festival, but that was just because we couldn’t produce a new play, so we did some readings. For two or three years, we did readings and discussions with the authors.”

In 1998, the company once again produced a world premiere, combining it with the series of readings it had been doing, and the current form of the New Play Festival was established.

Parkhill’s career – as an actor, director, producer

and artistic director (not to mention stage manager, designer and technician) – isn’t what he expected when he entered the University of Tennessee as a history major with plans to become a teacher. He had done some plays at South High School, but acting in college was “accidental.”

“I never really pursued an acting job,” he says. “I got acting offers from companies to come and work, and so I took them because I needed a job, and it was better than working in a restaurant or bagging groceries – the jobs you do when you’re in college.”

While still in school, he co-founded a theater in Galveston, Texas, and though he finished his degree, his fate was sealed.

“The upshot really was that pretty soon I was stuck,” he says with a grin.

“I had no skills; there was nothing else I could do.”

Randy Boyd

From page 1

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Betsy Pickle

The Feb. 9 mission at I.C. King Park was fourfold: install two sections of supportive concrete pavers, clear a new section of trail and build a bridge across a boggy stretch of trail close to the lake.

Knox County provided the lumber and pavers for the projects at the park.

AMBC supplied the labor, much of which was pretty tough stuff. For three hours, more than two dozen men and women lifted, lugged, dug, drilled, cut and sawed their way through the tasks.

There were laughs along the way, along with a few differences of opinion and a little bloodshed (from a tool accident, not an argument). There were probably some sore backs and

Dave Miller and Mark Smith use road hoes to carve a trench for a foundational beam.

chapped faces.

But at the end, with a pizza lunch provided by the Bike Zoo and the promise of good riding days ahead, everyone seemed satisfied that it had been a chilly morning well spent.

■

Farewell to Bonny

South Knoxville has lost another good one. Bonny Flickinger Love, who coowned Love That BBQ with husband Walt, passed away Jan. 29.

Services were held Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, but a special event was held Sunday, Feb. 9, at the restaurant, 1901 Maryville Pike. Friends

and family came together to remember Bonny Love and her kind and friendly nature.

On her Facebook page, local writer Gay Lyons noted that the Loves were among the first to volunteer to provide food for the “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” project that took place in Knoxville a few years ago.

“Their generosity and warmth had a great impact on all who met them while they were on site – and afterwards,” Lyons wrote.

Bonny Love’s thoughtfulness will be her legacy. She is greatly missed by all who knew her.

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government

4 • FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • Shopper news

McIntyre is focus of 6th District slugfest

Rogero to offer budget options Recently, Mayor Rogero held a budget retreat with City Council at the Convention Center, outlining budget issues as her staff saw them.

Victor Ashe

She said she would present a 6 percent cut in one city budget and another budget that would fund the increase for the city pensions, cost-of-living raises and infrastructure projects.

The second budget would entail a city property-tax increase, but the mayor was silent on the specific amount.

What is interesting here is Rogero is working to have the council advise her on what to do as opposed to advocating the exact plan she favors. In this way she can share more of the responsibility with council if it becomes a tax hike.

Having proposed several tax hikes and a few tax cuts myself as mayor, including a referendum submitted to the voters in 1988, I felt the mayor should lead when it came to revenues. Part of leadership is persuading City Council and citizens to support the mayor’s recommendation.

Mayor Rogero has been forceful in advocating the no-build alternative to the James White Parkway extension in South Knox, to her credit. She was forceful in advocating a pension-change charter amendment in 2012.

She can do it here, too.

How did the mayor arrive at a 6 percent cut for one budget as opposed to a 4 percent or 2 percent cut?

The budget documents refer to cost-of-living raises, but the truth is different. The 2.5 percent pay adjustment is more than the cost of living. It is an employee pay raise. Perhaps a 2.5 percent pay raise as required by ordinance is justified, but it is not truth in advertising to call it a cost-of-living adjustment.

Mayor Rogero will present her budget on April 24 to City Council.

There is $60 million in the city’s fund balance, which has grown by $40 million in the past 10 years.

It will be hard to explain why city residents must pay more property taxes with such a large fund balance.

The 6th District for both school board and county commission stretches from Amherst to Hardin Valley, from Karns to Norwood and Pleasant Ridge, swooping up to Ball Camp It will require 20 to 22 and Byington-Solway and cents on the property-tax Karns. rate to fund these pay raises These disparate commuand additional pension nities are bound together costs, plus some infrain a newly configured disstructure improvements. trict, previously repreOf course, this could be sented by Cindy Buttry and reduced if some money was Thomas Deakins, who were taken from the fund balsqueezed out when district ance, which is not unusual. lines were redrawn. ButIt is becoming clearer to try bowed out in 2012, and this writer that the mayor Deakins will not stand for may recommend a propreelection this year. erty-tax hike, hoping that Across Knox County, the a majority of council will defining issue of 2014 will have bought into it. That be schools Superintendent remains to be seen.

James McIntyre, who has However, it is surprising come to represent the conthat the mayor and council troversial aspects of educahave not allowed city voters tion reform, including Comto consider more immediate mon Core State Standards changes to the city pension and the nonstop teacher plan to reduce the need for evaluations that accompany such huge transfers. them.

For example, why should McIntyre turned up the current retirees such as I re- heat in December by forcceive a 3 percent annual pay ing a vote on a contract exraise on our pension when current working city employees receive a 2.5 percent pay raise? Retirees should have their pension adjusted only to offset inflation.

The 2012 Rogero-backed pension charter amendDavid Dewhirst is develment failed to solve current oping property at 301 and pension financial issues 309 North as was pointed out at the Central St. time. It dealt with issues 15 and 219years off. Council members 223 West Grieve and Stair voted Depot Ave. no on the Rogero charter adjacent to change. the SouthOther cities are moving ern Railway to reduce these escalating Depot into costs. Knoxville should do a combinaDewhirst the same. tion resi■ The fire that basically dential and retail center destroyed what remained of that will also include what the McClung Warehouses Dewhirst calls a “destinawas incredibly unfortunate tion restaurant.” for the mayor’s plans to The city of Knoxville’s salvage these historic build- Industrial Development ings. Her well-intended Board voted to give Dewplans collapsed in the fire. hirst’s Depot Development The city now owns vacant LLC a 12-year Payment Inland at a cost of $1.45 milLieu of Taxes (PILOT) on lion plus demolition of what the property at its annual remains there. It is appromeeting last week. priate to investigate what The estimated tax benefit caused the fire. is $738,000-plus. The apWere adequate secuplication fee is $4,000, and rity measures in place to closing fees are $37,000. prevent vandalism? Will Dewhirst owned five histhe city’s self-insurance toric buildings, which were cover any of the loss? What built from 1894 to 1919. can the market bring the “The fire there (in March city when it sells the vacant land?

The mayor, in my view, should not be faulted in her attempt to preserve.

Many wish she would make Every day, media outlets the same commitment to get multiple press releases residents of Fort Sanders in from Sen. Lamar Alexander, their continuing battle with a man who seems to be runCovenant Health and UT. ning against himself.

■ Mark your calenLast Wednesday, for exdar for 5:30 p.m. Wednesample, came Alexander’s exday, March 5, to hear planation for voting against former U.S. Ambassador to the debt-limit increase. He’s Pakistan Cameron Munter against big government. speak at UT’s Baker Center.

Later the same day came a bizarre release from Alexan-

Betty Bean

tension for himself, despite widespread teacher unrest.

He won, 8-1, but created serious political problems for his supporters.

He also created a clearcut litmus question for school-board candidates: Would you have voted to extend McIntyre’s contract?

Here’s what the candidates say: Brad Buchanan would have voted no.

Terry Hill would have made a motion to postpone the vote for 120 days to give McIntyre a chance to show that he’s listening to teachers. If her motion failed, she says, she would have voted no.

Sandra Rowcliffe would have been a resounding yes vote, based on her statements in support of Mc-

Intyre at public meetings.

Tamara Shepherd would not only have voted no on the contract extension, but also would support McIntyre’s removal, based on her detailed contributions to a local blog.

Aaron Hennen has decided to withdraw from the race and support Shepherd.

Buchanan, an IT professional and a former highschool business-education teacher, has a master’s degree, is married to a teacher and has four school-aged children. He has deep misgivings about McIntyre’s methods and will have strong support from teachers in the district and across the county.

Hill was a school social worker with 30 years’ experience in Knox County Schools who was a supervisor when she retired. She is deeply involved in the push to get Hardin Valley a middle school.

Rowcliffe, president of the Knox County Council PTA, has been one of Mc-

Intyre’s most vocal supporters.

Shepherd was an accountant who made the decision to become a stay-at-home mom and get involved in the public-school education of her two children, becoming one of Knox County’s most knowledgeable (and probably most annoying, to those on her bad list) citizens on school matters.

Hennen is a master’s degree-level high-school band director who plans to get his doctorate in the near future.

He says he researched all the candidates and finds Shepherd’s views to be the most straightforward and best informed of the bunch.

The push to build a Hardin Valley Middle School will likely be the biggest issue not named McIntyre in District 6.

Noon on Thursday, Feb. 20, is the deadline to turn in nominating petitions. Noon on Thursday, Feb. 27, is the deadline for candidates to withdraw.

Dewhirst developing Depot property Jake Mabe

2013) burned the two best buildings and left us with the three worst,” Dewhirst said. “It’s a pretty neat street that has long been neglected and blighted. This will glue and connect Fourth and Gill and the old (North Knoxville) neighborhoods to downtown Knoxville.”

He adds that he is “pretty confident we can find a couple of folks” to open a destination restaurant, “if we can get people to believe that it’s going to be great.”

He says he is “very confident” the residential space will succeed, “but restaurant/retail is the hard part.

We just believe with the right blend of persuasion of the right folks at the right time we can draw a very

unique startup restaurant.

“If we can (help) the first folks to be successful, it will be magic, we think.”

■

County notes

Knox County Commission will hold its work session at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, because of the Presidents’ Day holiday today (Monday, Feb. 17).

Items for discussion include: ■ A resolution approving a contract in the amount of $1,343,670 with K&F Construction Inc. for the Austin-East High School stadium replacement.

■ A resolution approving a utility easement agreement of $150 with the Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) for a permanent utility easement and temporary construction easement on county-owned property at 4258 Ivy Ave. to upgrade overhead facilities at no cost to Knox County.

■ A resolution requesting the Public Building Au-

thority and the Knox County Department of Information Technology to perform an analysis of the Main and Small Assembly Rooms and recommend updates to technology in those rooms, including an electronic voting tracking system.

■ A resolution expressing support of the End of Forced Annexation in Tennessee Act, which will abolish annexation by ordinance at the initiative of a municipality.

■ An ordinance to protect an employee’s right to speak openly and freely on any issue involving Knox County government, its agencies, boards or its elected or appointed officials so long as such speech does not violate the laws of slander and libel.

Commissioners will also discuss the Joint Education Committee and, presumably, commission’s recent joint workshop with the Knox County school board.

Alexander confuses with conflicting messages protect musical instruments from damage in flight.

“We don’t expect our airSandra lines to carry a tune, but we do expect them to carry our Clark precious instruments safely,” Rep. Cooper said. “Any damaged guitar is a tragedy. der and Democratic Rep. Jim As a banjo player, I believe Cooper “demanding action” the same is true of banjos.” from the federal agency that Alexander, a piano playregulates air traffic (FAA) to er, had no quote about his

instrument, but he was insistent that the federal government get regulations in place to fi x this problem.

Big government? Small government?

With Alexander it seems to vary by time of day. Let’s send the senator some Tums and hope he calms down.

After all, the election is not until November.

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Shopper news • FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • 5

Basketball must be part rocket science This is basketball rocket the solution. He thinks inscience 101. Please set aside consistency is the primary a block of time to study and problem. analyze.

He has told the Volunteers that even if their shots aren’t falling, they must remain committed to the other elements of the game, Marvin give good effort, run and West jump, defend as if your life depends on it, fight for rebounds, value each possession, protect the ball.

Synopsis 1: Most teams Doing all that is just a can win when everything matter of focus, effort, inthey throw toward the goal tensity, toughness. That falls in. sounds very simple, but it Synopsis 2: Good teams must be quite complicated. win even when they don’t Why else would a mature shoot well. team fail to get it?

Premise: Tennessee is These Vols are maddennot a good team. ing. Some games (at home Any day now, coach Cu- against Florida) they play onzo Martin expects to find with passion. Other times

they are hard to watch.

Some nights they come charging out of the gate as if to strangle opponents, 10-0 jump start, bang, you’re finished.

Other nights, they come strolling along on their way to a picnic and get slower as they go. They lose to Texas A&M. Either way, high octane or just coasting, the coach can’t explain it.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” he said.

That is scary.

Martin is not big on flamethrowing pep talks, spiced with colorful adjectives. He thinks all players should show up ready to play. He was. He thinks the desire to win should be built in. There

are so few games guaranteed, just four seasons, to do the best you can to make marvelous memories.

This may be the most talent Cuonzo Martin ever has in his coaching career. That it would fall so far below expectations is confusing. Was the forecast flawed? Southeastern Conference contender. No more of that hand-wringing NCAA bubble stuff. No more excuses.

We thought Antonio Barton was the answer at point guard. He isn’t. We thought Jeronne Maymon had overcome injuries and ailments and would be what he once was. He is a gladiator, but he’s lost some quickness and explosion.

Jarnell Stokes is a doubledouble. We thought he had developed a jump shot. Not yet. We were certain Robert Hubbs III, five-star recruit, would make a big difference.

There are brilliant freshmen all across America. Didn’t happen here.

Some games, Jordan McRae is the best offensive player in the league and one of the best in the country. Going 1-for-15 is inexplicable.

Darius Thompson is often a precise system engineer.

Alas, he doesn’t shoot and can’t guard good guards.

Others have that problem.

Armani Moore is a hustle guy. Some games, he has been used as the fast fuse to ignite listless teammates.

Strangely enough, some

games he doesn’t play.

Nobody said Tennessee was a championship team.

Syracuse has better players.

So do 10 or 15 other teams.

Two play in the Southeastern Conference.

Nobody is saying this season is over. There is still a way to break into the tournament, but it will require a change.

Even if shooting forever fluctuates, everything else must become dependable.

This is the frantic time of year. If this veteran team does not get it together, Tennessee basketball will need life support – and a mask for empty seats at Thompson-Boling. That is not good. Old, black curtains are so ugly.

Marvin West invites reader reaction. His address is westwest6@netzero.com

The effective detective: Pat Patterson An intricate part of any community is local law enforcement. The Concord/ Farragut communities had the best of the best in Constable W.O. “Pat” Patterson.

I talked to his son Bud recently, and the conversation eventually got around to his father. Bud was a classmate at Farragut High and enjoyed a long career with Delta Airlines. After retirement, he compiled a family history that could easily be turned into a novel about the legendary law-enforcement officer who had a reputation of being “untouchable” in dealing with crime in Knox County. Bud lent me the book only on condition that I would guard it with my life.

I knew Pat Patterson as someone who always attended Farragut sporting events and was at ease talking to a teenager who just wanted to get a better view of his revolver. During Pat’s long career, he served as a U.S. marshal, a county detective in several administrations and as a constable duly elected by the people.

In the early 1950s, modern crime-detection tech-

Malcolm Shell niques, such as examining DNA and browsing extensive computer databases, were still decades into the future. The effective detective had to rely on observation skills and the ability to establish and maintain a large network of informants to feed credible information. Pat Patterson excelled in both areas. While he was dealing with people whom society might not consider model citizens, he always treated everyone – even convicted felons – with respect and dignity.

Many of the cases Pat handled involved serious felonies, including homicides, armed robbery and auto-theft rings. Other cases were not so serious.

Those I found to be amusing and even almost comical.

One involved a bootlegger who built a modernstyle home without any

interior walls and had installed several stills heated by propane gas. Casually driving through the neighborhood, Pat wondered why a new house would have heat waves wafting out the chimney in midsummer. A closer inspection revealed the true purpose of the new home.

Another crime involved the rustling of a family milk cow, which the young rustler planned to sell to get “spending money.” Slick detective work turned up the rustler with the stolen merchandise in tow. Bessie was returned to her owner.

Perhaps one of the most unusual cases involved a young, soon-to-be-married groom who lacked the essentials needed to set up housekeeping. Now, in most cases, the bride is thrown several showers to acquire basic household needs. In the absence of such events, the groom decided to take matters into his own hands.

He itemized everything needed to set up housekeeping and burglarized several homes, taking only the essential items.

But he did get one break.

He was let out of jail long

enough to get married, but he was unable to talk the authorities into extending his freedom long enough to include a honeymoon. He had to wait several months for that.

Another case was the artificial flowers purloined from a local cemetery. Pat cracked this case rather quickly. The flowers were returned to their gravesites.

It was not clear what the thieves planned to do with the stolen merchandise, nor was there much information on the outcome of the case or their punishment. Perhaps they just had to agree

to maintain the cemetery for a time.

The true genius of Pat’s record became known for the first time when he retired. Hal Clement, who was Knox County Attorney General in the 1940s and 1950s, said Pat solved more criminal cases during his career than the rest of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office combined. Former Knox County Sheriff Archie Weaver said Pat’s fine work was the primary reason there were no unsolved homicides during his administration.

Forty years after his retirement, Pat’s name is still

known in law-enforcement circles. Pat’s grandson, TBI agent Mark Irwin, noted that as late as 2010, Pat’s record for number of crimes solved was only recently broken.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s mythical sleuth Sherlock Holmes used logic and meticulous observation to solve crimes. But Pat Patterson, our beloved constable, was no myth. He was a modern-day Sherlock who used the same methods to solve crimes without the benefit of today’s modern crime-detection technology.

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By Carol Zinavage Dan Berry, who retired as WUOT’s program director in 2010, started collecting records of vocalists as a ninthgrader in Dearborn, Mich.

“I was cast as Curly in a junior high school production of ‘Oklahoma!,’ ” he remembers. “I figured that I needed to hear what a real singer sounded like, so I borrowed a Caruso record from my neighbor. I liked what I heard and began slowly accumulating commercial operatic recordings and tapes of live material.”

From his own purchases, along with records given to him by individuals and distributors, that collection grew and grew.

“I haven’t counted, but I probably have 8,000 to 10,000 78s, 45s, LPs and CDs, and perhaps as many tapes and CDs of live performances. The only thing I don’t collect is cylinders, and that’s just lack of opportunity. The collection occupies a large room in the lower level of our house.”

Berry is a virtual encyclopedia, not only of operatic recordings, but also of recording techniques and the products used to capture them. Among his collection are some real rarities, including classical 45s from the late 1930s.

Conceived as an improvement over 78s, they predated the long-playing record (LP) by 10 years but didn’t really catch on. “The Depression hit, and no one had money for records.”

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Collector Dan Berry poses with some of his 10,000 recordings.

Anyone who tuned in to WUOT from the early ’80s on will instantly recognize Berry’s beautiful baritone speaking voice. He was host of the Morning Concert for all those years.

In retirement, he now plays records for his dog, Buddy, and says, “he usually just leaves the room.”

Berry comes from a musical family. His parents were both singers and music teachers; two brothers are musicians; and his daughter Becca teaches vocal music at South-Doyle High School.

His own training was in vocal performance, foreign languages and conducting at the University of Michigan.

After graduating, he headed to Germany to pursue a singing career but wasn’t able to find work in an opera house. He returned to the U.S. and settled in Milwaukee, where he eventually became a radio announcer.

He met his wife, Nancy, while in Wisconsin. They count 39 happy years together.

In 1983, he accepted a job as announcer at WUOT. He still enjoys singing and performs occasionally in recitals, at local churches and with Knoxville Opera.

On April 25 and 26, he’ll perform with Westminster Presbyterian’s Westminster Players in “A Night with Gilbert and Sullivan.”

He teaches music appreciation at Pellissippi State and also enjoys walking in Lakeshore Park with Buddy. He and Nancy have taken several cruises. And their first grandchild is on the way.

“But you could say I’m spending my retirement learning,” he says.

“I find myself losing hours in a day, and I realized that I’m just reading: music history, biography, history in general, political thought, fiction.

“I can very easily amuse myself all day by just sitting in this room,” he admits, as he gestures to his cozy retreat, all four walls crammed with the results of his lifelong love of music.

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6 • FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • Shopper news

Band directors Terri Hogan (SDMS), Steve Taylor (SDHS) and Members of the South-Doyle High School band selected for All State East are: sophomore JoSteve Rodgers (assistant at both schools) are all smiles after the seph Goyeau, trumpet; junior Zac Morgan, flute; seniors Matthew Art, trumpet, Sid Warren, alto saxophone, and Chance Shields, trombone; sophomore Bobby Dunning, clarinet; and junior concert. Photos by Betsy Pickle Drew White, percussion.

The few, the proud … the South-Doyle Band On the eve of Snowmageddon last week, SouthDoyle High School band director Steve Taylor made his pitch to South-Doyle Middle School parents about encouraging their 8th-grade offspring to stick with band as they enter high school.

Actually, Taylor made several pitches – before and after each song in the short program of familiar ScotsIrish tunes performed by the combined high school and 8th-grade band.

“The friendships they form are like no other,” Taylor said. He described the

Betsy Pickle

band members as ambassadors for the school and talked about the esteem in which they are held.

He also stressed the importance of having the students attend the two-week band camp that starts July 21. It’s hard work that pays off, he said.

And at the end of each long day, the kids will stink, he promised.

Taylor’s lighthearted recruitment spiel found fertile ground among the 8thgrade musicians.

Saxophonist Jacob Hensley said Taylor’s description and the experience of working with the high-schoolers made him want to continue with band. He was pleased with the concert.

“I think it went really well.”

Eighth-grader Chandler DeArmand was one-third of the trombone trio that

played the National Anthem at the start of the concert.

He has a precedent for being in the high-school band.

“My dad played band as he was growing up, and I wanted to do what he did,” he said.

His father, Scott DeArmand, made the All State band as a student at Doyle.

During the concert, Taylor introduced the seven South-Doyle High students who were selected for the All State East band. One of them, Sid Warren, also made All State this year and will travel to Memphis in April for the All State clinic

and concert.

Warren echoed Taylor’s message about the importance of attending band camp.

“I didn’t really feel … motivated to start playing a whole lot and pushing myself until I got to high school because of band camp and how exciting of an experience it is,” said the two-time All State and three-time All State East honoree. “It’s great, honestly.”

Warren had no family connections to music.

“In 6th grade, I had to choose an elective. I thought

Sid Warren, alto saxophonist, was chosen for the All State band, which will perform in April, as well as the All East Jazz Clinic, which was held a few weeks ago.

band would be really cool.

“I decided to go for it, and it’s turned out to work out pretty well so far.”

Warren is leaning toward attending the University of Tennessee and studying music there.

“I hope to incorporate it into my career somehow,” he said.

Members of the combined band rise for applause from the audience.

Holston’s ‘Aladdin’ great entertainment

The Sultan (Devon Huff ) and Iago (Emma Washam) plot to take down the prince.

Holston Middle School choral students spent weeks rehearsing, and their hard Ruth work paid off. The producWhite tion of “Aladdin Jr.” proved to be a musical success for the group, directed by Natalee Beeler Elkins and choreographed by Daniel Line- were my neighbor.”

Later Princess Jasmine berger.

During the Saturday matinée, Elizabeth Mitchell played the Genie and was as humorous as Robin Williams in the movie version.

Mitchell put a little 2014 spin on her character, which brought the house to laughter many times.

When Aladdin found the lamp and the Genie appeared, she described life Aladdin (Seth Cannon) is transformed into saying, “It could have only Prince Ali by the Genie (Elizabeth Mitchell). been worse if Justin Bieber

was introduced to Prince Ali, and when given no choice in her life, she fled the room. Genie replied, “She took off faster than Paula Deen’s sponsors.”

Bravo to Elkins, Lineberger and cast for the highly entertaining performance of “Aladdin.”

Aladdin (Seth Cannon) and Jasmine (Rachel McFarling) take a magic carpet ride. Photos by Ruth White

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Shopper news • FEBRUARY 17, 2014 • 7

Cultivating mind and body The Taoist Tai Chi Society

Smack dab in the middle of Happy Holler, at 1205 N. Central Ave., sits a building that once flickered “talkies” as Joy Theatre back in the 1920s and now serves as the Knoxville branch center of the Taoist Tai Chi Society (TTCS).

TTCS is an international group dedicated to bringing the benefits of tai chi to everyone interested in improving their health and flexibility. There and else-

Nicky D.

where in Knoxville (and in some 28 countries around the globe) TTCS teaches students a 108-move set that focuses on flexibility and balance, and which is generally viewed as a tool to improve mind and body.

The tai chi set is taught at two levels: a 14-week be-

Munchie alert for Tuesday Calling all foodies to a free preview of Taste of Knoxville Restaurant Week. The event is 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18, at the Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay St.

Nancy Whittaker

The full roster of more than 30 participating restaurants will be announced, and several will provide complimentary samples of what guests can expect from the fourth annual Knoxville Restaurant Week March 2-7. The promotion enables diners to eat a three-course meal at a special fi xed price of $25 or $35 at participating local restaurants.

Last year, Restaurant Week raised more than $49,000, which provided meals for more than 147,000 needy East Tennesseans through Second Harvest Food Bank. Since its launch in 2011, the promotion has helped provide meals to more than 250,000 East Tennesseans.

Info: www.knoxvillerestaurantweek.com/.

■

Y-12 FCU names top employee

Dustin Brackins of Seymour was recognized as Employee of the Year for Y-12 Federal Credit Union at a dinner in January. He was nominated for his selfless act of rescuing a woman trapped in her car. The car later caught fire. Brackins said he was in the right place at the right time and said anyone would have done the same thing.

Brackins is a mortgage underwriter based in the Oak Ridge office. He attended Tusculum College and earned his MBA in December 2013.

News from Pellissippi State - Magnolia

Business by

Orthopedics at Physicians Regional Medical Center are the first in Knoxville to use state-of-the-art surgical equipment from Medtronic that lets them visualize anatomy in 3D during surgery.

This advancement can reduce the need for repeat surgeries and, for many patients, it also may mean smaller incisions, faster recovery times and improved results.

The Medtronic O-arm Intra-operative Imaging System and the StealthStation Surgical Navigation System bring together 3D imaging during surgery and a GPS-like navigation technology that allows surgeons to see the exact placement of the surgical instruments throughout the procedure.

■

Double-hung windows workshop

All are invited to a workshop by Ethiel Garlington on ways to restore double-hung wood windows. The trip is worth the price of admission (free) to see work Preservation Union County has done on the old Oak Grove School in Sharps Chapel.

The workshop is 1-4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 19, weather permitting. Those interested should call Bonnie Peters at 687-3842 for directions and so she can notify attendees if the event is canceled.

Garlington is the director of preservation field services for Knox Heritage and the East Tennessee Preservation Alliance. In that role, he serves 16 counties in the region and works with volunteers to save historic places.

■

Columnist Nick Della Volpe, front left, and friends perform tai chi in a parade. The Mayfield cow looks on. ginner course, where one learns the basic set moves a few each week, and later a continuing class that helps one refine the nuances of the moves and focus on improving one’s overall set, by adding greater “sits” and stretches that subtly work upon the spine and inner spaces of your body, circulating what centuries-old Chinese medicine and folk-lore term “chi,” the inner life force.

But you don’t have to get all woo-woo about it. Tai chi is for everyone. Better balance and limber muscles and tendons, a more flexible spine, are good things regardless of age or level of fitness. Our bodies are made for movement.

Think of tai chi as a way to tune your engine, something from which any vehicle, regardless of mileage or horsepower, can benefit.

By requiring concentration (focusing your “intention”), the art subtly helps keep your mind on the present moment as you do the set, instead of the normal racing Western brain, endlessly leaping to a million chores, tunes and detours.

That’s also a good thing.

As a practical matter, tai chi seems to appeal to the, uh, more mature individual, who is no longer leaping over nets or rounding the bases.

Nonetheless, it is helpful and healthful at any age.

Classes last about an hour, and the activity is a group one, where everyone is learning and doing the set together. It has that communal feel to it. You soon learn that your mistakes are merely steps toward later success.

The website (www.Taoist. org) says “each step in the training is intended to help the mind return to stillness, clarity and wisdom, and the body to a balanced, relaxed and healthy state.”

The Knoxville branch started in a church meeting hall nearly 20 years ago, when the Oak Ridge branch sent several of its instructors each week to share what they had learned.

Teaching is about sharing. Instructors are unpaid volunteers. Monthly fees are modest and are lowered or waived as necessary.

Info: Jenny Arthur, Susan Benner or others, 546-9222, or Knoxville.tn@ taoist.org/.

Kay Ware, right, brought foods, crafts and other items from her native Liberia during a presentation Feb. 7 at the Magnolia Avenue Campus of Pellissippi State Community College.

Cafe sessions bring African influence to students

By Heather Beck Students at February’s first African Jazz Cafe session at Pellissippi State Community College’s Magnolia Avenue Campus learned about life in Liberia firsthand.

At last week’s event, Friday, Feb. 14, attendees were to hear the life experiences of two Magnolia Avenue students: Esperance Wizeye and Celine Uwamahoro, natives of Burundi and CongoKinshasa, respectively.

“The students will share information about their native culture, language, dress and foods,” said Rosalyn Tillman, dean of the Magnolia Avenue Campus.

Wizeye has been in the United States since 2005, and Uwamahoro immigrated in 2011.

African Jazz Cafe takes place at the Magnolia Av-

enue Campus 9-11 a.m. each Friday in February in honor of Black History Month.

Each session focuses on an African country, introducing students to the culture and history.

“Sometimes we find speakers who are natives of the country to come speak,” said Tillman, “and other times we find artwork and other goods, like coffee or tea, for our students to experience.”

On Feb. 7, Pellissippi State students heard from Kay Ware, a native of Liberia who now resides in Knoxville. She brought in quilts and traditional Liberian folk art for display. The group also tasted lemongrass tea, a traditional Liberian drink.

The campus is at 1610 E. Magnolia Ave. Info: www. pstcc.edu/magnolia or (865) 329-3100.

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