South Knox Shopper-News 031815

SOUTH KNOX VOL. 32 NO. 11 1

BUZZ Smith forum State Rep. Eddie Smith will hold a community forum during the South Knoxville Republican Club meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at Gary Underwood Park, 6135 Moore Road. All residents of the 13th House District are invited, regardless of political affiliation.

Codes sweep The city of Knoxville performed a codes enforcement sweep in Vestal on Monday.

Inspectors visited property from A Avenue to Valley Drive.

No citations were issued, but brochures were distributed to property owners with potential violations.

Inspectors will return within 10 days to re-inspect the properties, and more traditional enforcement will come during follow-up visits.

INSIDE The Henley scoop South Knoxvillians don’t think of Henley as a “significant barrier to east-west movement.”

We see it as a “significant” south-north connector to jobs and activities north of the river. We don’t enjoy the traffic jams we’re subjected to with the existing lanes, and I’m not sure how adding retail and parking to the “corridor” is going to help the situation.

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See Betsy Pickle’s story on page 3

Calling Clarence One way or another, Knox Countians may soon get a real-life demonstration of why elections matter.

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Past, present and future provide a backdrop for this week’s new movies. But each film boasts at least one actor who has won or been nominated for an Academy Award.

See Betsy Pickle’s story on page 5

Spring practice Once upon a time, spring practice was thought to be the birthplace of college football teams.

That thought has evolved.

Winter workouts are now very important, more for individual improvement than team functionality. Summer togetherness is critical for bonding, all for one, one for all.

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Read Marvin West on page 4

7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Betsy Pickle ADVERTISING SALES ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Patty Fecco | Tony Cranmore Alice Devall | Sara Whittle

March July 18, 29, 2015 2013

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Mary Vestal Park wins first SOUP mini-grant

By Betsy Pickle SOUP was promised, and SOUP delivered.

The inaugural Knoxville SOUP, presented by the South Knoxville Alliance, brought people together from all over town and beyond to support community projects. After paying a modest donation, attendees listened to presentations on four ideas in progress and then voted on their favorite.

The first SOUP ended up with only South Knox groups submitting and presenting. The winning project was the Rejuvenation of Mary Vestal Park and Greenway Extension, presented by Gene Burr of the Vestal Community Organization.

The VCO received a $2,500 grant from the city for the $4,000 needed to extend the greenway.

The additional micro-grant from SOUP – $412 raised at the door and through other donations – will help pay for part of the project not covered by the city grant.

A concrete bridge over Goose Creek is in place but needs improvement to help turn the greenway into a safe loop for walkers, runners and cyclists. Burr said the money will go to install handrails on the bridge.

Saturday’s event at Flenniken Landing began with social time and snacks, followed by the four brief presentations and Q&As, dinner and discussion, raffle drawings of items donated by SKA member businesses and the announcement of the mini-grant winner.

Gene Burr of the Vestal Community Organization accepts congratulations from South Knoxville Alliance chair Debra Bradshaw (far right) as master of ceremonies Alan Williams looks on. Photos by Betsy Pickle garnering accolades ever since.

Attendees seemed impressed with all the projects. The others included: ■ SO.KNO Food Co-Op, which is set to open in April in the former Horse Emporium on Chapman Highway; ■ Vestal School Pottery, which is transforming a former classroom in the old Vestal School building on Willoughby into a functional ceramics studio; and ■ South Knoxville Elementary Monarch Butterfly Station, which the Old Sevier Neighborhood is Michael Gill, Sharon Davis and Jenny Wolf wait for the presentations to be- creating to beautify the school grounds and help support mongin. archs and the other 95 types of WVLT anchor Alan Williams, featured singer Sydni Stinnett, butterflies that make their home who lives in South Knoxville and an eighth-grader at Karns Middle in Knox County.

The next SOUP, which stands attended first grade at Flenniken School. The 14-year-old phenom when it was a school, served as stunned the audience with her for “social opportunities unlimmaster of ceremonies. performance. Sydni began singing ited potential, will be held in May, A break to promote local arts publicly in fifth grade and has been place to be determined.

Food City to expand in Seymour

See Betty Bean’s story on page 4

New films feature top talent

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www.ShopperNewsNow.com |

The Food City location on Chapman Highway in Seymour is currently undergoing a significant expansion/remodel. The store is scheduled to receive an additional 13,700-plus square feet of retail space, bringing the total square footage to 57,700-plus and making the supermarket one of the largest in the retailer’s chain. While total project completion is not expected until late spring, the various departments will open as they are completed. The expanded bakery/

deli and produce departments were scheduled to open March 16.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to enlarge our Seymour location to better serve our loyal customers,” says Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer. “We will continue to offer the same top-quality products, exceptional customer service and competitive pricing our shoppers have come to expect from Food City, with enhanced variety, selection and services.

In addition to the conveniences already provided, the location now includes an expanded café seating area, hickory wood smoker, tortilla maker and stone hearth pizza oven. The full-service meat and seafood departments will soon include fresh sushi.

The produce and grocery department are being enlarged and will go well beyond the normal fare, offering a huge selection of gourmet, international and specialty items. The Food City Gas

n’ Go has been relocated and expanded from three to five pumps and will now offer diesel fuel. Customers also have direct access to the location via an additional entrance off Highway 411.

The store manager is Jason Wayman; district manager is Steve Trout.

Food City operates 93 grocery locations, including 78 pharmacies and 84 fuel/convenience stores throughout Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.

Remembering Richard Beeler

By Betty Bean One summer day in 1988, I got onto an elevator in the Andrew Johnson Building with Richard Beeler, a young attorney who represented an outfit called the Knox Solid Waste Authority, a misbegotten city/county agency whose sole purpose was to build and operate a vastly expensive mass burn incinerator.

I’d been looking for a chance to get him alone because I’d heard that he’d been doing a lot of target shooting at the KPD firing range and had gotten a carry permit because he was involved in an FBI investigation and was wearing a wire. I dug around and found out that the target was a state legislator. From there, it wasn’t difficult

to figure out the probable target.

“So, Richard,” I began. “You wired up today?”

He turned red as a fire engine and said he didn’t know what I was talking about. When I said I’d heard that he was involved in an FBI investigation of a state legislator, he stammered and stuttered and denied it and kept getting redder as the elevator climbed.

Richard Beeler was a lousy liar.

I was the Knoxville Journal’s county government reporter at the time, and the project drew such overwhelming opposition that covering it had become a full-time job.

In the process, I got to know Richard Beeler quite well. He was a straight arrow whose job it was

to defend an indefensible project.

By the time I got on that elevator, I had been reassigned to state government and would soon be departing for Nashville. This was during the McWherter administration, and Democrats dominated Tennessee politics.

Democratic Rep. Ted Ray Miller was the most powerful legislator in the Knox County delegation. He chaired the State and Local Government Committee and was reputed to be very close to Gov. Ned McWherter. Ned Ray and Ted Ray, people called them.

Heading for Nashville I kept after Richard, and after awhile he finally owned up, in exchange for a promise not to com-

Editor’s Note Richard Beeler, former Knox County law director, died March 12 of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. He was 57.

promise the investigation. I went on over to Nashville and started watching Chairman Miller, as he was called – if I’d been a legislator, they’d have called me Lady Bean.

That’s how they talked in those days.

The investigation came to a head the following spring when the feds picked Miller up in the To page 3

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2 • MARCH 18, 2015 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

In spite of the storm

Cancer patient tells her story in a new book It was Christmas Day, and the presents were unwrapped with the usual enthusiasm. A young Michelle Ironside Henry tore into one particular gift that was a dream come true.

It wasn’t a doll or a game, a new bicycle or a trampoline that thrilled her that morning. It was a typewriter.

“I would sit on the back patio and write my books, and just be so happy,” Henry says. “I wrote a whole series of books about a girl named Little Lily and all the trouble she would get into.”

Henry thought she would be a writer someday. She never expected to write the story that would result in the book she most recently published.

The other side of the story As a writer for a public relations firm, Henry frequently interviewed patients for medical news features.

She began to notice a common theme in the stories she was hearing. The patients expressed, over and over again, the importance of not taking life for granted.

During the same time period, she attended the funeral of a man who died as a result of a very sudden heart attack. These experiences made such an impact on her that she mentioned them to her Sunday school class.

“I remember telling the class about my stories and reminding them we’ve got to make the most of every single minute because we just don’t know,” Henry says. “It was coming from a place deep inside, and I knew I was saying it as much to myself as I was to them.”

A short time later Henry was diagnosed with cancer. She went from interviewing patients to becoming one, spending weeks at a time at Fort Sanders Regional

Michelle Ironside Henry is grateful to the staffs at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and Thompson Cancer Survival Center for the treatment she’s received during her battle with cancer.

Medical Center and undergoing treatment at Thompson Cancer Survival Center.

Henry was gaining firsthand knowledge of what her interview subjects had experienced. She endured a long journey of victories and setbacks she has chronicled in her new book, “My Anchor Holds.”

bowels and stomach, but nothing seemed to help.

Two years later, a colonoscopy revealed that Henry had Stage 4 colorectal cancer that had spread into her liver. Chemotherapy and radiation at Thompson were overseen by Daniel Scaperoth, MD, and two surgeries were performed

by Greg Midis, MD, FACS, at Fort Sanders Regional. With their Something wasn’t right help, Henry fought the disease Always in good health, Henry and won. was concerned when she started “All the doctors said, ‘You’re a experiencing digestive problems, miracle. We’ve never seen anyone but she didn’t want to be an alarm- do as well as you’ve done,’ ” Henry ist. She easily accepted a doctor’s says. She was ready to close this diagnosis of irritable bowel syn- chapter of her life, go home and drome and went on with her life. write a book about her successful “I was just happy to have some- story. one tell me I was OK,” she says.

However, Henry’s story was far Instead of getting better, she from being finished. During roucontinued to feel worse. She tried tine scans, tumors were discovvarious means of soothing her ered in both of her lungs.

Henry was put back on chemotherapy, but the tumor in her left lung continued to grow. So Dr. Lacy Harville, MD, performed surgery to remove the upper left lobe of Henry’s left lung.

After returning home from surgery and beginning to recover, Henry suddenly began feeling worse. “My lung had collapsed and I had infection all the way around it,” Henry says.

Surgery was performed on her lung again, but this time, the lung wouldn’t seal. “They put in valves that finally helped it close up, but I had to go home carrying a chest tube.”

During this time, Henry was hospitalized for a month, had symptoms of tuberculosis and finally hit a critically low point in her journey when she realized she might miss her son’s wedding. She remembers thinking, “I’ve tried to be a good sport about all this, but really?”

Her mother, Barbara Ironside, called and offered up a sustaining prayer of her own. “Lord, we don’t understand but we trust you.”

Henry says faith has pulled her through every valley, and this one was no exception. The diagnosis of tuberculosis turned out to be a false alarm. She was released from the hospital with a chest tube, in time for the wedding.

Moving on When Henry walks into a room today, there is no indication of the life and death struggle she’s endured and continues to endure.

Although she is back on chemo to address the cancer in her right lung, Henry has a positive attitude with a quick wit and a healthy dose of humor. These are important weapons in the war against cancer.

“Your attitude matters,” Henry

insists. “I could have given up so many times, but I stayed focused on the positive.”

Henry also gives credit to the excellent health care at Thompson Cancer Survival Center and Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

“I wouldn’t go anywhere else,” Henry says. “I trust them, and I’ve seen what they do.” She recounts the way nurses and staff cared for her, even washing her hair when she wasn’t able to take a shower for weeks on end.

“You can tell it’s more than a job for them,” Henry says.

But above all, Henry says paying attention to your body can mean life or death when it comes to cancer. “If something’s going on with your body that you know isn’t normal, keep checking until you get an accurate diagnosis.”

Putting it in writing Henry says her “game changer” was Caringbridge.com, a website that allowed her to write a public journal about what was happening to her. Those journal entries turned into the book that she hopes will help and inspire others.

This is Henry’s second book, but by far the most personal.

“We don’t have any guarantee that we’re going to be healthy tomorrow or that we’re going to be here tomorrow,” Henry says.

That’s why she’s determined to make the most of every moment and encourage everyone around her to do the same.

To learn more about Michelle Henry’s story, you can visit www. michelleironsidehenry.com. For more information about services provided by Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and Thompson Cancer Survival Center go to fsregional.com and thompsoncancer. com.

Surgeon says early detection = better odds Early diagnosis of colon cancer is easier than ever. That means your odds of beating it are better than ever, too.

Colorectal surgeon Gregory Midis, MD, FACS, points to better education about colon cancers, risk factors, symptoms and early detection.

“People are definitely more aware of the importance of having a screening colonoscopy starting at age 50, or earlier if you’re at risk for colon cancer,” Gregory Midis, MD, Midis says.

“Physicians are FACS required to educate patients about the colon screening guide-

lines,” says Midis. “They discuss it with their patients, so most people can’t say they don’t know about colon screenings.

It’s just a matter of patients making the decision to do it.”

“There’s also more in-depth genetic testing available for people at risk who may have inherited colon cancers,” says Midis.

“There’s a better awareness in the medical community that inherited colon cancers may require a different surgical strategy, potentially removing the entire colon, instead of just part of it.”

There can be a variety of reasons people neglect that all-important screening colonoscopy. Besides plain and simple procrastination, Midis says there is some misinformation about the discomfort involved.

Midis says the test is simple and can

save lives. “There is very little excuse not to have a colonoscopy,” he says. “Don’t put it off.”

As in the case of Michelle Henry, the initial symptoms of colon cancer can sometimes be mistaken for irritable bowel syndrome, or even hemorrhoids. That’s another reason patients may put off getting a colonoscopy and getting the right diagnosis.

“With IBS you often have acid reflux and belly pain, and there are some crossover symptoms,” Midis explains. “With hemorrhoids you have rectal bleeding, which can also be a sign of colon cancer.”

Midis says in the majority of cases, those symptoms and conditions are not related to colon cancer. “But if you are someone who has a high risk of colon cancer and you develop symptoms, why take chances?”

Midis says. “Have it checked out.”

With early screening, colon cancers can often be detected before severe symptoms develop. Midis says by the time a person does have symptoms, “the train has left the station.”

Midis emphasizes that early detection is the key to better odds at beating the disease. “We should detect and address a colon polyp before it becomes too large to be removed by a scope,” Midis says. “If there is adequate enough detection time, issues can be addressed before surgery is necessary.”

Midis says the bottom line is that colon cancer is very treatable if it’s caught early. Talk to your doctor about scheduling a colonoscopy, and to learn more about oncology services at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, visit fsregional.com.

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SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • MARCH 18, 2015 • 3

Mary Vestal Park

From page 1

community County vs. city vs. SoKno

On Monday, March 30, you can go talk to Mayor Tim Burchett about your concerns for Knox County, Betsy and you can go talk to MayPickle or Madeline Rogero about your thoughts concerning Sydni Stinnett wows the city plans involving the crowd with her singing.

“Henley Street Corridor,” World’s Fair Park, the Civic going to help the situation.

Auditorium/Coliseum and As for the other arother sites just across the eas analyzed by the ULI river from us. panel, well, they need some Monte Stanley, Arnella Gregory and Regis Borsari relax after But you’ll have a hard ’splainin,’ too. the delicious meal. Photos by Betsy Pickle time doing both.

Maybe it will all sound Burchett scheduled a se- more desirable when ries of one-on-one constitu- Rogero & Co. describe ent meetings throughout their plans. But we won’t March, and South Knox know unless we go. So – gets the last slot, 4:30sorry, Tim. We’ll have to 5:30 p.m. at the Howard fist-bump another time. I Pinkston Branch Library, encourage a strong SoKno 7732 Martin Mill Pike. turnout for Madeline’s getYou can speak with him together. individually about issues important to you, and that’s ■ The ‘dirt’ on S. a good thing.

Knox Elementary Meanwhile, the city set Tanna Nicely, principal a meeting at which Rogero at South Knoxville Elemenand staff will discuss the report from an Urban Land tary School, is digging into the school’s past.

Institute advisory panel Nicely is looking for old that visited Knoxville in photographs and other October. It starts at 5:30 Christina Bradshaw brought the SOUP concept to her mothmemorabilia related to the p.m. at the East Tennessee Cathy and Joe Vangieri of SoKnox Studios er, Debra Bradshaw. school, and she’s asking for History Center, 601 S. Gay the community’s support.

St. If you have anything that I don’t know who made plans first, but the schedul- might help her create ing doesn’t work in SoKno’s a history display to be From page 1 presented later in the favor. If you get an early year, please contact her at slot with Burchett, you downstairs bar at the Hy579-2100 or tanna.nicely@ might be OK, but if you’re att Regency, where he was at the end you’ll be lucky to knoxschools.org. meeting with Richard on a make it downtown, find a Sunday evening before he parking space and get to the ■ Library art show went back to Nashville on Artworks by Romans history center by 6 p.m.

Monday. I wrote all night, 12:6 Studio will be on disWhy does it matter if and although the News Senplay throughout March at folks south of the river attinel got enough of a late the South Knoxville Branch tend Rogero’s meeting? tip to run a headline in the Library.

The Urban Land Inmorning, we broke the secKrista Lewis has always stitute report included ond-biggest story of the year created art and craft pieces this description of Henley that afternoon. and shared them with famStreet: I felt awful. I’d spent so ■ A significant barrier to ily and friends as gifts. She much time with Ted Ray started the studio when she east-west movement that I’d come to like him. recently became a stay-at■ Negative influence on He’d told me about his life, home mom so she could urban design and I had a lot of sympamake her work available for ■ Transformation Juan Garcia, left, and Fernando Lucas of Acadia Landscape Co. create a dust cloud as they thy for this fatherless boy public purchase. proposed by: introducing cut through pavers at the Ijams Nature Center plaza . A section of pavers is being removed who’d pulled himself up by Her art has been dison-street parking, infilling and replaced by a surface that will make the center’s entry more accessible. Photo by Betsy Pickle strength of will and street played at the federal courtwide sidewalk/plazas with smarts and knew what it house downtown. retail, programming active was to struggle against long Lewis works in multiple uses for redevelopment odds. He fed the hungry media, but her favorite is parcels. and delivered loads of coal pastels. She also does waOK, I’m not even sure to the cold. He was funny what that last thing means. tercolor, acrylic and oil. and charming, and I wished She named her studio But I know that South I could warn him to stop Romans 12:6 because she Knoxvillians don’t think shaking people down. believes God gave her the of Henley as a “signifiThe Miller investigation gift of being able to create cant barrier to east-west was proceeding on a parart, and she is happy to do movement.” We see it as a allel path with an ongoing so. “significant” south-north operation called Rocky Top. “Having then gifts difconnector to jobs and activContrary to other reports, fering according to the ities north of the river. We Miller Time was entirely grace that is given to us, let don’t enjoy the traffic jams separate from Operation us use them: if prophecy, we’re subjected to with the Rocky Top, which targeted let us prophesy in proporexisting lanes, and I’m not bingo operators. tion to our faith.” Romans sure how adding retail and Capitol Hill was engulfed 12:6 NKJV parking to the “corridor” is in suspicion. One day I was talking to Ted Ray, and he motioned toward the wall that separated his office Tandem instructor Jerry White, Madeline Rogero, videographer Bill May and Richard Beeler at from that of Shelby Rhine■ Colonial Village Neighborhood Association. Info: Terry Seymour Airpark on June 25, 1995. Rogero has a framed copy in her home office. hart, who chaired the Black Caruthers, 579-5702, t_caruthers@hotmail.com.

Hole Subcommittee where “I couldn’t help but like Rogero served two terms diving.

■ Knoxville Tri-County Lions Club meets 7 p.m. each disfavored bills were sent to him,” Malone said. “And on County Commission “Richard was in the second and fourth Monday, Connie’s Kitchen, 10231 die. Ted put his finger to his I’ve quoted him many times when Beeler was law direc- plane. He jumped first,” Chapman Highway, Seymour. Info: www.facebook.com/ lips as if to shush me. over the years about the tor, and remembers him Rogero said. “There was a TriCountyLions/info.

“Rhinehart’s office is sunshine law. Richard was fondly. guy with a video camera on ■ Lake Forest Neighborhood Association. Info: Molly Gilbugged,” he warned. smart and funny and he “There were 19 people his head and the tandem bert, 209-1820 or mollygilbert@yahoo.com.

The biggest story of the played fair. He didn’t hold on commission in those guy and me. The tandem ■ Old Sevier Community Group meets 7 p.m. each third year came on July 17, when a grudge and had a more days, and sometimes things guy and I descended pretty Thursday, South Knoxville Elementary School library, 801 Ted Ray put a shotgun in his thoughtful base from which would get a little crazy. I’d rapidly, and as we are deSevier Ave. Info: Gary E. Deitsch, 573-7355 or garyedeitsch@ mouth and pulled the trig- he operated.” lean back and look his way, scending, Richard is cirbellsouth.net. ger. It was the day before Years later when Malone and make eye contact. It cling around us, waving and ■ South of the River Democrats (9th District) meet 6:30 p.m. he was due to be indicted ran for City Council, was like, ‘Really, did I hear saying hi. It was an experieach third Monday, South Knoxville Community Center, 522 under the Hobbs Act for ex- Beeler, who liked bright, that correctly?’ ence like none other, and I’ll Maryville Pike. Info: jim.sessions@comcast.net or 573-0655. torting $30,000 from Beel- mouthy women, quietly “He was very smart and always remember that – I ■ South Haven Neighborhood Association meets 10 a.m. er in exchange for not filing supported her. did a great job. I could de- keep this picture in a frame each third Saturday, Hillcrest UMC, 1615 Price Ave. Info: Pat a bill that would cripple the on my bookcase.”

“I always got the feel- pend on him for advice.”

Harmon, 591-3958. incinerator project. ing Richard was pulling for Years later, Beeler It is a shot of Rogero, ■ South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association. Info: Shelme,” Malone said. “He was bucked his party and sup- Beeler and two dive profesley Conklin, 686-6789.

The aftermath a fair and honest man who ported Rogero for mayor. sionals with a plane in the ■ Vestal Community Organization meets 6 p.m. each secRichard, who liked Ted just really liked things being But the thing Rogero re- background, forever young ond Monday, South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Old and smiling under a sunny done well.” members best is when he Ray too, was devastated. He Maryville Pike. Info: Newman Seay, 577-4593.

Democrat Madeline talked her into trying sky- blue sky. didn’t leave the house for weeks.

But here’s the thing.

As an officer of the court, he had an ethical duty to ■ Wednesday, March 18: 7:30 aerobics, South Knox Opry, senior cardio fitness; 9 a.m. free swim; 9 a.m. Taxaide, wawater aerobics; 10 a.m. SAIL report that his client was a.m. free swim; 8:30 a.m.

Veterans Services; 12:15 water aerobics; 10 a.m. yoga; ter aerobics; 11 a.m. quilting, exercise, crafts/beading; 11 being shaken down. Not guitar lessons; 9 a.m. toenail p.m. ballroom dance; 1 p.m.

11 a.m. Weight Loss and DiaWater Peeps; 1 p.m. bridge, a.m. Tai Chi I; 12:30 p.m. Tai everybody recognized that, trimming, painting; 10 a.m.

Rook, water aerobics; 1:30 betes program, cards, water water aerobics.

Chi II; 1 p.m. pinochle, water but one who did was Carlene quilting; 11 a.m. Water Peeps; p.m. line dance; 2 p.m. Water peeps; noon Tai Chi practice; aerobics; 2 p.m. Water Pilates, ■ Tuesday, March 24: 7:30 Malone, who had become noon bridge.

Pilates.

1 p.m. water aerobics, beginyoga. a.m. free swim; 8:45 a.m. his nemesis in the incinera- ■ Thursday, March 19: 7:30 ning art.

■ Friday, March 20: 7:30 a.m.

Senior Cardio Fitness, ■ Info: 573-5843. tor fight. a.m. free swim; 9 a.m. water free swim; 8:45 a.m. advanced ■ Monday, March 23: 7:30 a.m. dulcimer lessons; 9 a.m.

Richard Beeler

On the right path

COMMUNITY NOTES

SOUTH KNOX SENIOR CENTER

government

4 • MARCH 18, 2015 • Shopper news

Clarence ‘Eddie’ Pridemore, come on down!

E-911 board punts

on radio decision

Mayor Rogero made her debut appearance to the E-911 board last Friday after more than three years as mayor. The meeting was well covered by local media.

Basically the board punted on a decision on new radio equipment pending reviews of more providers and less cost.

This ensures that the high-profile coverage will continue and both mayors will be present for the meetings over the next several months when a decision might actually occur. Rogero, who never conferred with her proxy on E-911, Gary Holiday, now says she will not send him should she miss a future meeting. Wise decision. She needs her own independent representative, but it is imperative she schedule regular meetings with whoever represents her if it is to have any value.

Rogero skipping the 911 meetings for three years created the impression she is not a hands-on mayor but leaves the lower-profile activities to others. As she embarks on her campaign for a second and final term this approach may be changing.

■ Gov. Haslam is inviting all 33 members of the state Senate to dinner at the Residence on Curtiswood Lane in two groups of 17 and 16 each.

■ Lynn Duncan, wife of U.S. Rep. Jimmy Duncan, is recovering from a minor stroke at home. She is doing well.

■ Bill Baxter, former TVA board chair and state commissioner of Economic Development, got a new hip recently, as did former UT football coach Johnny Majors. Baxter’s recovery has been so fast that he was back at work for an hour at Holston Gases Inc. three days after surgery.

■ Hannah Parker, the new GOP election commissioner, who takes office May 1 (if appointed by the State Election Commission) was born in Knox County and graduated from Fulton High School in 2004 prior to attending the University

Victor Ashe

of Tennessee, where she got a degree in political science and English. She received a master’s in civic leadership from Lipscomb University in 2013.

Parker lives on Emoriland Boulevard and is the daughter of Tim and LeeAnn Parker. Her father is pastor of CrossPoint Church, and her mother is a music teacher at Bearden Elementary School. They live in the Strawberry Plains area.

She describes herself as a lover of art, music and Diet Coke and drives a Jeep Rambler. She has a hound dog named “Hank.”

At 28, Parker may be the youngest person ever to serve on the Knox County Election Commission. After interning with then-Sen. Jamie Woodson, she worked in then-Mayor Haslam’s office doing policy and downtown coordinating. She likes concerts at the Bijou and Tennessee Theatres.

She moved to Nashville when Haslam became governor. She was assistant for special projects and deputy for operations.

She returned to Knoxville because “I just missed being here and my family is here.”

She goes to work for the Emerald Youth Foundation (not Academy) this week.

She votes regularly but was not yet a member of the Knox GOP precinct committee when interviewed last week.

■ It is unclear whether Tammy Kaousias will get a second term on the Election Commission.

She was the choice of Rep. Gloria Johnson, who was defeated. Her patron is not there to assure her renomination. It falls to Rep. Joe Armstrong, the lone Democrat left on the Knox delegation.

One way or another, themselves.

Knox Countians may soon Jones said the criticism is get a real-life demonstra- unjust. tion of why elections matter.

“When the sheriff and the chief of police can’t get together and talk about public safety, something’s amiss,” he said, just before Betty he announced that he plans Bean to ask county Law Director Bud Armstrong to take the matter before Chancellor Clarence “Eddie” Pridemore for reconsideration.

Last Friday, Sheriff JimOn the surface, that anmy “JJ” Jones came in the nouncement had little to do door loaded for bear and with the subject at hand – wasn’t shy about saying why how to break the stalemate when he made his open- over who gets the contract ing remarks at the E-911 to install a new radio sysboard meeting that had tem that will be used by all been called for the purpose of Knox County’s emergency of coming to a consensus on first responders.

There were three bidders the contract for a new radio – Motorola, which had held system.

It’s that gosh-darned the contract for 25 years, sunshine law that’s getting Harris Corp. and Tait Comunder his skin, especially munications (low bidder since he and Knoxville Po- and second-place finisher). lice Chief David Rausch The Request for Proposwere accused of violating als was the beginning of an it by discussing the negoti- 18-month process that beating process for buying a gan with a user committee new radio system amongst composed of subject matter

■ Ed and Bob (that’s Ed Brantley and Bob Thomas) came

to Powell on Tuesday to hear from constituents and to tour the Powell Station Park. Stay tuned.

■ Mike Lowe is heading to the county’s detention center to serve a one-year sentence after pleading guilty last week to bilking taxpayers of

In 2007, Pridemore’s predecessor, Daryl Fansler (a Democrat), removed 12 county commissioners after a jury ruled that they had violated the state’s Open Meetings law during the notorious Black Wednesday meeting. He also put down an order informing them that he would take a dim view of future violations.

Since that time, county law directors have taken Fansler at his word and held the elected officials to a strict standard of conduct.

Too strict, say some say, and Jones – who has been twice re-elected to sheriff since he was appointed by a bunch of soon-to-be-ousted Black Wednesday county commissioners – is among them. Jones is term-limited and cannot run again.

Fansler was defeated for re-election last summer by Pridemore, a barely qualified and inexperienced lawyer who had little going for him but the R behind his name. These dots are not hard to connect.

Money, trust and confession Last week the big news was about people who took money that didn’t belong to them.

In Thursday’s paper we learned that longtime (and former) Knox County trustee Mike Lowe was taking a plea for felony theft from the county’s tax coffers.

We also read that the treasurer of St. George Greek Orthodox Church has admitted embezzling maybe $360,000 from the congregation, leaving the church in deep financial straits.

These stories of people in positions of trust who turned out not to be trustworthy moved me to reflect on my own fallen estate.

With the season of penance upon us and me not having planned any appropriate Lenten sacrifices, I have resolved to confess how I, too, once came up short.

From 1946 till 1962, my father, Joe Dockery, was the trustee of Sevier County. In the old courthouse, he had the first office to the left inside the front door. A schoolteacher before he went off to fight in World War II, he ran

GOSSIP AND LIES ■ Knox County Commission will pick a new member for the Board of Zoning Appeals in March, but they’ll never find one who takes the job as seriously as did John Schoonmaker.

experts setting up the scope of the work, and an evaluation committee to score the proposals.

Harris Corp. came out with the recommendation.

Law enforcement representatives didn’t like it.

In January, the county mayor’s surrogate’s motion to award the contract to Harris Corp. didn’t get a second.

Last week’s meeting was supposed to break the stalemate, but the board decided instead to have the user committee look into signing up with Tennessee Valley Radio Systems, a regional radio system used by multiple counties and municipalities.

Whatever the outcome of the internecine battle between the top cops who clearly want Motorola and the bean counters who want the process honored, Jones’ invocation of Chancellor Pridemore’s name may have the most serious implications of anything discussed that morning.

several hundred thousand dollars. (Or, as Lowe puts it, failing to supervise a couple of runaway employees.)

■ Sheriff Jimmy “JJ” Jones can make Lowe a trusty (hmmm, trustee to trusty) entitling him to leave jail during the day.

We’ll keep watching.

Bill Dockery

for and was elected trustee when he came home from Europe. He was collegeeducated (a rarity then) and had a way with figures, so the election came easy. (Besides, his predecessor had made the mistake of hiring a Democrat as an office assistant.)

My brother and I grew up in the courthouse, haunting the musty courtrooms, poking through unused offices and trying (without luck) to get into the clock tower. We were “Joe’s boys.” Everyone knew us. We had the run of the place, except for the clock tower.

Dad’s office was an austere place with big, chesthigh desks where the huge leather-bound ledgers could be laid out for recording property tax payments, with pens and inkwells, and with an electric adding machine. The office also had a built-in safe with a beautiful painting on the door, and it had a cash drawer.

At the time I’m remembering, I was about 4 or 5 years old – old enough to notice that everyone else seemed to have money. I thought it would be nice if I had some, too. So at some point I reached into that

cash drawer and made a withdrawal, a handful of change, not much, five or six coins, just enough to jingle in the pocket of my jeans.

I went out into the central hall with the black-andwhite checkerboard tile and felt like a man of means.

But money is no good if you can’t show it off, so pretty soon I sidled up to the old janitor and pulled the loot out of my pocket. I could tell he was impressed.

When 5 o’clock rolled around, I went back into the office to find the trustee standing beside his cash drawer. He was closing up shop and reconciling the cash when he came up short. He’d also had a little talk with the janitor.

He asked me about the money in my pocket and I readily fetched the coins.

What happened next wasn’t capital punishment – it was somewhere south of there – and to my chagrin, Dad’s clerk (a Republican) stayed to witness the whole thing.

When we were done, I had lost all interest in taking money that doesn’t belong to me, a disinterest that stays with me after 60-odd years.

Decades later I learned that Dad and his clerk once had spent two weeks poring over the handwritten figures in those massive ledgers, looking for a one-penny error that was holding up closing out the books for the fiscal year. They found it, too, and Dad left office

in 1962 having handled $16 million in county funds over 16 years – with every single penny properly accounted for.

This is the event that joins me in brotherhood with Mike Lowe and John Duncan III. Like me, these men in the trustee’s office stole from the people of their county.

Lowe was industrious in his thievery, figuring out ways to take large sums of money for himself and his cronies. Duncan III, like me a descendant of honest and able public servants, was less ambitious. Though he pled guilty to official misconduct, his crime amounted to petty fraud – a dishonesty that netted him only a few thousand dollars but cost him his job and dishonored his family name.

There’s only one difference between them and me – they got off easy. Duncan got a year’s probation, with the possibility of applying for judicial diversion. Lowe may spend seven months in the local jail and have to pay back $200,000, but that’s a pittance compared to what his malfeasance has cost the county and state. I don’t know whether any of that punishment will change the central crime they committed – a cynicism toward the public trust that let them steal from us for a little walking-around money.

I wish they could have had a little time with Joe Dockery.

Listing top objectives of spring practice Once upon a time, spring practice was thought to be the birthplace of college football teams.

That thought has evolved.

Winter workouts are now very important, more for individual improvement than team functionality. Summer togetherness is critical for bonding, all for one, one for all.

August is precision time, “process” refinement, semifinal determination of who can do what.

You are supposed to deduce from the previous paragraphs that playing Tennessee football is a yearround job.

This spring segment is more important than some previous because more is expected of the forthcoming team. It is supposed to be much better than the recent four or five – or six or eight.

Marvin West

Expectations have been puffed up to perhaps fill the Sugar Bowl.

The No. 1 spring objective is the transformation of Dontavius Blair from deadly disappointment to starting left offensive tackle.

The 2014 offensive line was somewhere between inept and awful. It just has to get better. Blair is the best bet. He is 6-8 and a truckload. He was recruited as the designated replacement for the dearly departed Tiny Richardson. He appeared to

be the ideal solution.

I remember the exact words of line coach Don Mahoney: “He is a perfect fit for what we are looking for in a tackle.”

Blair was a junior college all-American. He hadn’t needed great conditioning to prevail. He was big.

Technique wasn’t terribly important. He was powerful. Attention to details?

Assignments were not too complicated.

Last spring was shocking. Blair couldn’t hold the first-team job he had been awarded. Fifth-year walkon Jacob Gilliam beat him out.

Insiders thought that was temporary, a coaching move to motivate Blair. In pre-season camp, Dontavius would no doubt reclaim what was rightfully his.

You know how that turned out. Gilliam, on one leg, was better. Blair redshirted.

This time, those who know say Blair has learned all he needs to know about the facts of life. He will take nothing for granted.

If he can now play left tackle, Joshua Dobbs’ life expectancy goes up.

Other linemen can be placed in more advantageous positions. The line may actually perform better. Hooray.

The No. 2 spring objective is to develop a No. 2 quarterback. Here is new QB coach Mike DeBord’s first opportunity to shine.

Early enrollees are Quinten Dormady and Jauan Jennings, superb prospects according to stargazers.

If neither emerges, the

opportunity will fall to fellow freshman Sheriron Jones when he arrives in summertime.

Butch Jones says preparing freshmen for this key responsibility is an opportunity and a challenge.

“So much goes into playing the quarterback position that you’d kind of like to have them develop at their own pace. But unfortunately, that’s not where we’re at in our program.”

That is code for rush job.

Tennessee must have a second quarterback.

The No. 3 objective is to establish some semblance of order at middle linebacker.

The best newcomer, Darrin Kirkland Jr., is out with an injury. Jakob Johnson played just enough last season to show he wasn’t ready.

Alas, he won’t get ready

this spring because of shoulder repairs.

Kenny Bynum got some experience against Butch Jones Iowa but may not run fast enough.

Redshirt freshman Dillon Bates, outstanding outside prospect, could move inside. Gavin Bryant is a maybe. There are other possibilities.

Those of us who expect Tennessee to compete for championships should monitor these and other spring uncertainties.

Improvement is a given.

How much is absolutely necessary remains debatable.

Exactly how far is it to the Sugar Bowl?

Shopper news • MARCH 18, 2015 • 5

Living in dystopia, on the Christian path and on the run Past, present and future provide a backdrop for this week’s new movies.

But no matter what time frame it occupies, each film boasts at least one actor who has won or been nominated for an Academy Award. See if you can identify them all; answers at the bottom.

Shailene Woodley returns as Tris Prior in “Insurgent,” the follow-up to last year’s “Divergent” (and the presumptive prequel to the not-as-well-rhymed “Allegiant,” which will come in two parts).

War is looming between factions in the dystopian world Tris inhabits, and she must try to save herself and the ones she loves as she fully embraces her Divergence.

Every choice has a consequence, as she has already discovered.

The cast also includes Miles Teller, Theo James, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Maggie Q, Ashley Judd, Ray Stevenson, Daniel Dae Kim and Octavia Spencer. Robert Schwentke directs.

Twelve people whose lives are going in different directions unexpectedly intersect and discover there is power in the cross of Jesus Christ in “Do You Believe?”

It starts with a pastor (Ted McGinley) driving home through the streets of Chicago late one night who has a chance encounter with a risk-taking street-corner preacher (Delroy Lindo).

The pastor is reminded that he needs to live his faith, and as his life changes, so do the lives of people around him.

“Do You Believe?” also stars Mira Sorvino, Sean Astin, Alexa PenaVega, Cybill Shepherd, Lee Majors, Andrea Logan White, Brian

weekender FRIDAY ■ Flux Pavilion with An-Ten-Nae, Luce Wayne and Two Sevenz, 9 p.m., The International, 940 Blackstock Ave. Info/ tickets: http://internationalknox.com.

■ Kukuly and the Gypsy Fuego will perform, 7 p.m., Casual Pint Fountain City, 4842 Harvest Mill Way. Info: 240-4589 or http://fountain-city.thecasualpint.com/.

Betsy Pickle

■ Live After Five Concert: Kelle Jolly & The Will Boyd Project, 6-8:30 p.m., Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World’s Fair Park Drive. Admission: $10, $5 with membership or student ID, ages 17 and under free. Info: Michael Gill, 934-2039 or mgill@ knoxart.org.

Bosworth and Tracy Melchior. Jonathan M. Gunn (“God’s Not Dead”) directs.

Sean Penn stars in the Rrated “The Gunman.” Penn plays a mercenary sniper who has to go into hiding to protect himself and the members of his team after killing the minister of mines in the Congo. Years later he returns to the Congo and finds that he has a price on his head, and he has to Delroy Lindo plays one of a dozen characters whose lives intertrack down his former team sect in “Do You Believe?” members and old girlfriend for help in finding out who wants him dead.

Penn’s co-stars include Shailene Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Woodley Ray Winstone and Mark Ryreturns in lance. Pierre Morel (“Takthe “Diveren”) directs. gent” sequel Oscar answers: “Insurgent.”

“Do You Believe?” – Mira Sorvino (winner), Sean Astin (nominee, but not for acting) “The Gunman” – Sean Penn (two wins, three other nominations), Javier Bardem (one win, two other nominations) “Insurgent” – Kate Winslet (one win, five other nominations), Octavia Spencer (winner), Naomi Watts (nominee)

Sean Penn plays a former Special Forces soldier trying to clear his name in “The Gunman.”

Self-Service or we will do your laundry for you!

■ Maradeen, Tree Tops will perform, 8 p.m. Preservation Pub, 28 Market Square. Info: 524-2224.

■ “Mozart and Mendelssohn” concert by the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, 7:30 p.m., Tennessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St. Part of the Moxley Carmichael Masterworks Series. Tickets: KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444 or 877-995-9961.

■ RB Morris with Hector Qirko & Friends, 10 p.m., Scruff y City Hall, 32 Market Square. Info: 524-2224 or http://www. scruff ycityhall.com.

■ Tango Buenos Aires “Song of Eva Perón,” 7 p.m., Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre, Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville. Info/tickets: box office, 981-8590 or 981-8591; www.claytonartscenter.com; KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444 or 877-995-9961.

■ Third Day “Soul on Fire” tour, with special guest Ellie Holcomb, 7 p.m., Knoxville Civic Auditorium, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave. Info/tickets: Knoxville Civic Auditorium-Coliseum box office, 215-8999; KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444 or 877-9959961.

■ WDVX World Class Bluegrass featuring Marty Raybon, Irene Kelley and Mae Beth Harris, 8 p.m., Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay St. Info/tickets: http://www.knoxbijou.com

SATURDAY ■ Get the Led Out: The American Led Zeppelin will perform, 8 p.m., The International, 940 Blackstock Ave. Info/tickets: http://internationalknox.com.

■ Kelsey’s Woods will perform, 7 p.m., Casual Pint Fountain City, 4842 Harvest Mill Way. Info: 240-4589 or http:// fountain-city.thecasualpint.com/.

SUNDAY ■ Tellico Village Community Concert by the Knoxville Symphony, 4 p.m., Tellico Village Community Church, 130 Chota Center, Loudon. Tickets: $25. Info/tickets: Pat McDermott, 423-884-3098.

■ Young Pianist Series Concert, featuring award-winning, internationally acclaimed pianist Shen Lu, 2:30 p.m., Sandra G. Powell Recital Hall, Natalie L. Haslam Music Center, 1741 Volunteer Blvd. on the UT campus. Tickets: $25 adults, students free; available at the door or online at www. youngpianistseries.com. Info: 408-8083

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6 • MARCH 18, 2015 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news Safety patrol members Piers Littlejohn, Alaina Fox, Jaiden Willis, Antony Santizo and Thomas Riley pack lunch bags to be sold as part of the fundraiser.

Nick Corbitt as Nathan Detroit, Kendal Ketron as Miss Adelaide, Dylan Lyle as Nicely-Nicely, Chesney Julian as Sarah Brown and Farrell Scott as Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls” Photo by Betsy Pickle

Cheers for ‘Guys and Dolls’

By Betsy Pickle Damon Runyon’s colorful characters came to life in the South-Doyle Middle School Choral Department’s “Guys and Dolls.”

The cast did a marvelous job of capturing the energy and atmosphere of the classic musical comedy. Every now and then, a case of nerves edged its way onto the school auditorium’s stage, but the high notes more than made up for any bobbles.

The plot has gambler Sky Masterson (Farrell Scott) being suckered into taking uptight “mission doll” Sarah

Prom etiquette class The Cardinal School of Etiquette and Protocol will hold prom etiquette classes at Imagination Forest, 7613 Blueberry Road in Powell. Classes are 6-7:30 p.m.

Thursday, March 19, and Thursday, March 26, for

Brown (Chesney Julian) on a date to Havana. Meanwhile, Nathan Detroit (Nick Corbitt) – proprietor of the “oldest established permanent floating crap game in New York” – is having trouble finding a locale for his next game thanks to pressure from police Lt. Brannigan (Lucy Abernathy).

Nathan’s also under orders from his longtime fiancée, Miss Adelaide (Kendal Ketron), to give up gambling – or else.

The music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrow (abridged by Broadway

Junior) are delightful, but the deck is always stacked in favor of two characters: Adelaide and Nathan’s associate Nicely-Nicely Johnson (Dylan Lyle).

Both wowed here. Kendal Ketron and Dylan Lyle delivered their lines with true Runyonesque flavor.

Kendal’s powerful, emotive singing voice and Dylan’s wry, convincing acting were the highlights of the Kinsley Jones, Eliot Tatler and Kaleb Davis use iPads to film the 50-foot Subway sandwich for a show. health component of the project. Photos by Betsy Pickle Bethany Williams directed the musical, which had two public performances in addition to in-school performances last week. subjects such as nutrition stab,” said Dr. Roy Miller,

By Betsy Pickle It’s huge, but it’s not im- and math. The third-grad- Mooreland Heights priners assemble the giant sub cipal. “The faculty took it measurable.

In fact, measuring is part in the gym, and then the sub upon themselves to keep it students ages 14-18. and Protocol, is a graduate Topics will include how to of the American School of of the annual 50-foot Sub- is divided into individual going.

“I had no idea how much ask, or say yes or no; dresses Protocol and is certified to way sandwich project at sandwiches that can be purand tuxedos, flowers, trans- teach corporate and chil- Mooreland Heights Elemen- chased by visiting parents work he did on it. He did and family members as well everything. It took a lot of tary School. portation, cell phone eti- dren’s etiquette. people to fill his shoes.”

Subway donates all the as students. quette, conversation, table Classes are $20, and Miller said that, thanks Money raised is used to manners, dancing, after space is limited.

To components for the sandparty and whom to thank. register, email jennifer@ wich and meal. Third-grade offset the expenses of the to Friedenstab, third-gradAnn White, owner of the imaginationforest.com or students prepare for the big fifth-graders who will travel ers get a lesson in paying it day with lessons in related to Washington, D.C., for the forward. They support the Cardinal School of Etiquette call 947-7789. annual safety patrol field fifth-graders, who as thirdgraders themselves had trip.

This year’s event had a helped the safety patrol.

Kinsley Jones seemed to bittersweet element to it.

Third-grade teacher Steve have absorbed the lesson.

“We’re trying to make Friedenstab, who launched the project a few years ago, people have healthier lives, and we’re also raising monpassed away last year.

“This Subway Day is in ey for the fifth-graders,” she memory of Steve Frieden- said.

Sandwich time = lesson time

Spring is here.

Balanced calendar discussion starts

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South-Doyle High School principal Tim Berry made it clear at the start and throughout a meeting about the possibility of Knox County Schools switching to a balanced calendar that this was just the first conversation on the subject for stakeholders in South Knoxville.

Playing host to several dozen parents, guardians, teachers and school administrators, Berry said, “This is round one of many, many rounds to discuss having a balanced calendar.”

The balanced-calendar concept has been gaining traction in Knox County thanks to proposals from a couple of schools, district discussions and teacher surveys.

The crowd listened intently as Berry explained that having a balanced calendar is not the same as having a year-round school calendar.

A balanced calendar keeps approximately the same number of instructional days as are in the four quarters of the traditional Knox County Schools calendar but chops days from summer to expand the breaks between the quarters.

Berry used pie charts to show examples of 44-45 instructional days with either 10-day or 15-day breaks between quarters and 49 or 28 days for summer break.

He said advantages to switching could include providing additional instructional and enrichment time during the breaks, improving student attendance, decreasing summer-

learning loss and improving teacher morale.

The biggest beneficiaries would seem to be students in need of intervention.

On the con side, Berry said there’s no research to show that a balanced calendar provides any academic advantage; a shorter summer could interfere with traditional family vacations, summer camps and community athletics. And it could cost the school system more money.

He said a switch could also mean revising established class schedules. One attendee pointed out that a balanced calendar would mean the end of SouthDoyle’s groundbreaking fire academy.

Berry said that KCS superintendent Jim McIntyre wants any decision to be made from the stakeholders up, not from the district administration, and the main goal is to do what’s best for students.

School board member Amber Rountree said Oak Ridge city schools let families vote on whether or not to switch. Oak Ridge will start a balanced calendar this fall.

“Talk to your teachers, and talk to your kids,” urged Paula Brown, principal of Mount Olive Elementary, noting that there is a perceptible “brain drain” for both at certain times of year.

“School is a lot harder than it used to be,” said Lisa Light, principal at Gap Creek Elementary. “We are pushing them all day every day.”

Shopper news • MARCH 18, 2015 • 7

Emerald Academy ready to roll

By Betty Bean The Emerald Academy administration hasn’t yet moved into the old Moses School in Mechanicsville, but principal Jon Rysewyk says Knox County’s first charter school has met its goal of having two student applicants for each of its 120 seats and will hold a certified lottery to see who gets in.

March 30 at 5 p.m. is the cutoff date for students to apply (they will be called scholars if they are accepted) to enroll in the inaugural kindergarten and first-grade classes. The lottery will be held within 10 days of the cutoff.

Eventually, the school, which is a public charter subject to state education laws, will serve kindergartners through eighth graders, with one additional grade to be added each year to reach that goal. Classes will start July 27, and Emerald Academy will not only operate under the “balanced calendar” being advocated by Knox County Schools, but will also have extended school days. There will be two teachers per 30-student classroom, and students will wear uniforms.

School culture and curriculum will be modeled on the Breakthrough Prep School in Cleveland, Ohio.

The goal, as stated on Emerald Academy’s website, is to create a school built on four pillars: “Academic excellence, effective teaching, a highly relational culture grounded in high expectations, and robust parent and community engagement.”

Jon Rysewyk Rysewyk and dean of academics Jamie Snyder, most recently the principal of Corryton Elementary School and before that an assistant principal at Inskip, were the first employees. Cheryl Robinson joined the staff last week as director of family engagement. Job fairs will be held to hire teachers.

Rysewyk, who won a Milken Educator Award in 2008 for work he did as assistant principal at Fulton High School to redesign the curriculum there, was promoted to principal a year later. He moved to the central office as executive director of innovation and school improvement in 2013 and was considered one of the system’s superstars. Snyder was a member of Knox County’s first Leadership Acad-

emy class.

Rysewyk said he didn’t leave Knox County Schools for a bigger paycheck or because he was disgruntled. His motivation, he said, is his passion for educating inner-city kids.

“This is a missional calling to do something we believe in. Neither Jamie nor I got pay raises to come over here. If we get this thing right, I see it as benefiting all our urban children – not just Emerald Academy scholars.”

He professes to be somewhat gobsmacked by the icy reception that met his recent recruiting letter to parents in target neighborhoods, featuring charts showing poor academic performance and touting Emerald’s innovative approach. He said he didn’t intend to disparage existing urban schools.

“Coming off my Fulton experience, I love this whole area and my heart has never left the inner city. I like to walk beside people, not on top of them. When Emerald had this idea to do some of these radical instructional things – extended time, two teachers per classroom, 10 laptops in every K-5 classroom – I felt a calling.

“I have a firm belief that personalization is how you reach kids.”

World Rotary Day works locally

By Cindy Taylor More than 60 Rotarians from local clubs including North Knox, Downtown, Farragut, Knoxville Breakfast, Turkey Creek and Farragut braved the cold start to the day March 7 to spruce up the outside of the Cerebral Palsy Center Group Home on Highland Avenue.

“There are about 10 people who live at this location,

and North Knox Rotary handles about 80 percent of their yearly funding,” said club president Nic Nicaud.

“We plan to donate funds for professionals to renovate the inside of the house within a year.”

Independent club members donate money throughout the year for local projects. Each local club contributed $500 to North Knox Rotary Club president Nic Nicaud and UTK Rotasponsor the work day at the ract Club member Olivia Hysinger work in a raised bed at the Cerebral Palsy Center Group Home on Highland Avenue. Photo Group Home.

by Cindy Taylor

Support for the Angel Tree The community fund of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon Inc. has contributed $2,500 to the Angel Tree program of the local Salvation Army. Pictured are Maria Down of the Salvation Army; Casey Tyree, Barge Waggoner Knoxville civic group leader; and Major Yvette Villafuerte, associate area commander for the Salvation Army. Photo submitted

Pike: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. SaturVolunteer Income Tax days, through April 15.

Farragut Town Hall, Assistance (VITA) program, which offers free tax 11408 Municipal Center preparation by certified vol- Drive: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friunteers to low- to moderate- days through April 10.

Westside Unitarian Uniincome families and households, is available at three versalist Church, 616 Fretz Road: 5-8 p.m. Tuesdays and locations.

Goodwill, 5307 Kingston Thursdays, through April 14.

Free tax assistance available

Stofko joins Tennova Douglas L. Stofko, D.O., neurological surgeon, has opened his new medical practice at Tennova Neurosciences. He is accepting new patients at his office at Physicians Regional Medical Center, 930 Emerald Avenue.

Dr. Stofko is one of a select number of neurosurgeons in the country – and the only one in East Tennessee – trained in both traditional neurosurgical approaches as well as endovascular procedures, enabling his patients to have the full range of treatDr. Stofko ment options available to them under the direction of one surgeon.

Info: 1-855-836-6682.

Documents needed include: Social Security card and birthday for each person on the return; taxpayer photo ID; original W-2s, 1099Rs, SSA1099s, etc., for all income; proof of health

insurance – a new requirement. Optional documents: last year’s return, proof of account for direct deposit and expenses for deductions.

Info: www.irs.gov.

As part of the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, UT law students will offer free tax preparation help and electronic filing to qualifying members of the community.

The program is available to those who generally make $53,000 or less, persons with disabilities, the elderly and limited-English-speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their

own tax returns.

The services are available 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays through April 15 in Suite 157 of the College of Law, 1505 W. Cumberland Ave. Appointments not required.

Visit www.tiny.utk.edu/vita to learn what documents are needed. Info: Morgan, 974-2492 or rmorgan2@ utk.edu.

Claiborne Hauling: local success The best part of my job is getting to meet wonderful business owners.

Last week it was my pleasure to speak with Todd Claiborne, owner of Claiborne Claiborne Hauling in East Knox County. I was impressed with what he has accomplished with his company.

Claiborne graduated from Carter High School, and two days later he was in the Army. He says he just needed some time to figure out what he wanted to do with his life. After a stint with the 82nd Airborne Division, he returned home and attended Pellissippi State Community College on the GI bill, earning an associate’s degree in Business Finance and Business Management.

Claiborne began his venture into business by servicing construction companies’ trucks. In 1997, he traded in his own pickup as a down payment on a dump truck and soon began hauling rock, gravel and sand for many of those same construction companies.

He laughs and says the dump truck was his only vehicle, so when he took someone out on a date she had to ride in it.

Fast-forward to 2015.

Not only does Claiborne own Claiborne Hauling, but he also owns TLC Truck Repair in Knoxville, as well as American Sand Company in Monterey, Tenn. He has 110 trucks and 140 employees.

TLC Truck Repair works on diesel trucks, which Todd says gives his customers “one-stop shopping” and provides him with “inhouse servicing” for his own fleet.

Todd’s dad, Tracy, and brother Toby work with him now. Tracy worked in the lumber business for 40 years and joined Todd at Claiborne Hauling about three years ago. Toby also worked in the lumber business for years and now works in the heavy haul division and in sales.

So what exactly does Claiborne Hauling do? Todd says they haul “just about

Nancy Whittaker

everything.” They cover the gamut from delivering topsoil, gravel, sand and landscaping materials to individuals – “whatever the customer needs” – all the way to huge commercial jobs. Demolition has also become a big part of their work. Todd says no job is too large or too small.

The heavy haul division of Claiborne Hauling, started in 2003, delivers bulldozers and all types of heavy equipment to job sites. Whether local or cross-country, they have the proper trucks to transport any size load.

You’ve probably seen Claiborne Hauling’s trucks.

They have different themes including American flags, Ice Bears hockey and the zoo. Claiborne Hauling also hauls and dumps the rubber ducks for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley Duck Race each year. Todd is most proud of his “Touch a Truck” project, which got kids involved with putting their handprints on all the trucks. He enjoys projects that help keep kids in school. Having grown up in East Knox, he says community involvement is important to him.

Did Claiborne envision the growth his company would experience when he bought that first dump truck back in 1997? He says he just took things one step at a time and started to grow as his customers’ needs were met. The company doubled its business every year from 1999 to 2007.

He says servicing his customers in the best possible way has been the key to his success.

Claiborne Hauling Contractors is at 6210 Rutledge Pike. Info: www. claibornehauling.com or 540-4409.

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New Beverly presents the award-winning

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Eternal Vision featuring Troy Peach

When: Sunday, March 22 • 6pm

UT Law offering free tax help

business

Where: New Beverly Baptist Church

3320 New Beverly Church Rd., Knoxville, TN 37918

Info: Rev. Eddie Sawyer, Pastor; reveddie@newbeverly.org 546-0001 or www.newbeverly.org

Directions:

I-640 to exit 8. Go north on Washington Pike to red light @ Greenway Rd. (facing new Target), turn left, church is ¼ mile on the right.

ResourceMFG is recruiting for Newell Rubbermaid in Maryville, TN. Many exciting opportunities for both entry level & skilled candidates. A variety of rotating shifts & hours available.

POSITIONS: •Machine Operators •Operator Assistants •Packagers •Material Handlers Pay rates are based on the positions available & your skill set!

Interested candidates please fill out an application at www.ResourceMFG.com & call us at 865-558-6224.

We look forward to hearing from you!

ResourceMFG is recruiting for Packers & Machine Operators ResourceMFG is recruiting for entry level packers & machine operators for an East Knoxville Manufacturing Company. All positions are 12 hour rotating shifts. Candidates must be able to stand for 12 hours a shift & operate in a fast paced environment.

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Every other weekend off!!

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New Beverly Baptist Church

Apply online at www.ResourceMFG.com or call us for more information at 865-558-6224.

We want to hear from you!

8 • MARCH 18, 2015 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18 Books Sandwiched In: “Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design” by Charles Montgomery, noon, East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Info: 215-8700.

“Photographing Your Work” seminar, noon-1 p.m., Emporium Center, 100 S. Gay St. Guest speaker: Lisa Gifford Mueller. Info/to register: 523-7543; sc@ knoxalliance.com; http://www.knoxalliance.com/ development.html.

“Science of Sound” program by Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, 1 p.m., The Muse Knoxville Planetarium. A new educational program for students in grades 3-5. Info: http:// www.themuseknoxville.com/calendar/science-sound-kso.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, MARCH 18-19 AARP Driver Safety class, noon-4 p.m., John T. O’Connor Senior Center, 611 Winona St. Info/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 382-5822.

THURSDAY, MARCH 19 Faculty Lecture Series: “Je suis Charlie,”

10:45 a.m., Pellissippi State Community College, Hardin Valley Campus. Free and open to the public. Info: www. pstcc.edu or call 694-6400.

Organizing your paperwork, 2 p.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. Speaker: Karen Sprinkle. Info: 470-7033.

“Write and Tell Mother …”: East Tennesseans in the Great War, 1917-1919, 6:30 p.m., East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Lecture by Pat Gang. Free admission. Info: www.EastTNHistory.org or 215-8824.

“You CAN Grow Your Own Rose Bouquets,” 3:15-4:30 p.m., Humana Guidance Center, 4438 Western Ave. Presented by Knox County Master Gardeners.

Free and open to the public. Info: 329-8892.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, MARCH 19-20 AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Everett Senior Center, 702 Burchfield St., Maryville. Info/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 382-5822.

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 RCS Hiking Club hike: Old Settlers Trail to Little Bird Branch and out to Hwy. 321. Six-mile moderate shuttle hike. Meet 9 a.m. at Gatlinburg City Hall Park &

Ride. Info: Ray, 314-2279, or Kate, 573-9258.

SATURDAY, MARCH 21 Cypress String Quartet performance, 7:30 p.m., Pollard Auditorium, 210 Badger Ave., Oak Ridge.

Tickets: $25 adults, $10 children and students. Info/ tickets: 483-5569 or www.orcma.org.

Emory Road Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will meet 10:30 a.m., Nichols Gibbs Homestead, 7633 E. Emory Road, Corryton, for a tour of the homestead. Info: 938-3187 or 938-8641.

Military Genealogy, 1-3 p.m., East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Info/to register: 215-8809.

Nourish Knoxville’s Winter Market, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Central UMC, 201 Third Ave. Features pastureraised meats, eggs, winter produce, honey, baked goods, artisan foods, handmade items, food trucks and other vendors from the Market Square Farmers Market.

“Our First Ladies of the United States,” 2-3 p.m., Farragut Branch Library, 417 N. Campbell Station Road. Program by Elizabeth Nelson, manager of the Fountain City Branch library. Free and open to the public. Info: 777-1750.

Saturday Stories and Songs: Charlene Ellis, 11 a.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. Info: 470-7033.

NEWS FROM TENNESSEE CANCER PATIENT COALITION

Prostate cancer survivor advocates legislation to help others receive life-saving proton treatment

By Anne Hart If Don Denton had followed the advice of the urologist who diagnosed his prostate cancer in the fall of 2010, his life would have turned out much differently.

And if by some chance he were still alive, he would likely be incontinent, impotent and awaiting the very real possibility of the cancer recurring. In other words, his quality of life would be so dramatically diminished it might hardly seem worth the struggle.

But Denton had a lot to live for, and he would be the first to tell you he didn’t like the doctor’s odds. So after hearing the diagnosis and anticipating a gloomy future, he and his wife, Sulynne, began researching options to the treatment the urologist had recommended.

For several weeks they scoured the Internet and gathered books and networked with cancer survivors, learning everything they could find on treatment for prostate cancer. Meanwhile, the doctor’s office kept calling, wanting to schedule surgery.

Denton kept putting them off.

“We did incredible

Sulynne and Don Denton. Don is a prostate cancer survivor and created the Tennessee Cancer Patient Coalition, a grassroots group that aims to encourage the passage of legislation that would require insurance companies to cover proton therapy treatments for cancer patients.

research, but we weren’t daunted and we weren’t praying for a miracle. We always felt God would lead us to the right choice. We just hoped He would make it so obvious we wouldn’t miss it,” Denton says with a smile.

Just before Christmas of that year, the couple heard about a Blount County prostate cancer support group. “We thought it would be a good idea to talk with others, and the meeting was going to take place just two minutes from our home in Townsend, so it seemed like a good idea.

“What we learned from two of the members just blew us away. They had both had proton treatment, which is

non-invasive, painless and allows the patient to lead a normal life while undergoing treatment and afterwards.

It sounded too good to be true, but we went home and started researching it.”

Knoxville’s Provision Center for Proton Therapy wasn’t open yet. The nearest proton treatment center was in Jacksonville, Florida.

Denton applied there, and several days later on Christmas Eve, he was notified that his insurance company wouldn’t cover the cost of proton therapy. “The insurance company said the treatment was ‘experimental,’ despite the fact that at that time there were nine proton centers open in the US and 14 more under construction or development.

Denton said he learned that the treatment was far

from experimental. “The concept was developed in 1946, the first patient was treated in 1954, and the FDA approved the treatment and Medicare began covering it in 1988. At the time of my diagnosis, tens of thousands of people worldwide had been cured of cancer through outpatient proton treatment and my insurance company was saying it was experimental.

“At that point we were devastated. We were ready to mortgage our home and do whatever else it took to get this treatment. Through Christmas of that year we worked with an attorney on an appeal, and then the center asked that we let them file the first appeal with the insurance company.”

The insurance company finally agreed to pay. Don Denton had the treatment as an outpatient over a period of two months, and in the following week after the end of his treatments, he and his wife enjoyed hiking in the mountains and playing three rounds of golf. Today he is free of cancer and has had no permanent side effects or quality of life issues.

Denton’s story has a happy ending, and he wants others

diagnosed with prostate and breast cancer, which is also treated with proton therapy, to have a similar outcome.

He has written a book about his experience.

“Calming the Storm” is available on Amazon.com.

You can also find him on Facebook under that title.

In addition, he’s on the speaker’s circuit at every opportunity, telling others about his experience and urging them to contact legislators in support of a bill now in the General Assembly and co-sponsored by state Rep. Ryan Haynes of Knox County and state Sen. Doug Overbey of Blount County.

The bill will force insurance companies to allow patients and their doctors to determine the best medical treatment, including proton treatment.

“We hope everyone will contact their legislators and ask for support of the Cancer Patient Choice Act,” Denton says. “Insurance companies shouldn’t be allowed to deny benefits to cancer patients who choose proton therapy, and that’s exactly what is happening today.”

For additional information:

www.tncancerpatient.org info@tncancerpatient.org

Don Denton is the author of “Calming the Storm” which chronicles his journey of cancer diagnosis, his research and discovery of proton therapy treatment for prostate cancer, and his treatment and ultimate cure of cancer after proton therapy. Don’s book is available for purchase on Amazon or at the Provision Center for Proton Therapy.

Proton Therapy Facts: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Proton therapy is NOT experiemental Proton therapy was approved by the FDA in 1988 Medicare/CMS have reimbursed proton therapy since 2000 More than 100,000 patients have been treated with proton therapy worldwide The cost of proton therapy for prostate cancer is now the same or lower than conventional treatments, without the damaging side effects Five-year, peer-reviewed study just released by the University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute found that 99% of prostrate cancer patients remain cancer free There are 1.6 million new cases of cancer diagnosed each year Tennessee ranks 5th in the nation for deaths from cancer

Make a difference Proton Therapy is the most advanced form of cancer treatment in the world, and now Tennessee has the Provision Center for Proton Therapy located right here in Knoxville. Our Tennessee proton center is one of only 14 operational centers in the nation. However, due to decisions by insurance carriers in Tennessee, if you are between

the ages of 19 to 64, you are not covered for this unique treatment option. If you live in a neighboring state like Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Virginia or Florida, you are covered and you can come to our center in Tennessee to receive treatment.

Help us make sure that this treatment option is available to ALL

Tennesseans that need it. Visit the Tennessee Cancer Patient Coalition at tncancerpatient.org to learn more. Also visit the facebook page at facebook.com/tncancerpatient Make a Difference. Urge Your Representative to vote YES on House Bill 1006 and Senate Bill 0902. Find your representative here: www. capitol.tn.gov/legislators

I agreed to sponsor the bill because it reflects sound public health policy for the citizens of Tennessee. Patients in Tennessee should have available all treatment modalities. ~ State Senator Doug Overbey

Make sure yo u r l o ca l re pre s e n t a t i ve p lans to

VOT E YES ON THE CANCER PATIENT CHOICE ACT This VOTE ABillVoteIs AAgainst Vote Against

RIGHT C A N C E R PAT I E N T S VI S I T

T N C A N C E R PAT I E N T. O R G

T O FIN D O U T MO RE A B O U T T H E B ILL