SOUTH KNOX VOL. 2 NO. 47 1
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November July 26, 29, 2013 2014
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IN THIS ISSUE
Choral music bonds father and son at South-Doyle
Sally’s Alley
Sally Greene grew up in South Knoxville and received her degree in fashion merchandising. Immediately after graduation, Greene wanted to open her own boutique but had to put her dream on hold. Now she’s opened Sally’s Alley on Chapman Highway. You won’t believe the great clothes, unique jewelry and amazing prices.
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Read Nancy Whittaker on page 9
Dogwood makes holiday memories Students at Dogwood Elementary School have been busy making holiday memories in addition to filling their heads with knowledge. Last week, families were invited to come eat a delicious lunch of turkey, dressing and all the fi xings with their kids at Dogwood. Several generations took advantage of the bonding time.
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Read Betsy Pickle on page 8
It’s all about Vandy How intriguing that Vanderbilt, the center of football ineptness, will determine whether this Tennessee season is a modest success or another sad failure. What Saturday comes down to is this: If the Vols can’t whip the lowly Commodores, they’ll be saddled with another losing record – five in a row. They’ll be home again for the holidays, twiddling their thumbs while winners accumulate bowl gifts and enjoy plum pudding.
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Read Marvin West on page 4
On becoming bike-friendly South Knoxville led the way for our city’s award last week. Knoxville, along with 356 other communities, received the Bronze Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) award from the League of American Bicyclists. This is the second time the city has been recognized for its bike lanes, designated bike routes and encouragement to bike through education and events, says Knoxville Alternative Transportation Coordinator Jon Livengood.
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By Betsy Pickle Seth Maples compares it to a coaching tree – protégés of one coach continuing a dynasty throughout a sport. That’s the impact his father, John Maples, has had on music educators coming out of South-Doyle High School. John Maples retired at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Seth Maples picked up the reins this fall. He and his wife, Bethany, a music teacher at West Valley Middle School, are among the many South-Doyle alumni who have gone into careers focused on teaching music to young people. John Maples credits his choral director at Doyle High, John Ribble, for inspiring him, just as Seth Maples credits his father. Sitting in the choral room at South-Doyle, both of the Maples men say they are thankful for careers in a field that they love. “To have been able to be in a vocation that has brought so much joy to me for 30 years –you hear about so many people that dread going to their jobs every day – I can truly say that I love what I did, and still do,” says John, who graduated from Doyle in 1976. John earned his degree in music education from the University of Tennessee before heading to Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, to get a master’s degree in church music. He didn’t go
John and Seth Maples both think of the choral room at South-Doyle High School as home. alone: He married Cathy on Dec. 27, and they left for Fort Worth on Jan. 2, staying in Texas for two years before moving back home in 1982. John got a full-time job at Stock Creek Baptist Church – where he and Cathy had met – and was happy with his situation. But one day he got a call from the Doyle principal, Sandra Quillen, who had suddenly lost her music teacher about
a week before teachers were due to report for the fall term. “She called me on Friday afternoon before teachers were to report on Monday and offered me the job, and she said, ‘I have to have an answer by Sunday.’ So I basically had 48 hours. My world turned upside down in just a day or two,” says John. It ended up revolving around that one position for 30 years.
Photo by Betsy Pickle
All three of the Maples’ children – Sarah, Seth and Stephen – were musically inclined and were members of the prestigious South-Doyle Singers under their father, but Seth was the only one to choose music as a career. He did a double concentration of voice performance and music education as an undergrad at UT and then earned a master’s in choral conducting there.
Sign Task Force moves forward after MPC slap By Wendy Smith Crafting a city sign ordinance that can earn a stamp of approval from both the scenic camp and the business community is no mean feat. That’s why the City Council’s Sign Task Force labored over the document for 2.5 years before seeking input from Metropolitan Planning Commission staff. MPC staff then spent four months examining issues like what percentage of window space can be used for advertising, how far signs should be from intersections and what to do about abandoned signs. That’s almost three years of work invested since City Council appointed the task force to review the city’s outdated sign ordinance. That’s why it was a surprise when MPC Commissioner Art Clancy made a motion at the Nov. 13 meeting to hire an outside consultant who could use the revised
ordinance as “a framework, a platform, if you will, to write a new and comprehensive sign ordinance.” City Council member Duane Grieve, chair of Duane Grieve the Sign Task Force, didn’t see it coming. “I was surprised. It was totally unexpected.” In making the motion, Clancy acknowledged that, “with Solomon-like wisdom,” the task force was able to achieve consensus on the majority of the issues. But later, after saying he couldn’t understand how “even someone as smart as Mark Donaldson” couldn’t write a window signage ordinance that made sense, he referred to the ordinance with the old adage, “You can polish a piece of excrement all you want and it
will still be a piece of excrement.” MPC approved Clancy’s motion without discussing the staff’s comments. Grieve says the Sign Task Force crafted a better, well-organized sign ordinance even though members have a variety of backgrounds and opinions. Task force appointees were approved by City Council, and effort was made to give neighborhoods, the Knoxville Chamber and Scenic Knoxville a voice. Grieve is a former Scenic Knoxville president, and task force member Joyce Feld is the organization’s current president. The group was able to reach a compromise on the height of pole signs, one of the more contentious elements. They voted 6-2 in favor of limiting the height of signs near the interstate to 40 feet, and all others to 30 feet. The current ordinance allows all signs to be 50 feet.
Meetings have been well-attended because each member is dedicated to the cause, Grieve says. “We have a great respect for one another. People speak their minds. There were disagreements, but we still produced a good product.” During an interview, Clancy said he thought Scenic Knoxville was underrepresented on the task force. He thinks the only way to have consensus is to bring in a consultant who knows how other cities have handled the divide. He says he’s not in either camp. “I just want to see us do a good sign ordinance.” Grieve will meet with the task force soon before sending a final recommendation to City Council. Task force recommendations are available in the agenda package archives on the MPC website: www.knoxmpc.org. The comparison is labeled “Exhibit K.”
Read Wendy Smith on page 5
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Members of the Carter High School A Cappella Choir join the Dickens’ Carolers at Lights Up!, a tree-lighting holiday party at Pinnacle at Turkey Creek. Pictured are Noah Fawver from Carter; Phil Campbell, Andrew Halloway, Nancy Hodges and Sarah Holloway with Dickens’ Carolers; and Kendall Condra, Katelyn Dailey and Alli Houser, all from Carter High. Photo by Justin Acuff
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