SOUTH KNOX VOL. 2 NO. 27 1
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Taking care of time
IN THIS ISSUE South Knox gets community school South Knoxville Elementary has been chosen to participate in the community schools initiative of Knox County Schools and the Great Schools Partnership, beginning in the 2014-15 academic year.
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Read Betsy Pickle on page 3
South-Doyle grad gets scholarship First Tee at Williams Creek has awarded a college scholarship to Todd McGill Jr., a 2014 graduate of South-Doyle High School. He will attend Tennessee Todd McGill Jr. State this fall. The First Tee life skills summer program for children ages 6-17 is underway at seven golf courses throughout Knoxville including The Wee Course at Williams Creek Golf Course, 2351 Dandridge Ave.
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Read Patricia Williams on page 7
Payouts to paramours It is not often a serious candidate for the U.S. Senate has in his past a state Supreme Court decision that delves into his personal life, thereby making it public. But such is the case with Gordon Ball, a wealthy Knoxville attorney and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in the Aug. 7 primary.
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It started as Alice’s Restaurant. Superintendent James McIntyre could get anything he wanted at any time, generally by an 8-1 vote. But now McIntyre’s board majority is melting like the Wicked Witch of the West under a bucket of ice water, and neither his contract nor his long-range plan nor the August election will save him. He’s done. Alice isn’t cooking here anymore.
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Read Betty Bean on page 4
Find us in Food Shopper-News publisher Sandra Clark says if a newspaper is good enough, readers will find it – even if it’s stuffed inside the Wednesday Food section.
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Clock restorer keeps history ticking By Betsy Pickle Gene Amanns believes in time, but not idle time. Since opening his Fine Primitive Clock Gallery at 2903B Alcoa Highway in January, he has repaired 85 clocks. His speed comes with experience; he has been working on clocks for 54 years. Speed also was a factor when he was considering moving his store to Alcoa Highway, aka Alcoa Speedway and “I’ll-Kill-Ya Highway,” after losing his lease on Broadway. “I remember meditating so deeply,” he says. “How can I manage this I’ll-Kill-Ya Highway?” His solution was similar to the “See Rock City” campaign. He put up lots of signs. They aren’t as iconic as the Rock City signs, but they do the trick – especially the one he put on a classic car that sits in front of the shopping center. “I put my signs up, and nobody’s bothered them,” he says. “Opening here was the best move I’ve ever made in my life.” Amanns, 71, preaches the gospel of clocks wherever he goes. He thinks it’s sinful for people to neglect their antique clocks. “I tell people, ‘You need to have that 150-year-old clock worked on, or your kids will have nothing but a flower pot.’” He finds that he has to explain the basics. “I try to educate people, admonish them gently,” he says. “Mechanical stuff needs cleaning and oiling every two years.” He often has customers who
Read Sandra Clark on page 4
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At Fine Primitive Clock Gallery, Gene Amanns shows a skeleton clock he made. Photos by Betsy Pickle
bring in clocks that they’ve had for decades. When he asks when a clock was last cleaned and oiled, the answer is almost always “never.” His specialty is early-American clocks – clocks with wooden gears. He says he’s one of three men in the United States who can make wood-
en clock movements by hand. “It’s a dying art,” says Amanns, who even makes the tools to make the gears. Amanns has two storefronts for his clock shop in Alcoa Way Center, and he also operates Clark Brothers Piano, where he sells various musical instruments and
parts. Music is another of his passions; he plays 31 instruments. The piano is his favorite, and at times he served as a church pianist, but it didn’t feel right. “I’ve got too much boogie-woogie in me,” he says. “The Lord and To page 3
‘Burlington Gang’ reconnects old friends
Read Victor Ashe on page 5
McIntyre’s mojo melting away
July July29, 9, 2013 2014
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By Betsy Pickle Any event built around fried chicken, deviled eggs and banana pudding is going to be a treat, but Ye Olde Burlington Gang manages to make its annual covered-dish dinner something special for folks from the old neighborhood. The 2014 version was no exception. More than 40 people who lived or worked in Burlington “back in
the day” attended the dinner and meeting at Macedonia United Methodist Church. The joy was palpable as old friends greeted each other for the first time in a year – or in some cases many years. Ye Olde Burlington Gang was born after the winning season of the 1927 Burlington Baptist Church baseball team. The celebration dinner that year was
followed by a summer dinner the next year, and then the next and so on. It has become more of a homecoming than a neighborhood gathering as few of the “gang” still live in Burlington. Attendance has decreased as oldtime Burlington folks have moved or passed away, but this year’s turnout was higher than last year’s, and president E.L. Henson encouraged attendees to get the word out even
more next year. The short business meeting saw Henson re-elected as president with Kay Tarwater and April McSwain voted secretary and treasurer, respectively. Henson singled out the maker of the banana pudding – Judy Carpenter Hillard – for special praise. Ye Olde Burlington Gang gathers at Macedonia UMC on the fourth Thursday each June.
Demoted Earl speaks out at school board By Betty Bean Former Brickey-McCloud Elementary School assistant principal Sheila Earl was moved to tell her story at last Wednesday’s school board meeting after hearing board members at the Monday workshop talk about clamping down on teachers who bypass the KCS “chain of command” by going public with complaints about the administration. Earl is fearful of retaliation but promised her daughter she’d be brave because many colleagues have received the same treatment she has and don’t know why. The last year she was an assistant principal, she was evaluated by Knox County Schools’ elementary schools director Nancy Maland, who gave her the highest possible rating – a level 5 score. This result was typical for Earl, a 23-year KCS employee, so she had reason to be excited when she got a phone call from the KCS human resources department July 19, 2012.
“I naively believed that my time had finally come and I was going in to interview for a principalship,” she said. “After all, I had spent nine years as a successful assistant principal after 14 years as an award-winning teacher. I had even completed the D-21 program with excellent results as well.” When she went to the meeting with Maland and HR director Kathy Simms, she was stunned to hear that Superintendent James McIntyre had decided to return her to the classroom, a change that carried a 25 percent pay reduction. “When I asked for the reason why, I was reminded that administrators serve at the pleasure of the superintendent. (Nancy) Maland acted as a scribe, but she remained silent. (Superintendent) McIntyre was conveniently out of town.” Maland retired at year’s end. Earl, a single mother, was given very little time to clear out her office, prepare to teach third grade
and readjust her family budget to the pay cut. Her former principal said she had no idea why Earl was demoted. Her new principal suggested that perhaps this was a test to see how gracefully she handled difficult situations and speculated that she might get a promotion the next year. “That, of course, did not happen,” Earl said. There was a bit of a silver lining, she thought. Under state guidelines, Earl’s evaluation score qualified her for an APEX bonus, so she had reason to expect some financial help that fall. But when she checked the APEX website in November, the words next to her name were “Employee no longer in good standing.” She attempted to find why she had been labeled a loser, but multiple phone calls and emails got no response until her sister (acting without Earl’s knowledge) contacted the county ethics board. Finally, in April 2013, she heard
from KCS chief accountability officer Nakia Towns, who informed her that being reclassified as a classroom teacher after having been an administrator automatically made her ineligible for the bonus. Earl, who said she has been shocked at the level of micromanagement that classroom teachers have to endure nowadays, was required to submit her emails to board chair Lynne Fugate in order to be allowed to speak at the meeting. Many of the teachers who have been speaking out in recent months were present, although they were harder to pick out in the crowd because most were not wearing their familiar red SPEAK (Students, Parents, Educators Across Knox County) T-shirts. Members of a newly formed group, Educators for Excellence, identifiable in bright blue TTo page 3
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