SOUTH KNOX VOL. 32 NO. 32 1
BUZZ Gap Creek’s secret Gap Creek Elementary was one of six Knox County schools recognized last week as a “Reward” school by the Tennessee Department of Education. But while principal Lisa Light was thrilled to get the certificate from Gov. Bill Haslam and state Education Commissioner Candice McQueen, she quickly put the spotlight on those she sees as most deserving: her teachers.
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August July 12, 29, 2015 2013
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Taking care of
Read Betsy Pickle on page 3
City candidates meet and greet Alice Bell/Springhill Neighborhood Association will host a meet and greet for nine candidates for city offices at 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 17, at New Harvest Park on Washington Pike. Fountain City Town Hall and other neighborhood groups are co-hosts. Everyone is invited, and refreshments will be provided. Candidates will not debate, but those attending will have a chance to talk individually with each of them.
Haslams at Botanical Gardens Gov. Bill and Crissy Haslam will join Mayors Tim Burchett and Madeline Rogero to dedicate the new Visitors Center at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens, 2743 Wimpole Ave, 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 14.
Bruce comes back Former UT coach Bruce Pearl was in town last week for a check presentation to a charity he helped launch.
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By Betsy Pickle South Knoxvillian Sam Adams could have been planning menus, but instead he’s planning the future of trees on the University of Tennessee campus. Adams is still getting his feet wet as the new – and first-ever – UT arborist. He started the job in June and has been dividing his time between taking care of existing trees, working on a tree-management plan and setting up a tree inventory. UT’s Landscape Services Department, which is in charge of all campus grounds, is assembling a three-pronged management team to oversee landscape, turf and trees. Adams and the landscape manager have been hired, with the turf manager search in progress. Adams, current chair of the city
Tree Board, didn’t set out to become an arborist. His family lived in Knoxville in the early 1970s when his father, Frank, became director of the Highlander Center. When the center moved to Jefferson County, so did the family. Adams graduated from high school in North Carolina in the early 1980s and then apprenticed with a cooking program in Boston. He next decided to get an undergraduate degree and pursue a career in culinary arts. He enrolled at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, N.C. The college requires students to work on campus in one of various crews, and Adams started in the kitchen. His sophomore year, he shifted to the Natural Resources Crew, which was responsible for forest management on the heavily wood-
ed campus. “I got a taste for maintaining trees on that level,” Adams says. “But we also became sort of the go-to tree people for the campus. So if a dead tree was on campus, we figured out how to cut it up and haul it away.” That sparked his interest in urban tree work. After earning his bachelor’s in environmental studies (minoring in forest biology), he worked in Asheville before returning to Knoxville in 1989 to work for Jim Cortese at Cortese Tree Specialists. Adams stayed in touch with Cortese after he moved to Florida, where he was arborist supervisor for Sarasota County. An impromptu visit while he and his family were passing through Knoxville after vacation led to Cortese offering him a
job as general manager in 1998. “It’s just one of those opportunities that you really had to think long and hard about because in our industry, the majority of businesses are very small. You don’t get opportunities like that to come in and be manager of a well-respected, well-known company.” With his sister, Mary Thom Adams (development director at Ijams Nature Center), in Knoxville and his parents and wife Frances’s parents in the Asheville area, the move made sense. While leaving Cortese for UT was a tough decision, Adams couldn’t resist the challenge. He realizes that some people are upset about trees that have been lost to UT construction projects, but To page 3
Read Bill Dockery on page 4
Why is everybody pickin’ on Finbarr? Just before he walked into the Oakwood Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association meeting last Monday, people were wondering aloud why city council member Finbarr Saunders has drawn opposition while his at-large colleagues are running unopposed. When Saunders took a seat, someone asked him that question. “I don’t know,” Saunders said. “Marshall Stair and George Wallace are unopposed, and I’ve got three!” So why has Finbarr Saunders, who occupies Seat C, emerged as the Charlie Brown of the 2015 city council races?
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UT arborist Sam Adams stands in front of one of the campus’s majestic trees, across from construction on the new student center.
Read Betty Bean on page 5
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Urban League hosts ‘Shoes for School’
Phyllis Nichols
The Knoxville Area Urban League and Enterprise RentA-Car teamed to distribute shoes and school supplies to more than 1,200 children at the 13th annual “Shoes for School.” With school starting Aug. 10, the Saturday event at Caswell Park was timed for
the start of the new academic year. Phyllis Y. Nichols, president and CEO of the local Urban League, said the signature event is “one of my favorite days at work. “The joy we share with the children as we give them new shoes and school supplies is
irreplaceable for us and for them.” The Urban League, Enterprise and other sponsors hosted a festive atmosphere with food, games and inflatables provided by booth sponsors representing area businesses, nonprofit organizations, church groups
and others. The event is a community effort and something that families and volunteers eagerly anticipate each year. “We are so grateful for our staff and sponsors who work so hard to make this event successful each year,” Nichols said.
Vets looking to reclaim Sharps Ridge By Betty Bean Before the Knoxville chapter of the Women Veterans of America started talking about it, who remembered that Sharps Ridge Memorial Park was dedicated to veterans? Earlier this year, WVA Commander Jessica King started thinking about the ethical responsibilities of using donated money wisely. “We decided to have a big project to spend our money on, rather than just sharing it with other non-profits, and we thought we’d ask the city to find us a park that we could help clean it up and dedi-
cate to veterans. In the process of my research, I discovered that Sharps Ridge was dedicated as a memorial to veterans when it opened in 1953.” When she reported this information back to city officials, they asked where she Jessica King had found the information. “On the city website,” she said. She also found evidence of the park’s purpose in the form of a stone monument halfway up the
ridge that says, “Dedicated in the year 1953 to veterans of all wars. Made possible by subscriptions from public spirited citizens of Knox County, Tennessee.” What emerged after meetings with Knoxville Parks and Recreation director Joe Walsh and parks maintenance superintendent Mike Harris is a plan to clear the brush around the scenic overlook on the south side of the ridge and to establish an overlook on the north side as well. The stone monument, which has been obscured by heavy overgrowth, would be moved to the south overlook, which has a commanding view of
the Smokies. Flags will be placed there, and the group is going to look into the possibility of paving the area with memorial bricks. If fundraising efforts pick up, they will also look at installing picnic and playground areas. Some of the property on the ridge is in private hands, including a swath owned by WATE-TV, whose general manager Dean Littleton attended last week’s WVA meeting. Littleton told the group that WATE is preparing to take down one of its towers, which will free up more space for recreTo page 3
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