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VOL. 52 NO. 21
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July 29, January 11, 2013 2017
BUZZ
Do you know your roots? Kizzy said, “My pappy real name Kunta Kinte. He a African.” “You don’t say!” Miss Malizy appeared taken aback. “I’se heared my greatReneé Kesler gran’daddy was one dem Africans, too.” This dialogue between a young slave girl and a slave matriarch was taken from an excerpt of the book “ Roots, The Saga Of An American Family” by Pulitzer Prize w inner Alex Haley. Kizzy demonstrates the grit of a young slave girl determined to be defined not by her current enslaved situation, but rather by her strong ancestral heritage. What’s more, Kizzy’s staunch affirmation of her heritage aroused and inspired an elder to recall the stories told of that same proud lineage. Do you know your roots? Discovering our roots is about uncovering the stories of hidden treasures buried in our history while also unearthing layers of one’s self. Zack F. Taylor Jr. has researched and written five volumes of “African American Family Genealogy for Jefferson County, Tennessee,” and it is an extensive work. His dedication to uncovering the black families of Jefferson County is extraordinary. Additionally, Robert A. McGinnis has researched and compiled many books, including “Gone and All but Forgotten, The AfricanAmerican Cemeteries of Knox County, Tennessee.” Neither my friend Zack nor Robert resembles the people they have researched. Yet, when I asked them why they choose to do this work, both reply among other things, “It’s important.” To page 3
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Cindy Morgan reacts to a surprise presentation at Dogwood Elementary School. Photo by Betsy Pickle
Dogwood kids show love for wildfire victim By Betsy Pickle Once a month, Cindy Morgan drives her Kona Ice truck from Sevier County to Dogwood Elementary School, where students with a good behavior record are allowed to purchase a treat. She and the kids have formed a special bond. When they heard that Morgan had lost her Gatlinburg home during the wildfires, they wanted to do something nice for her. The Dogwood Ambassadors, a group formed this fall to groom leaders and develop public-speaking skills, organized a drive called “Change for Cindy.
They collected change from students and in return gave them ribbons. They promoted the drive during morning announcements. They got parents to collect money at work and kids to break open their piggy banks. And before winter break started, they presented their collections – $1,300 – to “Miss Cindy.” Morgan was led, blindfolded, through the school to the gym, where students and teachers waited excitedly. Her reaction when the blindfold was removed was perfect: surprise, amazement and appreciation.
The crowd responded with enthusiastic cheers and applause. After she was presented with the money and some presents, including letters from the students, she headed out to her truck to get ready for customers. She said her surprise was genuine. “I was told to come here a little early,” she said. “I thought, ‘Wonder if they’re going to sing?’ Wow, I couldn’t have topped this!” Morgan said that while she was growing up, her family moved frequently for her military father’s assignments, but she’s lived in Gatlinburg for six years and Ten-
Linda Rust to run for City Council By Betsy Pickle Linda Rust has announced that she will seek the City Council seat that Nick Pavlis will leave in December. Rust, president of the South Haven Neighborhood Association and community development administrator for the city’s Community Development Department, said she met with Pavlis, whose Linda Rust second four-year term ends in December, to see what he thought about her running. “He was very excited about it,” said Rust.
She expects to have his support. Pavlis told the Shopper News last week that he does not intend to run to succeed Madeline Rogero as Knoxville mayor in 2019. The first district City Council seat represents South Knoxville and Fort Sanders. Rust said she had been waiting to see if anyone else expressed an interest before deciding whether to run, but no one has. The longtime South Haven resident said the future of South Knoxville and Fort Sanders is too important to be left to a candidate who isn’t familiar with and devoted to those areas and willing to facilitate conversation between various interests. Rust sees serving on City Council as “a nat-
ural extension of my community development work.” She has told her boss, Community Development director Becky Wade, that she plans to run for office. She will not have to leave her job “until,” she hopes, she wins the seat. “I’ve been with the city four years. It’s been wonderful working in Madeline’s administration and working under Becky.” She said she’s “very mindful” of keeping her campaign activities separate from her city duties. If she wins, Rust expects to seek part-time work so that she’ll have time for the responsibilities of a council member. “If you’re doing a good job and researching and being aware of the issues, that is a job,” she says.
Knoxville to state: Get us some money and leave us alone By Betty Bean Mostly, what legislators heard at their annual breakfast with city officials is that Knoxville wants the state to help pay for a new treatment facility and otherwise stay out of city business. Yes, they’d like the state to help foot the bill for a behavioral health urgent care center (formerly called the safety center). The sheriff and the police chief and the attorney general and the city and county mayors all want this facility, which they say will take the pressure off the Knox County Jail by removing mentally ill inmates and substance abusers from the jail population and placing them in a short-term treatment facility. But Mayor Madeline Rogero politely informed the local lawmakers that what she wants most from Nashville is for the state to
stay out of the city’s business. She doesn’t want any “deannexation” laws, and said the city of Knoxville has not attempted any involuntary annexations for more than a decade. “The prospect of allowing deannexation for properties that have been part of the city and receiving city services and investment for more than a decade raises complicated legal and financial questions that would likely take years to resolve” is how a handout summarizing the city’s legislative wish list put it. City officials would also like for the state not to attempt to regulate short-term rentals (like Airbnb), and refrain from interfering with the city’s ability to jumpstart redevelopment projects by using tax abatement tools like TIFs and PILOTs.
The majority of the lawmakers present pledged their support for the behavioral health urgent care facility, led by Sen. Becky Massey, who outlined a three-pronged plan to get it done, with her preferred option being for the governor to include it in his budget from the get-go. Plans B and C would be a “backup” bill she and Rep. Eddie Smith are sponsoring and, as a last resort, a budget amendment. The general sentiment was that chances are good that the state will support the facility, which is also strongly supported by county Mayor Tim Burchett this session. Rep. Bill Dunn said he’d like to hear more specifics. There was little pushback from the lawmakers until Rogero brought up diversity. “We consider diversity a strength,” she said, citing the dif-
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nessee for 11. Her son attends Pi Beta Phi Elementary School. “The PTA there is doing a lot for those families,” she said. Right now, she is living in a camper her parents fortuitously purchased last summer. “It’s actually all hooked up to utilities, and we have heat and everything, so it’s very cozy and nice.” She’s been driving for Kona Ice for about a year and a half, she said. Dogwood is the farthest school in her territory. “They’re very, very special kids,” Morgan said. “I love them.”
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ficulties North Carolina ran into after its Legislature passed a socalled bathroom bill. She said North Carolina’s losses were other localities’ gains, including Knoxville’s. “We got an event because of that … Please keep Tennessee opening and welcoming,” she said. This plea struck a nerve with Dunn, who said the North Carolina legislators were forced to act to counteract an ordinance passed by the city of Charlotte. He said he believes in “the diversity of the individual,” and cautioned against telling people how to run their businesses. Rep. Martin Daniel told Rogero that he hears complaints about the city disregarding property rights and being “ultraregulatory.” To page 3