South Knox Shopper-News 042617

VOL. 52 NO. 17 1

Dividing the pie

By Lauren Hopson

A wise teacher from Bearden High School once said (actually just last week), “Parents don’t withhold food from one of their children, and then blame the other undernourished Hopson child for greedily demanding too much.”

That is exactly the situation we have in Knox County, however. Last week, the primary headline floating around the local media outlets involved how teachers were getting raises, but an entire special education department, that of Assistive Technology, which aids some of our most vulnerable students, was getting cut.

In regard to a budget with pages of line items, nothing else was mentioned in relation to the AT program’s demise, just the issue of teacher raises.

Knox County ranks third in the state in fiscal capacity to pay for its school system, but 39th in average teacher pay.

That is actually a step up from 45th last year. Thanks to a 3 percent raise, there are only 18 other districts just in East Tennessee that pay better this year, instead of 19.

Three years ago, the Knox County Board of Education made a commitment to the educators of Knox County to make their pay competitive with other school districts in Tennessee. Through a Memorandum of Understanding with the Knox County Education Association, KCS agreed to raise teacher pay by 4 percent a year, on just the portion of salary funded locally, until 2020.

This was agreed upon by both negotiating parties as an attempt to bring pay in line with the top 20 districts in the state and attract and retain the very best teachers for our students.

How many times has Knox County Schools met this financial obligation in the last three years? None. Zero.

Zilch. Granted, our previous superintendent took great liberty with the “if funds are available” clause and decided that money for consultants, six-figure-making Broad Academy Fellows for Central Office, funds for the Leadership Academy, layers of supervisors, laptops for 9-year-olds, and his own car allowance and raise were important enough to ignore the plan outlined in a legal document.

To page A-3

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July 26, 29, 2013 April 2017

Proposed Martin Mill apartments

would be affordable

By Betsy Pickle Affordable housing has become a hot topic in Knoxville and throughout the nation as housing prices have risen and income has grown stagnant or worse. Developers have purchased a SoKno site just off Chapman Highway and hope to build a 162-unit affordable apartment complex there.

John Shepard and Hunter Nelson of Nashville-based Elmington Capital, the company behind the project, were invited to speak at last week’s meeting of the Lindbergh Forest Neighborhood Association at Graystone Presbyterian Church. LFNA issued an open invitation to other city neighborhood groups. The property is at 2712 E. Martin Mill Pike, at the intersection of Lippencott Street, and is zoned for South Knoxville Elementary School.

About 60 people – including SoKno residents, Mayor Madeline Rogero, several City Council members and a number of city employees – turned out to hear about the plans.

“We understand everybody in this room has a lot invested,” said Shepard. He explained that his company serves as both management and owner-managers of apartments across the country.

Many of their properties are market-rate, but they have several that cater to the affordable-housing demographic. They are experienced at working with government entities to make the most of tax credits and incentive financing to create affordable properties.

This would be Elmington’s first development in Knoxville, but they hope to build more. They have properties in Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga. Their commitment to the Martin Mill property would be at least 15 years.

Shepard said their properties are “not the old-type of affordable housing” that originated during the Reagan era – apartments often described as “the projects.” Their units are made with brick exteriors and feature modern amenities. The

Hunter Nelson of Elmington Capital talks about plans for an affordable-housing apartment complex at 2712 E. Martin Mill Pike. Photos by Betsy Pickle

buildings have prewired rooftop telecommunications hubs so that residents don’t have a sea of satellite dishes hanging off balconies.

Their apartments are designed in consideration with their neighborhoods, be they urban or suburban. The Martin Mill apartments would be built on the flat part of the six-acre site, leaving the wooded area in back that abuts Fort Stanley undisturbed.

“We want a timeless look that fits in with our community,” he said.

Tenant requirements include a rental history, credit check and criminal-background check, and units would be inspected quarterly for upkeep and safety issues.

Becky Wade, director of community development for the city, said her department works with nonprofit and for-profit developers. She and Linda Rust, community development administrator, were at the meeting to talk about the facts about affordable housing.

Rust gave a presentation on household income and housing costs. Housing is considered affordable when rent – or mortgage payment, property taxes and in-

The conceptual site plan for 2712 E. Martin Mill Pike

surance – is no more than 30 percent of a household’s income. That means a single, full-time employee making minimum wage could afford $377 in monthly housing costs.

Rust said that Knoxville has lost several formerly affordable complexes, and there is a great need for more.

Nelson headed a Q&A session that covered everything from pet policies to specific complaints about other properties with which Elmington has been involved. He answered each question fully. One attendee voiced concerns about

Martin Mill becoming another student-housing project. Nelson said the type of federal financing they would use excludes studentonly renters.

He said apartments average a 35 percent to 40 percent turnover rate, with an average rental of two and a half years. Their affordable apartments average around 10 percent turnover, with the average stay around nine years.

Elmington has a request pending at the May 11 Metropolitan Planning Commission meeting to rezone the property, which is now C4, to residential.

With the Tuskegee Airmen

Local man looks back at changing times

By Betty Bean One of the things Chester Bragg remembers about Dec. 7, 1941, was wondering what was happening to his brother Raymond. Chester was only 15, and had no clue that Pearl Harbor would begin something so big that it would swoop him up three years later and land him with one of the most famous fighting units in American history.

“I didn’t think it would last long enough to get me,” said Chester Bragg, who is 90. “But I got drafted. The Army turned me down, the Navy turned me down, the Marines. Everybody wanted big men, and I was a little man, 130 pounds.

That left me to the Air Force.”

The family finally heard from Raymond, who survived but was never able to leave Pearl Harbor behind.

“Raymond suffered,” Chester said. “He never did get over that, he never did. He was shell shocked, seeing all that killing; some of his buddies got killed. He drew disability from the Veterans

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men, the first African-American fighter pilots. He remembers the sharp buzz of single and twoseater fighter planes taking off and landing at the air field – P39s, P37s P40s, P51 Mustangs.

His biggest adjustment to military life was being in Alabama.

“You still had to get in the back of the bus in Knoxville, but it

Chester Bragg holds a photograph of himself in his military uniform. Photo by Ruth White wasn’t too bad here. Where I was at in Alabama, you was a n….. everywhere you went, except for being a soldier. And they still called you a n….. soldier. It was rough.

Worse than it was here in Knoxville. They were still hanging peoTo page A-3

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Administration and never did really get back to himself.”

He was a student at Nelson Merry High School in Jefferson County in 1941, and moved to Knoxville the following year. Everybody was worried about Adolf Hitler.

“I heard he was going to conquer the world – the whole world, the United States and all. He and Japan got together and they were going to whip us. He’d done whipped everybody in Europe except Russia, and that’s where he made his mistake. He overran his supply line because he was moving too fast…”

After basic training at Fort Benning, Chester was sent to Texas and then to Tuskegee, Ala. No draftee had many choices, and Chester’s were limited by his race.

“You didn’t have no options. You went to where all the Blacks were stationed, and that was Tuskegee, where they had an Air Force base.

We got there in a group and they put us all in barracks…”

Chester was assigned to be a supply clerk for the Tuskegee Air-

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A-2 • April owell Shopper -NewS pril 26, 26, 2017 2017 •• pShopper news

health & lifestyles

Hip to pain …

Teacher’s diary shows pain-free days were few Andrea Anderson was hurting – she just didn’t know how much.

But when orthopedic surgeon Paul Yau, MD, urged her to track her hip pain after a cortisone shot, she installed a diary application on her smartphone and began making almost daily notes. “When I look back, I can see that I had no idea,” Anderson said. “I wanted to believe that it wasn’t as bad as I thought. But there were months when I was in pain 25 days out of 30.”

Now, after receiving a total hip replacement last Oct. 21, the 46-year-old Harriman woman uses that same smartphone diary to praise Dr. Yau for ridding her of the pain.

“I LOVE this man! I love him, love him, love him!” she wrote of Dr. Yau, the day after a 45-minute surgery at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. “I wrote that because my hip felt great. I wasn’t hurting any more at all, and now I look forward to seeing how many steps I can walk.”

Anderson’s glee was understandable. She had suffered for almost a decade after accidentally stepping into a drainage ditch.

A trip to an internist and X-rays failed to show anything unusual.

“It didn’t seem like it was a big deal,” said Anderson, who underwent physical therapy and “felt fine.”

But it wasn’t “fine.” The hip would bother her off and on over the next several years, usually easing after physical therapy. When that no longer worked, Anderson, hardly able to walk without pain, sought help from an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in hips and discovered Dr. Yau on the Tennessee Orthopaedic Clinics website.

He first recommended cortisone injections to ease the pain and asked her to go about her normal days as a special education

and ‘My hip is throbbing!’ ” Despite the pain, Anderson – fearful of surgery – put off a return visit to Dr. Yau for another six months. She kept the diary going, however. And when a new school year ushered in even more excruciating hip pain, she returned to see Dr. Yau. “I had an appointment Sept. 15, and I wrote in my diary, ‘Hopefully I can just get another shot,’ ” said Anderson. “When I went in, he said, ‘It didn’t sound like it worked.’ And I said, ‘Well, there were good days…’ And he said, ‘Really?!’ Then, I blamed it on the barometric pressure: Don’t you think that’s it? He said, ‘I’ll be honest with you – I don’t think it’s the barometric pressure.’ ” She began scrolling through her diary, hoping to find good days to tell Dr. Yau about but they were so few she tearfully admitted she needed a total hip replacement.

“She didn’t really know what was wrong but as I listened to her I could tell it was awful,” said Dr. Yau, who discovered necrosis, a disruption of blood Anderson calls flow to the bone, had caused the direct ante90 percent of the femoral rior hip replacehead of her hip to die and ment performed crumble.

by Paul Yau, MD, “Her hip x-rays were “life changing.” completely normal,” said Dr. Yau. “Then you get this MRI and 90 percent of her hip was either affected or had just died. You don’t really see MRIs like hers.”

In fact, Dr. Yau said that necrosis affects only 8 to 10 percent of his patients, and even then, only 50 to 70 percent of the hip is involved. “Usually, it dies and then it shrinks like a sinkhole or pothole. teacher at Harriman High School phone diary. “After a couple of Hers involved 90 percent of the while keeping a log of how her hip days, I wrote ‘This is great! I’m femoral head but none of it had was doing. A handy smartphone doing great! Not feeling it at all!’ collapsed. Instead, the base of hers But then five days later, I wrote, collapsed. What she had was a very app made it easy.

“My post on Feb. 5, 2016, is ‘My muscles are kind of tight… unique version.” when I got the shot,” Anderson something’s going on.’ Then, on Despite the uniqueness of her said as she scrolled through her Feb. 16, I have this funny picture situation, Dr. Yau was still able to

take an anterior approach to Anderson’s hip replacement, resulting in fewer restrictions on her recovery. She spent one day in Fort Sanders Regional before being discharged. “The staff at Fort Sanders Regional were awesome,” she said.

“We had a very good group of people who came in to take care of me that night. That whole experience was wonderful.”

She was on a walker for seven days, a cane for three days after that.

“The surgery was life-changing because I had no idea how many parts of my life were affected by how much pain I was in,” she said.

“I tried to make myself believe that it wasn’t hurting. I missed out on a lot because of that. I would constantly tell people that I couldn’t do things or go places because I couldn’t do it without hurting.”

Today, Anderson is almost giddy as she goes about her teaching day, making about 10 trips daily down the long hallway to the principal’s office or the lunchroom.

Before her surgery, the fitness watch she wore on her wrist recorded as few as 3,000 steps a day on weekends. Now, she’s walking five times that and eager for more.

“I’m like, ‘I can beat that now!’ It’s not that I’m like some ‘sporty’ person – it’s just that I can do it without pain. I love walking here now.

I’m doing my job but I’m gaining steps. They have no idea but I get excited when they ask me to come down to the office. I’m like, ‘Yes, I can get more steps in!’ ” As for Dr. Yau, “I would invite him to a family dinner!’ ” she said recently. “He felt like family to me, that I was being cared for. He made me feel like I was his only patient that day. I wish he was a doctor of other things too because if I ever got sick, I would want to go to him. I trusted him, and I still trust him. I just can’t say enough about him.”

‘Giant leap’ in hip replacement surgery Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is among only a small percentage of U.S. hospitals with the staff and facilities available to perform the latest approach in hip replacement surgery, called “Direct Anterior Hip Replacement.”

In this procedure, the surgeon goes through the front (anterior) portion of the hip, instead of the side or back.

This allows the surgery to be performed in between muscles and tendons instead of cutting through them to position a new hip joint implant.

“When I first started doing hip replacement surgery this way, I thought it was just another option to access the joint, but people have done amazingly well with this approach,” said Dr. Paul Yau, an orthopedic surgeon with Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

“With traditional hip replacements, we have to cut muscles or tendons, which prolongs the recovery process and may require limitations on hip motion,” said Yau. “It is common to hear patients being told not to

bend at the hip more than 90 degrees, squat, reach to the floor or cross your legs after hip replacement because it would risk a dislocation.

“With the anterior approach, none of these typical ligaments are cut, which means all of these common activities are safe, immediately after surgery,” Yau explained.

The anterior approach does utilize a specialized surgical table and intraoperative x-rays.

“The specialized table allows for safe leg placement not possible with a traditional surgical table,” said Yau. “Better implant placement improves implant longevity.

I no longer say you have to be a certain age to get a hip replacement.

“Traditionally, leg length discrepancies are a wellknown complication after total hip replacement. The use of live, real-time imaging during surgery improves the surgeon’s ability to make both legs balanced and symmetric in length,” he said.

With the anterior approach, the patient should usu-

ally expect just one night in the hospital.

“Some people even go home the same day,” said Yau. “People recover so much faster it’s unbelievable.”

Yau said he began doing the anterior surgery routinely about three years ago, and uses it today for about 95 percent of his hip replacement and repair surgeries.

“It does require special facilities and a specifically trained staff, which we have at Fort Sanders Regional.

There are a lot of moving parts to the surgery and they all need to be coordinated or you’ll have issues,” he said.

Studies have backed up Yau’s opinion of anterior hip replacement.

“You know how progress tends to happen in increments?” he asked. “I want to say this is a giant leap instead of an incremental one in orthopedic surgery. I haven’t seen anything this dramatically improve people’s outcome from surgery, ever.”

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South Knox Shopper news • April 26, 2017 • A-3

Play-for-all at Baker Creek Kids big and small had a ball at South Haven Neighborhood Association’s recent “Have a Ball” celebration at the Baker Creek Preserve Adventure Park, 1516 Taylor Road.

The event officially christened the park’s ball bin, which was an idea Legacy Parks Foundation executive director Carol Evans “stole” from a friend and kept on a back burner for several years. Kids always enjoy having balls to play with at a park, she said, and they usually leave them for other children to use. The more balls there are, the more kids can play. And if they take them home, that’s OK, too.

South Haven embraced the concept and has agreed to keep the bin stocked. Sam Tobea, owner of the nearby Roundup Restaurant, donated the first fill-up of balls. Legacy Parks donated the signs for the bin.

“This seemed like the ideal place to have a ball bin,” said Evans, whose group created the park and then donated it to the city.

“What a wonderful partnership with the neighborhood.

You’re here. You have your eyes on the park. Thank you for doing this.”

In addition to president Linda Rust and many board members of the SHNA, City Council 1st District repre-

wanted kids to see that they could use household items to make their fun at home.

All ages enjoyed the ice cream donated by Tobea.

Patrick Weaver donated a generous supply of cookies, and Rust, Mark Smith and Chris Carter donated bottles of water.

Betsy Pickle

SOUP’s on Knoxville SOUP will take place Thursday, April 27, at Dara’s Garden, 2637 Maryville Pike. Doors open at 6 p.m. Starting at 6:30, four groups will give brief presentations about community-minded projects they want to implement.

Attendees listen and then, while dining on a soup dinner donated by Rothchild Catering, consider which project they want to support, then vote. Winner gets the money donated at the door. A $5 donation is suggested.

Aurelio Ilagan, 4, tackles some “Superman” ice cream after donating several balls to the bin with his mom, Bryn Ilagan.

sentative Nick Pavlis and South Knox’s County Commissioner Carson Dailey joined the celebration. The event was top-heavy with adults at the beginning, but eventually lots of children showed up and started playing ball in activities organized by Deanna Long Garcia such as bowling with laundry baskets and whiffle ball with paper-plate holders as bases. Garcia said she

Medicine take-back When you’re doing your spring cleaning, don’t forget to clear out your medicine cabinet.

The South Knoxville Alliance is partnering with the Knox County Solid Waste Department, in conjunction with the Healthy Living Expo, on a medication takeback event 9 a.m.-4 p.m. this Saturday at Food City, 7608

Tuskegee Airmen

Staying busy in Old Sevier

Jenny Arthur of the Old Sevier Community Group holds one of the new signs that will be installed at monarch butterfly waystations. Photos by

Betsy Pickle

Well-deserved recognition Congratulations to the property owners and the owner-operators of SoKno Taco Cantina. They were recently recognized for their work in bringing new life to a formerly blighted building in South Haven, opening a new business and providing jobs to community residents. Brian Hann, Diane Reynolds, Jason Stephens, Wade Coppinger and Ryan Steffy accepted the award at the city’s annual Equity Awards for Economic Development.

Reminders …

The free, family-friendly event Sustainable South is 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at Sam Duff Park. …

Candoro Dogwood Art show is open 2-5 p.m. Sundays, April 30 and May 7, and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, May 13, during Vestival at Candoro Marble, 4450 Candora Ave. Artist reception is 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 12.

Dividing the pie

From page A-1

When families create their own budgets, the financial obligations to the necessities must be met first. Often, those are in the form of contractual obligations. Mortgages, car payments, and utility bills, that one has committed to pay, come before the luxury items. If not, those basic necessities, like experienced teachers, have a curious way of disappearing. Honoring the MOU and the Independent Education Plan (IEP) of our special needs students are both obligations we can’t afford to neglect.

Just this week, SCORE, the State Consortium on Reforming Education, sent out

motivational letters and pencils as a way to promote the virtues of the TN Ready Test to which our children will be subjected in the coming weeks. Where is the media outcry about this? Maybe SCORE could have helped fund Assistive Technology Programs instead. Maybe the Haslams could have kicked in some cash for the AT positions instead of planning to pay for new turf on every football field in the county. Maybe we all need to do a better job examining our budgets, prioritizing the necessities over the fluff, and holding our local government accountable for doing the same.

Chester Bragg kept many articles on his days while serving with the Tuskegee Airmen. woman” who didn’t disguise her racism in front of the help.

The Braggs were pillars of Tabernacle Baptist Church, and Chester became an outstanding baseball coach, coaching little league teams for some 25 years.

He lost Mary on Feb. 26, and still lives in the tidy house where they held Thanksgivings and Easter egg hunts for their 19 grandchildren, 38 greatgrandchildren and 29 great-

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great-grandchildren.

He reflects on the changes he’s seen and says things are better now.

And he’s proud of the role of the Tuskegee Airmen, something his sons didn’t hear much about when they were children.

“I never talked about it too much. I was never in no planes or anything like that.”

But he was still a part of history and a source of pride for his family.

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ple. They hanged a guy for being with a white woman; said he raped her. They were cruel and I don’t see how we made it.”

By the time he finished training, the war was nearly over in Europe. The Airmen would have been deployed to Japan if Harry S. Truman hadn’t opted to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Chester was glad he didn’t have to go, but was affected by the destruction unleashed on the Japanese.

“The President warned Japan, threw notes out of planes and told them what he was going to do if they didn’t surrender. They didn’t believe him. All I know is how powerful it was. That first one killed more than 180,000 people – babies, women, everybody. The second one was more powerful than the first one, and Japan gave up.

“I came home after that.”

Chester got some vocational training and opened a shoe shop for a while.

He married Mary Thelma Olden in 1950 and had four sons, Gary, Ronald, Felix and Keith. He got a job as a janitor at the post office and after a while became a supervisor and worked there until retirement. Mary cleaned houses all over Knoxville. One of her longtime employers was the wife of E.B. “Banana” Bowles, a produce wholesaler who handed out bananas at the polls to get himself elected sheriff. Chester remembers Mrs. Bowles as “a mean old

From page A-1

Mountain Grove Drive.

Unused, expired and/or unneeded medications will be collected and disposed of properly, so that they won’t pollute groundwater.

In addition, Ecyclers USA will collect electronic waste.

Visit their website and look under the “Services” menu for a list of accepted items.

There may be a charge for some items.

Smith and Hammaker will have a shredder truck to get rid of unwanted/unneeded documents, and Medic Regional Blood Center will have its blood mobile on site for donations. city-created ones at Suttree Landing Park. Old Sevier is on the cutting edge in establishing monarch gardens in SoKno. The Old Sevier CommuTwo of the seven candinity Group’s April meeting dates who have picked up was busy, as usual. Wyatt petitions to run for the 1st Pless, AmeriCorps volun- District City Council seat teer in the Office of Neigh- that Nick Pavlis will leave borhoods, talked to the at the end of the year ingroup about the city’s quest troduced themselves to to become designated as a Old Sevier. Debbie Helscertified wildlife city. More ley, a BellSouth retiree and than 340 homes have al- former Communications ready been certified. The Workers of America Local program includes providing 3805 president, and Stephwildlife with food, water, anie Welch, vice president cover and a place to raise of operations for the Great their young, plus trying to Schools Partnership, talked avoid using fertilizers and about their ideas. pesticides.

Others in the race for the Jenny Arthur showed the 1st District are Kenny Bradgroup the signs that will be ley, Kevin Hill, Greg Knox, placed at the monarch but- Rebecca Parr and Andrew terfly gardens Old Sevier Wilson. Old Sevier plans to has created as well as the have all of them visit.

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A-4 • April 26, 2017 • Shopper news

What if James Monroe were on Twitter?

By Kip Oswald

The great thing about my new writing experiment is that when the people I interview try to sneak “Google” to answer what they know about the president of the Kip week, they always find something to say! Like my Sunday school teacher, Ms. Lucy, quickly told me that James Monroe was the first president to have an outdoor inauguration.

She didn’t know, however, that when it was time for Monroe to be inaugurated, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Henry Clay, wouldn’t let the new president use the chamber in the House like all previous presidents, because they had been in an argument, so the whole inauguration had to be outside.

This started the current process we do today.

Another friend found that President Monroe’s two favorite hobbies were riding and hunting. He didn’t know, though, that Monroe had done both of these things since he was a boy when he rode a horse to school and hunted on the way to and from school. None of the people knew some of the interesting things I found out. As a teenager, he fought under George Washington during the Revolutionary War and was seriously wounded. He was so proud of his service in the war that he wanted to be called Colonel even when he was President.

While Monroe was president, he added five new

states to the country and bought Florida from Spain for $5 million. He was the first president to ride a steamboat and the first president to have official White House china. A set of plates for 30 people cost $1,167.23 back then. Not every president has changed or added to the White House china, but the Obama administration did buy new china for a cost of $367,258.

WOW! I wouldn’t want to be the waiter who drops a plate in the kitchen!

James Monroe could be remembered for some fun facts, too. For instance, the capital of the nation of Liberia is called Monrovia in honor of President Monroe and is the only foreign capital in the world named after a United States president.

Monroe once chased the Secretary of the Treasury out of the White House with a pair of fire tongs.

James Monroe also died on July 4, just like Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

Possible tweets from President Monroe could be: James Monroe @ TheEraOfGoodFeeling I am the only president, aside from George Washington, to run unopposed for re-election. The next election will begin the division of the Democratic-Republican Party.

James Monroe @ TheEraOfGoodFeeling My daughter was the first to be married in the White House.

James Monroe @ TheEraOfGoodFeeling “Our country may be likened to a new house. We lack many things, but we possess the most precious of all – liberty.”

Next week, “What if John Quincy Adams were on Twitter?” Send comments to oswaldsworldtn@gmail.com

Bus drivers recognized for safe driving practices

Five area bus drivers were recognized for their dedication behind the wheel of Knox County Schools buses and for keeping children safe to and from school. Each driver was presented with a gift bag from WIVK, cash award and certificate. Pictured at Ted Russell Ford are: Farragut driver (15 years) Thomas Tinnerman, Andy White of Ted Russell Ford, Halls driver Douglas Romig (three years), Northshore/West Valley driver Frannie Kirkpatrick (four years), Farragut driver Rita Ramps (30 years), Cedar Bluff/HVA driver Juanita Thomas (six months), KCS Superintendent Bob Thomas, WIViK the Frog and County Commissioner Bob Thomas.

Photo by Ruth White

Fulton to celebrate High School Radio Day High school radio stations in the United States including Fulton High School’s WKCS-FM 91.1 will come together for a day of celebration on April 26 for High School Radio Day. Very few high schools have radio stations, and organizers hope that High School Radio Day will raise an awareness of the ones that are still broadcasting

over the air and the newer ones streaming online.

WKCS has been broadcasting from Fulton High School since 1952 and streams online at wkcsradio.org.

WKCS-FM 91.1, also known as “Falcon Radio,” is one of the top 10 oldest high school stations in America and one of the oldest FM stations in Tennessee.

A website, highschoolra-

dioday.com, has been created to publicize the activities planned by participating stations for High School Radio Day and provides a place for schools to register their stations. It also provides links to participating high schools and their websites and online streams of their programming; notable high school radio grads; links to other high school stations

East Knox community meeting, cleanup scheduled An East Knoxville community meeting will be held 1 p.m. Monday, May 1, and will feature Cherokee Health Systems physician Eboni Winford.

Winford will be speaking about an expansion of the clinic on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and will share information on the advanced health care service access coming to East Knoxville.

KCDC CEO Ben Bentley will also be on

LIBRARY NOTES ■■ Senior Fitness, 9-10 a.m.

Thursday, April 27, Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Info: Martha, 865525-2574.

■■ Finding graves on the internet, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April

hand to discuss the FivePoints development.

The East Knoxville community cleanup will be 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 29. Participants should meet at Eternal Life Harvest Center, 2410 MLK Jr. Ave., to gather materials/equipment and then head to their neighborhood to clean up.

Lunch will be provided to volunteers at noon at Eternal Life.

29, East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Info/ registration: 865-215-8809.

■■ “Stone Stories,” a special lecture with marble sculptor Julie Warren Conn, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 30, East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Presented in conjunction with the East Tennessee

Historical Society’s feature exhibition “Rock of Ages: East Tennessee’s Marble Industry,” on display through May 14.

Free and open to the public.

Info: 865-215-8824 or EastTNHistory.org.

■■ Author Nathaniel Philbrick will speak about his book “Valiant Ambition: George

nationwide; and a resource page with information pertinent to high school broadcasters.

“Falcon Radio” is planning to celebrate High School Radio Day by conducting a remote broadcast from the hallways of Fulton High School and include live music, interviews with other high school radio stations, special student-produced programs and many other surprises.

BHS Dance Team offers camp The nationally ranked Bearden High School Dance Team is offering a Bearden Junior Dance Camp for K-rising fifth-graders at Bearden High School, June 21-22, from 5:30 to 7:30.

Cost is $40. Register by June 7 to receive a free Dance T-shirt. Contact Jennifer Jacoby at 865-742-5416 or fivejacobys@gmail.com.

Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution” 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Free event, but donations welcome. Info/registration: knoxfriends.org/news-events/ nathaniel-philbrick.

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Shopper news • April 26, 2017 • A-5

Going to the dogs

By Margie Hagen

A little rain didn’t stop scores of people and lots of dogs from attending the first Fido Fest, held last Saturday at the Pinnacle at Turkey Creek to benefit Young-Williams Animal Center.

The event was coordinated by Kristen Bridgers, marketing manager for the Pinnacle, in conjunction with staff from YWAC. “Our goal is to raise $5,000 in support of YoungWilliams,” said Bridgers. “One hundred percent of the money raised today from vendor fees and donations will go to provide care for the pets.”

Radio Systems Corp., well-known for its pet products and commitment to philanthropy, was a major sponsor. RSC has created nine dog parks in the Knoxville area, supports shelters and service dog training, and the Pantry for Feeding Pets, an organization that helps people in need when they can’t afford pet food.

Dozens of vendors participated, offering nearly every dog-related product imaginable. Dog hotels, obedience training and veterinarian services were represented along with human needs like tacos from Moe’s Southwest Grill and Asian style bites from Pei Wei. Adoption is first and foremost for YWAC, but there are many other

smaller rescue operations that foster animals and help them find their “forever” homes. East Tennessee Pit Bull Rescue is one where the all-volunteer members are truly committed to the breed. “Educating the public is one of our main goals,” said Rebecca Pierce. “We are very careful to match the dog to the new home so it’s a good fit for both.

“We advocate for dogs in shelters and try to get them into foster homes so they can be socialized and become a family pet.” Pierce has two dogs of her own and fosters two others, including Tanner. “He is 2½ years old and is good with people and kids.”

With adoption comes the responsibility of caring for the new family member. Knox County Animal Control Unit Supervisor Sgt. Debbie Carter suggests going to the youngwilliams.org website and reviewing the resources section. “There is a lot of useful information for people thinking about adoption,” says Carter. “The drop-down menu has a link to all Knox County animal laws.

Leashing, barking and rabies shots are some of the basics you’ll need to know.”

Taking the time to consider your lifestyle and circumstances before adoption will help you make the right choice for you and your new pet.

Foster “mom” Rebecca Pierce with adoptable Tanner, a pit bull mix.

Pierce works with ET Pit Bull Rescue.

Photos by Margie Hagen

HVA seniors Alexis Graham and Lakin Inmon volunteered to man the YoungWilliams information booth. They both love animals and are earning community service hours for school.

Radio Systems Corp. staffers Ryan Casey and Tracy Muldor with Joey, her cocker spaniel mix. Joey was adopted through the Radio Systems grapevine.

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A-6 • April 26, 2017 • Shopper news

News from Mission of Hope

supporting higher education

Mission of Hope - through its mentoring program

By Carol Z. Shane

It’s obvious from this photo, taken last Christmas in one of the elementary schools that Mission of Hope serves, that mentor Shawna Dittrick and college student Summer Botts are good friends. Photo submitted

Among the many ways Mission of Hope (MOH) reaches out to the impoverished in rural Appalachia is through education programs and scholarships. “There’s a lot of despair in those communities,” says executive director Emmette Thompson. “And when it comes to breaking the cycle of poverty, the answer is almost always education.”

Thompson, his staff and volunteers spend much of their energies directed toward keeping kids in school through graduation.

From bringing backpacks filled with school supplies in September to holding “Pledge to Graduate” ceremonies throughout the year, and in many other ways, MOH supports school children in 28 rural Appalachian communities and encourages them to stay the course.

After graduation, many of them hope to attend college. Some will be the first in their family to pursue higher education. MOH’s scholarship endowments at Alice Lloyd College in Kentucky, Lincoln Memorial University and 13 rural high schools help the kids who want that sheepskin - the kids who want a better life for themselves, their families and their communities.

But the support doesn’t stop there. MOH also provides mentors for each of the young students they sponsor.

Like Summer Botts, who is in her sophomore year pursuing a degree in sociology with a concentration in social work from Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. Though her cousin graduated from that school last year, Botts is the first in her immediate family to go to college.

“My dad is more excited about it than I am!” she laughs. “Very soon I’ll be halfway done. It’s just flying by, it seems.”

Bott’s mentor, retired physical therapist Shawna Dittrick, has volunteered with MOH for 10 years as a co-captain of one of the elementary school teams, but this is her first stint as a mentor.

“We’ve been together for two years,” says

Dittrick. “She’s a special girl.”

Though the two do occasionally get together in person, they mostly spend time on the phone. Dittrick is always available to help Botts navigate the sometimes confusing, often overwhelming, occasionally exhausting world that is college. “I’m a resource for encouragement,” says Dittrick.

“If you’ve not had anyone in your family go to college before, you can’t really go to them with problems about the college experience.

We talk. We share a lot of prayer requests back and forth.”

Botts says that Dittrick has helped her so much. For one thing, she admits she was a little timid during her freshman year. “I kind of stayed secluded in my apartment. I was a little scared.” Eventually, she found friends through the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, and she loves her roommate who, like Botts, is a Christian. “So we can talk about the Bible and stuff. I’m really happy.”

She has high words of praise for her mentor. “She’s such a nice person. She’s so strong in her Christian faith. I’d like to be like Shawna.”

Botts says she wants to “jump right in to getting my master’s in social work, with the idea of being a counselor in a hospital setting - maybe a children’s hospital, or a guidance counselor in a middle school.” So, she likes kids? “Yes!” she says, “I love kids!”

Dittrick admires her driven young mentee. “She’s very dedicated to getting this education.” It’s a good fit, and the basis, no doubt, of a life-long friendship.

The Mission of Hope is a valuable resource for financial, material and spiritual support for needy populations in rural Appalachia. College mentors such as Shawna Dittrick represent one link in that chain of hope.

“We would be immensely grateful to anyone who deems our scholarship program worthy of their financial donation support,” Thompson adds. If you’d like to help MOH in any way, visit them at missionofhope.org or call 865-584-7571, toll free 877-627-1909.

“Lives Will Be Changed”...with your HELP! MISSION OF HOPE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM “...our goal is to provide them with the opportunity to secure a better future through education...”

You’ve grown up poor...perhaps even very poor. You’ve watched family member after family member become discouraged; drop out of school and lose sight and all hope of a better future. But you’ve decided you’re not going to continue that trend. In fact; you have even boldly dared to be that first person in your family to go to and graduate from college.

But there’s only one small problem...you desperately need help and someone to believe in you.

The Mission of Hope Scholarship Program is trying to help those that dare to dream. One of our Mission of Hope Scholarship endowments is at Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, KY; in honor of the Bill Williams family. Our other Mission of Hope endowment is at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, TN; in honor of the Andrew Courtney family. We also are giving High School Seniors Scholarships, valued at $2,500 each; at 13 High Schools in Communities where were are serving 28 Elementary Schools. Last year we assisted a total of 50 Scholars with awesome Scholarships; and now we want to award 13 NEW graduating High School Seniors with Scholarships along with continuing to help our other Scholarship Classes keep pressing forward.

HELP US MEET THAT CHALLENGE!

Dare to Dream!

Thank you for your support and for helping us encourage students to dream big and never lose HOPE. Mission of Hope PO Box 51824 Knoxville, TN 37950 865-584-7571 www.missionofhope. org

The Mission of Hope is a fully tax deductible non-profit (501c3) Appalachian relief organization.

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DONATE TODAY!

Shopper news • April 26, 2017 • A-7

Spring Festival at CrossPoint Church

By Carol Z. Shane Easter has come and gone, spring is here, and area churches are looking to Vacation Bible School and summer activities.

Some, like CrossPoint Church, are looking even farther out than that. On the first weekend in May, they’ll be holding a Spring Festival to finance their fall mission to Nicaragua. “We send a team down there every year,” says the Rev. Tim Parker, who will be attending.

CrossPoint’s team works closely with the Rev. Eric Weber, their “man on the ground” in Nicaragua who, Parker says, “works to and with other pastors in the impoverished ar-

eas around Grenada.” It’s a three-pronged initiative: first, needy families identif ied by Weber will receive food boxes.

“Some of them don’t know where their next Tim Parker meal is coming from,” says Parker.

The boxes contain supplies that will last a family for several weeks. Team members do house visits every day of the week that they are there.

Second, there will be a two-day men’s conference headed by Parker. During that time, the women of the

church will visit women in prison.

Third, funds will go toward labor and supplies for feeding programs in several area churches – instances where the hungry can come to the church for a hot meal.

“It’s a full week, believe me!” says Parker with a laugh.

And all you have to do to help is go out to CrossPoint and have a good time.

The event begins with a rummage sale on Friday, followed by the festival on Saturday. There will be a bake sale, grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, chips, drinks. Pickers who didn’t make it the day before won’t be disappointed; the

rummage sale will still be going on. Kids can enjoy face painting and a bounce house. There will be musical entertainment, possibly including some local stars – the Emerald Youth Foundation Choir. At the time of this writing, details were still being worked out; the choir has its own big deal event – a 25th anniversary breakfast – on that Friday morning.

CrossPoint’s Spring Festival event starts with a rummage sale from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, May 5, and a festival from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at CrossPoint Church, 2000 Loves Creek Road in Knoxville. Info: 865-936-1950 or visit crosspointknox.com.

Water a ministry for Corryton firm

By Shannon Carey Cross Connections, a fullservice plumbing company based in Corryton, was featured at last week’s meeting of the Halls Business and Professional Association.

Owner Dennis Jones said, “If water runs through it, we can do it.”

A master plumber, Jones previously handled plumbing for apartments. Now he’s heading a company that has a bigger mission.

“We protect (public drinking water) from backflow, but our whole business is ministry based,” he said. “We give back to the community. Just yesterday, we worked on ballfields in Oneida. Sometimes (nonprofits) buy the materials and we do the work.”

Cross Connections works for two utility companies and also does private plumbing. Services include:

■■Free repair estimates ■■24/7 plumbing service work ■■Plumbing inspections ■■Water line installations ■■Repair or replacement of all plumbing fixtures ■■Water leak repair ■■Water heater repair or replacement ■■Expansion tank installation, repair or replacement ■■Pressure reducer adjustment, repair or replacement ■■Water saver toilets, shower heads and faucets ■■Drain cleaning The company philosophy is to use God-given talents to help customers. Jones said his plumbers have free rein to adjust prices if circumstances warrant it.

The company specialty is cross connection services, working to keep pollutants

Team members of Cross Connections are Sam Darden, Tim Butler, Fran Houser, owner Dennis Jones and Josh Collins. out of public water systems.

“We inspect water systems to find potential issues of cross connection and install backflow devices to protect your water.” The company also installs fire sprinkler systems and irrigation systems.

Favorite nonprofits include Habitat for Humanity

Sojourning Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.

(Psalm 39:12 KJV) I know people who have lived for generations in the same community, my own family included. My ancestors walked across the mountains from North Carolina into what is now Tennessee when North Carolina reached from the Atlantic to the Mississippi.

Since I was born, however, I have lived in Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Tennessee (again), and North Carolina. My daughters are both “foreigners”: Jordan was born in West Virginia, and Eden in New Jersey.

There is merit in living for generations in one place. There is a rootedness there, a sense of history of one’s people.

There is also a true blessing in sojourning.

One learns new places, new people, new ways, and new understandings by moving around.

Sojourning is different from wandering, however.

Sojourning has purpose; wandering implies lack of direction.

There are, however, other, different ways of sojourning.

Cross Currents

Lynn Pitts

I am a reader. Through my books, I have traveled to places I have never seen: Finland, Australia, South Africa.

I always learn something. People who live in different places have different speech patterns, eat different foods, worship in different ways, and celebrate holidays in the manner of their forebears.

So, while it is nice to have roots, it is also fun to learn new ways, new sayings (as opposed to East Tennessee’s “Old Edwards Sayings”), new foods (Yum!), new traditions, and most of all to find new friends.

My advice is this: Get moving, go somewhere you haven’t been, look around, listen to the natives, and learn something you didn’t know!

It will expand your world forever. Get going!

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and the Humane Society in Union County. Organizations include the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts, American Backflow Prevention Association, Tennessee Backflow and the Halls BPA. Info: 7432 Casselberry Lane, Corryton. 865-4846093.

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■■ AARP Driver Safety class, noon-4 p.m. WednesdayThursday, May 17-18, O’Connor Senior Center, 611 Winona St. Info/registration: George Hancock, 865-3688294.

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A-8 • April 26, 2017 • Shopper news

Bench seats and colorful paintings add a bright touch to the newly renovated dining area at The bar area features enough seating for a group of thirsty golfers and a television to enjoy the Holston Hills Country Club. Photos by Ruth White latest game.

A multimillion-dollar clubhouse renovation for Holston Hills

By Carol Z. Shane The name Donald Ross may not mean much to the general public, but to golf aficionados it’s a very important name indeed.

Born in Scotland in 1872, he spent most of his adult life as an American citizen, designing or redesigning around 400 golf courses beginning in 1900, and continuing throughout the sport’s “golden age” from 1910-1940. He died in Raleigh, N.C., while completing his final design for that city’s country club.

Knoxville’s own Holston Hills Country Club is home to one of Ross’ best-maintained courses, consistently ranked among the country’s top 100

by Golf Magazine and within the top 100 classical golf courses by Golfweek magazine. Holston Hills’ direc-

tor of golf, Chris Dibble, has been there for 25 years, and is pleased with the condition and upkeep of this local gem.

“The membership has been very diligent in maintaining the original design as close as possible,” he says. “There are no current plans for any work to be done on the golf course.”

The clubhouse, however, is a different story.

Built in 1927, it contains the warm woods, spacious fireplace and soaring roof beams typical of its era. But in 90 years, it’s gotten a little down-at-the-heels.

Which leads us to the golf aficionados mentioned above. Among that breed, you’ll find no bigger fans than the folks at McConnell Golf, centered in Raleigh. They know a treasure they bought Holston Hills currently overseeing a mulwhen they see one. In 2016, Country Club. And they’re timillion-dollar restoration

HEALTH NOTES ■■ “Joint Pain, Don’t Let It Slow You Down,” a free orthopedics seminar presented by Tennova Healthcare. Turkey Creek Medical Center Johnson Conference Center, 10820 Parkside Drive:

1-2 p.m. Wednesday, May 3; 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Tuesday, May 23. Register at least one day prior to seminar. Info/registration: tennovaortho.com or 1-855-TENNOVA (836-6682).

■■ Tennova’s Mother’s Day Mammogram Special, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the following locations:

of the clubhouse.

Kelly Headden, senior vice president of BarberMcMurry Architects, headed up the project. Headden is a busy man; he’s also the architect behind the colossal renovation of Sacred Heart Cathedral on Northshore Drive. He says that McConnell Golf’s involvement with Holston Hills is the very thing that compelled his firm to come on board.

“That’s the only reason we accepted this project,” he says. “They’re super folks.”

As is usually the case with an older building, there have been renovations done throughout the years.

“In the late 1960s and ’70s, membership was booming,” says Headden. “The renovations done then were not bad, but not researched. Our aim is to bring those later

Wednesday, May 10, Physicians Regional Medical Center, 900 East Oak Hill Ave.; Thursday, May 11, Turkey Creek Medical Center, 10820 Parkside Drive; Friday, May 12, North Knoxville Medical Center, 7565 Dannaher Drive. Appointments required. Info/appointment: 865-545-7771.

additions closer to the level of the original construction.

It’s taken a lot longer than anyone expected to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s!”

Improvements include a modern kitchen, fitness center, kids’ room and newly created lounge space. Newer technology and automotive trends have also been taken into account; to the entry, Headden has added a formal drop-off area “that works with the modern car and contemporary sized vehicles.”

According to Robert Arrington, the field contractor working with Creative Structures, the general contractor for the project, renovations are scheduled to be completed by the end of May, “weather permitting.”

Headden says, “We’re excited to have been involved in it.”

■■ Peninsula Lighthouse Group of Families Anonymous meetings, 6:15-7:15 p.m. each Tuesday, 1451 Dowell Springs Blvd. Newcomers welcome; no dues/fees; no sign-up; first names only. Info: Barbara L., 865-696-6606 or peninsulafa2@aol.com.

News from EyeXcel

Dr. Gilliland provides expert eye care, low vision specialty Dr. Bruce Gilliland provides expert eye care to patients of all ages and specialty care to those with visual impairment (low vision). This condition affects more than 14 million Americans and often is the result of eye diseases, hereditary conditions and stroke/brain injury. Dr. Gilliland offers the only low vision specialty clinic in our area of East Tennessee.

On any given day at EyeXcel, you can hear someone humming, whistling or singing a tune. That is Dr. Gilliland sharing the music he loves – whether he’s whistling in the hallways, playing the organ at church on Sunday, or unwinding at the piano after work.

For Dr. Gilliland, helping patients to maximize their vision so they can do the things they love, too, is a source of

great satisfaction.

Now with more than 20 years experience in optometry, Dr. Gilliland was drawn to low vision care during his early training. Low vision is a condition characterized by a level of vision that is 20/60 or worse and that cannot be fully corrected with medical treatment, surgery or conventional glasses. Dr. Gilliland’s skilled evaluation and treatment of low vision at EyeXcel offers patients an array of good options. “Just seeing the patient light up when they can finally see what they were missing means so much,” he said.

Most eye care specialists neglect treatment of low vision. Often, patients hear “There is nothing we can do for you.” At EyeXcel, low vision patients benefit from an approach that involves

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careful evaluation, teamwork and a range of individualized magnification devices. “In most cases, we can find tools and adaptive techniques that can bring back independence and improve the quality of life,” Dr. Gilliland said.

One of Dr. Gilliland’s primary interests is neurologic conditions affecting vision. These might be the effects of stroke or brain injury on the visual process or how neurologic diseases such as multiple sclerosis bring about other visual limitations. He continually monitors the latest research on ways that lenses, prisms and vision therapy improve the ability of the patient to manage these conditions.

Dr. Gilliland enjoys getting to know his patients, and can be found kidding with them at every visit. They include the veterans he meets as vision rehabilitation consultant for the Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics. It is a joy when patients who have suffered devastating loss of independence through low vision can read the newspaper or see the faces of loved ones again using magnification devices. Or a child with visual impairment learns to read with a telescope for the first time. The smile on that child’s face along with

Dr. Bruce Gilliland helps a patient select a magnification device, one aspect of treatment for low vision.

the tears of the parents make a wonderful experience.

Dr. Gilliland is proud of Traci, his wife of 23 years and a clinical pharmacist at a local hospital, and their children: Abby, a high school junior, and Ian, an eighth-grader. He earned his undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University and his Doctorate of Optometry in 1994 at the Southern College of Optometry.

715 Callahan Dr. 865-687-1232 www.eyexceltn.com

Shopper news • April 26, 2017 • A-9

Cancer Relay for Life ready to step off A full evening of events to beat cancer is on tap Friday, May 5, from 5-11 p.m. at the American Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life at Melton Hill Park in Oak Ridge.

Music, a live auction, a twilight 5K run and walk and luminaria ceremony for cancer victims and survivors are on tap.

This will be the first year that the former Oak Ridge and Clinton events have combined into one larger event. The goal this year is to raise at least $72,000, with about $40,000 left to go.

The schedule of events:

4:30 p.m. – Survivor Registration / Tent Open 5:30 p.m. – Opening Ceremony and Parade of Teams 6 p.m. – Survivor Ceremony 6:30 p.m. – Barry Jolly-acoustic guitar and singing 7 p.m. – Live auction with Zach Farrar 7:30 p.m. – Shackdaddy-Southern rock 8 p.m. – Twilight 5K run and walk 8:30 p.m. – The Tenos BandBluegrass 9:30 p.m. – Luminaria Ceremony 5K run awards follow the Luminaria Ceremony 10:30 pm. – Closing ceremony

BIZ NOTES

COMMUNITY NOTES

■■ Destinee Dowdy has joined Moxley Carmichael as public relations specialist.

Dowdy came to the firm as an intern while attending UT and continued as the full-time Dowdy lead intern after graduating in December.

■■ East Knoxville Cleanup, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 29.

Sponsored by Keep Knoxville Beautiful. Meet at Eternal Life Harvest Center Plaza, 2410 MLK Jr. Ave. Snacks and beverages available. Registration free and open to all ages. Info/registration: http:// tinyurl.com/hlgqg4b.

■■ Mickey Blazer has been appointed to the newly combined position of Executive Vice President of Pharmacy and Fuel Operations for Food City. Blazer brings more than 40 years of industry Blazer knowledge and experience to the position, including six years in pharmacy management. His new duties consist of the oversight of both fuel and pharmacy operations for the entire 134-store supermarket chain, which includes 101 pharmacies and 95 fuel/convenience stores.

from around the world – tacos and nachos with fixin’s, Guinness beef stew, hot dogs and chili, pizza, sno cones, Honduran coffee, sweet treats, baked goods and more.

Kids activities include bounce house, face-painting and dunking booth.

The Oak Ridge Veterinary team led by Dr. Kristin Novinger will host a cornhole tournament that will feature $200 in Visa gift cards to winners.

Teams will have opportunities to sign up to win variA food truck from Pit ous items.

Registration is available Barbecue will be there, and teams will be selling foods online at runsignup.com by

■■ Alice Bell Spring Hill Neighborhood Association. Info: Ronnie Collins, 865-637-9630.

■■ Beaumont Community Organization. Info: Natasha Murphy, 865-936-0139.

■■ Belle Morris Community Action Group. Info: bellemorris. com or Rick Wilen, 865-524-5008.

■■ Chilhowee Park Neighborhood Association. Info: Paul Ruff, 865-696-6584.

■■ Colonial Village Neighborhood Association. Info: Terry Caruthers, 865-579-5702, t_caruthers@hotmail.com.

■■ Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association. Info: edgewoodpark.us.

■■ Lake Forest Neighborhood Association. Info: Molly Gilbert, 865-209-1820 or molly gilbert@yahoo.com.

■■ Lindbergh Forest Neighborhood Association. Info: Kelley DeLuca, 865-660-4728,

kelleydeluca@gmail.com.

typing in Anderson County, which will take you to the event page. You may join a team of your choice or participate as an individual.

The cost to participate is $40 but will increase to $45 if you register at the event between 6:45 and 8 p.m. All participants will receive a race T-shirt.

Relay For Life events are held in over 5,200 communities nationwide and 27 countries. It is the world’s

■■ Old Sevier Community Group. Info: Gary E. Deitsch, 865-573-7355 or garyedeitsch@bellsouth.net.

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■■ South Haven Neighborhood Association. Info: Pat Harmon, 865-591-3958.

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■■ South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association. Info: Shelley Conklin, 865-686-6789.

■■ South-Doyle Neighborhood Association. Info: Mark Mugford, 865-609-9226 or marksidea@aol.com.

largest fundraising event to fight every cancer in every community. Individuals and teams set up campsites with the goal of keeping at least one team member walking at all times to signify that cancer never sleeps.

“Cancer patients don’t stop because they’re tired, and for one evening, neither do we,” said Kim Monroe, event chair.

“This is a great way to show your support for any-

one who has survived their battle with cancer, to remember someone you have lost to cancer and to fight back by helping raise money for research so hopefully you or a family member won’t be the next one diagnosed with this terrible disease.”

For more information, call Kelly Lenz at 457-1649 or email at cptcklenz@aol. com. You may also visit relayforlife.org/andersontn.

connecting people and nature since 1969

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■■ Vestal Community Organization. Info: Katherine Johnson, 865-566-1198.

■■ South Knox Republican Club. Info: Kevin Teeters, kevinteeters018@gmail.com.

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■■ South of the River Democrats (9th District). Info: Debbie Helsley, 865-789-8875, or Brandon Hamilton, 865809-3685.

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■■ First District Democrats.

Info: Harold Middlebrook, haroldmiddlebrook@gmail. com; Mary Wilson, marytheprez@ yahoo.com.

■■ Historic Fourth & Gill Neighborhood Organization. Info: Liz Upchurch, 865-898-1809, lizupchurch1@gmail.com.

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Jeff would like to invite all former students, colleagues and neighbors interested in buying a new or pre-owned cars to come visit him.

May 27 - Orchid Repotting Like a Pro - Rich Gettings, Smoky Mountain Orchid Society

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A-10 • April 26, 2017 • Shopper news

Farmers market still ‘growing’ strong

Union County Farmers Market organizers Beth Bergeron and Donna Riddle hold trays of plants in one of the high tunnels at Seven Springs Farm. The farmers market will open for the season Saturday, May 6. Photo by S. Carey

By Shannon Carey The Union County Farmers Market opened for its first season in the summer of 2011. Back then, they had about eight vendors, a startup grant from the East Tennessee Community Foundation and a vision.

This year, they’ve got more than 20 vendors to start the season. And they’ve still got that vision.

Beth Bergeron coordinates the farmers market out of the Union County UT Extension, and Donna Riddle serves on the board.

They said that their vision has always included folks buying local products and eating local foods, but it’s more than that. They want the farmers market to be a place where the community comes together, where farmers meet and exchange ideas, where people just have a good time.

And they’ve succeeded.

Even on days when there’s not much foot traffic, the farmers and vendors are talking, having fun, and even grilling out.

There have been challenges along the road. Finding vendors was one. Another was helping customers understand that “more isn’t

necessarily better.”

“I think they’re wowed by volume,” said Bergeron.

“They think that if you’re not big, you can’t meet their needs.”

Those 20-plus vendors run the gamut, though.

From produce to farmfresh meat to local honey to nursery plants and more, there’s more than enough at the Union County Farmers Market to fill any fridge.

“We have the whole gamut,” said Riddle. “People can choose the food system they want, but our farmers’ produce has been picked in the last 24 hours in most cases.”

What’s more, several farmers market vendors this year are farm businesses owned by local youths, students who are learning the farming way of life, hoping to pay their way to college and keeping their family farms viable.

Advertising for the farmers market has reached down into Knox County, and organizers hope to draw folks from outside Union County to shop up there.

This year’s Union County Farmers Market season kicks off Saturday, May 6, with a gala grand opening

market running 9 a.m. to noon at Wilson Park that day. Top Flight BBQ will serve downhome breakfast and lunch. Eric Holcomb and Friends will play live bluegrass music starting at 10 a.m., and FSG Bank will sponsor Derby-themed children’s activities. UT Extension Agent Becca Hughes will use the ample greens available from the vendors to demonstrate making and dressing salads with local herbs.

The market will be 9 a.m. to noon at Wilson Park throughout the season, with special events to be held every second Saturday. Sweetly Smuckers will visit the market May 13, with their famous doughnuts and pretzels.

Bergeron said the Union County Farmers Market is going through the process to be able to accept SNAP benefits, and they should be set up for that later in the season.

The starting slate of vendors includes: Fall Creek Apiary, Guzzle Hollow Farm, Hill Top Farm, Jones and Company Meat Sales and True Vine Farm.

For updates, search “Union County Farmers Market” on Facebook.

Pictured at the event are Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, KUB president and CEO Mintha Roach and City of Knoxville public service area manager Alex Neubert. The station is at 1820 Third Creek Road and is open to the public 24 hours. Photo submitted

Compressed natural gas good for environment Knoxville Utilities Board recently celebrated the opening of Knoxville’s first public compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station. The event also celebrated receipt of a grant from the Tennessee Department of Energy and Conservation to help expand KUB’s fleet of alternative fuel vehicles. CNG is an environmentally friendly gasoline and diesel alternative and powers the cleanest vehicles in commercial production today.

Mayor Madeline Rogero praised the station as being good for the city and the state,

saying, “This station bolsters our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and makes Knoxville greener.”

Natural gas vehicles, fueled by CNG, are available for all vehicle classes from lightduty compact cars to heavy-duty buses, refuse trucks and semis. It is possible to convert a traditional vehicle to one that runs on CNG. Light-duty vehicles currently include the Chevrolet Impala and Silverado 2500, Dodge Ram 2500, Ford F-150 and F-250 pickups, Chevrolet Savana vans and Ford Transit and Transit Connect vans.

Pharmacist Watts earns John McNiel Award Celeste Watts, R.Ph., pharmacy manager for the Etowah, Tenn., Food City Pharmacy, is the recipient of the 2017 John McNiel Customer Service Award. She is a graduate of Sanford University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy and a certification through the American Pharmacists Association in medication Celeste Watts therapy management, immunization delivery and diabetes and asthma education. Watts has been with the company for more than 23 years.

“Food City is dedicated to providing our loyal customers with exceptional customer service. We created the John McNiel Award to recognize pharmacists who embody that commitment,” says Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer.

“Celeste is devoted to her customers and ensuring they receive the best possible care and service. She is a tremendous asset, not only to our company, but to the region as a whole, and we certainly congratulate her on this great honor.”

Each year, Food City recognizes a pharmacist from their two operating divisions for their outstanding customer service achievements. Watts was named this year’s award recipient for Food City’s Knoxville/ Chattanooga Division. The award was established in honor of John McNiel, Food City’s first pharmacist. The company opened its pilot pharmacy location in Harlan, Ky., in 1997. McNiel’s success, due primarily to his outstanding customer service and care for his patients, led in large part to the company’s expansion of the pharmacy concept. Today, Food City operates 101 pharmacies throughout its 134 store supermarket chain.

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Shopper news • April 26, 2017 • A-11

Lloyd Daugherty papers to be digitized, preserved Lloyd Daugherty would have been 60 this year.

Well known as a political strategist and for his syndicated “Dixie Angler” radio show, the affable, articulate Knoxvillian was a go-to interview for national media outlets looking for a Southern point of view.

When he died nearly three years ago from the ravages of diabetes, he left a trove of archival material stacked up in a closet at the office of the Tennessee Conservative Union, which he chaired for many years.

His fiancée, Keitha Kelley (whom he called his chief of staff), ran the office, and after his death, it took awhile before she felt up to cataloguing the stacks of notebooks, binders and clippings that memorialized his work from 1990-2006.

Soon as she was able, she gritted her teeth and got to it. She has completed the job and handed the material over to Daugherty’s successor as TCU chair, Gary Loe, who plans to digitize it and make it available to future researchers, or anyone who is interested.

“I would have to say there are thousands of clips,” Kelley said. “Every notebook had several hundred entries, from ‘Ear to the

Betty Bean Ground’ (a gossip column in the now-defunct Metro Pulse) mentions to fullpage USA Today articles. He saved everything, and he’d send me out to buy multiple copies. I’m glad he did, or we would have lost all this history.”

One example is TCU’s long battle with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance, which tried to force the organization to hand over its donor list.

This came on the heels of TCU’s successful campaign to unseat Supreme Court Justice Penny White, whom Daugherty believed was insufficiently supportive of the death penalty.

TCU prevailed despite accusations that Daugherty and TCU president John Davies were nothing more than two guys and a fax machine.

Daugherty relished the insults and was tickled when then-Gov. Don Sundquist called TCU a bunch of Neanderthals and Al Gore branded them “powerful and dangerous.”

He took on plenty of other fights over the years,

Lloyd Daugherty circa 2003 even as his health started to fail him, and soldiered on after he lost a leg in 1997.

“Lloyd did so great with his prosthesis. He wore shorts so much of the time and when we went out to eat, he’d ask, ‘Hey, do you give a one-legged discount?’ He’d tell kids a gator bit his leg off. He was just so grateful to have lived through it.”

Diabetes took its toll as the years passed, and by early 2014, he was desperately ill, but still unbowed. He bucked the Tennessee Republican Party by making a video opposing mountaintop removal coal

mining. Months later, just before he was transferred to Vanderbilt for a risky heart procedure, he dictated a press release from his hospital bed in the Intensive Care Unit at Parkwest Hospital. He died a few weeks later in a Nashville rehabilitation facility.

In addition to a metric ton of clippings, Daugherty left speech outlines, letters, cards, and clippings.

It’ll take awhile to work through, but could become a significant source of research material from the archives of a one-of-a-kind Southern maverick.

Vol fans, watch NFL draft at own risk University of Tennessee football fans actually have a valid reason to watch this week’s NFL Draft.

Pretty weird, right?

After all, no Vol was drafted in 2016. No Tennessee player was selected in 2015, either.

And it wasn’t like the 2014 NFL Draft did the Vols a favor. Sure, offensive lineman Ja’Wuan James went 19th overall to the Dolphins. Other than him, Tennessee boasted just a pair of sixth-rounders in linemen Zach Fulton and Daniel McCullers.

That’s a three-year span that an FCS school would brag about. Not a storied SEC program. You’re not going to sway an Alabama five-star verbal commitment over to Tennessee with that kind of résumé.

This time around, though, five – maybe six – Tennessee football players are expected to be drafted, the most since six Vols were selected in the 2010 NFL Draft.

But I’m curious as to how the Tennessee fan base will react.

When the NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night

Jesse Smithey

and defensive lineman Derek Barnett goes in the top 10 or 15, will Tennessee fans rejoice?

When all-purpose offensive back Alvin Kamara possibly sneaks into the latter picks of the first round, will Vol fans tweet it up?

What about when those two picks snowball into quarterback Josh Dobbs, defensive back Cam Sutton and receiver Josh Malone going in the first 4-5 rounds? Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin may get drafted, too. Will Tennessee fans enjoy it and genuinely be happy for the program and those players?

I suspect that will be next to impossible.

Because, save for Dobbs getting drafted, you’ll probably just get upset again if you’re a Tennessee fan. You’ll only be reminded of what should have been this past fall, when

the Vols were the clear favorites to win the SEC East and to return to a highprofile bowl game.

When Barnett gets drafted, you’ll say: “How was the defense that bad with him up front? He broke Reggie White’s sack record!”

When Kamara gets picked, you’ll say: “Why didn’t Butch Jones use him more?”

When Sutton goes, you’ll say: “I thought he’d have played better this past season.”

Then the demons will take hold and you’ll be reminded of the Texas A&M loss and how Tennessee inexcusably lost (coming off a bye) to a putrid South Carolina team with a nobody quarterback.

And then, the Vanderbilt loss that ended up sending Tennessee to the Music City Bowl will resurface and your whole weekend will be ruined.

Yeah.

So. Maybe you shouldn’t watch the NFL Draft at all.

I’ll save you the trouble. The first round will take hours. The Cleveland

e ng ar hiri ons e W ntly siti ce. o fi rre ll p r of u a c r ou fo at

Does UT get bang for lobbyist buck?

The University of Tennessee spends over a half-million dollars a year running its Nashville lobbying office to influence the legislature and state government. The top dog there is Anthony Haynes, who makes $201,088 a year with a pay raise due in July. But he has four others who help him – Carey Whitworth at $80,000; Lou Hanemann at $93,000; Valerie Yancey at $98,500.

Connie Cantrell comes in 2 days a week at $31.29 an hour when the other four are overwhelmed with work.

Office space is $40,107 a year at $23.32 per square foot. These figures do not include retirement benefits, and the legislature is in session only four months of the year. So there is interest in what these folks do the other eight months of the year. It is hard to believe there is much heavy lifting when the legislature is away.

UT Chancellor Beverly Davenport still has not responded to letters sent more than seven weeks ago from State Rep. Jimmy Matlock and Martin Daniel.

There should be a 10-day turnaround for all members of the General Assembly.

Hard to tell what is going on here.

■■ House Speaker Beth Harwell will likely conclude her service as speaker in November 2018 as she either runs for governor or simply retires from the state House.

The gas tax had Harwell on every side of this issue from support to opposition depending on the day of the week. It was enacted without her being a significant factor either way. She is actually a smart person with keen knowledge of issues but often seen as indecisive. A race for governor next year could be uphill for her given

Victor Ashe

these difficult issues.

Gov. Bill Haslam, meanwhile, waded into the gas tax issue by working the phones overtime calling legislators. For some of these lawmakers, talking with the governor is the first time they have had a conversation one on one for an extended period with him in their whole career. It helped pass the tax hike.

The House was where the issue was most closely divided, with Democrats deciding the issue as the House GOP was almost evenly split. The big question is what was promised the Democrats, who are normally irrelevant, on the one occasion when their votes decided the issue.

Something was promised but no one is really talking. Time will tell soon.

■■ KUB CEO Mintha Roach turns 65 on Saturday, April 29. She previously headed up the Knoxville city civil service system prior to joining KUB over 20 years ago.

She has led KUB since the death of CEO Larry Fleming. West Knox County Commissioner John Schoomaker turns 63 on Monday, May 1.

■■ Mayor Madeline Rogero’s annual State of the City address is Friday, April 28, at Suttree Landing Park, 1001 Waterfront Drive on the river in South Knoxville.

It is open to the public and a bag lunch is served. It is a popular event and worth going. Be there by 11:30 for a good seat. The Park is a new one and a credit to the city.

City lauds development Several community development projects were recognized recently at the city’s Equity Awards. The honorees: ■■ Positively Living’s Supportive Housing Program provides housing and case management to men living with a combination of mental illness, substance abuse and catastrophic illness.

■■ Kennie Riffey and Second Story Construction tackle difficult and complex repairs in their work on owneroccupied rehabilitation projects. Riffey also provides job training and work experience to unemployed residents.

■■ Jason Stevens, Brian Hann and

Diane Reynolds, and the owners of SoKno Taco Cantina took a vacant, blighted building on a significant intersection in South Knoxville and turned it into a vibrant restaurant, taqueria and social hub. The project, which utilized a grant from the city, also created 50 jobs.

■■ Patricia Neal Innovative Recreation Co-op helps people with disabilities through adaptive recreational activities.

■■ East Tennessee Community Design Center and Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum received the new Community Impact award.

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Browns have the first overall pick and screw it up.

Again.

Texas A&M defensive lineman Myles Garrett will inexplicably get selected before Tennessee’s Barnett, even though Barnett outperformed him in SEC play.

And countless offensive linemen, who you’ve never heard of and likely won’t again, will go in the first round.

But if you, Tennessee fan, must watch, it all starts at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 27, on ESPN. Good luck.

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A-12 • April 26, 2017 • Shopper news

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