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A great community newspaper
VOL. 7 NO. 7
IN THIS ISSUE
February 18, 2012
‘Let me call you sweetheart’ By Cindy Taylor
An Eagle who soars
Union County residents continue to make history. Union County Eagle Scout Caleb Branum was recently honored with a state Senate proclamation congratulating him for obtaining that rank in the Boy Scouts of America. The proclamation was sponsored by state Sen. Mike Faulk and signed by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.
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See Cindy’s story on page 4
High on the hog When does a Bull kill a hog? According to Earl Bull, not until temperatures drop into the 20s for two or three days in a row. While most of us have been enjoying the spring-like temperatures and sunny weather that have prevailed in Tennessee this winter, Bull has been biding his time.
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See Cindy’s story on page 6
HMMS wins district Congratulations are in order for the Horace Maynard Middle School girls basketball team and coaches Gary Chandler, Josh Orrick and Chelsea Chandler. The team is the first girls basketball team in the school’s history to win a district championship.
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See Cindy’s story on page 5
Feb. 11 was an inviting night to be out despite the cold as folks escorted their sweethearts and friends for dinner at the Historic Captain Charles Smith Home in Plainview. The Sweetheart Dinner is the first in what Preservation Union County hopes will be a series of fundraising dinners. Those attending received a guided tour of the home from current owner Melinda Wilson Sharpe and were treated to stories about the history of the house, its contents (some original and some reproductions) and the renovations that have been done through the years. Funds raised from this event are allocated for the continued restoration of Oak Grove School. Along with that restoration, the organization has assisted with the placing of historic markers in the county, applications for placing properties on the National Register of Historic Places and Tennessee Century Farms. The Hamilton-Tolliver log house and farm, owned by Irene Tolliver Hamilton, is now on the register as well as the Hamilton-Lay store thanks in part to Preservation Union County. Union County also has eight farms listed as Century Farms. “We have already received support from many of those here tonight,” said board member Betty Bullen. “Preserving our heritage in Union County is important to all of us, and Preservation Union County is working toward that.” Dinner consisted of hors d’oeurves, two entrees, assorted vegetables, homemade bread and a sweetheart of a dessert: heartshaped brownies with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Dinner was prepared and served by Preservation Union County members with assistance from Food City and Wanda Byer- Award-winning violinist Autumn Arsenault, 11, provided the musical entertainment for guests during the Preservaley. James Perry and Stan Bullen tion Union County Sweetheart Dinner at the renovated Captain Charles Smith Home in Plainview. See more scenes from the Sweetheart Dinner on page A-2. Photo by C. Taylor helped set up.
County grabs Chamber funds Hotel/motel tax now line item By Cindy Taylor
Index Business Government/Politics Community Kids
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4509 Doris Circle 37918 (865) 922-4136 news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Cindy Taylor brentcindyt@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES Brandi Davis davisb@ShopperNewsNow.com Shopper-News is a member of KNS Media Group, published weekly at 4509 Doris Circle, Knoxville, TN, and distributed to 11,000 homes in Union County.
During the Union County Commission meeting Feb. 13, the commission voted to oversee how the Chamber of Commerce spends tourism dollars and to adopt a report-andrequest system for allocating funds to the Chamber. “I’m sure everyone is aware of what happened in a county adjacent to us with money going into their Chamber,” said Mayor Mike Williams. “We’re not accusing anybody of anything, but we think this commission is better suited to handle the way money is expended with our Chamber, so we are looking at giving them a set budget.” Williams said that for the past several years the
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commission has given the chamber $7,500 to $10,000, and in 2011 the chamber received $24,000 from the hotel/motel tax in addition to the $9,000 that was requested. “We’re just trying to keep them accountable,” said Williams. “When everything else in our county is having a shortage of money, we need to make sure we monitor that money and it goes into a fund where the County Commission has input to how it is spent.” When the commission voted in May 2010 to establish a hotel/motel tax, they also voted to appropriate the net proceeds of the tax to the Union County Chamber of Commerce to be paid quarterly. According to Chamber of Commerce president Julie Graham, the funds
have never been dispersed to the Chamber in a timely manner, and the Chamber budget is completely transparent. Graham was unable to attend the Commission meeting but said later that her salary has been $1,000 per month since 2008 and comes entirely from membership dues, not from hotel/motel tax. “We (the Chamber board) have been trying to get a meeting with the mayor since the beginning of January to discuss tourism and how we have used the dollars from the hotel/ motel tax,” said Graham. “Not one dime can be spent from this tax for anything except tourism, and that is exactly what we have done with it.” Williams responded that he does have a meeting with the Chamber board
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Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Sharp addresses Union County Commission regarding equipment for police vehicles. Photo by C. Taylor set up for late February. “I often have other meetings that take priority that have to do with county money and these often happen at the same time as the Chamber meetings,” said Williams. “I do keep in touch with board members outside of the regular meetings.” The commission voted 16-1 to set up a line item for the hotel/motel tax with all the money coming into the county budget. In
the future, the Commission will vote on where and how to disperse the funds when the Chamber board makes a request for tourism funds. Commissioner Mike Sexton was the one dissenting vote. “This tax can only be used to promote tourism,” said Sexton. “Who in this commission thinks they can promote tourism betTo page A-3
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