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A great community newspaper
VOL. 7 NO. 15
IN THIS ISSUE
April 14, 2012
Bits n’ Pieces Quilt Guild members who won at the Smoky Mountain Quilt Show are: (seated) Lynda Wallace, Judy Ebbert, Sally Wyrick; (standing) Cyndi Herrmann and Loretta Painter. Photo by C. Taylor
Hoppin’ fun!
Almost 7,000 people attended the 14th annual Easter Egg Hunt at Big Ridge State Park on April 7. About a third of the attendees were children hoping to score a grand prize from the 12,000 eggs that were filled with toys, candy and prizes.
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POSTAL CUSTOMER
See Cindy’s story on page 6
Maps, budgets, barking dogs It’s budget time once again for county government. Union County Commission spent much of the April meeting in listening mode as departments presented their financial plans for 2012-2013. But, two residents had more on their mind than the finances of the county.
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See Cindy’s story on page 3
From beds to benches Sometimes retirement can be a blessing, and on occasion that blessing can bleed over into a community asset. Lynn Sexton is just that. His lifelong hobby is building furniture and hand-crafted items from new and found wood. He also fashions new pieces from antiques. Sexton retired from Union County Schools a couple of years ago. Working with wood had always been a fun thing for Sexton, but when he retired he began spending more of his time in his wood shop.
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See Down-home update on page 5
Winning by a yard By Cindy Taylor Union County quilters and members of the Bits n’ Pieces Quilt Guild brought home recognition and ribbons from the Smoky Mountain Quilt Show held in March. Cyndi Herrmann and Judy Ebbert, both of Union County, received ribbons and recognition for their quilts. Guild members who entered and won were: Leona Hardin, Best of
Show Wall Quilt; Lorretta Painter, first place Bed Quilts Pieced, first place Wall Quilts Appliqué/Mixed Techniques, first place TwoPerson Team (quilted by Cyndi Herrmann), second place Kids Quilts and Lap Quilts. Cyndi Herrmann won first place in Kids Quilts with “Poppyseed’s Jungle.” Lynda Wallace won second place in Lap Quilts. Judy Ebbert won third place in Two-Person Team (quilted by Cyndi Herrmann) and an
honorable mention in Pictorial for “I Love Barns.” Sally Wyrick won third place in Wall Quilt – Pieced. The Smoky Mountain Quilters presented the 32nd annual Quilt Show and Competition on March 23-25 at Maryville College. More than 175 quilts from across East Tennessee were showcased, making winning in this elite show a true testament to the talents of those who entered.
Prayer changes things The Union County Business and Professional Association sponsored the annual Prayer Breakfast on April 6, and special guest speaker was Jared Graves, who is combating drug and alcohol abuse in the county. He credited the success of the anti-drug movement in Union County to community prayer.
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See Cindy’s story on page 4
Index Business Government/Politics Community Down-home Update Marvin West Lynn Hutton Kids
2 3 4 5 7 7 8-9
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.
And this feels like home.” But back to the Weatherford Award – Berea College and the Appalachian Studies Association give it annually to the authors of one work of fiction, one book of poetry and one nonfiction book that (quoting from the online description) “best illuminate the challenges, personalities and unique qualities of the Appalachian South.” It has become one of the most prestigious awards in the region. Past winners include Charles Frazier, who won for his 1997 best seller “Cold Mountain” and again this year for his new book, “Nightwoods.” So it’s pretty understandable that Graves considered himself a decided underdog. “I feel like it was a major upset,” he said. “A couple of my real heroes were also nominated this year. Wendell Berry and Ron Jesse Graves Photo submitted Rash both had poetry books nominated this year. I thought I had no shot and I was just glad to “I looked at the job list, saw be nominated.” Another reason he was surthis one and thought, ‘That’s the prised was due to his colleagues’ only job in the country I’d like.’ I’d buttoning their lips. Usually the been offered a job in West Virginwinners get an inkling of what’s ia, up in the northern panhandle. going to happen when they get an It was a job, and I was going to invitation to the awards banquet. have to take it (remember, he’s an But Graves was already slated to English major), but then I got the attend the event, an Appalachian interview here. I’ve lived in more Studies conference, so the chair interesting places, but I haven’t of the awards committee was lived in places that felt like home. able to preserve the suspense.
Sharps Chapel poet wins national award By Betty Bean Jesse Graves probably shouldn’t have been surprised when he heard his name called at that awards banquet because a lot of things have been going his way lately. But, still, it’s a rare thing when a group of colleagues successfully keeps a secret as big as the identity of the winner of the Weatherford Award for Poetry. Actually, he’s Dr. Jesse Graves, holder of a 2009 doctorate from UT and a 1991 diploma from Horace Maynard High School. He’s been an English professor at East Tennessee State University for the last three years. He teaches poetry writing and British literature. He also coordinates the English honors program and is doing some work with the school’s highly regarded Appalachian Studies Department. He’s very happy to be in Johnson City, just two hours away from his Sharps Chapel homeplace. It has worked out well for the Graves family (meaning Jesse; his wife, Lisa; and his 13-year-old daughter Chloe, as well his parents, Joyce and Hugh).
Before Inventory Clearance
The book’s title is “Tennessee Landscape with Blighted Pine, Poems,” and it is available on Amazon, where it received a glowing review from the abovementioned Ron Rash, who said: “ ‘Tennessee Landscape with Blighted Pine’ is more than an extraordinary first book. These poems have the music, wisdom and singular voice of a talent fully realized, and make abundantly clear that Jesse Graves is one of America’s finest young poets.” As for what’s next, Graves says he thinks he has started working on a novel, maybe. But at this stage it’s hard to say, because he’s been down this road before. “I always think I’m writing fiction and end up writing poetry,” he said. “But this time I’ve got a few pages of something I think is going to have to stay.” And what is the difference between writing poetry and fiction? “There’s an audience for novels,” he said. Either way, it’s a pretty good bet that Sharp’s Chapel will find its way into whatever he ends up doing. “It just ends up in everything I write one way or another,” he said. “Even poems that don’t have any direct relationship to it, I can still see the influence.”
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