UNION COUNTY www.ShopperNewsNow.com
|
www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow
IN THIS ISSUE
Coffee break
Jody Smith says his friends call him “sweet.” He claims not to know why. Smith is a veteran firefighter and also is vice mayor for the city of Luttrell. Sit with a Cup o’ Joe and get to know Jody Smith. Read Coffee break on page 2
Saturn’s rings Cindy Taylor went to a nighttime viewing of Saturn at Big Ridge State Park. It was hard to take pictures, but the viewing was “cool.”
➤
Read Cindy’s wrapup on page 3
Go, Vols! Marvin West recalls a Volunteer tackle who spoke German and graduated with an A average in chemistry.
➤
See Marvin’s tale on page 5
No room for bullies Luttrell and Maynardville elementary schools are piloting an anti-bullying program led by counselor Karma McNew ted this year.
➤
Read Cindy’s report on page 9
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Commodity foods USDA commodity foods will be given out at the Paulette Community Building from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until food runs out on Tuesday, Sept. 11. The program is available for all eligible recipients regardless of race, color, national origin, age, sex or handicap. It’s funded in part by the Tennessee departments of Agriculture and Human Services.
September 1, 2012
Come and get it! By Cindy Taylor For three years now, no four, no eight … well, no one agrees about the time, but it doesn’t really matter. Once a year, when the Union County Extension Office pulls up with a 10-foot plus trailer and throws chicken on the grill, folks come running for something they can agree on – the best tasting grilled chicken for miles around. On Wednesday, Aug. 22, volunteers start grilling around 6 a.m. and by 9, folks were dropping in, anticipating their first taste. The aroma wafted down from the Extension Office to fill every nook and cranny in Maynardville and was powerful enough to draw people in from the street. Main sponsors were Food City, Sam’s Club and David Cox, and community members donated the tasty desserts. 4-H’ers and valued volunteers helped prepare, cook, serve and clean up. The event is a fundraiser for Union County 4-H. “We appreciate each and every person who came out to support us by purchasing a lunch,” said Extension agent Shannon Perrin. “It’s amazing to see the community come together to support 4-H. This fundraiser keeps us running all year with ribbons, awards, program supplies and scholarships. And I promise the chickens were from Food City. They were not 4-H project birds.” What makes these chickens special? “The secret is in the famous UT Extension Tennessee sauce,” said Perrin. And for the first time that recipe can be yours. Perrin relinquished a copy so all can enjoy. The amount given is for six chicken halves. But remember, to be true to the sauce you need a onegallon sprayer for application.
Volunteer Ronnie Irick, in his trademark pink apron, applies the famous sauce to chicken halves with a utility sprayer. Photo by C. Taylor
The secret sauce
■ 1 cup cider vinegar ■ 2 tablespoons salt ■ 1/3 cup cooking oil
■ 4 tablespoons Tabasco sauce ■ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce ■ 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Index Coffee Break Community Government/Politics Marvin West Lynn Hutton Down-home Update Faith Kids Calendar
twitter.com/shoppernewsnow
A great community newspaper
VOL. 7 NO. 35
➤
|
POSTAL CUSTOMER
2 3 4 5 5 6 7 8-9 10
4509 Doris Circle 37918 (865) 922-4136 news@ShopperNewsNow.com ads@ShopperNewsNow.com GENERAL MANAGER Shannon Carey shannon@ShopperNewsNow.com EDITOR Sandra Clark sclark426@aol.com UNION COUNTY REPORTER 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.
■ Sauce should be prepared and kept warm (not boiling) and well stirred.
Cutting edge or money scam? A look at the short history of the Tennessee Virtual Academy By Betty Bean Wayne Goforth was fired in February as the director of Union County Public Schools. His lawyer, Herb Moncier, remembers the first time he saw representatives of K12 Inc., the Virginia corporation that made more than $7 million last year running an online school called the Tennessee Virtual Academy. “I remember maybe the first board meeting I went to, the corporate people were making their
presentation and it struck me at the time, ‘This is a corporation for profit, and the reason they are here is the County Commission is unwilling to fund the schools so what they are having to do is hire a private, for-profit school to come in here and make money,’” Moncier said. “Every time the school board hits a financial glitch, they have to beg the commissioners to dip into the rainy day fund to give them money to cover that glitch. They forced (Wayne) Goforth to come up with some way to make money, and that’s where K12 Inc. comes in. “They prey on poor counties.
The Union County school board cannot possibly run the schools on what they are given.” In the spring of 2011, Goforth was scrambling for money. This was not an unfamiliar position; he’d been fighting losing battles with Union County Commission since he was appointed in 2008. Goforth learned of the Virtual Public Schools Act, a controversial piece of legislation that created the Tennessee Virtual Academy, an on-line school to be hosted by an existing school system that would hire a staff, enroll students, collect the state money that follows each student and then pass it on to a for-profit corporation/cur-
CUTTING CREW MONDAY SPECIAL!
10
$
00 OFF COLOR or PERM
With Coupon • Expires 9/29/12
riculum provider that would pay the host school system an administrative fee. Supporters said the bill represented a cutting-edge educational opportunity. CritWayne Goforth ics called it an industry-written scam designed to siphon Tennessee tax dollars to a Virginia corporation co-founded by junk bond king/convicted felon Michael Milken and run by a CEO who made $5 million last year. Supporters said the TennesTo page A-4
We are paying CA$H for your old video games!
Maynardville
Games for every console. G
(Union Center)
We pay more than anyone else!
992-5757
• Color • Perms • Hi-Lights
UNION COUNTY CASH ADVANCE 2703 Maynardville Hwy •
992-9899