POSTAL CUSTOMER
VOL. 12 NO. 13
www.ShopperNewsNow.com |
March 29, 2017
Kids talk tech at Luttrell convention
Shabby Chic 33 Boutique
KN-1471759
Curvy Girl Fashions Boutique Clothing Ne Ownw Home Decor er Christian Novelty Items 842 Main St Maynardville, TN 37807 865-745-3162
www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow
FIRST WORDS Autism Walk is April 1
The Autism Awareness Fun Festival and Walk will be held Saturday, April 1, at Wilson Park, with signup starting at 9:30 a.m., and the walk and festival starting at 10 a.m. All are encouraged to wear blue in support of autism awareness. There will be concessions, face painting, bounce houses, music, silent auction, photos with superheroes and princesses, and more. Donations are needed. All proceeds go to Aiden’s Helping Hands Fund to help Union County adults and children with special needs. Info: Ashley Lay, 865-661-0789.
Mobile clinic visits
Craft Center fundraiser
The board of directors of the Appalachian Arts Craft Center, a nonprofit arts center in Norris, is holding an “SOS” (Save Our Shop) fundraiser. The hope is to raise $14,000 for a new roof for the Center, located at 2716 Andersonville Highway. “The Craft Center has been a part of this community for more than 45 years and in this particular building for 30,” said board president Mary Lee Keeler. “This is the original roof and it has been patched many times. It’s critical that we replace it before we experience any interior damage. We’re living on borrowed time.” Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible donation may do so by mail to AACC, P.O. Box 608, Norris, TN 37828, with “Roof” in the memo line; online at appalachianarts.net; or by stopping by the Center and donating with cash, check, debit or charge.
Luttrell Elementary School Tech Convention presenter Jacob Johnson (right) helps Joshua Horner sign in to CoSpaces, an online platform that makes sharable virtual reality spaces that are viewable with the Viewfinder in the foreground. Photo by S. Carey
By Shannon Carey Luttrell Elementary School was abuzz with excitement March 24, as the student-led Luttrell Tech Conference kicked into gear. Two hundred students in second through fifth grade attended conference-style presentations by 24 students, covering everything from PowerPoint presentations to virtual reality. Student presenters and faculty wore Tshirts emblazoned with the slogan, “Technology is our native language.”
Pick up extra copies at Union County Senior Citizens Center 298 Main St. Maynardville NEWS (865) 342-6622 news@ShopperNewsNow.com Sandra Clark | Shannon Carey ADVERTISING SALES (865) 922-4136 ads@ShopperNewsNow.com Amy Lutheran | Patty Fecco Beverly Holland | Mary Williamson
No Job too small or too large
25 YEARS EXPERIENCE
992-2573 or
(408)893-7164
By Shannon Carey
Sharps Chapel residents Charles and Mary Schwegman filed a lawsuit March 10 in Union County Circuit Court alleging damage from herbicide spraying by Powell Valley Electric Cooperative and contractor Progressive Solutions LLC, the first lawsuit to be filed due to the spraying. The couple are represented by LaFollette attorney David H. Dunaway, who said more lawsuits may be on the way, but he is not at liberty to say from whom. Named as defendants in the lawsuit are Progressive Solutions, PVEC, and Asplundh Tree Expert Company and Asplundh Brush Control Company. Dunaway maintains that the Schwegmans suffered damage as a result of the defendants’ alleged negligence. He said PVEC should have warned residents about the herbicide spraying. “They could have prevented this altogether by practicing the Golden Rule,” said Dunaway. Dunaway said Charles Schwegman is suffering from chronic, severe dermatitis due to exposure to the herbicides sprayed last summer, requiring ongoing, costly medical treatment and damaging his quality of life. “He is confined as to his activities for the
Home Improvement & Repair
Students echoed this from the other side, with one presenter saying, “It’s really hard to be the teacher.” Bowman thanked everyone who has helped with the conference, including the whole staff at Luttrell Elementary, principal Sonja Saylor, and Trevor Collins, who is the professional development coordinator for Union County Public Schools. “He is really taking Union County schools to the next level when it comes to technology,” Bowman said.
• Floors, Doors & Windows • Electrical • Custom Tile
228 Main Street, Maynardville, TN www.trinityfuneralhome.net
865-992-5002
general counsel for Powell Valley, said he and PVEC are “sympathetic to anybody that has any personal health issues. It’s something we take very seriously.” But, he said, PVEC contracted its brush control through “reputable companies” who used products approved by the state and federal governments. “Our position is that they tell us it’s a safe product, and it’s approved,” he said. Stanifer said the lawsuit’s allegations “are all news to us.” Herbicide spraying in PVEC’s service area will continue, he said, because the utility has to keep power lines clear to avoid outages. “This does not mean that we’re not sensitive to the needs of the community,” he said. “But we have to clear the right-of-ways for the power to run. If we had to hand-cut them, electric bills would increase.” The defendants have 30 days to respond to the lawsuit. No hearing date is set yet, but the case will be tried before a jury. “Powell Valley ought to face its community and let a jury decide whether its actions were reasonable,” said Dunaway. Representatives of Progressive Solutions LLC declined to comment on the lawsuit for this article. Progressive Solutions is owned by the Asplundh Company.
CARING MEDICAL CENTER
Why choose Trinity Funeral Home? Compassion, Kindness and Professionalism… Peace of mind is everything when it comes to taking care of your loved one. That’s the Trinity Difference
• Room Additions
• Custom Woodworking
rest of his life,” Dunaway said. The spraying took place last summer in an effort by PVEC to control vegetation growth under power lines. Residents did not realize what had happened until months later, and the community organized to combat herbicide spraying. Many Sharps Chapel residents have reported adverse health effects, death of pets and livestock, and loss of crops that they say began around the time the herbicide was sprayed. Meanwhile, PVEC and Progressive Solutions have maintained that the chemicals sprayed are safe and approved by the state and federal governments. Dunaway said that, while the single chemicals may be safe, the combination of five chemicals that were sprayed in Sharps Chapel has “synergistic effects” that can result in health problems for some people. “Think of it like a peanut allergy,” he said. “Nine out of 10 kids might be fine, but that one peanut could kill that one kid. You have a duty to warn against things like that. “It was incumbent upon Powell Valley, before they even started spraying this stuff, that they let the community know, those who are sensitive, those with allergies, stay indoors. It would have been very easy.” Tazewell attorney David Stanifer, who is
Trinity Funeral Home, LLC
• Kitchen/Bath Remodels
• Service Calls
scheduled for the Friday before spring break, but a school closure due to flu pushed the conference back two weeks. “They’ve been so excited for months,” Bowman said. “They were actually saying to me, ‘No! We want to come to school!’” The rescheduled conference went off without a hitch, although Bowman said it was hard to let the students take charge. “They’ve learned a lot by making their presentations, and I’m pretty amazed with what they’ve come up with, though,” she said.
First lawsuit filed in Sharps Chapel spraying
KN-1497976
BILL’S
Students got to choose what presentations they attended during the day’s five sessions. And all conference-attending students got to have lunch together, outside, in what organizing teacher Cheryl Bowman hoped would be a session of sharing what they had learned. Bowman, also the sponsor of the school’s Eagle Tech Club, was inspired to create the conference by technology conferences she has attended as a teacher. She wanted to bring that experience to the students at Luttrell. The conference was originally
149 Durham Drive Maynardville, TN 37807
992-2221
KN-1465832
St. Mary’s Legacy mobile clinic sees patients at the Northside Community Center in Washburn each first Wednesday and the Blessed John Paul II Catholic Mission, 7735 Rutledge Pike in Rutledge, each second Thursday. Appointment: 865-212-5570. Info: stmaryclinic.org.
Now accepting NEW patients!
No appointments necessary Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5pm Saturday by appointment