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VOL. 4 NO. 13 March 30, 2016www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow

NORTH / EAST

BUZZ

By Betty BeanThe west side of the gap in the

ridge above the intersection at Clinton Highway and Old Calla-han Road is home to the historic Powell Airplane service station. The east side is a massive exca-vation site where earth-moving equipment is eating away the hill-side and massive dump trucks are hauling off the dirt.

The property owner, Lonnie Harris, says he’s trying to fl atten out the property – which is zoned agricultural and is a state-licensed borrow pit – to make it better suited to farming. He said he’s contributing to the economy by providing fi ll dirt for a new Kroger store on the old Powell Airport site on Emory Road. Thanks to a fi nger annexation several years ago, the former airport property, a low-lying, fl ood-prone wetland near Beaver Creek, is inside the city limits.

“Under state law I can do what-ever I need to do to make my land more farmable. All the dirt that’s coming out of that is going into ar-eas that are going to build commer-cial buildings. Yes, there’s a lot of dirt being moved, and it’s going to

help increase the property tax base. Commercial property generates a lot more tax money. They need to fi ll 15 feet, and they had to get the dirt somewhere,” Harris said.

Although Harris has had the borrow pit permit for 20 years, he blames the Knoxville-Knox County Hillside and Slope Pro-tection Plan, adopted by the city in December 2011 and the county in 2012, for the excavation op-eration, which he concedes is un-sightly but says is really nobody’s business but his own.

“When all these idiots like Tony Norman and Joe Hultquist (who jointly chaired the Hillside and Slope Protection Taskforce and presided over public meetings all over the county, at which Harris showed up to protest) tried to get this stupid hillside and ridge top plan through, what they succeed-ed in doing was making it so only the rich can afford to hold land.

What they failed to realize is agriculture is usually conducted in the lower areas where it’s farm-able. Residences are on hillsides. Now they’ve made it so hard to build anything there. This issue goes so deep, and the whole rea-

A borrow pit operation is gouging out the side of a ridge at Clinton Highway

and Old Callahan Drive.

Hauling a mountain to a fl ood plain: ‘Awesome!’

son for it was so somebody else could confi scate somebody’s prop-erty so they can look at, because it’s pretty. … It’s confi scating the wealth and value of somebody else’s property.”

Although the county has no au-thority over the borrow pit except to monitor erosion control and no jurisdiction over the new Kroger site, Norman, a former county commissioner who is now a storm To page 3

water project manager and works with engineers, developers and citizens on storm water issues, isn’t enthusiastic about any aspect of Harris’s operation.

“Chopping off a mountain and hauling it over to fi ll in a fl ood plain? That’s just awesome. Lon-nie’s a champion. A fl ood plain’s got a function – to hold water and

City seekshistoric photos

Chilhowee Park and Exposi-tion Center is celebrating the East Knoxville gathering spot’s unique history – and facility managers are seeking the com-munity’s help.

Dozens of historical pho-tos are being collected and displayed in the Jacob Build-ing. The city of Knoxville and Chilhowee Park and Exposition Center staff are asking for and accepting historical photos from the public, as well as printing photos from the Thompson Photograph Collection and the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection of the Knox County Public Library System.

“There’s a lot of history on this site,” said Greg Mackay, director of public assembly facilities. “We just wanted the community to be able to not only see it, but contribute to the collection.”

Photos obtained so far date back to 1913, just three years after the event venue hosted the fi rst Appalachian Exposition. In one 1913 photo, the Chil-howee Park Bandstand, the only original building from 1910 that remains today, is featured. The bandstand is the only familiar structure in the photos, as most of today’s Chilhowee venue was under water at the time – just one of the many changes the photo display illustrates.

Also featured as part of the collection is a dramatic photo capturing a moment in 1938 when the Liberal Arts Building – located where the Jacob Build ing now sits – was destroyed in a fi re.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the collection can donate his or her photo to be displayed permanently, or a copy can be made and the photo returned. Email Mackay at gmackay@knoxvilletn.gov with inquiries about contributions.

Volunteers keep on planting

Last Saturday, dozens of Keep Knoxville Beautiful volunteers planted more than 100 white crepe myrtles on the Heiskell and Woodland exits of I-275. This was the second stage of the beautifi cation proj-ect launched last November when 223 volunteers planted 60,000 daffodils along the same interstate area.

Those daffodils are now blooming. The crepe myrtle planting was made possible by a $10,000 grant from Waste Management. The city of Knoxville augured the holes and provided mulch.

Breakfast, lunch and all supplies were provided for volunteers. Info: keepkn oxvil-lebeautiful.org

By Sandra ClarkNick Della Volpe could hardly contain

himself when the TDOT contractor ar-rived last week to install signs on I-640. A brisk wind delayed installation for a day, but fi nally the work was done. The signs showed just one business logo – Cracker Barrel – but others will come.

Della Volpe, the District 4 City Coun-cil member, has worked for a term and a half to get help for businesses around Knoxville Center mall.

Sharon Davis, Justin Sterling and others met in late 2013 and began lob-bying the Department of Transportation to lift restrictions on logo signs on the interstate within cities of over 100,000 population.

Della Volpe authored and City Coun-cil passed a resolution urging the state to change the regulations. By summer, the East Towne Business and Profes-sional Association (later renamed East Towne Business Alliance) was organized to pursue this goal and try to overcome

other obstacles to business growth at Knoxville Center and the surrounding area.

The business alliance continues to meet monthly.

The new state regulations came out in November 2014, originally with a contract award planned for July 1, 2015. “That date slipped,” Della Volpe says.

“After a prolonged bid and contract award process, Interstate Logos LLC, now Tennessee Logos LLC, was awarded the logo sign contract by TDOT in De-cember 2015.”

Now in March 2016, the signs are fi -nally being erected at I-640 Exit 8. The silk screen printing for each business purchasing space on the signs “may take a while,” Della Volpe said, based on a conversation with Bill Jones, regional manager of Tennessee Logos.

Other goals are a reduction in the undergrowth that blocks view of the businesses from I-640 and ultimately “second-chance” exits.

Interstate logo signs go up on I-640

Workers install signs

for business logos on

I-640 – a major win

for the East Towne

Business Alliance.

By Cindy TaylorMuch of Knoxville’s history is

deeply rooted in the Holston Hills community, including that of the Dogwood Arts Festival.

John Duncan Sr. became mayor of Knoxville in 1959. Early Dog-wood Trails had already been established but during Duncan’s time in offi ce the Dogwood Arts Festival was born.

Duncan lived in Holston Hills at the time. His son U.S. Rep. John Duncan Jr. and daughter state Sen. Becky Massey grew up in the community. Holston Hills residents initiated clean-up and beautifi cation of their community in 1956 which won them the honor of becoming the second offi cial Dogwood Trail.

Heralding Holston Hills history

To page 3

The historic Milan home and gardens is a

featured open garden in the 2016 Holston

Hills Dogwood Arts Trail. File photo

2 • MARCH 30, 2016 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

Excellence!The Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery is now a designated Center of Excellence!

If you are struggling to lose weight, please attend our free seminar to learn about the

benefits of bariatric surgery that go beyond weight loss.

Visit www.fsregional.com/bariatrics for more information and seminar dates.

Drs. Mark Colquitt and Jonathan Ray serve patients at the Fort Sanders Cen-ter for Bariatric Surgery.

Debra Hinson has lost nearly 100 pounds

thanks to turning to Jonathan H. Ray, MD, a surgeon at the Center

for Bariatric Surgery at Fort Sanders Regional

Medical Center.

A blessing for body, mind and spiritIn the last 18 months, Debra

Hinson, 50, has lost nearly 100 pounds. The Sevierville resident said she has revamped not only her body, but her mind and spirit as well.

“I have been on every diet that you can possibly think of my whole life,” Hinson said. “Grape-fruit diet, cabbage soup. But noth-ing worked for long.

“I have always been heavy. My family is heavy. I’ve tried cutting my food in half, diet plans and programs, Fen-Phen, just about anything,” she said. “At one point I was up to 267 pounds.”

Facing sleep problems, depres-sion, arthritis and a very high body mass index, Hinson turned to Jonathan H. Ray, MD, a sur-geon at the Center for Bariatric Surgery at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. After reviewing her case, Dr. Ray recommended sleeve gastrectomy, a minimally invasive weight loss procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 25 percent of its original size. The remaining stomach, in-stead of being kidney-shaped, is shaped more like a tube or sleeve. The surgery is performed with laparoscopic instruments, typi-cally through fi ve small incisions in the abdomen.

“The sleeve gastrectomy is the most common weight loss opera-tion performed in the world,” said Dr. Ray. “It’s a less complex op-eration with lower risks and costs, providing near comparable weight loss and improvement or resolu-tion of co-morbid conditions as compared to more complex pro-cedures. This is very attractive to most patients.”

He performed Hinson’s proce-dure in September 2014.

Dr. Ray said most patients lose a signifi cant amount of weight and keep it off with a sleeve gas-

trectomy. “They can do well with surgery if they will change their living habits. They need to become accountable and more active, eat better and exercise,” he said.

And that’s what Hinson has done. Always an exerciser and runner, she still runs three or four days each week.

“I have a love-hate relation-ship with running,” she said with a laugh. “I started running before the surgery, and I actually ran the Covenant Half Marathon in 2011 at 225 pounds. It took me three hours and 30 minutes to run it. I ran the full marathon before sur-gery, too. It took me six hours and 19 minutes. So now I’m working up to running the marathon again at a lower weight.”

She added that her eating hab-its have undergone the biggest change.

“Portion control has been an issue. Now I don’t have a choice,” she said. “Once you have this sur-gery your portion control is made for you. If I eat more than I should, I’ll be sick.”

Hinson eats a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. For break-fast she might have a whole-wheat English muffi n with turkey ba-con and ham. For lunch she has a chicken breast or tuna and a salad.

And dinner? She plans that out ahead of time.

“Tonight it’s salmon, quinoa and sautéed spinach,” she said. “Food preparation, that’s a big thing. Planning your meals is a big, big help. I shop and plan for the week, and planning is your success. This is not just a diet; it’s a lifestyle change, and to be suc-cessful you have to plan.”

Hinson acknowledges the weight could come back if she overeats, because her stomach could enlarge again. “I could graze all day and gain the weight back,

or I can eat the way I should eat. My choice is to eat the right way,” she said.

Most patients, Dr. Ray said, are successful in their weight loss goals.

“The majority of patients, can keep off the weight long-term if they adhere to the proper bar-iatric diet, adequate exercise, attend support groups and regular follow up visits,” said Dr. Ray.

He noted that a benefi t of the surgery is its positive ef-fect on chronic health condi-tions.

“Most patients having this surgery have chronic health conditions. Type II diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, obstruc-tive sleep apnea usually markedly improve or re-solve following weight loss surgery. This results in a reduced number of medi-c a t i o n s needed as well as in substantial savings on the cost of m e d i c a -tions.

“ L e s s than one percent of p a t i e n t s have any major complications, and most people go home within 36 hours of surgery. Most only have mild discomfort following the surgery and by one week start a healthy bariatric diet,” Dr. Ray said.

“Our biggest thing is, if you’re ready to make a change and ready to make a commitment, you can do fi ne. If you’re ready to live it out and be supported by other pa-tients who have walked the walk,

you c a n do it. Our commit- m e n t to you is that we will be with you through your entire jour-ney and for the rest of your life.”

The Center for Bariatric Sur-gery offers a number of support

groups for patients after theirbariatric surgery. Hinson attendsa monthly group at Fort Sanders

Regional Medical Center.“I go to a monthly support

group,” said Hinson. “It’s al-ways informational. They askwhether you’re having prob-lems or pain, and we swaprecipes. This month they went shopping to read foodlabels, which is great. It’s always a learning process.”

Hinson said her sleep problems have resolved,and she no longer strug-gles with depression.

“I’m within 27 poundsof my goal weight, andI’m still working on it,”she said. “I think whenyou go on a diet and itworks for awhile, andthen it doesn’t work andyou fail, that brings youdown. Since I had ‘thesleeve’ and have lost theweight, my self-esteem has come up. I’m not tak-ing antidepressants. I feel better all around.”

Hinson said she would recommend Dr. Ray andhis staff to anyone thinkingabout bariatric surgery.

“I have recommended Dr.Ray to anyone who has come

to me and said they were inter-ested. He is the most inspira-

tional and compassionate man.His bedside manner is great, and

he’s a friend. He puts himself inyour shoes. He’s truly there withyou.

“I would do the surgery again ina heartbeat,” she added. “All I cansay is, it’s a blessing and I’m gladI had the opportunity to meet Dr.Ray. He’s great and this has beena godsend for me. I know I’ll havemany more years to go with whathe has given to me.”

TIPS FOR SOCIAL EATING SUCCESS

For everyone trying to lose weight, attending a social event can often cause anxiety. Whether it is dinner with friends or a girls/guys night out, remember, being social and overeating don’t have to go hand-in-hand. Here are some tips to consider:

■ NEVER ARRIVE HUNGRY. Eat every three to four hours, and always have a healthy snack with you such as a protein bar or raw almonds, so you don’t arrive feeling famished.

■ EAT PROTEIN FIRST. Protein helps with metabolism, keeps you full longer and may help you cut down on those carbs that are so tempting.

■ DRINK WATER OR OTHER NON-CALORIC BEVERAGES. Coffee and tea, which are very low in calories, are staples. Avoid alcohol and sugary drinks. Alcohol can lower your inhibitions, making “bad choices” hard to resist.

■ CHEW GUM. Chewing sugar-free gum can satisfy your oral fi xation and curb your appetite.

■ CHEW SLOWLY. Eating a meal quickly inhibits the release of hormones in the stomach that induce feelings of being full, result-ing in overeating.

■ PUT YOUR FOOD ON A PLATE. Picking foods from one plate to the next can add up quickly. Seeing how much you eat will allow you better control your caloric intake.

Remember, socializing is about family and friends instead of eating. If you end up overindulging, give yourself a break. Get right back on track the next meal – not the next week – by recommitting to healthy eating and regular exercise.

The ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ of bariatric surgeryObesity has become a signifi -

cant national health issue. Our so-ciety is overweight. The foods we eat are often poor choices and can lead to obesity.

Morbid obesity, defi ned as hav-ing a BMI over 35 and being at risk for obesity-related health issues, is closely correlated with seri-ous medical conditions including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

The Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery is the answer to the prayers of many who battle obesity and its accompanying is-sues. Bariatric surgeons Dr. Mark Colquitt and Dr. Jonathan Ray have helped more than 2,200 patients lose close to 200,000 pounds through a combination of surgical, spiritual and emotional support.

The atmosphere at the Center for Bariatric Surgery is one of sup-port and encouragement. Many of our staff members have under-gone bariatric surgery and use their experience to help others be successful on their journey.

The surgeons offer two main options for their patients: lapa-roscopic gastric bypass (usually done as a robotic procedure), in which a smaller stomach pouch is created and a portion of the small

intestine is rerouted to the pouch; and sleeve gastrectomy, which re-moves a portion of the stomach and creates a narrower digestive tube. “The safety of bariatric sur-gery has improved greatly,” Dr. Colquitt said. “Today, the surgi-cal risk of the procedure is com-parable to having a gallbladder removed.”

“But in order for bariatric sur-gery to succeed, people have to commit to making the lifestyle

changes to support the choice,” Dr. Colquitt said.

Dr. Ray added, “Our team will be there for the patient before and after the procedure. We can get them to the door, but they have to walk through it.

“Our goal is to promote health and wellness and support an obe-sity-free lifestyle,” they say, “and to help our patients become more productive – and fully engaged in life.”

Community members are encouraged to attend the Knoxville 100 Health Fair, “Your Health is in Your Hands,” from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 2, at the Cansler Family Y, located at 616 Jessamine Street. The annual fair offers free health screenings and health infor-mation to those who need it the most.

“Your Health is in Your Hands” is now in its 10th year and is the creation of 100 Black Men of Greater Knoxville Inc. The event is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield Community Trust, YMCA of Knoxville, Three Rivers Market, E3 Performance Training, Di-vision Dental and the UT Medical Center.

Organizers stress that everyone, regardless of age, race or gender, is encour-

aged to attend.“We’re proud to work

together with community health providers and other organizations on an event that removes some of the obstacles preventing people from receiving health care screenings and informa-tion,” said Bernard Bradley, health and wellness chair of 100 Black Men of Greater Knoxville.

“The free screenings and health information can truly allow every man, woman and child in our community a convenient opportunity to learn more about their personal health situation.”

Bradley said the event has grown in attendance throughout the years and attributed its success to the teamwork and commitment to the health in the com-

munity by 100 Black Men of Greater Knoxville and the multiple health provid-ers and sponsors in Knox-ville who have participated in the expo throughout the past decade.

Jim Ragonese, who oversees public relations at UT Medical Center, volun-teers as marketing chair of the Knoxville 100 Health Fair committee. Light re-freshments will be avail-able. Organizers will hold drawings for gift cards throughout the event. Parking at the Y is free. Info: 865-776-0471.

Available at the Knoxville 100 Health Fair:

■ Blood pressure screen-ings

■ HIV testing ■ Affordable Care Act in-

formation ■ Affordable medical op-

tions for seniors ■ Orthopaedic health in-

formation ■ Cardiac rhythm inter-

pretation ■ Nutrition information ■ Comfort/palliative care ■ Tai Chi ■ Kidney health info

In addition to the spon-soring agencies, partnering organizations include Knox-ville-Knox County CAC Offi ce on Aging, Covenant Health, Beltone, East Ten-nessee Kidney Foundation, Tennessee Anti-Tobacco Advocacy Initiative, Smoky Mountain Hospice, Knox-ville Orthopaedic Clinic, Helen Ross McNabb, West Knox Lions Club, East Ten-nessee Children’s Hospital Community Nutrition, TN Alzheimer’s Association, American Diabetes Associa-tion, and BlueCare.

NORTH/EAST Shopper news • MARCH 30, 2016 • 3 community

Emory Road From page 1

release it slowly. It’s a mess out there. I’ve already had a callfrom a fellow whose property adjoins the site where they’redoing all the fi ll, telling me, ‘You just wouldn’t believe howhigh the water in Beaver Creek’s getting.’

“Water’s got to go somewhere, and we’re going to have property damage from that. We’re going to see some dra-matic effects.”

Harris, who said he has 35 years’ experience as a com-mercial landscaper, said he’s going to improve the looks ofhis property with this project.

“Don’t judge the way this cut that we’re doing looks now. Wait till it’s all done. That takes a little time, sort of likecosmetic surgery. It looks really bad to begin with, butwhen it’s all settled and done, it looks better than it did tobegin with.”

Holston Hills From page 1

In 1947 author John Gun-ther declared Knoxville the “ugliest city” in the United States in his book “Inside U.S.A.” Civic leaders and the offended folks of Knox-ville came together to cor-rect that view by cleaning, planting and redecorating their yards. As a result the Dogwood Arts Festival was born a few years later.

It wasn’t long until Knox-ville became a destination city during April of each year when Dogwoods bloomed and glorious open gardens welcomed the public.

According to the Dog-wood Arts Festival website,

100 Health Fair coming April 2

Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. Nu Zeta Chapter has announced the honorees in its 2016 Woman to Woman recognition.

The group stated: “Whereas women have fre-quently been the initiators in advocating for freedom and equality, and are often responsible for rearrang-ing and strengthening our culture, Zeta Phi Beta So-rority Inc. Nu Zeta Chapter celebrates Women’s History and National Finer Woman-hood Month by saluting fi ve local women, in honor of the chapter’s fi ve founders, whose lives are examples of the fruits of the struggle.

“They are recognized for being women in the com-munity who show generos-ity for others while dem-onstrating commitment to building a better future.”

J. Tomma Battle is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, with an extensive back-ground in human resources in both administration and management for 10 years, is a board certifi ed pastoral counselor and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR).

She and her husband, Pas-tor Christopher R. Battle Sr., are the proud parents of 15 children, adopting the fam-ily motto: “Some by birth, some by marriage, some by choice, and all in love.”

Elder Battle was licensed into the preaching ministry in 1997 and ordained at the Tabernacle Baptist Church of Knoxville on Dec. 22, 2013, where she uses her time and talents as a servant

Woman to Woman honorees named

Battle Fitzgerald

Rogero Simerly

Williams

leader in the Knoxville com-munity, musician, psalmist, minister and worship leader to inspire others to seek the love of God and receive His manifold blessings.

TaKisha M. Fitzger-ald has served as an assis-tant district attorney in the Knox County Attorney Gen-eral’s Offi ce since 1998.

With an educational back-ground starting at Austin-East High School then tran-sitioning to UT Knoxville, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in political

science with a minor in Afri-can and African-American studies, and received the J.D. degree from the UT Col-lege of Law in 1998.

As an offi cer of the court, Fitzgerald is a woman who lives by the scripture, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not to your own understanding…”

Madeline Rogero was elected the 68th mayor of Knoxville and took offi ce in December 2011. She is the fi rst woman to hold the of-fi ce. She was re-elected and began her second term in December 2015.

Rogero is dedicated to promoting a vibrant local economy, strong neighbor-hoods, a high quality of life, a thriving downtown and a greener Knoxville. She be-lieves Knoxville’s strength comes from the diversity of its people and the beauty of its natural resources.

Emily Simerly began her service with the Uni-versity of Tennessee in 1994. Starting as a police offi cer on patrol, through hard work and dedication she worked her way up to investigator, sergeant and lieutenant. In 2014, she was named the fi rst female dep-uty chief.

Her work within the community inspired her to bridge the gap between police and civilian so she served on the board of di-rectors for the Sexual As-sault Crisis Center, as well as assisted in the creation of the UTPD Community Rela-tions Unit, which to this day

continues safety program-ming and training through-out the UT campus.

Deputy Chief Simerly has also been a part of UT’s Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) program since 1995, and currently serves as an instructor trainer and re-gional director. She con-tinues to be involved with community outreach, both personally and profession-ally.

Dr. Shannen Dee Wil-liams is an assistant pro-fessor of United States and African-American history at the University of Tennes-see, where she advises the Black Student Union and Women of Promise, a NAC-WC affi liate.

A Phi Beta Kappa gradu-ate of Agnes Scott College, where she earned a bach-elor’s degree (magna cum laude) in history, Williams also holds a master’s in Af-ro-American studies from the University of Wiscon-sin-Madison and a Ph.D. in history from Rutgers Uni-versity.

In the spring of 2015, Williams co-founded the Fleming-Morrow Endow-ment in African-American History through the UT Foundation, which aims to provide funding for an an-nual distinguished black history lecture and student awards in African-Ameri-can and military history.

She also co-directs the UTK #BlackHistoryMatters Film and Discussion Series, which she established with a colleague in the fall of 2015.

■ Alice Bell Spring Hill Neigh-borhood Association. Info: Ronnie Collins, 637-9630.

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

■ Belle Morris Community Ac-tion Group meets 7 p.m. each second Monday, City View Baptist Church, 2311 Fine Ave. Info: bellemorris.com or Rick Wilen, 524-5008.

■ Chilhowee Park Neighbor-hood Association meets 6:30 p.m. each last Tuesday, Administration Building, Knoxville Zoo. Info: Paul Ruff , 696-6584.

■ Edgewood Park Neighbor-hood Association meets 7 p.m. each third Tuesday, Larry Cox Senior Center, 3109 Ocoee Trail. Info: edgewoodpark.us.

■ Excelsior Lodge No. 342 meets 7:30 p.m. each Thurs-day, 10103 Thorn Grove Pike.

COMMUNITY NOTES

Blooms are already peek-ing through the trees on theHolston Hills Dogwood Trail.Photo by Cindy Taylor

Mrs. Edna Fain and son Walter (Dr. Walter Fain) in her garden circa 1957. Photo submitted

Paul Harvey was quoted as saying that “the city (Knox-ville) becomes young again every spring.”

The Dogwood Arts Fes-tival celebrated 60 years in 2014. Events for the 2016 festival begin April 1. The offi cial opening date for the trails is April 15 but with this year’s warm spring many of those are already ablaze with color.

Holston Hills celebrates its 60th year as a Dogwood trail this year and is the fea-tured trail. While much has changed, the majority of the historic homes are still intact and many descendents of the fi rst families continue to call the community their home.

Both the homes and the gardens intensify in beauty each year. Residents keep the rich history and splen-dor alive by planting new blooming trees, shrubs and fl owers and enlarging their gardens.

This year the historic property and English style garden of Dr. Jimmy Milan will be the featured Open Garden. The Dogwood Trail at Holston Hills is a defi nite must see.

Info: Bill Emmert, 933-6032 or w.emmert@att.net.

■ Family Community Educa-tion – Carter Club meets 10 a.m. each second Tuesday, Carter Senior Center, 9036 Asheville Highway. Info: Anne Winstead, 933-5821.

■ First District Democrats will meet Monday, April 4, Burl-ington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Speaker:

Laschinski Emerson from the S.M.A.R.T. Institute. Info: Harold Middlebrook, harold-middlebrook@gmail.com; Mary Wilson, marytheprez@yahoo.com.

■ Historic Fourth & Gill Neighbor-hood Organization meets 6:30 p.m. each second Monday, Central UMC, 201 Third Ave. Info: Liz Upchurch, 898-1809, lizupchurch1@gmail.com.

■ Inskip Community Asso-ciation meets 6 p.m. each fourth Tuesday, Inskip Baptist Church, 4810 Rowan

Road. Info: Betty Jo Mahan, 679-2748 or bettymahan@knology.net.

■ Oakwood Lincoln Park Neigh-borhood Association meets 6:30 p.m. each fi rst Monday, Community Club House, 916 Shamrock Ave. Info: Bill Hut-ton, 773-5228 or s_wlhutton@yahoo.com.

■ Old North Knoxville meets 6:30 p.m. each second Monday, St. James Episcopal Church Parish Hall, 1101 N. Broadway.

4 • MARCH 30, 2016 • NORTH/EAST Shopper news government

Celebrating an event?Share your family’s milestones with us!

Send announcements to news@ShopperNewsNow.commmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeenuunnnccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeemmmmm eeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwssss@@@@@@@@@tts to neeeeee wwww..cccooommmhhhhhhhhhhhh@@@@@@@@@@SSSSSSS wwwwwwwwwwwwwssssssssssssooooooooooooooooooppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppeerrNNNeeewwwwwwwsssssNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNooooooooooooooooooooooo

VictorAshe

Betty Bean

Sandra Clark

I cannot remember a time when I didn’t know Johnny Majors.

Or at least felt like I did, even though the closest I got to Neyland Stadium as a kid was when my brother and I listened to George Mooney’s vivid word pictures of John-ny weaving his way down the fi eld, bouncing off guys twice his size.

We knew he was tough as a gizzard, but I don’t think we fully appreciated how physically overmatched he was, or how smart.

We were just proud he was ours.

And when those of us of a certain age remember a Tennessee guy getting screwed out of the Heisman, we don’t automatically think of Peyton Manning because it happened to Johnny fi rst, and we don’t let go of that kind of stuff.

And now, Johnny Majors, the quintessential underdog without an ounce of quit, has entered a new arena in his golden years. And he’s

What is going on with our TDOT Commissioner John Schroer, who is once again advocating the very expensive extension of the James White Parkway across the urban wilderness of South Knoxville?

Put me in, coach!

John Majors

lining up with the under-dogs. Tennessee is red as a red state can get. John Ter-rell Majors’ blood runs or-ange. His heart is unapolo-getically blue.

He’s been easing into the world of politics over the last few years, primar-ily campaigning for former players Heath Shuler and Anthony Hancock.

This year, Majors is cam-paigning for Democrat Glo-ria Johnson, and he clearly doesn’t give a damn who likes it.

One of his old play-ers, who wishes to remain anonymous, explains: “He hates those damn right wing nut job Republicans, always telling people how to live,” adding that Majors is staunchly pro-choice and that he likely had many con-

versations about politics with his brother Joe, a long-time (and very infl uential) Nashville lobbyist.

“Probably explains why he thinks almost everyone in Nashville is an idiot.”

Last week, Majors was guest of honor at a cam-paign kickoff for Johnson, who was ousted from her 13th District state House seat in 2014 by her GOP challenger, a promoter of Christian music who bene-fi ted from a GOP sweep year and an avalanche of outside money – remember the ads comparing Johnson to Lane Kiffi n?

(Don’t ask. It won some kind of political consultant award, so it must’ve been successful.)

Knoxville fi nancial ad-visor David Moon, an Ala-bama native whom Majors recruited away from Bear Bryant to play offensive tackle at Tennessee in the early ’80s, isn’t surprised by his coach’s latest incarna-tion:

“He is a remark-ably com-plex man. It’s hard for most people to believe that a man who is able to ride a person’s ass

like he can also loves muse-ums, the symphony and is a passionate naturist and con-servationist. He loves the geography of East Tennes-see and often talked about it to his teams. His Thanks-giving Day speech always included references to the beauty of the mountains, rivers, etc. As a 20-year-old, it was hard to believe that a tree hugger could be such a strict, unwavering discipli-narian.”

At the end of his speech at the Johnson event, Ma-jors turned to his candidate:

“Coach Gloria, put me in. I got my chin strap on and I got my jock strap on. I’m ready to play.”

Yoakum

John Schroer

Where does Haslam stand on parkway extension?

are strongly opposed to the Schroer position. Pavlis has been an active advocate of the urban wilderness.

Rogero has not personally lobbied state lawmakers on this issue and leaves it to her lobbyist, Tony Thompson. Her approach to lobbying is very different from Knox County Mayor Tim Bur-chett who does the heavy lifting himself on a direct basis with state legislators. He is more successful than Rogero in Nashville.

■ Rogero teamed with Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Chatta-nooga Mayor Andy Berke to gain a one-week Senate deferral on a House-passed bill to allow certain citizens to de-annex under certain conditions. The mayors cit-ed revenue concerns along with problems in providing emergency services.

■ Gov. Haslam has named two Knoxville resi-dents, Madge Cleveland and Pete Claussen, to the Ten-nessee Heritage Conserva-tion Trust Fund. Claussen is also on the Tennessee State Museum Commission with this writer. Cleveland was once offi ce manager for Mayor Ashe.

Haslam has also fi lled the position of Deborah DiPietro on the State Museum Commission with Eleanor Yoakum from Tazewell. She is a former

commis-sioner in the cabinet of former Gov. Don Sundquist. She chairs the board of First Century Bank with

branches in Knox, Union and other East Tennessee counties.

Schroer works for Gov. Bill Haslam. How is it he comes to the governor’s hometown, where he was mayor for seven years, to advocate a controversial project? Was this with or without the governor’s approval?

Mayor Madeline Rog-ero and Gov. Haslam are friends and even political allies on certain issues despite belonging to differ-ent political parties. Rogero has staked much of her mayoral term on stopping the James White Parkway and secured opposition to it from the local Transporta-tion Planning Organization (TPO). That opposition should be honored unless rescinded.

Now the Governor’s point-person on increasing the gas tax and roads comes to the city Rogero leads as mayor and re-starts the battle to build the James White Parkway which was buried three years ago.

Is Schroer free-lancing here without Haslam’s knowledge or approval? Is he out on his own? What gives?

It is hard to believe Schroer would do this with-out informing the governor. Legacy Parks and greenway advocates have lobbied hard to halt this project. Schroer has done very little to help Chapman Highway despite a clear need to act.

Council members Nick Pavlis and Brenda Palmer

Ed and Bob at Sam & Andy’s

Commissioner Bob Thomas greets

his mom, Nelle Thomas, and sister,

Barbara Thomas, at Sam & Andy’s.

Some came to lobby, some came to

complain. The Thomases came to eat

and support Bob. Photos by S. Clark

Michele Carringer checks her cell phone while

talking with Commissioner Ed Brantley and

Sharon Smith at Sam & Andy’s in Fountain

City last week. Brantley beat Carringer for his

at-large seat and political rumors are hot that

Smith’s husband, R. Larry, wants the post in

2018. But they all came together over a burger

and fries at Sam & Andy’s. Photos by S. Clark

It’s past time to consolidate Parks & RecNeighborhood activist

Ronnie Collins visited with Knox County commission-ers at the monthly Ed and Bob’s night out, held last week at Sam & Andy’s in Fountain City.

Collins came to discuss a perceived lack of attention at New Harvest Park – a county-owned and county-operated park that lies with-in the city of Knoxville.

He compared program-ming at New Harvest with

programming at The Cove at Concord Park where Knox County sponsors free con-certs monthly during the summer and a holiday lights extravaganza at Christmas.

“We’d like to see some events at New Harvest,” said Collins. “We have the am-phitheater but no events.”

Commissioner Bob Thomas offered to tour the park with Collins, and to bring along Doug Bataille, who heads the county’s de-partment of Parks and Rec-reation.

Collins is happy with the park’s splash pad and walk-ing trails.

“We had a community

day with 600 to 800 people out there a few years back. We had singers and danc-ers,” but he said it’s “too much work” for volunteers to organize an annual event.

It’s also expensive, Col-lins said. The event was funded with a one-time grant from the East Tennes-see Foundation.

While he was at it, Col-lins also talked about dete-riorating conditions at the county-operated Spring

Place on Loves Creek. That pond ought to drain,”

he said. “People come there to get (drinking) water.”

Knox County’s Parks & Rec Department is under-funded to start with. To then add parks inside the city, which is fair since city residents pay county taxes too, stresses an already un-derstaffed operation.

It’s time, I think, to con-solidate the city and county departments of Parks and

Recreation. But such consolidation

should adopt the city’s mod-el (and funding level) rather than the county’s. The pres-sure for this will come from city residents, like Ronnie Collins, who have higher ex-pectations than do residents outside the city.

Country folks are accus-tomed to building ballparks and such without calling the government. But fair’s fair and services like parks and recreation should be spread evenly across the whole community.

It’s time.

Shopper news • MARCH 30, 2016 • 5

6 • MARCH 30, 2016 • NORTH/EAST Shopper news

Marvin West

We are told Butch Jones is about to succeed as Ten-nessee football coach. It is hard to fail. Check the facts.

Recruiting success proves that young people who get a glimpse of the university are willing to consider it for four of the most important years of their life.

And why not? The school is in a beautiful part of the world, on the banks of the Tennessee River. The Great Smoky Mountains are a spectacular backdrop.

The stadium is a show-place, an awesome sight and sound when fi lled to over-fl owing. Even when empty, it is a stately monument to the success of Robert Reese Neyland, legendary coach, army general and vision-

Hard to fail

ary extraordinaire. Neyland was wise enough to once de-cline the honor of his name on a mediocre basketball building. For foresight, he was awarded fi rst prize.

It is truly diffi cult to fail as Tennessee football coach. The region is blessed. There is fascinating weather, four distinct seasons, the gentle-ness of jonquils, summer cookouts, autumn leaves in a variety of colors, an occa-sional snowfall. Knoxville is big enough to have malls

and traffi c lights but small enough to get from here to there.

Tennessee football has tradition. Prep prospects may not make the connec-tion past Peyton Manning but parents might remem-ber the most recent of six national championships. Some may recall Reggie White.

Tennessee has a forever record of 813-367-54, eighth best. The Vols are second among SEC programs. They have won 13 conference crowns. OK, none lately.

Tennessee has 19 former players and four former coaches in the College Foot-ball Hall of Fame. Many others have been honored for smarts. Their real-world contributions are invaluable.

Colorful Tennessee football sidelights include checkerboard end zones, the Vol Walk and Vol Navy. The team runs onto Shields-

Watkins Field through a gi-ant T formed by the Pride of the Southland marching band.

The Vols have a mascot unlike any other, a genuine bluetick coonhound named Smokey. He howls in perfect harmony when the band plays Rocky Top. Rare, in-deed, is the mascot with a book about his heritage. See “Smokey” by Tom Matting-ly, UT Press, 2012.

There was a time when Tennessee overspent on fa-cilities. It has recovered. The prime purchase was a world-class building for training. Not far away are a state-of-the-art broadcast center, additional practice fi elds and a next-generation dorm under construction. There is even the possibil-ity of green grass on the stadium fi eld. Rented heat lamps encourage off-season growth.

Jones couldn’t fi nd a

valid excuse for losing even if he looked. He has almost unlimited recruiting funds, enough to go anywhere in pursuit of prospects. He is top 10 in salary with enough left over to attract any assis-tant he wants (Bob Shoops’ $1.15 million per year did not wreck the budget).

There is always enough to bring in celebrity speakers to encourage or enlighten the team.

Tennessee has terrifi c people supporting football, academic leaders, NFL con-nections, business contacts, a few hundred Vols for Life.

Tennessee has a his-tory of successful coaches. Neyland went 173-31-12. Bowden Wyatt, Hall of Fame as a player and coach, peaked quickly. His mark was 49-29-4.

Doug Dickey, excellent organizer and strategist, might have dominated the SEC if he had stayed. He

won 46 of 65 games. Good guy Bill Battle won with his inheritance, dribbled down year by year and departed at 59-22-2. Yes, he was bril-liant in business.

John Majors, favorite son, accepted a diffi cult as-signment, took a long time in reconstruction, was up, down and up in productivity and endured a controversial ending. His record was 116-62-8.

Phillip Fulmer had a best run of 45-5, won the big one, oversaw erosion and was pushed out with a hundred more victories than defeats.

Derek Dooley failed. It wasn’t all his fault. Hiring him was mistake.

It is highly unlikely that Jones will fall short. Best guess is lasting fame, may-be a statue or a street in his honor. Butch Boulevard sounds good.Marvin West invites reader reaction. His

address is westwest6@netzero.com

Moderator Mike Arms with panelists Lee Tramel, Charme Allen and Mike Hammond at the Farragut West Knoxville

Chamber of Commerce Breakfast Speaker Series event at Fox Den Country Club Photo by Wendy Smith

By Wendy SmithThe Farragut West Knox-

ville Chamber of Commerce hosted a panel discussion on drug use at last week’s Breakfast Speaker Se-ries event. While it wasn’t a business-related topic, Knox County Sheriff’s Of-fi ce Assistant Chief Deputy Lee Tramel said drug prob-lems touch everyone.

“It’s an epidemic of Bibli-cal proportions.”

Tramel sat on the panel with Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen and Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond.

Drug problems used to be limited to certain parts of town, and Farragut wasn’t one of them, Allen said. But that’s changed.

“Nobody’s immune from this problem.”

The judicial system is

facing a major shift in the way it handles drug offend-ers. The War on Drugs was a colossal failure, she said.

According to a list she re-ceives from the Knox Coun-ty medical examiner, there were 84 overdose deaths last year. Just over 80 days into 2016, there have been 43. The primary culprit is heroin, which appeals to young adults because it’s cheaper than pills.

Tramel estimates that 99 percent of those in jail are there because of drugs, at least indirectly. The county houses approximately 1,200 inmates every day, and 23 to 25 percent are mentally ill.

“It’s no place for a sick person to be.”

The county is closer to having a safety center than ever, but many details need to be addressed, he said.

AG says drug war ‘a colossal failure’

Allen agrees with the concept, but struggles with deciding who should be prosecuted and who should be sent to a safety or reha-bilitation center. It could

take three different forms − a mental health facility, an addiction treatment fa-cility, or jail diversion for those committing low level crimes, like public intoxica-

tion or disorderly conduct. Repeat offenders are good candidates for a safety cen-ter, she said.

Those offenders are cost-ing the county money, said

Hammond. Two Sessions Court repeat offenders owe over $1 million each.

“All the stakeholders are coming together. I think we can pull this off,” said Allen.

NORTH/EAST Shopper news • MARCH 30, 2016 • 7 faith

CrossCurrents

LynnPitts

I have donated blood to the Red Cross for years. There is a saying among Red Cross volunteers: “Blood is like a parachute; if you don’t have it when you need it, you won’t ever need it again.”

In this Easter season, I think about the blood of the Lamb of God, poured out for our sakes. He free-ly “donated” that blood we so desperately need, giving it willingly, out of obedience to the Father and love for all of us.

I have known pas-tors who were squeamish about blood, avoiding any mention of it during Holy Week. But the Jews of Je-sus’ day understood about it. And Jesus understood that he was taking the place of the Jewish Pass-over lamb, becoming the sacrifi cial Lamb for all of humankind.

Herod and Pilate sent Jesus back and forth, each trying to avoid re-sponsibility for Jesus’

Then he took a cup and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

(Matthew 26:27-28 NRSV)

Of blood and parachutes

fate. Herod had his sol-diers fl og him and put an elegant robe on him to mock him, then sent him back to Pilate. Pilate was uneasy about Jesus’ blood being on his hands, and so publicly tried to wash away his guilt in the mat-ter. He ultimately left Je-sus to the angry Passover crowd, who were shouting for Jesus’ execution. (Isn’t it odd that not one of that bloodthirsty crowd both-ered to stand at the foot of the Cross and actually witness the agony of their victim?)

The triumph of Easter is that untold millions stand at the foot of an empty cross and today worship a living Lord!

By Cindy Taylor Knoxville native and

Fountain City CPA Tommy Daugherty has a passion for history, especially Chris-tian history. That passion inspired him to spend the past three years writing the book “Why Your History Matters.”

This is Daugherty’s fi rst published work. He says that while he felt compelled to write the book he cer-tainly doesn’t recommend giving up your day job to become an author. He has spent the past three years doing research and writing the book while running his own business. The concept for the book goes back much further.

“The seed for this book was planted more than 30 years ago when I was in col-lege,” he said. “Surprisingly it was during a study of “Sir Ga-wain and the Green Knight” in English Masterpieces.”

Daugherty says his col-lege years were the most for-mative for him as far as his personal spiritual growth.

Tommy Daugherty with his new book, “History Matters.” Photo by Cindy Taylor

Facts are relevant“Why Your History Mat-

ters” tackles many tough questions, the most preva-lent being, will Christian history survive the Infor-mation Age? In attempt-ing to answer that question and others Daugherty spent countless hours doing re-search and studying the Christian faith among many different denominations.

When asked why this book and why now, Daugh-erty has an instant response.

“This book is an easy read and the subject mat-ter is relevant to where our culture is right now. We are in danger of losing our iden-tity as Christians. This book is for believers and non-be-lievers alike and pertains to all denominations.

This is a factual book and focuses on a subject we should all be concerned about. I hope to whet the appetite of my readers to do their own research.”

In the near future Daugh-erty is looking at teaching a class at his home church Buffat Heights Baptist based

on the content of his book. “I believe this book is very

timely. The Bible tells us that there is nothing new under the sun. We need to recon-nect to our Christian heritage to rediscover and embrace the history that connects and unites us. I am a seeker of truth in both my spiritual and business life so research-ing history for this book was a great outlet for me.”

The book has already been well received by schol-ars and laypeople. Daugh-erty says he is not a scholar but a history buff.

Since it is the height of tax season, Daugherty says his main focus needs to stay on his primary profession for right now. Once the month of April passes, Daugherty plans to start promoting his book with signings and pos-sibly a book launch. Future plans include many more projects.

“Getting published was very diffi cult,” said Daugh-erty. “This has been an exciting journey but I’m thankful the book is fi nally

fi nished and available for purchase.”

“Why Your History Mat-ters” is available on Kindle. Print version will be avail-able on Amazon April 1. Daugherty can be reached at www.dcpllc.org or tommy@dcpllc.org

Passion for Poland

By Ruth WhiteNews anchor Ted Hall

brought a message of trust and letting go of control when he spoke Friday at the Halls Business and Profes-sional Association’s annual prayer breakfast.

Hall was a reporter and news anchor at WBIR-TV for 18 years before heading to Atlanta to work at WXIA. He shared with the group his road to becoming a news anchor and how he learned to let go.

While visiting family in Kansas, Hall’s wife, Lesa, noticed that their young-est son, Keaton, wasn’t acting quite right and re-alized he was having a sei-zure. The couple rushed him to a hospital there and were advised to re-

turn to Atlanta promptly.Doctors in Atlanta per-

formed surgery on Keaton’s brain and found a cancer-ous tumor. When the Halls didn’t hear from the doc-tors, Ted remembers “the world spinning for two weeks.” He began to ask God why his son, why his little boy …. And he began to pray. “I heard the words clearly from God one day while I was praying, and He told me that He loved Ke-aton more than I ever could and to trust Him.”

Hall remembers God tell-ing him to “let it go,” and he gave complete control over his son’s health to God.

The tumor returned and a second surgery was re-quired. Hall is thankful that no chemotherapy or ra-

WVLT news anchor Ted Hall shares his story of faith with guests at the annual Halls Prayer Breakfast. Photo by R. White

Hall shares story of faith

diation was ever needed for healing. “Many good things have come from this,” he

FAITH NOTES ■ Church of God of Knoxville,

5912 Thorn Grove Pike, will hold a revival 7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, April 5-9, and 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10. Evangelist will be Bryant Owen, pastor of the Church of God in Asheville, N.C. Info: 522-9520.

■ First Comforter Church, 5516 Old Tazewell Pike, hosts MAPS (Mothers At Prayer Ser-vice) noon each Friday. Info: Edna Hensley, 771-7788.

■ Trentville and Pleasant Hill UMC will host a Spring Tea 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24, at Trentville UMC, 9215 Straw-berry Plains Pike. Donations welcome. Proceeds go to Children’s Ministries.

Jo Burton Coff manJo Burton Coffman, 67,

of Knoxville, passed away March 23 at Beverly Park Place. She was retired from Bellsouth with over 45 years of service. She was preceded

in death by parents, Harry and Ruth Burton.

Survivors include son, Ronnie Coffman; grand-children, Alex Coffman and Evan Coffman; great-

granddaughter, Charlie; nine sisters and brothers; sister-in-law, Glenda Bur-ton; a host of close friends. Stevens Mortuary served the family.

MILESTONESIda Mae Humphrey

Ida Mae Humphrey, 71, of Knoxville, passed away March 18 at Physicians Re-gional Medical Center. She was retired from Walmart after 15 years of service.

She was preceded in death by parents, Fred and

Edith Duty. Survivors in-clude husband, Kelley T. Humphrey; daughters, Tracy Bain and Karen Hum-phrey; daughter and son-in-law, Patricia and Bill Shaba-rekh; 11 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; fi ve

sisters. Memorial services were

held March 29 at New Life United Methodist Church, Millertown Pike, with pas-tor Teresa McClure offi ci-ating. Stevens Mortuary served the family.

said. Keaton went to several camps and was also on tele-vision to talk about cancer. He is now 19 years old and plans to study abroad in Ja-pan this summer.

Hall reminded the group that God’s plan is always better than our own. “I’m not sure about the future, but I don’t have to worry about it.” Following Ke-aton’s illness, Hall’s priori-ties changed.

After fulfi lling his con-tract at WXIA, he quit his job, trusted God and re-turned to Knoxville. He is currently working at WVLT and is thrilled to be back home.

“This time, instead of praying and telling God what I wanted to do, I wait-ed on God.”

By Cindy Taylor Mandi Meek is a third grade

teacher at Powell Elementary School and a member of the worship team at Fellow-ship North Church. She hasn’t met an instru-ment she can’t play or a child she can’t teach. She makes use of both talents when on mis-sion to Poland where she leads music and works with children.

Having just returned from Szczecin, Poland, last week, Meek is still recuperat-ing from jet lag but is already looking forward to her next trip there. When Meek was presented with her fi rst opportunity to go on a short term mission trip to Poland fi ve years ago she was hesitant.

“I wasn’t sure I could do it,” she said. “Now I know that going to Poland is answer-ing God’s call in my life.”

Meek says she is still exploring what God intends for her but moving to Poland for a longer period could defi nitely be in the pic-ture. She says serving in Poland has deep-ened her relationship with God and with those she is serving. Each trip brings new friendships and more opportunity to stretch

her talents. Some of those she has met on mission trips have now visited her here in the U.S. She says she always looks forward to the trips but is also scared to death.

“I don’t think of my-self as a missionary,” she

said. “I’m just an ordinary person.”According to Meek she con-

stantly witnesses God’s hand working in her life. One instance

in her most recent trip is a prime example. Originally Meek had the opportunity to fl y back home through Brussels. This could have placed her in the midst of the terrorist attack that took place March 22 at the air-port. The attack killed, at this writing, more than 30 people. Instead, she opted to return to the states through Berlin and Munich.

“A few months ago God impressed me to not take that path through Brussels,” said Meek. “God is so good. You don’t need to have it all together to do missions. Just go and God will supply. ”

Meek has already made arrangements to return to Poland again this June when she will spend two months.

Missionary Mandi Meek blows out the candles on a cake baked by Huddle group members who are seeing her off to Poland. Writing on the cake says prayers and chocolate for Mandi. Photo by Cindy Taylor

8 • MARCH 30, 2016 • NORTH/EAST Shopper news

Your new best friend is waiting at Young-Williams Animal Center.

t t ting iams r.

Visit our two Knoxville locations to find a dog, cat or other furry friend in need of a loving home. Adoption fee includes spay/neuter surgery, vet exam and much more.

3201 Division Street Just off Sutherland Avenue

6400 Kingston Pike On Bearden Hill

Adopt a pet today!

Churro Adopted by the Sisson family

(865) 215-6599 www.young-williams.org

Spay or neuter your pet today!

Already have a furry family member?

Young-Williams offers low-cost spay/neuter surgeries at $70 for dogs and $45 for cats.

Surgeries can be scheduled at the 6400 Kingston Pike location

or on our mobile Spay Shuttle.

Help us end animal homelessness in Knoxville.

Call 865-215-6677 to request an appointment to spay or neuter your pet!

Open every day from noon-6 p.m.J

NEWS FROM EMERALD YOUTH FOUNDATION OF KNOXVILLE

Steve Diggs

A Message from

Steve DiggsEmerald Youth President and CEO

Sometimes people ask me, “Why are churches such a big part of the Emerald Youth community part-nership?” This Easter season, when we attend church to give thanks for God’s love for all of us, it is a good time to answer that question.

Emerald Youth grew out of Emerald Avenue United Methodist Church. To this day, our neighborhood ministry, JustLead, has remained in an inten-tional partnership with Knoxville’s churches. From the beginning, we rec-ognized and believed the church is the best place to disciple and create indige-nous relationships with kids long term.

We believe the church is the best place for a number of important things to hap-pen. These include building lasting, in-ter-generational relationships, creating ongoing supports for families, and pro-viding opportunities for youth to serve, lead and shape their Christian faith.

When you minister with a youth, you are also in relationship with that young person’s family. I will tell you this: the families of many of our young people, like families in other urban areas of our country, face unique challenges and can use a “body” of friends and neighbors. Emerald Youth partners with churches because they can be some of the best advocates for families.

Through a total person approach that takes place in the neighborhoods where children live, kids don’t just sur-vive – they learn leadership and gain confi dence. With God’s grace and be-cause of the investments made through the church, they grow up to be respon-sible and caring adults.

This Easter season, let us celebrate God’s love with all our brothers and sisters in our community. God is good!

Emerald Youth Foundation will host its 23rd annual prayer and fundraising breakfast on Friday, May 6, offering guests a meal, worshipful music by the Emerald Youth choir and direc-

tor John Jackson, and testimo-nials from urban youth.

More than 1,000 people are expected to attend the 7 a.m. event, which will be at the Knoxville Expo Center, 5441

Clinton Highway. The breakfast – sponsored by Graham Corpo-ration, Home Federal Bank and Tennova Healthcare – provides support to Emerald Youth’s ministry with more than 2,000

urban young people each year through faith, learning and sports programs.

Reservations are now open online at www.emeraldyouth.org or by calling 865-637-3227.

With the expanded reach of Em-erald Youth’s programs throughout the heart of Knoxville, now more than ever caring adults are needed to connect with the ministry.

Learn more about getting involved during a special “Get Connected!” event on Saturday, April 16, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The casual meet and

greet is open to the public and will take place at Emerald Youth Founda-tion, 1718 North Central Street.

Stop by to learn about a variety of volunteer, employment, AmeriCorps and other opportunities available throughout Emerald Youth and its faith, learning and sports programs with city kids.

Guests at the May 6 breakfast event

will hear young people in the Emerald

Youth choir share their vocal talents.

Emerald youth to host annual prayer breakfast May 6prayer breakfast

Elston Turner will host his annual bas-

ketball camp this summer. Sponsorship

opportunities are available now.

Support this summer’s Elston Turner Basketball Camp

Sponsorship opportunities are now avail-able to support the annual Elston Turner Basketball Camp.

Austin-East graduate and Memphis Griz-zlies assistant coach Elston Turner will re-turn to Knoxville this July to host the annual basketball camp for city youth. The camp teaches boys and girls from across Knoxville valuable basketball and life skills.

It is open to youth ages 6-18 and will be July 25-30 at Austin-East High School gym. Emerald Youth Foundation and Fellowship of Christian Athletes have joined with Proj-ect GRAD Knoxville to present this year’s Elston Turner Basketball Camp.

More details are online at www.elston turnerbc.com

Learn more about opportunities to serve with Emerald Youth at its “Get Connected!” event on April 16.

Connect to Emerald’s work with city kids

NORTH/EAST Shopper news • MARCH 30, 2016 • 9 kids

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30

Documentary Series: “Years of Living Dangerously” – Episode 5, 7-9 p.m., Mac Smith Resource Center, 1936 Liberty Hill Road, Washburn. Info: 497-2753 or community@narrowridge.org.

International Folk Dance Class, 7:30-10 p.m., Claxton Community Center, 1150 Edgemoor Road, Clinton. Info: Paul Taylor, 898-5724; oakridgefolkdancers.org; on Facebook.

Line dancing, noon-1 p.m., Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Free and open to the public. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.

“Spring Fling,” 5:15 p.m., Christ UMC, 7535 Maynardville Highway. Includes: entertainment by The Blair Experience, silent auction, raffl e of an Archie Campbell print and dinner. Cost: $7, or $24 for family. Info/reservations: 922-1412.

FRIDAY, APRIL 1

First Friday Comedy, 7-9 p.m., Saw Works Brewing, 708 E. Depot Ave. Free comedy showcase featuring Atlanta comedians Ian Aber and Hayley Ellman.

First Friday Knoxville “The Next Level!!!” 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Jubilee Banquet Facility, 6700 Jubilee Center Way. Adult party featuring multiple DJs. Advance tickets: $10, 1stfridayknoxville-tnl.eventbrite.com; Simply 10, 2043 N. Broadway; Gams’ Hair Fashions, 1524 University Ave; 615-995-9093.

Ladies Night Out, 6-8 p.m., Nature’s Fountain, 1719 Depot St., Powell. Vendors will give tips on hair, skin, makeup, essential oils, nutrition, cooking and wellness. Info: 859-0938.

Opening reception for exhibit by Owen Weston, 5-9 p.m. Broadway Studios and Gallery, 1127 N. Broadway. Exhibit on display through April 30. Info: BroadwayStudiosAndGalley.com.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 1-3

“Fiddler on the Roof” presented by the Halls High Choral Department. Performances: 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $8 adults; $5 students and Knox County teachers; children 4 and under are free.

THURSDAYS-SUNDAYS, APRIL 1-17

“Annie, Jr.,” Knoxville Children’s Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Ave. Performances: 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 1 and 5 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Info: 208-3677; knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com; info@childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

SATURDAY, APRIL 2

AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Westminster Presbyterian Church, 6500 South Northshore Drive. Registration: Paul Johnson, 675-0694. Info: Carolyn Rambo, 382-5822.

Autism Site Knoxville (ASK) grand opening and celebration of World Autism Awareness Day, 10 a.m., ASK’s autism community center, Papermill Center, 4028 Papermill Drive, Suite 20. Featuring: video game truck for older kids and teens, Disney princess greetings from Enchanted Princesses, a special visit from Kylo Ren, and an art workshop. Info: AutismSiteKnoxville.org; 816-9716; ASK@autismsiteknoxville.org.

Bluegrass, noon-3 p.m., Marcos Pizza, 7121 Maynardville Pike. Info: 377-4403.

“Drip Irrigation: Putting it Together,” 10:30 a.m.-noon, Master Gardener Demonstration Garden, All Saints Catholic Church, 620 N. Cedar Bluff Road. Presented by Master Gardeners of Knox County. Free and open to the public. Info: 215-2340.

Kitten and cat adoption fair, noon-6 p.m., West Town PetSmart adoption center, 214 Morrell Road. Sponsored by Feral Feline Friends of East Tennessee. Info: www.feralfelinefriends.org.

“Maximizing Your Social Security” workshop, 10:30 a.m., Halls Branch Library, 4518 E. Emory Road. Presented by Darrell Keathley, COFFE. Info: 922-2552.

“Mosaic Stepping Stone” class, 1-6 p.m., Appalachian Arts Craft Center, 2716 Andersonville Highway, Norris. Instructor: Jessica Kortz. Registration deadline: March 26. Info/registration: 494-9854; appalachianarts.net.

Open music jam, 7-9:30 p.m., Mac Smith Resource Center, 1936 Liberty Hill Road, Washburn. Info: 497-2753 or community@narrowridge.org.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, APRIL 2-3

Auditions for Shakespeare on the Square, Emporium Building, 100 S. Gay St. Hosted by Tennessee Stage Company. Times: 1-3 p.m. Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. All auditions by appointment only. Info/appointments: 546-4280; tennesseestage@comcast.net; tennesseestage.com.

MONDAY, APRIL 4

American Legion meeting, 7 p.m., 140 Veteran St., Maynardville. All veterans are invited. Info: 387-5522.

MONDAYS, APRIL 4-18

“Handbuilding With Clay” class, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Appalachian Arts Craft Center, 2716 Andersonville Highway, Norris. Instructor: Janet McCracken. Info/registration: 494-9854; appalachianarts.net.

MONDAYS, APRIL 4-25

QED Experimental Comedy Lab, 7:30-9:30 p.m., The Pilot Light, 106 E. Jackson Ave. Free comedy show blending stand-up, improv, sketch and other performance styles. Donations accepted.

TUESDAY, APRIL 5

Casual Comedy, 7-9 p.m., Casual Pint-Hardin Valley, 10677 Hardin Valley Road. Free stand-up comedy showcase featuring Derek Sheen from Seattle. Host: Shane Rhyne.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6

International Folk Dance Class, 7:30-10 p.m., Claxton Community Center, 1150 Edgemoor Road, Clinton. Info: Paul Taylor, 898-5724; oakridgefolkdancers.org; on Facebook.

THURSDAY, APRIL 7

Bee Friends beekeeping group meeting, 6:30 p.m., auditorium, Tazewell Campus of Walters State. Club members will be discussing their experiences of this spring season and exchanging ideas and answering questions. Open to everyone interested in beekeeping.

Big Ridge 4th District Neighborhood Watch meeting, 7 p.m., Big Ridge Elementary School library. Info: 992-5212.

Celebrate National Poetry Month with Rose Klix, noon, Halls Senior Center, 4405 Crippen Road. Participants receive complimentary poetry book from Klix. Info: 922-0416.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, APRIL 8-9

Children’s consignment sale, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Bookwalter UMC, 4218 Central Avenue Pike. Saturday is half-off day. Presale, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 7. Consigning info: 689-3349.

SATURDAY, APRIL 9

Community Fun Fest and Ministry Awareness Event, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Luttrell Park. Luttrell. Activities include: vendors, silent auction, play area, bounce house, singing food, fun crafts and more.

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ShoppernewseVents

Berean Christian School ‘Shines Brightly’Berean Christian School

is accepting nominations for students, staff and alumni who “Shine Brightly” in the community. Anyone may nominate a member of Ber-ean who has stood out in the school or community through service, academics, athletics, etc.

To nominate a student,

staff/faculty or alum-nus for a Shine Brightly award, visit www.berean-christian.org/ and click on the Shine Brightly tab. Submissions will be fea-tured on Berean’s blog and social media with the hashtag#shinebrightlybcs. Deadline for submissions is May 1.

Lonsdale ElementaryLonsdale Elementary

students will be partici-pating in a dance club that will perform at Knoxville’s Dancing with the Stars to benefit Children’s Hos-pital. The event will be

Saturday, April 9, and the group will perform be-tween 7:45 and 8:30 p.m. The program will stream live; the link is www.etch.com/giving/dancing-knox-ville-stars.

Austin-East MagnetAustin-East Magnet High

School will host “A Night of Thanks and Celebration” at 6 p.m. Friday, April 1, in the Performing Arts Auditori-um. The night will be a send-off for A-E’s Spanish Travel Club’s fi rst trip to France

and Spain, as well as an ap-preciation of the sponsors. Performances will include the West African dancers, A-E Dance Company and more. Austin-East is located at 2800 Martin Luther King Blvd. Info: 594-3792.

Using Pi every day

Vine numeracy coach Ashley Walther and seventh grade math teacher Jennifer Ewing show the Pi-infl uenced paper chain cre-ated by students.

Vine Middle Magnet re-cently hosted a family math night and the star of the night was Pi (3.14). Students were able to interact with teachers and UT student teachers to learn how Pi can be used in more than just math class.

Booths were set up in the cafeteria, and various activi-ties included calculations of hat size, painting a skyline using the numbers in Pi as a guide, making music with Pi in the key of A minor, puns and poems with Pi and cre-

Melissa Horning uses a tape measure and math to calculate the hat size of Katherine Napier during Vine Middle Magnet’s math engagement night. Photos by R. White

Holston to present ‘Lion King Jr.’By Ruth White

Holston Middle School show choir will present “Lion King Jr. the Musi-cal” for three nights in the school auditorium.

Shows will be 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 31, through Saturday, April 2, with a matinee on Sat-urday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available through Hol-stonms.seatyourself.biz and cost is $10.00.

Childhood friends Nala (Katelyn Mundt) and Simba (Bo Choate) are reunited after a long separation.

Dressed for their roles as the evil hyenas are Hailey Rosser (Ed), Hannah Hud-

son (Banzai) and Kinsley Mitchell (Shenzi).

RuthWhite

ating paper chains in 3 min-utes and 14 seconds.

The night was a fun way to incorporate math skills into everyday life and in my opinion was very successful, because I walked away hav-ing learned a thing or two about Pi.

10 • MARCH 30, 2016 • NORTH/EAST Shopper news businessJeff Bolin and wife Amie

met through their mutual love of all things nostalgic. Amie loved repurposing furniture. Jeff had other interests.

Open Streets Knoxville seeking vendorsOpen Streets Knoxville, a free event pro-

moting physical activity and community in-teraction, will be held 1-6 p.m. Sunday, May 15. During Open Streets, a 1-mile stretch of Central Street, from Willow to Scott, Old City to Happy Holler, will be closed to all motorized traffi c, allowing participants a day of shopping, playing, exercising and so-

cializing all on foot or two wheels.The family and pet friendly event will

feature free games, classes and activities for all ages and abilities. Open Streets Knox-ville is accepting applications from vendors interested in donating services, sponsoring the event or hosting an activity. Info/appli-cation: openstreetsknoxville.com.

Pierre Ribardierre on waterskis for the fi rst time

Cindy Taylor

Funky, eclectic vintage in Knoxville

Nostalgia on McCalla owner Jeff Bolin in his

vintage clothing booth Photos by

Cindy Taylor

McCalla store

“I’ve been collecting an-tiques and vintage since I was 12 years old,” said Jeff. “I had an obsession with 1950s items.”

It didn’t take long for their personal partnership to branch out into co-own-ership of two unique shops. The two refer to their shops as funky, eclectic vintage stores.

Nostalgia was estab-lished in West Knoxville more than nine years ago by Amie. Nostalgia on McCalla came about six years later. Jeff manages the McCalla shop while Amie manages the original store in West Knoxville.

Jeff does metal work, but his current obsession is vintage clothing. He has a booth in the McCalla shop along with eight other art-ists and more than 30 total dealers.

“I enjoy matching a cus-tomer with just the right piece of vintage clothing,” said Jeff. “I love all my art-ists and dealers and I love this store. My vendors all have different fl airs and tastes. I am the most blessed shop in Knoxville.”

The shops are great places to browse for house-hold items, vintage cloth-ing, books, jewelry, furni-ture and more. Artists have booths where customers can

purchase pottery, metal art, paintings, etc. All art is lo-cal and original and prices are surprisingly affordable. Pottery artist Scottie Baxter displays her work at Nostal-gia on McCalla.

“Jeff is constantly im-proving the store and re-cruiting new vendors,” said Baxter. “A lot of people don’t realize what an eclectic place it is.”

Baxter mentioned that many of the creations car-ried are upcycled, repur-posed and made from re-claimed items. Natural yarns are a newer addition to the shop.

From mid-century mod-ern to steampunk, the vari-ety of items available in the shops draws all ages, dispo-sitions and bargain hunters. The Bolins make their store available for a few local club meetings as well. Jeff says the area is very up-and-coming.

“There are new business-es moving into the block and we are within walking distance of the Old City,” said Jeff. “During First Fri-days we are open late and have outdoor events, music and food.”

The Bolins say their shops are best described

as epitomizing the reduce, reuse, recycle mentality, and that Nostalgia supports the entrepreneurial spirit of its vendors by providing a space where artists and craftsmen can sell their cre-ations, teach others and col-laborate to exchange ideas.

Nostalgia in Bearden is at 5214 Homberg Drive; 584-0832. Nostalgia on McCalla is near the east end of the Old City at 1401 McCalla Av-enue; 622-3252. Visit Face-book.com/NostalgiaOnMc-Calla. Check the shops for hours.Contact Cindy Taylor at ctaylorsn@gmail.com

News from the Rotary Guy

Pierre Ribardierre hails from the Normandy region

of France and for the past nine m o n t h s has made quite an impression as a Ro-tary Youth E x c h a n g e student in

Knoxville at Webb School. He’s learned to love fried chicken, water skiing, beef jerky and Chick-fi l-A.

He’s a fun-loving 17-year-old from a small village – La Chapelle Mon-tiligeon, about two hours from Paris. As a sophomore at Webb School he will have two more years of school in France before graduation. He is fl uent in French, Jap-anese and English.

Pierre’s exchange is spon-sored by the Rotary Club of Farragut.

He was on Webb’s soccer team, the JV wrestling team and in the Robotics Club. “I really enjoyed both soccer and wrestling and in wres-tling I could use my Judo,” he said. He holds a Brown Belt in Judo and a Black Belt in karate.

Jared Frazier, Webb’s soccer coach and social studies teacher, says of Pierre: “Not only has he had a positive impact in our classroom, Pierre has made a major impact on the soccer

team and the school com-munity as a whole. Pierre is outrageously kind, thought-ful and genuine in his inter-actions with everyone.”

His mother is Japanese, his father a Frenchman. He lived in Japan for fi ve years. “As you can see I don’t have a ‘French’ face,” he said when speaking at Farragut Rotary.

Webb School’s Liz Gregor, the school’s multicultural coordinator, says, “Academi-cally, Pierre is one of our stronger exchange students. His teachers have glowing recommendations about him. He’s very polite and courteous and his language skills are very good!!!”

Last Wednesday he moved in with his third host family, the Jacobs – Dr. Jacquelyn Jacobs and Stanton Jacobs. They have twin boys, Connor and Kyle, who are seniors at Webb and were on the soccer team with Pierre.

He says school here has been easier for him. His school day in France runs from 8 a.m. to around 5:30 or 6 p.m. “My school has about 1,000 students with 30-35 students in each class. It’s easier to get help from the teachers here at Webb since we have only about 15 in each class. We take more subjects in France and we have a lot more homework. Our teachers are very strict in France compared to here.

French exchange student settles in

Tom King

Sculptures created by eight University of Tennes-see art students that incor-porate materials provided by steel recycler Gerdau will be on public display April 1-17 at the Knoxville Con-vention Center.

“The Art of Recycling” sculpture exhibition cel-ebrates April’s National Recycling Month and is a partnership among Gerdau, Dogwood Arts and the Uni-versity of Tennessee sculp-ture program. The sculp-tures will be unveiled in a public ceremony Friday, April 1, at 10 a.m.

In February, Gerdau’s Knoxville steel mill opened its scrap yard to the stu-dents, along with John Pow-ers, UT assistant professor of sculpture. The group se-lected more than two tons of discarded metal and steel, provided free of charge by Gerdau, and gained inspira-tion for new works of art.

“I am delighted that our students again have the opportunity to participate in this wonderful experi-ence,” said Powers, who has worked with the project since 2014. “We appreci-ate Gerdau’s generosity and hospitality. The access and support they provide are key to this event’s success. The students’ creative juices are fl owing, and they are ea-ger to reveal their works to the public.”

The partnership always has resulted in new works of art, but 2015 was the fi rst time it culminated in a public art exhibition. The

“Deep Roots” by UT sculpture program student Brian Hop-pers is one of eight sculptures in the Art of Recycling sculp-ture exhibition that runs April 1-17 at the Knoxville Conven-tion Center.

‘Art of Recycling’ exhibit in April

Knoxville Convention Cen-ter remains an enthusiastic supporter of the project.

Participating UT stu-dents include Shane Coe, Will Evers, Brian Hoppers, Erica Mendoza, Marisa Mitchell, Patty Tinsley, Charlie Waddle and Anna Weible.

Around the world, Gerdau transforms millions of metric tons of scrap into steel every year. The compa-ny’s Knoxville mill recycles discarded steel into rein-forcing bar, which is used to support concrete in new bridges, buildings an d other structures.

“It has been a great year and it’s not over yet,” he said.

■ Remember Texas Hold’emHave some fun playing

Texas Hold’em at the Tur-key Creek Rotary Club’s Poker Night fundraiser at 6 p.m. Friday, April 8, at the new SouthEast Bank in Farragut. Tickets are $50. You can email Matt Jerrell for more information at mjerrell@gemserve.comTom King is a retired newspaper editor, a Rotarian for 28 years and past president of the Rotary Club of Farragut. He can be reached at tking535@gmail.com

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Shopper news • MARCH 30, 2016 • 11 weekender

By Sandra ClarkBig Ridge State Park

has a new park manager, Keith Montgomery, who has quickly embraced the pub-lic service and downright friendliness that sets this park apart.

That was obvious last Saturday at the park’s an-nual day-before-Easter egg hunt which attracted some 4,900 visitors, based on the rangers’ car count.

An event this big doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a treat for kids because of the hard work by park work-ers and volunteers and the fi nancial support from in-dividuals and businesses from a three-state region. Boy Scouts guarded the pe-rimeter before each hunt.

But back to Montgomery.He walked into the cen-

ter of the scattered eggs to take pictures and start the hunt. He recruited the Eas-ter Bunny (a nephew, Rob-ert Allen) and even his wife, Tanda Montgomery, as the bunny’s sidekick. Montgom-ery previously worked at the Knoxville Zoo with a spe-cialty in landscaping and outdoor event management.

By Carol Z. ShaneIt’s spring! The dogwoods

are budding and the daffo-dils are making way for the tulips. April’s First Friday approaches and, along with it, a smorgasbord of ways to see Knoxville at its fi nest and most artfully abundant.

The big draw this week-end is, of course, the Big Ears Festival, which Rolling Stone has called “America’s biggest musical gathering of the ambitious and avant-leaning,” and which last year featured “toe-dipping stations for 20th-century composition, contemporary indie-rock, abstract elec-tronics, jazz, folk, ambient and Syrian pop.”

Alongside all that 21st-century sonic fabulousness will be an array of visual art on display.

The longest-running, with exhibitions in place through March 10, 2017 – is “Art in Public Places,” part of this year’s Dogwood Arts Festival. Large-scale sculp-tures, selected and awarded by Brooklyn, N.Y. native, Afro-Cuban sculptor, and president of the Mid-South Sculpture Alliance Isaac Duncan III, can be viewed downtown and at McGhee Tyson airport.

While you’re downtown, stop by the Emporium Cen-ter for the Dogwood Arts Regional Fine Art Exhibi-tion. Food and beverages will be offered from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, and you can mingle with some of the 43 artists whose work made it into this juried show.

At the Art Market Gal-lery, drop in after 5:30 for refreshments, live music by Matt Tillery, and an exhibi-tion by ceramic artist Lisa Kurtz and photographer Dennis Sabo.

Kurtz, who’s been a pot-

Kids in the 5-7-years age group dash into the circle to pick up plastic eggs. Every egg had a surprise.

Master potter of 37 years Lisa Kurtz will display her pottery at the Art Market

Gallery beginning this Friday.

This colorful painting by Scott Eakin will be on view at the Emporium Center this First Friday. Photos submitted

Park manager Keith Montgomery photographs the egg hunt.

Ellyonna Shelley and Sophie Cole of Andersonville get a new look, thanks to skillful face painting by Alexis Sivyer and Ashlynn Irick. Face painting was donated by Texas Roadhouse near Knoxville Center mall where Dallas Sluder is managing partner. Ashley Miller, store marketer, directed the eff ort. She said it’s a promotion for Kid’s Night every Monday at the restaurant. “We have free crafts, coloring, face painting and games from 5-8 p.m.” Info: 865-540-4150.

ies, campfi res, arts and crafts, nature programs and organized sports.

Bicycling: Within the park, bicycles are allowed on the paved roads only, but there are miles of less-traveled country roads surrounding the park that can provide hours of scenic riding for the road enthusiast.

Camping: The Park maintains a 50-site camp-ground, 19 rustic cabins and a large group camp area. For overnight backcountry camping, there are three designated campsites. Back-country camping is free, but a permit is required. Leashed pets are allowed, but no pack animals.

Fishing: Enjoy lake fi shing year round along the shoreline with the ex-ception of the swimming beach. There are a variety of fi sh on the lake, including bluegill, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and crap-pie. The boat ramp at the park is open from Memo-rial Day through Labor Day. Visitors may use their own electric trolling motors on park rowboats but gasoline outboards are not allowed on Big Ridge Lake.

Hiking: Over 15 miles of hiking-only trails wind along the Park’s ridges and hollows, over old roadbeds, alongside the lakeshores and beside

cemeteries and remnants from early settlements.

The park’s most promi-nent historical features are:

■ the Norton Gristmill built in 1825, now mostly a replica but the original mill race and millstones remain;

■ Indian Rock where a plaque marks the site of the 1794 ambush of Peter Graves;

■ a small monument at Lon Sharp Cemetery recalls the 18th-century Sharp’s Station believed to have been located near the cemetery; and

■ the Norton Cemetery which houses the grave of Maston Hutcheson (1826-1910), who according to local lore is responsible for hauntings in the area. A few minor remains of Hutcheson’s house are still visible at the junction of the Ghost House Loop Trail and the Big Valley Trail connector.

Paddling: While private boats are not allowed on the spring-fed lake within the park, rental canoes, pad-dleboats and rowboats are available during the sum-mer.

Paddlers can access the boat ramp at Norris Lake on the western section of the park, just past the park entrance. There is no access during the winter due to the lake’s low water level.

Artful abundanceter for 37 years, says, “My work in clay is a love affair with the material itself.” She explains that because the material is so malleable, texture plays an impor-tant part in her pieces. She enjoys exploring the con-trast between “raw, earthy stretched slabs of clay and smooth, polished wheel-thrown forms,” and prefers to integrate both techniques into each of her pieces.

“I am excited about hav-ing my work as one of the featured artists at the Art Market Gallery this month, because I have been work-ing on new glazes and forms,” she says. Kurtz, who lives and works in Knox-ville, teaches drawing at Pellissippi State Commu-nity College and pottery at Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, Tenn.

Art of a different kind is on view at Holly’s Corner on Central Avenue, beginning at 6 p.m. with “Cupcake Wars,” in which entrants vie for prizes in a cupcake decoration contest. Admis-sion for viewers is free, and cupcakes are avail-able for purchase. Take a jaunt a little further north for “An Evening with Owen Weston” at Broadway Stu-dios and Gallery. The recep-tion begins at 5 and features light refreshments. Weston, who has taught art for sev-eral decades at West High School, has put together a retrospective of his work.

All in all, it’s one artful weekend!

Info: www.dogwoodarts.com, www.theemporium center.com, www.art marketgallery.net, www.holly seventfuldining.com, www.broadwaystudiosand gallery.com.Send story suggestions to news@shoppernewsnow.com.

Big Ridge State Park is just minutes away. Take I-75 north to the Hwy. 61 exit (watch for billboards tout-ing the Museum of Appala-chia). Turn right and travel about 20 minutes through scenic farms, quaint An-dersonville where the speed limit really is 30 mph, and rugged Union County ridg-es. You will love this park.

Here’s what the Legacy Parks Foundation website says about Big Ridge:

Big Ridge State Park rests on the southern shore of Norris Lake, an im-poundment of the Clinch River created by the com-pletion of Norris Dam in 1936. Much of the park’s recreational focus centers on the 49-acre Big Ridge Lake where you can en-joy sand volleyball, ten-nis, horseshoes, basketball and softball. Recreational equipment may be checked out at the park offi ce at no charge. The park’s sandy beach is a popular swim-ming area in summer. Sea-sonal Interpretive Rangers provide free weekly activi-ties during the summer in-cluding guided hikes, mov-

a gem next door

12 • MARCH 30, 2016 • Shopper news