NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ

Demolition impacts Blount Avenue

Two westbound lanes of Blount Avenue between Gay Street and Chapman Highway will be closed through Sept. 19 to accommodate demoli-tion work at the former Baptist Hospital site.

Commuters will share the two eastbound lanes, with side-by-side lanes of eastbound and westbound traffi c.

JW Demolition, which is do-ing the South Waterfront site preparation work, applied for the traffi c control permit, ac-cording to a city press release.

Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial Corp. of Augusta, Ga., has announced plans to transform the 23-acre now-vacant site into a $165 million mixed-use development that may include a hotel, apart-ments and retail space.

Credibility“It’s tough to balance the in-

terests of good people holding public offi ce with the public’s right to know and question relevant matters.

“And it falls to a newspaper’s editor to decide what to print and when to print it.”

Shopper-News publisher Sandra Clark talks about the decision to write about Gloria Deathridge’s health issues and prints a response from Deathridge.

➤ See both on page 4

VOL. 2 NO. 1 July 29, 2013www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow

7049 Maynardville Pike 37918(865) 922-4136

NEWS

news@ShopperNewsNow.comSandra Clark | Betsy Pickle

ADVERTISING SALESads@ShopperNewsNow.com

Shannon Carey

Jim Brannon | Tony Cranmore

Patty Fecco

Donaldson under fi re from all sides

“The major unreported news this week is the letter signed by numerous neighborhood lead-ers in both the city and county calling for the departure of Mark Donaldson as head of Metropolitan Planning Com-mission.”

Columnist Victor Ashe writes about an alliance of former City Council members Carlene Malone, Jean Teague and Barbara Pelot to topple Donaldson.

➤ Read his column on page 5

To page 3

VOL. 2 NO. 30 July 30, 2014www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow

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By Betsy PickleDr. Robert Black knew when

he was a student at Gap Creek El-ementary School that he wanted to become a veterinarian.

“I didn’t think I could attain it, but I thought I might as well go ahead and try,” he says. He wanted a job where he could be outside and be his own boss. “I attained the part about being a veterinar-ian, but I wasn’t outside, and I wasn’t independent. I was inside most of the time, and you’re cer-tainly never independent.”

Even retirement doesn’t prom-ise that, not with his wife, Sue, to keep him on his toes. He retired after 42 years with Central Veteri-nary Hospital about a month ago but immediately got busy help-ing with Vacation Bible School at church. And he still rises no later than 7 a.m. to go swim at the YMCA downtown.

“I’m geared to getting up early,” he says.

Black, who lives in the Mount Olive community, grew up in Kim-berlin Heights. His father was a professor at Johnson Bible Col-

Dr. Robert Black still has plenty of animal friends, including Gidget and Hall-

ie. Photo by Betsy Pickle

Goal attained Veterinarian refl ects on 42-year practice

Former South High cheerleader Gayle Burnett remembers wearing that red

and white skirt.

By Betty BeanLast week, the board of direc-

tors of the Beck Cultural Exchange Center chose inde-pendent consultant Renee Kesler as its new executive director. She was elected by a 9-2 vote after an ex-ecutive committee selected her from a pool of candidates for the position.

Board chair Sam Anderson said he’s comfortable with this deci-sion, but Kesler’s hiring is not sit-ting well with Knox County Mayor

Tim Burchett, who has tangled over budget matters with Beck’s leadership in the past.

“I’m gravely concerned. We’ve had some issues with the leader-ship and the bookkeeping at Beck, and we’ll just have to see what kind of relationship we’ll have go-ing forward,” Burchett said, add-ing that he believes the Beck Cen-ter is “grossly underutilized.”

The Beck Center is at 1927 Dan-dridge Ave. in the former home of the late James Garfi eld Beck and Ethel Benson Beck, who were leading African-American educa-tors and entrepreneurs. The Beck Center has been renovated and

expanded in the past decade and contains extensive collections of history and artifacts of East Ten-nessee’s African-American com-munity as well as a large meeting hall and space for children and others to access computers and tutoring services.

The Beck Center is slated to re-ceive $25,000 each from the city and county (a total of $50,000) this fi scal year.

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rog-ero (who replaced Kesler as city community development director in 2007) was more positive in tone than Burchett:

“The Beck Center is a commu-

nity treasure for all of Knoxville. Itsarchives hold materials of great his-torical and cultural signifi cance, andthe city is committed to supportingits mission and future growth. Onpersonnel matters, we respect thedecisions of the Beck Center boardof directors, and we will continue towork with the board and staff.”

The Beck Center saw its county funding slashed from $150,000 to$12,000 in 2011, the fi rst budgetprepared by Burchett. The center’sfounder and heartbeat, RobertBooker, has been serving as in-terim director.

Fundraising is one of the execu-tive d irector’s primary duties.

Burchett not happy with new Beck director

lege (now Johnson University) and preached for 27 years at Corner-stone Christian Church (formerly Lonsdale Christian Church), where the Blacks still are members.

He knew he didn’t want to fol-low his father’s path into preach-ing. “That’s the hardest job in the world,” he says. “I just wasn’t cut out for it.”

Not that he took it easy. Af-ter graduating from Young High School, he earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Ten-nessee and his veterinary degree at Auburn University.

“In those days, there were only 17 veterinary schools in North America,” he says.

Black was in college during the Vietnam War, and he was due to be drafted. The U.S. Army let him fi n-ish veterinary school, but 10 days after he graduated, he entered the service as a member of the Army Veterinary Corps.

He ended up as a food inspector in Kansas City for two years – the Veterinary Corps is responsible for food inspection. In his free time,

Renee Kesler

By Carol Shane Benna Van Vuuren and her army of volunteers are on a mission.

The retired educator, who spent her working life in the Knox County school system, is passion-ate about a project near and dear to the hearts of anyone who ever cracked a book in a Knox County schoolroom.

She’s the director of the Knox County Schools Museum, located in the Sarah Simpson Profession-al Development and Technology Center on Tipton Avenue in South Knoxville.

“You know, you go in most mu-seums and they’re quiet,” says Van Vuuren. “This is the noisiest mu-seum you’ll ever fi nd!” That’s be-cause the people who come to this museum “laugh and talk, and they remember.”

If you have a hankerin’ to see some memorabilia from your own beloved school days, chances are you can fi nd it there.

There are historical records, painstakingly compiled, concern-ing the various schools – includ-ing closed ones – and their dates of existence. There’s a huge trophy

yy

oo xx -

Southcase fi lled with awards from many decades. The oldest one I spotted was from 1932, for a “National ROTC Rifl e Match.” The trophy case is authentic to a much ear-lier time period, and in fact, the museum is itself located in an old school building. Lockers line the walls, and it’s not hard to imagine the halls lively, noisy and full of kids going to and from class.

Letter sweaters and cheerlead-ing outfi ts fi ll some of the glass-fronted displays near the school auditorium. If you’re lucky, you might run into one of the original wearers of those duds, as I did.

Gayle Burnett graduated from South High School in 1966 and was a cheerleader there for all four years.

“She had a lot of fun in high school,” says Van Vuuren, and Bur-nett agrees, laughing and saying, “It’s all been downhill since!” She’s all smiles when remembering her school years. A special memory is “class day when I was a senior. We

To page 3

had a rock and roll band and all the class got up and danced!”

Burnett cheerfully poses beside one of her old skirts. She’s one of the dedicated volunteers who help out at the museum. All graduates of Knox County schools, they’re scat-tered around the spacious, well-

lighted room cataloging ephemera.Old photo collages from various

schools line the walls. In years past,some of them hung on the walls ofthe Chapman Highway Ruby Tues-day restaurant. Volunteer JodyDavis points to a handsome young

IN THIS ISSUE

NetworkingNearly 100 showed up for

the South Knoxville Alliance’s fi rst Networking Mixer July 17 at LaborExchange. Several new businesses were represented and showed interest in joining SKA. And the food and drink went over like gangbusters.

➤ Read Betsy Pickle on page 3

SOUTHSOUTH

School museum comes

2 • JULY 30, 2014 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

RESTORING ABILITIES. REBUILDING LIVES.

0094

-008

0

Mary Dillon, MD, PNRC

Walking and wagging through the halls of Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center

Every Wednesday after lunch, Jason Artymovich of Karns, a Knoxville police officer, ties a red scarf on his dog, Ransom, and visits patients at the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center.

Roaming the halls of three floors in a little more than an hour, Ransom calmly nudges and greets all the patients he sees. He usually obliges with a few tricks as well.

“He knows how to shake, high-five, roll over and sit. And then I fake like I shoot him, and he falls over. The patients love that,” said Artymovich of Ran-som, his 4-year-old German shepherd. “He does that five or six times the hour we’re there. He likes the attention.”

Ransom is an official HABIT dog, which stands for Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee. HAB-IT screens and sponsors animals well-suited to visiting nursing homes, retire-ment centers, rehabilitation fa-cilities and other places where an animal’s calming

presence may be needed. “His temperament is real good

and he’s real calm. He listens re-ally well, and he lets you do pret-ty much anything to him,” said Artymovich. “If you grab his ear, he’s real relaxed and won’t snap at them for doing that. He’s not stressed out easily.”

Ransom seems to know in-stinctively how to be calm with

the patients, compared to when he visits the administration wingof the center.

“At the end of every visit wego to the administration office,and Ransom gets real hyper.He’ll run around and get excit-ed. It’s weird that he can tell adifference between patients and non-patients,” said Artymovich.

Ransom has a therapeuticeffect on patients, Artymovichsaid.

“One lady, when we first saw her, she couldn’t say ‘Ransom.’But a couple of weeks before she left, she knew his name and could say it. It’s good to see the change in patients,” said Arty-movich. “Another lady started using her right hand to pet him, which she never used. He brings out a different side of the pa-tients.”

Artymovich is not a police canine handler, but has taught Ransom the same basic com-mands of a police dog.

“I taught him Dutch com-mands like the canine train-ers do. That way if I ever get a canine, they would both do the same thing,” he said.

Ransom will never be a po-lice dog, Artymovich said. “No, that’s a different skill set,” he said. “Ransom’s really not ag-gressive enough, which makes him a good family pet.”

Artymovich, 31, has had Ran-som since he was a puppy.

“He’s the first dog I’ve ever had. I’ve always wanted a dog, but when I was a kid I never had time,” Artymovich said. Hebegan volunteering at Patricia Neal about a year ago on the rec-ommendation of a friend, and the two plan to continue their weekly visits.

“It’s a great feeling,” he said.For more information about the

services off ered at Patricia Neal

Rehabilitation Center, visit www.

patneal.org or call 865-541-1446.

“I think it’s a great feature to bring Ransom in because he brightens the day of everyone,” said PNRC patient Charlotte Hardy. “I love dogs so much, and it is a great break from reality to see him walk into the room.”

Nontraditional therapy off ers great resultsAlong with the highest quality

physical, occupational and speech therapy, patients at the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center have access to a number of nontradi-tional approaches to therapy as well.

“Living a successful life goes be-yond the basics,” said Dr. Mary Dil-lon, medical direc-tor of the center. “It means interact-ing socially, mov-ing around in the community and doing the things you enjoy.

“We have many programs that go

beyond the traditional occupation-

al therapy, physical therapy and speech therapy, and that all adds up to success. We help restore abilities and rebuild lives,” Dillon said.

Here are a few of the nontradi-tional therapy programs available at the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center:

■ Animal Therapy – Two types of dogs regularly visit the center. Therapy dogs come through HABIT (Human-Animal Bond in Tennessee), a group that screens animals to interact gently with patients. Specialty command dogs have more formal training and follow action commands to help patients learn to verbalize. They can make therapy fun, espe-cially for children. “It’s more in-

teresting to throw a ball to a dog or take a walk with a dog,” said Dillon. “Regular exercises can be-come mundane and not that inter-esting in a pediatric setting. But if you involve a dog, suddenly it’s more fun.”

■ IRC sports program (In-novative Recreation Cooperative) – Golf, fi shing, water skiing, snow skiing, racing and other sporting activities can be adapted so that people with disabilities can par-ticipate in and excel at them. Us-ing specialized equipment, the IRC helps pair patients with activities they can do and enjoy. Participa-tion in events is free of charge ex-cluding travel and lodging.

■ Peer Support Groups – Small support groups are avail-

able for spinal cord, brain injury, stroke and amputee patients. “It gives patients a chance to be with their peers and ask questions of each other,” said Dillon. Most of these groups have several outings a year, whether it’s to ball games or art workshops, or just going out to dinner.

■ Rooftop Gardening – In warm weather, the rooftop garden at Patricia Neal invites patients outside to exercise their hands and arms, and to return to a hobby that many enjoyed before injury or ill-ness.

■ Adaptive Apartment – Before going home, many patients spend a few nights in the center’s special apartment, making sure they can fi x a meal, use the bath-

room or do other daily living taskssafely. Family members are wel-come to stay also so that they canwork out daily living tasks with thehelp of the therapists and nurses atPNRC.

■ Adaptive Driving Pro-gram – When is it safe or possibleto drive after a stroke or serious injury? This program can help pa-tients determine whether they’re able to drive and what adaptive equipment might be necessary. Training and support are offered as well by a certifi ed driving thera-pist.

For more information about the

services off ered at Patricia Neal

Rehabilitation Center, visit www.

patneal.org or call 865-541-1446.

Ransom and his owner Jason Artymovich spend a few minutes playing with PNRC patient Anna Bonds. On a normal Wednesday afternoon, Ran-som and Artymovich will interact with dozens of patients.

Ransom sits for PNRC patient Char-lotte Hardy, right, and therapist Ni-cole White. At PNRC, Ransom will show off his tricks and laid-back attitude to patients who suff er from orthopedic injuries, spinal cord in-juries, stroke or other conditions.

Ransom

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Keeping memories alive From page 1

Benna Van Vuuren (seated) and her “small army” of volunteers pose at an old wooden school desk. Shown standing, from left, are Jody Davis, Ernie Murphy, Alan Webb, Horace Grissom and Gayle Burnett.

man at the lower right of a collage. “That’s me!” he ex-claims.

The “heart of the muse-um,” says Van Vuuren, is the collection of “white books” – shelves and shelves of white ring binders, each containing paper memora-bilia of all types from every school, every year, all care-fully dated and put in order. If you want to fi nd that old newspaper clipping you’re in, or the choral program in which you had a solo, this is where to look.

Nearby is the most popu-lar destination – the mu-seum’s collection of more than a thousand yearbooks. Along the back wall, fi le cabinets hold Knoxville city school attendance records dating back to 1906.

And every day, more ma-

terial arrives.“We’re just growing and

growing,” says Van Vuuren. “And all the memorabilia is accessible.” If you want to take something out of its display case for a closer look, that’s allowed. This is a very happy, hands-on kind of place.

So why don’t you pull out that box of old report cards and team photos that you’ve been meaning to deal with and take it over to the folks at the Knox County Schools Museum? They’ll be glad to have it; educators and alumni are encouraged to contribute to the museum’s collection. And while you’re at it, take a look around and relive some fond memories.

As Van Vuuren says, “Don’t throw away tomor-row’s history.”

The South Knoxville Al-liance’s fi rst Networking Mixer proved successful on several fronts.

State Rep. Joe Armstrong visits the South of the River Demo-crats and shows support for Sylvia Woods and Cameron Brooks for re-election to the party’s state executive committee.

Nice job of networking

Attendance was great – nearly 100 people showed up at the July 17 event at La-borExchange. Several new businesses were represent-ed and showed interest in joining SKA. And the food and drink went over like gangbusters.

An event of this mag-nitude does not organize itself, and president Re-becca Husain applauded the events committee during her brief remarks.

Publicist Tasha Mahurin announced that the SKA’s inaugural Saturday South will take place Sept. 13, with Ijams Nature Center serv-ing as the hub. There will be music, food and business vendors and family activi-ties at what is planned to be a free quarterly happening. TREK South will lead a hike through the Urban Wilder-ness.

Another part of Saturday South will be K-Town Rac-es. Similar to “The Amaz-ing Race,” the event will involve fun checkpoints at South Knoxville businesses where contestants can per-form a “detour” activity or purchase an “express pass.” At the end of the race, par-ticipants turn in their game pieces and are eligible for prize drawings. Look for more details in this column as the big day approaches.

Saturday South was also on the agenda at the SKA monthly meeting on July 21. The group worked on details for it in addition to hammering out fi ne points of the photo contest being held in conjunction with the fi rst SKA South Knoxville calendar.

The monthly Fort Dicker-son cleanup on Aug. 16 will include a picnic and fun at the quarry lake.

The South Knoxville Al-liance is open to business owners and representatives of neighborhood and com-

Fun-fi lled nightBarry Neal, Tammy Holloway, Carla Hatfi eld, Louis Cortina and Ted Hatfi eld are feeling good at the end of the South Knoxville Republican Club’s community picnic. About 50 attended the July hot-dog supper at Gary Underwood Park. With German chocolate cake and cupcakes on the dessert table, most people left on a delicious sugar high. There were a few candidates and proxies on hand, but for the most part, the picnic was just a relaxed way to hang out on a pleas-ant summer evening.

Several local politicians approve of the South Knoxville Alliance events committee: From left are Tasha Mahurin, Sharon Davis, Mike Brown, Patrick Michael, state Sen. Becky Massey, Antoinette Fritz, Bobbye Edwards, Debra Bradshaw, Janice Tocher and Amber Rountree. Photos by Betsy Pickle

Goal attained From page 1

Josh Gildrie of Ye Olde Steak House, Amy Wilson of Lou-Lu’s Corner, Valerie Kelly of Riversong Dance Studio and Cathy and Joe Vangieri of DigiTrax Entertainment show their skills at networking.

Monte Stanley of Stanley’s Greenhouses talks business with city of Knoxville business liaison Patricia Robledo at the SKA Networking Mixer.

munity groups. SKA meets at 6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month. For more info, visit www.ktownsouth.org.

■ South Democrats in gear for Aug. 7The South of the River

Democrats got words of en-couragement from guests at their July meeting.

State Rep. Joe Arm-strong stressed the need to vote – either in early voting through Aug. 2 or on Elec-tion Day, Aug. 7 – to retain state Supreme Court jus-

tices Gary Wade, Cornelia Clark and Sharon Lee. The retention election – usually an uncontroversial affair – has been politicized by Re-publicans, in particular Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, he said.

“They’re trying to make it a one-party system in Ten-

nessee,” Armstrong said, re-ferring to the GOP’s “Red to the Roots” program.

Armstrong criticized Gov. Bill Haslam for refus-ing to accept $1.25 billion in Medicaid expansion from the federal government. He also said that charter schools aren’t a bad idea across the board but that their desirability depends on who is behind them. And he praised fellow Rep. Glo-ria Johnson for being voted the most effective freshman in the House.

Cameron Brooks, vice chair of the Knox County Democratic Party, asked for support from the South group. He and Sylvia Woods, a South of the River Democrat herself, are run-ning for the state executive committee. Brooks wants Dems to focus on progres-sive values, strengthen the party beginning at the pre-cinct level and reconnect with the labor movement.

The South of the River Democrats meet at 6:30 p.m. on the third Monday of the month at the South Knox-ville Community Center.

■ Cook local, dance … global?A throwback evening is in

the works this weekend with a Summer Harvest Square Dance on the grounds of the historic Candoro Marble Building, 4450 Candora Ave.

The fun starts with a pot-luck supper at 6 p.m. Satur-day, Aug. 2, with attendees encouraged to bring local, homegrown and homemade dishes to share. Square dancing will follow with Stan Sharp as the caller and the Hellgrammites provid-ing the tunes.

Info: 307-0800 or email placebasedproductions@gmail.com.

■ Bugs & BloomsMcLemore Florist is host-

ing the second annual Bugs & Blooms VW car show on Saturday, Aug. 2. Registra-tion starts at 10 a.m., and the event continues till 3:30 p.m.

All are invited to check out the Bugs at the shop, 106 E. Young High Pike. Music will be provided by DJ Fuller Lite and Sound. There will be hot-dog vendors and door prizes.

he treated animal patients – and met Sue, a Denver native who was studying nursing in Kansas City. They married in 1972, the year he left the Army, returned to Knoxville and was hired by Dr. Waldo Williams of the Central Vet-erinary Hospital.

There were only about fi ve veterinary practices in Knoxville at the time, and

Central – which was on Main Avenue then – had two vets once Black was hired. He and Williams treated large and small animals, but as sprawl took over farms, their dairy work diminished.

The 1982 World’s Fair unseated the hospital, and Central relocated to Clinch Avenue.

“We felt like the veteri-

nary hospital still needed to be in the middle of Knox-ville,” says Black. “We would do emergency calls in those days; there was no emergen-cy hospital. We would carry beepers. If it was my night to be on emergency, I’d have to go back maybe two or three times a night. Now we have the Pet Emergency Clinic over on Ailor Avenue. They do a great job for us; we refer our after-hours cli-ents there.”

Black’s practice helped launch the clinic. “I worked the fi rst night it was open,” says Black. “I was the one that inaugurated it. I saw three clients that fi rst night.”

One client never quite got the concept of an emergency clinic. “You remember (box-er) John Tate? He was a cli-ent of ours there. He would bring a dog in and want to board it. It’s an emergency clinic. You don’t board ani-

mals at an emergency clinic.”Before he settles into re-

tirement for real, Black is getting a party on Saturday, Aug. 10. “I enjoyed every bit of it,” he says of his working life.

“I just kind of knew it was time.”

Friends and clients are welcome to attend the par-ty. Contact Kelly at Central Veterinary Hospital, 525-1167, for details.

1, it would be for change – for Marshall Walker. But an offi ceholder’s health is not opinion. It’s a fact. The editor decides whether and when to print information. The voters can decide if our report is credible and whether it’s relevant.

Email from Deathridge Ms. Clark,I was surprised to read

about my “health issues” in your publication without being consulted or even asked to respond. I am extremely disappointed in your decision to run this type of information without giving me an opportunity to comment. It is not only irresponsible, but also a tremendous disservice to voters, your readers and the broader community.

Over the past four years, I have missed perhaps 3 to 4 meetings. I am currently working full time as a Real-tor, working at the school board (as a member and the vice chair) and running a very busy campaign. I will continue at this same demanding pace in my ser-vice to the people of the 1st District both now and well into the future.

Unfortunately, I expect many different politi-cal maneuvers and scare tactics to be released in my community until the end of this election. In fact, I’ve already heard rumors of schools in District 1 being closed – this is absolutely not true! Rather than ad-dress desperate rumors and statements not remotely based in fact, I will con-tinue to focus on the issues and the needs of our com-munity. It always has been and will continue to be about the education of our children.

Thank you,Gloria DeathridgeVice Chair, District 1

School Board Representa-tive

Email to DeathridgeFrom: SClark426@aol.

comTo: gloria.deathridge@

knoxschools.orgSent: 7/20/2014 8:02:02 P.M. Eastern Daylight TimeSubj: Shopper story

Gloria, Wanted to give you a heads up and oppor-tunity to respond. My cell phone is 661-8777.

I’m making reference to your illness in the context of school board alignment. We print Monday at 5 and are distributed Wednesday morning. – Sandra

It’s tough to balance the interests of good people holding public offi ce with the public’s right to know and question relevant matters. And it falls to a newspaper’s editor to de-cide what to print and when to print it.

4 • JULY 30, 2014 • Shopper news government

Sandra Clark

There’s more than one game in townThe hubbub over the Re-

publican primary election for State Senate District 7 is hogging the limelight, but the Briggs and Campfi eld contest isn’t the only game worth watching.

Knox County voters who can still utter the word “trustee” without breaking into gales of laughter have a choice of two qualifi ed can-didates on Aug. 7, Republi-can Ed Shouse and Demo-crat Jim Berrier.

Shouse is a sitting com-missioner with an abun-dance of relevant experi-ence in fi nance and banking. During my time reporting on County Commission, Shouse earned my respect as one of the more thought-ful local legislators.

He currently serves as chair for the Finance Com-mittee and is vice chair for the Knox County Pension Board.

In a recent joint televi-sion interview with his opponent, Shouse said, “I never thought of myself as

LarryVan

Guilder

a courthouse guy,” and later added, “I’m a man of integ-rity.”

(You can believe the sec-ond quote without com-pletely buying the fi rst.)

Shouse answered the enduring question about staffi ng levels by saying the offi ce was “more than ad-equately staffed.”

Give Berrier credit: The fi rst offi ce he chooses to chase gets less respect than a pork roast in a synagogue, and he knows it.

Previous occupants of the offi ce (read Mike Lowe and John Duncan III) were “putting their interests above the people,” Berrier said.

Equipped with an MBA and experience in the fi nan-

cial-services industry, Ber-rier is certainly qualifi ed for the position.

He grants that staff levels probably could be “shrunk down” but sees his priority as making sure collections are handled properly.

“I think I can make a dif-ference in there,” Berrier said, but getting the oppor-tunity to prove it with that troublesome “D” attached to his candidacy is a long-shot at best. Still, the scan-dals under Republicans are hardly reassuring for folks who vote strict party lines.

Down Nashville way, your esteemed Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey is pushing a move to re-mold the Tennessee Supreme Court in his own image – of Republicans, by Republicans, for Republi-cans.

Chief Justice Gary Wade, Justice Cornelia C lark and Justice Sharon Lee are up for a retention vote, yea or nay. Each committed the unpardonable sin in Ramsey’s eyes of being ap-

pointed by a Democratic governor, and Ramsey is seeing red (or maybe more red).

The argument from some that the justices are “soft on crime” is not supported by a record of confi rming about 90 percent of death-penalty sentences.

Just as cynical, and false, is the contention by some-thing called the “Tennessee Forum” that the justices have “supported Obam-acare” when not a single case related to the Afford-able Care Act has been be-fore the court.

Judges are human; none are free of political lean-ings. But party loyalty is best left in the care of the bailiff when court is in ses-sion.

Of course, that doesn’t always happen. But if Ramsey gets his way, ju-rists aspiring to the highest court in the state will soon be spending a lot of time polishing their conserva-tive credentials.

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Betty Bean

The hated SAT-10 (a lengthy standardized test administered to kinder-garteners through second-grade students) is not re-quired by the state

State Reps. Gloria Johnson and Harry Brooks engage in heated conversation about student test-

ing and teacher evaluations. Photo by S. Clark

Education meeting ends in fi reworks

Neither is the dreaded (and misnamed) “Confer-ence of Concern,” which is a threatening letter sent to teachers who are deemed substandard performers.

But it was the last-minute, “Oh, by the way” question that caused the ruckus at the end of the meeting that was meant to clarify the is-sue of how many of the al-phabet soup of tests that are being administered to local children are required by the state and how many are piled on by Knox County Schools.

It came from the meet-ing’s host, school board member Mike McMillan, who probably didn’t an-ticipate the fi reworks that resulted from his question about the almost unfath-omable practice of evaluat-ing teachers whose subject matter doesn’t have TCAP tests on the performance of students who aren’t in their classrooms.

McMillan: “I continue to hear from teachers in areas where teachers are forced to c hoose school-wide test scores … any plans for get-ting past that?”

State Rep. Harry Brooks, who chairs the House Edu-cation Committee, gave a muddled answer: “I’m not

aware of the department making any changes. We made several changes last year,” and went on to say, when questioned, that he sponsored a bill that ended this practice.

Reps. Gloria Johnson and Bill Dunn were also on the dais, and Johnson, a special-education teacher who has had to make this choice, started waving her hand to be recognized. Sev-eral members of the audi-ence shouted that the prac-tice hadn’t changed.

Brooks kept talking. Johnson kept waving.

Finally, she spoke up as Brooks was dismissing the meeting. Brooks, visibly angry, approached the fold-ing chairs where Johnson and Dunn were seated and loomed over Johnson with his back to the audience. Dunn, appearing uncom-fortable and somewhat em-barrassed, left the dais.

Members of the audience,

which consisted mostly of teachers, were left wonder-ing what happened out of earshot.

Evidently it was a discus-sion of Brooks’ House Bill 2108, which took effect July 1 and would not have affect-ed this spring’s evaluation process:

“If the teacher or prin-cipal being evaluated and the person or persons re-sponsible for conducting the evaluation do not agree on the measures that are to be used, the teacher or principal shall choose the evaluation measures. The evaluation measures shall be verifi ed by the (state) Department of Education to ensure that the evalua-tions correspond with the teaching assignment of each individual teacher and the duty assignments of each individual principal.”

After the meeting, John-son said that since 40 per-cent to 50 percent of teach-

ers’ evaluations are based on test scores, it is unfair to include the scores of stu-dents who were not in their classes.

“What Harry was talking about was, ‘Oh, no. We’ve totally changed the law. The teacher has the choice of any measure they want.’

“But,” Johnson said, “if 1 percent of my evaluation is based on something I never taught, what’s the differ-ence? It says the teacher or principal chooses, then it has to be approved by the state. Say it’s a big high school like Central and you’ve got 50 different teachers who want their scores calculated different ways. Can you imagine a principal dealing with that?

“I didn’t vote for it be-cause it didn’t make sense to me.”

Note: Both Brooks and Dunn sit on the House Edu-cation Committee. Johnson, a Democrat, does not.

Credibility:It’s all we’ve got

Since starting our zoned edition North/East Shopper-News, I’ve worked hard to meet community leaders (including lunch at Chesapeake’s with Gloria Deathridge) and attend school and community events.

I like Deathridge, and I like her predecessor, Sam Anderson. Both have rep-resented District 1 aggres-sively and professionally.

Superintendent James McIntyre has done more to recruit and promote African-American edu-cators than all previous superintendents combined. Anderson is on the payroll of Knox County Schools as a consultant making some $45,000 annually to advise on urban schools.

But McIntyre’s tin ear and callous handling of school personnel have impacted District 1 as much as any other district. Three black former principals spoke to the school board just this summer alleging lack of support. Veteran educators have been treated disrespectfully with evalua-tions and demotions.

And anyone who sat at Vine Middle School, as I did, as McIntyre pointed to bigger-than-life post-ers showing grades of F and D (he soon fi red the entire faculty and staff to “reconstitute” the school) felt the pain of teachers, administrators, parents and kids who were doing their best to improve. The goof-offs were not there that night. The folks who were there left embarrassed and defeated.

When the school board voted 8-1 to extend Mc-Intyre’s quarter-million-dollar annual contract until 2018, disregarding teachers asking for delay, the board itself made the election of 2014 a referendum on Jim McIntyre, as Pam Trainor discovered in District 9.

As editor of Shopper-News, I’ve got an opinion. If I had a vote in District

Shopper news • JULY 30, 2014 • 5

Duncan for Congress

Conservative Leadership for East Tennessee

Working on Issues that Matter to YouA Personal Message from Congressman Duncan

Paid for by Duncan for Congress, Jason Brown, Treasurer

Congressman John J. Duncan Jr.

Early voting: July 18-Aug. 2Primary Election Day: Aug. 7

Defending the Constitution I took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution, and that is exactly what I work to do each day. I especially focus on protecting our Second Amendment rights and securing our borders against illegal immigration.

Balanced Budget I don’t believe in spending money we don’t have. With one of the most fiscally conservative voting records in Congress, I consistently vote to reduce government spending in order to protect Social Security and control the federal debt.

Growing our Economy I want to eliminate government over-regulation so more businesses can open and expand, creating better jobs for Americans. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed my re election, saying it will “produce sustained economic growth, help create jobs and get our country back on track.”

Repealing Obamacare I believe the biggest problem with the so-called Affordable Care Act is that it is unaffordable already. I will continue to speak out against it at every opportunity, and I believe our federal dollars are better spent on things like improving care for our nation’s veterans.

America First I oppose spending billions of dollars on people in foreign countries who hate us. We need to stop trying to take care of the whole world and start taking care of our own country and putting the American people first, once again.

Marvin West

Butch Jones has been saying all along that Volun-teer freshmen will play a lot of football this fall.

That didn’t sound too bad in May and June. The great recruiting class was supposed to help, brick by brick, in the major recon-struction at Tennessee.

The idea of depending on freshmen – heaven help us, some will start – has a different sound the closer we get to Aug. 31 and Utah State. There are two pos-sible interpretations: The

Freshmen really will play

youngsters are even better than advertised or the ros-ter is in worse shape than some of us ever believed.

There is a difference in freshmen rising above older competitors to grab star-ring roles on strong teams

and freshmen being forced into losing lineups. For ex-ample, Marquez North and Cam Sutton were freshmen starters last season, but the record was 5-7.

The late, great Robert R. Neyland once said you could expect one loss for each sophomore on the fi eld. I suppose supercharged freshmen, benefi ciaries of vitamins and minerals and year-round training, are now the equivalent of long-ago second-year play-ers. I do hope the General’s alarming formula is also outdated. There may not be enough games to go around.

This is just a guess until they put on pads, but fresh-man Josh Malone is a prob-able starter at wide receiver because there is a void and he absolutely has the talent

to fi ll it – as demonstrated during spring practice.

Freshman Coleman Thomas is a fi rst-team of-fensive tackle because he is good and there simply isn’t a better option.

You may see Emmanuel Moseley at a corner and Todd Kelly Jr. at a safety – because of the glaring need for more speed.

Ethan Wolf at tight end? Maybe. Or it could be Daniel Helm. Both newcomers fol-lowed the early enrollment route and benefi ted from the strength program and spring experiences.

Aaron Medley is the likely fi eld-goal kicker-to-be. Dillon Bates could be an opening linebacker.

Jalen Hurd? The 6-3 and 230 running back fi gures to be great – but maybe not the fi rst week.

If I am correctly hearing what Coach Jones is saying, it sounds as if 10 or 12 oth-

ers are likely to play signifi -cant minutes. Conducting kindergarten while trying to whip Georgia, Florida and Alabama sounds very challenging.

Has anything like this ever happened before, you ask? Probably not so many so soon, but freshmen have contributed. Indeed they have.

Jamal Lewis carried the football 232 times for a very good 1997 team, gained 1,364 yards and scored seven touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes for 275 and two TDs. Jamal reached manhood earlier than some of his peers.

Eric Berry looked like a pro-to-be in the 2007 sec-ondary on a team that went 10-4.

Coaches prefer to red-shirt offensive linemen for tutoring and physical devel-opment, but they can’t wait when the good ones appear.

Michael Munoz (2000) and Ju’Wuan James (2010) started 12 games each as freshmen. Munoz played on a better team. Cosey Cole-man started six times in 1999 and grew up to be an all-American.

Bill Bates had impres-sive stats as the starting strong safety in 1979. Reggie White was a starting defen-sive tackle in 1980. Stanley Morgan was a very good freshman athlete in 1973 but didn’t start. Linebacker Al Wilson did not start in 1995. Defensive tackle John Hen-derson started some in 1999. Albert Haynesworth did not. Team depth is sometimes the determining factor.

This reignites the debate about which is more valu-able, talent or experience? When in doubt, choose tal-ent. It seems that is where Butch is headed.Marvin West invites reader reaction. His

address is westwest6@netzero.com/.

The major unreported news this week is the let-ter signed by numerous neighborhood leaders in both the city and county calling for the departure of Mark Donaldson as head of Metropolitan Planning Commission.

Activists want Donaldson’s head

VictorAshe

This request was delivered to both Mayors Burchett and Rogero last week, along with an inch-thick document of prob-lems and altercations that Donaldson has had over the past four years includ-ing almost coming to blows with Sequoyah activist Jim Bletner, according to an email from Terry Faulkner to then-Mayor Haslam.

The letter and accom-panying document, which are available from either mayor’s offi ce as an open records request, was signed by former City Council members Carlene Malone, Barbara Pelot and Jean Teague, as well as Bearden greenway activist Faulkner and Sandy Gillespie of Sequoyah, among several others.

It documents several years of complaints and disagreements includ-ing dissatisfaction with the work product MPC is now producing. It alleges “threatening behavior” by Donaldson to some citizens. These signers are hoping Burchett and Rogero will make a joint statement urging Donaldson’s replace-ment as they did two years ago with Gloria Ray, who was making $400,000 a year at the Sports Corpora-tion.

Frank Slage of Tool Crib described a March 2014 meeting with Donaldson as “unpleasant and unfor-tunate” in a July letter to Burchett copied to Rogero.

This is the fi rst time in over 30 years where so many community activ-ists have joined in outright opposition to the MPC director. The people signing this letter are well known to both mayors as well as county and city legislators. They cannot and will not be ignored by either mayor.

Mayor Burchett has already sent a letter to MPC chair Rebecca Longmire asking for an explanation on the Dave Hill hiring at MPC.

Longmire, a retired educator and Corryton resi-dent, has good people skills and has been supportive of Donaldson in the past.

Mayor Rogero has been publicly silent on the issue. Burchett got married this past weekend at West Hills Park and is focused this week on other matters. However, as of July 25, Longmire had not respond-ed to Burchett.

City Council is clearly un-comfortable with several MPC pro-posals that have been deferred up to 180 days (half

a year). MPC is losing cred-ibility under Donaldson’s leadership with both city and county. Malone has described the MPC work product as “ridiculously poor.”

This letter forces the 15-member MPC to address the matter. Commission-ers can support Donaldson and risk seeing themselves replaced as appointments expire over the next year as well as the controversy escalating. Or they can tell Donaldson his days are numbered and he needs to resign or be terminated. Or Donaldson himself can recognize reality and move away before he is pushed.

Then the issue becomes a severance package (if any) plus who will be the interim director while a search gets underway for a permanent new director. Two persons on current staff who could serve ably as interim direc-tor are Buz Johnson and Dan Kelly. Or MPC might bring Jeff Welch over from TPO for a few months. There are several viable options.

This writer believes this may take a few months to play out (unless both mayors request Donald-son’s departure as they did with Gloria Ray), but the handwriting is on the wall for Donaldson as well as Dave Hill. This time next year (and perhaps by Hal-loween) there will be a new or interim director at MPC. The sooner it is resolved the better for urban planning.

■ Early voting for the Aug. 7 primary and state ju-dicial elections far exceeds the local May primary. It is triple what happened then. Hard to tell who this helps or hurts, but the process is improved by having a large turnout. Over half of the voters will vote early.

■ Archie Ellis, who works for Habitat for Hu-manity, has resigned from the KAT bus board before his term expires. Mayor Rogero has not named a re-placement, which must be approved by City Council. The board is chaired by the energetic Renee Hoyos, ex-ecutive director of Tennes-see Clean Water Network.

■ U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi was in Knoxville for the July 18-20 weekend for a family reunion.

■ Former Gov. Win-fi eld Dunn, along with for-mer U.S. Rep. Bill Jenkins, attended the celebration of life service for Loudon County General Sessions Judge Bill Russell July 22 at Central United Methodist Church of Lenoir City. Dunn at 87 is the second-oldest living former governor of any state in the U.S.

Donaldson

6 • JULY 30, 2014 • Shopper news interns

North offi ce: 7049 Maynardville Pike • Knoxville, TN 37918 • (865) 922-4136 • Fax: 922-5275 West offi ce: 10512 Lexington Drive, Suite 500 • Knoxville, TN 37932 • (865) 218-WEST (9378) • Fax: 342-6628

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Shopper News =

Tom Bugg, general manager for the Bi-jou and Tennessee Theatres, shows the back-stage workings.

Julia Grant and Donna Mitchell enjoy lunch from the Gonzo Gourmet food truck in downtown Knoxville. Menu items in-cluded bacon-wrapped hot dogs, veggie burgers and avocado tacos.

A glass storefront, reminiscent of when two fl oors of the building were not underground, was created in an offi ce space in un-derground Knoxville.

The interns tour Gay StreetBy Sara Barrett

The interns got a true taste of downtown living last week while spending the day on (and below) Gay Street.

The morning began with an introduction to the Ten-nessee Theatre with its leg-endary organist, Dr. Bill Snyder. As the interns sat near the orchestra pit, Sny-der gave the group a brief history of the movie palace and the reason for its gran-deur.

“(Movie palaces) were built to promote movies as a major form of entertain-ment to families during the Great Depression. It was like an escape to come to a place like this. It was like going to another world or another planet,” said Sny-der. “It was an experience

for them, not just to see the movie, but to see this place.”

Television, movie com-plexes and folks moving to the suburbs led to the

downfall of movie palaces. The Tennessee closed in

2003 for $26 million in ren-ovations, reopening in Jan-uary 2005. The facility now

hosts mostly live entertain-ment “because that’s what pays the bills,” said Snyder.

A handful of classic fi lms including “Gone with the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz” are still shown during the summer when many entertainers take time off from touring.

“If you want to see current fi lms, go down the street,” said Snyder with a smile. Info: www.tennesseetheatre.com.

■ Touring the BijouAfter leaving the Tennes-

see, the group stopped by the Bijou Theatre for a tour with general manager Tom Bugg.

“This is the oldest com-mercial building in Knox-ville, and the fi rst shots of

Dr. Bill Snyder shares the history of the Ten-nessee Theatre on a tour of the grand movie pal-ace. Photos by R. White

Shopper news • JULY 30, 2014 • 7

A trip downtown isn’t complete without stopping in Mast General Store. Goofi ng off with funny hats are Laken Scott, Donna Mitchell, Julia Grant and Charlie Hamilton.

David Dewhirst shows a privacy fence made from branches outside of the lofts near Jackson Ave.

Lofts located on Gay Street, as seen from the back. The front side of the lower two

levels is underground.

Keepin’ it homeBy Donna Mitchell

The Shopper interns had a day full of exploration last Tuesday as we visited the Tennessee and Bijou theatres, underground Gay Street and WDVX radio sta-tion.

Located on South Gay Street, WDVX (89.9 FM) houses the Blue Plate Spe-cial which brings live music to viewers and radio listen-ers.

The station promotes the culture of East Tennessee and the Southern Appala-chia region by showcasing local and emerging talent. Knoxville lacks huge ven-ues for big-name musicians to perform. The closest you can usually get to the big stars is Nashville or Atlan-ta. Who wants to drive all that way and spend all that money?

The Ten-n e s s e e T h e a t r e s u p p o r t s rising stars like SoMo (R&B, pop) by help-ing them to gain fans they never

would have had otherwise. The Bijou Theatre brings in the “lesser known talents” such as Ray LaMontagne, The Milk Carton Kids and Jason Isbell, all of whom are incredible artists.

Bigger isn’t always better. You can easily experience incredible performances in your own backyard. Catch a free show at WDVX! What could be better than free? One of our tour guides, Tom Bugg, is general manager of the Bijou Theatre. He de-

scribed the venue as “not the grand ole opry of places, but it’s a cool little place.

Local music venues have just as much to of-fer as the “bigger, bet-ter” ones. If you want to hear the fantastic music I’m talking about, I rec-ommend Jason Isbell. He stops at both theatres.

He’ll be at the Tennessee Theatre in September. Isbell deserves every music award known.

How did I fi nd about him? He was performing at the Bijou Theatre!

Please consider the Ten-nessee Theatre, the Bijou Theatre, or WDVX next time you need your daily music fi x.

I’ll let you in on a secret … the music’s always bet-ter here anyway. I guaran-tee it.

the Civil War in Knoxville were fi red from these win-dows,” said Bugg of the building that originally opened in 1816.

A behind-the-scenes look at the area beneath the stage, often used as a dress-ing room, shows support beams covered with signa-tures of artists who have performed at the theater in-cluding bluegrass musician Doyle Lawson.

A trek upstairs to the bal-cony (currently off-limits to the public) reveals inden-tations of chairs once in-stalled in an area reserved for African-Americans dur-ing segregation.

Because of the Bijou’s age, a structural engineer stops by every 2-3 years to make sure everything is as it should be. The precursor to Knox Heritage bought the building in 1975 and the Bijou was given a 99-year lease of the space. Bugg manages both the Bijou and Tennessee theatres for AC Entertainment.

The most pressing in-tern question of the day was whether the theatre is haunted. “I’m not sure, but I do have one story,” said Bugg, with a slight twinkle in his eye.

Bugg was leaving the Bijou about 1 a.m. with an employee, exiting through the stage area, when a piece of plaster fell to the fl oor directly behind them. Yes, it is an old building, said Bugg, and the ceiling may crumble from time to time. But the next day he climbed to the ceiling (a long climb) and was surprised to fi nd a ceiling made of something besides plaster.

The interns were also interested to hear about the Bijou Awards, a competition among folks their age in singing, acting and creative writing categories. Scholarships are given each year to the winners. Info: email Amanda Womac at Amanda@knoxbijou.com.

■ Lunch with the Gonzo GourmetBrandon Smith’s Gonzo

Gourmet food truck was ready to serve lunch curb-side when the interns ar-rived.

Smith had prepared a special, all-inclusive menu for the interns including slow-cooked pork tacos with “trailer-made” lime cumin coleslaw and pineap-ple salsa, a deep-fried, ba-con-wrapped hot dog with onion rings, and a Chipo-tle Black Bean Burger with spring greens and a side of Southern-style potato salad.

Needless to say, the in-terns did not leave hungry.

The group brought their grub in to the Blue Plate Special at WDVX studios within the Knoxville Visi-tors’ Center. Live music courtesy of “And the Gi-raffe” and “If Birds Could Fly” entertained them be-fore they met with devel-oper David Dewhirst for a tour of the legendary “un-derground” Gay Street.

■ Life under the sidewalkIt is glaringly obvious

that David Dewhirst has found his calling. The de-veloper spent some time talking to the interns and showing them the hidden treasure of “underground” Gay Street.

“Downtown is really ev-erybody’s neighborhood,” said Dewhirst, as he gath-ered the interns around the table in his boardroom. An eclectic collection of all things – well, eclectic – tastefully lines the walls of Dewhirst’s offi ce.

After serving soft drinks, Dewhirst talked about the days when living in the suburbs was cool. When “I Dream of Jeannie” was the popular show on television, folks wanted the lifestyle of living in the neighborhood outside the big city, he said.

But the hit show “Friends” came along in the ’90s and glamorized urban living. That’s where Dewhirst’s work comes in.

The 100 block of Gay Street is deceiving to the eye. Several of its build-ings appear to be two or three stories, but after go-ing down a short set of stairs, the lower levels are revealed. The entire block was fi lled in around 1918 to prevent horse- and mule-drawn wagons from climb-ing a steep hill into town. This left store fronts as they were and until a few years ago, Dewhirst said it was like stepping back in time to go down there.

Original tin ceiling tiles rest in piles along the walk-way that resembles an in-door alley. The interns si-lently absorbed everything Dewhirst said about plans to blend yesterday’s struc-tures with today’s living.

“The one thing I want you to take away from see-ing this today … is to come back 10 years from now and see how different this area looks then,” said Dewhirst of the Gay Street/Jackson Avenue area. “When you have friends in town, you will want to bring them down here and not to a strip mall in West Knoxville be-cause this will be authentic and different. A sidewalk here is not just a sidewalk. It is a gathering place.”

■ Next weekThe interns’ fi nal day

with the Shopper-News will take them in the Big Love Bus to Oakes Farm in Cor-ryton to learn about the in-ternational business of day-lilies. Stay tuned!

And if you are entering 8th grade this fall, you are the perfect candidate for next summer’s intern pro-gram. There’s no cost and it’s (mostly) fun. Contact Sara Barrett at barretts@ShopperNewsNow.com/.

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Leland Price, Brent R. Watson, Treasurer

General Election on August 7

lelandpricefor judge.com

1. Endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police Volunteer Lodge #2

2. Endorsed by the Knoxville Firefighters Association Local 65

3. Elected to the Knoxville Bar Association Board of Governors by fellow members of the bar

4. Voted Top Attorney in Prosecution by members of the Knoxville Bar 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

5. Awarded the Combat Action Badge and Army Commendation Medal for exemplary service in Iraq by U.S. Army

6. Received the National District Attorneys Association’s prestigious Home Run Hitters Award for dedication to justice in the most difficult cases

7. Elected Commander of American Legion Post 2 in 2012

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9. Endorsed by the families of Channon Christian and Chris Newsom

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Mitchell

8 • JULY 30, 2014 • Shopper news business

Betty Bean

Sandra Clark

NEWS FROM PREMIER SURGICAL

Terry Stinnett has a message for anyone who notices a strange bump or mole on their skin.

“Don’t ignore it! Get it checked out by a doctor,” stresses Stinnett. “Don’t be like me and wait until it’s almost too late.”

The South Knoxville preacher admits he ignored an odd bump on his forehead for more than a year.

“It started as a mole, and grew bigger and bigger, but it didn’t hurt so I tried to disregard it,” says 70-year old Stinnett.

When the spot started to bleed, Stinnett fi nally visited a dermatologist who deter-mined that it was squamous cell carcino-ma, a non-melanoma skin cancer.

“It was so large by then, that it couldn’t easily be removed. So he sent me to Dr. Du-drick for surgery,” explains Stinnett.

Dr. Paul Dudrick, a surgical oncologist with Premier Surgical Associates at Fort Sanders Regional, sur-gically removed the tu-mor that had grown to the size of a half dollar.

“I thank God for Dr. Dudrick. The spot was so humongous he graft-ed skin off my chest to cover my forehead when he took it off,” says Stinnett. “He did a su-per job. You can’t even tell where it was now!”

After healing for several weeks, Stinnett then underwent a course of 30 radiation treatments.

Squamous cell carcinoma is a less dead-ly form of skin cancer that rarely spreads to other parts of the body.

“It often develops on areas of skin that

Don’t ignore skin moles, It could be skin cancer!

For more information about the surgical treatment of skin cancer, visit

premiersurgical.com.

have been repeat-edly exposed to the sun, like the face, arms, legs and neck,” explains Dr. Dudrick. “It is es-pecially common in adults who have had a lot of sun ex-posure.”

“I spent 27 years working outside every day for the Knox County Property Assessors’ Offi ce,” admits Stinnett.

“And, nope, I never wore sunscreen.” But he does now. “I stay out of the sun

now and suggest that everyone wear sun-screen. I never did and I suffered the con-sequences,” says Stinnett.

Stinnett, who has a higher risk of devel-oping another skin cancer, now regularly checks his skin for new spots.

Dr. Dudrick says an easy-to-remember guideline is “ABCDE”. “If you have a mole or cyst, watch the Asymmetry, Border ir-regularity, Color, Diameter and Evolution. If the spot is growing and changing, and especially bleeding, it needs to be checked by a physician.”

Stinnett just wishes he had gone to a doctor sooner. “I thank the Lord I was able to get my skin cancer treated. Don’t wait to get a spot checked out!”Dr. Paul Dudrick,

Surgical Oncologist

“I stay out of the sun now and

suggest that everyone wear

sunscreen. I never did and I

suff ered the consequences.”

~Terry Stinnett, skin cancer patient

Terry Stinnett’s fore-head is healing after surgery to remove a large non-melanoma skin cancder

Ten Cumberland Avenue merchants and restaura-teurs, led by Copper Cel-lar Corp. CEO Mike Chase,

It’s said that hard cases make bad law, but the Ten-nessee Virtual Academy (TNVA) shows how bad law can make hard cases for in-dividuals caught between competing interests. The Union County school board will vote today (July 30) to freeze out 600 families who enrolled on time for the school year set to begin on Monday. Ouch!

Last week’s school board meeting was painful. To-day’s could be worse. Par-ents of Virtual Academy kids were emotional – some angry, others in tears. One big guy in a black T-shirt talked about the classroom he and his wife created for their daughters. His old-er girl is successful with TNVA; now his younger one won’t get the chance.

Kevin Huffman, em-battled state education commissioner, gave Union County an ultimatum (couched as a recommen-dation). Either close enroll-ment and “de-enroll” those fi rst year students already signed up or he would can-

Real tears for Virtual AcademyFood fi ght!Cumberland Avenue merchants

accuse UT of competing with local businesses, UT seeks meeting

By Sandra ClarkPinnacle Financial Part-

ners has exploded on the local banking scene, rising to 6th place in assets among all the banks in town.

President Mike DiSte-fano attributes that growth to a unique business model and marketing plan.

“We recruit and hire the best bankers in the market. We excite and engage our fi -nancial advisors, and they, in turn, excite and engage our clients.”

DiStefano replaced Na-than Hunter, who brought the Nashville-based Pinna-cle into the Knoxville mar-ket in 2007. He resigned in

January 2013.Missy Wallen, recently

retired local president of BB&T Bank here, has joined Pin-nacle to oversee the client ser-vices group, the retail side of the bank, DiS-tefano said.

“It’s a (management) part-nership.”

DiStefano was with Sun-Trust for 15 years. “We hire from the local market,” he said. He oversees the client advisory group, the com-

mercial and real estate lend-ing side of Pinnacle.

Jeremy Cook, most re-cently with Clayton Bank, has been named senior vice president and branch man-ager of the Pinnacle Bank branch now under construc-tion on Emory Road near Dry Gap Pike. DiStefano ex-pects the branch to open in late 2014.

This is Pinnacle’s fi fth lo-cation. Others are in Foun-tain City, Farragut, Cedar Bluff with the main offi ce on Northshore Drive.

Pinnacle serves everyone with a targeted market of owner-operated businesses.

DiStefano

Pinnacle expands Knox footprint with 5th branch

sent University of Tennes-see brass a letter last week accusing them of using bait-and-switch tactics to buy up property on The Strip and bring in national franchises to compete with existing merchants.

The University reacted quickly, requesting to meet with the business owners.

“We were surprised to get the petition because it is public knowledge that we intend to develop a program that allows students to use Vol Card dollars for meals from merchants on Cum-berland Avenue. Our goal is to implement that program by next fall,” said Karen Ann Simsen, director of me-dia and internal relations.

“We have reached to members of the Cumber-land Avenue Merchants As-sociation to request a meet-ing so that we can discuss their concerns and also pro-vide more detail about our plans for moving forward.”

The university’s 2015 mandatory meal plan will require all fi rst-year and most upper-class students to purchase $600 in Dining Dollars good at Aramark-

run campus eateries. Stu-dents have been protesting for nearly a year. Now they have some backup.

“The switch from the University’s stated use of classroom space (when pre-sented to the state building commission) for former pri-vate retail space at 17th and Cumberland back to retail/restaurant space serviced by Aramark creates unfair competition against local businesses. This is no small project – it is a $1.9 million construction project that benefi ts only Aramark,” the letter says.

National chains Panda Express and Raising Canes will rent space from UT at the new building, the merchants allege. Saying “our goals and visions are linked,” they asked UT to broaden the Dining Dollars program to include all eat-eries on The Strip.

Papa John’s Pizza on Lake Avenue already is al-lowed to accept student-dining cards, and the mer-chants on the Strip want UT to level the playing fi eld.

The letter cites conces-sions merchants have made to the city-sponsored ef-forts to upgrade The Strip including easements that will cause disruption dur-ing construction of the streetscape.

“We have given much to support this plan and feel that opening Dining Dollars would be a gesture to recip-rocate this mutual relation-ship,” the letter continued.

cel the entire program – his right by state law. He would not say the words, though, alluding to “consequences.”

Huffman was quoted in the daily paper saying it was “irresponsible” of Union County Public Schools to enroll new students in the fi rst place. Ha! Huffman should have taken charge months ago when parents and educators had time to make alternate plans.

Let’s be clear. Should Tennessee ship $15 mil-lion ($5,000 BEP funding x 3,000 enrollees) to the Vir-ginia-based K12 Inc. to pro-vide online public school? No. Knox County Republi-can Harry Brooks passed this bad law, and it’s been whittled at ever since.

The management fee that

UCPS retains has balanced that district’s budget. The Virtual Academy is a life-line for those families which support it – 3,000 statewide last year.

Test scores, especially for fi rst year students, aren’t where Huffman wants them, but as one parent said, “Test scores are not the be-all, end-all.”

What a mess. Wasted tax money. Hurting children about to be hurt again by those entrusted to protect and educate them. And an ed-ucation commissioner who’s both indecisive and a bully.

More from Union County ■ Mayor Mike Wil-

liams looks like a sure bet to win a second term Aug. 7, but the race for sheriff is harder to call. I ncumbent Earl Loy Jr. is challenged by former chief deputy Billy Breeding. In non-partisan, multi-county races, incum-bents appointed by Gov. Bill Haslam are battling to hang on to their jobs: District At-torney Lori Phillips-Jones challenged by a former as-

sistant Jared Effl er; Chan-cellor Andy Tillman by Elizabeth Asbury; and Pub-lic Defender Mark Blakley by Leif Jeffers. Incumbents are better funded and better known. A loss would be an upset.

■ Three kids from the 4-H geographic informa-tion system team won third place nationally at the Esri Users Conference in San Di-ego for their mapping proj-ect of Big Ridge State Park. The project had strong sup-port from the Union County Chamber of Commerce.

Martin Dickey, Na-thanael Kadron and Dakota Sherritze traveled with UT Extension agent Shannon Perrin DeWitt for the in-ternational gathering of geographers, statisticians and scientists who use data gathered through software from Environmental Sci-ence Research Institute, known as Esri.

■ Shopper-News has switched its publication date in Union County to Wednesdays to match our Knox County publications.

By Bonny C. MillardKnox County Extension

agent Neal Denton, a famil-iar face from his appear-ances on WBIR-TV, said Knoxville is experiencing an increased interest in ur-ban agriculture.

“We’ve been seeing a re-surgence in farm to table,” Denton told the Rotary Club of Knoxville, explaining there is a renewed focus on farm foods. The public is in-terested in how and who is growing the food and wants to get the freshest products possible, he added.

Neal Denton

Neal Denton talks farming in the cityThis re-

s u r g e n c e is demon-strated by the increase in farmers markets.

He said 15 years ago, the ma-jor Farm-

ers Market closed, but now Knoxville has nine active locations.

More people are growing food in urban areas, said Denton, adding that grow-ers don’t need a large space to produce small quantities of high quality meat and products.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think we’re going to have

hog lots on Broadway,” he quipped.

Denton also discussed questions his offi ce has been fi elding lately. The cold win-ter last year damaged area Leyland Cypress trees, but the dead branches can be pruned, he said. These trees should be spaced properly when planted be-cause they grow much larger than expected. If they are too close together, the lower branches can’t get enough sunlight, and they start dying from the bot-tom.

The cold weather also re-sulted in winterkill of Ber-muda grass, which hasn’t happened in a long time,

but he said the hearty grass will come back. Some peo-ple prefer other grasses, but Bermuda usually wins out. If one yard has it, then it’s going to end up in neighbor-ing yards, he said.

“Personally I gave up,” Denton said. “I’ve learned to embrace Bermuda.”

Denton also talked about a problem in

the area with kudzu bugs, which look like small stink bugs and like to “live with you in the winter.” He rec-ommended spraying them with a pesticide at fi rst sighting.

“If you see one, there are probably a 1,000 relatives in the walls.”

By Anne HartIf you’re a business own-

er using any of the forms of social media available today and you don’t take it seri-ously, you could be headed for disaster.

On the other hand, if you know what you’re doing – or you hire someone who does – the ever-expanding number of social media platforms can help you grow your business exponentially by involving your clients, building relationships with them, keeping them inter-ested and acting on their feedback.

Social media expert Kathi Browne’s talk to members of the Rotary Club of West Knoxville described both the pitfalls and the ad-vantages of social media.

Browne’s slide presen-tation both illustrated her

points and creatively in-volved her audience in the

discussion. Crucial to

the success of a web-site “is get-ting found by the right p e o p l e , ” B r o w n e said, mean-ing the peo-

ple who are looking for your specifi c goods and/or ser-vices. Keeping at the top of Google and the other search engines is the key to that.

Among the pitfalls to social media, details inno-cently shared on Facebook likely rank at the top, she said. “You have to be very careful about putting out information that can be used against you. If viewers see you’re on vacation, they

might decide that’s a goodtime to go break into yourhouse.”

In addition, Browne said,users need to be carefulwhat information they usein answering security ques-tions on the web. Detailssuch as birthdates can beeasily found and aid in iden-tity theft.

Today’s social media “of-fers ways to be memorable,to build your brand, to showwhat you have to offer andto be helpful to others,”Browne said, adding that akey to success is to “be en-tertaining, but also defi neyourself and be clear on whoyou are and what you’re allabout. And above all, thinkvery carefully about whatothers will think and theimpact it could have on youand your business beforeyou send something out.”

Kathi Browne

Social media and your business

SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • JULY 30, 2014 • 9

THROUGH FRIDAY, AUG. 8Seeking singers, actors, dancers, instrumental-

ists and handbell ringers for Knoxville Christian Arts Ministries’ 2014-15 season beginning Aug. 19. Info/audition times: Jill Lagerberg, jilllagerberg@cspc.net or 291-5218.

THROUGH SATURDAY, SEPT. 5Daily giveaway of 2 tickets to any performance

at Clarence Brown Theatre. To enter: “like” the Clar-ence Brown Theatre Facebook page. Grand prize win-ner of 2 season subscriptions chosen Sept. 6.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 30 Summer Family Programming: Make a Quilt

Square, 10 a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

Movie Party: “The Lego Movie” (PG, 100 min.), 3 p.m., Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.

THURSDAY, JULY 31 Summer Family Programming: Cook like

a Pioneer, 10 a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

Storyteller David Claunch presents “How to Catch a Mouse: Simple Machines at Work,” 11 a.m., Bearden Branch Library, 100 Golf Club Road. Info: 588-8813.

Free movie and popcorn, 11:15 a.m., Humana Guidance Center, 4438 Western Ave. Movie: “Son of God.” White Elephant Bingo, 10 a.m. Free and open to the general public. Info/schedule of activities: 329-8892.

Cruise Night, 6-9 p.m., 6215 Riverview Crossing Drive in front of old Food Lion at Asheville Highway. All makes, models, years and clubs welcome. No charge. Door prizes.

FRIDAY, AUG. 1 World Breastfeeding Week kick-off event,

10 a.m.-1 p.m., Ijams Nature Center, 2915 Island Home Ave. Free. Breastfeeding mothers, moms-to-be, families and breastfeeding-friendly businesses invited. Info: Robin Ferguson, 215-5060.

Summer Family Programming: Butter Making, 10 a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, AUG. 1-2“A Woman Called Truth” performances, 8 p.m.

Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday, Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 East Lamar Alexander Pkwy., Maryville. Presented by the WordPlayers. Info/tickets (use promo code TRUTH): 981-8590 or www.claytonartscenter.com.

SATURDAY, AUG. 2Cades Cove tour with Bill Landry, 9 a.m.,

departing from the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend. Tickets: $50 per person; in-cludes light snacks and a cold beverage. Reservations required: 448-8838.

Gardening with Children symposium, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., UT Gardens, just off Neyland Drive. Designed for teachers, homeschool families and volunteers who are interested in learning more about gardening and how it can impact children’s education. Cost: $30 per adult, $15 per college student. Registra-tion deadline: 5 p.m. Monday, July 28. To register: https://utgardens.wildapricot.org/GWC. Info: Derrick Stowell, 974-7151 or dstowell@utk.edu.

Movie Night at Westside; 4:30 movie for children and 6:30 p.m. movie for older kids, teens

and adults, Westside Unitarian Universalist Church, 616 Fretz Road. Movies: “How to Train Your Dragon” then “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.” Admission free; $2 donation appreciated. Popcorn and drinks available. Info: www.westsideuuc.org or 777-9882.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, AUG. 2-3Cherokee Heritage Festival at Red Clay State

Historic Park, located in Bradley County. Hosted by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian, the Cherokee Nation and the Park. Festival theme: “Persistence, Resistance and Perseverance: The Formation of the Eastern Band.” Info: 423-478-0339 or http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/red-clay and click on “Upcoming events.”

SUNDAY, AUG. 3“Stories in Every Jar,” free storytelling by

members of the Smoky Mt. Storytellers, 3-5 p.m., Back Porch, 805 Parkway, Gatlinburg. Info: 429-1783 or www.smokymountaintellers.org.

“A Gaither Homecoming - A Praise and Worship Service Featuring the best of the Gaithers” presented by the GCBC Praise Team, 10:45 a.m., Grace Covenant Baptist Church, 9956 Dutchtown Road.

“Super sun burgers” cooking class sponsored by the Vegetarian Society of East Tennessee, 6 p.m., Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. Potluck supper after class. Cost: $4 per person. Info: 546-5643 or bobgrimac@gmail.com.

Beginning Tai Chi class open house/fi rst class, 10:30- a.m.-12:30 p.m., Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Mu-nicipal Center Drive. Hosted by Taoist Tai Chi Society. Info: 482-7761 or www.taoist.org.

MONDAY, AUG. 4 Summer Family Programming: Nature Art, 10

a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

TUESDAY, AUG. 5UT Hospice Adult Grief Support Group meet-

ing, 5-6:30 p.m., UT Hospice offi ce, 2270 Sutherland Ave. A light supper is served. Info/reservation: Brenda Fletcher, 544-6277.

Summer Family Programming: Paint a Moun-tain Scene, 10 a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

“Beat the Heat with Summer Splash Pad Fun!” 10 a.m., McFee Park, 917 McFee Road. Presented by the town of Farragut and Knoxville Moms Blog. Cost: $5 per family. Register and pay by Wednesday, July 30. To reg-ister: http://citymomsblog.com/Knoxville. Info: Lauren Cox, 966-7057 or lauren.cox@townoffarragut.org

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 6 Summer Family Programming: Photography, 10

a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, AUG. 6-7AARP Driver Safety class, 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.,

Oak Ridge Senior Center, 728 Emory Valley Road, Oak Ridge. Info/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

THURSDAY, AUG. 7Cruise Night, 6-9 p.m., 6215 Riverview Crossing

Drive in front of old Food Lion at Asheville Highway. All makes, models, years and clubs welcome. No charge. Door prizes.

Hot Summer Nights Concert Series: Erin Ott, 7 p.m., Blount County Public Library, 508 N. Cusick St. 10-year-old Country Music singer. Free. Info: 982-0981 or www.blountlibrary.org.

Free movie and popcorn, 11:15 a.m., Humana Guidance Center, 4438 Western Ave. Movie: “Frozen.” Info/schedule of activities: 329-8892.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, AUG. 8-9Russell Biven Summer Clayfest Tournament,

Chilhowee Sportsman’s Club, Maryville, Flight times: 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. Saturday. All proceeds benefi t Helen Ross McNabb Center. Info/to register team or as sponsor: Beth Farrow, 329-9030, or www.mcnabbcenter.org.

SATURDAY, AUG. 9The Second Saturday Concerts at The Cove:

Second Opinion, 6-8 p.m., The Cove at Concord Park, 11808 S. Northshore Drive. Free. Info: www.knoxcounty.org or https://www.facebook.com/pages/Knox-County-Parks-Rec/55197043075.

“Experience our Cherokee Heritage” tour with Native American Expert Randy McGinnis. Offered by Cades Cove Heritage Tours. Reservations limited. Cost: $100 per person. Info/reservations: Don Alexander, 448-8838.

“Garden History of East Tennessee: Seeds and Their Stories,” 10:30 a.m.-noon, Farragut Branch Library, 417 N. Campbell Station Road. Free and open to the public. Info; 777-1750.

SUNDAY, AUG. 10“Stories in Every Jar,” free storytelling by

members of the Smoky Mt. Storytellers, 3-5 p.m., Back Porch, 805 Parkway, Gatlinburg. Info: 429-1783 or www.smokymountaintellers.org.

MONDAY, AUG. 11 Summer Family Programming: Drums, 10

a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett’s Back to School Bash, 3-6 p.m., Knoxville Expo Center, 5441 Clinton Highway. Free and open to the public. Students will receive free school supplies and health screenings, and enjoy activities, free food, special programs, ven-dors and more.

Ice Cream Social fundraiser, 5-8 p.m., Sonic Drive-In, 7816 Oak Ridge Highway. 10% of sales to ben-efi t Shine, Diamonds All-Stars’ senior coed level three competitive cheer team.

TUESDAY, AUG. 12 Summer Family Programming: Dulcimers, 10

a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

Harvey Broome Group picnic, 5-8 p.m., Adair Park, 1807 Adair Drive. All Sierra Club members, families and friends are invited. HBG will provide a grill and burgers (veggie and meat). Contact Mac Post, mpost3116@aol.com, with number of people coming and what you will contribute to the potluck.

TUESDAYS, AUG. 12-SEPT. 2Beginner Friendly Yoga classes, 9-10 a.m., Far-

ragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive. Cost: $40. Registration and payment deadline: Aug. 11. Info/to register: 966-7057.

Pilates classes, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive. Cost: $40. Regis-tration and payment deadline: Aug. 11. Info/to register: 966-7057.

WEDNESDAY, AUG. 13 Summer Family Programming: Flute Day, 10

a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

THURSDAY, AUG. 14 Summer Family Programming: Make an Instru-

ment, 10 a.m.-noon, Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center, 123 Cromwell Drive, Townsend. Info: 448-0044.

Cruise Night, 6-9 p.m., 6215 Riverview Crossing Drive in front of old Food Lion at Asheville Highway. All makes, models, years and clubs welcome. No charge. Door prizes.

Traditional Appalachian Dance, 8 p.m., Laurel Theater, 1538 Laurel Ave. Hosted by the Knoxville Square Dance. Live old-time music by the Hellgrammites. Admission: $7. Info: 522-5851 or info@jubileearts.org.

AARP Driver Safety class, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., East TN Medical Group (ETMG), 266 Joule Street, Alcoa. Info/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

THURSDAY-FRIDAY, AUG. 14-15AARP Driver Safety class, 1-5 p.m., Cheyenne

Ambulatory Center, 964 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge. Info/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

Send items to news@ShopperNewsNow.com

ShoppernewseVents

Chris Mynatt has been working in the dry-cleaning business since he was 18. His dad started Halls Clean-ers in 1958. In the mid-’80s, Chris started running the business as his dad phased out.

Seven years ago, Chris ex-panded the business when he bought Robbins Clean-ers at 4919 North Broadway. His business philosophy is “continue to do something to move forward and pro-vide the best services you can at competitive prices.”

His most recent “move forward” is the purchase of Paramount U-Li-Ka Clean-ers. Mynatt is excited about this new location, near the corner of Broadway

Nancy Whittaker

Chris Mynatt, new owner of Paramount U-Li-Ka Cleaners, Photoby Nancy Whittaker

Mynatt grows cleaning business

and North Central at 741 North Broadway. Many of his customers are residents of downtown or East and South Knoxville.

Mynatt says his main goal for his new location is having a smooth transition. He doesn’t plan any changes and will continue to give the best service possible. All locations offer full-service dry cleaning, laundry ser-vices and alterations.

Laundry services are a big part of the business. The stores also handle most household items, such as comforters, drapes and ta-blecloths. Many brides bring in their wedding gowns to be pressed, cleaned or pre-served and boxed. He says their prices for these servic-es are all very competitive.

Mynatt oversees 14 em-ployees at the three loca-tions. All employees are drug-screened, and Mynatt is proud of his drug-free workplace. One employee started working at Robbins Cleaners in the 1950s. Bill Montgomery, who is now in his 80s, still works four days per week. Many other employees also have lengthy

terms of service. Mynatt invites everyone

to give one of his locations a try. The Halls location, 7032 Maynardville Pike, is behind Halls Center just down the hill from the new IHOP. Info: Halls, 922-4780; Robbins, 688-2191; Paramount U-Li-Ka, 523-7111.

■ ETABPA The East Towne Area

Business and Professional Association will meet at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 6 at 8 a.m. at New Harvest Park Community Center.

Justin Sterling, the group’s new president, en-courages all business own-ers and managers in the East Towne corridor to at-

tend this meeting. The fea-tured speaker will be Bruce Hayes, senior business spe-cialist with the Te nnessee

Small Business Develop-ment Center. Come see why this group is gaining mo-mentum so quickly!

10 • JULY 30, 2014 • Shopper news

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