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

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news@ShopperNewsNow.comSandra Clark | Betsy Pickle

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The destruction of Coach RoachBy Betty Bean

On election night in Grainger County, supporters of longtime state Rep. Dennis “Coach” Roach got together to await the 35th House District Republican Prima-ry returns.

Their candidate fought hard to overcome a tsunami of negative advertising fi nanced by as much as $500,000 from out-of-state special-interest groups blasting Roach for “ghost voting” (the com-mon and fairly innocuous prac-tice of seat-mates pushing the voting button for neighbors who have stepped out to use the rest-room or take a smoke). The ads painted it as dangerous and lazy, but Roach’s supporters were cau-tiously optimistic that Roach, a popular teacher and basketball coach who had served since 1994, would survive.

“We thought Jerry was going to get his showing, but it turned out we got our showing,” said Grainger County Commissioner James Acuff.

When the fi nal tally was in, Roach lost by nearly 1,000 votes

Coach Roach Jerry Sexton

to opponent Jerry Sexton, a preacher turned furniture manu-facturer whose Facebook page de-scribes him as “More pro-life than your pastor, more for the Second Amendment than Davy Crockett, and more for traditional marriage than Adam and Eve.”

The real issue that got the at-tention of 501(c)(4) groups like the Koch brothers’ Americans for Prosperity and the Tennessee Fed-eration for Children wasn’t ghost voting at all.

“It all came down to my vote on the vouchers,” said Roach, whose district includes Grainger and parts of Union and Claiborne counties.

Roach was particularly dis-appointed in his Union County showing, where he lost 670-320.

“We thought we might do a little better than that after sav-ing them $497,000 (by pushing to keep the K12 Inc. Virtual Academy open against the wishes of Educa-tion Commissioner Kevin Huff-man). We helped (Union County) save that revenue, and they ran a thank-you in the News Sentinel.

“But I guess what we did didn’t impress them enough to overcome those ads. They were good ads but just about 99 percen t false.”

Roach cast the fateful vote on March 5 in the House Finance Ways & Means subcommittee (aka “the Black Hole”) opposing a school voucher bill that would have directed taxpayer money to private schools.

“I could have very easily voted for them and saved myself this trouble, but I’ve been in educa-tion all my life, and it’s not a real good time to be taking money out of public education,” Roach said. “I’ve run 10 times before but spent

more money in this race than in all my other contests combined.

“We raised about $57,000, and we spent it. The TEA did a mailer or two that didn’t cost me, spent about $7,500 or so, but you com-pare that to $400,000-something … And they did radio, too. We came back and did what we could, but you spend what you’ve got and no more.”

Final contribution tallies won’t be disclosed until October.

Several of Roach’s colleagues chipped in campaign contribu-tions in an attempt to fend off the onslaught, including Rep. Ryan Haynes, who says he’d like to dam the fl ow of outside money.

“Coach is exactly right. The voucher bill is what got him, and there’s way too much money in politics. I’ve never had a constitu-ent come up to me and tell me they wish they could get more money in my hand. The public is right to be concerned about this, and I think it’s incumbent on voters to start saying, ‘Hey, where’s this coming from?’ ”

By Betsy PickleAnyone who’s driven past the

Tennessee School for the Deaf lately knows that changes are happening on campus. But the bulldozers, graders and other machines hard at work – even on weekends – give only a hint of the exciting transformation underway.

Phase one includes what passersby see: a new road around the perimeter of the property that will divert traffi c away from the center of the campus. It’s a move to increase safety, says Alan Mealka, superintendent of the school.

“That leaves the middle car-free and pedestrian-friendly,” Mealka says. Completion of the perimeter road is expected around the beginning of October.

Changes that haven’t been visible are improvements to bring facilities up to fi re code and ADA requirements, as well as new fl oors for the gymnasium and

swimming pool and new amenities for the residential cottages that missed out on the last round of renovations.

Still to come are infrastructure renovations such as electric, water and sewage to prepare for phase two: a new high school building.

The new building was envisioned 25 years ago as part of a master plan. Money has only now become available for the upgrades to the state-run boarding school, which serves children from age 3 to 22. About 100 of the 200 students are in high school.

Having a new high school building on the site currently occupied by Poore Hall will make a huge difference, Mealka says.

“Right now the high school is spread out over several different buildings, so we’ve got kids going all over the place, and it’s just not a good academic environment,” he says. “What we really want to do is put our high school with

the academic and the CTE in one building, and our campus library in that building also.

“The four or fi ve buildings that are housing high school students are (from the) 1950s. If nothing else, the technology has changed tremendously.”

Poore and the other existing high school buildings will be demolished, Mealka says. There are also plans for a new central dining hall.

Many on campus have been involved in envisioning the new facilities. “They engaged a person at Gallaudet University in Washington who knows deaf space, and he came down and worked with our faculty and our students,” says Elaine Alexander, director of instruction and point person on the revamp. “The architects took our recommendations and combined them into four different possibilities and then reduced it down to two, and then the two

were combined, using the ideas from the kids and from the staff.

“It’s still very preliminary, but their ideas were taken into consideration. Our fi fth-graders will be the fi rst ninth-grade class in the new building if it goes on schedule. We defi nitely wanted them involved in what they would like their high school to look like.”

Mealka and Alexander expect a lot from the changes. “We hope to have the most up-to-date technology available for our students at that time, things that have not been invented yet – that’s what the teachers want,” says Alexander.

The tech revolution has improved life for TSD students.

“All the technology has been a tremendous benefi t for our kids and the deaf community at large,” says Mealka. “Everything we’re doing is to increase the educational opportunity for our students.”

Alan Mealka and Elaine Anderson

stand in front of an under-con-

struction section of perimeter road

heading toward Island Home Av-

enue on the Tennessee School for

the Deaf campus. Photo by Betsy Pickle

TSD projects …TSD projects …

keep education, safety in mind

Dogwoods are coming South

The 2015 Dogwood Lun-cheon will be held at Ijams Nature Center on Wednesday, April 8.

This bit of good news comes courtesy of Lisa Dun-can, executive director of the Dogwood Arts Festival. With Chapman Highway as the featured Dogwood Trail for 2015, this makes the honor – and responsibility – for South Knox a double one where Dogwood days are concerned.

➤ Read Betsy Pickle on page 3

Mike Lowe back in the news

When Tommy Schumpert ran for county executive in 1994, Mike Lowe made his move. He ran for trustee as a reformer and promised to depoliticize the offi ce, institute an anti-nepotism policy and end the practice of dunning employees for campaign con-tributions.

➤ Read Betty Bean on page 4

Angelic MinistriesAngelic Ministries served

more than 5,000 families in crisis last year, and now founder Betsy Frazier and her dedicated staff of volunteers are planning a fundraiser.

➤ Read Nancy Whittaker on page 7

Meet Lisa LightLisa Light has taught in

four school districts in two states, but she has already discovered what’s special about Gap Creek Elementary School.

➤ Meet the new principal on page 6

Meet Tanna NicelyThe new principal of South

Knoxville Elementary School says she didn’t know much about the community or the school previously.

What has surprised her

has been “just how passion-ate people are about the South Knoxville community and the school and the pride for both,” she says. “It’s really inspiring.

“People from here don’t say, ‘I’m from Knoxville.’ They say, ‘I’m from South Knoxville.’ And I love that.”

➤ Meet the new principal on page 6

2 • SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

Nicole White, occupational therapist and driving rehabilitation therapist at Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, is excited the Adaptive Driving Program is back. “We can determine whether folks are still safe to drive or whether it’s time to hang up the keys,” White said.

Helping drivers get back in controlOn the road again,Goin’ places that I’ve never been,Seein’ things that I may never see again,And I can’t wait to get on the road again. – Willie Nelson

Americans love their cars, and for most adults, driving is essen-tial to freedom and independence.

At the Patricia Neal Rehabili-tation Center, the Adaptive Driv-ing Program has returned to help older adults and others with dis-abilities receive the training and support they need to drive safely.

“We assess each patient re-garding their vision, cognition, physical movement and road knowledge,” said Nicole White, an occupational therapist and driving rehabilitation therapist who runs the program. “And we can deter-mine whether folks are still safe to drive or whether it’s time to hang up the keys and look at alternative transportation options.”

Some clients are referred to the Adaptive Driving Program for age-related illnesses like early demen-tia or arthritis, while others are relearning to drive after amputa-tions or spinal cord injuries.

Depending on each client’s needs, White tailors a program individually. First, she performs a number of clinical assessments in-side the clinic to determine range of motion and strength in the cli-ent’s arms and legs, peripheral vision and depth perception, and information processing and deci-sion making skills.

If White determines the client has the ability to drive, the sec-

Is it safe for me to hit the road?The American Occupational Therapy Associa-

tion (AOTA) focuses on how occupational thera-pists can perform professional assessments to de-termine whether seniors can safely drive, and help find assistive technologies to make driving pos-sible.

AOTA’s “aim is to promote an understanding of the importance of mobility and transportation, and to ensure that older adults remain active in the com-munity – shopping, working or volunteering – with the confi dence that transportation will not be the barrier to strand them at home.”

Here are some reasons to consider having a pro-fessional driving assessment done:

■ If you’re feeling less fl exible, not seeing as well or your refl exes have slowed.

■ If you have a medical condition like arthritis, pe-ripheral neuropathy or early stage dementia.

■ If your vision has worsened. ■ If others say you’re not driving safely. ■ If it’s been a long time since you have driven be-

cause of a medical reason. ■ If you’ve moved and are not familiar with your

surroundings.

Senior driving statsAccording to a survey done earlier this year by

AAA, the American Occupational Therapy Asso-ciation and AARP, here are some interesting facts about drivers 65 and older.

■ Nine out of 10 older drivers buckle up when behind the wheel.

■ One-third have taken driver improvement courses.

■ 52 percent drive seven days a week. ■ Drivers in their mid-to-late 80s have ap-

proximately half the crash rate of teenagers.

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ond evaluation is completed on the road in one of the program’s vehicles.

“We offer two vehicles, a sedan and minivan, that can be adapted depending on the person’s disabil-ity and what they need to be a safe driver,” said White.

Gas and brake pedals can be op-erated by the use of adaptive hand controls if the patient is unable to use their legs, for example. Turn signals, windshield wipers and the emergency brake can all have

extenders or switches in-stalled to make them easier to reach. Wide-angle mirrors can be attached to assist patients with limited neck movement.

Once she modifi es the vehicle to suit the client, White takes him or her out on the road.

“We start out in the parking lot to introduce the client to the equipment. Then we move onto residential roads, going under 25 miles per hour, then the patient can progress to moderate and

heavy travelled roads, and fi nally they move onto the highways, if appropriate.”

White is right there with them, with her own set of gas and brake pedals on her side of the car in case there’s a problem. “If things get hairy I can take control of the car,” White said with a laugh.

At the end of the program, each client receives a prescription of

equipment to buy for his or herown car to drive safely.

“Once we fi nd out what type of equipment is going to work well for the patient, we provide them with a list of mobility equipmentdealers in the area who can install the prescribed equipment for the patient,” said White. “We go with the client to ensure the equipment is installed and fi ts the client ap-propriately. Then we make sure the client feels comfortable with their newly adapted vehicle.”

“We can do anything that’s con-sidered ‘low-tech,’ ” she added.“Hand controls, left foot accelera-tor and pedal extenders, that kindof thing. If a person requires high-tech equipment (i.e. joystick driv-ing controls, electronic voice scansand touch pad screens) to drive,we can refer them to other drivingprograms that have the expertise to assist the client”

Many of the center’s clientsare older adults whose fami-lies are not certain they’re stillsafe on the road. “For the olderdriver, we can do education ses-sions while they are in the pro-gram about how to compensatefor any deficits they may haveand a review of the rules of theroad. Everyone develops a fewbad habits, like a rolling stop at astop sign, so we can review thingslike that,” said White.

The Adaptive Driving Programis open to anyone with a referralfrom a physician and it is a self-pay program.

“Some people may only need one to two training sessions after the evaluations; others may need more as each client is different,” said White.

For more information about the

Adaptive Driving Program and the

Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center,

visit www.patneal.org

or call 865-541-1446.

SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 • 3

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The 2015 Dogwood Lun-cheon will be held at Ijams Nature Center on Wednes-day, April 8.

Disc Exchange will be one of the stops for the South Knoxville Alliance’s Saturday South K-Town Races.

Ready for dogwoods?

This bit of good news comes courtesy of Lisa Dun-can, executive director of the Dogwood Arts Festival. With Chapman Highway as the featured Dogwood Trail for 2015, this makes the honor – and responsibility – for South Knox a double one where Dogwood days are concerned.

The invitation-only lun-cheon kicks off the open-ing of the Dogwood Trails, Open Gardens & Camera Sites and Walking Trails. Chapman Highway is one of seven trails, which take turns being the featured trail. Chapman lost its turn in the rotation while the Henley Bridge was closed, so this is our opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to the thousands who drive the trails to enjoy the displays of dogwoods and other blooming beauties.

The Chapman High-way Dogwood Trail runs through the Lake Forest and Colonial Village neighbor-hoods, and the neighbor-hood associations of each are busy working on ways to enhance their community’s aesthetics.

Also involved in featur-ing the beauty of South Knox are the South Knox-ville Alliance and the South Knoxville Neighborhood & Business Coalition.

All are asking everyone in South Knoxville to show pride in our area and start preparing now to display our best face to visitors from around the county and the region. Check out the Facebook pages of the groups to see how you can get involved.

Upcoming events for the Dogwood Arts Festi-val include the Knoxville

Film Festival, Sept. 11-14 at Downtown West, and Bazil-lion Blooms on Dec. 6.

■ Election primerThe South Knox Repub-

lican Club got a tutorial on the workings of the Knox County Election Commis-sion at its August meeting.

After Steve Phillips brought greetings and thanks from Eddie Smith, who earned the GOP nod to run against Gloria Johnson for the state House, Chris Davis, assistant administra-tor of the Election Commis-sion, took the fl oor.

One of Davis’ main points was that the commis-sion staff is busy working throughout the year, even when there aren’t “big” elec-tions.

Workers are constantly updating and confi rm-ing voter registrations and making sure that, come Election Day, there won’t be any confusion over who may vote.

They also have to oversee “500 voting machines in 85 precincts in 72 locations,” 50 of which are schools. And they have to train the up to 650 poll workers who are recruited for each elec-tion.

While the next election is Tuesday, Nov. 4, Davis pointed out that early voting in Knox County begins Oct. 15 – just six weeks away.

The staff also responds to inquiries about individual voting records. The records don’t reveal how a person voted but indicate which elections were voted in and the party chosen for a pri-mary. Davis noted that a certain former mayor who’s now a columnist frequently makes such requests. (Ashe, party of one.)

Davis explained that the fi ve election commission-ers are appointed by the political parties, and the dominant party in the state legislature gets to have the majority. Historically, Dem-ocrats have had control, but that “fl ipped” in 2009.

Davis, who described himself as a Republican, identifi ed the three Repub-lican commissioners but

Chris Davis of the Knox Coun-ty Election Commission staff talks to the South Knoxville Republican Club.

Matthew Kellogg receives the offi cial Appalachian Mountain Bike Club bell from outgoing president Brian Hann. Photos by Betsy Pickle

didn’t bother to name the two Democrats. No one at the meeting seemed dis-turbed by that.

■ Changing ofthe guardThe August meeting of

the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club was short and sweet.

Reports on the status of various trails were gen-erally satisfactory. Presi-dent Brian Hann and Vice President Matthew Kel-logg gave summaries of the sessions they attended at the International Moun-tain Bicycling Associa-tion Summit in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

The two had returned to Knoxville just a couple of hours before the AMBC meeting and understand-ably looked a bit jetlagged. Hann said they did get some riding in, and the trails situ-ation made him appreciate the support AMBC has here for expanding trails.

Hann then turned over not just the meeting but also the leadership of the club to his co-worker and neighbor, Kellogg. There wasn’t much ceremony, but there was plenty of applause in ap-proval of both men from the members gathered at Cen-tral Flats & Taps.

While Kellogg confi rmed Hann’s quip that he had gone to the “real workshops” at the summit, he praised Hann for making the AMBC a respected player in the community. Hann has led the AMBC for fi ve years.

FAITH NOTES■ Seymour UMC, 107 Simmons

Road in Seymour, hosts LOOVE (Living Out Our Vows Everyday) marriage enrichment classes along with DivorceCare, DC4K (DivorceCare for Kids), Single and Parenting, and GriefShare support groups. Classes meet 6-8 p.m. each Wednesday. New participants are welcome at any time. Info: 573-9711 or email kimleake81@gmail.com.

REUNIONS ■ Beason family reunion,

noon Saturday, Sept. 6, Big Ridge State Park rec hall. Food served 1 p.m.

■ Carter High School Class of ’57, 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, Aubrey’s on Strawberry Plains Pike. Info/RSVP: Sue Boyer, 933-3077, or Peggy Wilson, 933-2608.

■ Central High Class of ’74, Sept. 12-13. Friday: tailgate 6 p.m. in the CHS parking lot; bring a picnic and lawn chair. Football game 7:30. Saturday: reunion party 6 p.m. at Cal-houn’s on the River. Cost: $40 per person. Info: 584-9469 or knoxcentralclassof74@gmail.com.

■ Halls High Class of ’64 will meet 11 a.m. each second Tuesday, Sept. 9, and Oct. 14, at Shoney’s on Emory Road to socialize and eat lunch. Info: James Kuykendall.

■ Halls High Classes of ’76-’80, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept.

HEALTH NOTES ■ “The Alexander Technique:

An Introduction,” 10:30 a.m., Thursday, Sept. 4, Bearden Branch Library, 100 Golf Club Road. Free but preregistration requested. Info/to prereg-ister: Lilly Sutton, 387-7600 or www.AlexanderTech-niqueKnoxville.com.

■ Abundant Life, a Free Weight Management Program incor-porating diet, exercise and group support, 6 p.m. Thurs-day, Sept. 11, North Knoxville Seventh-Day Adventist Church fellowship hall, 6530 Fountain City Road. Limited space. Info/to register: 314-8204 or www.KnoxvilleInstep.com.

27, Red Gate Farm, 2353 May-nardville Highway. Admis-sion: $10 ($15 couples). Food vendors will be onsite, but classmates are asked to bring their own drinks and lawn chairs. The Kincaid Band will perform. Info/RSVP: 214-7020 or hallshsreunion@gmail.com.

■ Asa’s EB awareness 5K walk/run, 8:30-10:30 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 25, Victor Ashe Park. Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a devastating rare skin disease for which there is no cure or treatment. All proceeds will go to the DEBRA organization for EB awareness and research. To register: http://debra.kintera.org/2014knoxville5k.

■ Saturday South coming soonThe South Knoxville

Alliance’s eagerly anticipated Saturday South will be here before you know it – Sept. 13, to be specifi c.

While the base of activities will be at Ijams Nature Center, the fun will be spread throughout SoKno. The K-Town Races – inspired by “The Amazing Race” – will feature

activities at vendors. The idea is to visit each vendor, participate in the activity and receive a stamp that you can enter into a drawing at Ijams.

Vendors participating include Borderland, Disc Exchange, the Henley Apartments, Round-up

Restaurant, Shoney’s and Stanley’s Greenhouse.

During the afternoon at Ijams, three bands will perform: Ryan Sexton, Jamie Cook & the Blue South and Heart & Soul. The fun will be capped off by a square dance at the Candoro Marble building.

Knoxville City Council member Mark Campe n

passed along a scary story about a one-woman crime wave in North Knoxville.

Seems the woman stopped at

a house on Fieldwood, told

Mark Campen

Crime watch alertthe resident she had run out of gas and asked for money. Wisely, the home-owner offered instead to have someone bring her gasoline. At this point, the woman asked to use the bathroom. Again, the homeowner refused. She watched the woman walk to a neighbor’s house where a 90-year-old man was sit-ting on the porch.

The stranger walked past

him into his house. While she visited his bathroom, he took out his wallet to give her money for gasoline. Before neighbors could intervene, the woman had cleaned out all the medi-cines in his bathroom cabi-net and taken about $80 from his wallet. She got away. Neighbors told police she was wearing shorts and a tank top and had messy, blondish hair.

4 • SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 • Shopper news government

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Democratic leaders speak at KarnsRichard Dawson and Mark Harmon speak at the Demo-

cratic Party District 6 meeting at the Karns branch library

Aug. 26. Dawson and Harmon were recently elected to the

Democratic Party’s State Executive Committee for Senate

districts 5 and 7. Photo by Frank Schingle

Betty Bean

Mike Lowe didn’t start life as a courthouse fat cat.

He went to work in the trustee’s offi ce when he was 17, straight out of high school.

When I met him in the mid-’80s, he was a friendly, good-natured guy who’d earned a college degree while holding down a full-time job. His older brother, Tommy, was the county clerk but got turned out of offi ce in 1986, swamped in a sea of scandal. Word around the courthouse was that Mike was nothing like his brother. He was humble and funny and got along with al-most everybody. He cracked jokes about his bad toupee and made friends where

he needed them.

B u t L o w e ’ s boss, Bob B r o o m e , was not a friend. Trustee for about a mil-lion years,

Broome was a legendary courthouse tyrant whose employees lived in a state of voluntary servitude – working in his campaigns,

Mike Lowe

Mike Lowe and the courthouse culture(Editor’s Note: With last week’s conviction for

felony theft of former Trustee Mike Lowe’s so-called phantom employee Delbert Morgan, and the upcom-ing trial of Lowe himself, we are reprising this article by Betty Bean published in Shopper-News March 3, 2009.)

ponying up to buy him lav-ish gifts and hoping to get through the day without be-ing noticed.

Mike excelled at making Bob Broome mad. He was perpetually in the doghouse and at one time was suspend-ed and sent home for two months. I got to know him when I did a series of stories about the deplorable work-ing conditions in the trust-ee’s offi ce. He was friendly, helpful, open and extremely knowledgeable, particularly about that ultimate patron-age institution known as the delinquent tax attorney – the juiciest plum in the trustee’s offi ce and a shocking waste of taxpayer money.

Maybe it was a stretch to call him Cool Hand Luke, but I know fi rsthand he was a standup guy. A whistle-blower, even.

Broome retired in 1990 and was succeeded by Tommy Schumpert, whose affable, reasonable manage-

ment style made the offi ce staff’s lives considerably easier. When Schumpert ran for county executive in 1994, Mike made his move. He ran as a reformer and promised to depoliticize the offi ce, institute an anti-nepotism policy and end the practice of dunning employ-ees for campaign contribu-tions.

His campaign ran like a machine, in part because of the able assistance of a smart young lawyer named Steve Roth, whom everybody fi g-ured was going to become the delinquent tax attorney. Roth worked diligently for Mike, organizing campaign events and phone banks. After the election, a lot of people were shocked when the tax job went instead to attorney Albert Harb.

Mike broke the bad news to Roth over dinner, right after Roth presented him with a handsome clock engraved with the words, “hard work pays off.” Mike kept the clock and kicked Roth to the curb. Harb has gone on to make millions doing a job that could be done in-house at far less expense to the citizens of Knox County.

Term limitsThe same year Mike was

elected, a referendum on term limits made it to the ballot and passed over-whelmingly. Lulled by a

state attorney general who opined that term limits didn’t apply to so-called constitutional offi cers like Mike, the courthouse crowd went about their business, never suspecting that the term limits vote was a UXB that would blow up on them 12 years later.

Meanwhile, Mike was sporting a better toupee and a Lincoln Navigator. He built an upscale house and sold his old one to his chief deputy, Fred Sisk. He start-ed talking about running for county mayor in 2010. His payroll grew as he larded it with retired school ad-ministrators and straight-up political operatives who rarely appeared in the of-fi ce. Tongues began to wag about his lavish lifestyle and employees being squeezed for campaign contributions.

One former employee said he was slow to pitch in money for Lowe’s benefi t golf tournament one year and was instructed to cash in his accrued overtime:

“They called and said Mike said to pay me my over-time. They wrote me a check and I went over and cashed it at the credit union and brought him back $1,000 cash. It was just part of the deal. He had three fundrais-ers a year, and everybody was expected to contribute – it didn’t matter if you were a single mother with a house full of kids to support. They

Sandra Clark

The Knox County Court-house has several new faces at the big desks this week. (And one with no desk at all. Word is that no one told Chancellor Clarence “Ed-die” Pridemore to bring his own furniture.)

Goodbye and good luck

So long, Randy Nichols. You were a good DA, even if you wouldn’t go after Rags-dale.

So long, judges Work-man, Leibowitz, Fansler, Wimberly and Swann. Here’s hoping you enjoy re-tirement and don’t have to make a decision for weeks.

Interim Trustee Craig Leuthold and veteran Crim-inal Court clerk Joy McCro-skey have been replaced.

Four of 11 county com-missioners are moving on: Tony Norman, R. Larry Smith, Mike Hammond and Ed Shouse. And four of nine school board members are no more: Thomas Deakins, Indya Kincannon, Kim Sev-erance and Pam Trainor.

What’s ahead? How about Dave Wright

getting elected to chair the Knox County Commission, joined by Mike McMillan as school board chair? Cou-pled with Law Director Bud Armstrong and Property As-sessor Phil Ballard, the 8th District would assert more political power than ever before. This would bode well for a Gibbs Middle School and not so well for attempts to rezone farmland for in-dustrial use at Midway.

■ Jim McIntyre cannot repair the damage he’s done to morale in Knox County Schools. He’s the wrong guy in the top job, and the school system will lurch along until he’s gone – hopefully soon.

In a little more than 60 days, we will know if Demo-crat Gloria Johnson or Re-publican Eddie Smith will serve in the state House of Representatives from Knox County for two years. It is the only genuinely contested race in Knox County on Nov. 4.

VictorAshe

Gloria Johnson

Johnson and Smith is best race left

Both parties are anxious to win. Johnson’s local Dem-ocratic Party suffered a melt-down Aug. 7, losing every countywide offi ce. They want to avoid another humiliation. Smith narrowly defeated his GOP primary opponent in an upset over Jason Emert.

Johnson is a smart, en-ergetic and determined of-fi ceholder. She has a unique ability to reach the media. While she is badly outnum-bered in Nashville (71 GOP to 28 Democrats) she has made up for that by using her offi ce to publicize her views far beyond her district.

She has effectively battled Common Core and the Knox County school system. Local

schoolteachers love her. State Democrats consider her a ris-ing star. Several Republican state legislators loathe her.

She has made a name for herself. She is an educa-tor and has taken an unpaid leave of absence from the school system to campaign this fall. Smith also opposes Common Core.

Smith, a former music leader at Sevier Heights Bap-tist Church, is a hard worker. He is personable and down to earth. His wife, the former Lanna Keck, is known to many Knoxvillians as Miss Tennessee 1997. They are the parents of two children. He is a conservative blue-collar Republican.

The state GOP has as-signed Zach Huff to help full time in his campaign, which the party funds. Huff worked in Bill Ailor’s suc-cessful campaign for Circuit Court judge in August.

District 13 must be rated a toss-up. Democratic Judges Daryl Fansler and Harold Wimberly carried the district by comfortable margins while losing countywide to Repub-licans considered by many to be less qualifi ed.

In the contest for Criminal Court judge where both nomi-

■ County Commis-sioner Ed Brantley made news even before he took offi ce yesterday by being listed by the Democratic Gordon Ball for U.S. Senate campaign as a supporter in one of their news releases. Local Republicans were aghast that Brantley would openly endorse a Democrat, and the phones were busy.

However, when this writ-er contacted Brantley last week, he said it was untrue. “No one has talked to me about being on the list (of Ball supporters).”

However, Brantley is not a fan of Lamar Alexander either as he said he was “not supporting either one (can-didate) at this point.” Still unclear whether Brantley will back the GOP ticket in-cluding Alexander or not.

He did say he favored a new chair for County Com-mission (Brad Anders is current chair as of Aug. 29) and felt the position, which is chosen by the full com-mission, should be rotated from time to time.

■ Beau Fancher ofKnoxville has been made East Tennessee fi eld rep for the Alexander for Senate campaign.

Eddie Smith

nees were viewed as qualifi ed, Democrat Leland Price won the district by 12 votes over Republican Scott Green, who won countywide by a sub-stantial margin.

Johnson denies she is liberal, saying, “What are the liberal bills I have intro-duced?”

MetroPulse has reported that Johnson is under con-sideration to be Democratic Party chair or executive di-rector next year.

When asked by this writ-er if she might do this she responded, “I have not had time to think about it.”

Presumably that means she is focused on winning re-election. However, that answer also fails to answer the question of whether she would or would not seek the position in January. She could legally do both jobs.

kept running tabs. If you didn’t, his henchmen would make it so uncomfortable on you that you’d have no choice but to quit.”

The whole term-limits adventure has been a slow-moving fi asco for Lowe, who, with lawyer Harb and other offi ceholders, made repeated attempts to fl out the will of the people and hang on to the public pap. The courthouse crowd tried legislative solutions and lawsuits and swapping jobs with their seconds-in-com-mand. They sued to over-turn the county charter, which got their appointed replacements kicked out and put Mike temporar-ily back in command. Last year (2008) he ran for

property assessor and lost, and recently is said to have been interested in the job of elections administrator.

But headlines in the past week – “TBI probing payroll practices in the trustee’s of-fi ce”– are unlikely to vault him back into power. He’s lawyered up and hunkered down while his remaining supporters grump that Sisk has thrown Mike under the bus.

There’s a saying from Greek antiquity, “The wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind exceeding fi ne.”

The wheels started mov-ing the year Mike Lowe was elected to public offi ce, but now somebody else is blow-ing the whistle.

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Back in mid-August, I was heading into the house just at dusk when I was stopped by a sight I hadn’t seen all summer. There, zip-ping back and forth with their amazingly agile fl ut-tering fl ight, were two bats!

Fledermaus in trouble

Dr. Bob Collier

By Sandra ClarkR ichard Bean and Judge

Tim Irwin hosted a huge crowd at the dedication last week of an expansion of the Juvenile Court facilities on Division Street. The $3.925 million project was funded by Knox County.

Mayor Tim Burchett said, “Improvements like

these aren’t cheap, but they help ensure young people in the juvenile justice system will leave with a chance to become productive adults.

“When a family has a child going through the sys-tem, it’s diffi cult for every-one. This expansion allows families to have one central location for everything from

visitation, court or some other program.”

Knoxville Mayor Made-line Rogero called it a “hap-py day” for Judge Irwin and Bean, superintendent of the service center.

“This $4 million project added 9,925 square feet to the Richard L. Bean Ser-vice Center. There are four

d l k h ’ h b h i i i

Juvenile Justice Center expands new courtrooms, and all the child support services are located here now.”

Circuit Court Judge Dale Workman was master of cer-emonies. Other hosts were Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones, Juvenile Court Clerk Cathy Shanks and County Com-mission chair Brad Anders.

Randy Kenner gave this writer a quick tour. The project includes mediation facilities and expanded waiting areas including

a playroom for kids, and each courtroom now has a large-screen TV so hear-ings can be conducted via Skype.

“This saves on transpor-tation costs (for offenders held in adult facilities),” said Kenner, a former re-porter who now works in the clerk’s office.

The smaller courtrooms are used by magistrates, ap-pointed by Irwin, who hear cases at his direction. The ex-

pansion includes modular of-fi ces for the magistrates.

Security is tight at the facility, where juvenile of-fenders from the region are housed.

We peeked into Irwin’s main courtroom. Sure enough, a box of stuffed ani-mals sits on his desk, ready to comfort frightened kids. The court handles custody and child-support issues as well as criminal and status offenses.

Board of Trustees for the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Service Center are Gail Jarvis, chair Terry Hen-ley and Chris Coff ey. Photos by S. Clark

At a board meeting following the ribbon-cutting are Juvenile Court Judge Tim Irwin, Richard L. Bean, superindent; and Kay McClain, assistant superintendent.

Commissioner Amy Broyles’ outrage at County Commission’s Aug. 25 meet-ing brought her to the verge of tears and just a hair’s breadth from joining a dis-tinguished lineup of blub-bering politicians.

Broyles was unhappy over her fellow commis-sioners’ rejection of her candidate for the vacant 2nd District school board seat. Indya Kincannon held the seat before resigning to

LarryVan

Guilder

Cry me a rivershould be nestled between Freedonia and Sylvania and governed by Rufus T. Fire-fl y. Kincannon’s departure gave her the perfect excuse to channel Groucho and belt out “Hello, I Must Be Going” at her last board meeting, but she passed and likely will never enjoy such a gold-en opportunity again.

And while we’re digress-ing, may as well note Com-missioner Sam McKenzie’s reference to “puppet mas-

ters” in the same meeting at which Broyles melted down.

Science-fi ction afi cio-nados will recall Robert Heinlein’s tale of “puppet master” slugs who invaded Earth and by stealth and guile attached themselves to the backs of their clue-less victims. The aliens’ aim was nothing less than world domination, something like the Koch brothers’ agenda, but with considerably less cash and more panache.

In fairness to McKen-zie, a video review of past commission meetings does reveal suspicious bulges on the shoulders of some commissioners, but in at least one instance the lump turned out to be nothing more sinister than an over-sized Bluetooth earpiece re-ceiver amplifi er … tuned to a puppet master. Yes, those were the days.

If her commission mates

continue to foil Broyles’ best-laid plans, she could unleash a saline fountain of umbrage, but she’d still trail serial leakers like John Boehner by hundreds of buckets.

Boehner didn’t earn the sobriquet “Weeper of the House” for his sunny dis-position. He’s left a trail of tears on the fl oor of the House, at party conven-tions, in school rooms, even, most famously, during a “60 Minutes” interview a few years ago.

About the only time for-mer Speaker Boehner has managed to plug the water-works was during the de-bate over raising the federal debt ceiling in 2011. Not a glimmer of moisture cloud-ed his eyes at the specter of the U.S. defaulting on its debt and triggering a global depression.

So, while “Boys Don’t Cry” was a provocative

movie, as a description of male political sangfroid the title doesn’t hold water.

Think back to those thrilling days of yesteryear when real men wore polyes-ter leisure suits – the ’70s. In 1972, Edmund Muskie was a strong candidate for the Democratic presiden-tial nomination when he seemed to lose his compo-sure in New Hampshire while defending his wife against attacks in the Man-chester Union-Leader.

Muskie claimed that what the press reported as tears were actually melting snowfl akes. Tears or snow, his presidential hopes were washed away.

If only Muskie could have stemmed the tide until he was elected. Clinton, both Bushes and Obama all shed a few in the Oval Offi ce.

So, take heart, Amy, and no stump speeches during a snowstorm.

travel with her husband to Slovenia.

By the way, Marx Broth-ers fans surely noticed that Slovenia sounds as if it

They were very busy at what bats do, scooping up mosquitoes, moths and gnats from the darkening sky. Bats, of course, are the only mammals that can fl y. And they don’t just fl ap along somewhere; they are speedy, dodgy masters of the air, able to turn on a dime and leave you nine cents change. And with each feint and turn, there’s a good chance that one more pesky insect has been eliminated.

There are a thousand or so species around the globe, most of them living in the tropics, where they fi nd a good, steady supply of food year-round. We have some 16 kinds in Tennessee. The majority of them eat mostly insects, but there are also species of bats, larger ones, that eat mostly fruit. A few species have adapted to eat-ing fi sh. And then there are the vampire bats, which, as everyone knows, like a snack of blood now and then.

Bats have some science-fi ction-like features that have a lot to do with our fascination with them. Their amazing bat wings consist of thin membranes of skin stretched across their greatly elongated fore-arms and fi ngers, plus more membrane between their hind limbs that help navi-gate their erratic fl ight. And seeing in the dark? While the big fruit-eating bats do see well in the dark, our small insect-eating ones do a thing called echoloca-tion. Just like a submarine listening to the pings from its sonar, the bats put out a constant stream of nois-

es of such high frequency that human ears can’t hear them. The bats’ ears are so sensitive that they must automatically close with each sound, so their own noise won’t deafen them. Then they open to hear the sounds bounce back – from rocks, trees, power lines – and prey. They automatical-ly compensate for the speed and direction of a fl ying mosquito, calculate its exact location and unerringly nab it at high speed, in the dark. Remarkable, indeed.

Vampire bats have given bats a bit of a bad reputation. Zipping low over people’s heads in the dark and living upside down in caves prob-ably hasn’t helped either.

And bats occasionally carry rabies and a couple of other bad diseases (never pick one up!), but overall, they are of immense benefi t to us all.

A bat consumes half its body weight in insects every night – around 3,000 bugs per bat! That adds up to a lot of mosquitoes – a group of 1,000 bats can eat four tons of insects a year. It is estimated that bats save our agriculture folks up to $50 million a year in insect-control services.

But our bats are dying off by the millions. A fun-gus causes a disease in bats, called white-nose syndrome and nearly always fatal. Since so many bats live together in very close quarters in a sin-gle cave, sometimes in the thousands, and since many of our bats migrate widely, the disease spreads quickly from one bat to innumer-able others and is carried far and wide.

White-nose syndrome has so far killed over 7 mil-lion North American bats. If most or all of our bats were to die off, think of the tons and tons of insects that had been eaten nightly, but then left up there in the sky to reproduce at their regular enormous rate. A lot of seri-ous scientifi c work is under-way to study the fungus and how it works and is spread. In Europe where it is from, the bats survive, but they have been living with it for eons. In the meantime, if you are so lucky as to see a bat or two around, note

them well and remember what you saw. It may be a long time till you see an-other one.

6 • SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news kids

By Betsy PickleLisa Light has taught

in four school districts in two states, but she has already discovered what’s special about Gap Creek Elementary School.

“I’m very excited about the individualized attention we can give every child here, and every family,” says Light, Gap Creek’s new principal. “That’s the piece that’s really appealing to me here.”

Relationships are the key to growing good students, she says, and Gap Creek’s teachers have formed them.

“This is such a talented group of teachers, and they really do know the kids and the families and what the kids’ needs are,” says Light. “They are committed to each child as an individual.”

An Anderson County native, Light came to Gap Creek after two years as principal at Willow Brook Elementary in Oak Ridge, which followed her fi rst stint as principal, at Lonsdale. She started her teaching career in Dalton, Ga., and then taught and served as a consultant in Nashville before becoming a special-education consultant for Knox County Schools in 1998.

She earned her bachelor of science in education from the University of Tennessee, her master’s from Middle Tennessee State University, her Master’s + 30 at Peabody College of Vanderbilt University, and her Education Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership from UT.

“I’ve had a great career – lots of diversity,” says Light. She’s happy about her appointment to Gap Creek.

“This is not a school that

Tanna Nicely grew up in East Knox County, but she had a South Knoxville connection before she was born: Her dad borrowed her name from a neighbor of her aunts in South Knoxville.

Her connection has been confi rmed with her new ap-pointment as principal of South Knoxville Elemen-tary School. Nicely says she didn’t know much about the community or the school previously.

What has surprised her has been “just how passion-ate people are about the South Knoxville community and the school and the pride for both,” she says. “It’s re-ally inspiring.

“People from here don’t say, ‘I’m from Knoxville.’ They say, ‘I’m from South Knoxville.’ And I love that.”

A graduate of Carter High School and the Uni-versity of Tennessee, Nicely has a bachelor’s, a master’s

Gap Creek’s new principal

Teaching assistant Sarah Doty and principal Lisa Light are newfaculty members at Gap Creek Elementary School.

Top readers in Gap Creek’s summer reading program are, front: Amber Varner, Kiersten Abshire, Ashleigh Morgan, Mikayla Ellison; middle: Kylie Key, Alex Hembree, Patrick Culleton, Janelle Ro-driquez, Sarah Christy; back: Matthew Greene, Grace Clemmer, Chloe Kirk, Zack Ellison. Photos by Betsy Pickle

focuses on growth

is broken or in dire need,” she says. “Our achievement is very high, so we are working on student growth. Our goal here is that every student grows as much as they possibly can. We’re really diving deeper into data this year – student by student, skill by skill.”

One skill at which the students have already proven themselves is reading. At a recent morning assembly, Light recognized achievements during the summer reading program.

“The goal was to read a combined 5,000 minutes, and the actual minutes read was 40,804,” she says. Sixteen students read more than fi ve hours, 15 more than 10 hours, 13 more than 20 hours, 11 more than 25 hours and 10 more than 30 hours.

The top reader, Sarah Christy, read 146 hours – 8,805 minutes.

“They just threw out a challenge, and these kids took it,” says Light.

Tanna Nicely

Nicely buys into SKES pride

and an education specialist degree, and she’s working on a doctorate from East Tennessee State University.

She taught in Virginia for two years before join-ing Knox County Schools in 1991 as a teacher at Powell Elementary. She also taught at Sunnyview Primary be-fore serving as a system-wide math curriculum fa-

Marvin West

Trooper Taylor, one of the most colorful (and some might say controversial) coaches in college football, returns to Neyland Stadi-um Saturday as cornerback counselor for the Arkansas State Red Wolves.

Red Wolves? For genera-tions, that team was called Indians. Political correct-ness caused the change.

Blaise Taylor, 5-9, 170-pound freshman defen-sive back, son of the coach and lovely Evi, will also arrive as a Red Wolf. I remember him as a 10-year-old playing for the Knoxville Fire.

The Taylors were in town for four years. They left af-

Trooper returns to town

ter the 2007 season when Phillip Fulmer hired Dave Clawson as new offensive coordinator of the Volun-teers. Trooper wanted that job, and when he didn’t get it, he moved on – to Okla-homa State as I recall.

Clawson failed, but in-siders understood Fulmer’s logic. In a whisper, they said Trooper stood out in

Next was the Cam New-ton saga. Cam’s dad, the Rev. Cecil, and a fi nancial representative supposedly passed the collection plate and offered the quarterback to the highest contributor. Several schools were on the fringe of this transaction. Cam, who had no idea what was going on, chose Auburn.

The NCAA shook its fi st but couldn’t fi nd the jail key. Nobody said Trooper did it.

In the spring of 2010, Auburn reported a few mis-steps linked to the Tiger Prowl and stretch limos and Hummers. Trooper may have been docked for suspi-cion of creative recruiting.

Auburn had a little prob-lem with grade changes and a cash offer to a player to skip the NFL draft. Out in the real world, people with no true facts thought

of Trooper and said where there is smoke, there is of-ten a hot torch.

It was obviously unfair to blame everything on Trooper just because he was there. We do believe he was investigated for resound-ing recruiting success in Thibodaux, La.

Meanwhile, Auburn won a national championship and Trooper got a big ring. Players loved him. His pay went up to $475,000. Dur-ing a team visit to the White House, he chest-bumped Barack Obama. I am not making this up.

A strange story popped up in Memphis. Auburn signed Jovon Robinson, but the NCAA ruled him ineligible because of falsifi ed grades. Again, some of the fallout found Trooper but nothing happened. Paid investiga-

tors fell short of proof.Summation: Recruiter

of the year, often envied,sometimes accused, neverconvicted.

Eventually, Trooper’sboss, Gene Chizik, was fi redfor not winning enough na-tional championships. Au-burn asked Trooper to stickaround, to hold the recruit-ing class together during thesearch for a new coach. In-teresting, very interesting.

Gus Malzahn did notretain Trooper Taylor, butAuburn paid him for 2013and six months of this year.He coached last season atAuburn High, where Blaiseplayed.

Sources say father andson were not a package dealat Arkansas State, just a boldhire and nifty recruiting.Marvin West invites reader reaction. Hisaddress is westwest6@netzero.com.

Powell hung on with a goal-line stand as time ex-pired last season, Karns leaving Scarbro Stadium on the business end of a sting-ing, 19-13 defeat.

The rematch is at Karns on Friday.

So, as the fates would have it, is the Powell coach.

After a year at the Pan-ther helm, Tobi Kilgore left to take the head coaching job at Karns following last season. The challenge of injecting some consistency in the Beaver program was part of the draw, Kilgore said. A chance for profes-sional advancement in terms of education sealed the deal.

It all left new Powell coach John Allen, the fourth man to head the Panthers in four seasons, with a lot on his plate. Basically, this one is swimming in subplots.

Last season: Karns (1-9), Powell (5-5)

Last meeting: Powell 19, Karns 13

The offenses: Allen brings the wing-T with him to Powell, and, in junior Connor Sepsi, he’s got the quarterback to run it. He’ll use backs Cody Reed and Dominique Moore to help him control the ball.

The Panthers have a re-ceiver/linebacker, 6-foot-6 junior Darel Middleton, whom Tennessee is keeping an eye on.

Kilgore likes the spread offense with lots of receiv-ers. At 5-9, junior quarter-back Greg Tye is a throw-on-the-move passer, one who threw for better than 1,600 yards last season. The playmakers are running back Will Smith and wide out Joe Faulkenberry.

The defenses: With the Beavers’ 3-4, linebacker-

Stefan Cooper

Rematchat Karns

Rivals primed forsuper-heated installment

fueled defense and the Pan-thers in the wing-T, this one could be a classic. That’s a lot of guys running into each other when Karns goes on defense. Faulkenberry is the key for the Beavers.

The Panthers, who de-ploy in a 3-5 under Allen, use more linebackers than the Beavers to slow oppo-nents. The spread offense working against that many mobile defenders makes for some fast, fast, really fast play.

The Breakdown: Mid-dleton is as big a linebacker as you’ll see at any level. How will Karns account for him? Does Powell blitz with him? Do the Panthers use him in coverage? How does Karns defend Middleton if Powell throws?

The spread vs. the wing-T represents a classic battle in offensive philosophy. Powell will want to hold on to the ball; Karns will want to get it and go.

The Tye that binds – and decides – this one could very well be the Beaver quarterback. A slick signal caller in the spread can in-fl ict a lot of damage. Devin Harper, a 6-4 junior, gives Tye a big receiving target of his own.

Why this one in-trigues: This one has to have the fan bases for both schools fi red up. Karns re-members how close it was last year. The Panthers re-member, too. Then their coach left.

Don’t need a lot more than that.

cilitator for eight years.She started in adminis-

tration in 2008, fi rst serv-ing four years as an assis-tant principal at Dogwood Elementary and then two years as assistant princi-pal at Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Technology Acad-emy.

Nicely is impressed with the SKES teachers, describ-ing them as “hard work-ing” and “committed to the school.” She’s also im-pressed with the students, especially the fi fth-graders, who have formed a Student Council. “I’m amazed at the ideas they’ve already come up with,” she says. “They are going to work us to death. They want to go to school board meetings. I said, ‘OK, we will pick a school board meeting this fall, and we will all attend together.’ … They have all kinds of ideas for Mayor Rogero.

“After the fi rst semester we’re going to invite third and fourth grade also, to grow them.”

South Knoxville Elemen-tary is in the early stages of becoming a community school. “We are still hav-ing some initial planning because we think it’s re-ally important to get the foundation built before we go full-fl edge,” says Nicely. The Boys & Girls Club will be the afterschool provider, and partnerships are be-ing formed with local busi-nesses.

Nicely would like to see “a high-quality tutoring program for our kids, en-richment activities that in-volve the arts” and “adult learning opportunities for the parents.” She would also like to have partnerships with Ijams Nature Center and the Great Smoky Moun-tains National Park.

– Betsy Pickle

Upcoming FridayAustin-East at FultonBearden at Heritage

Carter vs. Pigeon ForgeCentral at Campbell County

Farragut vs. Lenoir CityGrace Academy at Tellico Plains

Gibbs at Anderson CountyHalls: Open

Hardin Valley Academy at William BlountKarns vs. Powell

Knoxville Catholic at CAKKnoxville Webb: Open

South-Doyle vs. Jeff erson CountyWest vs. Maryville

recruiting and sideline exuberance, marked by a waving towel and cap worn backward so as not to in-terfere with chest bumps. Indeed, Taylor has a fl air for the dramatic.

Years ago I liked him. I think I still do. Trooper pro-fesses to believe the hand of God guides him to the right place at the right time.

In 2009, that was Au-burn. Soon and very soon the school reported NCAA violations related to some-thing called the Big Cat re-cruiting weekend. The New York Times said Trooper Taylor was quarantined for several months.

Shopper news • SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 • 7 business

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- I N C L U D I N G -

By Phyllis NicholsCarrie Turner wants

to be self-suf f ic ient , and the K n o x v i l l e Area Ur-ban League has stepped up to help ensure her success, no matter how

big or small the need.“Every time I’ve walked

through the Urban League’s doors for help, they’ve pro-vided a sense of direction,” Turner said.

Recently, Turner encoun-tered a situation where she wasn’t sure where to turn for help to keep her home. While between jobs, she had fallen behind on mortgage payments. Then, Turner re-membered the local Urban League offers housing and community development services.

“I didn’t have family members or friends to ask for help,” Turner said. “The Urban League was my only alternative. After provid-ing them with the informa-tion needed, they provided a loan and removed the stressful situation. I’m so glad the Urban League was there for me.”

The Knoxville Area Ur-ban League believes every adult in America should have access to the fi nancial security that comes from

Greg Greer has joined Knox Area Rescue Minis-tries as vice president-pro-

grams. In this

role, he will p r o v i d e s t r a t e g i c leadership and opera-tional over-sight of the daily work of the min-

istry, help set ministry tone and assist in planning for the future.

KARM’s ministry in-cludes the overnight shel-ters for men, women and women with children, resi-dential recovery programs, The Bridge transitional housing, LaunchPoint, job training initiatives and var-ious community outreach efforts.

Burt Rosen, president and CEO, said, “We have pa-tiently and prayerfully wait-ed for God to bring a person with the unique gifts, skills and heart to fi ll this vital ministry role at KARM. ... We are thrilled to have Greg on the team.”

Greer comes to KARM from Providence Church in West Knoxville, where he has served as the executive pastor since 2008 and pas-tor of administration for the four years prior to that.

Before entering the min-istry in 2003, he served as regional business manager for Roche Diagnostic Cor-poration and national sales manager and director of patient care marketing for DeRoyal Industries.

Greer holds an MBA from Lincoln Memorial Univer-sity and expects to receive a master’s in Christian Lead-ership from Dallas Theolog-ical Seminary in 2015. He and wife Deena have three children and have lived in Knoxville since 1996.

Greg Greer

Greg Greer joins KARM

Nichols

News from The Knoxville Area Urban League

Urban League steersclients to right path

owning a home. The organi-zation provides homeown-ership counselors who are trained to create custom-ized plans for each client. Someone like Turner, who was able to keep her home, now can focus on employ-ment and achieving com-plete self-suffi ciency.

Now that Turner is in good standing on her mort-gage, she is taking computer classes and job training at the Urban League. The classes have increased her confi dence in her ability to accomplish her goal of working in an offi ce.

“The computer classes are great because they start you from the beginning,” she said. “The teachers didn’t assume I knew any-thing. They started with the basics and have helped me grow.”

Turner hopes others in the community who need help will reach out to the Ur-ban League for assistance.

“No matter what you need, whether it’s help with payments or you’re looking for a job, they take you step-by-step through the things you need to accomplish to reach your goal,” she said.

“They’re honest about your shortcomings and show you how to overcome them. It’s a great organiza-tion and the services they provide are excellent.”

Info: 865-524-5511. Phyllis Nichols is president and CEO of the Knoxville Area Urban League.

I stopped by Angelic Ministries to check on cur-rent needs and just to say hello to friends I have made there. I was excited to learn about their upcoming fund-raiser.

For anyone not familiar with this ministry, last year over 5,000 families in crisis were helped. Betsy Frazier, founder, and her dedicat-ed staff of volunteers help families who have been re-ferred by other agencies or churches.

Angelic Ministries’ goal is to provide furniture, household items, clothing, hygiene products and food for immediate needs. They work with families to help them become independent and fi nd employment.

Pastor Tony Earl is in the process of planning a fall fundraiser. This year’s event

Nancy Whittaker

Catching up with Angelic Ministries

Tony Earl, pastor of Angelic Ministries, has been busy planning a fall fundraiser.

will be held from 6-8 p.m. Nov. 6 at the UT Conference Center. The UT Culinary Department will prepare a delicious meal and minis-try leaders will provide in-formation to guests about the ministry. There will be a graduation for men who have completed programs associated with the minis-try.

The needs of Angelic Ministries continue to grow. The most urgently needed items at this time are:

■ Plates

■ Measuring Spoons ■ Manual Can Openers ■ Bath Towels ■ Wash Cloths ■ Sheets and Pillow Cases ■ Pillows ■ Non Perishable Food ■ Hygiene Items

Angelic Ministries is lo-cated at the corner of N. Central and Oklahoma. Items can be dropped off Monday through Thursday from 8-4 at the Oklahoma entrance.

Items can also be left in the drop box.

For large item pick-up or tickets for the fundraiser, call 523-8884.

Grand opening at Wayward ArtsThe public is invited to attend the grand opening of Wayward Arts from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5, at Knoxville Center mall. The ribbon-cutting will be at 10, complete with speech-es and fanfare! Dominique and Jacob Lacey invite you to join them for coff ee, cake and prizes. Wayward Arts is located up-stairs across from The Rush. Photo by Nancy Whittaker

By Sandra ClarkFormer U.S. Ambassador

to Egypt Margaret Scobey has no secret solution to the turmoil in the Middle East, but she sure knows a lot about it and offered a pro-vocative talk to the North Knox Rotary last week.

Looking at recent his-tory, Scobey fi rst discussed the Cold War period when events were viewed as us (USA) versus them (USSR). She said the 1990s were relatively tranquil with the United States seen as the world’s leader. Then came 9/11 and the U.S. invasion of Iraq. We said Saddam had weapons of mass destruc-tion. He didn’t. We desta-bilized a country without a clear plan for putting it back together.

Recently we’ve had a shooting war between Is-rael and Hamas, the United Arab Emirates conducting independent air strikes on Libya, a civil war in Syria, and unrest across the re-gion. “And nobody is asking the United States” for per-mission, Scobey said.

“(The Obama) Adminis-tration came in with hope but had not done its home-work.”

Then she smiled. “The United States did not cause all the problems in the Mid-dle East. Those people are quite capable of …”

Our country’s foreign policy should be keyed to our self-interests: defense of our homeland and our ability to conduct commerce overseas, she said.

The Rotarians pelted her with questions. Eli Driver said, “Every time we get in-volved in other countries, we screw up.” Perhaps, said Sc-obey, but look at our achieve-ment in World War II.

Is the Middle East a place for democracy? “Your defi -nition of freedom and jus-

Self-interest should direct U.S. policy

tice is different than theirs,” she countered.

What about women? “The role of women varies enormously based on socio-economic status. Poverty is not good for women. Fami-lies with money fi nd ways to take care of the women.”

Did you feel safe? “Yes.”Long-term prospects for

the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS)? “They appear to want to establish a transna-tional Islamic state … ISIS is taking advantage of insta-bility, but I don’t see them with a seat in the UN.”

Scobey was posted to Egypt from 2008 to July 2011 and was previously ambassador to Syria. She was deputy commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in Washing-ton, D.C., when she retired.

Along the way, she was political counselor in Bagh-dad, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in both Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Sanaa, Yemen. She held ear-lier assignments in Jerusa-lem, Kuwait, Pakistan and Peru.

A Memphis native, Sc-obey holds degrees in his-tory from UT and pursued doctoral studies before join-ing the Foreign Service. She now lives in Knoxville.

Ambassador Margaret Scobey

Jay Smelser

Jay Smelser joins Knox County Parks and Rec

Jay Smelser has joined Knox County as deputy director of recreation. He attended the Halls Busi-ness and Professional Association with Di-rector Doug Bataille in August.

Smelser worked for the town of Far-ragut for fi ve years. Bataille said he will work with youth and adult sports for Knox County. Requirements for the position in-cluded a bachelor’s degree in recreation or a related fi eld, supplemented by fi ve years of experience. The posted salary was $51,177.09.

Helen Ross McNabb Foundation has added four new members:

■ Betsey Bush, commu-nity volunteer

■ Richard Montgomery, state of Tennessee

■ Don Rogers, retired, Rogers Petroleum

■ Mitch Steenrod, Pilot Flying J Inc.

The Helen Ross McNabb Foundation supports the work of the Helen Ross McNabb Center. The foun-dation’s staff and 30-mem-ber volunteer board actively raise, hold and invest funds on behalf of the center, a not-for-profi t provider of behavioral health services in East Tennessee.

McNabb Foundation adds four

8 • SEPTEMBER 3, 2014 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news

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.

THROUGH WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10Accepting nominations for the East Tennessee

Preservation Alliance 2014 Preservation Awards. Awards to be presented Thursday Nov. 6. Info/nomination form: http://knoxheritage.org/etpa/east-tennessee-preservation-awards/.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 4Cruise 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.

Vintage Fashion Show and Sale to benefi t Goodwill Industries-Knoxville Inc., 6 p.m., Downtown Knoxville Hilton. Tickets: $40 each or $375 for a table of 10; must be ordered in advance. For tickets: 588-8567.

AAA Driver Improvement Course, 5:30-9:30 p.m., Knoxville AAA offi ce, 100 W. 5th Ave. Cost: members, $30; nonmembers, $35. Preregistration re-quired. Info/to register: Kate, 862-9254, or Stephanie, 862-9252.

Free movie and popcorn, 11:15 a.m., Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Movie: “Now You See Me” with Morgan Freeman and Isla Fisher. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.

Knoxville Writers’ Guild meeting, 7 p.m., Laurel Theater, corner of Laurel Avenue and 16th Street. Speaker: David Madden discussing his most recent book-length publication, a collection of stories titled “The Last Bizarre Tale.” Info: www.knoxvillewritersguild.org.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 5Opening reception for Art Market Gallery Sep-

tember featured artists: painter Victoria Simmons and jeweler Sissy Caldwell, 5:30-9 p.m., Art Market Gallery, 422 S. Gay St. Info: 525-5265, www.artmarketgallery.net or facebook.com/Art.Market.Gallery.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY, SEPT. 5-6Children’s consignment sale, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri-

day/8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Bookwalter UMC, 4218 Cen-tral Avenue Pike. Info: bookwalter-umc.org or 689-3349.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 6Cades Cove tour with Bill Landry, 9 a.m.,

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

AAA Driver Improvement Course, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Maryville AAA Offi ce, 715 W Lamar Alexander Parkway. Cost: members, $40; nonmembers, $50. Pre-registration required. Info/to register: Kate, 862-9254, or Stephanie, 862-9252.

Birthday Bash, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Tea & Treasures, 4104 W Martin Mill Pike. Celebrating 7 years in South Knoxville. Refreshments, music and door prizes.

Saturday Stories and Songs: Brianna Hanson, 11 a.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. Info: 470-7033.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 7Vegetarian Society of East Tennessee meeting, 6

p.m., Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. Class: making wild rice salad with Matthew Blondell. A potluck supper follows. Cost: $4/person. Info: 546-5643 or bobgrimac@gmail.com.

MONDAY, SEPT. 8All Over the Page: “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel

James Brown, 6:30 p.m., Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.

MONDAY-TUESDAY, SEPT. 8-9AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Tellico

Village Property Owners Association, 145 Awohli Drive, Loudon. Info/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Seymour First Baptist Church, 11621 Chapman Highway, Sey-mour. Info/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 9Classic Hike of the Smokies: Forney Ridge. Hike

is 7.2 miles in length, total elevation gain of 1,600 feet and is moderately diffi cult. All registration donations benefi t the Smokies Trails Forever program. Info/to register: AnnaLee@friendsofthesmokies.org or 828-452-0720.

Knoxville Civil War Roundtable meeting, 7 p.m., Buddy’s Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike. Speaker: Dr. Earl J. Hess, local historian. Topic: “Peters-burg, Battle of the Crater.” Dinner: $15 members; $17 nonmembers; lecture only: $3. RSVP by noon Monday, Sept. 8: 671-9001.

Library Online, 5:30 p.m., East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Info/to register: 215-8700.

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 9-10Concert Sound Engineering workshop, 6:30-

8:30 p.m., Laurel Theater, 16th and Laurel Ave. Present-ed by Dr. Lou Gross, Volunteer Sound Engineer for the Laurel Theater. Info/to register: 522-5851.

TUESDAYS, SEPT. 9-30Yoga classes, 9-10 a.m., Farragut Town Hall, 11408

Municipal Center Drive. Cost: $40. Registration/payment deadline: Monday, Sept. 8. Info/to register: 966-7057.

Pilates classes, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive. Cost: $40. Reg-istration/payment deadline: Monday, Sept. 8. Info/to register: 966-7057.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 10East Tennessee English – A Brown Bag Lecture

with Paul Reed, noon, East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Info: 215-8801.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 11Cruise 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.

THURSDAYS, SEPT, 11, 18, 25, OCT, 2ACT-UP: Adult Acting and Theatre Classes,

6-8 p.m., Broadway Academy of Performing Arts, 706 N. Broadway St. Ages 16 and up. Fee: $35 or $15 for individual class. Covers acting basics, movement/stage combat and auditioning techniques. Info: 546-4280 or carolyn@tennesseestage.com.

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