IN THIS ISSUE What about JJD? U.S. Rep. John “Jimmy” Duncan will be 69 years old with 28 years in the House be- fore the next election in 2016. His father died in office at that age, a fact that surely hasn’t escaped his son’s notice. ➤ Read Larry Van Guilder on page 4 Pie supper Sweet treats took the cake at the Young at Heart Club’s annual pie supper. The Young at Heart Club is open to anyone, but commu- nity center recreation director Debbie Beeler says it attracts mostly seniors, who come to a variety of programs. Money raised at the pie sup- per helps to subsidize activities for club members. ➤ See Betsy Pickle’s story on page 3 Bernstein to retire One of Knoxville’s most dis- tinguished attorneys, Bernard Bernstein, is retiring from law practice the end of the year, less than 30 days from now. Bernstein, 83, will maintain an office at the Bernstein, Stair and McAdams law firm on Ag- nes Street in West Knoxville. ➤ Read Victor Ashe on page 5 Turkey at Buddy’s You thought it was enough. You swore you would never eat again. Still, here you are, almost a week after the tryptophan-laced turkey has worn off, and you are craving a turkey sandwich. The Mystery Diner visits Buddy’s for a turkey sandwich. ➤ Read the review on page 7 7049 Maynardville Pike 37918 (865) 922-4136 NEWS [email protected]Sandra Clark | Betsy Pickle ADVERTISING SALES [email protected]Shannon Carey Jim Brannon | Tony Cranmore Patty Fecco | Wendy O’Dell RAM premieres Making the documentary “Remote Area Medical” was a learning experience for first-time filmmaker Farihah Zaman. “People are more than just the sum of their struggles,” says Zaman. RAM, which was founded by Stan Brock and based in South Knoxville until a recent move to Rockford, provides free, high-quality medical, dental and vision care to people who cannot afford it. ➤ Read Betsy Pickle on page 6 To page 3 VOL. 2 NO. 48 December 3, 2014 www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow SOUTH KNOX Over 20 years experience SALES • SERVICE • MAINTENANCE 5715 Old Tazewell Pike • 687-2520 “Cantrell’s Cares” A+ RATING WITH We Offer: We Offer: • Complete inspections, maintenance & repairs for all air conditioning & heating equipment • Money-saving high-efficiency system upgrades! • FREE ESTIMATES on new equipment • FINANCING through TVA Energy Right program • Maintenance plans available. LASTS AND LASTS AND LASTS.™ Heating & Air Conditioning By Betty Bean State Rep. Bill Dunn is a key member of the House Educa- tion Committee and has gener- ally supported Gov. Bill Haslam’s education reform measures. But he broke ranks last session by passing a bill to reel back the Common Core State Stan- dards, which have grown increas- ingly unpopular among conserva- tives as well as teachers. Dunn said the new law (which Haslam signed) puts Tennessee in control of its standards while re- quiring the state Board of Educa- tion to notify members of the House and Senate education committees and post information online before it can vote on standard changes. The law also limits the applica- tion of the standards to language arts and math, limits the data that can be collected from students and parents, and requires Common Core-aligned tests to be bid out. “Basically I’ve tried to make the standards process very transpar- ent,” Dunn said. He also has a plan to get teach- ers a raise but isn’t ready to say what it is. “The governor may have a differ- ent plan, but I’ve got a backup plan to reward teachers for their hard work over the years.” He admits his plan could be complicated by the reality of a tight budget year. “That’s going to rule a whole lot of things.” When asked if he’ll join his con- servative colleagues who want to repeal the Hall tax on investment income, he hedged his answer, pointing out that he has supported tax cuts like the small sales tax de- crease on food (“People have got to eat”) but saying he’s leery of cutting off vital revenue streams. “I think we have to look at the budget long term. When you weak- en yourself financially as a state, you become beholden to the federal government. Why would we weaken ourselves? “When someone comes forward and says we need to repeal this tax, they need to show how that’s go- ing to affect the budget. When we repealed the inheritance tax, we benefited because it encouraged more people to stay in state. With the Hall tax, I think you start by looking at who you’re hurting. If it’s a retiree who depends on this for income, you could raise the ex- emption, but I think we should dis- tinguish between an elderly couple depending on their investments and a billionaire who’s investing. “My main point is, as long as we have the financial means, we call the shots. When we don’t, the federal government calls the shots.” After 20 years in the House, Dunn is kind of a big deal, particularly since the Republicans ended the Democrats’ majority in 2008. Dunn became chair of the Calendar and Rules Committee, the last stop for committee-approved bills before they hit the House floor. Traditionally, some legislation doesn’t make it, and when it doesn’t, it’s usually the decision of the chair. But Dunn says it’s not like the old days, when the Speaker of the House dictated outcomes. “I’ve got the gavel, and I’m the one who determines what the vote was, if it’s a voice vote. What I like to do is work with individuals to get the bill where it needs to be. Has the bill been properly vetted in committee? That used to come from the speaker, but I go through all the bills to make a determination whether they should be on the consent calendar, make a list and give it to the Democratic leadership. “A couple of times I’ve used my gavel to do what needed to be done. … There was one time when nobody wanted to call for question and I just got up, grabbed my gavel and left. Everybody said, ‘What?’ But if I hadn’t, we would have spent another two hours just going on and on. I think the bill ended up failing.” Bill Dunn Dunn breaks with Haslam on Common Core By Bill Dockery Bob Kerr was a young man in 1975, fresh out of Vietnam and about to graduate from the Uni- versity of Tennessee, when he signed up to work on a program helping high school dropouts. On Dec. 19, Kerr will close down that pro- gram after al- most four decades dedicated to help- ing thousands of dropouts com- plete a high school equivalency diplo- ma, find employ- ment or continue their education. UT WAVE (stands for Work Achievement Values Education) has provided individualized tutor- ing for young dropouts seeking a GED diploma and help in plotting their career strategies. “Dropouts bring a lot of bag- gage,” Kerr said. “The stigma is that dropouts are stupid, but ac- UT dropout education program to end Bob Kerr and Michelle Love will be leaving the UT WAVE office when it closes permanently on Dec. 19. Kerr started the program 39 years ago to help drop- outs get high school equivalency diplomas. Photos by Bill Dockery Bob Sharp helps Jeremiah Zupsic refresh his knowledge of graphing equations for his upcoming GED exam. Sharp, a retired math teacher from Halls High School, began tutor- ing WAVE students so he could con- tinue to help people. Krysten Nieves Farewell to WAVE tually there are 100 different rea- sons they drop out.” The program has worked with about 100 students a year, with half of that number successfully getting their GED. The male-fe- male ratio has been roughly 50-50 from year to year, and about 30 percent of the students are black. Students between 17 and 24 who wanted to get into WAVE were tested to see if they have sixth- grade academic skills. “If they bomb the test, they can’t enter the program,” Kerr said, “but we hate to weed someone out. That’s what we were about: second chances.” Jeremiah Zupsic is seeking just that second chance. Zupsic ex- pects to take the test before the program closes. He also repre- sents something Kerr sees often: a second-generation WAVE gradu- ate. His mother got her GED dur- ing the early 1990s from a WAVE program in Ohio. Krysten Nieves, a recent drop- out from South-Doyle High By Betsy Pickle If you were worried when you saw that the Halloween decora- tions in front of McLemore Florist stayed up till Thanksgiving, never fear. Karen Christian is back on track and ready for Christmas. A co-owner of McLemore Flo- rist and the shop’s main outdoor and showroom designer, Christian threw her back out a few weeks ago and wasn’t able to create a Thanksgiving tableau. It takes something major to stop this deco- rating machine. “I’ve just always been interested in it since I was a kid,” says Chris- tian, who grew up in Bluefield, Va. “I started taking art lessons before Decking the halls with By Betsy Pickle Christmas joy To page 3 Karen Christian surrounds herself with Rudolph and his friends at McLemore Florist. Photos by Betsy Pickle Night of the Arts If there’s such a thing as having too much fun, that was the case at the New Hopewell Night of the Arts. The school was abuzz as families came to support their students as they showed off their knowledge and creativity. ➤ Read story on page 8
Transcript
IN THIS ISSUE
What about JJD?U.S. Rep. John “Jimmy”
Duncan will be 69 years old with 28 years in the House be-fore the next election in 2016.
His father died in offi ce at that age, a fact that surely hasn’t escaped his son’s notice.
➤ Read Larry Van Guilder on page 4
Pie supperSweet treats took the cake
at the Young at Heart Club’s annual pie supper.
The Young at Heart Club is open to anyone, but commu-nity center recreation director Debbie Beeler says it attracts mostly seniors, who come to a variety of programs.
Money raised at the pie sup-per helps to subsidize activities for club members.
➤ See Betsy Pickle’s story on page 3
Bernstein to retire One of Knoxville’s most dis-
tinguished attorneys, Bernard Bernstein, is retiring from law practice the end of the year, less than 30 days from now.
Bernstein, 83, will maintain an offi ce at the Bernstein, Stair and McAdams law fi rm on Ag-nes Street in West Knoxville.
➤ Read Victor Ashe on page 5
Turkey at Buddy’sYou thought it was enough.
You swore you would never eat again. Still, here you are, almost a week after the tryptophan-laced turkey has worn off, and you are craving a turkey sandwich.
The Mystery Diner visits Buddy’s for a turkey sandwich.
“Remote Area Medical” was a learning experience for fi rst-time fi lmmaker Farihah Zaman.
“People are more than just the sum of their struggles,” says Zaman.
RAM, which was founded by Stan Brock and based in South Knoxville until a recent move to Rockford, provides free, high-quality medical, dental and vision care to people who cannot afford it.
➤ Read Betsy Pickle on page 6
To page 3
VOL. 2 NO. 1 July 29, 2013www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNowVOL. 2 NO. 48 December 3, 2014www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow
SOUTH KNOX
Over 20 years experience
SALES • SERVICE • MAINTENANCE5715 Old Tazewell Pike • 687-2520
“Cantrell’s Cares”
A+ RATINGWITH
We Offer:We Offer:• Complete inspections, maintenance & repairs for all air conditioning & heating equipment
• Money-saving high-effi ciency system upgrades!
• FREE ESTIMATES on new equipment
• FINANCING through TVA Energy Right program
• Maintenance plans available.LASTS AND LASTS AND LASTS.™
Heating & Air Conditioning
By Betty BeanState Rep. Bill Dunn is a key
member of the House Educa-tion Committee and has gener-ally supported Gov. Bill Haslam’s education reform measures. But he broke ranks last session by passing a bill to reel back
the Common Core State Stan-dards, which have grown increas-ingly unpopular among conserva-tives as well as teachers.
Dunn said the new law (which Haslam signed) puts Tennessee in control of its standards while re-quiring the state Board of Educa-tion to notify members of the House and Senate education committees and post information online before it can vote on standard changes.
The law also limits the applica-tion of the standards to language arts and math, limits the data that can be collected from students and
parents, and requires Common Core-aligned tests to be bid out.
“Basically I’ve tried to make the standards process very transpar-ent,” Dunn said.
He also has a plan to get teach-ers a raise but isn’t ready to say what it is.
“The governor may have a differ-ent plan, but I’ve got a backup plan to reward teachers for their hard work over the years.”
He admits his plan could be complicated by the reality of a tight budget year. “That’s going to rule a whole lot of things.”
When asked if he’ll join his con-servative colleagues who want to repeal the Hall tax on investment income, he hedged his answer, pointing out that he has supported tax cuts like the small sales tax de-crease on food (“People have got to eat”) but saying he’s leery of cutting off vital revenue streams.
“I think we have to look at the budget long term. When you weak-en yourself fi nancially as a state, you become beholden to the federal
government. Why would we weaken ourselves?
“When someone comes forward and says we need to repeal this tax, they need to show how that’s go-ing to affect the budget. When we repealed the inheritance tax, we benefi ted because it encouraged more people to stay in state. With the Hall tax, I think you start by looking at who you’re hurting. If it’s a retiree who depends on this for income, you could raise the ex-emption, but I think we should dis-tinguish between an elderly couple depending on their investments and a billionaire who’s investing.
“My main point is, as long as we have the fi nancial means, we call the shots. When we don’t, the federal government calls the shots.”
After 20 years in the House, Dunn is kind of a big deal, particularly since the Republicans ended the Democrats’ majority in 2008. Dunn became chair of the Calendar and Rules Committee, the last stop for committee-approved bills before they hit the House fl oor.
Traditionally, some legislation doesn’t make it, and when it doesn’t, it’s usually the decision of the chair. But Dunn says it’s not like the old days, when the Speaker of the House dictated outcomes.
“I’ve got the gavel, and I’m the one who determines what the vote was, if it’s a voice vote. What I like to do is work with individuals to get the bill where it needs to be. Has the bill been properly vetted in committee? That used to come from the speaker, but I go through all the bills to make a determination whether they should be on the consent calendar, make a list and give it to the Democratic leadership.
“A couple of times I’ve used my gavel to do what needed to be done. … There was one time when nobody wanted to call for question and I just got up, grabbed my gavel and left. Everybody said, ‘What?’ But if I hadn’t, we would have spent another two hours just going on and on. I think the bill ended up failing.”
Bill Dunn
Dunn breaks with Haslam on Common Core
By Bill DockeryBob Kerr was a young man in
1975, fresh out of Vietnam and about to graduate from the Uni-versity of Tennessee, when he signed up to work on a program helping high school dropouts.
On Dec. 19, Kerr will close down that pro-gram after al-most four decades dedicated to help-ing thousands of dropouts com-plete a high school equivalency diplo-ma, fi nd employ-
ment or continue their education.UT WAVE (stands for Work
Achievement Values Education) has provided individualized tutor-ing for young dropouts seeking a GED diploma and help in plotting their career strategies.
“Dropouts bring a lot of bag-gage,” Kerr said. “The stigma is that dropouts are stupid, but ac-
UT dropout education program to end
Bob Kerr and Michelle Love will be leaving the UT WAVE offi ce when it closes
permanently on Dec. 19. Kerr started the program 39 years ago to help drop-
outs get high school equivalency diplomas. Photos by Bill Dockery
Bob Sharp helps Jeremiah Zupsic
refresh his knowledge of graphing
equations for his upcoming GED
exam. Sharp, a retired math teacher
from Halls High School, began tutor-
ing WAVE students so he could con-
tinue to help people.
Krysten Nieves
Farewell to WAVE
tually there are 100 different rea-sons they drop out.”
The program has worked with about 100 students a year, with half of that number successfully getting their GED. The male-fe-male ratio has been roughly 50-50 from year to year, and about 30 percent of the students are black. Students between 17 and 24 who
wanted to get into WAVE were tested to see if they have sixth-grade academic skills.
“If they bomb the test, they can’t enter the program,” Kerr said, “but we hate to weed someone out. That’s what we were about: second chances.”
Jeremiah Zupsic is seeking just that second chance. Zupsic ex-
pects to take the test before the program closes. He also repre-sents something Kerr sees often: a second-generation WAVE gradu-ate. His mother got her GED dur-ing the early 1990s from a WAVE program in Ohio.
Krysten Nieves, a recent drop-out from South-Doyle High
By Betsy PickleIf you were worried when you
saw that the Halloween decora-tions in front of McLemore Florist stayed up till Thanksgiving, never fear. Karen Christian is back on track and ready for Christmas.
A co-owner of McLemore Flo-rist and the shop’s main outdoor and showroom designer, Christian threw her back out a few weeks ago and wasn’t able to create a Thanksgiving tableau. It takes something major to stop this deco-rating machine.
“I’ve just always been interested in it since I was a kid,” says Chris-tian, who grew up in Bluefi eld, Va. “I started taking art lessons before
Decking the halls with
By Betsy Pickle
Christmas joy
To page 3
Karen Christian surrounds
herself with Rudolph and his
friends at McLemore Florist.
Photos by Betsy Pickle
Night of the ArtsIf there’s such a thing as
having too much fun, that was the case at the New Hopewell Night of the Arts. The school was abuzz as families came to support their students as they showed off their knowledge and creativity.
➤ Read story on page 8
2 • DECEMBER 3, 2014 • Shopper news
health & lifestyles
Fort Sanders Regional and Thompson Cancer Survival Center provide the region’s most comprehensive cancer care. From diagnosis to treatment to rehabilitation, we offer care options not available anywhere else in our region. Working together to provide the best patient care - that’s Regional Excellence!
(865) 673-FORT (3678)
CENTER OF EXCELLENCE: ONCOLOGY
Brain tumors take many forms, cause diff ering outlooksThere are more than 120
types of brain tumors. A diagno-sis of any of them is very specific and individual to the patient. It’s also life-changing, life-threaten-ing and often a shock.
“Brain tumors can be insidi-ous,” said Dr. Paul Peterson, a n e u r o s u r -geon at Fort Sanders Re-gional Medi-cal Center. “ I n i t i a l l y , many people think their s y m p t o m s are a stroke. There can be h e a d a c h e s ,
and subtle personality changes can occur even before the head-aches occur.
“But unlike stroke symptoms, which are sudden, brain tumors can enlarge silently for a long time,” Peterson added.
Each year, an estimated 200,000 people are diagnosed in the United States with some type of brain tumor, according to research by the National Cancer Institute. Most tumors, about 160,000 of them, are spread from cancers in other parts of the body. These are called “met-astatic” tumors.
Cancers of the lung, breast, kidney and melanoma skin can-
Symptoms and treatment of brain tumors
Symptoms of brain tumors can be subtle at first, but they increase as the tumor grows larger.
“The symptoms of brain tu-mors are weakness; headache, especially one that’s worse in morning; nausea; and vomit-ing, if the tumor is big enough,” said Dr. Paul Peterson, neu-rosurgeon with Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and Fort Sanders Neurosurgery and Spine.
There are four main types of treatment for brain tumors, and most patients receive a combi-nation of therapies, depending on their specific needs.
■ Surgery – The goal of surgery is to remove as much of the tumor as possible with-out damaging the surrounding brain tissue. At the very least, the surgeon will get a sample of the tumor for a biopsy, but in many cases the tumor can be removed. The biopsy reveals whether the tumor is cancerous or not.
■ Radiation therapy – Us-ing X-rays, gamma rays or pro-
ton beams, radiation therapy either is used to shrink tumors before surgery or as a follow up to surgery to get rid of any residual cancer cells left. Some types of radiation are used on non-cancerous tumors as well.
■ Chemotherapy – Medi-cations that kill cancer cells are often used after surgery to re-duce the chance the tumor will grow and spread.
■ Targeted therapy – New medicines being tested in clini-cal trials work differently than standard chemotherapy. In-stead of killing all cells, they target certain types of cells in an effort to stop tumors.
■ Watchful waiting – For slow-growing tumors, this ap-proach involves regular moni-toring of the tumor without ac-tively removing it.
For more information about treatment options for
brain tumors at Fort Sanders Regional,
call 865-673-3678 or visit fsregional.com.
Gamma Knife – a treatment optionFort Sanders Regional Medi-
cal Center and Thompson Cancer Survival Center work together to offer the latest in surgical and non-surgical brain tumor treatment options.
“Thompson is just across the street from Fort Sanders, so we work together for radiation treat-ment and chemotherapy,” said Dr. Paul Peterson, a neurosurgeon at Fort Sanders. “Plus, we treat with the Gamma Knife, we do biopsies
and brain tumor removal.”Fort Sanders has the region’s
only Leksell Gamma Knife Perfex-ion unit, the most advanced and widely used radiosurgery treat-ment in the world, which uses focused radiation to target can-cerous tumors precisely, without damaging nearby tissue.
This technology is most often used on metastatic brain tumors and to supplement traditional brain surgery or in cases where
traditional surgery is not possible. Other advantages to Gamma
Knife treatment include: ■ Typically the procedure is
done in a one-day session. ■ Gamma Knife is non-inva-
sive, minimizing surgical compli-cations.
■ Recovery time is minimal al-lowing patients to return to their normal activities and lifestyle.
■ Multiple sites can be treated during one session.
Paul Peterson, MD
Neurosurgery
cer are the most likely types of cancer to spread to the brain. Working with Thompson Cancer Survival Center, physicians at Fort Sanders use a combination of surgery, radiation and che-motherapy to treat metastatic tumors.
“We customize a treatment program for each patient,” said Peterson. “It just depends on what they need.”
A smaller portion of brain tumors, about 40,000 per year in the U.S., originate within the brain. These are called “prima-ry” tumors. Of those, less than half are cancerous, although they still may be life-threatening because the tumor presses on the brain.
“Not all brain tumors are cancerous,” explained Peterson. “But benign tumors still need to
be followed and may need to be removed because of pressure on the brain.”
After removal, most benign tumors do not grow back or spread further, but serial follow-up with a neurosurgeon may be needed to watch for potential recurrence. Under a microscope, benign tumor cells usually have distinct borders and almost a normal appearance, according
to the American Brain TumorAssociation.
“We do a CT scan and an MRIand these may provide goodclues, but sometimes you needa piece of the tumor before youknow it’s truly benign or cancer-ous. You can tell something’sgoing on but not the specificsabout what it is,” said Peterson.
“Some benign tumors areclassic looking, others we’re notsure. Sometimes tumors canlook benign but they turn out tobe metastatic cancer.”
A malignant primary tumoris one that is cancerous. Thesetend to be fast-growing andsend out tentacle-like tissueinto the rest of the brain, orshed cells that travel through-out the brain.
No one really knows whatcauses primary brain tumors,although excessive radiation ex-posure does increase the risk, asdo a few rare genetic conditions,according to the National Can-cer Institute.
“Some speculate head traumacan cause certain benign tumors,but how many times do you hityour head over a lifetime? Onething we can say is that there’sno association with cell phonesor living near power lines,” saidPeterson.
“Really the term is multifac-torial, because there is no onething associated with brain tu-mors,” he added.
SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • DECEMBER 3, 2014 • 3 community
Mexican Grill & CantinaCheck Out Our Full Bar!Happy Hour All Day, Every Day
One-bedroom apartments • Rent based on income62 years or older
WAVE program to close From page 1
School, started the program around Halloween but ex-pects to pass the test before the Dec. 19 closure.
“I like the one-on-one tu-toring,” the New York native said. “You get more atten-tion.”
She hopes to pursuing nursing or other health care work.
Originally funded by CETA, the Comprehensive Employment Training Act of the 1970s, the program that is now UT WAVE has un-dergone several changes of name and funding sources. After CETA came the Work-force Investment Act. Pri-vate support has come from Dollar General, United Way, Boys & Girls Clubs, and the Chamber of Commerce. In recent years, the program has switched from the GED Testing Service to the HiSET Program, which is less ex-pensive to administer.
Kerr said a change in federal funding priorities is forcing WAVE to close. Mon-ey that once went to help high school dropouts com-plete their education is now being channeled into school programs intended to keep teenagers from dropping out in the fi rst place. Kerr said that most school systems still have dropout rates that are too high.
“A program doesn’t last 40 years unless it’s needed,” Kerr said. “We’re not closing because of a lack of need or an ineffective program. It’s
a shame people are spend-ing the money on other things.”
The program has also provided opportunities for volunteers. Bob Sharp, a retired math teacher from Halls High School, found his way to WAVE through Knoxville’s Friends of Lit-eracy. In recent years, the mentor for language arts has been Jan Avent. A re-tired Knoxville News Sen-tinel journalist, Avent fi rst volunteered in memory of a fellow reporter and writer, the late Jim Dykes, who wanted to help people learn to read.
Michelle Love, the edu-cation coordinator for the program, shows off a wall of photos showing recent individual grads on a bul-
letin board surrounded by framed pictures of whole classes of GED recipients. All are wearing academic caps and gowns. Love, who has worked at WAVE for eight years, has started tak-ing the pictures down. She will be without a job when the program closes.
Kerr isn’t calling it quits yet, though. In the next weeks he will start work-ing in adult basic education at Roane State Community College, helping adult learn-ers chart out their career paths.
Knox County Schools will have the only GED program remaining when WAVE closes. That program is the Paul L. Kelley Volunteer Academy, located in Knox-ville Center Mall.
Christmas joy From page 1
Betsy Pickle
“Didn’t I ever tell you about
Bumbles? Bumbles bounce!”
I even started kindergarten. I guess it was just born in me.”
Christian and her hus-band, Jeff, moved from Vir-ginia to Seymour 20 years ago in search of a better economy and more opportu-nities for their young daugh-ter, Megan. As Megan, who now works at McLemore, and their son, Dakota, grew up, Karen redecorated their rooms frequently. She made decorations for their teach-ers and for friends. And at Christmastime, she went overboard.
“I had a tree in just about every room,” she says. “Each one of my trees had a different theme. The one in my kitchen was ginger-bread men, or Mr. and Mrs. Claus. In the living room, I had vintage Santas in red and green. The one down-
stairs in our den, it always had the stuff my kids – and my nieces and nephews – made as they were growing up. My kids’ trees matched whatever their room was. Dakota’s one year was Har-ley-Davidson. I think if you go with the same theme in
every room, it can get bor-ing. I just like different.”
Since buying the fl ower shop with her partners in April 2012, she hasn’t had time for extreme decorating at home. She pours all her energy into the décor at the shop – where she changes the hay-bale decorations seasonally – and at the South Knoxville Post Offi ce, where she has been a rural carrier for 15 years.
Christian volunteers her time and the materials for the post offi ce tree. She sees it as a win-win. “I work there, and I want people to keep coming into my post offi ce,” she says. “It keeps my shop noticed, too.”
The fl ower shop is just a few doors down from the post offi ce on Young High Pike. She doesn’t technical-ly advertise the shop at the post offi ce.
“When people come in, they see the tree and they
ask questions, and the peo-ple who work there know me, so they kind of fi ll in the blanks for everybody.”
Because her husband and daughter are allergic to live trees, Christian has always decorated with artifi cial ones. She says there’s no reason to feel guilty about using such greenery.
“You pay more, but there are some silks out there that look as real as fresh arrangements,” she says.
Christian buys from
wholesalers, but she also shops at Hobby Lobby. “They seem to have higher quality, higher end and better prices. Online, sometimes you really don’t know what you’re going to get.”
Decorations don’t always have to focus on foliage. She’s a big fan of Mason jars, which she fi lls with items ranging from greenery and artifi cial snow to Christmas ornaments and candy canes. This year, with the U.S.
Postal Service promoting the 50th anniversary of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Christian is leaning on Rudolph and his friends.
“I’m very particular with my stuff, especially if I’m doing it for somebody,” says Christian. “I kind of go above and beyond and usually over budget. I don’t want to half do it. I want to be happy with it, and I want people to enjoy it, and I want it to last forever.”
Sweet treats took the cake at the Young at Heart Club’s annual pie supper.
Sweets for Young at Heart
Between the pie (and cake) auction and a cake-walk, baked goods were on the minds of everyone at the annual party/fundraiser at the South Knoxville Com-munity Center. Sure, there was also a hot-dog supper, but dessert was the main event.
The Young at Heart Club is open to anyone, but com-munity center recreation director Debbie Beeler says it attracts mostly seniors, who come to a variety of programs. Money raised at the pie supper helps to subsidize activities for club members.
The event also serves as a recruiting session. More than 20 people joined dur-ing the festivities. Beeler ex-pects membership to wind up around last year’s num-ber, 101.
Carrie Tipton, Justapearl Brown, Jewel Brewer, Waltzie Hartsell and Fonda Hopkins hold the
quilt they made for a raffl e to benefi t the Young at Heart Club. Photos by Betsy Pickle
Vandergriff Adams
Upcoming gigIt’s always a pleasure to hear South Knoxville’s own Kevin Aber-
nathy and his band perform, but it’s hard for some of us to get
out at their usual late-night time. They’ll play at a “decent hour”
this week: 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Open Chord Brewhouse &
Stage, 8502 Kingston Pike. Doors open at 8 p.m. Also on the
bill is Finkelsteen.
Participants in an orna-ment-making class created Christmas ornaments for a silent auction, and the ce-ramics group made door prizes. The club’s quilters made a quilt that was raffl ed off.
The dessert auction brought in big bucks, with some items going for more than $40. Auctioneer Joe Malone spun out the drama in his quest to get higher bids.
■ Tree Board gets new leadershipThe city of Knoxville’s
Tree Board is going through a few changes. Board mem-ber Sam Adams has been elected chair while imme-diate past chair David Van-dergriff is the new co-chair.
The Tree Board has 11 members, who serve four-year terms. There are a cou-ple of openings at present,
and those will be fi lled with the approval of the mayor.
The November meet-ing included a discussion of potential new members, suggested bylaws revisions, work on an urban forestry management plan, training programs for urban forestry
workers, a new logo for the Tree Board, saving a tree on private property near Holston Gases and tree con-cerns in North Hills.
The Tree Board meets at 8:30 a.m. on the fi rst Thurs-day of each month at Ijams Nature Center.
West offi ce: 10512 Lexington Drive, Suite 500 • Knoxville, TN 37932 • (865) 218-WEST (9378) • Fax: 342-6628
11,000 readers right up the road.
Delivering more …HALLSCROSSROADS
UNIONCOUNTY
TRY ADVERTISING IN THE UNION COUNTY SHOPPER-NEWS!
Marvin West
At my age, I don’t win many foot races, but, by jumping the gun, I might be fi rst with a Tennessee foot-ball outlook for 2015.
Sneak preview of 2015
Next year is when the Vol-unteers are supposed to take a giant step forward. Some teams that have been push-ing Tennessee around for the past several seasons should rethink the situation. The big bullies know who they are. They know the scene is changing. There will be no more sand fl ipped in the face of the 105-pound weakling. The boy is now a man.
No, no, not a giant, just bigger and stronger and tougher and smarter.
It is logical that returning Vols, just because they are a year older, will be improved. Development is part of what coaches do for their money. Dave Lawson, in charge of muscles, will guide contin-
ued growth this winter. He is already seeking a preven-tative solution to high ankle sprains and torn labra.
The key to next season is what made the Vols better in most of November. There should be no quarterback confusion. Joshua Dobbs is a potential star.
There was a time when I thought recruiting was the front end of long-term proj-ects. Butch Jones taught me something. I now think re-cruiting, at the level these guys do it, is an immediate patch and sometimes a fi x – for every ailment except the offensive line.
Tennessee played 23 freshmen with minimal em-barrassment. In some cases, it was a matter of neces-sity. In other cases, talent prevailed over experience. I suppose it will happen again, to a lesser degree.
Example: Jalen Hurd, running back, emerged as a future all-American if he stays well. Marlin Lane be-came one notch up from in-cidental. For 2015, Derrell Scott may be a solid backup. Somebody new must help. SEC contenders need four tailbacks. Alvin Kamara,
apparently inbound from Hutchinson, Kan., is the primary prospect.
Tennessee projects to look more like Wide Receiver U. next season. It has the repu-tation but fell short of expec-tations. There are genuine playmakers among wideouts and slots. They will block better and drop less.
I do believe Marquez North will bounce back. Josh Malone will eventually grasp what he is supposed to do. Jason Croom is big with big potential. Pig How-ard and Von Pearson will add refi nement. There are others. This is the deepest segment of the team.
Josh Smith can play. I think Jonathon Johnson, Vic Wharton and Ryan Jen-kins can help.
Tight ends? Capable but should get much better. Tennessee has one or more joining the three with estab-lished credentials.
The offensive line will remain a work in progress. Tackle is enough of a ques-tion mark to cause concern. Maybe Dontavius Blair will become what he was sup-posed to be. Charles Mos-ley? Possible. There is mini-
mal depth and freshmen are not easy plug-ins.
Three pretty good play-ers are gone from the de-fense, but that unit will be better instead of worse. Replacing A.J. Johnson will be the fi rst order of spring business. If Jakob Johnson can’t do it, Dillon Bates can.
Justin Coleman never was fast enough, but he re-fused to yield his spot in the secondary. Tennessee is not overfl owing with DBs. It would be really good to bring in more corners.
Assuming Kahlil Mc-Kenzie and Shy Tuttle arrive as scheduled, both will be seen and heard. They might achieve at defensive tackle some of what Derek Barnett did at end. That would take care of the void created by Jordan Williams’ departure.
We know who will kick placements. We think in-coming Tommy Townsend may emerge as punter. Evan Berry will get better on re-turns. Cheers!
The 2015 outlook is excit-ing. This next team might be good for eight or nine wins, even with Arkansas coming onto the schedule. If it hits 10, send me an email about being old and too con-servative.Marvin West’s address is westwest6@
netzero.com.
The calendar says it’s still three weeks till winter begins, but it sure feels like winter today, Thanksgiving, as I hunt and peck this col-umn. Gloomy, sprinkles, 40 degrees.
Well, here’s a quiz ques-tion for you: What winter-time outdoor activity can best be enjoyed indoors, and usually improves, the worse the weather gets? I know everyone got the right answer: watching the bird feeders, of course.
Grandma and I don’t keep our feeders going during the summer months, gener-ally closing down around the start of hot weather in June. There is plenty of natural food all around in the sum-mer. We’ve found that sum-mer feeding, at least at our lo-cation, seems to attract fl ocks of undesirables, namely star-lings and pigeons.
So we start feeding again as the cooler weather re-turns in mid-October. Any-one who is a regular bird feeder understands the satisfaction one gets when the usual cast of characters begins to show up. Chicka-dees and titmice immedi-ately, then soon thereafter the cardinals, blue jays and woodpeckers.
The colder-weather cus-tomers aren’t here yet at our feeders: sparrows, to-whees, juncos and the like. They seem to prefer their still-abundant natural weed seeds and berries for now,
Dr. Bob Collier
They’re always hungry
and some haven’t arrived in these parts yet. But just you wait till that fi rst decent snowfall. The gang will all be here!
Many a new fi rst-time feeder person is amazed at the array of birds they can attract, and at how much they can observe and learn about them from the warmth of their living room. Almost without realizing you are learning things, you become familiar enough with the common species to be able to recognize them at a glance, just by their size and behavior. Thus, titmice and chickadees grab a seed and fl y away; house fi nches park themselves on the feeder and nibble away.
We here in East Tennes-see live in a good part of the country for bird feeding. We’re midway between the deep-freeze snowy north where winter feeder birds are a small (but hardy) crew, and the semitropical coastal areas like Florida and Texas where the feeders are visit-ed by hordes of colorful and exotic species reminiscent of an aviary at the zoo.
In our winters here, we
enjoy a familiar and fairly stable population of resident birds that have been here all year long but seem to need us for a boost through the long, tough winter. Some of them we seldom see, such as brown thrashers or fi eld sparrows, except for under the feeder in the winter.
These birds are joined in the winter by migrants from farther north, here to en-joy the food supplies of our milder winters, such as the white-throated sparrows (a very common winter bird here, gone in the spring), as well as purple fi nches, dark-eyed juncos, pine siskins and the like.
And then there is the great fun of fi nding an un-usual or out-of-place bird there amongst the usual ones. It happens every year, and people get the word out and head on over to see the rare visitor. For example, the fi rst part of this last Feb-ruary, in the dead of winter, there appeared at a feeder in Maryville an amazing sight: an adult male painted bun-ting, a small, spectacular red, blue, green and yellow bird of the summertime Carolina and Georgia coast. We drove over there on a cold rainy morning and saw and photographed the bird, hundreds of miles from its usual haunts and months out of season!
East of the Mississippi, the only species of hum-mingbird that nests is the
ruby-throated. But more and more every year, folks around here are hosting overwintering rufous hum-mers at their feeders. Nor-mally western birds, the rufous hummers nest in the Pacifi c Northwest and win-ter in Central America. But for some reason the little guys are showing up here in the fall, and people keep their feeders fi lled all winter for them, rigging up light bulbs to keep the feeders from freezing.
We hopped over to a lovely, feeder-fi lled yard in a local neighborhoodl last winter and stood there en-joying the surreal experi-ence of watching a beautiful rusty-brown male rufous hummingbird, thousands of miles from its normal win-ter habitat in Costa Rica or Belize, happily feeding.
A good way to enhance your feeder enjoyment is to keep your bird bath open all winter. Water can be scarce in winter, especially in times of freezing tem-peratures. You can purchase small bird bath heaters that will do the job. You’ll be sur-prised to see how many of your feathered customers that will attract, with water fl ying everywhere and oth-ers waiting for their turn.
It’s almost winter! Get those bags of black oil sun-fl ower seed (it’s cheaper this year) and white proso mil-let, nyger (thistle) seed and suet cakes, and settle down to enjoy your own fl ock of appreciative feathered en-tertainers. It’s way more fun than shoveling snow.
This is a special time of year for Congressional rep-resentatives. Election win-ners can chill for several weeks before beginning 22 months of fundraising for the next contest.
For U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., “Jimmy” to his admiring constituents, campaign fi nance is almost an afterthought. A break-fast here, a luncheon there, a boat cruise, a reception for some well-heeled donors and he’s good to go.
And why worry? Since 2000, when he polled bet-ter than 89 percent against a Libertarian candidate, Duncan’s tally has not fallen below 72.5 percent of votes cast. In an era when the av-erage Congressional candi-date raises close to $2 mil-lion, Duncan’s take peaked at $731,000 in 2006.
John J. Duncan Sr. held the seat now occupied by his son from 1965 until his death in 1988. As we ring in 2015, a Duncan will have represented Tennessee’s Second Congressional Dis-trict for 50 years.
That’s family job secu-rity in a way the nation’s architects never conceived, but that’s another story. For now it’s more instructive to consider the dark clouds stalking the sun-drenched Duncan dynasty.
Duncan will be 69 years old with 28 years in the House before the next elec-tion in 2016. His father died in offi ce at that age, a fact that surely hasn’t escaped his son’s notice.
Any thought of slipping into a comfortable retirement with the Duncan sinecure untroubled by pretenders to the throne probably vanished when the heir apparent, John Duncan III, stumbled badly after winning election to the Knox County Trustee’s offi ce in 2010.
Maybe it’s something in the water in that offi ce. What-
LarryVan
Guilder
What will Jimmy do?
ever the reason, the apple of Dad’s eye sold his birthright for a few thousand dollars in unearned “bonuses.”
So, absent serious reha-bilitation of John III’s im-age, the elder Duncan must hold serve for a while. Could anything break it?
Maybe.Duncan is a member of
the party whose goal for the next two years is to fi ddle while Rome burns and hope the fl ames engulf the White House. Shutting down the government, impeaching the president and refusing to raise the debt ceiling are a few of the stratagems be-ing touted by the likes of Sen. Ted Cruz and other es-capees from the asylum.
If the Republican-controlled House and Sen-ate run the country over a cliff in the next two years, will Duncan follow? Would the backlash be painful enough to make a race for the Second District com-petitive?
Duncan artfully main-tains a low profi le. He defi ed the Republican leadership in opposing the Iraq war, but he’s generally stayed loyal.
But it’s not hard to imag-ine Cruz and company, mainly through inaction, triggering a deep global re-cession or worse, and folks will want to know where Duncan stands.
And then there’s Tim. Is Burchett a potential rival when his mayoral term ex-pires in 2018? Does it rain in Seattle?
To Mr. and Ms. Local Loyal Republican: That “WWJD” bracelet you’re wearing could soon be ask-ing, “What will Jimmy do?”
Catching upBill Johns of Farragut and Mike Palazzolo, mayor-elect for
the city of Germantown, Tenn., catch up on community
leadership, trends and partnerships at Huey’s in German-
town over Thanksgiving holiday week. Both Palazzolo
and Johns were members of the inaugural class of Leader-
ship Germantown in 1996. Photo submitted
Shopper news • DECEMBER 3, 2014 • 5 government
We are BUYING!!!!
2706 W Highway 11 E(Same building as the Strawberry Plains Post Office)
Gloria Johnson is a glut-ton for punishment, as evi-
denced by the fact that she’s run-ning again, this time for Ten ne s s e e Democratic Party chair, a position that some might con-
sider even less enviable than the one she lost last month. It would have been her sec-ond term in the House of Representatives, where she was one of just 27 Demo-crats in a 99-member body.
Her chief opponents are Nashville radio personal-ity and progressive activist Mary Mancini, who lost a primary bid for state Sen-ate, and Knoxville lawyer Terry Adams, who ran un-successfully in the Demo-cratic U.S. Senate primary for the privilege of facing Republican incumbent La-mar Alexander. They were selected by a committee
One of Knoxville’s most distinguished attorneys, Bernard Bernstein, is retir-ing from law practice the end of the year, less than 30 days from now. Bern-stein, 83, will maintain an offi ce at the Bernstein, Stair and McAdams law fi rm on Agnes Street in West Knoxville.
Betty Bean
VictorAshe
Johnson
Johnson versus ‘Nashville-centric’ mentality
that whittled down a fi eld of about a dozen contenders.
The three were slated for public vetting in a series of six meetings (two in each Grand Division).
In typically chaotic Dem-ocratic Party fashion, there could be other candidates as well. Lenda Sherrell, who spent a huge wad of money trying to unseat ethically challenged incumbent Scott DesJarlais, showed up for East Tennessee meetings in Morristown and Sweetwa-ter. Others could material-ize and probably won’t be barred from running.
This time around, the voters Johnson must woo are the 72 members of the Democratic Executive Com-mittee, composed of one male and one female com-mittee representative from
each senate district plus six ex-offi cio members. There is an appropriate sense of ur-gency around this election, acknowledging the party’s endangered status.
The traveling candidate road show is a response to growing complaints that the party’s leadership is too Nashville-centric. Ru-ral Democrats (truly an en-dangered species) complain that they are being ignored.
Johnson, whose district tilts Republican by a 53-47 margin, agrees with them. She was identifi ed as the GOP’s top target this year, and despite running a well-organized campaign lost by 183 votes to Republican Ed-die Smith. Two years ago she won by a narrow margin. She says the primary dif-ference between 2014 and 2012 was early help from Nashville two years ago, when the party sent two fi eld organizers to Knoxville to help set up the campaign.
“Roy Herron (the present chair) has a different philos-
ophy,” Johnson said. “He’s got the idea that you raise a whole bunch of money and give it to the candidate at the end. But it’s better to or-ganize, determine who the persuadable voters are. The fi eld organizers did that and really helped activate volun-teers.”
“I’m a proven fund-raiser,” she said. “I raised more in my area for a state race than ever (a little over $200,000). There are peo-ple who still think you just need a ton of money. I don’t think that. I think you need a ground game.”
Johnson also believes the party leaders didn’t under-stand Knox County voters’ crossover voting habits.
“They were looking at my numbers as if they were Nashville numbers and didn’t realize how close it really was. They haven’t had a race like mine. You look at Knoxville numbers differ-ently because we just don’t have Democratic prima-ries.”
Bernstein retires … sort of
As appellate court judge Charles Susano said in regard to Bernstein, “He taught me how to be a lawyer.”
Married over 50 years to wife Barbara, Bernstein has been a leader in many fi elds. He was president of both the Knoxville Bar Association and Heska Amuna Synagogue. In a 1976 non-partisan election, Knox County voters elected him – by a substantial margin – as a delegate to the 1977 state constitution-al convention along with Leonard Ambrose and E. Bruce Foster Jr.
During the Korean War, Bernstein served in the U.S. Air Force in intelligence. He and his wife received the Clayton Award from the Knoxville Museum of Art for outstanding service. They are strong supporters of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra as well as the Museum of Art. They have lived on Corteland Drive in West Hills for many years.
Bernstein has always taken constitutional rights seriously and advocated for liberty and personal freedom. This was clearly displayed over 35 years ago when he picketed a display of items from the Soviet Union at the City County Building due to the mis-treatment of Jews in the So-viet Union under Commu-nist rule. He carried a sign on Main Street in front of the building and attracted much attention to the So-viet treatment of Jews and restrictions on their right to leave that country.
Bernstein was the person I turned to as mayor to chair the commission to look at the issue of establishing a
police civilian review board for Knoxville after several persons had died in police custody. His reputation for fairness, integrity and intel-ligence was such that his chairing that group gave it instant credibility.
I took to heart the Bern-stein Commission’s recom-mendations for the creation of such a board, and I established it by execu-tive order when it became apparent that the then-City Council would not vote for it. Two years later the panel was so successful that the council did an about-face and unanimously created it by ordinance, so a future mayor could not abolish it by a similar executive order.
Bernstein says he will continue to be active in the community and with his family. He is now a grand-father to a granddaughter and grandson who live in San Francisco. While Bern stein’s legal expertise will be missed as a practic-ing lawyer, his community service will continue, which is good news for Knoxville.
■ Don’t be surprised if more than 55 legislators publicly endorse House Speaker Beth Harwell’s candidacy for another term. That would be a major-ity within the 73-member GOP caucus and the entire 99-member House.
One change House Republicans ought to make in their election procedure is to announce the actual vote for the various leaders elected. Current practice announces the result with-out giving the vote totals.
■ Norris Dryer, the Green Party candidate for Congress, died a week before the Nov. 4 election, but his death did not slow down those wanting to sup-port him. Dryer actually got more votes on Election Day after his death than he did when he was still alive and able to campaign during early voting.
In Knox County early voting, Dryer got 1,493 votes, and after his death on Nov. 4 he got 1,515 votes. Dryer ran several times for offi ce and was a longtime member of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra.
■ This writer is getting his left hip replaced this week after getting a new right hip over two years ago.
Last week, City Coun-cil approved the $10,000 sale of a blighted property on East Quincy Avenue. In recent years, the property had racked up 31 lot viola-tions, and a tree was grow-ing through the front porch of the crumbling home.
New life for blighted properties
Wendy Smith
GOV NOTES ■ Knox County Republican
Party Christmas/Hanukkah Gala will be 6 p.m. Monday,
The sale will be fi nalized through the city’s Home-maker Program, and the pending owner is a neighbor who plans to rehabilitate the property for her mother. The sale of fi ve Homemaker properties was approved during the meeting. Four will require purchasers to rehab existing structures or build new ones. One is an empty lot that will be taken over by an adjacent home-owner.
Kathy Ellis, senior proj-ect specialist, has over-seen the program for seven years. She has run off va-grants and raccoons during her investigations, and she’s witnessed the rehabilitation of 19 properties.
While most view life “from the cradle to the grave,” Ellis sees things backward.
“In my case, I go from the grave back to the cradle.”
The Homemaker Pro-gram was established in the 1980s to acquire and sell blighted properties in Mechanicsville. In 1995, it was expanded to address the rest of Knoxville. It is
currently a disposition pro-gram rather than an acqui-sition program.
But Ellis also works to acquire blighted proper-ties. Abandoned properties are brought to the city’s at-tention by neighbors, law enforcement, the fi re de-partment, or tax and codes authorities, and her goal is to negotiate a sale − if she can locate the owners. That happens about 10 percent of the time.
Funds for acquiring blighted properties come from the city’s Chronic Prob-lem Properties Fund. The total cost of staff time, a title search, an appraisal and le-gal expenses is approximate-ly $50,000 for each parcel.
Mayor Madeline Rogero, and Mayor Bill Haslam be-fore her, have strongly sup-ported programs that battle blight, and it takes money, says Ellis.
“We get almost every-thing we ask for.”
After last week’s prop-
erty sale, there are no lots with structures available. But there are unimproved lots for sale − nine in Five Points, 17 in Lonsdale, one in North /Northwest Knoxville, and eight in East Knoxville. Because one of the goals of the Homemaker Program is to provide af-fordable housing, applica-tions for the purchase of lots must include a plan for a new home. If the lot isn’t buildable, it can be added to an adjacent residential property.
The Homemaker Com-mittee meets monthly to review applications in order to fi nd the best fi t for each neighborhood. Applicants with the highest bid aren’t always chosen, Ellis says. Some are picked because they have rehab experience and ready funds.
Once approved, appli-cants are required to put down 10 percent of the pur-chase price. Within 90 days, site plans must be approved
by the Infi ll Committee, and within 120 days, all fi nanc-ing must be in place. Con-struction must begin within 180 days of the deed trans-fer, and the build must be completed within one year. If the purchaser doesn’t meet any part of the Home-maker agreement, the city can take the property back.
While Ellis enjoys see-ing the birth of a new home, thoughts of the original owner are never far from her mind.
“Every home, every lot, has a story. It belonged to a family, and there were happy times and sad times there. I never go to an abandoned property without thinking about that,” she says.
A list of available lots is on the city website, www.cityofknoxville.org. Info: 215-2120.
Note: Due to schedul-ing confl icts, there will be no Sign Task Force meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 8. It will be rescheduled in January.
Now stabilized, this East Quincy Avenue property will be sold and rehabilitated through the
city’s Homemaker Program.
6 • DECEMBER 3, 2014 • Shopper news
By Betsy PickleAfter the big Thanksgiv-
ing push, the movie scene this week is a bit more low-key.
The documentary “Re-mote Area Medical,” which was shot in Bristol and had a premiere at the Tennes-see Theatre last year, starts a regular run this week. (Please see the accompany-ing interview with the di-rectors.)
The widest release be-longs to the horror fi lm “The Pyramid.” U.S. ar-chaeologists discover an an-cient pyramid buried in the Egyptian desert and, while exploring it, become lost. As they try to fi gure a way out, they realize they’re not alone in the pyramid – and they’re being hunted.
The cast includes a bunch of people you’ve never heard of, along with the tre-
mendously talented Denis O’Hare. Gregory Levasseur, known for co-writing “The Hills Have Eyes” (2006) and “High Tension,” directed.
Fans of Mystery Science Theater 3000 will want to check out Rifftrax Live: “Santa Claus,” in which the MST3K guys tear apart the 1959 Mexican holiday non-classic. It will play at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4, at West Town and Tinseltown.
Shot at a RAM clinic in Bristol, “Remote Area Medical” focuses
on people whose desperate need for health care complicates
their lives.
Farihah Zaman
Jeff Reichert
Post-holiday short list
By Betsy PickleMaking the documentary “Remote
Area Medical” was a learning experience for fi rst-time fi lmmaker Farihah Zaman.
“People are more than just the sum of their struggles,” says Zaman, noting one of the truths that came from the experi-ence.
RAM, which was founded by Stan Brock and based in South Knoxville un-til a recent move to Rockford, provides free, high-quality medical, dental and vi-sion care to people who cannot afford it. RAM schedules clinics all over the coun-try with the help of hundreds of medical personnel.
Zaman and her co-director, Jeff Reichert, were inspired to make the fi lm after volunteering at a RAM clinic in Pikeville, Ky. They were moved by the ex-perience, and after many years working in the fi lm industry they were looking for a project for their directorial debut.
“We wanted to share that story with other people,” she says.
After Pikeville, it didn’t take long to decide to make the fi lm, Reichert says.
“It took a really long time introducing ourselves to RAM and Stan (Brock) and making him comfortable with the idea of doing the fi lm,” says Reichert.
“We had to convince them we don’t have an agenda. We don’t have a policy outcome we’re trying to push.
“Originally, our idea was to show how
you run a clinic, what it takes. Once we started meeting the patients, it changed entirely. You can see Stan on the news and see how big the clinics are, but you’re not hearing as much in depth.”
Zaman says they chose to shoot at the clinic in Bristol because “Appalachia is so incredibly beautiful, and the people are gracious. In addition to that, it’s over-looked by the rest of the country. This was an opportunity to give them a voice.”
The shoot made sense logistically, the fi lmmakers say, and there was another big factor.
“It took place in a NASCAR speedway – a huge, expensive leisure center host-ing something so different,” says Zaman. “That said a lot without making a big point out of it.”
The filmmakers tried to find pa-tients who had good stories before they started shooting so they could follow them through the process. Zaman says they couldn’t help but get involved at times.
They hope the fi lm opens people’s eyes to some harsh medical realities in this country and makes them think about how they can help, through volunteering or working to cut through the red tape that RAM often experiences.
“Most states don’t allow doctors not licensed in their state to practice,” says Zaman. “They need the out-of-state help. RAM needs to draw from what exists.”
RAM fi lmmakers hope to inspire support
LOCALBusinesses
• BRING YOUR COMFORTERS TO US!• 20-100 Pound Washers• Self-Service or we will do your laundry for you• Attendants always on duty
Open 7am - 10pm • Free Wi-Fi • High Def TVs3721 N. Broadway • 247-6230 • www.bluewaterlaundromat.com
Pick Up & DeliveryWE OFFER
FOR COMMERCIAL ACCOUNTS!Call for details
www.foothillspt.us
Foothills Physical Therapy Off ers FREE CONSULTATIONS!
If you have muscle or joint pain, give us a call and schedule a FREE PT CONSULTATION.
Aches & Pains Naturally
Take charge of your
865-573-6458
Sally’s Alley Where everyday is a sale!
START YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!
Instyle Wear • Cool JeansAccessories • Jewelry
Funky Home AccessoriesPurses • Weekly Arrivals
• Overstocks from name brand retail stores!
• Name Brand Clothing ... Discount Prices!
(865)609-0480
8203 Chapman Highway • KnoxvilleM-F 10:30-6:00 • Sat 10:30-6:00 | Open Sun 1-6 through Christmas!
Your new best friend is waiting at Young-Williams Animal Center.Visit our two Knoxville locations to find a dog, cat or other furry friend in need of a loving home. Adoption fee includes spay/neuter surgery, vet exam and much more.
Adopt a pet today!
Already have a furry family member?
Open every day from noon-6 p.m.
3201 Division Street Just off Sutherland Avenue
6400 Kingston Pike On Bearden Hill
Spay or neuter your pet today!Young-Williams offers low-cost spay/neuter
surgeries at $70 for dogs and $45 for cats. Additional discounts are available to those who qualify.
Help us end animal homelessness in Knoxville.
Call (865) 215-6599 to request an appointment! www.young-williams.org
By Carol ShaneThose who know Amy
Morton Vaughn know that she sleeps, eats and breathes ballet. The artistic director of the Appalachian Ballet Com-pany (ABC) is excited about recent changes she’s made to the company’s annual pro-duction of “The Nutcracker.”
“This year, the audience will be treated to lots of new choreography, dancers and soloists,” she says.
Acclaimed as an educa-tor, director and choreogra-pher – and a prima ballerina herself in the ’80s and ’90s – Morton Vaughn is tireless in her devotion to the dance. Right now she’s not only re-hearsing her “Nutcracker” cast but also teaching class-es as usual at the Van Metre School of Dance, which is the ABC’s offi cial school and one of the oldest businesses in Blount County, having been founded by Cheryl Van Metre in the late 1950s.
Chartered in 1972, the Appalachian Ballet Com-
pany grew out of the school and is now the resident dance company of the Clay-ton Center for the Arts. Morton Vaughn took the reins in 1997, and the ABC’s talented dancers perform a three-program season, of-fering a wide repertory from traditional classics to cre-ative contemporary ballets.
And in an age when more ballet companies are opting for recorded music, “the Ap-palachian Ballet Company continues to show extraor-dinary commitment to live music,” says music direc-tor Sande MacMorran, who will conduct the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra in the upcoming performances. “Forty-one years of ‘The Nut-cracker’ with full orchestra!”
Part of MacMorran’s job is to accommodate the spe-cial musical needs of the solo dancers. And this year, he’ll be accommodating a lot of them.
Some starring roles are double-cast, and Morton
Vaughn says, “I have three male guest artists coming for the fi rst weekend and three separate male guest artists coming for the sec-ond weekend, which is very exciting! I’ll get to work with six different profes-sional dancers!
“I’ve done lots of new choreography for the Span-ish dance, and this year we’ll have both male and female dancers for the Rus-sian dance, so get ready for those big leaps!” she contin-ues. “But I’m most excited about the Arabian dance,” she admits, referring to the sinuous dance set to Tchai-kovsky’s exotic music. “I’ve made lots of changes in it.”
Actor David Dwyer, most recently seen in “Anchor-man 2: The Legend Con-tinues” and the TV series “Reckless,” reprises his role as Herr Drosselmeyer, the mysterious toymaker who introduces the magi-cal nutcracker to the Stahl-baum family at their annual
Christmas party. Kylie Mor-ton Barry, one of Morton Vaughn’s two professionally dancing daughters, will por-tray the Sugarplum Fairy.
And of course there’ll be dancing dolls and snow-fl akes, gingerbread kids, toy soldiers, angels and marauding mice. “We have over 100 performers this year!” Morton Vaughn says. It all makes for a thrilling family adventure that you don’t want to miss.
This year’s Appalachian Ballet Company production of “The Nutcracker” will take place at 8 p.m. Satur-day, Dec. 6, and 2 p.m. Sun-day, Dec. 7, at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium. Two fur-ther performances will be presented at 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 13, at The Clayton Center for the Arts in Maryville.
Tickets and info: www.appalachianballet.com or 656-4444 or 877-995-9961.Send story suggestions to news@
shoppernewsnow.com.
David Dwyer as the mysterious Herr Drosselmey-
er has just given the magical nutcracker to Clara,
danced by Harris Wilbanks. Photo by Richard Calmes
By Mystery DinerYou thought it was
enough. You swore you would never eat again. Still, here you are, almost a week after the tryptophan-laced turkey has worn off, and you are craving a turkey sandwich.
Tender, juicy turkey … just a hint of mayo … crisp lettuce and a ripe-red toma-to … Arghhhh! Why did you turn down those leftovers?
Never fear. The answer is just around the corner, if you know where to look.
Look to Buddy’s Bar-B-Q. Yes, I said Buddy’s.
Buddy’s Bar-B-Q is an East Tennessee tradition
with 14 restaurants stretch-ing from Morristown to Athens. They have been around since 1972 and are known for hickory-smoked barbecue, ribs and hawg-back potatoes. I would ven-ture that if you have been in Knoxville for more than a month, you’ve had a Bud-dy’s pork sandwich.
So let me tell you about the turkey. Like the holi-day that made it famous, turkey doesn’t get much attention in the Buddy’s marketing strategy. Under-standably so, as you really should dance with the one who brought you, and bar-becue is what put Buddy’s
Yes, there’s barbecue. But Buddy’s turkey
sandwich, with baked beans and corn on
the cob, is just what you need if no one
gave you any leftovers. Photo by Mystery Diner
on the map.Their turkey sandwich,
however, is a rare fi nd for those who look for it. It’s real, smoked turkey, thin-sliced but still juicy. Served cold with lettuce, tomato and light mayonnaise, the sandwich is everything you dream about on Black Fri-day, when the mall is calling
your wallet and the refrig-erator your stomach.
If the peer pressure is too much, go ahead and order the barbecue. Whisper to the cashier to add a turkey sandwich, and no one will be the wiser.
She’ll even put it in a brown paper bag for you.
8 • DECEMBER 3, 2014 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news kids
THROUGH MONDAY, DEC. 8“Big Red Bow Project” donation collection
for individuals facing Alzheimer’s and dementia in Knox, Anderson, Blount and Loudon counties at Lexus of Knoxville, 10315 Parkside Drive. Info/wish list: www.alzTennessee.org/big-red-bow-project or 544-6288.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3Chanukah Storytime with Laurie Fisher, 11
a.m., Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.
Holiday Dance Party with dance instructors, noon-3 p.m., Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.
Merry Merry! Santa’s on His Way, 10:30 a.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. Info: 470-7033.
THURSDAY, DEC. 4Bingo, 10-11 a.m., Humana Guidance Center, 640
Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711. Chanukah Storytime with Laurie Fisher, 4
p.m., Karns Branch Library, 7516 Oak Ridge Highway. Info: 470-8663.
Dressing Girls for Charity, 3:15-4:30 p.m., Hu-mana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.
Free preview screening of “Evolution of a Crimi-nal,” followed by a panel discussion, 6 p.m., Scruffy City Hall on Market Square. Free event. Info: www.EastTennesseePBS.org.
Holiday Spectacular concert performances, 6 and 8 p.m., Clayton Performing Arts Center at Pellis-sippi State Community College, 10915 Hardin Valley Road. Space limited; arrive 30 minutes before perfor-mance for complimentary ticket. Free event; donations accepted at the door for the Pellissippi State Founda-tion on behalf of the Music Scholarship fund. Info: 694-6400 or www.pstcc.edu/arts.
Movie and Popcorn: “A Christmas Story” star-ring Peter Billingsley, Darren McGavin, 11:15 a.m.-1
p.m., Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 West-ern Ave. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.
FRIDAY, DEC. 5Knitting Caps for the Homeless, 12:30-1:30 p.m.,
Humana Guidance Center, 640 Plaza, 4438 Western Ave. Info: 329-8892, TTY: 711.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY, DEC. 5-6Special Holiday Barn Sale at the RiverView
Family Farm, located on Prater Lane off Choto Road. Hours: noon-5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. Features: vendors with handmade arts & crafts, jewelry, vintage items, antiques and more; fresh Christmas trees from table-top size to 12 feet, garlands and wreaths. Free admission. Info: [email protected].
Downtown Knoxville AAA Offi ce, 100 W. Fifth Ave. Cost: $40 members; $50 nonmember. Must preregister. Info/to register: Kate, 862-9254, or Don, 862-9250.
Best Little Christmas Sale Ever, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Callahan Road Baptist Church, 1317 Callahan Road. Info: 938-3410.
Candle-making workshops, 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., Marble Springs State Historic Site, 1220 W. Gov-ernor John Sevier Highway. Reservations are required; space is limited. Cost: $10. Info/reservations: 573-5508, [email protected], www.marblesprings.net.
Christmas Gifts to Give, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Knoxville Arts and Fine Crafts Center, 1127 Broadway. For ages 6-10. Cost: $49. Info: 523-1401 or www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation/arts.
Christmas Internet Festival, 1-4 p.m., East Ten-nessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Hosted by the staff of the East Tennessee Genealogical School. Preregistra-tion and a valid email address, as well as good Internet searching capabilities, are required. Info/to register: 215-8809.
FaithWalk & Al Ichiki 5K, 2 p.m., Church of the Immaculate Conception, 414 W. Vine. Packet pickup, 12:30-1:45 p.m. at event. Hosted by Samaritan Ministry, a ministry of Central Baptist Church of Bearden and an AIDS service organization. To register: www.samaritan-central.org or day of race. Info: 450-1000, ext. 827.
First Saturday, Gallery Open, International Fine Arts Academy with KWANZAA Presentation and Kuum-ba Watoto Parent Booster Club Fundraiser, Downtown African American Art Gallery, Suite 106, The Emporium Building, 100 S. Gay St.
Nutcracker Breakfast, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Studio Arts for Dancers, 1234 Rocky Hill Road. Cost: $25. For ages 6-12. Reservations required. Info/reservations:
539-2475 or www.gocontemporarydance.com.
SUNDAY, DEC. 7Christmas Card to the City, 3:30 p.m., Market
Square Stage, Market Square. Free admission. Handmade Guatemalan gifts for sale, 12:30-
3:30 p.m., Powell Presbyterian Church, 2910 W. Emory Road. Proceeds benefi t Nuestros Ninos, a local charity committed to helping “our children” in Guatemala. Info: 938-8311 or http://www.nuestrosninoscharity.org/.
MONDAY, DEC. 8All Over the Page: “The Good Lord Bird,” 6:30
p.m., Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.
Merry Merry! Santa’s on His Way, 3 p.m., How-ard Pinkston Branch Library, 7732 Martin Mill Pike. Info: 573-0436.
Tennessee Shines: Wade Hill and poet Liam Hys-julien, 7 p.m., Knoxville Visitor Center, 301 S. Gay St. Tickets: $10, free for students with valid ID and children ages 14 and under. Info/tickets: WDVX.com.
TUESDAY, DEC. 9Harvey Broome Group Holiday Photograph
Show, 7 p.m., Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universal-ist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. Info: Ronald Shrieves, [email protected].
Knoxville Civil War Roundtable meeting, 7 p.m., Buddy’s Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike. Speaker: James Ogden, chief historian of Chickamauga NMP. Topic: “Sherman vs. Cleburn on Missonary Ridge.” Cost: $15 members; $17 nonmembers; lecture-only $3. RSVP by noon Monday, Dec. 8, to 671-9001.
Meet the author and book signing with Dr. Kathleen Sales (“Attack From Within,” “Saving Super-man”), 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Knoxville Executive Suites, 9111 Cross Park Drive, Building D.
Merry Merry! Santa’s on His Way, 11 a.m., South Knoxville Branch Library, 4500 Chapman Highway. Info: 573-1772.
Reception and awards ceremony for the East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition, 6-8 p.m., the Knoxville Museum of Art, 1050 World’s Fair Park. Free and open to the public. On exhibit through Jan. 11. Info: Angela Thomas, 934-2034 or www.knoxart.org.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 10Chanukah Storytime with Laurie Fisher, 10:30
a.m., South Knoxville Branch Library, 4500 Chapman Highway. Info: 573-1772.
Merry Merry! Santa’s on His Way, 4 p.m., Far-ragut Branch Library, 417 N. Campbell Station Road; 777-1750.
as having too much fun, that was the case at the New Hopewell Night of the Arts. The school was abuzz as families came to sup-port their students as they showed off their knowledge and creativity.
Artistic endeavors took over most of the elementary school. The cafeteria was
headquarters for hands-on creations as kids posed for crazy photos and tried their hand at various kinds of 2-D and 3-D art, including a self-portrait mural. Previ-ously created artworks by second- and third-graders were on display in the pri-mary hallway.
That was also the site of a living wax museum, with youngsters striking poses as
historical fi gures from hun-dreds and even thousands of years ago. Meanwhile, the library hosted a book fair where some of the offerings had stories about famous folks from the past.
Attendees could pur-chase hot cocoa and cook-ies, with donations going to support a fi eld trip by sec-ond- through fi fth-graders to see “The Nutcracker” bal-
let.The main event was a
program of African drum-ming and dance in the gym-nasium. Guest artist Kofi Mowaku led the studentsin several numbers he hadrehearsed with them. Whenthe kids coaxed their fami-lies into dancing with them,it was comic chaos.
No baking requiredSouth Knoxville Elementary School principal Tanna Nice-
ly shows second-graders how to make “pumpkin pie in a
bag,” a treat she has shared with students for more than
20 years. The simple recipe – graham crackers, pumpkin
pie fi lling, vanilla pudding and whipped cream – turns
into a dessert that’s a hit with the kids. Photo by Betsy Pickle
Kofi Mowaku, lower left, guides students in a demonstration of
rhythm at the New Hopewell Night of the Arts. Photos by Betsy Pickle
Everyone gets in on the dancing action.
New Hopewell gets excited about the arts
Katie McMahan, 4, and her brother, fi rst-
grader Trent McMahan, paint self-portraits.
First-grader Elizabeth Cogdill leans against her father, Zach
Cogdill, after a stint portraying Betsy Ross in the living wax
museum.
SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • DECEMBER 3, 2014 • 9 business
We believe you deserve exceptional care.
That’s why we commit to excellence – every patient, every time. And strive to achieve the highest level of quality service in primary care. We’ve coupled our clinical expertise with the strength of one of the nation’s highest performing health networks, Covenant Health.What does this partnership mean to you? Access to an extensive network of specialists, the latest medicines, the newest technologies and advanced treatments.
Now accepting new patients. Call for your appointment today.
(865) 632-58857564 Mountain Grove Drive
Knoxville, TN 37920
ointment today.2-5885Grove DriveN 37920
rive20
oday.885
ove D379
CLAIBORNE MEDICAL CENTER | CUMBERLAND MEDICAL CENTER | FORT LOUDOUN MEDICAL CENTERFORT SANDERS REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER | LECONTE MEDICAL CENTER | METHODIST MEDICAL CENTER
MORRISTOWN-HAMBLEN HEALTHCARE SYSTEM | PARKWEST MEDICAL CENTERPENINSULA, A DIVISION OF PARKWEST MEDICAL CENTER | ROANE MEDICAL CENTER
000-0579
By Bonny C. MillardThe intrinsic value of
Tennessee Promise is that students who are still in elementary school and even high school can start preparing for college now.
Randy Boyd, who volunteered as special adviser on higher education for Gov. Bill Haslam last year, recently spoke to the Rotary Club of Knoxville, sharing the history of tnAchieves, Tennessee Promise and the “Drive to 55” initiative.
The goal of the “Drive to 55” initiative is that 55 percent of Tennessee’s population will have a post-secondary education, either a degree or certifi cate, by the year 2025, Boyd said.
Tennessee Promise is a last-dollar scholarship program that will allow high school graduates to attend community colleges or technical schools for free starting in 2015.
“What (Tennessee Promise) did was create a $350 million endowment that now allows us to offer a scholarship to every single graduate in all 95 counties,” Boyd said. “… We’re able to tell kindergartners and fi rst-graders and their parents that they can now go to college so they can start planning and changing
their trajectory.”The ability to access a
free college e d u c a t i o n can help s t u d e n t s b e c o m e b e t t e r p r e p a r e d to do well in college, Boyd said.
“If you’re reading two grades below in third grade, you never catch up,” he said.
Tennessee Promise started in Knoxville in 2008 when Boyd, founder and CEO of Radio Systems, worked with then-Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale to guide the development of tnAchieves, which gives high school students scholarships to attend community colleges or technical schools. Boyd chairs tnAchieves.
The program helped students fi ll out federal student aid forms, required them to perform one day of community service for each semester and matched them with a mentor. Tennessee Promise, based on the same concept, will partner tnAchieves.
“It’s a big challenge,” Boyd said. “If we decide to do it, we can do it.”
Randy Boyd
The promise of Tennessee Promise
Some people make you feel blessed just to be around them. For the past eight months, I have been blessed to know Vickie Johnson. I met with her last week to get the story of God’s Place Treasures thrift store, which came about through the selfl essness of Vickie’s son, Tim Macklin.
Macklin had suffered through years of drug abuse, homelessness, medi-cal problems and jail, twice coming close to death. But it’s been eight years since he gave his life to the Lord, and Macklin, now known as “Pastor Tim,” has spent those eight years helping the homeless.
Macklin wanted to open a thrift store as a way to help even more. He asked his mom to become involved, but Vickie’s duties as a care-giver prevented her from joining right away. That didn’t deter Macklin. Four years ago, he forged ahead with his plans. The day be-fore the store opened, Vick-ie’s friend passed away. She has been working at God’s Place Treasures ever since. Now she can’t imagine do-ing anything else. She says, “My blessings are abun-dant.”
The customers who vis-it the store have become Vickie’s friends. People fre-quently come in to request prayer for themselves or
Vickie Johnson feels blessed to have Joyce
Baker as a volunteer. Photo by Nancy Whittaker
‘Blessings are abundant’
Nancy Whittaker
others. While I was there, a young woman who was shopping said she had pre-viously come in to request prayer just before brain sur-gery. No matter how busy Vickie is, she will stop and take time to be with people when they need her.
A huge blessing in Vick-ie’s life is Joyce Baker. Once when Joyce and Vickie were in Sunday school, the members were challenged to “step out of their box” and do something different. Vickie mentioned she could use a volunteer at God’s Place Treasures. Now Joyce comes in two to three times a week, fi xes any items needing small repairs and works when Vickie can’t be there.
Macklin continues to work diligently to help the homeless get on their feet. He assists folks who live in what some would call half-way houses. He calls them “whole-way houses.” Vickie says these residents must resolve to live “all the way or nothing, and to live for the Lord.” Macklin also owns
roofi ng and landscaping companies that provide job opportunities for those who are committed to turning their lives around.
Every fourth Saturday, Macklin has a Party for Je-sus service in the gym at New Birth Knoxville (the old Sevier Heights Bap-tist Church), 3706 Sevier Heights Road. Transporta-tion is provided for those who need it. Homeless and low-income families are fed a hot meal, and the word of God is shared. There are usually 200-400 people in attendance.
Food and monetary do-nations are always welcome, as are Bibles. Call Vickie at 604-8077.
For God’s Place Trea-sures, winter clothes, small
furniture, toys, jewelry, household items and shoes are always needed. No do-nations are thrown away. Every item is either sold and the money used to clothe and feed the homeless, or items are sent to people in need in Appalachia. The store is stocked with a pleas-ing hodge-podge of items. Vickie laughs and said they even sold a kitchen sink. So, when cleaning out your closet, keep God’s Place Treasures in mind.
For shoppers, 90 per-cent of the clothes are only $1 during the week. On Fridays, shoppers can fi ll a bag for $2. God’s Place Treasures thrift store, 5925 Chapman Highway, is open 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Phone: 604-8077.
CHRISTMAS EVENTS
■ Clayton Holiday Concert
presented by the Knoxville
Symphony Orchestra, Knox-
ville Civic Auditorium. Perfor-
mances: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec.
19; 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday,
Dec. 20; 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec.
21. Info/tickets: 521-2337.
■ Breakfast with Santa,
8:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday,
Dec. 6, Norwood UMC, 2110
Merchant Drive. Pancakes,
fruit and juice with Santa
Claus. Free, but a nonperish-
able item for the church food
pantry requested.
■ Brunch with Santa for ages
toddler through 12 years old,
10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec.
20, Christ UMC gym, 7535
Maynardville Highway. $5 per
person or $20 for family of
fi ve. Reservations required by
Friday, Dec. 12, to 922-1412.
■ Celebrate the Season,
4:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec.
4, Farragut Town Hall, 11408
Municipal Center Drive.
Presented by the Farragut
Beautifi cation Committee.
Includes numerous free
activities and performances.
Canned goods donation
requested for Second Harvest
Food Bank of East Tennessee.
Info: Arleen Higginbotham,
arleen.higginbotham@
townoff arragut.org or 966-
7057; www.townoff arragut.org.
■ Christmas drive-through exhibit: “The Life of Christ,”
■ “A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas” will be presented
by The WordPlayers, Clayton
Performing Arts Center,
Pellissippi State Community
College, 10915 Hardin Valley
Road. Performances: 7:30
p.m. Friday, Dec. 12, and 2:30
and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec.
13. Tickets: 539-7529, www.
wordplayers.org, or at the door.
■ The Living Christmas Tree,
3 and 6 p.m., Saturday and
Sunday, Dec. 13-14, Wallace
Memorial Baptist Church, 701
Merchant Drive. Free tickets:
www.wmbc.net; from Wallace
church members; and at the
church during offi ce hours.
■ The Nativity Pageant of Knoxville, 3 p.m. Saturday
and Sunday, Dec. 13-14, and
7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15,
Knoxville Civic Coliseum. Free
performances. Info: www.
KnoxvilleNativity.com or
579-5323.
■ Nutcracker on Ice, 7 p.m.,
through Saturday, Dec. 6,
Ice Chalet, 100 Lebanon St.
Additional performance
2 p.m. Saturday. Info:
www.chaleticerinks.com/
nutcrackeronice or 588-1858.
■ Pictures with Santa Claus at
Cool Sports, 110 S. Watt Road.
Schedule: 2-6 p.m. Sunday,
Dec. 14; 8-10 p.m. Friday, Dec.
19; 3:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday,
Dec 20. Photos by No Dud
Photography. Info: 218-4500
or www.coolsportstn.com.
■ Santa’s Workshop Ice Show, 2:30 p.m. and 6:30
p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, Cool
Sports, 110 S. Watt Road. Info/
tickets: 218-4500 or www.
coolsportstn.com.
■ “Sounds of the Season/
Christmas Time Is Here”
production by the Central
High School Choral Depart-
ment, 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec.
11, Central High auditorium.
Tickets: Adult/general admis-
sion, $8; student/senior
citizen, $6.
10 • DECEMBER 3, 2014 • Shopper news
� The North Corner Sandwich Shop on the north end of the North Central food cor-ridor is what happens when a gifted chef who has traveled the USA and experienced all kinds of cuisines decides to come home and make sandwiches.
David Blevins dares to bill his tiny, spot-less establishment as “an amazing, chef-driven sandwich joint,” and boy, howdy, can he make a sammie sing.
He comes in at 6:30 a.m. to start roasting meats, making soup, bacon potato salad with sour cream and the jumbo-sized, sea-salt-sprin-kled Ghirardelli chocolate-chunk cookie that is his only dessert.
His most popular sandwich is probably the Roast Beef Hoagie, but the Grilled Cheester and Cuban sandwich shouldn’t be missed, either. It would take weeks of daily lunches to sample the entire selection.
North Corner Sandwich Shop2400 N. Central • (423) 737-0760
Hours: 11-3 p.m. Monday-Friday
� Donna Kennedy’s homemade bis-cuits are ready Tuesday through Saturday at 6 a.m. at Knoxville’s oldest sit-down eatery oper-ating in the same location – Rankin Restaurant.
This means Donna and her husband, Perry, roll in at 3 a.m. to get things started. They bought Rankin almost 10 years ago and have carried on the classic Southern diner’s tradi-tions that have made it a popular breakfast and lunch destination for 60 years and counting. Country-style steak is their most popular entree and the house-made desserts – pineapple upside-down cake, peach cobbler and banana pudding – turn strangers into loyal regulars like Robert Corvette, who pronounced the food “awesome,” the service fast and the servers friendly. Breakfast is served all day.
Rankin Restaurant 2200 N. Central • 524-9621
Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 6 a.m.-2 p.m.;
Saturday 6 a.m.-11 a.m.
� In the interest of avoiding argu-ments, we’ll stipulate that Original Freezo is the oldest walk-up dairy bar and diner (tables under the mulberry tree out back) in Knoxville. Located on the north end of Happy Holler since 1948, it has had several owners. The Original Freezo doesn’t close for winter, and its present proprietor, Darrell Dalton, simply shifts his em-phasis from frosty frozen treats to chili, tamales and pinto beans when the weather turns cold (Freezo sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs know no season). The daily blue-plate lunch specials pretty much always sell out, and there are as-sorted trinkets, T-shirts and other oddities for customers to examine while waiting for their order to emerge.
Original Freezo1305 N. Central • 637-6500
Hours: 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m.
� There’s no place like the Time Warp Tea Room, where vintage motorcycles are part of the décor and a nude photograph of Hazel Davidson (naughty parts covered by a blue masking-tape bikini) and a painting of Cas Walker look down from an antique cherry bar back that owner Dan Moriarity rescued from an old Eastside bar slated for demolition.
Moriarity is a pioneer in the redevelopment of Happy Holler, and he has created a unique, only-in-Knoxville space that’s a music venue, the headquarters of several vintage bike clubs and a good place for a business meeting or a quiet cup of coffee over a classic sandwich, bowl of chili and a homemade brownie. Dan and his wife, Peggy, also open the Time Warp to com-munity groups and political gatherings of all
kinds. It’s Cheers, without the booze.Time Warp Tea Room
1207 N. Central • 524-1155
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
(or later, depending)
http://timewarptearoom.blogspot.com
� It would be a mistake to categorize Happy Holler’s Central Flats & Taps as just a bar, even though Wednesday night is Pint Night with $1 off tap beer and live team trivia that begins at 8. Yes, there’s wine and Tennes-see sipping whiskey paninis and a full array of craft beer to pair with fl atbread pizzas and paninis (made with naan, the distinctive Indian fl atbread) from an original menu that includes unique appetizers, the house soup of the day, salads and slow-roasted, free-range chicken wings. The Belly Boy (pork belly, smoked gouda, fi eld greens, red onion, avocado and roasted red pepper mayo) is highly recommended.
Central Flats and Taps 1204 N. Central • 247-0392
Kitchen hours:
Sunday-Wednesday 11 a.m.-10 p.m.;
Thursday-Saturday 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Bar hours every day 11 a.m.-3 a.m.
fl atsandtaps.com
� The hot bar at Three Rivers Market always features two entrees, one with meat, one without, plus four healthy sides that always include fresh veggies from the other side of the market.
On a recent Thursday the menu included chili seitan, pulled pork, cabbage, hoppin john, balsamic beets, macaroni and cheese and three house-made soups. There’s a “cold” bar, too, replete with crunchy greens and all the tradi-tional salad-bar fi xings. A wide selection of cold drinks is a few steps away, and desserts, includ-ing yummy cupcakes and layer-cake slices from Magpies, individually packaged. There’s a café area in the front of the store, and a patio for al fresco lunching in good weather.
Three Rivers Market 1110 N. Central • 525-7621
Hot bar hours: 11 a.m.–7 p.m.,
(Market hours: 9 a.m.–10 p.m.)
www.threeriversmarket.coop/hot-bar-menu/
� Holly’s Corner anchors the southern end of the strip and is owned and operated by chef Holly Hambright, whose sister Peggy Hambright owns and operates Magpies Bakery next door.
Both inspired by their mother, the late Hazel Hambright, they are shooting stars in Knox-ville’s culinary fi rmament. The name of Holly’s place pays homage to a previous tenant, the iconic Corner Lounge. Her menu is a mixture of the down home and the exotic. There’s a trio of quiches – the Lurleen (Benton’s country ham and Sweetwater Farms smoked cheddar), the Hollyhock (fresh spinach, asparagus and artichoke hearts) and the Bernstein (smoked salmon and fresh asparagus), plus vegetarian selections like Fake Steak (grilled Portobello with mushrooms, provolone, lettuce and to-mato). There’s Hazel’s chicken and tuna salads presented a variety of ways and a BLT, plus a BELT (with an egg), a BLAT (with avocado), a BLECT (with egg and cheese), a SPLAT (with smoked salmon) and a BLAST (smoked trout added to BLAT). Be sure to check out the recipe page on the website.
