last words Knox greeways have new driver Tim Hester, former city manager of Norris, has been hired as the new greenways coordinator for the city of Knoxville. He started to work this week. Brian Hann, active chair of the city greenway commission, praised the choice, saying, “I look forward to seeing him in action.” He replaces Lori Goerlich who left for Chattanooga after a lackluster four years in Knoxville. Hester will clearly be a positive upgrade in this office and greenways will be moving forward. His office will be at Lakeshore Park. ■■ If U.S. Rep. Diane Black becomes the permanent chair of the House Budget Committee, will that impact her potential run for governor next year? She is the interim chair for now until Georgia Republican Tom Price is (presumably) confirmed to the Trump Cabinet as Health and Human Services secretary. Paul Ryan chaired the budget committee before becoming House speaker. It is an important, demanding and time-consuming position. It is a sign of the respect the House leadership holds for her skills, which will be tested under President Donald Trump. Her office for now says it will not affect her decision on whether to enter the 2018 race for governor. She is considered by many to be the leading candidate at this early stage in the contest and she can fund her own campaign if necessary. Other potential candidates include Randy Boyd of Knoxville, state Sens. Mark Green, Mark Norris and Doug Overbey, and possibly House Speaker Beth Harwell. ■■ Knox County officials are hopeful that Gov. Bill Haslam will include funding in his budget for the Knox Safety Center, which is being pushed by Mayor Tim Burchett and former district attorney Randy Nichols. Money was not in last year’s state budget, but a behind-the-scenes effort has been made since then to secure funding. If not included, expect the Knox lawmakers to push funding by legislation. The governor has not announced his decision. ■■ Wayne Christensen, 71, retired director of Knox Youth Sports, has decided to run for the West Knoxville city council seat now held by Vice Mayor
Victor Ashe
Duane Grieve, who retires in December because of term limits. Christensen may be opposed by David Williams and Tim Hill. Others mentioned include Bearden activist Terri Faulkner, West Hills sidewalk supporter Sandi Robinson, Knox County election commissioner Andrew Roberto, and former Democratic party vice chair Doug Veum. This could be a crowded field that triggers much interest. ■■ Lois Riggins Ezzell, the 35-year director of the state museum, has been gone 18 days but only a few blocks away, where she secured an easy $40,000-ayear job as a fundraiser for the new museum building at age 77. Interestingly, no one asked her to do this except herself. But the foundation board is in her pocket and they are happy to spend money citizens give for the museum to enhance her personal retirement on top of her state pension. She attempted her last week in office to create an actual office for herself within the museum as the foundation actually does not have office space anywhere. When museum commission chair Tom Smith discovered this last-minute maneuver, he placed a halt to it. This sequence of events is impossible to make up. It is also most unfortunate that some public employees do not realize when it is time to depart. The museum commission is scheduled to meet next week, Jan. 24, to choose a permanent replacement. Meanwhile the governor is trying to raise $40 million to pay for the new $160 million museum. Birthdays: Chancellor Mike Moyers turns 56 on Jan. 19. Congratulations! Marie Leonard, widow of Farragut’s first mayor, Bob Leonard, celebrated her 90th birthday last Saturday at the Farragut Town Hall. Knoxville’s oldest living former mayor, Randy Tyree, turns 77 on Jan. 20. He was also the youngest person ever to be elected mayor in 1975 when at age 35 he was elected over the late Kyle Testerman.
A-12 • January 18, 2017 • Bearden Shopper news
UT makes life more difficult for Butch Top leadership of the University of Tennessee, if there really is some, has made life more difficult than necessary for Butch Jones. As the coach sought to improve his staff, prospective assistants kept asking nosey questions about who will be the next athletic director. Potential offensive coordinators with names you might recognize were curious about the job and such trivia as chain of command, grasp and understanding, long-term stability and exactly how important will football be in the overall scheme of things. Here’s the dilemma: If Butch was forced to pick an available replacement for Mike DeBord when he really wanted someone else, he has a built-in excuse for future problems. You tied my hands. President Joe DiPietro and the board of trustees have known for months and months that UT needed a chancellor and athletic director. We’ve all known since August that Jimmy Cheek and Dave Hart were moving on.
Marvin West
Common sense dictated a new chancellor was the first priority in replacing the lame ducks – just in case that person wanted a vote in the selection of the new athletic director. Identifying Beverly J. Davenport took almost forever. Time dragged on. Even for a quick study, figuring out what is Tennessee football takes longer than making instant potatoes. Delay, delay, delay. Finally, she or DiPietro or somebody more powerful wants a professional search company to sort through AD possibilities, make recommendations and mask responsibility. There was a time Butch and I thought we knew the next athletic director would be David Blackburn, Vol for life, very successful as recent leader of athletics at UT-
Chattanooga. He seemed so obvious. He is 50. He has the ideal background. He has experience. He knows everybody who matters, big donors, politicians, thousands of fans. DiPietro is already his top boss. David, son of a high school coach, was born in Loudon. He played quarterback there. He enrolled at UT and learned a lot as student manager for John Majors’ teams in 1988-89. He went to Morristown to be a coach. Phillip Fulmer invited him back for an administrative role in recruiting and compliance and a few dozen other things. Doug Dickey saw greater potential and promoted Blackburn. Through the years, he looked after facilities, fundraising and event management. Because he could read and write, he evolved into the athletic department connection to the Thornton Center and academics. He participated in coaching searches. He became a senior associate AD under Mike Hamilton. He was a big help in dealing with the NCAA during
a time of crisis, the Bruce Pearl and Lane Kiffin era. If winning matters, it appears Blackburn and Chattanooga have excelled. Last year UT-C became the first school in a hundred years to win Southern Conference titles in football and men’s and women’s basketball. Maybe I shouldn’t mention that the basketball Mocs defeated the Vols in the opener of this season. Maybe I shouldn’t mention that Blackburn is Tennessee through and through. He is not from Florida or Alabama or even Cincinnati, from whence cometh Dr. Davenport and, before that, Coach Jones. David has never been athletic director at Notre Dame or UCLA or even Kansas or Kentucky. He is known widely but is not famous outside the Volunteer family. But, he is smart and aware and interested. Come to think of it, if the big time is what really matters. Dr. Davenport has never been chancellor at any of those places. Marvin West invites reader reaction. His address is westwest6@netzero,com.
School board politics: It’s not about party There are no Rs or Ds on local school board ballots. Board members are elected on a non-partisan basis, and despite some past saber rattling from the Red-tothe-Roots crowd, it doesn’t appear that Republicans are preparing to change that status. This probably makes Patti Bounds Mike Edwards Knox County school board chair Patti Bounds happy. Bounds is worried about Betsy DeVos, the ultra-conservative Amway billionaire who is President-elect DonBetty ald Trump’s choice to head Bean the Department of Education. It’s DeVos’ identification with school privatizaFor Bounds, a conser- tion, not her overall politics, vative who was raised Re- that bothers Bounds, who is publican, it’s educational also not comfortable with philosophy, not party lines some of the positions of that divide the board, the state legislators who repmajority of whom oppose resent her district, even much of the reform agenda though they are fellow Refavored at the state and na- publicans. “The more I get to know tional levels. “I could probably tell you them and the more I study where people come down, the issues, the more I just if you had to put them in want to scream when Bill a box, as far as Republi- Dunn talks about vouchcans and Democrats, but ers. And the more time I’m that’s not what affects how spending in Nashville, the they vote,” Bounds says. more I’m seeing the pres“We have some very di- sures to conform and fit in.” But the group she finds verse opinions. But here’s the thing that makes me most worrisome is the state feel like I’m out there and school board, whose nine don’t know who I am some- voting members (one per times: it’s the Democrats (in congressional district) are Nashville) who are fighting appointed by the governor for (public) education and to serve five-year terms. see the dangers in the re- This board strongly supform movement (excessive ports charters and vouchers high stakes testing, charter and high-stakes testing. “Some of them have zero schools, vouchers and privatization, linkage of teacher knowledge of education, evaluations to sometimes- and they’re the ones making the major decisions. They’re flawed test results).”
not accountable to anyone,” Bounds says. “The only one Mike Edwards (who represents the Second Congressional District) is answerable to is Bill Haslam, and citizens have no vote in the matter. I think they’re good people and have done good things for the state. If you’d asked me 10 years ago, as an average person, if I was in favor of vouchers, I’d say, ‘What’s a voucher?’ And you’d say every child deserves a good school, and I’d agree. It’s the far-right people saying that’s what they are trying to do. You have to ask why are they doing this.” Bounds worries that the Legislature might try to abolish local school boards and let the state board run everything from Nashville.
Edwards takes issue with most of what Bounds said. He said he’s studying a stack of documents seven inches thick for the next board meeting, and considers himself answerable to Tennessee’s schoolchildren – not to the governor. He said he doesn’t see teachers as adversaries and that nobody is looking to shut down local school boards. “Our biggest push is not against teachers. It is against the U.S. Department of Education. We’re not answerable to the governor. And we’re not trying to please the governor. Nor or we trying to please the Department of Education. “None of us are ideological and none of us are on there with an agenda.”
Here comes Harry
Former state Rep. Harry Tindell, 56, has announced his intention to seek the District 4 seat on the Knoxville City Council in the upcoming election. A lifelong resident of Knoxville, Tindell was twice elected to the Knox County school board before serving 11 terms in the state House. He lives in the Alice Bell/Spring Hill community and is self-employed in the insurance business. Harry Tindell “It will be important to have new city council members with varied experience in this period of change,” he wrote in a press release. Info: harrytindell4knoxville@gmail.com or on Facebook.
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"Run 4 Their Lives" 5K race www.freedom424.org/r4lt/races/knoxville To raise awareness for human trafficking
JANUARY 28, 2017
CONSIDER THESE STARTLING NUMBERS: • There are estimated to be 27 million slaves worldwide • This industry brings in $32 billion/yr., and those numbers are increasing daily. • Reportedly, 161 countries are affected by human trafficking as either sources, transit centers or destinations.
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