VOL. 10 NO. 26
BUZZ July 4th parade The town of Farragut will host the 29th annual Independence Day Parade on Monday, July 4, beginning at 9:30 a.m. The parade will begin on Kingston Pike at Lendon Welch Way (Farragut High School entrance) and continue to Boring Road, just east of Farragut Towne Square Shopping Center (old Ingles store site). This year’s grand marshal is Jeff Jacoby, Cumulus Media’s morning co-host of The Sports Animal. Entries have been submitted by groups such as businesses, community and civic organizations, area schools and churches and will include the Farragut High School Band, floats, animals, antique cars, dance groups and elected officials. New this year, Fleet Feet Sports Knoxville will host the first annual Farragut Freedom Run 1 Mile and 2 Mile prior to the start of the parade. This flat and fast course is USATF certified and perfect for all levels. Complete details and online registration are available at www. fleetfeetknoxville.com/races Due to the parade, Kingston Pike will be closed from Concord Road to Boring Road from 8:30 a.m. to approximately noon. Info: 865-966-7057 Following are the parade detours: ■North side - Campbell Station Road to Grigsby Chapel Road to Smith Road to Kingston Pike (going west) or Campbell Station Road to Parkside Drive to Lovell Road (going east). ■South side – Concord Road to Turkey Creek Road to Virtue Road to Kingston Pike (going west) or Concord Road to Kingston Pike (going east). S. Campbell Station Road will be open to the private road just south of the former Silver Spoon for access to the bank, post office, etc.
Three Star Awards The town of Farragut presented five of its largest retailers the Farragut Three Star Award to recognize and celebrate their ongoing positive impact on the community. The Farragut Three Star Award recognizes outstanding customer service, community outreach and corporate sales. Mayor Ralph McGill presented the awards at the International Council of Shopping Centers RECon in Las Vegas and at the Farragut stores. Farragut store managers accepting the awards were: Best Buy - Kari Stout, Costco - Todd Galanti, JCPenney Tracey Hitson, Kroger - Mark Cavalaris, and Publix - Landon Compton and Stephen Beech. Info: 865- 966-7057.
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June 29, 2016
Farragut Folklife Museum float By Margie Hagen “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!� This exclamation went down in history as Admiral David Farragut claimed a decisive victory for the Union in the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay. The battleship he commanded, the USS Hartford, has been painstakingly re-created as the Farragut Folklife Museum’s entry for the town of Farragut’s 29th annual Independence Day Parade. Lou LaMarche has been planning and constructing the float since September of 2015. “It’s a collaborative effort,� Lou says. Beginning with a detailed drawing to scale, each piece was cut, finished and painted to Lou’s specifications. Ron Williams and Bill Passon did the construction, Carolyn Sinclair sewed the sail and Dee Henning worked on the sign. Dot LaMarche did a lot of painting, with Lou jokingly saying, “Half the paint went on the float and the other half went on her.� Features include a ship’s wheel, anchors and smokestacks. All the pieces are neatly stacked and waiting for the final installation on a flatbed truck. Teddy Yates has provided the flatbed again this year. Everything will be transported to Yates Construction to be assembled inside a large garage. This is where it can get tricky. Completing the float requires a good deal of coordination, accurate timing and maybe just a little bit of luck. “When getting it all to-
Ron Wiliams and Lou LaMarche with the hull of the USS Hartford float Photo by Margie Hagen
gether you never know what might come up,� says Lou. But the team is prepared to handle any last minute snags. So who will be piloting the USS Hartford as she sails down Kingston Pike? None other than “Admiral Farragut,� as Lou LaMarche is sometimes fondly called. Having been involved with the museum for roughly 10 years, he donates his time and resources generously. But Lou doesn’t want all the credit. Museum coordinator Julia Barham and Bud McKelvey of Public Works were among the
many he wants to thank. Sunoco Products in Newport donated the smokestacks, and the Rineharts of Dandridge coordinated the logistics. The July Fourth parade will feature antique cars, golf carts, go-carts, horses and a miniature train. Law enforcement, veterans, local high schools and area Boy Scout troops are participating along with civic organizations and businesses. Other perennial favorites are the Holloway Sisters, again riding and performing on the museum
float. Sir Goony’s always delights with a fanciful animal display. And keep an eye out for the Mayfield Dairy cow and Shangri-La Therapeutic Riding Academy’s miniature donkeys. This year’s grand marshal is Jeff Jacoby, morning cohost of The Sports Animal on WNML radio. The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, July 4, starting at Farragut High School and heading west to Boring Road. Fly your flags proudly on the Fourth and come out to support all who make Farragut such a great community.
New PPC rating means lower premiums for Rural/Metro customers
By Wendy Smith The Public Protection Class (PPC) for Farragut and the portion of Knox County within the Rural/ Metro service area has changed from five to three, which will result in an approximate 35 percent reduction in insurance premiums, according to Harnish Rural/Metro Fire Chief Jerry Harnish. The change is effective Aug. 1. He explained the change to the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen last week.
The PPC is the numerical rating assigned to each community by the Insurance Services Office (ISO), which prepares and develops information that the insurance industry uses to set rates. The ISO evaluates emergency communications systems and dispatching, the fire department and the public water supply. PPC ratings range from one, which is the best, to 10, which means unprotected. Only about eight percent of communities surveyed by ISO have a PPC of three or better. A sample annual premium for a 25-year-old house with a $200,000 value and a PPC of five is $1,136.
With a PPC of three, the annual premium drops to $774. Knox County had a PPC of nine in 1978. In 1995, it dropped to four. It went up to five in 2012 when all water districts began being graded together. The new Choto fire station affected the rating because it added fire engines and reduced response times, said Harnish. The board approved, on second reading, the town’s annual budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2017. Since the first reading, which was approved at the June 9 meeting, there was a $15,900 increase in expenditures for an HVAC maintenance contract,
municipal code recodification services and the AmeriCorps program. But a $26,552 reduction in personnel cost due to the elimination of a part-time sustainability coordinator position resulted in a net decrease of $10,652. No other changes were made. The board approved the Town of Farragut Internal Controls Manual, a document that was mandated by state lawmakers last year. The manual puts controls in place to prevent and detect financial errors and irregularities in local governments.
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Fences popping up like mushrooms By Sandra Clark Imagine the shock of Patti Bound when a chain link fence appeared around part of the campus of Brickey-McCloud Elementary School, a short distance from her home. “Why should I know anything,� she said when asked. “I’m only on the Board of Education.� Bounds was surprised to learn that new fencing is coming for Powell Middle School, also in her district. She said fencing has never been discussed during her two years on the board. Gus Paidousis, security chief for Knox County Schools, said seven campuses will be fenced this summer. “We continue to put fencing in place to improve access control.� The fencing started
in the fall of 2013 following a districtwide security assessment. It’s funded through the KCS’s security budget which also funds video monitors and cameras. There is a school resource officer (SRO) at each campus and often a Sheriff’s Gus Paidousis deputy or city police officer as well. Paidousis said fencing was a priority of one-third of principals surveyed. “We started with our elementary schools where portable classrooms and playgrounds were wide open. We’ve fenced 20
schools – two middle schools and the rest elementary.� On tap for this summer are Whittle Springs and Powell middle schools, along with Brickey-McCloud, Ritta, West Hills, Beaumont and Halls elementary schools. All projects are different, he said, and costs range from $20,000 to $100,000 per school. In addition to the cost, the fences are playing havoc with plans to build sidewalks and greenways so kids can walk or bike to school. At Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Academy, a six-foot fence was erected on one side of a greenway even though a four-foot fence was already in place on the other side – making this the best protected greenway in town.
Russ Oaks, chief operating officer for KCS, said the new fence does not obstruct the greenway while the older fence is around a playground. Incoming principal Amy Brace has asked that the shorter fence be removed. At Karns Elementary, security fencing blocked entrance to the campus for kids walking across a community-sponsored bridge over Oak Ridge Highway. Paidousis said that problem was fixed last year by relocating a gate. The fences are secure during the school day and will be left open for community use at other times, he said. Are we overdoing this? To page A-3