VOL. 53 NO. 28
IN THIS ISSUE
Briggs is better Never say there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between state Sen. Stacey Campfield and his challenger, County Commissioner Dr. Richard Briggs. Shopper publisher Sandra Clark makes the case for Richard Briggs.
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Read Clark’s editorial on page 4
NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Pinnacle Bank builds on Emory Pinnacle Financial Partners is developing a new branch bank on Emory Road adjacent to Weigel’s at Dry Gap Pike. Denark Construction is the contractor. The Nashvillebased financial outfit has experienced rapid growth since its founding. It is headed by M. Terry Turner, president and CEO, and Robert A. McCabe Jr., chair.
Hammond passes Retired Hallsdale Powell Utility District president/CEO Marvin Hammond has died at age 71. Services were Tuesday with burial today (July 16) at Fort Sumter Cemetery. See tribute on page 10.
Y yard sale The North Side Y at 7609 Maynardville Pike in Halls will hold a community yard sale from 8 a.m. until noon Saturday, July 19. Proceeds from space rentals will be used for scholarships, youth outreach, community outreach and more. Any money raised from selling items will be the seller’s to keep. The Y is renting spaces for $20 and charging $5 for tables if needed. Sign up by calling 922-9622 or visiting the North Side Y.
Andy Wilson golf tournament Aug. 2 The 6th annual Andy Wilson Memorial Golf Tournament will be held Saturday, Aug. 2, at Three Ridges Golf Course. Morning and afternoon tee times are available, and lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. Cost for a team of four is $300, hole sponsorship is $100/hole and cart sponsorships are $25. The tournament helps to provide scholarships (one each to a male and female athlete) every year at Carter High School. This year’s tournament will be played in memory of Andy’s dad, Roger Wilson, who passed away Feb. 16. Info: Peggy Wilson, 679-4298, or Gary Whitaker, 679-1022.
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‘Not-metro’ is all about the money, says Burchett By Sandra Clark Announcing his upcoming nuptials was not the news nugget of Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett’s speech to a business group in Fountain City, yet that announcement got all the media play. Much more impactful was his endorsement of unified government for Knoxville and Knox County and his pledge to work for the merger during his upcoming four-year term. “Yes, I’m serious,” he said. “We have two governments because of fiefdoms. … Just don’t call it metro.” Burchett wants to reduce, not enlarge, the size of local government. He wants to eliminate du-
plication, but he’s not about to suggest the hot-button issues that have doomed previous votes. (State law requires unification to be approved by voters in both the city and the county balance.) “We’re not taking away anybody’s right to elect officials. We’re not raising taxes.” He proposes service zones in which residents could choose (and pay for) enhanced services such as garbage pickup and fire protection. “It’s bad for business,” he said, citing awkwardness in explaining local government to companies seeking to locate here. “And it’s bad for your tax dollars,” he said. County Commissioner R. Larry
Tim Burchett ends his talk in Fountain City.
Smith agreed. “If elected officials put their egos aside, it would happen. It just makes sense.” Knox County’s debt has been reduced by $59 million in three years, Burchett said.
Central, Gibbs get new principals By Sandra Clark Superintendent James McIntyre has named new head prinicpals for Gibbs and Central high schools. Each is the third principal in three years for his school. Michael Reynolds, veteran principal at Fulton Reynolds and most recently Farragut High school, has been moved to Central High School, replacing Dr. Jody Goins who resigned to return to Claiborne County High School as principal. At Farragut, Reynolds has assembled a stellar faculty and the school has consistently earned recognition in national publications ranking public high schools. Reynolds’ wife, Sallee Reynolds, is now principal at Hardin
Valley Academy. She was previously an assistant principal at Central High. Jason Webster is the principal at Gibbs High School, replacing Tom Brown who had said he would retire. Brown was unavailable for comment at press Webster time, but never quite caught on at Gibbs High after years of successful leadership at Holston Middle School. Webster has been assistant principal at Halls High and most recently at the L&N STEM Academy. Both Reynolds and Webster were social studies teachers prior to entering administration, meaning each should fit nicely with Halls High principal Mark Duff, also a social studies guy.
As for that marriage, Burchett said he will wed Kelly Kimball on July 26 at an undisclosed location. “We’ve both got enough stuff,” he said, requesting no gifts. “Make a contribution to HonorAir.”
HPUD puts Julian at top of list of three By Sandra Clark Julian
Miller
Wow! What are the odds of three guys going off alone to evaluate 10 job applicants and coming back with almost identical lists for the top three? That’s just what happened at Hallsdale Powell Utility District when board members Todd Cook and Bob Crye, along with CEO Darren Cardwell, looked over the 10 applicants for Kevin Julian’s spot on the three-member board of commissioners. Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett will select one of the three nominees or he can reject the list, forcing HPUD to recommend three more. In a brief meeting Monday, the commissioners selected Julian, Knoxville Police Lt. Kenny Miller and Bob Rountree. Ten district customers applied for the post: Cathryn Best, Eddie Busler, William Ron Houser, Kevin Julian, Suzette Lacy, Kenneth Miller, Tausha Price, Phillip Daniel Raper, Robert Rountree and R. Larry Smith. Three did not return a questionnaire, Cook said. They were Best, Lacy and Raper. To page A-10
Rountree
The Ed and Bob show comes to County Commission By Betty Bean It’s been a year or so since Bob Thomas and Ed Brantley worked together, but the two longtime morning-drive radio stars will be colleagues again once they’re sworn in as Knox County Commissioners Sept. 2. In the meantime, they’ve had a couple of dinners with the other two new commissioners-elect (Charles Busler and Randy Smith), and they plan another in August, which they know is perfectly legal now, although come September, sunshine laws will come into play and put constraints on their gettogethers. But they are adamant about one thing: “If the two of us are at
Ed Brantley and Bob Thomas the Vol Market No. 3 having a hot dog, which we do every week, and somebody calls in (to complain), or if somebody sees us at Wright’s Cafeteria, where we take my mom for lunch, well, that’s not going to stop,” Thomas said. “That’s
sioners represent the entire county). Thomas ran unopposed; Brantley was victorious over a primary opponent. Neither is opposed in the August general election. In addition to being on-air personalities, both have run businesses, both are grandfathers and both want to attract more and better jobs to Knox County for the sake of their grandchildren (Ed has five; Bob has three). Photo by Betty Bean “To me, the biggest priority in this county other silly. We’re going to stop than supporting the school being friends? Not going to system is getting some jobs happen.” in here,” Brantley said. Thomas and Brantley “Chattanooga is ahead of will represent the 10th us in manufacturing, and and 11th at-large districts, our surrounding counties respectively (a distincare ahead of us, too, to tion without a difference, some degree, in other arsince at-large commis-
Feel the crunch.
$25 enrollment this month.
July 16, 2014
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eas. When I used to go in to work in the early morning, Pellissippi Parkway was a constant stream of headlights going to Oak Ridge where they have the national lab and all that high-tech industry. “Knox County is at a disadvantage, but there are good ideas coming out of Anderson and Blount counties, and the booming tourist trade in Sevier County. Can we share some more of those things? Yes, I think we can.” Thomas agrees. “A lot of people have asked me, what do you want to accomplish? I personally am not coming in with something in my back pocket I’ve got to get done. I don’t have an agenda. I To page A-3
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