VOL. 53 NO. 46
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NEIGHBORHOOD BUZZ
Halls gala is Dec. 5 Phil Campbell, the son of late humorist Archie Campbell, will be the guest speaker for the Halls Business & Professional Association’s Christmas Gala to be held 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, at the Beaver Brook Country Club. The evening will also include a silent auction and the naming of the Halls Man and Woman of the Year. For reservations, contact Sue Walker, 925-9200 or swalker@tindells.com.
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November 19, 2014
Plans revealed
Lions host bicycle drive The Fountain City Lions Club is hosting the annual Christmas bicycle drive in partnership with Mission of Hope to benefit the children of Appalachia. Community members may make donations; $50 will purchase a bicycle for a child, and an additional $20 donation will insure the child has a helmet. Checks may be made payable to Fountain City Lions Club and mailed to P.O. Box 5276, Knoxville, TN 37928. Info: Gib Galyon, 414-4630. The drive is in memory of Michael Williams.
IN THIS ISSUE Backwoods Bistro Backwoods Bistro is open for business in Halls. Owner Nathaniel Morris is optimistic about prospects for the eat-in or carry-out restaurant. After all, he knows that great food will keep customers coming back. “We bought the business but kept the name and most menu items,” he said. “We wanted to simplify pricing for families, which we’ve done with our platters.” Platters are served with two sides, hush puppies and a drink. With eightx
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Read Sandra Clark on page A-13
Jacob Gilliam Marvin West writes of the courage of former Farragut High School football player Jacob Gilliam, along with a sidebar from Jacob’s younger brother telling how the family met in prayer over Jacob’s knee injury.
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Read Marvin West on page A-4
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Engineers with CDM Smith share this design for improvements to the Broadway and I-640 interchange. The yellow line shows proposed new construction including divided ramps leading to West I-640 from southbound traffic on Broadway and Tazewell Pike. The loop at Greenway Drive shows a flyover for northbound traffic to enter I-640 westbound without a left turn off Broadway. I-640 runs from right to left above; Broadway runs from top to bottom.
Funding not set, plans still debated for Broadway at 640 By Sandra Clark The same disputes are present and the money continues to be absent, but engineers from CDM Smith and the state Department of Transportation are soldiering on with plans to reconstruct the interchange of Broadway and I-640. The road show traveled to Fountain City Town Hall last week, playing to a packed house at the Church of the Good Shepherd. Most were there to pick up Ali Sharp awards for academics and good behavior at Fountain City Elementary School. Daniel K. Oliver, director of project development for TDOT, likened the project to rewiring a house. And while TDOT has ap-
proved plans for right-of-way acquisition, Oliver said, “This is not the final set of plans” for the project. R. Larry Smith, former county commissioner who owns the 640 Building, is unhappy that the plans call for relocating the traffic signal at the five-way intersection on Old Broadway. “Traffic is backed up from Louis’ Restaurant from 4:30 to 6 p.m. every day.” Without the traffic signal, he said, those using his building won’t be able to make a left turn toward Knoxville. The plan calls for moving the signal north. Smith said 350 cars a day use the 640 Building. The project has been approved but not funded.
New sidewalk for Old Broadway
Design work for a city-funded sidewalk that will extend from the south side of the intersection of Old Broadway and Broadway to the Old Broadway/Tazewell Pike split could begin in the early months of 2015, says Jim Hagerman, city director of engineering. TDOT has offered to do some of the work in conjunction with the modification of the interchange at I-640 and Broadway. Improvements will include a crosswalk and signals at the intersection. Design work for the project is included in the city’s 2014 budget and construction will be part
of the 2015 budget, depending on availability of funds. The project doesn’t require much right-of-way purchase, but arrangements will have to be made with businesses that have parking lots along the proposed site, Hagerman says. A railroad bridge over Old Broadway could also present challenges. Arches were built into the bridge with sidewalks in mind, but the project will require cooperation from the railroad. The city has several sidewalk projects underway, but they take a lot of time, Hagerman says. “It seems like it would be simple, but they all have complications.” – Wendy Smith
Tony Norman takes PT stormwater post By Betty Bean James McMillan has been a high-profile, persistent critic of the way local government handles stormwater runoff issues, both city and county. Rarely has he doled out compliments. Last week, the Shannondale farmer broke form when he heard that Knox County has hired Tony Norman to a $28,000 per year part-time position as an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) coordinator. “Tony will add a needed degree of honesty and integrity to Knox County’s engineering department, something they have had a very limited supply of, till now,” said McMillan. Norman started work Nov. 3, two months after completing two terms on County Commission, where he championed teachers who have been protesting Superintendent James McIntyre’s reform agenda. As a science teacher with
Knox County Schools for more than 30 years, he developed an awardwinning ecology class at Farragut and continued it at West High School, where he directed hands-on studies of Third Creek. As a commissioner, he spent more than three years chairTony Norman ing the controversial Joint City/County Task Force on Ridge, Slope and Hillside Development and Protection that developed new regulations to curb environmental damage done by developers. Predictably, the hire has raised eyebrows. Commissioner Sam McKenzie expressed his displeasure at a meeting last week, and there was grumbling that the former commission chair, who is widely expected to be a candidate for school board in 2016, is being “rewarded” for his persis-
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effectively and ask the right questions. I’m confident Tony will excel with assignments like this, and we’ve started already.” He also said there are things Norman won’t be doing: “He won’t be involved in education outreach that involves Knox County Schools. He won’t be involved in regulation of the construction trades. I’ve got eight folks who do that very well. Our bench is deep.” Norman said he’s not surprised that some have criticized his hiring. “I’ve known these people (in county engineering) for 20 years,” he said. “I spent 30 years in water quality – it’s like my calling – where my heart is.” Then he laughed and said: “I don’t want to go back into teaching. I don’t think I’d last a week (back in the school system). So when this came open, I said yeah, and really think my resume ought to be able to withstand (criticism).”
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tent opposition to McIntyre’s policies, an allegation that Engineering and Public Works Director Dwight Van de Vate said is unwarranted. “Tony has a sound science background. He has a background in environmental policy and a solid general understanding of the science behind what we are responsible for doing in stormwater,” Van de Vate said. “He has good communication skills – specifically, the ability to write. Keeping dynamic, relevant, current web content is important. Many folks with engineering backgrounds, communication is not their forte. “Tony is a skilled public speaker with the ability to articulate complicated concepts clearly. He’ll be talking to elected officials. He will look at how peer jurisdictions manage their bonds and letters of credit and see if we can incorporate some of their practices. Not everybody can make those calls
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