VOL. 7 NO. 20
www.ShopperNewsNow.com |
May 20, 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
Karns seniors graduate in style
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By Theresa Edwards Three seniors each received $72,000 scholarships from the U.S. Army at the Karns High School awards ceremony: Mason Alexander, Denton Bennett and Samuel Whitson. Many other scholarships were awarded including those from The Art Institute, Berea College, C.B. Chesney Memorial, Karns High School PTSA, Karns Lions Club, Lenoir City Utility Board, Simply Smart, Sisters in Christ, Tennessee School of Beauty, Tusculum College and the University of the Cumberlands. Awards were presented by Sam Jacks, principal Dr. Tracy Sands, assistant principal Mike Toth and state Rep. Roger Kane. “This is a prestigious ceremony recognizing a number of your schoolmates,” said Sands. “We are here today to celebrate not just one year’s achievements but those that have taken a lifetime to earn. Success is not the product of only one year’s accomplishments but a lifetime of dedication, commitment and sacrifice.” To page A-8
New playground Mobility-challenged children now have a place to play alongside their friends at First Apostolic Church, 5020 Pleasant Ridge Road. “It’s great,” said young Tanner Adkins who is wheelchairbound. His favorite part of the ADA-compliant playground is the ladder. He has also gone down the slide. “It is awesome. It’s very easy for him to get out there and play on the wheelchair swing and glider,” Tanner’s mother, Amy Loop, said.
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As the Knoxville Zoo’s outreach and outdoor science coordinator, Steve McGaffin has carted furry, scaly and feathery friends all over East Tennessee in the Zoomobile. But for the past two years, McGaffin has been attracting another sort of friend – the six-legged kind. It’s all part of the zoo’s educational outreach program. See Wendy Smith’s story on A-9
Crippled Mule Point? I have always been fascinated by street names and their origin. All the streets in our neighborhood are named after famous golf courses. But one street, Crippled Mule Point, has no relation to the others. That aroused my curiosity.
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Read Malcolm Shell on page A-15
So long, Stokely Stokely Center is going. “Nobody asked me to do the official eulogy,” Marvin West writes. “Considering the shortage of institutional memory, perhaps nobody realized I was there more than anybody not on the university payroll.”
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Hardin Valley’s baccalaureate
See Theresa Edwards’ story on A-7
Miracle Maker
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Bobby Denne receives a choral award from Karns High School principal Dr. Tracy Sands, who said that Bobby took five of the six choral classes offered. He played Cornelius Hackl in the recent musical “Hello Dolly!” (More pictures inside.) Photo by T. Edwards of TEPHOTOS.com
See Marvin’s story on page A-6
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By Theresa Edwards
The orchestra plays the prelude.
Cokesbury United Methodist Church hosted Hardin Valley Academy’s baccalaureate service, welcomed by the Rev. Mark Beebe. The Gideons International provided Bibles for participating seniors. SGA president Kristen Pudeleck presented reflections for seniors looking to the future. Anitrea Harris and Katelyn Sanders read from the Scriptures. Former WBIR news anchor Bill Williams presented the message. The candle ceremony was led by senior class officers: Landyn Behn, Alex Piper, Kara Amin and Ewa Piekosz. More on A-3
Sign task force looks for consensus By Betty Bean The push to make Knoxville a more beautiful city and the pushback from businesses that rely on signage to drive customers to their doors have made the work of City Council’s Sign Ordinance Task Force a challenging enterprise. They went to work in February 2012 and hope to finish soon.
Analysis Can both Joyce Feld and Bill Weigel walk away happy? (Feld chairs Scenic Knoxville, which opposes big signs. Weigel is CEO of the local chain of convenience stores that has 80 outlets bearing his name and has a longestablished brand, promoted via signage and distinctive façade.) “That was a challenge, but they’ve both been great,” said task force chair Duane Grieve,
who represents the beautification-conscious Bearden area on City Council. “This task force has been dedicated, sincere and a good cross-representation. I’ll bet there’s been less than 10 percent absenteeism.” He said the assistance of MPC director Mark Donaldson has been invaluable. Grieve started the task force’s work by putting everyone on a bus and touring the city. He said one impression was shared by almost everyone, whatever their point of view: “Hey, there are a lot of abandoned signs out there.” Grieve said there is a lot of agreement that lowering sign height will be a good thing, and he’s hoping the county will follow the city’s lead in these matters. Feld says aesthetics are good for business, especially in thriving business districts where regula-
tions are the most stringent. “A wonderful example is the revitalization of downtown and Market Square. Signage is highly regulated there, but the economy in that area is thriving and has pulled new businesses and residents. And look at Turkey Creek – when they developed it, they removed six to eight billboards that were already there. They have no signs taller than six feet and they’re all monument signs, other than the primary directory signs on the interstate. It has been a resounding success.” City Council member George Wallace co-chairs the task force. He is a Realtor and advocates a more cautious approach. He says most of the comments he’s heard during public forums boil down to three things: “First, people are asking us to be reasonable and fair. Second,
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Knoxville’s Sign Ordinance Task Force will hold its final meeting at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 22 at the KCDC building, 901 N. Broadway, before handing the new ordinance over to the Metropolitan Planning Commission, where it must be approved on two readings before being returned to City Council for deliberation – and two more readings. Written comments will be accepted until Wednesday.
special consideration should be given to interstate interchanges – hotels, fast food. These are not in neighborhoods and it’s all about trying to drive traffic. Third, keep in mind that we’re still Knoxville. This is a community that has a certain style, a certain feel. Let’s don’t overstep our bounds.”
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