North/East Shopper-News 041217

Egg Hunts ➤ VOL. 5 NO. 15

Here comes Randy Boyd

By Scott Frith

Last month, Randy Boyd, the former state commissioner of economic and community development, kicked off his campaign for governor. Boyd is best known for his philanthropy, ownership Scott Frith of the Tennessee Smokies baseball team, and as founder of PetSafe (the folks who make the invisible fence for your dog).

Media coverage is the lifeblood of any statewide campaign, and Boyd has proven skilled at getting it. While money can’t buy you love, money can certainly buy good publicity. Boyd has figured out that giving away a lot of money can bring a steady stream of positive media coverage for a nascent gubernatorial campaign.

For example, just last week Boyd announced a $223,000 donation to the South-Doyle High School library. (Boyd attended South-Doyle.) Last October, Boyd donated $5.5 million to UT track and field. (Boyd attended UT.) Last month, Boyd announced a $5 million gift to the Knoxville Zoo. (Boyd clearly likes animals.)

You get the idea.

It also helps to be friends with the governor. Randy Boyd is a longtime political ally of Gov. Bill Haslam. Haslam has openly praised Boyd. Expect their financial supporters to be indistinguishable.

This cozy relationship is almost certain to cause unease among conservative Republican primary voters. Just as Shirley MacLaine once said to never trust a man when he’s in love, drunk, or running for office, many conservatives will question whether Boyd is a conservative at all. In fact, Boyd appears to have anticipated this problem by bringing in Republican lifer and conservative stalwart Chip Saltsman to run his campaign.

Also, while Boyd may be a Haslam ally, Boyd won’t retrace Haslam’s path to Nashville.

Haslam was elected mayor of Knoxville twice before being elected governor. Boyd has never run for office. (Even Bob Corker served as mayor of Chattanooga before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006.)

Boyd’s decision to skip local office reflects a new political reality. It’s a lot tougher for a Republican to get elected mayor than it used to be. For example, it’s no secret that Knoxville has To page A-3

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April 12, 2017

The mall called East Towne: What’s next?

By Shannon Carey Expect Knoxville Center to be renamed East Town(e) and the property used for residential, office and retail. Look for roadwork, greenways and drive-up, exterior entrances for small shops.

The changes were in the works before the recent announcement that J.C. Penney will close in September, one of 138 closures across the country, said Patrick King. (The West Town store will remain open.)

King is community development specialist for Knoxville Partners LLC, which bought Knoxville Center in August 2016. King met last week with Knoxville City Council member Nick Della Volpe to review plans for the mall. Della Volpe has championed the mall area businesses during his tenure on the council.

King said the Knoxville Partners strategy has not changed, even as the company is disappointed by the Penney closure.

“The reality is the mall will have to shift.”

Giant shopping malls across America are hurting as anchor tenants such as Sears and J.C. Penney close. Sarah Halzack, writing in The Washington Post on April 5, called it “a fresh round of distress

Knoxville City Council member Nick Della Volpe stands with Patrick King, the man leading efforts to revitalize Knoxville Center mall. signals in the retail industry” as Payless ShoeSource filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to close nearly 400 stores.

“The shake-out among retailers has been building for years, and it

is now arriving in full force,” she wrote. With consumers buying online, America is “overstored.”

But look at the assets at Knoxville Center: ■■Plentiful parking for what-

ever might occur ■■Easy access to Interstate 640 ■■An 80-acre campus with a million square feet under roof and 10 food vendors within walking distance.

“We want to create a place where people can live, work and shop,” said King. He sees 800 to 1,000 multifamily residential units built behind the mall, and offices on the mall’s upper level.

KP is not neglecting retail. “We have 15 people who wake up every morning marketing the mall. We’ve contacted over 2,000 prospective tenants.” But the retail must be “human-scale.” The brick wall between the mall entrance and J.C. Penney is the length of Market Square, he said, but it’s a blank wall where Market Square is vibrant. King sees a line of storefronts there, opening to the parking lot.

He showed Della Volpe a design

by Cannon & Cannon to reconfigure the mall road, making it twoway from Fowler’s (formerly Toys R Us) to Washington Pike with an expanded on-ramp to 640.

Della Volpe lobbied for a greenway around the mall property.

“There may be potential to link it to Love’s Creek (greenway),” he said.

Butchered trees in community park bring protest, apology

By Betty Bean Ronnie Collins likes to take pictures of beautiful sights when he goes out for his early morning walk – a sunrise, a cloud formation, a field of flowers. But on one recent foray, he photographed an ugly scene – the redbud trees in the community park at the corner of Washington Pike and Mall Road.

They’d been mangled. Collins wanted to know why.

As president of the Alice Bell Spring Hill

Neighborhood Association, Collins had been deeply involved in getting the park established, so he fired off an email to urban forester Kasey Krouse, who said he’d already investigated the matter and that the damage had been done by landscapers hired by Amigos Restaurant, the park’s next-door neighbor.

“Their intent was to clean up the area and make it look more presentable, but I don’t think their contractors realized they were working on public property,” Krouse said,

adding that he was leaning toward waiting for the trees to recover before pruning them into form.

Amigos manager Carlos Ibarra sounded pretty mortified about what the landscapers did.

“I was off that day they came to do the landscaping, and I wasn’t here to tell them, ‘Hey, don’t touch this, don’t touch that.’ It was a really big misunderstanding.

To page A-3

Shannon Valley parents ask for Gibbs zoning

By Shannon Carey Shannon Valley Farms is a 300-home subdivision off Tazewell Pike near Murphy Road. Kids are zoned to Ritta Elementary, Holston Middle and Gibbs High schools.

That zoning would not change if interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas’s middle school rezoning plan is adopted by the school board in May. But David Gibson and other residents attended last week’s rezoning meeting to request that their area be zoned to Gibbs Middle School instead.

Thomas, in his final public meeting as superintendent, reacted strongly: “If we zone too many people to Gibbs (Middle), we’ll be putting up portables out there in two years.”

Buzz Thomas is back to his real job as CEO of the Great Schools Partnership after the school board on April 5 hired Bob Thomas (no relation) as superintendent on a two-year contract.

Dr. Rick Grubb, director of enrollment and transportation, explained the plan, which was developed after six public hearings. “We have 52 elementary schools, 14 middle schools and 13 high schools,” he said. Given construction over time and popu-

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made by the school board. “I am the implementer, not the policymaker.”

He said the Stoffell family farm will sell at some point and “it will be bigger than Shannon Valley.”

School officials expect growth in Gibbs and have restricted the middle school to kids who currently attend Gibbs and Corryton elementary schools.

Gibson argued that Shannon Valley families often attend church in Gibbs and identify with the Gibbs community.

Gibbs Middle will have capacity for 600 with core capacity for 800.

The projected enrollment is 575.

Holston Middle, on the other hand, was recently renovated with capacity for 1,200 students.

Its projected enrollment is also 575.

Doug Dillingham, director of facilities management, said afterward the school system has no plans for using the empty space at Holston. “Because of security Superintendent Bob Thomas (center) looks at a middle school rezoning map concerns, it would have to be some with Dr. Rick Grubb (left) and Shannon Valley Farms resident David Gibson kind of school program.”

Grubb said Gibbs Middle will (right). be closed to transfers, as is custom lation shifts, it’s just not possible Middle School kids will be zoned with all new schools.

“How long until we can transto neatly align elementary, middle to four high schools: Gibbs, Ausfer?” asked a parent. No answer and high school zones. tin-East, Fulton and Carter.

Under the new plan, Holston Grubb said the decision will be was forthcoming.

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See page A-3

A-2 • April Shopper -NewS pril 12, 12, 2017 2017 •• pNowell orth/E ast Shopper news

health & lifestyles

Leap of faith

Writer calls aftermath of 55-foot plunge a ‘miracle’ Rob Crawford stepped off a ledge in a leap of faith – but instead he crashed 55 feet into rocky shoreline below, missing his anticipated water landing by a foot. The landing broke his back, ribs, and pelvis, and left his lower body tingling and unable to move.

“I understand that it could have been very different,” said Crawford, 29, seven months after therapists at Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center helped him walk again. “To me, it was nothing short of a miracle that I could walk and my legs weren’t broken. For whatever reason, God has chosen to spare my legs, and I’m eager to see why.”

He doesn’t really know why he finally decided to risk a leap from the railing of a friend’s cabin in North Carolina last August, except that his love of free falling has been with him since childhood. “Anything that I could jump off into the water, I’d do. I just loved the way it made me feel, just being able to float for those few seconds.”

When he saw the breathtaking drop from the cabin’s back deck to the lake, he knew he’d have to try it. He took the plunge while nobody was looking.

“I had been playing guitar and I was playing a song that is a prayer about being caught up in the flow of life, and moving toward your potential. So I set the guitar down, stood up on the ledge, and….” The railing collapsed and Crawford fell into the rocks below.

“As soon as I took that first step I felt like God grabbed me by the back of the shirt and said, ‘OK, I’ve got you and you’re going to land and it’s going to hurt, but you’re going to get through this and you’re going to be stronger for it,” he recalled.

He hit the ground feet first with such force it knocked the wind out of him. The impact drove his feet forward and his tailbone into the jagged rock. “I knew it was a spinal cord injury. My legs were tingling – it didn’t hurt at all. So I eased myself to the water’s edge and just floated there a couple minutes until one of my buddies looked over the edge and saw me.”

It took a boat, ambulance and helicop-

ter to get him from the remote cabin to the hospital, where trauma surgeons had to dig bone fragments out of his spine.

“Four days after surgery they brought a walker in and said, ‘We want you to stand up.’ And I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?! I just broke my back!’ But they said, ‘No, you’re going to stand up right now.’ That was a big moment in realizing this is not as bad as it should have been.”

“To me, it was nothing short of a After eight days miracle that I could walk, and that he was transferred my legs weren’t broken. For whatto Patricia Neal Reever reason, God has chosen to habilitation Center, spare my legs, and I’m eager to see where he stayed why, ” says Rob Crawford, pictured for 12 days. “I was here with his puppy, Yonah. just so grateful,” he said. “The nurses were so gracious there and made things so much less awkward than they “I am very grateful for all the staff there,” could have been.” he said, adding that he counts PNRC em“Mr. Crawford sustained multiple trau- ployees Trish, Claire, Mike, Beth and Richmatic injuries including a rib fracture, pel- ard among his friends. “I made some really vic and sacral fractures, but most significant close friends with all the therapists there was a lumbar vertebral fracture – a bone of because I could tell they cared about me.” the spine – which put pressure on his spinal Crawford received physical and occupacord,” said Jennifer Steely, PNRC director tional therapy to address core strength, lower of clinical services. extremity strength, sitting/standing balance, “The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves along with coordination, walking and selfwhich controls sensation, strength and motor care skills. He returned to his work as a writer function,” she explained. “The fractured bone for a downtown media company a month afput pressure on the spinal cord but did not ter the accident and continued twice-weekly sever it. As pressure was relieved with surgi- outpatient visits through December. cal repair and as swelling and inflammation His accident has already inspired Crawdecreased, Mr. Crawford was able to recover ford to begin several new projects. There’s most of his strength and motor function.” a documentary he’s producing, “A Cure for

Pain,” on how people cope with traumatic experiences. There’s a conscious effort to grow in his spiritual walk. He and his older brother are training for a half triathlon comprising a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run to mark the one-year anniversary of his spinal cord injury.

“I’m hoping to do it during August,” said Crawford who now swims a couple of miles a week and runs about 20. “Some days are obviously better than others, but I just take each day as it comes as a way to lean on the Father’s strength,” he said.

“I cry a lot when I run because it’s all kind of overwhelming. I’ll even cry out ‘Abba!’ sometimes – and He usually gives me a couple more miles.”

IRC program helps restore life through leisure The Patricia Neal Innovative nities as a means to develop abilities and life skills for those challenged Recreation Cooperative (IRC) reflects its phiby stroke, brain and spine losophy in its name: injuries, amputation, and other neurologa belief that even ical and orthopethose with sedic diagnoses. vere disabiliVolunteers of ties can lead a fun and fulvarying backfilling life if grounds share their knowledge given the right tools. and expertise to help those who Launched in have had a traumat1994 as an initiative to support the ic life event overcome Americans with Disobstacles to taking The Patricia Neal Innovative Recreabilities Act, IRC is part in sports activities ation Cooperative hosts clinics in they might have once an educational and water skiing, snow skiing, paddling, enjoyed or are now inawareness program cycling, climbing, marksmanship and that uses innovative terested in pursuing. golf on a regular basis.

Al Kaye, recreation recreation opportu-

therapist and coordinator of the IRC program, conducts clinics and events to help people enjoy their preferred leisure activities through modifications and developing new skills.

“IRC focuses more on individual sports,” said Kaye. “The regular clinics include water skiing, paddling and scuba, snow skiing and snowboarding, golf, marksmanship, climbing and cycling. We have done some specific clinics in the past for camping, self-defense, sled hockey, basketball and tennis.”

Last year the IRC program at Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center helped more than 820 participants from age 4 through senior adults. Volunteers and family member brought the total to a little over 3,200.

Most participants live within three hours of Knoxville, but Kaye reports some have come from Alabama, North and South Car-

olina, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky and Maryland.

“We’re not a recreation program per se, but an educational opportunity to help individuals learn about their abilities and to overcome their life struggles to develop a healthier lifestyle,” said Kaye. He said the program’s premise is supported by research showing that people with a disability who are vested in some sort of leisure pursuit experience fewer secondary illnesses and strive to be healthier.

The IRC is a not-for-profit entity under Covenant Health. Contributions to the organization – mostly through grants, donations and fundraisers – are used for equipment and resources to help the participants.

To learn more about the IRC program, visit www.patneal.org/irc.

RestoRing Abilities. Rebuilding lives.

• Brain Injury • Stroke • Cancer • Spinal Cord Injury • Orthopedics The Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center is nationally recognized for providing exceptional care and rehabilitation for patients with disabilities.

Contact the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center at (865) 331-3600 or visit www.patneal.org to learn more.

0094-0109

It is one of the largest inpatient rehabilitation centers within an acute care hospital in the country. Since 1978 the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center has touched the lives of thousands of patients and families from around the nation, resulting in more than 30,000 patient success stories over the years.

North/East Shopper news • April 12, 2017 • A-3

North Hills Garden Club to host annual plant sale The North Hills Garden Club will host its annual plant sale, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 22, at North Hills Park, 2419 Kennington Road. The event will take place rain or shine.

Residents of historic North Hills donate more than a hundred varieties of hardy perennial plants and shrubs harvested from their own gardens. Some favorites are Lenten Rose, Solomon’s Seal, Trillium, Arum, Columbine and Painted Fern, among many others that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. The garden club also offers herbs, veggies and gorgeous blooming annuals. Several of the club’s master gardeners will also be onsite to answer questions and give gardening advice.

During the event, snacks like burger sliders, hot dogs and more will be available at the accompanying grill station. In addition,

there will be a garden shed with bargain prices for gently used items, arts and crafts booths, and even activities for the kids.

The North Hills Garden Club is hosting a Garden Tour, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 13. The tour will feature five residential gardens along the neighborhood’s tree-lined boulevards, which are home to an official Dogwood Trail. Tickets are $12 a person on the day of the tour; however, advance tickets will be sold at the Plant Sale for $10 a person.

Proceeds from these events support beautification of the neighborhood’s boulevards and park. For more information on the North Hills Garden Club, visit the club’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook. com/NorthHillsGardenClub or website at http://northhillsgardenclub.wixsite.com/ nhgc.

Faith and Justice Legal Advice Clinic upcoming A Faith and Justice Legal Advice Clinic will be held 1-4 p.m. Monday, April 17, at Vestal UMC, 115 Ogle Ave. The church is accessible from KAT line 45.

The goal of the Faith and Justice Alliance is to build a coalition of faith leaders in the Knoxville area and to host legal advice clinics at places of worship to give people a less intimidating environment to talk to a lawyer. Participants in the Faith & Jus-

tice Alliance will invite congregants from their churches, synagogues and mosques to bring their legal questions as well.

The general advice and referral clinic will have volunteers prepared to advise on a wide variety of legal issues, including family law, landlord/tenant, bankruptcy, criminal defense, consumer protection, contract disputes, child support, and personal injury, among other issues.

EGG HUNTS ■■ Willow Ridge Center annual Easter egg hunt, rescheduled for Good Friday, April 14, at 1:30 p.m. 215 Richardson Way, Maynardville. Free pictures and have a snack with the Easter Bunny. For babies, grandbabies or fur-babies!

■■ River View Family Farm sixth annual spring event, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. FridaySaturday, April 14-15, 12130 Prater Lane, Farragut.

■■ Powell Business and Professional Association, 1 p.m. Saturday, April 15, Powell Station Park on Emory Road adjacent to the high school.

Communitywide event includes prizes, live animals, free refreshments and more.

Info: PowellBusiness.com.

■■ Big Ridge State Park, Saturday, April 15, rain or

shine. Schedule: 10 a.m., 2 years and younger; 10:30 a.m., 3-4 years old; 1 p.m., 5-7 years old; 1:30 p.m., 8-10 years old. Bring a basket and meet at the Park Office.

Info: 865-992-5523.

■■ Gulf Park Easter Egg Hunt, 2:30-4 p.m. Saturday, April 15, 528 Pensacola Road (off Cedar Bluff Road). Free.

Open to the public. Bring a basket.

■■ Heiskell United Methodist Church, 9420 Heiskell Road, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 15. Bring your Easter basket and a friend for snacks, prizes, fun and the Easter story.

■■ Mt. Hermon United Methodist Church, 3 p.m., Saturday, April 15, at 235 E. Copeland Road, Powell.

■■ Rutherford Memorial United Methodist Church, 7815 Corryton Road, noon

on Saturday, April 15. Light lunch, crafts, Easter story, pictures with the Easter bunny. Bring a basket.

■■ Sharon Baptist Church, 7916 Pedigo Road, 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 15.

Ages preschool through fifth grade. Includes: food, candy, fun and the Easter Story. Bring basket and a friend. Info: sharonknoxville. com or 865-938-7075.

■■ More than a dozen Tennessee state parks are offering themed activities on Easter weekend, including egg hunts on Saturday, April 15. Activity details can be found here: http://bit.ly/2nYosDJ. ■■ Union Baptist Church, 11 a.m. Saturday, April 15, for fifth grade and under.

Snacks, Juggles the Clown, popcorn, candy, prize eggs.

6701 Washington Pike. Info: DiscoverUnion.org

Here comes Randy Boyd been trending Democratic for years. In fact, in 2003, Bill Haslam only narrowly defeated Madeline Rogero with 52 percent of the vote.

Boyd would have a tough time getting elected mayor while also maintaining his viability as a candidate in a statewide Republican primary. The ideological gulf

between the average voter in a Knoxville city election and the average voter in a statewide Republican primary would be a tough divide for even the most talented politician to cross. Boyd is wise to skip it entirely.

Of course, Randy Boyd is far from a sure bet to win.

Republican U.S. Rep. Diane

Black may run. State House Speaker Beth Harwell is talking about it. Former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean has announced that he’ll run as a Democrat.

It’s early. The election isn’t until 2018. But this is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

Scott Frith is a local attorney. You can visit his website at pleadthefrith.com.

COMMUNITY NOTES ■■ New Harvest Park Farmers Market opening day, 3-6 p.m. Thursday, April 13, 4775 New Harvest Park Lane. Event is free. The Farmers Market will be open 3-6 p.m. every Thursday through midNovember. Info: facebook. com/newharvestfm.

■■ East Knoxville Cleanup, 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, April 29.

Sponsored by Keep Knoxville Beautiful. Meet at Eternal Life Harvest Center Plaza,

A mangled redbud in the Alice Bell Community Park on Washington Pike. Photo by Ronnie Collins

Butchered trees

■■ Suzanne Lenhart, professor of mathematics, has been honored with the 2017 SEC Faculty Achievement Award.

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■■ Family Community Education-Carter Club. Info: Anne Winstead, 865-9335821.

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■■ Belle Morris Community

■■ Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association.

Info: edgewoodpark.us.

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■■ Beaumont Community Organization. Info: Natasha Murphy, 865-936-0139.

■■ Chilhowee Park Neighborhood Association.

Info: Paul Ruff, 865-696-6584.

I grew up on Green Meadow Lane, in the Alice Bell community. Anything we could do for the community, we’d be glad to do it.”

She will receive a $5,000 honorarium and become UT’s nominee for the SEC Professor of the Year award. The SEC Professor of the Year will be named later in April.

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■■ Alice Bell Spring Hill Neighborhood Association.

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Action Group. Info: bellemorris.com or Rick Wilen, 865-524-5008.

From page A-1

“Nobody was trying to Ibarra said he’d like to hurt anything, make any- make amends. thing look bad. Our land“Anything that we can scapers thought that actu- do to help fix the problem, ally belonged to us.” this is our community, too.

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From page A-1

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A-4 • April 12, 2017 • North/East Shopper news

Belew customer John Sherrod says he appreciates the personal service and competitive pricing.

Thomas Jefferson on Twitter?

By Kip Oswald

Some of Belew’s Asheville Highway staff: Connie Shipley, pharmacist Tara Moore, Lindsey Mays and Lindsay Phillips. Photos by Esther Roberts

Belew Drugs: a half-century of relationships going while I commuted back and forth from Birmingham for two years.”

Belew continues to build on his father’s success. “We purchased the Asheville Highway location – formerly Clem’s Pharmacy – in 2010.

We built the new Washington Pike location from the ground up. It opened in 2012. Presently, we are building a new Belew Drugs in the Choto community.

Our Choto store is scheduled to open this summer.”

Tara Moore, head pharmacist at the Asheville Highway store, is excited about another aspect of expansion. “The Tennessee Legislature recently passed a bill that now classifies pharmacists as ‘providers.’

Having ‘provider’ status allows us to enhance the scope of services we can offer. This means greater depth and efficiency of care for our patients.”

Along with providing elite pharmaceutical services and assuring each patient is cared for as an individual, the Belew community care philosophy includes involvement. Belew Drugs actively supports various initiatives at the public schools in each store’s community, as well as Knoxville’s Big Man Battle and the local Boy Scouts.

“We participate in a shadowing program with Fulton High School, so the students can learn what it’s like to work as a pharmacist,” says Belew.

Belew Drugs also partners with the University of Tennessee’s pharmaceutical residency program. This partnership provides opportunities for pharmacy students to have “hands-on” training immediately after graduation. “The matching protocol is quite rigorous,” notes Belew. “We are a community pharmacy and we

want residents who share our individualized approach to patient care.”

So how does a local, family pharmacy compete against large, corporate pharmacies?

“The most challenging misconception we have to overcome is that the big-name chains can offer products at a lower price,” says Belew. “It’s just not true; we are extremely competitive. We don’t have the huge overhead and advertising costs the big-name chains have. We invest in our employees, who are members of our community. So it’s a win-win. Supporting local business whenever possible helps everyone in the community.”

Asheville Highway Belew Drugs’ patron John Sherrod agrees. “I shop at Belew Drugs because they know me by name, they have what I need when I need it, and their prices are competitive.”

Located at 8622 Asheville Highway, store hours are: Monday-Friday: 9 a.m.6 p.m. Closed Sundays. For more information: www. belewdrugs.com; 865-9333441.

He invented the automatic closing door similar to the ones used on buses today, the folding chair and a rotating book stand that held five books at a time, as well as many other things. In addition to the garden foods, Jefferson had an affinity for ice cream, becoming the first president to serve ice cream at the White House, in 1802, and from that he created the dish Baked Alaska.

President Jefferson was also the first president to do several other cool and amazing things. He led the first inaugural parade, which was really just a bunch of people who followed him back to his boarding house, not even the White House, after he was sworn it to the presidency. He was also the first president of the Democrat-Republic Party. He was the first president to greet people with a handshake!

Before he became president, all presidents had bowed to people as a greeting.

Possible Tweets from President Jefferson could be: Thomas Jefferson @ ManofthePeople I spent 15 million dollars and bought enough land in 1803 to double the size of our country without anyone’s approval!

Thomas Jefferson @ ManofthePeople I used our military to fight pirates in the Mediterranean Thomas Jefferson @ ManofthePeople I have written my own epitaph for my tombstone to read that I was Author of the Declaration of Independence, of The Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and Father of the University of Virginia. Being the president is not as important to me as those three accomplishments!

Send comments to oswaldsworldtn@ gmail.com

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By Esther Roberts “Building lifelong relationships with our patients – that’s the key to our success. They are our patients, our neighbors, and our friends.” David Belew is passionate about providing top-quality care and services to everyone who comes to Belew Drugs for their pharmaceutical needs.

In 1965, pharmacist Len Belew purchased the Broadway location of Todd and Armistead Drug store from his employer. His wife, Ann Lynn, was the first bookkeeper of Belew Drugs.

Ann Lynn passed away in 1994; Len followed his beloved wife in 1996. David was in pharmacy school at that time. Losing his parents while educating himself to take over the family business was challenging.

“It was the grace of God and our unbelievably wonderful employees who kept things

Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, was a pretty interesting guy, and my special group of adults knew some things about him, as I expected they would. They Kip all knew he signed the Declaration of Independence, founded the University of Virginia, and that a sculpture of his head is carved into the granite of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

None of them knew the really cool things I found out about Thomas Jefferson. They did not know President Jefferson could speak five languages or that he was a gardener, writer, collector, inventor and chef!

He said he would rather be a gardener than a president and he had a garden with over 260 vegetables and over 180 fruits. He even brought tomatoes from other countries so he could eat them when people here thought they were poisonous. He ate so many vegetables, he was considered a vegetarian.

As a writer and collector, Jefferson wrote an estimated 19,000 letters in his lifetime and collected 6,487 books in his personal library. The Library of Congress purchased books from Jefferson’s personal library and opened the first permanent library called Thomas Jefferson Building.

Jefferson also collected the bones of a mastodon – a 40 million-year-old animal that resembled an elephant. He used to lay the bones out in one of the rooms in the White House to build a skeleton.

Jefferson also invented many things. He made copies of his letters by inventing the first copy machine.

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North/East Shopper news • April 12, 2017 • A-5

A big beautiful ‘greetings’ mural for North Knoxville

By Carol Z. Shane

Fortunately for Knoxville and its visitors, Lisa Beggs and Victor Ving of the “Greetings Tour” decided to follow their artistic dream. Photo by Dominic Corry

When Lisa Beggs got laid off and Victor Ving decided he’d had it with the corporate world, they decided to take a chance, pool their photographic and artistic talents and start their own traveling mural-painting company known as the “Greetings Tour.” “We both like traveling,” says Ving. “It all just kind of lined up.”

Beggs, originally from Ohio, and Ving, a New Yorker, are currently in Knoxville working around the weather to paint a big, vivid, postcard-style mural on the “Nothing Too Fancy” print shop on the east side of North Broadway.

The duo, along with assistant Dominic Corry, were brought here by David and Lisa Burnett, who own and operate the popular vintage-style T-shirt store on Union Avenue near Market Square; he had run across Ving and Beggs’ murals via a mutual friend. “He would post things on Facebook from time to time. I saw their mural for Chinatown in New York City. I started talking to them about a year and a half ago.” Burnett suspects that there are other painters doing such murals now, but he wanted to go straight to the originals. “I didn’t want ‘rogue,’” he says. “And they only do one mural per state. I wanted to be the city that got it.”

The Burnetts are looking to develop the front part of the print shop building for client meetings. New windows have been installed. As for the art, Burnett says, “I talked with Visit Knoxville and they were able to provide funding for the mural.”

“Visit Knoxville is committed to projects like

First Lutheran students give generously

By Carol Z. Shane To Connie Hood of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the kids at First Lutheran School are heroes.

Hood, who is the LLS’ campaign manager for student series programs in Tennessee, was in town recently to present a check representing the amount the kids had raised in their three-week “Pennies for Patients” program. Though they had set a goal of $600, the students managed to collect over $1,300 just from pocket change, allowances and spare pennies.

“We’re really proud of them,” said Hood. “It’s not a huge school, and it’s their first year of partnering with us. Raising over $1,300 is great!”

Leukemia and lymphoma are both blood cancers. The fundraiser was kicked off with a visit from Hood, who showed a film and told the students about the diseases’ devastating effects. Shirley Eimmerman, early childhood education director for the school, said, “The kids took it really seriously. The day after Connie showed the video, they were taking their snack money out of their pockets. The next day they brought in their allowances.

They were dropping $20 bills in the basket.” A total of

FAITH NOTES ■■ St. James Episcopal Church, 1101 N. Broadway, will hold the following events Easter Sunday, April 16: Holy Eucharist Rite II, 7:30 and 10:30 a.m.; Easter breakfast, 9:15 a.m., $3/person, $12/family; Easter egg hunt for the children follows the 10:30 service. Info: 865-523-5687.

■■ St. John’s Lutheran Church Easter Sunrise Service, 7 a.m.

A message from beyond “… since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift. …

(Romans 3:23 NRSV)

These First Lutheran School children were the top fundraisers in the recent “Pennies for Patients” initiative benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Shown are (first row) Ellie Fulton, Avery Anderson, Ezra Sprecher, Payton Lawson; (second row) Shirley Eimmerman, Ben Hamilton, Ethan Veit, Olivia Wofford, LLS’ Connie Hood; (back row) Cruz Spradlin and Logan Mozingo. Photo by Carol Z. Shane 145 students participated.

Hood works with 370 schools in Tennessee. Last year they raised $300,000 for LLS patient services and research. Nationwide, the student series raised $28 million.

Coming up for First Lutheran School is the National Week of the Young Child, beginning April 24.

During that time, they’ll be exploring new topics each day – learning about different styles of music, cooking

Sunday, April 16, Old Gray Cemetery, 543 N. Broadway.

Gather at the old fountain for prayer and song and proceed across the street to the church sanctuary for festival worship.

Easter services, 9 and 11 a.m. at the church, 544 N. Broadway. Info: sjlcknox.org.

■■ Alice Bell Baptist Church, 3305 Alice Bell Road, will open its Clothes Closet 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, May 6.

Clothes for adults, children

treats for their classes and families, doing service projects, making art displays and having Donuts with Dad and Muffins with Mom. On May 11, the Kindergarten Circus event will feature a costumed Lion King and raise funds for mosquito nets in Africa. Also in May, the fifth- and sixth-grade classes will visit the River Ridge Environmental Education Program in Clinton, and the seventh- and eighth-grade classes will

and infants will be available.

Everyone welcome. Everything is free.

■■ First Comforter Church, 5516 Old Tazewell Pike, hosts MAPS (Mothers At Prayer Service) noon each Friday. Info: Edna Hensley, 865-771-7788.

SENIOR NOTES ■■ Derby Days Event, 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 3, Halls Senior Center, 4405 Crippen

visit Washington, D.C. But for now, they’re happy to have given LLS a boost.

“You’re helping children your age, their families and the chemists who are trying to find a cure,” said Eimmerman to the assembled group. “They do so much, so many good things,” said Hood. “Pennies can add up to a lot!”

Info: firstlutheranschool tn.com or 865-524-0308.

Leukemia & Lymphona Society: lls.org.

■■ Corryton Senior Center, 9331 Davis Drive. Info: 865688-5882.

■■ Larry Cox Senior Center, 3109 Ocoee Trail. Info: 865546-1700.

■■ John T. O’Connor Senior Center, 611 Winona St. Info: 865-523-1135.

Conducted by Rev. Toby Everett 6:30 a.m. Sunday, April 16, 2017 Service will be held outside, weather permitting, or inside if not. Refreshments will be served.

John 11:25-26 KJV:

Jesus said unto her, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

Lynn Pitts

It was John Newton, however, the son of a shipmaster, who taught most of us Christians the language of grace. He would not have earned any points in his early years. He went to sea with his shipmaster father at the age of 11. He was imprisoned on a man-ofwar, escaped to work on a slave-trading ship, and led a rough life as master of a slave ship. Later, he was greatly influenced by the Wesley brothers and George Whitefield.

Newton was ordained in 1764, was rector of a parish in London and remained there until his 80th year.

He produced a hymnal in 1779, giving us his greatest gift: the hymn “Amazing Grace”.

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JESUS ISRISEN

I was going through the stacks on my desk recently and found a piece of note paper. I immediately recognized my mother’s writing, which brought tears to my eyes. She was 97 when she died, having lived longer than any of her forebears. I have always believed that God allowed my brother and me to keep her here as long as possible to make up for the very early death of our father.

However, it was the words on the paper that struck my heart: “We have not yet learned the alphabet, much less the language of grace.”

I keep pondering that message. It’s certainly an indictment of the human condition. God’s grace is so encompassing, so immense, and so available, we should accept it, embrace it, and live into it!

To be honest, I think we are suspicious of grace. We humans tend to think that we have to earn grace on some kind of point system.

■■ Carter Senior Center, 9040 Asheville Highway. Info: 865932-2939.

You are cordially invited to attend our 38th annual

KN-1557112

the ‘Greetings Tour’ murals as they help tell the story of Knoxville in a visual, artistic way that both visitors and locals can enjoy,” says Visit Knoxville president Kim Bumpas. “We have enjoyed working with Victor and Lisa to make this a reality. Also we are thankful that the owners of ‘Nothing Too Fancy’ came to us with this great idea.”

The mural is done in the style of an old linen postcard. In order to get it centered, the big block letters were first projected onto the side of the building and then marked off with chalk lines and painter’s tape. They are then filled in with the city’s imagery, including the Sunsphere, Neyland Stadium and the Star of Knoxville river boat. Details such as a gleam on the Sunsphere and ripples in the Tennessee river are vivid and realistic. “We use photo references,” says Ving, who does much of the work freehand. “We use the bricks to help us with the scale of the individual pictures.”

It’s their 24th mural so far. Previously they were in Oklahoma City; after Knoxville, they head to Toronto.

Thanks to a gift card from the Burnetts, they’ve already checked out the Tomato Head restaurant. “It was delicious,” says Ving. “Also, K Brew was a great place to catch up on work during rain. Everyone has been very welcoming.”

The mural is scheduled to be completed April 12. To see its creation online, follow @visitknoxville on Instagram. And check out the artists at greetingstour.com.

Knoxville,TN 37917

I-640 to exit 8. Go north on Washington Pike to red light @ Greenway Rd. (facing new Target), turn left, church is ¼ mile on the right.

KN-1562672

A-6 • April 12, 2017 • North/East Shopper news

Prominent in both the grocery and insurance business, the Harringtons have contributed much to Fountain City’s history. Shown here are (from left) T.R. Harrington Jr., Minnie Harrington Johnson, T.R. Harrington Sr., Grace Harrington Abel, Joseph V. Harrington and John A. Harrington.

Photograph courtesy of Chloe A. Harrington

Harrington Insurance’s Fountain City roots run deep The senior class in the 1924 Central High School yearbook (“The Sequoyah”) is a veritable honor roll of women and men who made a contribution to Fountain City’s history: Staley Hensley, Glenard Gentry, Fannie Mae Andrews, Alberta Ahler, Roy Blanc, Jeanette Andrews, Dorothy Vise, Roy Acuff and Theodore “Ted” Lowe, among others.

But another person who graduated that year will be honored on April 22 when the company he later coowned, the Harrington Insurance Agency, will celebrate its 75th anniversary.

Each senior class elected two classmates who were granted the B.U. Degree, an honor given to their most popular man and woman.

Joe Harrington was the male honoree in 1924, sharing the honor with his female counterpart, Nettie Blanc.

But the story of the Harringtons and their roots in Fountain City starts much

Jim Tumblin

earlier than that. The Harringtons’ patriarch was Thomas R. Harrington Sr., whose Harrington Grocery Store occupied a place among buildings on the two sides of Broadway adjoining and fronting Fountain City Park. Among them were the Fountain City Bank, Sherman Wallace’s Barber Shop on the west side and the Masonic Lodge, Central Baptist Church and John I. Copeland’s garage far down the block on the east side. A lot of history was made in that block.

Theodore R. Harrington Sr. (1873-1944) and Nancy Cox Harrington (1872-1931) were parents of five children: Minnie Mae “Minno,” Joseph V., Mary E., John A.

and Thomas R. “T.R.” Harrington Jr. T.R. Jr. (1912-1980) attended grade school at Fountain City Elementary.

He then entered Knoxville High School because he wanted to play in its noteworthy band and graduated in 1931. In the midst of the Great Depression, he found work as a railroad engineer fulfilling his earliest ambition. Later he matriculated at the University of Tennessee, played as an accomplished percussionist in the band and graduated in 1937.

Soon after graduation he was employed as an agent with the Tennessee Auto Insurance Co. at 717 S. Gay. T.R. and Chloe Ault, now a prominent local artist and Central High School Wall of Fame recipient, were married on Dec. 31, 1938, at the home of his sister in Dayton, Tenn. T.R. now had a spouse to support and, while he was making plans to open his own agency, he continued working at TAIC.

News from Fleetwood Photo

Fleetwood Photo & Digital preserves more than photos

By Carol Z. Shane

Your parents’ wedding invitation.

Pictures from their honeymoon. Your childhood book report. Pictures from that trip to Disney World. Your daughter’s report card. Your son’s kindergarten crayon drawing. That clipping from the time your husband got his picture in the newspaper for catching that fish.

They’re all under your bed, in shoeboxes, gathering dust.

You can’t throw them out – they’re too precious. You can’t put them on the wall – they’re odd shapes, and framing costs a bundle. You might organize them and put them in scrapbooks, but do you really have time for that? Does anyone?

And do you really want bulky scrapbooks gathering dust instead?

The beauty of the Shoebox Scan is Fleetwood can help. In fact, they’ll that “it gives you small goals. You don’t make the process so easy you won’t be- have to go through your whole closet full lieve it. of pictures.” You fill the box according to If you take advantage of their “Shoe- the guidelines and Fleetwood will do the box Scan” you can get up to 500 loose rest. prints of any kind (if you follow guideIt’s simple, really. Your shoeboxes = lines) sized 2 x 3 to dust, clutter and 8 x 10, scanned onto potential deterioraa disk or USB drive tion of fragile paper.

Leave your family a legacy or sent directly to Fleetwood’s Shoenot a mess. you. In this way, box scanning serfamily treasures vice = permanent can be passed down lifetime memories through the years and through the gen- that take up no space whatsoever. All at erations. a great price.

“Young people are minimalists,” says Fleetwood also offers slide and negaFrank Distefano, who with his wife, Do- tive scanning, audio/video transfer, and ris, has watched the trends since they many other archiving services. For destarted Fleetwood in 1985. “We all went tails, visit fleetwoodphoto.com or call through that period of clearing out; ev- 865-584-4554. You will really be glad ery generation does. They don’t want you did. this stuff now. But they will want it later.”

Frank says that photos and ephemera generally fall into three categories: things you definitely want to keep and would put in an album, things you want to keep but would relegate to long-term storage and things you need to throw away. When you think of all those drawarchiving . designing . framing . printing ers and boxes full of “the stuff of life” that are calling for you to make deci6504 kingston pike, knoxville, tn 37919 w w w. f l e e t w o o d p h o t o.c o m sions – oh, dear. It’s overwhelming.

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HIA has occupied its own building at 3209 Garden Drive since 2009. From left are Amy Harrington Bible, Tom Harrington and Charles Harrington. Photo by Ruth White

He founded the Harrington Insurance Agency in 1942.

The aforementioned older brother Joseph V. “Joe” Harrington (1902-1960) had worked with his father in the grocery and with his father-in-law, Barney T. Giddens, owner of B.T. Ice Co., since graduating from high school. Joe and Reita Giddens, a 1929 Central High School graduate, had been married by the iconic Rev. Dr. Fred F. Brown in Knoxville’s First Baptist Church on Jan. 1, 1931.

In 1943, he decided to join his brother at HIA and became what the City Directory calls a “Solicitor” there.

The brothers soon moved to Suite 715-B at the Bank of Knoxville Building, and they would occupy various suites on the seventh floor for some 15 years.

T.R.’s sister Minnie “Minno” Harrington Johnson (1900-1965) also contributes to the story since her son, Robert “Bob” Johnson, joined the firm just after his time in the U.S. Army and his four years at the University of Tennessee. His uncles, T.R. and Joe, had asked him to join the firm and he did so in 1952. In 1964, Bob decided to found his own agency in Halls, and Bob Johnson Insurance Agency was formed. Like HIA, it has grown considerably, and Bob’s two sons, Doug and Ben, now manage the firm since Bob retired in 1995.

T.R. and Joe Harrington moved their business to historic Church Street in 1958, and HIA would choose locations with historic significance from that date forward. Their address would remain 511 Church for almost 20 years. They were near the location of Ross’ Flats, Christenberry Infirmary, Knoxville Optical Supply Co., Mann’s Mortuary, the Christian Science Reading Room and other historic businesses.

The partnership was fractured on Dec. 7, 1960, when at 58, Joseph V. Harrington died of a heart seizure. He, John I. Copeland,

Roy Acuff, Buddy Kirby and others were avid fox hunters, and Joe had just gone out to feed his hunting dogs when the seizure occurred.

He had been a member of the Fidelity Bible Class at Fountain City Methodist Church, a member of Bright Hope Lodge #557 and a longtime contributor to high school athletics and other local causes.

T.R.’s son, T.R. “Tom” Harrington III (CHS), joined the firm in 1961 after he graduated from East Tennessee State University in Business Administration. Tom took a special interest in accident claims and became expert in their settlement.

Only one year later, another son, Charles A. Harrington, graduated from the University of Tennessee, majoring in Insurance, and joined them. He took a course in Boston in 1965 and was awarded his CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter) and provided HIA expertise in another facet of the general insurance industry.

He later became president of the Great Smoky Mountain chapter of CPCU. In 1978, the company moved to 603 N. Broadway near the historic site of the Central Market (now Emory Place) and the downtown terminal for the Fountain Head Railway (1890-1905).

The block was also home to Edelen’s Furniture and Storage and Harb’s Carpets.

T.R. Harrington Jr. passed away at 68 on Oct. 12, 1980. He was a lifelong member of Fountain City Methodist Church, a member of Bright Hope Lodge and the Northside Kiwanis Club and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

He had fulfilled his lifelong ambition when he served as a locomotive engineer before and during World War II when railroads were so important to the war effort.

In 1994, HIA was able to return to its family roots in Fountain City when it moved to 4883 N. Broadway in the Hill’s Shopping Cen-

ter. The company moved to another historic site at 3209 Garden Drive where it built its own building just a few hundred yards from Savage Garden in 2009. It remains there today.

Charles and Tom Harrington continue to serve their community in many ways. Charles is a member of the board of Fountain City Town Hall, a 59-year member of the Northside Kiwanis Club and a past president and member of the adult choir at Fountain City United Methodist Church. He was percussionist for the Knoxville Symphony for several years and for the Tennessee Wind Symphony for 24 years.

Over the past 17 years Tom has served more than 20,000 hours as a volunteer interpreter at Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and was recently recognized with the Southeast Regional Enduring Service Award. In addition, he is a frequent and effective lecturer to religious and civic groups.

Charles Harrington’s daughter, Amy Harrington Bible, joined the firm in 1996 and purchased it in 2012.

She has been designated as a “Dave Ramsey Endorsed Local Provider” for Property and Casualty Insurance.

She is a lifelong resident of Fountain City and attends Fountain City United Methodist, where she sings in the choir, and serves on the Gresham Middle School Foundation Board. She and her husband, Allan Bible, have two daughters, Charley Rose and Della.

Harrington Insurance Agency invites its policyholders and other interested locals to the 75th anniversary celebration Saturday, April 22, from 1-4 p.m. in the Fountain City Lions Club Building (5345 N. Broadway). There will be light refreshments, several giveaways and an appreciation drawing.

Thanks to the McClung Historical Collection, Charles and Tom Harrington, Amy H. Bible and Bob Johnson for their assistance with the historic facts and dates.

Mike Davis, Agent 637-8616 5336 Millertown Pike www.mikedavisagency.com For Life Insurance, Call A Good Neighbor State Farm, Corporate Office, Bloomington, IL

North/East Shopper news • April 12, 2017 • A-7

The color of money: Emerald It’s budget time in Knox County, and the school system is first up to bat, which is the way it should be, because that’s where the biggest chunk of money goes.

Last week, Knox County Schools presented its preliminary recommended budget, which is set to be approved by the school board Wednesday. Then it will be handed off to be blessed by County Commission.

The $3.8 million that will be carved out and channeled to Emerald Academy is a relatively small chunk of the $471 million total, and it’s not “new” news that Knox County’s first – and

Betty Bean to date, only – public charter school will consume an ever-growing portion of school funding as it builds its student body over a fiveyear period (in 2015, its first year, Emerald Academy offered kindergarten and first grade. Second and sixth grades were added this year, third and seventh-graders to come next year).

Some educators and board members are trou-

bled because the taxpayerfunded portion of Emerald Academy’s budget (it also gets private donations and a substantial contribution from the United Way) is coming at the expense of the center city elementary schools that serve the county’s lowest-income students, which is what charter school opponents predicted from the get-go.

That’s because state law says the money follows the student. This means that elementary schools like Sarah Moore Greene, Lonsdale, Inskip and Christenberry will lose $7,657.02 for each student who transfers to

Emerald Academy.

“My biggest concern is that when we think about the number of students, it doesn’t look like a great number or a significant amount of money,” said school board member Jennifer Owen. “But when you look at 10 kids coming from one elementary school, that really is a significant amount of money to take away from that one school that’s left behind. They still have the same fixed costs – maintenance, utilities, etc., and although legislators say they don’t have the same costs because they have to buy fewer textbooks,

last words or whatever, when a school loses $70,000, that’s a significant shortfall.”

Several of these schools are in Owen’s district, and she is particularly concerned about Christenberry, 93.6 percent of whose families live below the poverty line, and which will be losing 10 to 12 students to Emerald Academy. Compounding the financial hit and loss of involved parents is a relatively high number of undocumented students who don’t get counted in the formula that determines the distribution of federal funds.

Emerald Charter Schools’

public information officer John Crooks doesn’t believe these worries are well founded.

“Scholars come to Emerald Academy from neighborhoods across the city, which would seem to minimize the impact on any one particular traditional public school as the dollars follow the child. For 2017-2018, we are in the budget development process and have not been provided with a funding estimate from the state or Knox County Schools yet, so we can’t speak to what that amount will be until we receive that information,” Crooks said.

Three women on list for federal judgeship Federal magistrate judge Clifford Shirley is not seeking a third term when his term ends in February 2018.

This triggers a search for a new magistrate, which ultimately is decided by the federal judges for the eastern district of Tennessee with Tom Varlan as the Chief Judge. It also includes active senior judges.

Victor Ashe

Under federal law, a magistrate judge merit selection panel has been established to review applicants and submit five names to the judges who will make a final decision. The search committee is chaired by highly respected and hardworking Knoxville attorney Mark Mamantov. It also in-

DOGWOODARTS

cludes two non-lawyers as required by law.

While the names of applicants and the deliberations of the panel are not public, three of the applicants I have learned are well-qualified women. They are Bridget Bailey, Heidi Barcus and Debbie Poplin, current clerk of the federal court. Poplin was the first woman to serve as Knoxville’s law director.

Bailey, who is AfricanAmerican, now works for the Department of Justice.

She has also served on the staff of U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. Much of her family lives in Knoxville. Interestingly enough, both Bailey and Barcus have worked at different times (no longer) at the Lewis Thomason law firm here in Knoxville formerly known as Lewis King and Krieg.

It is an eight-year term.

The deadline for applications has passed. There are many more applicants than the three listed here.

@DOGWOODARTS

■■ Former state Rep. Robert Booker, the first AfricanA merican elec ted from Knox County to the Tennessee House of Repres e nt a t i v e s after ReBooker construction, turns 82 on Friday, April 14. He is a regular columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel and an authority on African-American history in Knox County.

Former deputy mayor for Madeline Rogero (and potential 2019 mayoral candidate) Eddie Mannis celebrates his 58th birthday the same day.

Booker also served as an administrative assistant to the late Mayor Kyle Testerman and on City Council, filling out the unexpired term of then Vice Mayor Mark Brown, who had re-

@DOGWOODARTS

signed. Mannis is a wellknown businessman and strong supporter of veterans.

■■ James Corcoran, attorney, who lives with his wife, Anna, and their twin children, James IV and Elsa (age 2) on Eagle Crest Drive, is running for City CounCorcoran cil from the seat now held by Brenda Palmer, who is term limited.

His wife practices law with him.

He says Palmer “has done a really good job” as a council member. He wants to ensure a strong law enforcement presence as well as treatment for drug offenders. His law practice focuses on child welfare. He is 37, which would make him the youngest member of council if elected. Also running

from this district is Jodi Mullins. Corcoran opposes partisan elections for city offices.

■■ A l a n Williams will be honored by the Front Page Follies on Saturday, June 17, for his Williams

commendable efforts in the news world for over 30 years.

■■ Mayor Rogero continues to be outspoken on several national issues where she has taken the Democratic party view, which she avoided doing during her first term in office. This is her last term as mayor, which ends in December 2019.

Next ‘Ed & Bob Night Out in Knox County’ is April 20 Knox County At-Large Commissioners Ed Brantley and Bob Thomas will host their next Ed & Bob Night Out in Knox County 5-7 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at Chandler’s Deli, 3101 Magnolia Ave. They plan to meet with the people of east Knox County and listen to their concerns. Ed and Bob feel that going out to the citizens eases the strain on those who, because of work, commitments, financial situation or the distance to the City-County Building, cannot attend regular commission meetings.

All elected officials, media and public are welcome.

This is not a commission meeting, there is no agenda, and there will be no votes taken.

A-8 • April 12, 2017 • North/East Shopper news

News from EyeXcel

What is EyeXcel?

North Knoxville eye practice changes its name: Drs. Rhyne & Patton Optometry has a long-standing history serving the people of Knoxville and surrounding areas. During lunch in the break room of the office, Dr. Patton is just as likely to be talking of plans for the practice as telling stories from the past. As one of the founding partners of the eye care practice, he is a huge reason why the history of the practice is so important to its future.

When Dr. Patton tells the story of starting 40 years ago, he always talks about how interest rates were high and getting a loan was almost impossible.

The doctors had just graduated with their doctorate degrees, but were still turned down for a $500 credit card.

“Times were different then, and so much has changed,” says Dr. Patton.

“Callahan Drive was a small, two-lane residential street. To my knowledge, we were the first and only business on this road, but it was all we could afford.”

Slowly but surely, the practice added more patients and steadily grew over the years. On any given day now, you will see a brand new patient to the practice, or Dr. Patton might be checking the eyes of children whose parents became his patients when they were just teenagers.

For those wondering about the new name: No, Dr. Patton hasn’t sold the practice. Today there is a larger staff and much more advanced technology than 40 years ago, but it is still the same family eye care practice dedicated to the community. The story of the legacy is still unfolding, so why the

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Eye Care, we also provide: • Ocular Disease Mgmt.

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• Specialty Contacts • Pediatric Eye Care

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Free Eye Exams for Infants

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name change now?

Dr. Patton is still working hard to set the practice up for future success, but he is also dreaming of his retirement and all the fish he will have time to catch in a few years. The decision to change the name was a hard one, but Dr. Patton knew it was the right time to change things up with a more contemporary name for the next generation of doctors. “The hardest part was not the decision to change, but what in the world to change the name to,” says Dr. Patton.

Dr. Bruce D. Gilliland joined the practice in 2015, and Dr. Frank A. Carusone in 2016. The three doctors had a difficult time agreeing on a new name at first, and many silly names were jokingly tossed around for fun, but after much consideration, EyeXcel was chosen after being suggested

by Dr. Gilliland’s teenage son.

EyeXcel represents the team’s passion for the health of your eyes and the commitment to providing excellent care. When a business has had a name for many decades, it can be very confusing to change it. But now we have a name that fits our objectives so well.

Practice administrator Ben Patton and partners Dr. David Patton, Dr. Frank Carusone and Dr. Bruce Gilliland with the new EyeXcel sign

Dr. Patton, along with his partners and staff, are proud of the history of the practice and excited about the future. Plans are in motion for adding more eye specialists and expanding the current location to keep serving more people in the Knoxville area.

715 Callahan Dr. 865-687-1232 www.eyexceltn.com