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UNION COUNTY
Vol. 6, No. 7 • February 12, 2011 • www.ShopperNewsNow.com • 4509 Doris Circle, Knoxville 37918 • 922-4136
AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD Little League to meet The Union County Little League board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb.17, in the small courtroom of the Union County Courthouse. Volunteers are welcome. Information about Little League will be sent home with children from school soon.
Big Ridge plans Easter Egg Hunt Big Ridge State Park will host the 13th annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 23. Twelve thousand eggs filled with toys, candy or extra prizes will be hidden. There are prize eggs and a grand prize for each age group, including toys, bicycles and food coupons. Bring the whole family and make a day of it. Children ages 2 and under hunt at 10 a.m. with parents’ help. Ages 3-4 hunt at 10:30, followed by ages 5-7 at 1 p.m., and ages 8-10 at 1:30. Info: 992-5523.
Room to grow
MOMS Club to hold open house The MOMS Club of the Maynardville area will host an open house Wednesday, March 2, for all stay-at-home, part-time working or homeschooling moms in the 37807, 37779, 37866 or 37721 ZIP Codes. There will be light refreshments, activities and a chance to meet the moms and kids. Call club president Valerie Case at 684-4282, e-mail maynardvillemoms@aol.com or visit www.maynardvillemoms. blogspot.com for more info.
By Shannon Carey Sharps Chapel Elementary School’s addition is open for business, and at a school that business is learning. The addition, for which a ribboncutting ceremony was held Feb. 10, gives the school four new rooms which will house one each of kindergarten, 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes. This opens space for Sharps Chapel’s library, special education and speech therapy to move into the
the main school building from th he tr ttrailaiilail er which used to house them. “It’s worked out really well,” said Sharps Chapel principal Bryan Shoffner. “It’s helped a lot just in the flow of traffic and the kids not having to go outside in the winter time.” Classes moved into the addition around Jan. 24. Shoffner said teachers are pleased with the addition and so is he. From the outside and the inside, the addition blends with the look of
thee school. another th school It just looks like anothe wing of the original building. The classrooms have large windows and lots of built-in storage space for the teachers. “We’re excited,” said Shoffner. “We’re not busting Shoffner. at the seams like other schools, but this gives us room to grow.”
Anglea Collins’ 5th grade class is ready to learn in their new classroom in the recently completed addition to Sharps Chapel Elementary School. They are: (front) Brady Blanton, Michael Smallwood, Spencer Holt, Brianna Beach, Ethan Ely; (second row) Josh Jones, Megan Rouse, Isaiah Shoope, Jacob Stooksbury, McKenzie Sharp; (back) Caitlyn Barrett, Collin Sadoff, Collins, Mallory Carter, Cole Cunningham, Matthew Willis and Alissa Wilkerson. Photos by S. Carey
Richardson votes against libraries By Cindy Taylor On the evening of Feb. 8, most Union County residents went about their business unaware that the future of their libraries rested in the hands of the Maynardville Board of Commissioners. Maynardville Mayor H.E. “Smiley” Richardson had been approached beforehand and his signature had been requested on a document agreeing that the city would give $500 to the library for this year. The money had already been approved and budgeted, so when Richardson refused to sign the Maintenance of Effort Agreement, the library board was baffled. Library board chair Don Sussex addressed the board to plead the cause. “This document has been signed every year and is just a formality,” Sussex said. “This certifies prior year expenditures and current year allocations. This is a continual thing that the city has done year after year, but it does require a signature yearly to obtain
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state support. By signing this you are only committing to this year.” Once this document is signed and sent to the state, $310,000 will be released to Union County’s libraries. This money will be used for library materials, technology, development, community support and programs. Without a signature from the city, these funds will cease. “If we sign this, we are obligated to always give at least $500,” Richardson said. “I have been told in the past that signing this guarantees that no matter what kind Richardson of shape the city is in, we must give at least this amount.” Maynardville branch library director Chantay Collins explained that the city could opt out for one year if needed. There was disagreement between Collins and Richardson as to
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Maynardville branch library director Chantay Collins and library board chair Don Sussex meet resistance from the Maynardville Board of Commissioners. Photo by C. Taylor whether the city had actually signed the document every year. “If we don’t have this signed, we will lose the state dollars, and we will be forced to shut down,” Collins said. “Luttrell has already agreed and signed to give $300, and they pay all the library utilities. The city of Maynardville doesn’t pay any library utilities.” “This library is very important to these kids,” board member Paul Bow-
man said. “I don’t care if we are agreeing to this year after year. For $500, I think we should do it.” “I don’t mind giving it to them, I just don’t want to be forced to do it if funds are bad,” Richardson said. Bowman made a motion to approve the signing. The motion passed with five council members voting for and only Richardson voting against. There was nowhere near the same amount of discus-
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sion when the board approved the purchase of a vehicle at a cost of $19,000 that same night. Maynardville Chief of Police Dean Hill proposed a prescription drop-off program. Hill said his department would handle this on a volunteer basis. “We would like to have approval to allow people to drop off old prescriptions, and we will handle the disposal at no charge. This is a goodwill thing we can do for the public and will be solely my responsibility,” said Hill. The board agreed to the plan and a collection date will be announced. They also voted to open the disposal up to all Union County residents. City Manager Jack Rhyne requested approval to form a Downtown Revitalization Committee to make downtown Maynardville more suitable for habitation. There are grants available, and there would be no cost to the city. This was approved. Only one resident appeared before board to discuss a water bill. Shirley
Wynn was concerned that her mother, Mandy Gallman, had received increasingly high water bills over the past three months. The bills have gone from $44 a month to the most recent of $171 in January. “I’m here in place of my mother who is 81 years old,” Wynn said. “My mother is on a fixed income, and she can’t afford to pay these bills. We have had all new parts put in both commodes and had a plumber come and check for leaks and he said we didn’t have any leaks.” “When we first checked the meter, we couldn’t find a leak,” Rhyne said. “We replaced the meter, and when we rechecked, we did find that there is a leak. It was still leaking when we checked today.” The board agreed that it was unlikely that the owner was using that amount of water and suggested that the owner get a plumber to come back to check for leaks. If the leak is between the meter and the house, any repair costs would be the responsibility of the owner.
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