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ISSUE 48 VOLUME 25
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FARRAGUT, TENNESSEE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 2013
Farragut ‘Snow Birds’ get homecoming surprise ■
Courtney Such/farragutpress
“Snow Birds” Jeanie and Curt Diedrick stand in front of their home in Andover subdivision in Farragut, where the power was turned off by LCUB while the couple was on extended vacation in Florida. The Diedricks did not know they owed on their account due to a policy that does not allow the U.S. Post Office to forward billing statements.
COURTNEY SUCH csuch@farragutpress.com
Jeanie and Curt Diedrick returned home after an eightmonth vacation to a house with no electricity thanks to a Lenoir City Utilities Board policy. “We are Snow Birds and have been for about five years now. We spend part of the year in Florida and the rest of the year in Knoxville. I have paid a lump sum to each of the utilities … never realizing that LCUB does not forward bills never giving it another thought, because we make payments on multiple homes,” homeowner Jeanie Diedrick said. Her usual “lump sum” of prepayments was down to zero before returning to their Andover subdivision home in Farragut. “When we drove home, we were confronted with our garage door not opening. We realized that there was final notice sign in the corner of the garage door and low and behold, they turned off our electricity.” A team of LCUB workers was
able to turn on their electricity that night, but the Diedricks were not prepared for what was inside their home. “Having our electricity off, there was no air, and the refrigerators and freezers had been pretty full, and everything had gone rotten and molded … we almost passed out because of the stink,” Jeanie Diedrick said. The Diedricks paid more than $500 in maintenance, late, turnon and turn-off fees upon the week of their return, all because of a policy they did not even know existed. “The policy that has existed has turned into a nightmare for us,” Diedrick said. LCUB has admitted to the confusion and is taking care of everything one step at a time. “Shannon [Littleton, LCUB general manager] has assured us that I believe we will get our money back for all this stuff we put out in loss and food, and they’re going to work with us.” Matthew Fagiana, LCUB Homeland Security, Safety direc-
FWK Chamber hosts ‘Proton Therapy’ event Movers, Shakers ■
ROBBY O’DANIEL rodaniel@farragutpress.com
Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce 2013 Breakfast Series’ Provision Center for Proton Therapy event took place Tuesday, July 23, at Fox Den Country Club. According to the Provision Center for Proton Therapy website, “The Provision Center for Proton Therapy will be the first of its kind in Tennessee and only the second in the southeast. It will open in early 2014 and provide the most advanced cancer treatment in the world to patients in the region.” “We are very happy to give 15 percent of our ticket sales today
to Relay for Life,” Bettye Sisco, Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, said at the event. She estimated 160 people attended the event. “I thought the event was tremendous,” Sisco said. “I think just the very fact that it was a sellout — we had to turn people away – showed people’s interest in learning more about the proton therapy.” The presentation was strong, she said. “I thought that for a very difficult topic, it was explained explicitly,” she said. “It was explained well, and it helped everybody at any level understand what they were talking
about and exactly what they were doing with proton therapy.” Farragut Alderman Ron Honken called this “a great day for our area.” “Boy, I tell you, this is amazing,” Honken added. “I mean to have this type of technology in our community and the benefit it’s going to bring not just to the citizens but the surrounding area. Knoxville’s going to become a destination for medical services.” One particular part of the presentation was most interesting to Honken. “Not having a background in this type of technology, I was so impressed with how they can isoSee CHAMBER on Page 4A
See SNOW BIRDS on Page 2A
Club hosts field day ■
COURTNEY SUCH csuch@farragutpress.com
The Movers and Shakers Club of Farragut hosted its inaugural field day event Monday morning, July 15, at Anchor Park. The idea came to special events and project coordinator Lauren Cox and park assistant Matt Oglesby earlier this year to add a field day event to inspire some exercise in disguise. “Going along with the Movers and Shakers Club and the Let’s Move! initiative, I wanted to offer the kids in the community a fun outdoor program to help
motivate activity into their summer. Every kid loves field day, so I thought it would fit perfect into what I was trying to do,” Cox said. “We have offered the Movers and Shakers Club for eight years now. Adding programs like the field day gives them an extra opportunity to exercise and meet other kids in the program,” she added. Thirteen children and their siblings made it out to Anchor Park at 9 a.m. on a Monday morning to compete in field See FIELD DAY on Page 3A
Parks and Leisure Services presents master plan ■
Robby O’Daniel/farragutpress
Sue Stuhl, Parks and Leisure Services director, presents the department’s master plan to FMPC.
ROBBY O’DANIEL rodaniel@farragutpress.com
Farragut’s Municipal Planning Commission approved the Parks and Leisure Services Master Plan 2013–2023 update at its meeting Thursday, July 18. Sue Stuhl, Parks and Leisure Services director, said, “In 2007, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen appointed a citizen committee to formulate a master plan for the area parks and recreation, and in January of 2008, they presented this plan to the planning commission and to the board. And it is five years, and it’s time for us to do an update. We won’t do a major
rewrite of the plan. We’re going to update the goals and action items. So the state of Tennessee does not require parks and leisure services department to have a master plan. Some states do, but if you are going to apply for grants, which we do a lot of, you pretty much need to have a master plan in place.” The master plan is broken up into near-term, mid-term and long-term sections. The nearterm and mid-term parts are matched with the town of Farragut Strategic Plan goals. At the meeting, Stuhl went over the plan’s near-term portion, which covers 2013 to 2017. “The strategic plan goal No. 1
is to maintain a financially sound town, providing excellent services,” she said. “So one of the things is a community center that has come up over and over again and the feasibility study of that, and how funding and operating such could happen.” The fourth strategic plan goal is to facilitate future growth, development and redevelopment. “We do a plant-a-tree program every year where people can pick an area that they’d like a tree planted,” she said. “We have a bronze plaque that goes in. We do landscaping and updated tree See PLAN on Page 3A
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