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Mountain City, Tennessee 37683Your Community Newspaper, Established 1874 75 centsVol. 146 No. 40

www.thetomahawk.com

THE TOMAHAWKWednesday, September 30, 2020

Community Calendar ...........A2Education .............................A3Public Safety ........................A4Inside News ..........................A6Faith .....................................A7From Page One ...................A8

Sports ........................B1,3,8Obituaries ........................B4Classifieds .......................B5Agriculture .......................B6Community Matters .........B7Service Directory ..........B6,7

INSIDE:

Autumn comes to the mountains

Shady Valley 28th Annual

Cranberry Festival

adsales@thetomahawk.com or 727-6121 ext. 22.

DEADLINE10/5

Festival Oct. 10 | Feature Oct. 7

MOUNTAIN CITY PHARMACY

1641 S. Shady St. | Mtn. City, TNCall (423) 727- 0039

FREE RX Delivery in Jo. Co.

By Veronica BurnistonFREELANCE WRITER

Despite the persistent rain,

A.C.T.I.O.N. Coalition and sup-porters gathered to celebrate broken addictions and restored lives on Friday, September 25.

Founded in 2003, the Alliance of Citizens Together Improving Our Neighborhoods (A.C.T.I.O.N.) Coalition is a local non-profit that strives to improve the lives of all Johnson County residents.

The non-profit’s mission focuses on freeing the community from “substance use disorders,” building strong foundations for local youth by encouraging them to live happy and healthy lives, strengthening families and boosting the economy by eliminating “substance misuse,” and providing resources and guid-ance for local partners as well as those in need.

Every September is the National Recovery Month, an opportunity to share information about the treat-

ments and mental health services available to help those with sub-stance addictions and disorders to live a free, satisfying life.

According to the National Insti-tute on Drug Abuse, 128 Americans died daily in 2018 due to opioid overdoses. Of those fatalities, the

state of Tennessee lost 1,818 lives. In a recent Monitoring the Future

(MTF) study, it is clear alcohol and marijuana have also become major problems among American youth. In 2019, it is reported that 11.8 percent eighth graders, 28.8 percent tenth graders, and 35.7

percent twelfth graders used mari-juana regularly in the past year. Of those numbers, 1.3 percent eighth graders, 4.8 percent tenth graders, and 6.4 percent twelfth graders used it daily.

The same problem exists with

Marching to celebrate recovered lives

Non-profit, A.C.T.I.O.N. Coalition, and supporters proudly gather to celebrate broken addictions and restored lives, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Mountain City, Tennessee. Photo by Veronica Burniston.

By Meg DickensSTAFF WRITER

Johnson County’s COVID-19 numbers continue to grow with no apparent end in sight. The omnipresent question is how to slow and potentially stop this threat. Scientists nationwide are working to find a viable vaccine, and reports show that one may be available as soon as late October. However, it seems that local public opinion on these efforts is exceed-ingly negative.

In a recent Tomahawk poll,

By Tamas MondovicsEDITOR

Johnson County houses nine vol-

unteer fire departments, including Butler, Doe, Dry Run, Laurel (First District), Mountain City, Neva, Second District, Shady Valley, and Trade.

While the volunteer spirit is noble, a fire station filled with a group of self-sacrificing, giving, caring, and duty-oriented men and women do not necessarily mean safety, effectiveness, or ef-ficiency.

A recent online article by Fire Rescue 1 mentioned “any fire

Volunteer firefighters test skills during

Annual Emercncy Driving Course

COVID-19 and vaccination fears

By Jill PenleyFREELANCE WRITER

In the 1980s, John Cunningham could be found on the Johnson County High School hardwoods playing basketball as a crucial part

of a championship team. Although his career took him away from Mountain City, he admits his heart has always remained in the East Tennessee mountains, and now he has returned and is already giving back in a big way.

“We are from a rural, economi-cally disadvantaged community,” said Cunningham. “We are Long-horns. We come from Trade, Neva, Butler, Mountain City, Dry Run, Shady, Doe, Laurel, but we are ALL Longhorns.”

Cunningham recalls seeing a social media post circulating a few months back, urging residents to reach out if they needed help. “This hit home for me,” said Cunning-ham. “I worried for those who have

New local non-profit ready to helpINTRODUCING HOMETOWN SERVICE COALITION

By Veronica BurnistonFREELANCE WRITER

“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall,”

Oscar Wilde wrote. His words ring true as this year’s hectic,

unconventional summer has fallen swiftly and

wonderfully into autumn in the mountains.Unfortunately, as COVID-19 lingers, the

CDC recently released more safety guidelines for fall celebrations, gatherings, and Halloween activities. The guidelines rank activities from low risk to high risk. Some of the high-risk activities include traditional trick-or-treating,

trunk-or-treat, haunted houses, and large indoor costume parties or meals.

With new safety guidelines in place, families will need to be more creative with projects and activities this season.

Chris McElyea, left, his wife Elizabeth, and their fourteen-month-old little girl, Annie enjoy the varieties of fall flowers available at the Johnson County Farmers Market, at Ralph Stout Park in Mountain City TN, earlier this month. The Market welcomes patrons on

Saturday mornings until noon, offering summer and fall goods. Photo By Tamas Mondovics

See Non-profit Page A8

See March Page A8 See Firefighters Page A8

See Autumn Page A6

See COVID-19 Page A8

By Meg DickensSTAFF WRITER

The Shady Valley Elementa-ry School Preservation Society received its last bit of paper-work declaring the society an official nonprofit organiza-tion earlier this September. The chain of events that put this into motion started back in June 2019 when a called meeting of the Johnson County School Board put Shady Valley Elemen-tary School’s future in question. This nonprofit organization’s purpose is to preserve “the rock school” building and its rich history.

The Shady Valley Elementary School building is a cherished part of the Shady Valley com-munity, and locals fought tooth and nail to keep its doors open. During the fight to keep its doors open at full capacity, Shady res idents and al l ies came together in droves. As the situation escalated from

Preservation committee officially

a nonprofit

See Shady Valley Page A6

By Tamas MondovicsEDITOR

An executive order from Lee allowing local governments to issue mask mandates is set to expire this Wednesday.

In anticipation of the subse-quent ending of Johnson Coun-ty’s Executive Order 5, which

Johnson County Mayor awaits Gov. Lee’s Mask Update

See Mask Page A8