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SOUP boils overSometimes, the home-court

advantage is just plain unstop-pable.

That was the case at last week’s Knoxville SOUP, the quarterly micro-funding din-ner presented by the South Knoxville Alliance.

The winner of the event won on the literal home court: the gym at the South Knoxville Community Center.

➤ Read Betsy Pickle on page 3

To page 3

VOL. 2 NO. 1 July 29, 2013www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNowVOL. 4 NO. 28 July 13, 2016www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow

SOUTH KNOX

BUZZ

By Betty BeanArtist Ron Williams, whose

sweeping mountain landscapes grace the walls of fi ne homes and gal-leries across Amer-ica and abroad, died June 24 at Parkwest Medical Center of conges-tive heart failure. Two weeks later, his sister Elaine was struggling to pay for his funeral.

Part of the problem was that Wil-liams was painfully shy and strug-gled with mental illness for most of his adult life. Artist Eric Sublett, a former gallery owner, said Wil-liams, for all his talent, couldn’t deal with the business of art.

“His main style was that of the Hudson River School, but he

Ron Williams, acclaimed artist, diesFamily struggles to

pay for funeral

Ron Williams

at age 14

Ron Williams’ painting in the foyer of Mayor Tim Burchett’s home Photo by Ruth White

homed in on the Smokies and was amazingly prolifi c and technically astute and about as good as it gets in that realm,” Sublett said. “But sometimes it gets pretty desper-ate out there. The ultimate reward is to sell something and use the money to live. You’re basically

making something from nothing, and somebody’s going to make you an offer. It gets easier the more you do it, but Ron wasn’t able to deal with all that and didn’t trust anybody to do anything for him. That meant he’d get himself into positions when he needed money

so badly he’d rip himself off. He never saw much of a reward for all his work.”

For decades, Williams was in and out of Eastern State (later Lakeshore Mental Health Insti-tute), which he regarded as a ref-uge when life outside the gates became overwhelming. Elaine Williams said that some of her brother’s last outings were to Lakeshore Park, where he would reminisce about what used to be.

“He was very upset about Lake-shore’s closing and was very con-cerned about the patients. He would point to where this building and that building used to be and said people with nowhere to go were ending up in jail.”

Knox County Mayor Tim Bur-chett, who has a Williams paint-ing in the foyer of his Westmo-reland home, said that Williams had asked Burchett to help make sure Lakeshore patients were tak-

By Kelly NorrellPowell Middle School student

Kyle Lawson wants to build robots. And after attending the two-week Urban Alliance Science Camp, where he toured Norris Dam and watched electricity being made, he now wants to build a robot that could work in a dam.

Vine Middle School student Jazzy McNabb loves having fun. Urban Alliance Science Camp showed her that science is fun, too. “I liked that we went canoeing at Ijams – that I got splashed a lot and learned to kayak.” She added that it was “a little scary,” but she wants to do it again.

About 40 rising sixth- and sev-enth-graders got an up-close look at science and science-related careers at the second annual two-week, fi eld-based Science Camp June 20-

By Betsy PickleSoKno – and the rest of Knox-

ville – is one step closer to prohib-iting the clustering of “alternative fi nancial services.”

City Council passed, on fi rst reading, an ordinance to amend the Knoxville City Code to iden-tify the zoning districts in which alternative fi nancial services are permitted and establish standards for their location. It would require that AFS companies be at least 1,000 feet from each other and 1,000 feet from any residential neighborhood.

Council member Nick Pavlis, who represents South Knoxville, sponsored the ordinance after numerous constituents contact-ed him about their concern over the cluster of such businesses on Chapman Highway. Often de-scribed as “predatory,” they make loans or extend credit to people who can’t get approved by tra-

ditional banks, but they usually charge exorbitant interest rates that make the loans nearly im-possible to pay off.

They can include “check-cash-ing outlets, money transmitters, car title lenders, payday loan stores, pawnshops and rent-to-own stores,” according to the Met-ropolitan Planning Commission.

SoKno has seen a proliferation of such businesses along Chapman recently, and many neighborhood groups have expressed concern about the message this sends to visitors about the health of the South Knoxville economy.

City Council requested in De-cember 2014 that the MPC con-sider and make a recommenda-tion about zoning limitations for AFS businesses. In mapping them, MPC noted that clusters of the businesses exist along Clinton Highway, Broadway, Chapman Highway, Magnolia Avenue and

Kingston Pike, with the highest number around the intersection of Clinton Highway and Merchant Drive.

Pavlis had encouraged constitu-ents to attend last week’s council meeting to show support for the or-dinance and to make their feelings known. Several South Knoxvillians were in the audience, though per-haps not the number neighborhood leaders had expected.

Terry Caruthers and Jim Brady, both of Colonial Village, had signed up to speak but almost didn’t get a chance. Mayor Mad-eline Rogero, trying to run the meeting effi ciently, had already received a unanimous vote in fa-vor and moved on before at-large member George Wallace asked to reconsider because he hadn’t no-ticed what the ordinance was.

Wallace said he has concerns, based on input from city Law Di-rector Charles Swanson, that the

city will be sued if it tries to im-pose restrictions. The atmosphere in the Large Assembly Room at the City County Building got a bit testy as council members debated the action.

When the fl oor was opened for comments, Caruthers pointed out that other cities have imposed similar regulations. Brady said that with Chapman Highway being the main corridor from the Great Smoky Mountains into downtown Knoxville, AFS companies present a negative image of South Knox-ville and the city as a whole.

Pavlis said that the clustering of AFS entities was disheartening to South Knoxvillians, who had fought to recover from the long closure of the Henley Bridge and its fi nancial effects.

Council voted again, and Wallace changed his vote, but the result was the same. The ordinance will have a second reading on July 19.

New voting siteThere is a new location

for early voting July 15-30 in South Knoxville. It is 4536 Chapman Highway, near Big Lots in the Chapman Com-mons shopping center. Hours will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday.

Hit the links for SDHS sports

The annual South-Doyle High School Golf Tournament will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, July 15, at Lambert Acres Golf Course. The tourney benefi ts the football, basketball and soccer programs at SDHS.

Lunch will be served at noon. There will be door prizes.

Hole sponsorship is $100 and includes one player in the tournament.

Individual player cost is $75 and includes the round of golf, lunch, a goody bag and prizes awarded to the fi rst-, second- and third-place teams. There will also be awards for longest drive and closest to pin.

Info/registration: Clark Duncan, clark.duncan@knoxschools.org or 865-310-5458.

Urban kids enjoy field studies,

Jonathan Cruz kayaks at Ijams

Nature Center’s Mead’s Quar-

ry with the Royal Explorers

Science Camp. Photos submitted

Council approves Pavlis ordinance on loan companies

By Kelly Norrell

ponder careers at Science Camp

To page 3

Free dental sealant clinics

The Knox County Health Department will offer a free dental sealant clinic each Tuesday and Thursday in July at the InterFaith Health Clinic, 315 Gill Ave.

KCHD will provide the dental sealants to individuals between the ages of 6 and 21 years. Individuals do not have to be an InterFaith patient to receive these services, nor will they become an established InterFaith patient after receiv-ing sealants. Appointments are required. Info/appointments: 215-5157.

Read about the Brown Cem-etery in the Powell edition.

2 • JULY 13, 2016 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

Excellence!The Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery is now a designated Center of Excellence!

If you are struggling to lose weight, please attend our free seminar to learn about the

benefits of bariatric surgery that go beyond weight loss.

Visit www.fsregional.com/bariatrics for more information and seminar dates.

Shedding weight and worry“My blood sugar this morning

was 116, and it used to be 200 in the mornings,” says Jim Johnson, 67, Knoxville. “I’m on no diabetes medication whatsoever, no insulin and no pills, I’m not on any cholesterol medication, my blood pressure is 110 over 68 with a resting pulse rate of 65, and I’ve been off the CPAP for six months.”

Johnson is enthusiastic about sharing how much his life has changed since undergoing gastric bypass surgery at Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery last year. He’s happy with the results, but also amazed that he spent so many years of his life not realizing how much his extra weight was holding him back.

His only regret is that he didn’t do it sooner.

Johnson once carried 244 pounds on a body that is fi ve feet and three inches tall. That’s a lot of weight for a man of his stature, but he says he couldn’t tell the extra pounds were slowing him down, so the weight never bothered him.

“I’ve always had a high motor,” Johnson jokes. As an energetic person with a successful career, a family to care for, and many other responsibilities in his community, Johnson never felt like his life was lacking anything.

But as he began to age, the weight started to take a toll. Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, and GERD began to tip the scales toward a life that was not quite so satisfying by the time he reached his 60s.

He had managed his health with periodic exercise and diet changes over the years, but when his diabetes medication stopped working effectively, Johnson took

Jim Johnson before and after losing nearly 80 pounds thanks to gastric bypass surgery at Fort Sanders Regional.

Maintaining weight lossBariatric patient Jim Johnson will tell you

that it’s not easy. Gastric bypass surgery is a tool to help restore health, not a magic wand.

“The reason I’m successful is because I’m a stubborn son of gun,” Johnson says. But he emphatically declares that his new life is worth every ounce of effort he’s had to put into it.

“I’m tickled to death,” Johnson says. “I’m 67 years old, and I feel more like I’m 30.”

Here are Johnson’s top tips for maintaining weight loss after surgery, with input from his surgeon, Dr. Mark Colquitt:

1. Educate yourself before the surgery. Know what to expect, and have a plan. “You have to go through a lot of things to make sure you’re ready for this surgery,” Johnson says. “It’s a commitment.”

2. Follow the doctor’s orders regarding diet. Dr. Colquitt recommends three small meals a day, with the focus on protein. Don’t consume beverages until 30 minutes after your meal.

3. Get plenty of support in groups and online. “I got on a bariatric support group on Facebook,” Johnson says. “If you have somebody who has a shared

interest, it’s easier.”4. Drink plenty of water. Need it

fl avored? Johnson recommends dropping a couple of frozen strawberries (no sugar added) into a water bottle to avoid artifi cial sweeteners.

5. Keep a journal. Dr. Colquitt encourages his patients to stay on top of the changes in their bodies, and how their bodies are being fueled. Johnson uses a phone app to keep track of everything from blood sugar levels to the food he’s eaten.

6. Exercise. Dr. Colquitt’s patients receive a free, six-month membership at Fort Sanders Health and Fitness Center. Johnson says that was critical in his success after bariatric surgery.

8. Go for it! Johnson says one of the reasons he’s been successful is that he went into this process understanding that bariatric surgery isn’t a magic spell. Maintaining the weight loss takes discipline and commitment, but it’s a life investment worth making.

To learn more about weight loss surgery at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, visit fsregional.com/bariatrics, or call 865-541-2271.

Interested in Learning More?We invite you to attend one of our free informational seminars to learn more about

the bariatric surgery process. Find a seminar below nearest you and call 865-541-BAR1 (2271) to register today.

July 14 Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Classroom 1, Lobby Level 6 p.m.

July 28 Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Classroom 1, Lobby Level 6 p.m.

Aug. 11 Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Classroom 1, Lobby Level 6 p.m.

Aug. 25 Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Classroom 1, Lobby Level 6 p.m.

Sept. 8 Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Classroom 1, Lobby Level 6 p.m.

Sept. 15 Parkwest Medical Center Classrooms 1 & 2 6 p.m.

Sept. 22 Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center Classroom 1, Lobby Level 6 p.m.

a time when he could put his hecticlife on pause, gastric bypass surgerywas performed by Mark Colquitt,MD in June of 2015 at Fort SandersRegional Medical Center.

“I’ll say this, I don’t think I’ve everbeen treated better in a hospital orby healthcare providers,” Johnsonsays of the team involved in hisweight loss surgery.

Exercising regularly and payingcareful attention to the doctor’sinstructions on diet, the scales ofhis life began to tip back in his favor.“On surgery day I weighed 218, andat my six-month checkup I wasdown to 146,” Johnson says. “I hadlost 78 pounds, and I was within sixpounds of my goal weight.”

His life has improved in wayshe never imagined. Before losingthe weight, Johnson says hecouldn’t bend over to tie his shoes,and what he thought was a highenergy level before gastric bypasssurgery is nothing compared to thepowerhouse he feels like now.

“The stamina and energy I haveis just incredible,” Johnson says. “Iwould recommend gastric bypasssurgery to anybody.”

Johnson emphasizes that weightloss surgery is not an easy way out.It takes discipline and dedication.The procedures offered by Dr.Colquitt are simply meant as a toolto help patients be proactive abouthaving a better quality of life.

“It’s like if you go to the garageto work on your car,” Johnsonexplains. “You have to have theright tool, and they gave me the toolI needed.”

Johnson advises anyone whoselife is restricted by weight to talkto Dr. Colquitt about bariatricprocedures. “I would do it again ina heartbeat,” he says.

a long, hard look at where his life was headed.

Johnson wasn’t afraid of death,

but with a wife he loved, children, and grandchildren he adored, the prospect of life ending too soon

troubled him. He decided to pursue a weight loss procedure, and after crossing a few hurdles and fi nding

* Joint Commission Top Performer in Surgery Care, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery

0007

0007

-00400

4033

Obesity and its related illnesses are a growing threat to the health and well being of Americans. Diabetes, heart disease, orthopaedic problems, and sleep apnea are just some of the medical conditions caused or worsened by obesity. At the Fort Sanders Regional Center for Bariatric Surgery, patients receive guidance and support before and after surgery because bariatrics is a lifestyle change. Bariatric surgeons Mark Colquitt, MD, and Jonathan Ray, MD, only perform bariatric procedures, and two certified bariatric nurses spearhead the program. The program also offers nutritional and psychological support as well as a free fitness center membership for patients. Eligibility Criteria: Only patients considered morbidly obese or those with debilitating co-morbidities are candidates for bariatric surgery. Eligibility guidelines include:• Have a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 35• Are experiencing severe negative health effects related to obesity, such

as high blood pressure or diabetes• Cannot achieve a healthy body weight for a sustained period of time,

even through medically-supervised dieting

Patients are encouraged to attend a free seminar. For dates, times, and locations, please visit www.fsregional.com/bariatrics.

Mark Colquitt, M.D. Jonathan Ray, M.D.

865-673-FORT (3678) • www.fsregional.com/bariatrics

SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • JULY 13, 2016 • 3 community

Ron Williams From page 1

en care of. When Burchett learned that Williams was a U.S. Navy veteran, he as-signed his veterans’ services offi cer to the case and made some phone calls. Members of the Fulton High School Alumni Association got in-volved, and by the end of the day, the funeral was sched-uled.

Elaine Williams, who had spent several hot sum-mer days on foot, knock-ing on doors and asking for help, was relieved when a graveside service was set for Tuesday, July 12. Those attending met at East Ten-

nessee Veterans Cemeteryon John Sevier Highway fora graveside service with fullmilitary honors conductedby the East Tennessee Vet-erans Honor Guard.

She hopes people will re-member her brother for hiscaring heart as well as forhis great talent.

“Ron had faith. He’d giv-en his life to the Lord andeven as sick as he was, hewas always concerned forothers.”

To see a sampling ofRon Williams’ work, go tohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpBYF7w7oHU.

Science Camp par-ticipants prepare to launch their kayaks at Mead’s Quarry.

By Betsy PickleSometimes, the home-

court advantage is just plain unstoppable.

That was the case at last week’s Knoxville SOUP, the quarterly micro-fund-ing dinner presented by the South Knoxville Al-liance. The winner of the event won on the literal home court: the gym at the South Knoxville Com-munity Center.

The center’s director, Debbie Beeler, went up against three other com-munity-minded projects to make a case for funding a new treadmill for the cen-ter. The current one is “on its last legs,” she explained, and there is no money in her budget for a new one.

Beeler had plenty of support. About three doz-en center regulars, mostly seniors, attended SOUP, giving her a large voting bloc. As if that weren’t enough, during the raffl e, while votes were still being counted, the power went out for a couple of minutes, resulting in a blackout that could have been seen as a sign that the center had been anointed from above.

The sixth time out for SOUP, which has yet to use the same venue twice, hit a couple of milestones. It had the highest attendance – 142 – and the largest pot for the winner, with $709 collected at the door.

South Knoxville native and resident Alan Wil-

liams, an anchor at W V L T -TV, served o n c e again as m a s t e r of cer-emonies. A m o n g the vol-

unteers were half a dozen from the Great Schools Partnership, lured to par-ticipate by Susan Martin, site coordinator at the South Knoxville Elemen-tary Community School.

One of the competing projects, Marketing Proj-ect for Marble Springs Farmers’ Market, was a returnee. Marble Springs executive director Anna Chappelle explained that the 6-year-old market needs more visibility to achieve fully its mission of education and commu-nity service. She sought funds to purchase adver-tising and banners to be located on Chapman and Alcoa highways.

The state funds Marble Springs, 1220 Gov. John Sevier Highway, only par-tially, and the rest of its funding comes from do-nations. Info: www.mar-blesprings.net

Geri Mulligan of Ten-nessee Immigrant Em-powerment Solutions Inc.

SOUP boils over with successRegulars at the South Knoxville Community Center surround center director Debbie Beeler as she fans the cash won at Knoxville SOUP. The money will go toward a new treadmill for the facility’s fi tness center. Photos by Betsy Pickle

Alan Williams

made a pitch for A Gather-ing of Knoxville’s Patriots, a celebration planned for Sept. 11 for the 350 gradu-ates of the TIES citizenship test preparation classes, the volunteer teachers and the community.

Mulligan said that the foreign-born population of Tennessee grew 102 percent between 2000 and 2014, and helping immigrants become citizens is the best way to promote their accli-mation to U.S. culture. Info: www.tiesknoxville.org

A Community Play-ground Update at South Knoxville Church of God, 5623 Magazine Road, was the fourth project. The pre-senter was unable to attend, but the pitch was to update the playground to make it accessible for disabled chil-dren and toddlers.

The playground is open to the community year-round. Info: skcog.com

After the presentations, attendees dined on soups, salads, chorizo mac and

cheese, barbecued chicken, chicken salad sandwiches, cornbread, cobblers and cookies. A raffl e held before the announcement of the winner yielded such trea-sures as a gas grill, a child’s bicycle, artwork and several gift certifi cates.

The next Knoxville SOUP will be held Oct. 7; the lo-cation is TBA. Info: knox-villesoup.org and Knoxville SOUP on Facebook.

Urban kids From page 1

July 1. Called “Royal Explor-ers” and sponsored jointly by Johnson University’s Urban Alliance and the nonprofi t Emerald Youth Foundation, the camp performs two im-portant functions.

First, Science Camp im-merses youngsters from urban Knoxville’s economi-cally disadvantaged neigh-borhoods in science activi-ties at an age when they are at high risk of losing their interest in science. And sec-ond, it exposes them to a range of science careers such as engineering, robotics, re-search and agriculture.

“It gave us an idea of what we could do in the future,” said Kyle.

Urban Alliance director Kenny Woodhull said that the students participated in daily science experiments and local fi eld trips. In addi-tion to Norris Dam, fi eld trip sites included Ijams Nature Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Kyker Farms and the University of Ten-nessee, and sites where they

could learn about Knoxville Utilities Board. Activities in-cluded building a food web and tracking what happens to water from the time it leaves a household drain until it comes back to the house.

At Kyker Farms, where they studied agriculture and food sources, students got to pet a newborn calf.

In a classroom experi-ment, teams of students per-formed tests on unidentifi ed samples of water such as tap water, waste water and river water to discover the source. They used measurements such as the pH level, hard-ness and clarity of the water.

“I think the camp went very well. We were able to engage their interest and imaginations regarding sci-ence in a formative period in their lives,” Woodhull said.

Urban Alliance is an ini-tiative of Johnson University that partners with organiza-tions in urban Knoxville to aid future community lead-ers through educational ex-periences.

4 • JULY 13, 2016 • Shopper news

Marvin West

Amazing what you can learn from ESPN.

ESPN explains Tennessee schedule

One of the great net-work’s analytical geniuses, known for comprehensive research, told us the Ten-nessee football schedule is unbalanced. The descrip-tive word was “lopsided,” which is close to correct. The schedule appears more like my physique, bulging in the middle.

The Vol challenge is no-

ticeably more diffi cult in October than on either end.

This “lopsided” factoid was presented as monu-mental news, level 8, up there with the discovery of another planet or the recall of mayonnaise.

Oh my, the schedule might knock the Vols out of a national champion-ship. That part is accurate. Odds are it will. That’s what schedules do.

September is Appala-chian State on a school holiday, Virginia Tech in the spectacular-to-be Bat-tle at Bristol, Ohio U. (not to be confused with Ohio State) and the really big one against Florida.

October is when the boys

become men – at Georgia, at Texas A&M, home against Alabama. Even the open date is potentially threaten-ing. If the Vols lose again to the Tide, a hangover is almost sure to follow. If the Vols win, it might take more than a couple of weeks to re-turn to Earth. That sets up a tricky trip to South Carolina.

Strange that ESPN and the world are just now no-ticing that Tennessee No-vembers are rigged. For generations, UT teams have generally improved as they went along. November was a dependable time to enhance the season record. For coaches above the border-line, it was time to milk the cash cow, negotiate contract

extensions, gain signifi cant raises and qualify for bowl bonuses.

Indeed, there have been several Novembers to re-member. Thirty-seven times since the Southeast-ern Conference was orga-nized, Tennessee has won all its November league games. That was possible because the “Third Satur-day” was in October.

In November, in times past, there was unbeliev-able domination of Ken-tucky and Vanderbilt – 26 in a row over the Wildcats, 22 consecutive against the Commodores. If you want to dig deeper, UK defeated UT four times in 46 years. Vandy won four in 50. This

does skew late-season worksheets.

Beginning at the SEC be-ginning, in 1933, Robert R. Neyland went 31-5 against league foes in November. Bowden Wyatt was only 10-10. For that and other reasons, he was asked to go away.

Doug Dickey got off to a slow start but ended up with 12 victories in 19 SEC No-vember games. Bill Battle fi nished poorly but was 15-5 in his seven Novembers.

John Majors’ Vols went 40-12 against conference opponents in November. He had an eight-year run where he didn’t lose late. Phillip Fulmer was the best of the bunch, 41-5.

All the above lost credit for one or more victories over Vanderbilt because the games were in December.

As bad as was Derek Dooley’s coaching, his No-vember record against SEC opponents was 8-4. Butch Jones is 8-4.

The easy part of the typi-cal Tennessee schedule is not easy. The Vols are often at a psychological disadvan-tage. Going back to Ney-land, Kentucky and Vandy would hide behind their dis-appointments and wait in ambush, hoping to disrupt or spoil the Orange season.

So it remains, forever and ever, amen.Marvin West welcomes reader reaction. His address is westwest6@netzero.com

NickDella Volpe

Northeast survey reveals desires, needsThe online survey of

business availability in Northeast Knoxville is en-tering its fi nal week.

Your voice is important and we want to hear from you. Please invest fi ve min-utes to complete the survey monkey questionnaire – there are just 9 questions – so we will have a decent database to help launch a successful Economic Sum-mit for the northeast quad-rant this fall. The Chamber and Leadership Knoxville have said they will join us in that effort. So will the four BPAs active in our area.

Sneak Preview: Here is how things are look-ing based on the fi rst 100 respondents’ opinions we have received.

Over 60 percent of you say you shop mainly at the East Towne business dis-trict and along the Broad-way corridor. Less than 35 percent identify West Town and Turkey Creek as their

main choice.That’s not surprising. We

live in the East or Northeast part of the city and would rather shop and support businesses in our own back-yard. If our survey could reach folks from the outly-ing areas in Knox County, as well as Grainger, Union, Campbell and Jefferson counties, not to mention South Knoxville, I bet that north-and-east local busi-ness numbers would be even higher. Who needs the traf-fi c and hassles of the west side if you can fi nd what you need out here?

Over 65 percent of the survey respondents thus far assert that more retail

is needed out here. Where are the developers and en-trepreneurs? Opportunities abound for restaurants and bakeries to higher quality clothing stores, especially for women – you know the majority who really control the purse strings in Ameri-ca – and other retail.

More and better restau-rants were specifi cally iden-tifi ed as a need. Personally, I end up braving west traffi c occasionally to visit a Bravo Italian or Carrabas or Hard Knox pizza, just to sample some varied fl avors.

Meanwhile, locals stand in line on the weekends to get into Aubreys, Puleo’s or a nearby steak house. The Habaneros brothers have recently added a second res-taurant just to handle the daily fl ow.

Chefs, where are you? Bistro yourself out here.

Many of the respondents identifi ed greater health care as a need they would

like to see fulfi lled. That varies from walk-in clinics and women’s-care or child-care centers to a full service hospital.

We have been short-changed ever since St. Mary’s (now Tennova) decided to chase the fat-ter insurance policies out west. Countless people have identifi ed the old (car-ing) St. Mary’s as the place where they or their chil-dren were born or a loved one had surgery and atten-tive post-op care. The days of the good Sister hauling in one of Peyton’s passes have waned.

Other respondents cite the need for greater care fa-cilities to treat Alzheimer’s or dementia-related illness-es. They say UT services in that regard are backlogged and thus hard to access.

Without attempting more than this short sur-vey glimpse right now, I will say that some respon-

dents want to see more pe-destrian-friendly roads, a cleaner and better run mall (wake up Simon and your salvage holding company W.P.Glimcher!), as well as more family-run local busi-nesses. Perhaps the Mag-nolia corridor revamp will jumpstart the effort there. The city engineers need to make upper Broadway easi-er to traverse by car and on foot, and so on.

Meantime, please log on to your computer and take the survey. You can spare fi ve minutes. The inter-net link is: surveymonkey.com/r/KCMR9X9. You can also reach it from my Face-book page.

We’ll close that survey portal next week. Act now. Don’t just sit on your hands. Let’s take charge of our fu-ture. Let the Summit begin!

Nick Della Volpe is a lawyer who rep-resents District 4 on the Knoxville City Council. Reach him at ndellavolpe@gmail.com

GOSSIP AND LIES ■ Steve Hall does not have my

endorsement in District 18, even though he apparently sent out a mailer implying that.

■ James Corcoran would be my choice if I voted in District 18, which I do not.

■ And it speaks to the quality of candidates in that race that the only one I’ve not yet met is James Corcoran.

■ Hey, Amy Brace! I met the new principal at Sarah Moore Greene Magnet Academy last week and she got my atten-tion. Brace looked at her com-munity school volunteers and said, “We don’t want anyone to come here with pity.”

■ “Our kids are as smart as any others, and if some started in a hole, then we just have to work harder to pull them up.”

■ Susan Espiritu is handing over her staff and students to a hard-nosed leader. And we’re going to have some fun this year!

– S. Clark

Shopper news • JULY 13, 2016 • 5 government

VictorAshe

Betty Bean

Sandra Clark

If the 5th District school board runoff had been held last fall, the debate would have started (and pretty much ended) with the ques-tion, “James McIntyre: for him or against him?”

The controversial former superintendent changed the conversation when he an-nounced in December that he was stepping down from his $228K (plus perks) job. But underlying issues still remain.

Both Susan Horn and Buddy Pelot have rela-tives who have served in public of-fi ce – state Rep. Jason Zachary is married to Horn’s cousin,

and former City Council member Barbara Pelot is Buddy Pelot’s mother – but

the candi-dates say that fam-ily ties have little to do with their reasons for running.

Horn fi nished fi rst in the

three-way March primary with 4,364 votes, or 44.86 percent, narrowly missing the 50 percent plus one needed to avoid a runoff. Pelot got 2,932 votes, or 30.14 percent, nosing out third-place fi nisher Lori Ann Boudreaux, who had 2,431 votes for 24.99 percent.

A longtime PTA stalwart and school volunteer, Horn is doing lots of door knock-ing and enjoys the support of PACE, the political action committee of the Knox County Education As-sociation, and SPEAK, an organized group of teachers and parents who banded together to oppose corpo-rate education reform and the high-stakes testing that accompanied it.

Susan and Brad Horn have two daughters who attended Knox County schools.

She said that working in her children’s schools got her interested in running for school board.

“I’ve worked alongside teachers on the parents’ side for a long time, and I’ve seen some of the con-sequences of state reforms – how they’ve changed the overall atmosphere and environment in our schools over the past few years. That’s what led me to want to run.”

The East Tennessee De-velopment District, along with the East Tennessee Hu-man Resource Agency, cele-brates 50 years at an awards banquet at the Museum of Appal achia in Norris on July 14. This agency has as-sisted many disadvantaged persons in the mid-east Tennessee area.

■ Former U.S. Sen. Bill Brock, who lives in Annapolis, Md., is a former Republican National Com-mittee chair, but he will not attend the Republican Na-tional Convention for the fi rst time in over three de-cades.

His son Oscar Brock was recently elected GOP Na-tional Committee member from Tennessee and is an alternate delegate. The se-nior Brock continues to be active for the GOP at other levels and is hosting a fund raiser for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in a few weeks.

This writer is a delegate for Marco Rubio to the GOP convention and this week is serving on the platform committee in Cleveland, Ohio.

■ In December 2017, fi ve members of City Council rotate off due to term limits. They are Nick Della Volpe, Brenda Palmer, Nick Pavlis, Duane Grieve and Daniel Brown. People are already starting to look at running for these fi ve seats.

One of the most active is Lauren Rider, who lives

Schools in District 5 ■ A.L. Lotts Elementary

■ Blue Grass Elementary

■ Farragut Primary

■ Farragut Intermediate

■ Farragut Middle

■ West Valley Middle

■ Farragut High

Horn or Pelot in

District 5?

Pelot, an attorney whose given name is Reuben Nisbet Pelot IV, is the son of longtime West Knox dentist Reuben “Nib” Pelot (and Barbara, of course). He and his wife Judith have three daughters who have or currently are attend-ing Knox County schools. Both have been actively involved in the PTA, and he decided to run after hear-ing that incumbent Karen Carson wasn’t going to seek re-election. He has gotten strong support from the city’s business elite, largely mirroring that of District 2 candidate Grant Standefer, who lost to former teacher Jennifer Owen in the pri-mary.

Pelot said the similarity between his contributor list and Standefer’s is because they share a common con-sultant, Gary Drinnen of Targeted Strategies. When asked how he will turn the March numbers around in the August election, he said his campaign will look for the most effi cient ways to get the word out. Drinnen is known for massive amounts of direct mail.

Pelot said he’s always had a deep interest in education (UT’s Bob Kronick, founder of Knox County Schools’ community schools movement, urged him to pursue a master’s in education rather than go to law school).

“I’m not getting into this because I’ve got an agenda. I’m just pursuing excel-lence in education for all our kids in Knox County,” he said, echoing a McIntyre theme. “I’m an advocate in my career, and there are no attorneys on the board, so I can add something there, rather than just being an-other voice on the board.”

Susan Horn

Buddy Pelot

Ex-senator Brock won’t attend GOP convention

in Old North Knoxville on East Scott Avenue and is eyeing the Della Volpe seat. A few weeks ago, I had lunch with her at Savelli’s on Sutherland and left im-pressed by her commitment and knowledge as well her dedication to service.

Rider, 41, is married to neurologist Dr. Steven Rid-er, and they have two boys, Hagen, 7, and Finley, 8, who will be in Beaumont Magnet school this fall. She has lived in Knoxville since 2005 and works as the librarian at the Division Street campus of Pellissippi State. She met her husband at Indiana Uni-versity Medical School, and she got her graduate degree in library science from the same university. She re-ceived her undergraduate degree in exercise science from Georgia State.

In the 11 years she has lived here, she has been very active as president of Old North Knoxville from 2010 to 2014, as co-chair of the Broadway Corridor Task Force, on the Knox-ville Neighborhoods Advi-sory Council for two terms, member of the Knox County Library Advisory Board and on the Knoxville public

property naming commit-tee.

She is a strong his-toric preservationist and received the 2011 Knox Heritage Ronald Childress Preservationist Award. Her other issues include green-ways, infrastructure im-provement and sidewalks.

■ The House race in West Knox County for the District 18 seat now held by state Rep. Martin Daniel is becoming more heated as early voting beings this Friday. A debate was held last night between Daniel, James Corcoran, Steve Hall and Bryan Dodson. Hall has sent out two attack pieces on Daniel, and Daniel has responded with mailers re-minding voters that Hall, along with then-Sen. Sta-cey Campfi eld, tried to sell Lakeshore Park.

Daniel accuses Hall of wanting to increase his cur-rent state pension by 50 percent through one more term in the House. Hall also draws a city pension from his council service.

Hall for four years was almost invisible, but he has started early in attacking Daniel. Daniel is remind-ing voters why they retired Hall two years ago. Also in the contest is Corcoran, who has impressed many observers with his calm, articulate approach. He is hindered by not having the campaign funds which the others have.

■ Ron Williams, Knox-ville landscape artist, died June 24 at 69. While his death was not widely re-ported, his works represent the Hudson River stylized artist approach. They are in many homes across Knox County as well as our con-vention center. A talented and vigorous artist, he will be deeply missed.

■ Mayor Rogero de-serves compliments for in-sisting reforms in the KPD moonlighting policy go for-ward and no retribution oc-cur against the offi cers who raised the issue.

■ Thanks to poor management decisions by UT athletic director Dave Hart and others, UT has paid out over $4 million to settle lawsuits which they said they would vigorously defend when fi rst fi led. That assertion was a myth. It seems no one is being held to account for this. Will Hart simply get another pay raise?

UT President Joe DiPi-etro will appoint a commis-sion to review Title IX com-pliance.

It is imperative this com-mission be totally objective and include persons free to ask questions. The com-mission must have staff to do the work. UT personnel must be instructed to coop-erate and provide access to all documents. The meet-ings must be open to the public.

School security offi cers honored

Honoring school security offi cers of the year are: Security Chief Gus Paidousis, school board chair Doug Harris, Offi cer Frank Humphrey, Offi cer J. Gibson and interim superintendent Buzz Thomas.

Security Chief Gus Paid-ousis and interim Superin-tendent Buzz Thomas rec-ognized two school security offi cers for outstanding ser-vice during the Board of Ed-ucation meeting last week.

Offi cers Frank Hum-phrey and J. Gibson were selected as offi cers of the year from more than 100 of-fi cers.

Paidousis said 10 recruits are in the middle of a fi ve-week training regimen and will graduate at 6:30 p.m. Monday, July 28, at Fulton High School.

Also, Knox County Board of Education has approved:

North: Refi nishing the

gym fl oor at Powell High School for $17,196.00 using funds athletics and general school funds; plans to start a blended algebra and math I program at Gibbs, Central and Fulton high schools; Fulton High to upgrade weight room with Lift Life Foundation grant not to ex-ceed $150,000.

South: A partnership

proposal with ThinkCERCA for student licenses and a professional development package for Mooreland Heights Elementary School at a cost of $4,000;

An agreement with Knox County and the city of Knoxville for a common wall between the Sarah Simpson Professional De-velopment Center and the old South High School prop-erty, pending law director’s fi nal approval;

Reinstitution of a lease agreement with Commu-nity Action Committee for use of the old Anderson Elementary School facility for purpose of a Headstart

pre-school through June 30, 2035.

Mooreland Heights El-ementary to receive a Focus Schools grant for $59,809 to support gap closure for this Title I focus school.

East: An agreement with Pellissippi State Communi-ty College for the academic plan of the Career Magnet Academy through August 2017; also amended lease agreement for additional space for CMA;

Chilhowee Elementary to receive a Focus Schools Grant for $81,884 to sup-port gap closure for this Ti-tle I focus school for 2016-17 school year.

Paid for by Massey for Senate, Howard H. Vogel Treasurer

“ I will continue to work hard for you in Nashville. I will be honored to have your vote for re-election to the State Senate.”

Your VALUES Your SENATOR

www.beckymassey.com

d for you red to on to

ATOR

-Becky

VOTE for Becky! Tennessee State Senate

District 6

Early Voting starts Friday

Election Day Aug. 4

By Sara BarrettThere wasn’t an empty spot in the parking lot

last Thursday as folks parked along the curb of Martel Lane and hurried in to fi nd a seat for South Knoxville Senior Center’s Opry.

Two dozen musicians and singers were on the roster for the event, which is held at the center at 9 a.m. each Thursday.

“Everyone is welcome to par-ticipate,” says South Knoxville Senior Center coordinator Janet

Word. “Some who stop by play really, really well, and some don’t. But that’s OK. They all have a great time.”

Those who perform bring their own instru-

ments, and each song – usually a gospel hymn or country classic – blossoms from a jam session that begins when the previous song ends.

Al Johnson has been singing since he was a child but didn’t begin singing publicly until about a year ago.

“I love the South Knoxville Opry, and I love country music. I’ve followed it since I was a kid,” says Johnson, who turned 90 on July 12. His fa-vorite song to perform is “Pistol Packin’ Mama.”

Gracie Bruner began singing as a way to deal with the death of her husband fi ve years ago.

“I went straight from the farm to the music scene,” Bruner says with a smile. Before she walks onstage to sing, she breaks into dance while the guitarists strum an instrumental.

“Most of the people out here playing today have

played in groups all their lives,” she continues, af-ter she renders a Tammy Wynette classic. “When I turned 75, I was encouraged to sing with a friend, and now here I am.”

The number of mu-sicians grew to the point of a second group perform-ing in another area of the center.

Donuts and coffee were served, and the audience was encouraged to sing along. Info: www.knoxcounty.org/seniors/south_knox.php

6 • JULY 13, 2016 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news

Al Johnson

SENIOR NOTES ■ South Knox Senior

Center6729 Martel Lane573-5843knoxcounty.org/seniorsMonday-Friday7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Off erings include: dulcimer and guitar lessons; arts and crafts classes; dance classes; exercise programs; Tai Chi; card games; Joymakers practice; free swim 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Senior Meals program noon each Wednesday and Friday. The pool will be closed through July 15 for cleaning. SKSC Art Class Art Show recep-tion, 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, July 20; art show on display July 20-27.

Register for: iPhone/iPad class, 1-3 p.m. Thursday-Friday, July 14-15. Veterans Services, 9-10 a.m. Thursday, July 21; RSVP to 215-5645.

■ South Knox Community Center522 Old Maryville Pike573-3575Monday-FridayHours vary

Off erings include a vari-ety of senior programs.

■ John T. O’Connor Senior Center611 Winona St.523-1135knoxseniors.org/oconnor.htmlMonday-Friday8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Off erings include: Card games, billiards, senior fi tness, computer classes, bingo, blood pressure checks 10:30-11:30 a.m. Monday-Friday.

Register for: AARP Driver Safety Program, Wednesday-Thursday, July 20-21; info/registration: Carolyn Rambo, 382-5822. Facebook class, 10 a.m.-noon Thursday, July 21; cost: $15. Galaxy/Android phone or tablet class, 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday-Wednesday, July 19-20; cost: $25.

■ Knox County Senior ServicesCity County Building400 Main St., Suite 615215-4044 Monday-Friday8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

■ City of Knoxville Senior Citizen ProgramsCity County BuildingParks and Recreation Department400 Main St., Room 303215-4311knoxvilletn.gov

■ CAC Offi ce on Aging2247 Western Ave.524-2786knoxooa@knoxseniors.org

Louise McKinney stops by to hear her longtime friend Norine Pickel play guitar.

Ron Ridenour and J.C. Donahue warm up the crowd at South Knoxville Senior Center’s Opry.

Gracie Bruner sings a coun-try classic. Pho-tos by S. Barrett

SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • JULY 13, 2016 • 7 faith

cross currentsLynn Pittslpitts48@yahoo.com

Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.

(Proverbs 31: 31)Long years ago when I was in grammar school, I

learned that the book of Proverbs in the Old Testa-ment had 31 chapters and that the 31st chapter had 31 verses. So, the teacher explained, since 31 was also the maximum number of days in a month, every person on the planet could claim the verse from that chapter in Proverbs that corresponded with their birthday.

I went home that afternoon and looked up Proverbs 31. My birthday is the fi rst day of the month, and so my verse said, by way of introduction, “The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:”

Well, that was pretty disappointing for me!Beginning with the 10th verse, however, the words

of King Lemuel are an acrostic poem about the capable wife. It is an ode, really, extolling her virtues, wisdom, industriousness, good business sense, faithfulness to her husband, generosity and happy children.

In 1984, when I moved to New Jersey, my new next-door neighbor came over to chat. As we exchanged information about ourselves, I told her that I was a musician and what denomination I belonged to, and she immediately told me the church I should visit fi rst.

So the next Sunday, we went to the church she had recommended and took our 2-year-old Jordan to the toddlers’ class, where a wise woman said, “You should meet my friend Anne.”

I followed her instructions, and the rest is history. Even though John and Anne still live in New Jersey, we are still best friends and visit each other as often as we can.

King Lemuel described my Anne to a T!

A good, true friend

By Kelly NorrellFor 24 urban Knoxville

high school students, pondering the worst aspects of inner-city life will lead to empowerment and college scholarships.

And maybe some good solutions for the community, too.

The selected students are participants in the Future of Hope Institute, a new program directed by Johnson University’s Urban Alliance and funded by the Lily Endowment. Directed by Kenny Woodhull, Urban Alliance serves as a bridge between JU and urban issues.

Dametraus Jaggers is the director of Future of Hope. The participating students attend West, Fulton, Austin-East, Central, Bearden, Hardin Valley, L&N STEM

and Oak Ridge high schools and the Career Magnet Academy. Nominated by churches and youth groups, they were chosen by Future of Hope after interviews and screenings.

On July 15, the students will begin an intensive week of immersion in both Bible study and the city’s thorniest problems. JU and its initiatives are rooted in the Christian faith.

After a team-building retreat in Gatlinburg July 15-16, the group will meet at the Knoxville Four Points by Sheraton Hotel on White Avenue July 17-21. Participants will spend mornings in Bible study with JU faculty and afternoons with local experts on community problems.

Woodhull said the goal

is to see what the biblical story has to say about social justice. “What does the Bible say about transforming violence into peace and transforming economic and educational inequalities into prosperity?”

In the afternoons, students will meet with leaders of city government, schools, businesses and nonprofi ts to discuss the unspeakable: the killings of young people right in their neighborhoods, among other urban crises.

“We are going to look at the higher impact of these on people who live in the inner city,” Jaggers said. He cited other urban problems: homelessness, housing for low-income families, hunger, poor access to healthy food and lifestyles, low rates of college

Urban Alliance director Kenny Woodhull and Future of Hope Institute Director Dametraus Jaggers conduct a planning session with institute interns. From left are Abigail Gibbons, Nicholas Marshall, Woodhull and Jaggers, Crystal Robinson and Miles Wood-hull. Photo by Kelly Norrell

Future of Hope helps youth face urban crises with faith, skill

attendance and isolation. He said he wants the students, who live in urban neighborhoods themselves, to have a safe place to talk about their feelings.

Afterward, with the guidance of community mentors, the students will form about fi ve groups, each to fi nd a solution to a specifi c problem. The groups will meet monthly from August until March.

“We will push students to think beyond service projects and to change how people deal with challenges,” Jaggers said. He said one good solution might be to launch a community-wide event.

In March, there will be a banquet for students to present their solutions. Each student will receive a

$2,000 scholarship for use at any college. Students who enroll at Johnson University will receive an extra $1,000 yearly, making a total award of $6,000.

Jaggers said he wants the students to grasp the connection between Christian faith and social justice. “I want them to feel empowered to give

voice to the concerns and challenges they see within the community and to take action.”

Next year, he said, the Future of Hope Institute plans to involve 36 high school students.

Info: 865-415-2020 or Khawkersmith@johnsonu.edu.

COMMUNITY NOTES ■ Colonial Village Neighbor-

hood Association. Info: Terry Caruthers, 579-5702, t_caruthers@hotmail.com.

■ Knoxville Chapter of the Tennessee Firearms Asso-ciation meets 6 p.m. each fi rst Tuesday, Gondolier Italian Restaurant, Chapman Highway, 7644 Mountain Grove Drive. The public is in-vited. Info: Liston Matthews, 316-6486.

■ Knoxville Tri-County Lions Club meets 7 p.m. each second and fourth Monday, Connie’s Kitchen, 10231 Chapman Highway, Sey-mour. Info: facebook.com/TriCountyLions/info.

■ Lake Forest Neighbor-hood Association. Info: Molly Gilbert, 209-1820 or mollygilbert@yahoo.com.

■ Lindbergh Forest Neighborhood

Association meets 6:30 p.m. each third Wednesday, Graystone Presbyterian Church, 139 Woodlawn Pike. Info: Kelley DeLuca, 660-4728, kelleydeluca@gmail.com.

■ Old Sevier Community Group meets 7 p.m. each third Thursday, South Knoxville Elementary School library, 801 Sevier Ave. Info: Gary E. Deitsch, 573-7355 or garyedeitsch@bellsouth.net.

■ South Haven Neighbor-hood Association meets 10 a.m. each third Saturday, Hillcrest UMC, 1615 Price Ave. Info: Pat Harmon, 591-3958.

■ South Knox Republican Club meets 7 p.m. each third Thursday, South Knox Optimist Club, 6135 Moore Road. Kevin Teeters, kevinteeters018@gmail.com.

■ South of the River Democrats (9th District) meet 6:30 p.m. each third Monday, South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Maryville Pike. Info: Debbie Helsley, 789-8875, or Bran-don Hamilton, 809-3685.

■ South Woodlawn Neigh-borhood Association. Info: Shelley Conklin, 686-6789.

■ South-Doyle Neighborhood Association meets 7 p.m. each fi rst Tuesday, Stock Creek Baptist Church fellowship hall, 8106 Martin Mill Pike. Info: Mark Mugford, 609-9226 or marksidea@aol.com.

■ Vestal Community Organization meets 6 p.m. each second Monday, South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Maryville Pike. Info: Katherine Johnson, 566-1198.

8 • JULY 13, 2016 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news kids

Guinness Book of Records.Nick eyed the book, feeling perturbed.

Clay hadn’t let him touch it yet. Clay even showed him the pictures too quickly, as if a look from Nick’s eyes would smudge the pages. Nick wanted to look at it on his own, take his time to see if there was any-thing besides the gross stuff Clay had been showing him. When he’d asked, Clay had said, “No way! I don’t want your nose-picking hands on my book!”

“Here!” Clay said. “Get a load of these fi ngernails!”

Pretending he didn’t care, Nick stole a glance. The man looked as if he were clutch-ing ribbons he’d ripped off some presents. “That’s not gross. That’s weird. How does he sleep?”

Clay shrugged and set the book on his thigh. “How does he scratch when he itch-es? Search me. But neat stuff, huh?”

“I don’t know.” Nick eyed the book. It wouldn’t be hard to grab. “Ever want to be in that book?” — as the world’s worst best friend? he added to himself. Or the stingiest?

“Sure. Once I did the most humongous burp in the world.”

Nick snorted. “And my belly button whistles when I cough.” He slid his hand toward Clay’s leg, pretending to scratch his own kneecap.

“No, really! And yesterday I sneezed twelve times in a row. I bet that’s a record.” Clay’s look dared Nick to disagree.

Nick couldn’t stand it any longer. He grabbed and ran.

“Hey!” Clay screamed. “Give that back!”“Who’s gonna make me?” Nick shouted.

“Your grandmother?”Nick ran around the house, aiming for

some lilac bushes where he could hide and take his sweet time looking at the book.

He didn’t count on his little sister’s red wagon blocking the way. “E-e-e-iii!” he yelled, jumping.

It all happened very fast.He shoved the wagon’s cocked handle

away as his right leg shot forward. His smile seemed to lift him higher. “Yeah!” he breathed as he started descending. Then he heard a crash.

“Ow!” Clay yelled.Nick couldn’t help looking behind him.

The book fl ew from his hand. He lunged for

it and twisted in the air. The grass reared up like a snapped blanket. Nick landed fl at

on his back, k n o c k i n g the wind from him. The book lay beyond his hand. He heard an “O-oof!” on his other side and turned to see Clay’s feet thump-ing the ground near his head.

Nick tried to sit but c o u l d n ’ t . He tried to breathe, but his throat felt like a straw

collapsed from sucking too hard.Desperate now, and gasping for breath,

Nick struggled once more to sit. Clay moaned as he pulled himself onto his hands and knees and wobbled toward the book. With a tremendous grunt, Nick reared up and threw himself toward the book, block-ing Clay.

Just as Nick was about to snag the book, Clay grabbed one of his feet. He yanked, pulling Nick backwards.

Nick tried kicking, but Clay glommed on to his other foot. Nick felt as helpless as a worm on a wet sidewalk.

Nick went limp and groaned. “All I want to do is look at it.” A wave of anger washed over him. “You’ve been a real creep about this book. And you know what? It’s not so great. It’s just about lot of losers doing lame things. And they’re mostly adults. A-num-ber-one dolts? Get it?”

“Oh yeah?” Clay said. He tightened his grip on Nick’s feet.

“Yeah. How about the man who’s tat-tooed everywhere except between his toes. Gimme a break! Or the woman who paid six million dollars for a wedding dress. Come on! We could write a more interesting book than that!”

“More interesting than the fattest model in the world?”

Nick winced, picturing her. “Defi nitely. Let go and I’ll give you back your stupid book. Cross my heart …”

Clay let go and they both sat up. Nick reached for the book and, holding it as if it were disgusting, handed it to Clay.

Clay checked it for damage. Satisfi ed, he said, “You know what? You’re right. We should write our own book.”

Nick nodded. “And make all the records in our book belong to us.”

Clay grinned. “Hey! That’s a great idea!” He stood on shaky legs. “What record should we try for fi rst?”

(To be continued.)

Text copyright © 2012 Avi. Illustrations copyright © 2012 Timothy Bush. Reprinted by permission of Breakfast Serials, Inc., www.breakfastserials.com. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, displayed, used or distributed without the express written permission of the copyright holder.

CHAPTER ONE: The great idea“a breakfast serials story”The Best in the World

“Gross!” Nick made a face. “How many worms did he eat?”

“Sixty-two,” answered his best friend Clay. “In thirty seconds. He didn’t chew. See?” Nick leaned from where he sat on the porch steps to see better. Clay pulled the

book away, not wanting Nick too close. Clay hated sharing anything but trouble.

“Where do they get that stuff!” Nick said, unable to look any longer.

Clay grinned. “If you thought that was gross ...” He fl ipped carefully through The

Written by Marc Talbert and Illustrated by Betsy James

Camping in the garden

Sara Barrett

Day campers at HGTV UT Gardens made new friends this summer – some with two legs, some with more and some that slither on the ground.

“Your Wild Front Yard” was one theme for the week as 4- and 5-year-olds played nature-related games and explored the gardens at UT’s Institute of Agriculture.

A highlight of the camp, according to HGTV UT Gar-dens’ education director Derrick Stowell, was a corn snake the students observed eating its lunch.

“Research shows getting children outside reduces their stress levels and makes them more environmentally conscious,” says Stowell. “It is good for them to explore the garden on their own, with some supervision.”

Camp buddies Davis Berry, Flossie Burnett and Trip Anderson thoughtfully observe a bee rest-ing on a fl ower.

Volunteer Elaine Jol-lay, who usually helps with maintenance and pulling weeds in the fl ower beds, has spent some time helping with camp this summer and agrees with Stowell.

“I think children need to see things and notice things without just walking by,” says Jollay.

Students were encour-aged to watch insects and count blossoms and veg-etables on the plants. Jollay led the campers in nature-themed songs during indoor breaks.

UT Gardens offers many different camps for sum-mer and for all age groups. Themes focus on fossils,

worms, fruits and veggies and even chemistry in the garden. Info: https://tiny.utk.edu/gogardencamp.

Owen Oliver and Mia Scrader count tomatoes on plants out-side HGTV UT Gardens’ greenhouse. Photos by S. Barrett

UT Gardens volunteer Elaine Jollay leads campers in a song while they cool off in-doors.

Knoxville Children’s Theatre to present

‘Legally Blonde: The Musical Jr.’

Knoxville Children’s Theatre will present “Le-gally Blonde: The Musical Jr.,” a version of the hit Broadway musical specially adapted for children and families and based on the popular MGM fi lm.

Harvard’s beloved blonde takes the stage by glittery pink storm in “Le-gally Blonde: The Musi-cal Jr.,” which follows Elle Woods as she tackles ste-reotypes, snobbery and scandal in pursuit of her dreams. The role of Elle is played by KCT veteran Hannah Sloas, and Warner Huntington III is played by Joseph Coram.

“Legally Blonde: The Musical Jr.” will be per-formed July 15-31 at the Knoxville Children’s The-atre auditorium, 109 E. Churchwell Ave.

Performances are 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 1 and 5 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $12 and may be purchased in advance at 865-208-3677 or at knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com.

The play is directed by

Paulette (Abigayle DeBusk) tries to convince Elle (Hannah Sloas) to stay in law school in “Legally Blonde: The Musical Jr.” at the Knoxville Children’s Theatre. Photos by Ruth White

KCT Academy director Dennis E. Perkins. Paul Jones serves as musical di-rector.

SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • JULY 13, 2016 • 9

News from Fleetwood Photo

Great deals on services at Fleetwood Photo & Digital

By Carol Z. ShaneFrank Distefano, owner/

operator of Fleetwood Pho-to & Digital on Bearden Hill in Knoxville, is looking for-ward to the fourth weekend of July and the special ser-vices his business will offer to East Tennessee’s photog-raphy enthusiasts.

He and his staff will be hosting a crew from Atlanta’s Peachtree Cam-era for sensor cleaning at a cost of $40, a ser-vice which typically runs around $65.

“We’ve used them for probably 20 years,” says Distefano of the company. As another service, “Peo-ple can bring in lenses and have them calibrated to the camera for $10.” Those who are unable to make it to the event are welcome to drop off their cameras ahead of time in order to take advantage of the savings.

A buyer from Used Photo Pro will also be on hand. “Interested in sell-ing your gear?” they ask. “We can give you a com-petitive quote to make sure you get top dollar for your old camera gear. Come see us at Fleet-wood Photo.

“We will have a buyer on site to evaluate your equipment, make an of-fer and you can walk away with cash in hand!” Dis-tefano says that the com-pany is only interested in cameras and lenses, not photographic equipment and accessories.

He’s anticipating not only a commercial event, but a social one.

“What usually hap-pens is people get in here and get interested in what they’ve got and some trad-ing goes on!”

Fleetwood will also be offering one of its usual services – photo restora-tion – at a reduced rate. Such work can run to

$150 and higher, says Dis-tefano. For the two days, he’ll be providing the ser-vice for $45 plus tax. More complex restorations with multiple people will be an additional $7.50 per per-son in the picture.

As always, Distefano strives to bring the best photographic services to every interested individ-ual.

“We just try to treat everyone like they’re the only person around,” he says. “There’s nothing more important than the customer who’s standing right in front of you.”

The special runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, July 22, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 23. Fleetwood Photo & Digital is located at 6504 Kingston Pike in Knox-ville. Info: 865-584-4554 or fl eetwoodphoto.com

Fleetwood Photo 6504 Kingston Pike

584-4554 www.fl eetwoodphoto.com

Representatives from Peachtree Camera in Atlanta will be at Fleetwood Photo & Digital to provide cleaning and calibration services.

Standard retouch and restoration workwith one personRegularly $150+

10am-6pm • Friday, July 2210am-2 pm • Saturday, July 23

rrddd rrreeeettttttoooooouuuuucccccchhhhhhh aaaaannnnddddddd rrrreeeeesssssttttttoooooorrrrrraaaaattttttiiiiiiioooooonnnnn wwwwwooorrkkRETOUCHING

SPECIAL $45 plus tax

By Shannon C areyThere’s a brand-new place to let your cre-

ative juices fl ow in South Knoxville.KnoxMakers, a nonprofi t makerspace,

has moved into the fi rst fl oor of the East Tennessee Technology Access Center off Martin Mill Pike, bringing people from all walks of life access to high-tech tools, cre-ative equipment and classes covering just about everything under the sun.

But wait. What’s a makerspace? It’s a community center where people create and collaborate to make things. What things? Anything they can imagine.

“I think one of the things that makes this so interesting is that it means differ-ent things to different people,” said Knox-Makers creative director Issac Merkle. “For some, it’s access to tools. If you live in an apartment or can’t afford them, you can join the makerspace and use the tools here. There are also those for whom the point is learning opportunities. We have workshops every week, and the ability to cross-train with others is amazing. For others, it’s a social avenue. These are people who would not go to the sports bar. It’s a place to be that’s not home or work.”

KnoxMakers has been around for six years. The fi rst makerspace was located in the Tech2020 Industrial Park in Oak Ridge. The move to South Knoxville has allowed the group to more than triple their space, adding a sewing and crafts area and a class-room. It’s also more convenient for UT stu-dents and underserved populations.

“When I fi rst moved to Knoxville, South Knox was where I landed,” said Merkle. “I always thought it was cool. This is like a homecoming for me. I think it’s awesome to get this stuff into this area of town and hopefully get people around us to come in and use it.”

“This stuff” includes several worksta-tions that cover electronics, woodworking, metalworking and crafting. Tools avail-able include a MendelMax 1.5 3-D printer, industrial vacuum chamber, MIG and TIG welders, laser cutter, professional embroi-dery machine, wood and metal lathes, drill

press, fully-equipped soldering station and more.

Recent classes have included stained glass, vacuum forming, Arduino and Rasp-berry Pi, soldering and home automation.

KnoxMakers welcomes newcomers and nonmembers, but members get a key and 24/7 access to the space. The general rate is $50 per month with seniors and students at $20 per month. There is also a $75 sponsor-ship rate that includes two memberships at a discount.

A group of volunteers has spent the last month moving equipment and upgrading the new space, adding air conditioning and ventilation and improving the electrical in-frastructure to accommodate welders.

KnoxMakers president Doug Laney said he hopes makerspace will “unlock creativ-ity” in the same way that the Internet did.

“The Internet did a lot to unlock curios-ity,” Laney said. “The space between not knowing something and knowing some-thing is now very small. We have access to the collective knowledge of humanity in our pockets. One thing that this space does is make the space between wanting to make something and making something smaller.

“Do-it-together is actually better than do-it-yourself. There are things that we have accomplished collectively that we could not have accomplished individually.”

Some KnoxMakers members have gone on to market the inventions they created in the space. Two used 3-D printing to make marketable products and another is set to appear on “Shark Tank” with an exercise machine.

“We want to be the nexus for creative and technical and entrepreneurial people in Knoxville,” said Laney. “We want to be the place where they get together and all those creative collisions happen. We place a lot of value on the community we have. The larger and more diverse it is, the better it is.”

KnoxMakers is planning an open house event to celebrate the grand opening of their new space. Details will be announced soon.

Info: www.knoxmakers.org.

KnoxMakers communications director Emilee Sawicki tests out the drill press at the new mak-erspace in South Knoxville. Photos by S. Carey

KnoxMakers creative director Isaac Merkle does electrical work at the soldering station in the group’s new South Knoxville facility.

KnoxMakers boosts STEM in SoKno

the Rotary guyTom King, tking535@gmail.com

Richard Bettis. Robin Easter. Ed Engel. Dan Hipsher.

All four are Rotarians who are members of four different clubs, and all four have been selected as their respective club’s Rotarian of the Year. Let’s fi nd out why they were honored.

Richard Bettis of First Citizens Bank is a past president of Bearden Ro-tary and has been in the club for nine years. The club selected him for the hon-or because of his leadership and work on its recent 2016 Game Show Night fun-draiser. The club raised approximately $20,000 for the projects it supports. Bet-tis also is part of the team that reads to students at Pond Gap Elementary School and works at Free Flu Shot Saturday.

Robin Easter is a member of the Rotary Club of Knoxville. She is the owner and creative director of Robin Easter Design.

Bearden Rotary’s annual award is given to a newer club member who, in his or her personal and professional life, exemplifi es the qualities of Rotary’s “Four Way Test” and embodies the Ro-tary motto of “Service Above Self.” This year, Easter re-designed the club logo for its Centennial Celebration and designed the Centennial banners that hung on Gay Street and the Henley Street Bridge, among other things.

Ed Engel of the Rotary Club of Tur-key Creek Sunset heads the club’s major fundraiser, is the organizer and direct link to Farragut High School students

who are selected for the club’s annual technical scholarships and is a founding member of the club. Engel was the fi rst president of the club and members call him “our Rotarian encyclopedia.” Engel is a business adviser and owns “Seniors Helping Seniors.”

Dan Hipsher of Graphic Creations Inc. is past president of the Rotary Club of Knoxville Breakfast. He was selected because “he has led, sponsored or partici-pated in virtually every club activity and project since becoming a member in 2010.”

Among Hipsher’s accomplishments are: organized and managed the Dis-trict 6780 Golf Tournament from 2014-2017 and was instrumental in the club receiving its fi rst-ever District grant for playground renovation at Blue Grass El-ementary School in 2014 and its second District grant in 2015 for media equip-ment at the same school. He is a gradu-ate of the District Leadership Academy. Hipsher also traveled to Kenya as part of a needs assessment team for life-skills training for school-age children. He is currently working on the club’s fi rst-ever global grant in partnership with the Ro-tary Club of Farragut to deliver the train-ing program in Kenya.

Rotarians of the Year

Ed EngelRobin EasterRichard Bettis Dan Hipsher

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Tastings begin at 7 p.m.

10 • JULY 13, 2016 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news

THROUGH SUNDAY, JULY 8-24“Fiddler on the Roof” presented by the Oak

Ridge Playhouse, Jackson Square, 227 Broadway Ave., Oak Ridge. Performances: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. Info: orplayhouse.com or 482-9999.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13Brown Bag Lecture: “Andrew Jackson Never

Slept Here: The Lamar House from 1817 to Today,” noon-1 p.m., East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Info: 215-8824.

Kids and Family Dance Party, 3 p.m., Howard Pinkston Branch Library, 7732 Martin Mill Pike. Ages 2-10 with an adult. Info: 573-0436.

Knoxville Zoomobile, 3 p.m., Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.

Puppet show: “The Princess & the Dragon,” 2 p.m., Farragut Branch Library, 417 N. Campbell Station Road. Info: 777-1750.

THURSDAY, JULY 14“Are Your Shrubs Hiding Your House?,” 3:15-

4:30 p.m., Humana Guidance Center, 4438 Western Ave. Presented by master gardener John Payne. Free and open to the public. Info: 329-8892.

Chuck and Terri’s Musical Extravaganza, 4 p.m., Bearden Branch Library, 100 Golfclub Road. Info: 588-8813.

Heiskell Seniors monthly luncheon, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., The Community Center, 1708 W. Emory Road. Barbecue lunch and speaker provided by Mynatt Funeral Home. Bring a dessert and a friend. Info: Janice White, 548-0326; “Community Center” on Facebook.

A Look at the Weather with Ken Weathers, WATE meteorologist, 10:30 a.m., Karns Branch Library, 7516 Oak Ridge Highway. Info: 470-8663.

Knoxville Christian Women’s Connection luncheon: “Let Freedom Ring,” 10:45 a.m., Buddy’s Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kingston Pike. Program: Food City’s Demonstrator, Gordon Pillsbury. Guest speaker: Linda McDaniel from Ellenboro, N.C.; topic: “Living at the Day Spa … is that Realistic?” Cost: $12. Complimentary child care by reservation only. Info/reservation: 315-8182 or knoxvillechristianwomen@gmail.com.

Shakespeare on the Square: “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” 7 p.m., outdoors on Market Square. Free performance by Tennessee Stage Company; $10 suggested donation appreciated. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

FRIDAY, JULY 15Kaleidoscope-making class, noon-3 p.m.,

Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. The class is open to adults and children age 9 and older. Cost: $26. Info/registration: bobgrimac@gmail.com or 546-5643.

Museum of Education Sock Hop, 7-10 p.m., Sarah Simpson Professional Development Technology Center, 801 Tipton Ave. Features: live music, appearance by Sammy “Barney Fife” Sawyer, silent auction, “prom” photo packages and more. Tickets: $25; available at all Knoxville Teachers Federal Credit Union locations, at the museum and online at http://bit.ly/1RUAA4J. Info: knoxschools.org/museum.

Music in the Round: “A Cowgirl, A Diva and A Shameless Hussy,” 5:30 p.m., Barn Event Center of the Smokies, 7264 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway. A fundraiser benefi ting the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center. Tickets: $75. Info/tickets: 448-0044.

Shakespeare on the Square: “King Lear,” 7 p.m., outdoors on Market Square. Free performance by Tennessee Stage Company; $10 suggested donation

appreciated. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 15-17“Big River” presented by the WordPlayers, Bijou

Theatre, 803 S. Gay St. Performances: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. Suggested for ages 12 and over. Tickets: wordplayers.org, knoxbijou.com and at the door. Info: 539-2490.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 15-31“Legally Blonde: The Musical, Jr.,”

Knoxville Children’s Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Ave. Performances: 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 1 and 5 p.m. Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays. Info: 208-3677, knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com, zack@childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

SATURDAY, JULY 16Cades Cove tour with Bill Landry, 9:30 a.m.

departure from Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend. Cost: $60. Advance reservations required. Info/reservations: 448-8838.

Kitten and cat adoption fair, noon-6 p.m., West Town PetSmart adoption center, 214 Morrell Road. Sponsored by Feral Feline Friends of East Tennessee. Info: www.feralfelinefriends.org.

Saturday Stories and Songs: Georgi Schmitt, 11 a.m., Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.

Saturday Stories and Songs: Sarah Rysewyk, 11 a.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. Info: 470-7033.

Shakespeare on the Square: “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” 7 p.m., outdoors on Market Square. Free performance by Tennessee Stage Company; $10 suggested donation appreciated. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

“Starting Fall Veggies,” 10:30 a.m.-noon, All Saints Catholic Church Demonstration Gardens, 620 N. Cedar Bluff Road. Presented by Master Gardener Barb O’Neil. Free and open to the public. Info: 215-2340.

Yard sale and bake sale, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Earth Fare parking lot, 140 N. Forest Park Blvd. All proceeds to benefi t the Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble. Info: http://tcdedance.org/calendar.

SUNDAY, JULY 17Shakespeare on the Square: “King Lear,” 7

p.m., outdoors on Market Square. Free performance by Tennessee Stage Company; $10 suggested donation appreciated. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

Southern Avenue from Memphis will perform during the 4 p.m. Blues Cruise aboard The Star of Knoxville, Tennessee Riverboat Company, 300 Neyland Drive. Blues Cruise is presented by the Smoky Mountain Blues Society. Tickets: tnriverboat.com/blues-cruises-2 or 525-7827. Info: smokymountainblues.org.

MONDAY, JULY 182016 Friends of the Library annual

membership meeting, 6-8 p.m., East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. All members of Friends, as well as interested members of the public, are invited. Info: 215-8801.

“Starting Fall Veggies,” 1-2 p.m., Davis Family YMCA, 12133 S. Northshore Drive. Presented by master gardener Barb O’Neil. Free and open to the public. Info: 777-9622.

TUESDAY, JULY 19Awesome Science with Dr. Al Hazari, 2 p.m.,

Karns Branch Library, 7516 Oak Ridge Highway. Info: 470-8663.

Einstein Simplifi ed Comedy Improv troop, 8 p.m., Scruffy City Hall, Market Square. Free admission.

Introduction to Geocaching workshop, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., UT Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Ave., Oak Ridge. Cost: $20. For rising fi fth through eighth grade students. Bring sack lunch. Advance registration required. Info/registration: janet_bigelow@tds.net or 675-3822.

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY, JULY 19-20“Samsung Galaxy Phone/Tablet Basics for

Seniors” class, 1-3 p.m., Farragut Town Hall, 11408 Municipal Center Drive. Presented by Social Media 4 Seniors. Cost: $45. Registration/payment deadline: Monday, July 18. Info/registration: townoffarragut.org/register; in person at Town Hall; 218-3375.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 20Movie party: “Minions,” 3 p.m., Lawson McGhee

Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, JULY 20-21AARP Driver Safety class, noon-4 p.m., O’Connor

Senior Center, 611 Winona St. Info/registration: Carolyn Rambo, 382-5822.

THURSDAY, JULY 21AAA Driver Improvement Course, 5:30-9:30

p.m., AAA Offi ce100 W. Fifth Ave.. Four-hour course helps reduce points for traffi c offenders and teaches how to reduce risk while driving. Cost: $30 members/$35 nonmembers. Must preregister. Info/registration: Kate, 862-9254, or Stephanie, 862-9252.

Knoxville Zoomobile, 11 a.m., Bearden Branch Library, 100 Golfclub Road. Info: 588-8813.

Shakespeare on the Square: “King Lear,” 7 p.m., outdoors on Market Square. Free performance by Tennessee Stage Company; $10 suggested donation appreciated. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

FRIDAY, JULY 22Shakespeare on the Square: “The Merry

Wives of Windsor,” 7 p.m., outdoors on Market Square. Free performance by Tennessee Stage Company; $10 suggested donation appreciated. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

SATURDAY, JULY 23AAA Driver Improvement Course, 8 a.m.-4:30

p.m., AAA Offi ce, 100 W. Fifth Ave. Eight-hour course helps reduce points for traffi c offenders and teaches how to reduce risk while driving. Cost: $40 members/$50 nonmembers. Must preregister. Info/registration: Kate, 862-9254, or Stephanie, 862-9252.

Beginning Genealogy, 1-4 p.m., East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Instructor: Ann Blomquist, MEd. Preregistration, valid email address, good internet searching capabilities required. Info/registration: 215-8809.

Book launch and signing for “Blue Mountain Sky” by local author Cyn Taylor, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Front Porch Restaurant and Primitive Shop, 1509 W Emory Road. Book available for purchase; name drawn from sales for door prize.

Kitten and cat adoption fair, noon-6 p.m., West Town PetSmart adoption center, 214 Morrell Road. Sponsored by Feral Feline Friends of East Tennessee. Info: www.feralfelinefriends.org.

“Pruning Hydrangea,” 10:30 a.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. Presented by master gardener Carolyn Kiser. Free and open to the public. Info: 470-7033.

Saturday Stories and Songs: Georgi Schmitt, 11 a.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive. Info: 470-7033.

Saturday Stories and Songs: Melissa Mastrogiovanni, 11 a.m., Lawson McGhee Library, 500 W. Church Ave. Info: 215-8750.

Shakespeare on the Square: “King Lear,” 7 p.m., outdoors on Market Square. Free performance by Tennessee Stage Company; $10 suggested donation appreciated. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

SUNDAY, JULY 24Shakespeare on the Square: “The Merry Wives

of Windsor,” 2 p.m., Scruffy City Hall, 32 Market Square. Performance by Tennessee Stage Company; Cost: $10. Info: 546-4280 or tennesseestage@comcast.net.

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Shopper news • JULY 13, 2016 • 11

John W. Hope(1842-1914)

When Col. J.C. Woodward liq-uidated his extensive real estate development in Lexington, Ky., in 1890 and moved to Knox County, he purchased the Fountain Head Hotel and Resort. He enhanced the park adjoining the hotel and impounded the lake nearby. He also established the Fountain Head Land Co. and

John W. Hope (1842-1914). Civil War vet-eran John Hope reorganized his father’s Gay Street jewelry store in 1868 in partnership with Fred Miller. Photos courtesy of the C.M. McClung Historical Collection

John W Hope‘Dealers in rare things and fi ne jewelry’

JimTumblin

“States View” at Ebenezer in West Knox County (1812).

Hope also built Dr. Joseph C. Strong’s house, on the corner of State Street and Cumberland Avenue, which was later named “Maison de Sante” (1812). Some attribute the original design of the James Park House on Cum-berland Avenue to Hope, and sev-eral payments Hope received from Thomas Humes, builder of the La-mar House Hotel, indicate that he may have participated in the ho-tel’s design.

Ramsey House and States View still stand as evidence of Thomas Hope’s architectural expertise, and both are on the National Reg-ister of Historic Places. Blount Mansion still displays some of his elegant furniture.

John W. Hope’s father, David Large Hope (1799-1869), was born at the Ramsey Plantation in 1799. He married Mary E. Welsh, and they became parents of several

children, including our subject, John William Hope, on Dec. 27, 1842. After attending the common schools, John apprenticed himself to his father, a silversmith.

He traveled to Atlanta early in the Civil War (1861-1865) to en-list in the Georgia 1st Regiment of Regulars (CSA) and was stationed at Fort Pulaski until the Battle of Manassas. After that battle, he transferred to Gen. Rogers’ Virgin-ia Cavalry. He was captured at Cul-peper Courthouse and imprisoned at notorious Point Lookout, where he served 16 months.

Although he was ardent in his support of the Confederacy dur-ing the fi ghting, Hope refused to hold ill will, and after the war he turned his efforts toward rebuild-ing the South. Hope Jewelers had been founded by his father in 1846, but John Hope and Fred Miller reorganized the business in 1868, and John’s brother, David J. Hope, joined the fi rm not long after.

advertised residential lots with “easy transportation, pure water, beautiful trees and a pleasant cli-mate” in the local papers.

The post offi ce soon renamed the suburb Fountain City to avoid confusion with Fountain Head in Sumner County. Among the fi rst to purchase lots there and build sum-mer homes or to establish perma-nent residence in the suburb were Col. J.C. Williams, coal magnate; Sol H. George, department store owner; and John W. Hope, promi-nent Gay Street jeweler.

Perhaps the most interesting of these choices of a home site was that of John W. Hope since he was the grandson of famous ar-chitect Thomas Hope (1757-1820). An ability to choose building sites seems to have passed down through the generations.

Thomas Hope, an English ar-chitect and furniture builder who had trained in London, moved to Knox County in 1785. His fi rst lo-cal project was Francis Alexander Ramsey’s elegant two-story Geor-gian-style home at Swan Pond, built of locally quarried marble and completed in 1797. A decade later, Hope built “Trafalgar” for planter John Kain, overlooking the Holston River (1806), and Charles McClung’s Federal-style

The 1882 City Directory lists “Hope and Brother” at 142 Gay St. By 1930, John W. Hope’s two sons, Albert G. (1869-1955) and James D. Hope (1872-1947), had joined the fi rm. After occupying two other locations on Gay Street, the store moved to 428 S. Gay St. in 1908 and to 613 Market St. during the 1930s and was liquidated in 1959.

Hope’s storied 12-foot-tall or-namented cast-iron clock stood on the sidewalk at the Gay Street location and remained there when Kimball’s occupied the building in 1933. When Kimball’s relocated to Kingston Pike in Bearden in 2004, they moved the clock to their new location. Downtown business peo-ple missed the iconic landmark so much that several of them, includ-ing Wayne Blasius, Ann Marie Tugwell, John Worden and Chuck Morris, organized fundraising that eventually enlisted some 200 contributors, and a handsome cast-aluminum replacement was unveiled in December 2007.

But back to John W. Hope for the rest of the story: After he returned from the Civil War, he and Rachel Ebaugh (1846-1920) were married on Dec. 7, 1866, by the Rev. John F. Spence in the First Methodist Church. They became parents of three children: Albert G., James D. and Nora (Mrs. C.G.) Davis.

Early in their marriage, the Hopes lived on Fourth Avenue near Lamar Street. They probably moved to their home in Fountain City during the real estate boom

generated by Col. J.C. Woodward inthe late 1890s. They bought on fash-ionable Fountain Avenue, whichthen as now runs along the westernside of Fountain City Lake parallel-ing Broadway then curves up BlackOak Ridge. At the time, the heart-shaped lake with its white boardfence, gravel walk and gas lightswas the jewel of the neighborhood.

Each of the houses on Fountainmust have had quite large grounds,as the 1910 U.S. Census lists onlyfour families on the street: JohnM. and Lelia Tindell, John W. andRachel Hope, James B. and Mar-garet Carson and George L. andAnna B. Price.

The northern terminal for theFountain Head Railway (the Dum-my Line) was within easy walkingdistance for those families. From1890 to 1905 the unique train col-lected 10,000 fares each day and,in just 30 minutes, carried JohnHope and others to their down-town businesses. The railway wasreplaced by a trolley line that ranon those same standard- gaugetracks after 1905.

The idyllic home life of John W.and Rachel Hope ended on Sept.8, 1914, when John passed away athome after several months of fail-ing health. After services conduct-ed by the Rev. French Wamplerat the Fountain City MethodistChurch, South, he was buried inGreenwood Cemetery.Dr. Tumblin’s latest book, “Fountain City: ThoseWho Made a Diff erence,” is available at the Foun-tain City Art Center, Pratt’s Country Store andPage’s Fountain City Pharmacy.

Hope Brothers Jewelers (c. 1930). The store and its iconic ornamental clock were downtown landmarks for many years. CMMHC, Thompson Collection, N-3848

12 • JULY 13, 2016 • Shopper news