By Sandra ClarkKnoxville’s mayor wants a 34-

cent property-tax hike and promis-es dynamic projects (along with an ordinance-mandated 2.5 percent wage increase for city employees and a charter-mandated 3 percent increase for pensions). The people at her budget address applauded.

Knox County’s mayor wants no property-tax increase (the last one was at the beginning of Tom-my Schumpert’s second term, 15 years ago), promises fewer new programs and no wholesale raises for county employees including teachers and deputies. The people at his budget address applauded.

Who are these people, and why are they clapping?

Mayor Madeline Rogero must believe she’s got fi ve votes on City Council for her budget or she would have proposed something

less. Vice Mayor Nick Pavlis seems solidly at her side.

Mayor Tim Burchett is closely aligned with Knox County Commis-sion, a body un-likely to pass a tax hike even if he proposed it. Luckily, the coun-ty’s tax base has grown in the re-

cession so that Burchett has been able to fund increases of $49 mil-lion to Knox County Schools dur-ing his term, even without a tax increase.

But that has come at the expense of the Sheriff’s Offi ce, where the bottom 90 percent are underpaid. It shortchanges Parks & Recreation where each year Doug Bataille tries to do more and more with less and less. And the school board says it’s not enough.

Both legislative bodies will con-duct hearings a nd vote in May.

Rogero’s budget calls for great things including public restrooms

on Market Square. That alone earned her a standing ovation. She said, “Everywhere I go I hear that we are on the right track. There is an excitement and a buzz for the good things happening

in Knoxville. We need to stay on track. We need to keep the mo-mentum building. We need to con-tinue to invest in building a great city.”

Rogero’s $200.5 million general fund budget includes increases for sidewalks and crosswalks, $1.2 mil-lion for public infrastructure im-provements downtown, $300,000 for continued improvements in the Magnolia Warehouse District, $500,000 to remediate blighted and chronic problem properties, $500,000 for historic-preservation

IN THIS ISSUE

VOL. 2 NO. 1 July 29, 2013www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow

7049 Maynardville Pike 37918(865) 922-4136

NEWS

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O 1 wVOL. 2 NO. 1 May 5, 2014www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow

SOUTH KNOX

By Betsy PickleWhen you put a festival in Ves-

tal, it just makes sense to call it Ves-tival. But after that, anything goes.

“This year, we’re having opera for the fi rst time,” says Trudy Mo-naco, Vestival founder and board member of the Candoro Arts and Heritage Center, which hosts the event at the Candoro Marble building, 4450 Candora Ave.

Opera, music that would sound more at home at the Grand Ole Opry and many genres in between will be presented on the three stages at Vestival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 10. Admission is free, but a $5 donation is suggested.

In addition to the Marble City Opera, performers will include Tim Lee 3, RB Morris, Cereus Bright, the Carpetbag Theatre, Jamie Cook, Four Leaf Peat, Jon Whitlock Trio, Cornbred Blues Band, the Jank, Pamela Klicka Jazz and the Knoxville Ramblers.

Vendors throughout the grounds will offer arts, crafts, food and bever-ages in a family-friendly at-mosphere. There will be chil-dren’s activities as well as special

Dragonfl y Aerial Arts returns to Vestival this year. Photos submittedQuilter Opal McCartney

is the featured artist.

with a vengeance

Vestival returns

Acclaimed local

band Tim Lee 3 will

make its Vestival

debut on Saturday. Photo by Bill Foster

Goodwill Industries-Knox-ville’s retail store on Chapman Highway will relocate to a nearby facility at 4201 Chapman High-way. The grand reopening is set for

9 a.m. Wednesday, May 7.The new location will provide

a larger retail area, more natural lighting and an improved donation area – improvements that should

result in more pleasant shopping and donating experiences for Goodwill customers, according to a company press release.

Proceeds from the sale of goods

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New taxes or no: Both draw applause

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projects, $1 million for greenway corridors and improvements to Lakeshore Park, Fountain City Lake and Ijams Nature Center. Whew!

Burchett’s $31.2 million capital budget has new projects as well:

■ $5 million for Ball CampDrive phase two

■ $2.5 million for safety im-provements at various intersections

■ $750,000 for expansion andupgrades to Carter Convenience Center

■ $300,000 for the develop-ment of Plumb Creek Park

■ Funding for 30 new KCSOvehicles and technology/security upgrades

Burchett promises fi scal re-sponsibility and a tight fi st. Rog-ero promises leadership for city services “that people have come to expect and demand.”

Both mayors got applause be-cause both connect with the peo-ple they serve. Both are likable and approachable. Both work hard. Both are middle-of-the road, with Burchett leaning rightward while Rogero lists to the left. We’ve got the government we deserve. Let’s hear a round of applause.

S-D wows with ‘Oklahoma’

The corn was as high as an elephant’s eye and the wind came sweeping down the stage for South-Doyle High School’s production of “Oklahoma!”

Strong performances by a talented cast on opening night last Tuesday gave a promise of good things to come for the subsequent weekend shows.

➤ Read Betsy Pickle on page 6

Searching for a basketball coach

Critics managed to fi nd fault with Dave Hart’s search for a new Tennessee basketball coach. I thought it was orderly enough. Seek-and-fi nd took only one week. OK, I did fl inch when the Louisiana Tech guy turned us down.

➤ Read Marvin West on page 5

Misty’s Pet DepotMisty Lifford dreamed of

opening her own business and started doing research in Janu-ary 2013.

Fourteen months later her dream came true. Her degree and retail management experi-ence are a perfect fi t for Misty’s Pet Depot.

Misty’s dad, Bill Lifford, was a supervisor with Sea Ray boats for 40 years and had been retired for fi ve when Misty says she “dragged him out of retirement” to become co-owner of their new busi-ness.

Their priority was to fi nd the perfect location.

➤ Read Nancy Whittaker on page7

What makes JMac run?

The second-most common-ly-cited reason for preferring appointed school superinten-dents over the elected kind is the contention that elected superintendents are forced to waste half their time cam-paigning (the fi rst reason is being able to attract a better selection of candidates).

De-politicizing education isn’t the primary argument for appointed supes, but it’s a pretty good one. But does it really hold up under scrutiny?

If you’ve been trying to keep up with the commu-nity forums, elegant evenings, hard-hat days, ribbon-cuttings, gladsome announcements, unveilings and public chowing-downs of Superintendent James McIntyre this election season, you’re probably worn plumb out.

➤ Read Betty Bean on page 4

2 • MAY 5, 2014 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

Lynnette Balser, pictured with her husband, Gary, found help with her menopause through Fort

Sanders Women’s Specialists.

Finding the ‘road to success’ for Tellico Plains womanMenopause can be a relatively easy transi-

tion for some women, but for others, it can be fi lled with extremely uncomfortable symp-toms, such as hot fl ashes, sleep disruption or severe fatigue.

Lynnette Balser of Tellico Plains, 55, had been having mild symptoms for about fi ve years, when she had a complete hysterectomy in 2008.

The surgery put Balser into full menopause, and the surgeon sent her home with an estro-gen patch. “That helped the hot fl ashes, but nothing else,” said Balser.

Balser consulted Dr. G. Walton Smith at Fort Sanders Women’s Specialists about “bi-oidentical” hormone therapies. These are hor-mones that, once in the body, are the same mo-lecular composition as the hormones the body would create itself.

“I was very impressed Dr. Smith took the time to listen,” said Balser. “He didn’t just tell me what to do, and he seemed to be really up on the research as well.

“Before seeing him, I had gone to several doctors after my hysterectomy, and they either didn’t believe in bioidentical hormones or were unable to prescribe them adequately.”

Smith talked at length with Balser about the

BHRT – Is it right for you? Bioidentical hormone replace-

ment therapy (BHRT) can be a more complete option for treating many of the varied symptoms related to menopause. However, they are not completely without risk or contro-versy.

“Bioidentical doesn’t have a stan-dard medical defi -nition,” explained Dr. G. Walton Smith, a gyne-cologist with Fort Sanders Women’s Specialists and Fort Sanders Re-gional Medical Center.

“Some people say it’s the same as

‘natural,’ because the hormones are derived from plants. I don’t use that defi nition because the chemicals have been manipulated by a phar-macist. My defi nition of bioidenti-cal hormones are those medications which, in the body, are chemically identical to what the body normally

makes,” he said.The Women’s Health Initiative, a

major study in 2002, found that two popular hormone drugs, Premarin and Provera, were found to increase the risk of breast cancer, heart dis-ease, stroke and blood clots.

One large-scale French study, the E3N study, found that topical estra-diol and true progesterone do not carry the same risks; however, this was not a placebo controlled study.

“We know we can be safer as far as blood clots and strokes are con-cerned with bioidentical hormones, and maybe for breast cancer as well,” said Smith.

Bioidentical hormones are of-ten administered through patches, creams and pellets (which are im-planted under the skin), rather than in pill form, so they do not pass through the liver fi rst before going to the rest of the body.

But fi nding the right mix of bioi-dentical hormones can take time. “It can take six to nine months to fi nd the right dose for a woman,” Smith

said. Also, some types of bioidenti-cal hormones are covered by insur-ance but others are not. “We discuss typical costs associated with the dif-ferent options so patients can con-sider economic impact as they make their decisions”

“Ultimately, it comes down to a quality of life issue, and that’s a per-sonal choice,” said Smith. “There’s a lot of weighing of the pros and cons because HRT is always optional.”

“Nothing replaces a healthy life-style, eating correctly, exercising routinely and taking care of your-self,” said Smith.

Some women are able to manage this natural transition without hor-mones or medications and typically many of the symptoms will resolve on their own within two to fi ve years.

“But, every woman should know there are options that can help if their symptoms start affecting their quality of life.”

Smith added, “It’s important to sit down and really have a good conversation with your physician or

Balser decided to try a pellet form of estra-diol and testosterone. During a painless offi ceprocedure, Smith implanted several tiny pel-lets, about the size of a grain of rice, under theskin near the hip.

Balser liked the idea of not having to re-member to take pills or apply creams daily.She will have the pellets replaced every threeto four months, and they will supply a steadystream of hormones to her body.

“I like the way Dr. Smith treats each per-son as an individual,” said Balser. “He didn’talready have his mind made up as to what weshould do. He even talked with my husband,because he’s very involved and interested. Hetakes the time with you and develops a pro-gram that’s suitable to the individual.”

It has been nearly two months since Balserbegan bioidentical hormone therapy.

“I’m feeling a lot better,” she said. “We’renot all the way there yet, but for the fi rst timeI’m really encouraged. My hot fl ashes are gone,and my other symptoms are improved byabout 25 to 50 percent. My blood tests showedthat my hormone levels are improving as well.

“I’m encouraged,” she said. “We’re on theroad to success.”

options that would be best for her, from which medications she might consider, to various de-livery systems, such as patches, creams or pel-

lets inserted under the skin.“He said, ‘These are your options, you tell

me what works best for you,’ ” said Balser.

Dr. G. Walton

Smith

Upcoming ‘Covenant Presents’ highlights hip fracture careOnce a month, a group of se-

nior adults gathers at the Frank R. Strang Senior Center in West Knoxville to learn information about a variety of health and life-style topics called “Covenant Pres-ents.”

Covenant Health includes 10 hospitals, employs thousands of medical professionals, and is affi li-ated with more than 1,300 of the

region’s elite physicians of many different specialties. The program connects medical professionals with local seniors to present health and lifestyle topics of interest to the group. It costs $5 to attend, is open to the public and lunch is provided.

On Wednesday, May 28, Dr. Paul Yau, orthopedic surgeon at the Hip Fracture Center at Fort

Sanders Regional, will talk about hip fractures. The Hip Fracture Center incorporates “best prac-tice” guidelines and has a team of experts to get patients back on their feet.

For more information about “Covenant Presents,” or about the programs and services of Covenant Health, call 865-541-4500.

Moms of all ages need to get their annual mammograms

In honor of Mother’s Day, Thompson Comprehensive Breast Center encourages you to take the time to potentially save your life.

Thirty minutes is all it takes to ensure you’re there to take care of them.

A physician referral is not required for your annual screening mammogram. Call (865) 541-1450 to schedule your mammogram today!

040

5-062

4

Fort Sanders Regional salutes the nearly 600 nursing professionals who provide excellent care for our patients around the clock, every day of the year.

Thank you.

NURSING EXCELLENCE

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-00404-0000000

nurse practitioner about all of the symptoms that you feel may be re-lated to menopause. They can help you as you consider the potential benefi ts and any potential negatives

to BHRT or HRT.”For more information about

the services offered by FortSanders Women’s Specialists,call 865-541-1122.

SOUTH KNOX Shopper news • MAY 5, 2014 • 3

Paid for by Shouse committee, Tom Vester Treasurer

Business experience matters

www.electEdShouse.com

The South Woodlawn Neighborhood Association has had some exciting times lately, but members were revved up last week about the latest venture.

Mary Beth Tugwell, Matthew Kellogg, Molly Robinson-Green, Landon Ohlgren, Wes Soward,

Ginger Conner, Jeremy Walker and Marcy Souza are among the many Appalachian Mountain

Bike Club members who have volunteered on work projects and/or participated in race events

recently.

Janice Tocher, Zachary Bradley, Shelley Conklin, Kenny Bradley and Robert Marlino give Ben Epperson (with daughters Violet and

Hazel) suggestions for a map of the South Woodlawn neighborhood. Photos by Betsy Pickle

Vestival returns From page 1

performances targeted to children.

The day will kick off with the traditional Mother’s Day brunch at 11 a.m. Mothers are invited to come dine for free.

In its 14 years, Vestival has featured everything from bagpipes to Native American dancers to Shake-speare on its stages. Diver-sity has always been a goal.

The fi rst intent of Vestival, however, was to raise funds for the historic Candoro Marble building, which was deteriorating and in criti-cal need of attention. Taking inspiration from a neighbor-hood festival in Atlanta, Mo-naco decided to attempt an event at Candoro. She started by asking the late Howard Pinkston for a donation.

“I stopped by his used-car lot and told him what I wanted to do,” she says. “He gave me $100.”

She used $50 to set up a 501(c)3 and $50 to open a bank account for the Can-doro Arts & Heritage Center. Money raised at Vestival goes to the upkeep and restora-tion of the Candoro building. Architect Charlie Richmond, “a major force” in the resto-ration, died last year and is

missed by the group.Monaco and her col-

leagues wanted to help bring about a sense of pride in Vestal and its heritage, espe-cially of the marble-cutting industry that once thrived there. The fi rst Vestival had an exhibit of outdoor sculp-ture, organized with help from Jason Brown, sculp-ture professor at the Univer-sity of Tennessee.

That started the Vestival tradition of having an art exhibit in conjunction with the other events. This year’s featured artist is 85-year-old quilter Opal McCartney of Dandridge. An opening reception will be held 5-7 p.m. Friday, May 9, in the Candoro building. Featuring hors d’oeuvres and live mu-sic from Old City Buskers, the event is free and open to the public. Guests will get to try their hand at quilting and create their own “quilt patch” with fabric paint.

McCartney grew up in a small town in Kentucky and was taught quilt-making by her mother, but she says she didn’t really get to where she knew what she was doing un-til she was “about 55 or 60.”

After bringing up their four daughters on the Gulf

Mapping it out for South Woodlawn

Betsy Pickle

Ben Epperson of the Knox County Health De-partment is mapping neighborhoods to point out attributes that can help residents be healthier. He met with SWNA members last Monday at the Roundup Restaurant to get started on a map of South Knoxville.

Participants talked about parks and walkability – or the lack thereof. They also discussed access to fresh food and noted that there are also some problems in this area.

The asset side was pret-ty high, however, with the track at Sam Duff fi eld, the upcoming trail at the Wood family property and the out-door classroom at South-Doyle Middle School. Mem-bers also named Woodlawn Christian Church and Woodlawn Cemetery as supportive resources of the community.

Epperson will take the ideas back to the drawing board to work on maps that eventually will be available in public form.

■ AMBC and volunteeringThe latest Appalachian

Mountain Bike Club meet-ing was a lovefest – presi-dent Brian Hann compli-mented individuals and the group on their volunteer ef-forts at the Knoxville Mara-thon and AMBC workdays as well as other events.

Hann left himself out of the equation, but as report-ed earlier in this column, he was honored recently at a bike summit in Alabama for his volunteering, and mem-bers applauded him at the meeting at Barley’s.

The May workday will be announced on the group’s Facebook page.

Knox County parks di-rector Doug Bataille spoke to the group about the Trail Volunteer program, cre-ated by the county, the city of Knoxville and the town of Farragut. Volunteers are being sought to help others on trails and greenways in Knox County. They should be friendly, knowledgeable and approachable, but no special skills are required.

There is a fee for a na-tional background check, but otherwise there are no costs, and volunteers will receive a nifty T-shirt and windbreaker. For more info, visit www.knoxcounty.org/parks.

■ Ijams beer gardenLove nature and love

beer? Ijams Nature Center has opened a beer garden at Mead’s Quarry to help you enjoy both.

The beer garden is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. A select number of beers are available.

Seating, good views and games such as corn hole will offer hikers and bicyclists a spot to relax and refresh.

■ Senior Center eventsFun is in the air at the

South Knox Senior Center. The center, 6729 Martel Lane, will have a craft and jewelry show from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and Thurs-day, May 7 and 8.

On Thursday, May 22, at 10:30 a.m., there will be a Musician Apprecia-tion lunch to thank the musicians who participate weekly at the center. All are welcome to come and enjoy hot dogs grilled by County Commissioner Mike Brown. Bring a covered dish to share.

Also planned is a “Trunk to Treasure Show” from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 23. Parking spots for sellers are available for $10. They must

be reserved by calling 573-5843. Rain date for the sale is Friday, May 30, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

■ CorrectionThe South of the River

Democrats meet at 6:30 p.m. on the third Mon-

day of the month at the South Knoxville Commu-nity Center. Last week’s column had an incorrect meeting day.

Coast, McCartney and her husband ran the Dandridge Boat Dock fi shing camp for many years, and she began quilting in earnest so that she could outfi t the beds in the rental cabins.

“When I was doing them for the rooms, I was in a hurry, so I did quilt those on a machine,” says Mc-Cartney. “I didn’t like it, but they were warm, useful and washable. They were pretty enough to use.”

Many who saw her quilts liked them and asked her to make them quilts, which she did by hand. Among the most popular designs were nine patch, wedding ring and Lone Star, but she also made up her own patterns.

She saw her sideline as a way to bring in “extra money for retirement,” and she still makes two or three a year.

The South Knoxville Alli-ance is sponsoring shuttles to Vestival this year to solve the problem of limited park-ing. The free shuttles will pick up passengers at the Disc Exchange on Chapman Highway and at the former Big Lots parking lot at the corner of Chapman High-way and Moody Avenue.

When you come before the courts

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- Heidi Barcus, President,

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"We have known Billy and Bay Stokes for thirty years, both professionally and as person-

al friends. Billy Stokes has served his nation as a U.S. Army JAGC Officer, his state as a

former Commissioner, and his community as an attorney. As a patriot and native East

Tennessean, he will serve Knox County well as Circuit Court Judge."

-Anne Haston, Military Child Advocate

“Ben and I are proud to support a fine lawyer and long time community servant, Billy

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- Sue Atchley, former Senator, 6th Dist.

Paid for by Committee to Elect Billy Stokes for 1st Circuit Court Judge- Treasurer- Howard Vogel & Kimberly Wood

Vote Early: April 16- May 1

Republican Primary: May 6

And you’re also prob-ably inclined to answer the above-posed question with a big, fat no. Don’t kid your-self. McIntyre’s running hard – maybe to keep his job via the re-election of his school board allies, or may-be simply in the primary of public opinion.

Yep, he’s running. But re-ally, what else can he do?

Here’s just a small sam-pling of where he’s been lately (honestly, the guy gets around so much it’s hard to remember everywhere he’s been):

On March 31, he presided over a media “hard-hat” day out at the new Career Mag-net Academy at Pellissippi State in Strawberry Plains. His incredibly effi cient pub-lic information chief Melis-sa Ogden appended a note to the announcement saying her boss would be available for interviews about the 2014-2015 budget after the media tour, thus allowing him to get more bang for his media buck (and also afford him a chance to doff the sil-ly hard hat).

On April 8, he hosted a

community forum at Chris-tenberry Elementary School

(this is get-ting to be a popular destination – Mayor M a d e l i n e Rogero gave a budget address at the adjacent C h r i s t e n -

berry ball park a couple of weeks later and announced her intention to ask City Council to raise property taxes to fund city servic-es). McIntyre’s forum was broadcast live, so a large audience likely saw his pitch for more money for schools. Smart money says Rogero gets hers (which means that McIntyre probably wishes he could swap mayors).

On April 10, he attended Knox County Council PTA’s Evening of Elegance at The Foundry and posed for some old-fashioned grip-and-grins with some of his favorite volunteers, princi-pals and teachers (and also a couple of candidate faves). Foundry food’s pretty good,

Mayor Rogero’s 34-cent property-tax increase is not necessary except to fund the infl ated city pension plan that Rogero refuses to address. In fact, Rogero has also strongly opposed any attempt to re-duce city operating expenses such as the Della Volpe effort to remove the mandatory 2.5 percent annual pay raise for employees without regard to merit, performance or cur-rent economic conditions. Council members Wallace and Grieve backed him.

This tax hike was fi rst predicted in this column six weeks ago.

The city pension’s auto-matic 3 percent increase is even more costly to taxpay-ers, despite efforts to keep it hidden. City retirees in-cluding this writer receive an automatic annual 3 per-cent increase in our pension (more than those who are currently working) without regard to infl ation or lack of infl ation, ability to fund it or any other rational standard.

Rogero, who personally will benefi t from this provi-sion, also opposes its modi-fi cation for current employ-ees. Rogero will gain annual increases of more than $900 a year for the rest of her life on her city pension (based on $130,000 annual salary) when she retires on or after age 62 or in 2019.

Her deputy, Bill Lyons, will do much better by get-ting an annual jump of at least $1,400 annually com-pounded when he retires (he is already over 62), based on annual salary of $165,000. He also gets a $5,820 an-

4 • MAY 5, 2014 • Shopper news

Jim McIntyre

government

VictorAshe

Betty Bean

The second-most com-monly cited reason for pre-ferring appointed school superintendents over the elected kind is the conten-tion that elected superin-tendents are forced to waste half their time campaigning (the fi rst reason is being able to attract a better selec-tion of candidates).

Mayor Madeline Rogero has proposed an ambitious $200.5 million operating budget for the fi scal year starting July 1. It is roughly $17 million more than last year’s budget and about $14.5 million more than the city’s expected revenue.

If approved, the new budget will require a tax in-crease of about 34 cents per $100 of assessed valuation of your real property, and on both real and personal property for a business.

What does this mean to the taxpayer? How will it affect the city’s competitive position as it vies to attract future residential and com-mercial development?

Budget Snapshot: Sal-aries and benefi ts dominate basic services costs. Police, fi re and public service form the core of the basic service budget and account for $119.7 million in costs (em-ploying 1,135 of the city’s 1,600 workers), with lesser amounts for engineering, parks and recreation, fl eet, administration, etc.

Debt service accounts for $24.5 million, based on the city’s $190.8 million in long-term debt (including some $31.4 million in new debt the mayor hopes to issue this year).

The city’s website has details.

The biggest budget drivers include increased pension costs ($7.4 million, raising the total to $23.4 million), employee raises ($2.5 mil-lion), higher health-care costs ($700,000), plus $5 million in capital expendi-tures.

In addition, the mayor has included several million dollars of discretionary spending for commu-nity grants ($1.25 mil-lion) and other initiatives, like encouraging the arts ($500,000) and establish-ing a historic preservation fund ($500,000).

The two biggest com-munity grants (there are 60 separate grants) are $250,000 for the proposed Botanical Garden’s Urban Ag Center and $250,000 for the Boys and Girls Club expansion.

Under the charter, the new fi scal budget must be in place by mid-June. It will be vetted by the City Council at public hearings on May 21 and put to a vote at the May 27 meeting.

Consequences: You are being asked to pay more in property taxes for these additional “investments.” Taxes are a function of a two-variable equation – tax rate x assessed prop-

NickDella Volpe

Budget hearings: What’s at stake?

erty value. For residential property the assessment is 25 percent of the appraised value. For commercial, it’s 40 percent.

Reappraisals are done every four years and, be-cause they are required by law to be tax-neutral, have resulted in lowering the tax rate.

So it’s not really about the tax rate “failing to keep up with infl ation.” That rate must drop as apprais-als grow.

City taxes paid have actually gone up 34 percent (from $79.8 million in 2004 to $106.5 million in 2013).

The administration explains it’s only an in-crease of $85 for a modest $100,000 home. Small, of course, is a relative term – what if you are already struggling on a fi xed in-come?

The 40 percent assess-ment on business property would, on a $500,000 com-mercial building, raise the property tax by $680 (to $5,480) before adding the tax on equipment.

City residents also pay county taxes.

Indirect Consequenc-es: The future growth of our city, and its revenue stream, are at stake. Grow-ing the pie (tax base) is bet-ter than slicing it thinner and thinner.

As city taxes rise, fami-lies faced with paying more than double the taxes of someone who lives a few miles away in the county might opt to relocate.

For small business, dual taxes can signifi cantly im-pact the bottom line.

Are we inadvertently incentivizing businesses to move from, or not locate in, the city? Will Knox, Blount or Anderson counties seem more attractive?

If revenues dip in the uncertain future, will we be tempted to return to the tax well – the very thing that eventually crippled several cities around the countr y?

The moral: Look before you leap!

Budget includes ‘fi g-leaf’ savings

nual car allowance.Rogero urged repeal for

this provision for future employees, but the cost sav-ings of that move will only hit in 18 to 20 years. She was warned about this by council members Grieve and Stair, but she ignored them. Now the chickens are coming home to roost at the cost of 34 cents, or a 14 per-cent increase. The pension increase should be tied to infl ation, not to a manda-tory annual hike. Rogero opposes letting the voters vote on it.

Her budget includes only fi g-leaf savings. For ex-ample, the cap of a $2,500 pay raise for the 18 employ-ees making over $100,000 a year will save the city $8,110, while the tax hike will generate $14.5 million. The $8,110 savings was wiped out by the cost of the budget luncheon at $8,300. It is truly laughable (if not insulting) that she would cite this as a signifi cant savings while she spends $200,000 for a salary sur-vey that a secretary could have compiled at no cost. Council members Brown, Stair and Grieve opposed it.

Della Volpe has received widespread applause among city taxpayers (and boos from city employees) for his

effort to educate voters on mandated annual spend-ing costs that benefi t a few while costing everyone. No private-sector fi rm would do this, nor does the county, state or federal government.

This tax hike is only a down payment. There will be more tax hikes after the mayor’s re-election in 2015 to pay off the spiraling pen-sion costs unless council insists on giving city vot-ers a vote through a char-ter amendment. Knoxville should follow Chattanooga’s lead in curbing current pen-sion costs.

■ Things got heated last Tuesday after City Council adjourned and the TV cameras were turned off. Vice Mayor Pavlis told Della Volpe in front of numerous witnesses his opposition to the budget and tax hike was “irresponsible.” Della Vol-pe, who said a year ago he nominated Pavlis to be vice mayor, claimed Pavlis was “red faced and shouting at me.” Della Volpe described Pavlis to this writer as “the mayor’s attack dog.”

The mayor may need to initiate a charm offen-sive to calm these troubled councilmanic waters. Last Friday, Della Volpe had shoulder surgery, but it is uncertain whether he will get fl owers from the mayor.

■ Folks wanting to sup-port the arts in Fountain City should purchase the $40 ticket to a great lun-cheon on Saturday, May 10, at the home and gardens of Bill and Ginger Baxter. The gardens are spectacu-

What makes JMac run?

De-politicizing educa-tion isn’t the primary argu-ment for appointed supes, but it’s a pretty good one. But does it really hold up under scrutiny?

If you’ve been trying to keep up with the com-munity forums, elegant evenings, hard-hat days, ribbon-cuttings, gladsome announcements, unveilings and public chowing-downs of Superintendent James McIntyre this election sea-son, you’re probably worn plumb out.

so this probably wasn’t much of a chore.

On April 15, he celebrat-ed Dine Out for Education Day by having breakfast at Shoney’s with beleaguered school board members Pam Trainor and Lynne Fugate (both of whom voted to ex-tend McIntyre’s contract and drew spirited opposi-tion for their trouble). At lunchtime he was on the East side chowing down on Chandler’s famous fried chicken with incumbent Gloria Deathridge (whose support of McIntyre has earned her a couple of op-ponents). His dinner com-panion/destination went unrecorded.

On April 22, Fugate, Deathridge and Sheriff Jim-my “J.J.” Jones joined him to celebrate the facelift at Chil-howee Intermediate School. Non-McIntyre-supporting board member Mike McMil-lan was also present. One of the high points of the event was the students’ perfor-mance of the school song, which celebrated their safe environment for learning and achieving.

Things grow better at the

Fountain City estate of Bill

and Ginger Baxter. This photo

shows the maple that grew

from a sprig handed out as

part of then-Mayor Victor

Ashe’s 1992 budget message.

lar. Tickets benefi t and are available from the Foun-tain City Arts Center at 213 Hotel Road, Knoxville, TN 37918; 357-2787.

■ The almost instant fi ring of Frank Phillips bySheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones for choking a UT student on April 26 shows what an up-coming election can do. In the old days, Philips might have continued on the pay-roll for a long time while in-vestigations were ongoing. The photo by John Mess-ner was conclusive, and the election tomorrow speeded up the decision. Phillips had prior issues but was re-tained on staff.

Election is TuesdayThe primary election is

Tuesday, May 6, for various local positions including school board. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Symptoms of Four Major Sleep Disorders

Space is limited. Lunch provided. Complimentary valet parking. Call 1-855-TENNOVA (836-6682) or go online at Tennova.com by May 22 to register.Dewey McWhirter, M.D.

Everyone loves a good night’s rest. The next day seems to go better and your attitude is more positive. The problem is,

there are many obstacles to obtaining a peaceful rest at night. Are you afraid that you may have a sleep disorder? There

are plenty out there! Join Dewey McWhirter, M.D., board-certified sleep specialist, as he discusses symptoms of four of

the most common conditions that keep us from being well-rested.

Member of the medical staff

Friday, May 23NoonTurkey Creek Medical Center

Johnson Conference Center

Shopper news • MAY 5, 2014 • 5

Springtime here in our part of the world moves each year from south to north and lower to higher eleva-tions in a fairly predictable fashion. And as it moves along it produces a series of events, some exciting, some beautiful and some, well, in-teresting.

Today’s subjects are beau-tiful and exciting mostly in the eyes of their beholders; interesting, defi nitely.

Hickory chickens are not a Southern female vocal group, nor are they a reci-pe for barbecued legs and wings. Hickory chickens is a mostly upper East Tennes-see-southeastern Kentucky name for a neat group of organisms more properly known as morels.

Also known as dry land fi sh, merkels, molly mooch-ers and 100 other names, they are mushrooms.

Marvin West

Critics managed to fi nd fault with Dave Hart’s search for a new Tennessee basketball coach. I thought it was orderly enough. Seek-and-fi nd took only one week. OK, I did fl inch when the Louisiana Tech guy turned us down.

Searching for basketball coaches

I imagined the athletic director knew where he was going. The possibility of needing a replacement must have entered his mind in January or February.

If Hart wanted a famous name, he fell short. He did not come back with Butch Jones’ friend, Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat. He didn’t even get Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall, heavily hyped for his 34-0 season.

But I am not disappoint-ed with Donnie Tyndall. He wanted the job and didn’t whine about roster problems.

If you fretted about this transition, you should have been here 16 years ago. Douglas Adair Dickey, Hall of Fame football coach and very interesting athletic di-rector, faced what seemed a minor task of replacing Kevin O’Neill.

Dickey was not accom-plished fi shing in the bas-ketball pool. He invested

$10,000 of hard-earned UT money in good ol’ Florida buddy Bill Carr to serve as idea man. Carr was a big help. He provided phone numbers.

Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson, Clemson coach Rick Barnes and Wake Forest coach Dave Odom received early calls but said no thanks. Bill Self, then of Oral Rob-erts, had Larry Brown’s rec-ommendation, but nothing happened. Dave Bliss popped on and off the radar screen.

Iowa State’s Tim Floyd pondered and procr astinated and eventually complicated the search with an untimely phone call. Ricardo Patton of Colorado and Steve Rob-inson of Tulsa listened po-litely. They did not receive formal job offers but did ben-efi t from consideration. They

subsequently signed contract extensions with pay raises.

Dickey realigned his sights. How about Delaware coach Mike Brey? Nope. Steve Alford of Southwest Missouri State was highly re-garded, but Dickey thought he needed more experience.

Murray State coach Mark Gottfried emerged as a po-tential solution. He had won consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championships. For some reason that es-capes me, he did not fi t.

Late in the second week of searching, or early in the third, Dickey announced that a new coach should be in place within a month. Fans moaned.

On the assumption that Doug needed help but wouldn’t admit it, a sports-

writer compiled a list of pos-sibilities – P.J. Carlesimo of the Portland Trail Blaz-ers, Mack McCarthy of UT-Chattanooga, Phil Martelli of St. Joseph’s, Jim O’Brien of Boston College, Pete Gil-len of Providence, Fran Fra-schilla of St. John’s, Ralph Willard of Pitt and Bill Her-rion of Drexel.

Dickey may not have known where Drexel was. The Dragons don’t play football.

I was surprised when Illi-nois State coach Kevin Stall-ings turned down Tennessee. He and his wife, Lisa, twice visited Knoxville to check out the situation. He was concerned about fi lling the arena, but that was explained away. The hunt seemed al-most over. Dickey and athlet-

ic department assistant BillyHenry, a former basketball coach who could speak the language, fl ew to Normal, Ill., for a fi nal heart to heart.

Soon thereafter Stallings had a change of heart. There was a mishap. Dickey re-ceived a call from Tim Floyd while at the Stallings home.

I will not attempt to ex-plain how Tennessee ended up with Jerry Green. He may have been a desperation pick. He was 72-70 at Oregon, sev-enth in the Pac-10 amid ru-mors that he would be fi red.

Dickey and another assis-tant, Mitch Barnhart, went to the Final Four where coaches of all shapes and sizes were clustered. They came home with Green. He did very well in competition but not so hot in public relations.

The Green era did not end well. It was almost as frustrating as the search. Marvin West invites reader reaction. His

address is westwest6@netzero.com.

Dr. Bob Collier

Hickory chickens

Now before you give a small snort of disdain, al-low me to point out that a half-ounce package of dried morels is going for about 12 bucks at your local super-market, which fi gures out to be about $384 a pound!

Somebody must think they’re pretty good. Indeed they are delicious, and the good news is that if you know how, you can forage around and fi nd some for yourself – free.

Fungi in general and mushrooms in particular are an important part of na-

ture. Out there in the woods, they go about their business unseen, in the form of zil-lions of microscopic root-lets known as mycelia. They grow into and digest all sorts of organic material, like leaf litter and dying and dead trees, turning them back into good rich soil.

When it’s time to re-produce, this out-of-sight network of rootlets makes a fruit that appears above-ground, often seemingly overnight, which we recog-nize as a mushroom.

We’ve all seen shelf fungi on tree trunks, fairy rings of white mushrooms in a yard, all sorts of shapes and colors of ’shrooms beside a path or in the woods.

The mushroom is simi-lar to an apple on a tree; it is the fruit of the plant. But instead of seeds, it pro-duces microscopic spores, so small that they can fl oat away on air currents to – it is hoped – start a new batch of mycelia somewhere else.

The morels fi rst appear around the middle of March here in East Tennessee and work their way north as spring progresses.

Identifying morels is not diffi cult. With just a moder-ate amount of care, morels are, as mushrooms go, pretty unmistakable. They are usu-ally 2 to 4 inches tall, with a short white stem and a coni-cal-shaped cap covered with sharp ridges and pits. They are completely hollow.

As with all foraged wild edibles, caution must be used to rule out look-alikes, some of which can cause se-rious illness and even death. Consult a good fi eld guide or go out with an experienced person.

But what good is a morel, after all? Well, they’re a rare delicacy with a hard-to-de-scribe luscious fl avor.

Once picked, they can be eaten fresh or dried for later use. Just string them up for a few days in a cool, dry place, or give them a few

hours in a food dehydrator. Once dry, they will keep in a sealed glass jar for years.

Reconstitute the dried morels by a brief soaking in water, making them as good as new; some cooks think they’re even better that way.

Many folks like their mo-rels just rolled in fl our or cornmeal and fried in but-ter. Even better to many people is to simmer them up in some butter, add some heavy cream and a dash of cooking sherry, and use that

as a wondrous sauce for a nice beef tenderloin (pardon my salivating).

Morels are another of na-ture’s remarkable curiosi-ties. Check them out in your fi eld guide and cookbook, but don’t expect any morel hunters to tell where their secret places are – that’s closely held information.

And for the less adven-turous – you don’t have to go tromping around the damp, cold, spring woods to fi nd morels. You can just grab $12 and head for the supermarket. Bon appetit!

Advance Metal FabricationAllen Sign Company

Averra MediaBasement Records

Bayou Bay Seafood HouseBorderland Tees

Candoro Arts & HeritageCity of Knoxville Business Support

Comic ExchangeDisc Exchange

Dogwood Animal HospitalDragonfl y AerialEmery's 5 & 10

Everything MushroomsExecutive Inn

God's Place TreasuresH & R Block

Happy Yap Doggie Day CampIjams

Island Home MonumentIT'S A R-R-RUFF LIFE

King Tut's Egyptian Grill

explore our urban Wildernessexplore our urban WildernessShop-Play-Live South

The South Knoxville Allianceinvites you to join us at

Vestival: Vestival: South Knoxville’s Art & Heritage FestivalSouth Knoxville’s Art & Heritage Festival

SaturSaturday, May 10, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.day, May 10, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.Candoro Arts & Heritage Center at the historic Candoro Marble Company site

Suggested $5 per person donation at the gate. All donations go to the Candoro Arts & Heritage Center. For the fi rst time ever, attendees may now ‘park and ride’ a free shuttle from the Disc Exchange parking lot (on Chapman Hwy.) or the former Big Lots parking lot (on Moody Ave.). Courtesy of the South Knoxville Alliance.

LaborExchangeLas Fuentes Mexican Restaurant

Marble City GlassworksMcLemore Florist

Myrtle's MessOne Touch Auto Repair

Pease Furniture & Appliance CoRiversong Dance StudioRound Up Restaurant

Sharon DavisShoney's

Southland Spirits & WineStanley's Greenhouses

Tea & TreasuresTennessee State Bank

The Mattress PlaceThe Summit Companies

Village BakeryWee Care Shoppe

Ye Olde Steak HouseYesteryears Vintage

About the Alliance: We have joined as active business and civic leaders to strengthen the area by promoting our many assets to fellow Knoxvillians, visitors and guests. Located just across the Tennessee River from downtown, K-Town South is one of Knoxville’s most unique districts – fl ush with various and sundry boutiques, a plethora of locally owned and operated eateries, and home of Ijams Nature Center and Knoxville’s nationally acclaimed Urban Wilderness.

Come explore.For more information on The South Knoxville Alliance or to get involved visit us online at www.ktownsouth.org.

6 • MAY 5, 2014 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news kids

Republican Primary: May 6, 2014Early Voting: April 16 - May 1, 2014

865-694-8671 • www.craigleuthold.com • craigleuthold@aol.comPaid for by the Committee to Elect Craig Leuthold, Trustee. Ruth Ann Milsaps, Treasurer

RESULTS COUNT

• Improved employee morale

• Reduced payroll by reorganizing office

EXPERIENCE• Elected to 2 terms Knox County Commission for

West Knox District and served as Vice-Chairman

• Uniquely qualified to serve having experience in both the property assessors office and the trustee’s office

PERSONAL• Member Concord United Methodist Church

Elect

TRUSTEELEADING WITH INTEGRITY

LeutholdCraig

• Graduated from UT with degree in Finance with Honors.

By Betsy PickleThe corn was as high as

an elephant’s eye and the wind came sweeping down the stage for South-Doyle High School’s production of “Oklahoma!”

Strong performances by a talented cast on open-ing night last Tuesday gave a promise of good things to come for the subsequent weekend shows.

A nearly full house ex-ploded with applause after every song in the beloved musical by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II. Michael Mason set the mu-sical bar high as Curly with the opening number, “Oh! What a Beautiful Mornin’.”

The comedic elements were equally delightful, with Emma Vinson and Tucker Lewis stealing the show as Aunt Eller and Ali Hakim, respectively. Spe-cial praise also belonged to Zoee Lyle as Ado An-nie and Cameron Parker as

Will, who made everyone’s favorite bickering couple a delight.

The weekend perfor-mances included Rachel Cormack as Aunt Eller, Mol-lie Byrd as Laurey and Bry-anna Thorson as Ado Annie.

“Oklahoma!” marked the directing fi nale for SDHS choral director John Maples. He could not have made a more memorable exit.

By Betsy PicklePride fi lled the air at

South-Doyle Middle School as a white elephant turned community landmark made its debut.

The stadium at South-Doyle Middle – formerly the South-Young High School stadium – had once been slated for demolition, but on Friday, April 25, it was re-introduced to supporters with a shiny new appear-ance at a special ribbon-cutting event.

The stadium has had structural and masonry re-

Aunt Eller (Emma Vinson) puts peddler Ali Hakim (Tucker Lewis) in his place as Ado Annie (Zoee Lyle) and Laurey (Madi Curry)

watch during the South-Doyle High School production of “Oklahoma!” Photos by Betsy Pickle

Robert Heck (Andrew), Wesley Hood (Jud Fry), Michael Mason (Curly) and Tuck-

er Lewis (Ali) relax and meet fans after performing in “Oklahoma!”

Emma Vinson (Aunt Eller), Madi Curry (Laurey) and Zoee Lyle (Ado Annie) enjoy

their tributes after the show.

Cheerleaders, administrators, politicians and Pete Staff ord (in cap) and his family join in cutting the ribbon at the stadium.

South-Doyle High principal Tim Berry and Pam Trainor cel-

ebrate the achievement. Photos by Betsy Pickle

‘Oklahoma!’ cast makes grand showing

SDMS stadium reclaims status in community

pairs and has been repaint-ed and outfi tted with new plumbing and concession facilities. It has new exte-rior light fi xtures and new press-box windows.

According to PTSA presi-dent Jeff Berry, the facility was drowning in weeds and disrepair when volunteers fi rst started trying to revive it to prevent a planned 2012 demolition. Now, it is a fa-cility that will be the envy of other middle schools, and it will be available for activi-ties that reach beyond the needs of the middle school.

Other speakers for the

event included Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, Knox County Schools Superinten-dent Jim McIntyre, SDMS principal Beth Blevins, longtime South-Young foot-ball coach Pete Stafford, for whom the fi eld is named, and school board mem-ber Pam Trainor, who was

singled out for special ap-preciation by several othersfor her work in saving thestadium.

The SDMS choir andcombined high school andmiddle school band per-formed. The celebration wascapped off with an exhibi-tion rugby game.

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Shopper news • MAY 5, 2014 • 7 business

Knox County - Div ision 1Paid for by the Committee to Elect Kristi Davis – David Wedekind, Treasurer.

KristiDAVISfor CIRCUIT JUDGE

The right experience � The right time � The right choiceMeet Kristi Davis. Experienced, hardworking, honest & independent.

✔Lifelong resident of Knox County✔Honors Graduate from UT Law School; Law Review; Awards for legal writing and oral argument.✔Began career as a judicial clerk; worked her way to partner in one of our area’s most respected law fi rms.✔14 years of trial and appellate experience before the TN Court of Appeals; TN Court of Criminal Appeals; Tennessee Supreme Court; and US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.✔Active in our Community in professional, charitable and service organizations

A servant’s heart“I am proud to be a native of Knoxville. I love this community and can think of no greater honor than to serve the people of Knox County as their judge.”

I would greatly appreciate your vote in the Republican Primary on May 6.Early Voting begins April 16.

Please follow our campaign facebook.com/kristidavisforjudge

www.electkristidavis.comPaid for by the Committee to Elect Kristi Davis - David Wedekind, Treasurer.

Endorsed by the Knoxville News-Sentinel

Haslam to speak at PSCC commencement

News from Pellissippi State - Magnolia

Gov. Bill Haslam is the keynote speaker at Pellis-sippi State Community Col-lege’s Spring Commence-ment ceremony Saturday, May 10.

Spring Commencement begins at 7 p.m. at the University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena. More than 500 students will walk across the stage.

“It’s a great honor to have Gov. Haslam attend and speak at our Commence-ment ceremony,” said Pellis-sippi State President L. An-thony Wise.

“Gov. Haslam has made higher education opportu-nities in Tennessee a prior-ity and has special interest in the unique and much-needed opportunities avail-able at community colleges like Pellissippi State. We look forward to his mes-sage to our students, many of whom are looking toward achieving their next mea-sure of success as they enter the workforce.”

“I look forward to having an opportunity to person-ally congratulate the gradu-ates on their signifi cant achievement and to encour-age them to be part of a big-ger story that is happening in our state,” Haslam said.

“We’ve set a goal to be the No. 1 state in the Southeast for high-quality jobs, and these graduates are key to making that goal a reality. We need their brainpower, their energy and their com-mitment to make Tennessee a healthy, thriving state.”

It is always interesting to fi nd out the background of people who have the desire and courage to open their own business.

Misty Lifford is a Knox-ville native who graduated from Fulton High School. She earned a degree from the University of Tennes-see in animal science with a focus on nutrition. She was in retail management for 20 years.

Misty dreamed of open-ing her own business and started doing research in January 2013.

Fourteen months later

Misty Liff ord with her dad, Bill, and one of her pets, Sammy, who proudly displays his UT collar. Photo by Nancy Whittaker

Daughter-father team opens pet store

Nancy Whittaker

Bill Haslam

Haslam was elected gov-ernor in 2010, after serving two terms as mayor of Knox-ville. He has championed and promoted higher educa-tion in Tennessee through his “Drive to 55” campaign. The campaign strives to bring the percentage of Ten-nesseans with college de-grees or certifi cations to 55 percent by the year 2025.

A signature piece of Drive to 55 is the Tennessee Prom-ise scholarship. The schol-arship aims to give all high school graduates in the state the opportunity to attend a community college or Ten-nessee College of Applied Technology free of tuition and fees. As part of the Ten-nessee Promise, students agree to being provided with a mentor to guide them and help ensure their success.

For more information about Pellissippi State and its many programs and services: www.pstcc.edu or 694-6400.

her dream came true. Her degree and retail-manage-ment experience are a per-fect fi t for Misty’s Pet Depot.

Misty’s dad, Bill Lif-ford, was a supervisor with Sea Ray boats for 40 years and had been retired for fi ve when Misty says she “dragged him out of retire-

ment” to become co-owner of their new business.

She says it is an honor to open a store with her dad.

Their main priority was to fi nd the perfect location in northeast Knoxville. At the shop in Harvest Park Shopping Center at 5451 Washington Pike (just up from Target), Misty and Bill wanted to create an atmo-sphere of fun for their cus-tomers, who are encouraged to bring in their pets.

Plan a visit to Misty’s Pet Depot soon and allow plenty of time.

You won’t believe the va-

riety of nutritional supplies, accessories, clothes, toys, carriers – and the inventory is not just for dogs and cats.

Although Mist y’s Pet De-pot does not have animals for sale, it has several fun in-store environments set up so that customers can see the ideal setting for ev-erything from fi sh and birds to bunnies and hedgehogs. There is even an aisle for all of your supplies for back-yard birds.

Misty and Bill promote adoption from local shel-ters. They also work with rescue groups to promote adoption or to become “foster parents” for many breeds of dogs.

To learn when the rescue groups are on-site at Misty’s Pet Depot, check the web-site at www.mistyspetde-pot.com or on Facebook.

Store hours are 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday through Sat-urday and Sunday noon-5 p.m.

The offi cial grand open-ing was Saturday, May 3. For more information or to schedule an appointment with the on-site groomer, call 523-9763.

Be sure and meet the owners while you are there. You won’t be disappointed.

■ ETABPA meets WednesdayThe East Towne Area

Business and Professional Association will meet at 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 7, at New Harvest Park Commu-nity Center.

State Sen. Becky Massey will speak. Come learn what is going on in the East Towne Corridor and meet some of your neighbors.

Rocky Top Hummin’ & Strummin’ BBQ Cook-Off, sponsored by West Knox Ro-tary, is roaring back.

This year’s event, with teams from across the coun-try competing for $10,000, will be held on the campus of the Episcopal School of

Knoxville, just off Lovell Road. Dates are Friday and Saturday, May 30-31.

Live bands include Dish-water Blonde, Subtle Clutch, Second Opinion and Roger Wade & Sparkle Motion.

Info: www.rockytopbbq.com.

By Bonny C. MillardStoried University of Ten-

nessee former football head coach and player Johnny Majors credits his father with teaching him the fun-damentals of playing the game, which led to his success on the fi eld.

Majors spoke recently to the Ro-tary Club of Farragut about his time both as a player and coach. He also reminisced about his father, Shirley Inman Majors, and his brother, Joe.

Former UT linebacker Keith DeLong, who went on to play for the San Fran-cisco 49ers, was there to listen to his former coach. DeLong played in the mid-to-late 1980s, and the pair have been friends since that time.

Majors, head football coach at UT from 1977 to 1992, also served as head coach at the University of Pittsburgh and Iowa State

University during his lengthy career. His list of accolades include 1985 SEC Coach of the Year, a 1976 national championship at Pitt where he was twice

named National Coach of the Year and Big 8 Coach of the Year. While a player at UT in the 1950s, Majors was named All-SEC

football tailback, SEC Player of the Year and 1956 Heisman Trophy runner up.

Majors talked about his early years of growing up in Lynchburg, where his father started coaching football at the county high school in 1944. While Majors was in high school, his father was hired to start the football program at Huntland High School. Majors said he and his brothers had to earn their spots on the team, and their father expected them to do their best.

Majors said he always played football with pride

Former University of Tennessee head football coach Johnny

Majors shares family and football memories with the Rotary

Club of Farragut. Photo by Bonny C. Millard

John Majors sharesfootball, family memories

Rocky Top BBQ gets ready for cook-off

and enthusiasm and an atti-tude of never giving up. His father taught Majors “how to play the game right.”

As a coach, Majors again took lessons from his fa-ther and incorporated those into his own coaching style. Majors said he always re-mained committed to his players and preached “char-acter above all else.” The more character his players possessed, the better they played, he said.

“Character is what we’re

made of; reputation is what people think we are,” he said, adding that he liked to recruit character.

Majors opened his talk with memories of his family, especially his brother Joe. Majors, the oldest child of fi ve boys and one girl, said Joe, the second oldest, was born on Christmas Day in 1936. Joe Majors died seven years ago, and Majors told the group he still misses his best friend for life and “greatest Christmas gift.”

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8 • MAY 5, 2014 • SOUTH KNOX Shopper news

THROUGH SATURDAY, MAY 17Tickets on sale for Tennessee Theatre’s annual

“Stars on Stage” event. Kenny Rogers will headline the event, 8 p.m. Saturday, May 17. Proceeds will benefi t the Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation.

THROUGH SUNDAY, MAY 18“Pollyanna” presented by the Knoxville Chil-

dren’s Theatre, 109 E. Churchwell Ave. Perfor-mances: 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays; 1 and 5 p.m. Saturdays; 3 p.m. Sundays. Info/reservations: 208-3677; www.knoxvillechildrenstheatre.com; info@childrenstheatreknoxville.com.

THURSDAYS THROUGH MAY 22Diabetes Management Series, 6:30 p.m., Knox

County Health Department auditorium, 140 Dameron Ave. Free fi ve-part series; open to the public. To regis-ter: 215-5170.

THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 8Registration open for AMSE Science Explorer

Camp for rising 5th, 6th and 7th graders. Two sessions: June 9-13, June 16-20. Info/to register: http://amse.org/visitors/summer-camps/.

MONDAY, MAY 4-5Alex Haley Scholarship Benefi t Celebrity Golf

Tournament, Gettysvue Polo, Golf and Country Club. Check-in, 8 a.m.; tee time, 8:30. Cost 250 per player. To register: http://volsconnect.com/alexhaley2014.

TUESDAY, MAY 6UT Hospice Adult Grief Support Group

meeting, 5-6:30 p.m., UT Hospice offi ce, 2270 Sutherland Ave. A light supper is served. Info/reserva-

tion: Brenda Fletcher, 544-6277.

TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY, MAY 6-7AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Se-

quoyah Hills Presbyterian Church, 3700 Keowee Ave. Into/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 7Dinner and auction sponsored by Kids First Child

Advocacy Center, 5 p.m., Rothschild Catering and Conference Center, 8807 Kingston Pike. Theme: “Hoops for Hope.” Guest speaker: Holly Warlick, head coach, UT Women’s Basketball team. Proceeds to help provide free services to victims of child abuse in Loudon, Morgan, Meigs and Roane counties. Sponsors needed. Info: www.kidsfi rsttn.org

THURSDAY, MAY 8AARP Driver Safety class, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., East

Tennessee Medical Group (ETMG), 266 Joule St., Alcoa. Into/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

First Lutheran Church senior group 55 Alive meeting, noon, in the meeting room in the church, 1297 N. Broadway. Guest speaker: Laura Halm, news reporter from WATE-TV Channel 6, will speak on “My Life as a Journalist.” Cost: $7, includes lunch. The public is invited; reservations are requested: 524-0344 before noon.

“Bloom Where You Are Planted” luncheon, 10:45 a.m., Buddy’s Bearden Banquet Hall, 5806 Kings-ton Pike. Hosted by the Knoxville Christian Women’s Connection. Special program featuring Lisa Stanley from Stanley Green House. Guest speaker: Judith Barth from Dayton, Tenn. Cost: $12 inclusive. Child care by reservation only. Info/reservations: 315-8182 or knox-villechristianwomen@gmail.com.

FRIDAY, MAY 9Opening reception for Vestival art exhibit, 5-7

p.m., Candoro Arts & Heritage Center, 4450 Candora Ave. Features the quilts of 85-year-old Opal McCartney of Dandridge, Tenn. Includes hors d’oeuvres and live music from Old City Buskers.

AARP Driver Safety class, 9 a.m.-5p.m., Ameri-can Red Cross, 6921 Middlebrook Pike. Into/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

SATURDAY, MAY 10Poets Donna Doyle and Rose Raney will read,

3 p.m., Historic Westwood, 3425 Kingston Pike. Part of Poets for Preservation spring poetry series. Refresh-ments served. Guests invited to look around the newly

restored mansion after the readings.Vestival: South Knoxville’s Art & Heritage

Festival, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Candoro Arts & Heritage Center at the historic Candoro Marble Company site, 4450 Candora Ave. Cost: suggested donation $5 per person at the gate. All donations go to the Candoro Arts & Heritage Center. Vendors, live music. Info: www.CandoroMarble.org.

Rabies vaccination clinics, 2-4:30 p.m. Cost: $10 per animal. Hosted by the Knox County Health Depart-ment and the Knoxville Veterinarian Medical Associa-tion at the following schools: Anderson Elementary School, Bearden High School, Bearden Middle School, Cedar Bluff Primary School, Chilhowee Elementary School, Hardin Valley Elementary School, Karns El-ementary School, Mount Olive Elementary School

Songwriting workshops followed by a songwriter-in-the-round style performance, featuring Mary Gauth-ier, Jim Lauderdale, Scott Miller, Matt Wertz and Drew Ramsey, Historic Ramsey House, 2614 Thorngrove Pike. Info/to sign up: http://www.ramseyhouse.org/wp-con-tent/uploads/song-writers-fl ier.pdf or call 865-546-0745.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 10-11Harvey Broome Group outing: Backpack, Gil-

liland Creek, GSMNP. Total hiking distance is 10.5 miles. Backcountry camp fee $4 per person – check with the leader about reservations status. Rated easy. Preregister with Warren or Carol Devine, 483-7894 or warrendevine@comcast.net.

SUNDAY, MAY 11New Sunday evening worship service, 5 p.m.,

St. James Episcopal Church, 1101 N. Broadway. Weath-er-permitting, Holy Eucharist will be celebrated on the lawn. No experience required. Noisy children and pets are welcome. Bring a picnic dinner if you like. Info: 523-5687 or www.stjamesknox.org.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14“The Forgotten Basket of the Mountain,” a

Brown Bag Lecture by Bill Alexander, noon, East Tennes-see History Center, 601 S. Gay St. Free. May bring “brown bag” lunch. Info: 215-8824 or www.EastTNHistory.org.

THURSDAY, MAY 15Deadline to register for “An evening with Bill Landry.”

Hosted by Knoxville Region UT Chattanooga Alumni Chapter, 6-8 p.m. Thursday, May 22, University of Ten-nessee Visitor’s Center, 2712 Neyland Drive. Tickets: $25, includes dinner. For tickets: http://www.mocsconnect.com/2014landry. Info: knoxutcalumni@gmail.com; Natalie Mohr, 470-3790; www.mocsconnect.com/knoxville.

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