Farragut Shopper-News 021115

IN THIS ISSUE

Saying thanksScouting Sunday is an an-

nual event at Beaver Ridge that is designed to recognize boys and leaders from Cub Scouts to Eagle Scouts for the time and efforts they give to scouting. This years celebration was intended to honor Becker, who has more than 50 years of scouting leadership and service under his belt.

See Nancy Anderson on page A-6

Hall of Fame homecoming

The Hall of Fame at Farragut High School welcomed eight athletes and two coaches for the 2015 class, representing sports ranging from cross-country to wrestling. In addition, Dr. Paul Becker, orthopedic surgeon and sports physician, received the Athletic Service Award at the ceremony on Jan. 31 in the school Commons.

See Farragut Faces on page A-3

20 years of faithFaith Promise Church

celebrates its 20th anniversary this month, and Senior Pas-tor Chris Stephens said he is already pumped about the next 20 years.

See Sara Barrett on page A-14

10512 Lexington Dr., Ste. 500 37932 (865) 218-WEST (9378)

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[email protected] Gardner Howell

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By Sherri Gardner HowellI have bad news for greeting

card companies, restaurants and fl orists. When it comes to fi lling hearts with love on Valentines Day, you have some heavy compe-tition that you will never beat.

Elementary schools.My sweet husband, who groans

like all men when February rolls around, has presented me with some very lovely cards, beauti-ful fl owers and delicious dinners for Valentines Days through the years. Nothing can compare, how-ever, to the Popsicle sticks picture frame with crayon red hearts on all sides and a second-grade photo of our younger son grinning from ear to ear. The scrawled I love you Mommy on the back completes the heart-tug.

And then there is the plaster of Paris handprint from our fi rstborn

when he was 5 with a teacher-as-sisted poem on the back: Heres my hand on Valentines Day; Hold me close as I grow and play. Even now, in the midst of trying to de-clutter, I cant part with the school-made Valentines Day cards.

I have been away from elemen-tary schools so long that I dont even know whats allowed any-more as far as giving Valentines to classmates. I remember my own Valentines Days at school, how-ever. Who knew so much could be read into the size and sentiment on silly tear on the dotted line Valentines? Yes, class lists were sent home with proper admonish-ments for every child to provide a card for every other child and that no additional gifts could be brought to school, unless there was one for everyone.

And, yes, we followed all the

rules in my small town in the 1960s. But that doesnt mean each chipper Barbie says: Youre the grooviest or Yogi Bears I cant BEAR to be without you we re-ceived wasnt analyzed, dissected and conclusions drawn.

I knew Greg Hart loved me after Valentines Day in fourth grade. Greg and I both bought The Bea-tles Valentines pack to pass out in our classroom that year. We both gave each other the same card: the largest one in the pack with all FOUR Beatles on it and the senti-ment: Love, Love Me Do. Happy Valentines Day.

I knew it was true love. I, per-sonally, had spent almost an hour deciding between that card and the All You Need Is Love smaller card for Greg. It was destiny.

(Destiny took an ugly turn the next year when Greg threw me

Love, love me doLove, love me doover after I won Miss Lexington Junior First Princess. He imme-diately declared his love for Teresa Smith, who won queen. He moved out of town shortly thereafter, but I had nothing to do with that.)

Unfortunately for adult men and women today, all this com-petition from elementary school crushes and childrens handprints doesnt take the pressure off for Valentines Day. We all love to be loved, and we love to be reminded that we are loved. The point, of course, is to look inside the heart of whoever it is you love. Youll fi nd the right gift in whatever brings that smile to his or her face.

And if you just cant fi gure it out, call an elementary school teacher.

The Sonshine Ministry at First Baptist Concord tugged at

heartstrings on Feb. 5 at the groups Valentines Banquet and

Talent Show. Sonshine Ministry is a growing group at FBC, serving

the special-needs community and their families. Twice-weekly

meetings are fi lled with learning, joy, music and communion. At the

banquet, families and Sonshine class members come together

in fellowship over a meal and are then entertained with songs,

dances and Bible readings. Right, Tylor Verely shows off his

Valentine formal attire as his sister Casandra gives him a big

smile. For more on the Sonshine Valentines Banquet, see Faith on

page 7. Photo by Amy Melendy

pp pp

Showing their love

More apartments on the horizon

A 19-acre site near the intersection of Kingston Pike and Smith Road is being eyed for a high-end apart-ment complex. Photo by Wendy Smith

e A-6

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By Wendy SmithA Wisconsin-based develop-

ment company presented a plan for a 236-unit apartment complex on 19 acres north of the Farragut Church of Christ at last weeks Farragut Economic Development Committee meeting.

John Minahan of Continental

Properties characterized Springs at Farragut as a high-end devel-opment that would cater to young professionals and benefi t the town economically. Total project cost is estimated at $37 million, and the company plans to retain and man-age the property, he said.

The plan hasnt been submitted

to the Municipal Planning Com-mission or the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Minahan has been communicating with residents of adjacent neighbor-hoods, and he presented the plan to the committee in order to be transparent, he said.

Continental Properties cur-

rently has multi-family properties in 22 communities nationwide, in-cluding Springs at Mountain View in Nashville and Springs at Chat-tanooga. The company has a strin-gent site-selection process, and Farragut was chosen because of its

To page A-3

Level playing fi eld for students?

Unexpected barriers awaited the Austin-East Ro-botics Team when they applied to participate in the FIRST Robotics Competition, an in-ternational program that chal-lenges talented high schoolers to solve high-tech science and engineering problems.

See Bill Dockery on page A-4

Meet the toreadorBass-baritone Ryan Kuster

thinks that most people can relate to George Bizets opera Carmen, which is being per-formed by the Knoxville Opera Company this weekend.

For one thing, people will recognize the music. Most people know a lot more of Car-men than they think they do. And the story is compelling. Theres no real hero. Its very human theres not a clear moment where you say, Oh, this is the person that I root for.

See Carol Shane on page A-11

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By Sherri Gardner HowellA look at former Knox-

ville Mayor Kyle C. Tes-termans life offers many opportunities for honors and tributes. A member of Knoxville City Council from 1969 to 1971, he was elected mayor in 1972, serving one term, then returning as mayor from 1984 to 1988. Testerman is credited with being a visionary who saw the need for downtown re-vitalization and was behind the 1987 Downtown Plan that led to the City County Building, TVA Towers, ren-ovation of Market Square and the beautifi cation of Gay Street.

Considered a business-focused mayor, Testerman in his second term also tackled the stabilization of the citys fi nances, which had seen a decline in the bond rating following debt from the 1982 Worlds Fair.

A recent honor, however, encompasses not only what Testerman did for the city, but also his love of tennis. The dedication and naming of the tennis courts at Tyson Park as the Kyle C. Tester-man Tennis Complex on Feb. 2 was a fi tting tribute, says daughter Janet Tester-man Creswell.

When we told Dad, he was very honored, says Cres well. His involvement in developing the facility and his love of tennis span not only his political career, but his entire life. As we talked about it, he told me that he was very proud of the fact that Tyson Park and the tennis complex there brought all segments of the town together. Its a place where diverse populations come together to enjoy the sport and park.

Knox County Clerk Fos-ter Arnett, a great and long-

Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero congratulates former Mayor Kyle Testerman.

Looking dapper after the dedication of tennis courts named in his honor, former Knoxville Mayor Kyle C. Testerman talks with guests and dignitaries at the ceremony on Feb. 2. Photos submitted

Its love-allat tennis park dedication

time family friend, says Cres well, was the guiding force behind the dedication. We had talked about it as a family, but Foster really got behind it and took it on, getting it in front of the right committees and the mayor, says Creswell. It turned out to be a great day and a very fi tting honor for Dad.

Testerman grew up in the Lake Avenue area of Knoxville, was on the 1951 Knoxville High School state championship basketball team his junior year, then graduated from McCallie School in Chattanooga. He originally went to the Uni-

versity of Tennessee on a basketball scholarship but switched to tennis. He re-ceived a bachelors degree in business administration and a law degree from UT.

Creswell says the fam-ily was touched and excited to see so many longtime friends come to congratu-late Testerman at the dedi-cation. The whole family was there my mom (Janet Testerman Crossley), sister (Muffett Testerman Buck-ner) and her family, brother (Ben Testerman) and his family, my family and all the grandchildren. Dad was so happy to see longtime tennis friends and all the living city councilmen who served with him. It was a good cross-sec-tion of people from different areas of his life and a really great day.

Dignitaries included Mayor Madeline Rogero, Arnett and the former coun-cil members who served with Testerman: Ed Shouse, L.B. Steele, Larry Cox, Jean Teague and Jack Sharp. Rogero conducted the un-veiling after remarks by Ar-nett. Ben Testerman spoke for the family.

By Wendy SmithSequoyah Hills resident

Pamela Schoenewaldts novels put readers in a dif-ferent time and place, and, sometimes, in achingly diffi cult circumstances. But the journey is so com-pelling that the reader is happy to go there.

Her fi rst two novels, When We Were Strang-ers and Swimming in the Moon, received criti-cal praise and awards, and her third, Under the Same Blue Sky, will be released in May. After living in such inspiring locales as New York City, San Francisco and Naples, Italy, Schoe-newaldt wrote all three in Knoxville a place she knew nothing about when she arrived in 2000.

The New Jersey na-tive worked as a freelance writer in San Francisco before she moved to Na-ples in 1990 for a man. Her projects included speeches, documentaries and scripts, and most re-quired extensive research. The work taught her to re-search quickly, which set her up well to be a histori-cal novelist, she says.

One of her primary activities in Naples was learning Italian. Her teachers beautiful villa, and her musings about how diffi cult it would be to clean, were the initial inspiration for Swimming in the Moon, the story of a mother and daughter who are servants in a villa be-fore beginning a new life in Cleveland.

Schoenewaldts man, Maurizio Conti, became her husband, and his work as a physicist brought the couple to Knoxville. She

Research is key tolocal authors novels

Pamela Schoenewaldt Photos submitted

found a welcoming writing community here. With-out its generous help, she couldnt have fi nished her fi rst novel, she says.

She pays it forward by participating in numerous seminars and workshops. Teaching comes naturally to her. She taught at the University of Maryland, European Division, in Italy, and at the Univer-sity of Tennessee. She was also Writer in Residence at UT Library from 2001 to 2003.

Reading fi ction begins with the willing suspen-sion of disbelief, she says. A typographical error, put-ting information in solely for educational benefi t or getting a fact wrong can make readers unwilling to continue, she says.

Why would they trust you after that?

Under the Same Blue Sky is the story of Hazel Renner, the daughter of German shopkeepers in Pittsburgh. She is on the cusp of adulthood as WWI breaks out.

As the war escalates, isolating her community

and fam-ily, Hazelescapes toteach ina countrys c h o o l -house. Butshe cante s c a p e

the traumas of war or hermysterious talent for heal-ing. She understands thatto move forward, she mustfi rst understand her past.As the world rages, shetravels to a remarkablecastle in New Jersey andpost-war Germany to solvethe mystery of her mother,and ultimately, of herself.

While Schoenewaldtsin familiar territory withthe historical aspect of thebook, it veers into a genrethat shes not tried before magical realism. Thatmeans a magical element,in this case, the supernatu-ral ability to heal, is partof a story thats otherwiserealistic.

The offi cial book launchof Under the Same BlueSky is 7 p.m. Thursday,May 7, at the Laurel The-ater, 1538 Laurel Ave.

Shoenewaldt will teacha dialogue workshop at theEast Tennessee HistoryCenter, 601 S. Gay St.,from 10 a.m. to noon onSaturday, Feb. 28. Theevent is sponsored bythe Knoxville WritersGuild. To register: www.knoxvillewritersguild.org

In addition to herinstructional activities,Schoenewaldt speaksto local book clubs andmakes a point to answerall mail from readers.For more informationabout her books andupcoming events: www.pamelaschoenewaldt.com.

2014 had the highest level of residential permits is-sued 211. The average cost of each permit was down slightly from 2013. Smoak listed numerous businesses that opened last year, with the largest being SouthEast Bank, Perceptics and Stay-bridge Suites.

Overall it was a good year, with infi ll businesses and new buildings, too, said Smoak.

Smoak reminded com-mittee members that rep-resentatives from Winter and Company will be in

town this week to pres-ent their fi nal draft of the towns Architectural Design Guidelines to community leaders before Thursdays Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting. The fi nal draft is posted at www.townoffarragut.org/design.

He expects the approval process for the guidelines to be completed by March.

FARRAGUT Shopper news FEBRUARY 11, 2015 A-3

Sherri Gardner Howell

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More apartments From page A-1good demographics, he said.

Apartment sizes would range from studio to three bedrooms, with prices for studios running just under $1,000 per month. Parking would be extra. The one-level apartments would feature high-end fi nishes like hard-wood fl oors, granite and stain-less-steel appliances. The two-story exterior would feature high-quality materials.

He said that he has been meeting with individual neighbors who are opposed

to the project. Baldwin Park residents have been outspo-ken about not wanting apart-ments in their backyard, he said. Their biggest concerns are increased traffi c on Smith Road, overcrowding in schools and a reduction in property values.

The current plan calls for residents to enter and exit directly from Kings-ton Pike. An entrance from Smith Road will be used only by emergency vehicles.

Based on occupancy at

similar complexes in other markets, Minahan estimates that more than half of ten-ants will be between the ages of 20 and 34. School-age children make up just 6 per-cent of tenants in the com-panys apartment portfolio.

He said his company has studied the values of homes near high-end apartment complexes in Omaha, Neb., and West Knoxville, and data shows that values rose 2.2 to 2.9 percent after the complexes were completed.

People have the percep-tion that apartments draw low-income residents who

will have a negative impact on a community, he said. But Continental Properties has a stringent screening process that verifi es income and credit rating.

You dont want a prob-lem, and we dont want a problem, he said.

Committee member Knick Myers said he thought the project could help the Kingston Pike corridor by drawing new business.

During a status update, Town Administrator David Smoak discussed Farragut development statistics from 2010 to 2014. Fiscal Year

Farragut welcomes Hall of Fame inducteesThe Hall of Fame at Far-

ragut High School welcomed eight athletes and two coach-es for the 2015 class, repre-senting sports ranging from cross-country to wrestling.

The 2015 Farragut High School Hall of Fame inductees: Front row, from left, Tyler Cornaby (wrestling); Kellie Ivens (coach for track and fi eld and cross-country); Leah Seff ernick Bucklen (softball); Jason Price (football, basketball, baseball); Lynn Houston-Moore (track and fi eld, basketball); second row, from left, Dr. Paul Becker (team physician, Athletic Service Award); Andre Price (standing in for his daughter, inductee Giovanni Price, basketball); Eric Bell (cross-country, track and fi eld); third row, Mike Carpenter (basketball); and Kyle Waldrop (baseball). Not pictured: Jim Cates (wrestling coach).

In addition, Dr. Paul Beck-er, orthopedic surgeon and sports physician, received the Athletic Service Award at the ceremony on Jan. 31 in the school Commons.

Inductees are Kyle Wal-drop (Class of 2004, base-

Lynn Houston-Moore, a track and fi eld and basketball standout while at Farragut High School, is surrounded by her proud family at the FHS Hall of Fame ceremony on Jan. 31. From left are Lynn Houston-Moore with Channing Moore on her lap; Ava Moore; Kylie Moore; husband Moe Moore and Aron Moore. Photos by Nancy Anderson

At the banquet, Farragut High School athletic director Donald Dodgen and Principal Stephanie Thompson

ball); Jason Price (1992, football, basketball and baseball); Lynn Houston-Moore (1994, track and fi eld and basketball); Giovanni Price (2000, basketball); Eric Bell (1998, cross-coun-try and track and fi eld); Mike Carpenter (1983, basket-ball); Tyler Cornaby (1995, wrestling); Leah Seffernick Bucklen (1999, softball); and coaches Kellie Ivens (track and fi eld and cross coun-try coach, 1996-97 through 2006 cross country sea-son) and Jim Cates (wres-tling head coach, 1992-93 through 1998-99).

Keynote speaker for the special evening was Josh Ward, a 2003 FHS gradu-ate and host of Sports Radio WNML.

Cornaby spoke on behalf of the inductees. He was the FHS wrestling programs fi rst state champion in 1994 and 1995. Cornaby thanked coaches, mentors, family, friends and fans for cheering athletes on when things get tough. Each of us is here to-

night because of the infl uence of someone else, said Corna-by. We thank you for teach-ing us to dream and strive, and how to work through the disappointments, the injuries and the setbacks, and how to win graciously.

FHS athletic director Donald Dodgen said the 2015 class was one of which to be proud. This is our third year, and weve had some real good candidates, said Dodgen. These are not only great athletes, theyre great people.

FHS Principal Stephanie Thompson said the former students have shown great leadership. Its a thrill to honor those who have paved the way for the current stu-dents. Its about leadership. I am so amazed at the stu-dents who walk through these halls. The traditions and the high expectations upheld by our Hall of Famers have helped instill a culture of excellence that infi ltrates the hallways and our athletic fi elds every single day.


Catch up with all your favorite columnists every Wednesday at

www.ShopperNewsNow.com

Its offi cial: God hates in-surance, especially health insurance for poor people.

We have the Reverend June Griffi n to thank for revealing His Truth. Her prayer to open the special session of the state Senate scratched seven Republican committee members right where they itch, and Gov. Haslams Insure Tennessee proposal went down 7-4.

Here are seven names to remember next election (or when your medical bills force you into bankruptcy): Frank Niceley, Mike Bell, Janice Bowling, Rusty Crowe, Todd Gardenhire, Brian Kelsey and Kerry Roberts.

Newly-elected Sen. Rich-ard Briggs, Sen. Becky Massey and Sen. Ed Jack-

God hates health insuranceLarryVan

Guilder

son were the Republicans who backed the governor. Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro also voted for the proposal.

There may be people walking around more de-mented than June Griffi n, but the vast majority of them are medicated. That doesnt bother Sen. Niceley, who invited Griffi n to pray.

Griffi n is a watchdog of democracy, Niceley said. There are things that hap-pen in this country that scare everybody.

There certainly are, like Republican supermajori-ties and June Griffi n. In her prayer, Griffi n let God know that the same health insur-ance he provided Moses and the 12 tribes of Israel none was good enough for poor folks in Tennessee.

On the brighter side, the Knox County Health De-partment is warning of the dangers of chikungunya:

With many residents making plans for spring and summer vacations and mis-sion trips to the Caribbean, ... be aware of chikungu-nya.

Chikungunya is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitos. It causes fever, joint pain, headaches, rash-es and assorted miseries and lasts about a week.

Why have you never heard of chikungunya? First, you probably cant afford a Caribbean vaca-tion. Second, theres a much more dangerous viral infec-tion making the rounds in the states: measles.

Unlike chikungunya, measles is transmitted by an infected person, and the number of infected is grow-ing thanks to the unforgiv-able lunacy of the anti-vac-cination crowd.

Unvaccinated children in Disneyland in Decem-ber were exposed to a much greater health threat.

If I were sending bul-letins, Id make sure I im-pressed parents with the absolute necessity of hav-ing children vaccinated on schedule.

Marvin West

To the new guys who signed up to be Volunteers: Welcome and be advised that Tennessee football is forever unless you fail miserably, embarrass us something awful or just plain quit.

Tennessee fans never forget. Your obituary will mention that you are an old Vol and whether you made all-SEC.

Proof positive: The recent Shopper column about what happens when the cheering stops just missed matching the record for the most e-mail comments in one week.

Readers generally ap-proved but seven told me, with different tones, that I had overlooked Jim Haslam and his many gas stations. Not so. Too obvious. Big Jim is the ultimate success story and a very, very generous supporter of the university.

Five wondered why at-torney Tim Priest wasnt mentioned. Similar logic. He is in the spotlight at least 12 Saturdays a year as Vol Network analyst. Good match. Honest without be-

Tennessee fame is forever

ing harsh. Im a fan.One reader caused this

follow-up column. She thought I should have told you about Alan Cockrell, former quarterback, base-ball all-American and new assistant hitting coach for the New York Yankees. She and I agree the Yankees are/were big time. Trying to instruct Alex Rodriguez is certain to make news.

Cockrell is a baseball lifer but he had his football mo-ments. He was the fi rst Vol freshman to start a game at quarterback, Colorado State, 1981. Two weeks later, he suffered a bad knee inju-ry. It was thought he might be fi nished.

He made it back and threw two touchdown

passes in the dramatic 1982 upset of Alabama (Mike Terry interception game). I remember a 40-something-yard scoring run against LSU in 83. Alan was a co-star in the Citrus Bowl win over Maryland and Boomer Esiason.

Ah yes, now you remem-ber. That was Cockrells last football game. Thereafter, he concentrated on base-ball, won distinction as a slugging outfi elder, was MVP in the SEC tourna-ment and fi rst-round draft choice of the San Francisco Giants, one pick ahead of Mark McGuire.

The theme of his pro ca-reer was never give up. He played and played in nine minor league seasons be-fore the Colorado Rockies fi nally provided the prover-bial September cup of coffee in 1996. He was 33.

Alan appeared in nine games, one as an outfi elder, eight as pinch hitter. He had a double off Tom Glavine and one other hit, two runs batted in, four strikeouts.

That was that.

Technically, Cockrell was near fl awless with the bat. He had leadership skills. He had the patience to teach. He stayed in baseball as a scout, coach and manager in the Rockies farm system. He helped the big club for a few minutes in 2002 and came back as hitting coach in 2007, the World Series season. Ask Todd Helton how much Cockrell did. Colorado led the National League in batting, on-base percentage and total hits.

Too soon the Rockies re-gressed and Alan was un-employed for a few days. Seattle wanted him. After that, he worked for the Ari-zona Diamondbacks as mi-nor league hitting coordina-tor.

His period of obscurity is fi nished. Fifty-two New York reporters, bloggers and sports-talk types will ask about growing up in Jo-plin, Mo., about fi ve seasons with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and about being on the Vols all-century base-ball team.

Tennessee quarterback? Really? Do you know Pey-ton Manning?Marvin West invites reader reaction. His address is [email protected].

The controversy over radio purchases for E-911 continues, and much of the political fallout for Mayor Rogero was self-infl icted. She was the person who decided not to attend E-911 board meetings and not to instruct her proxy on how to vote. No one made her do it.

In fact, Bill Haslam, as mayor, attended several E-911 board meetings.

The need for a special board meeting would not exist had Rogero been pres-ent and prepared to vote on Jan. 21. It could not come at a worse time for her as she is seeking her second and fi nal mayoral term in September. Skipping every E-911 meeting does not look good.

Her mea culpa excuse for not attending was that the meetings were techni-cal and logistical. Does that mean she might not understand the discus-sion or be bored? Wow! Is she really serious? She could easily take qualifi ed staff with her to assist, as she does at biweekly City Council meetings where she presides.

She says her police and fi re chiefs did nothing wrong, but it is their silence on the radio bids, along with everyone elses, that has triggered the mayoral demand for a special meet-ing. One assumes they will vote with her when the next meeting is held.

She criticizes the inad-equate website for the 911 board (www.knox911.org) and the absence of bylaws as if this is a new discov-ery. Had she paid atten-tion to 911 over the past three years she would have already known about it and could have solved the mat-ter long before now.

Rogero would be much better off acknowledging error on never attending 911 and pledging to do bet-ter. Voters accept apologies. 911 employees would also welcome a visit from her.

Don Howell, the 911 attorney for 20 years, says the chair can call a special meeting. He is one of the few attorneys who has not

VictorAshe

Rogeros wound is self-infl icted

raised his rate for services for a public body, being paid $2,000 a month in 1995 and the same in 2015.

KAT: Mayor Rog-ero is apparently irked that Mayor Tim Burchett endorsed Hubert Smith (a Rogero appointee to the Knox Area Transit) to be chair of KAT in a recent vote. Jim Richards, man-ager of Mast General Store, was actually elected.

Rogero apparently called Burchett to berate him for sending a letter supporting the Smith candidacy, which had the backing of former Mayor Dan Brown who also serves on the board. She also criticized County Clerk Foster Arnett for endorsing Smith.

Interesting that Rogero has time to call Burchett and Arnett over a minor endorsement letter but has not had time to attend othermeetings. County Com-missioner Amy Broyles, a Democrat, also wrote KAT backing Smith, along with city council member Mark Campen.

Normally KAT board meetings are quick and quiet. A contested vote for chair is most unusual, es-pecially with endorsement letters from public offi cials.

MPC: The special MPC director search com-mittee is nearing a deci-sion. The committee meets behind closed doors at the direction of Bill Lyons, deputy mayor to Rogero. But the decision is down to three persons who are now being vetted.

A recommendation is a few weeks off. Burchett and Rogero will have to approve it for it to become effective. The MPC board has no voice in the choice as the new director will not report to them but to the two mayors, which makes for an unclear and poten-tially unworkable line of author ity.

The playing fi eld still is not level.

The gates to the stadium have been opened to every-one, but the fi eld is tilted, uneven. Home-fi eld advan-tage is more than a myth. Some teams always have to kick into the wind.

Recently the Shopper-News reported on Robotics Team 5744, the fi rst group of Austin-East students to compete in the FIRST Ro-botics Competition, an in-ternational program that challenges talented high schoolers to solve high-tech science and engineering problems.

The A-E team came to the fi rst stage of the contest both scared and eager. Un-der the leadership of their

Bill Dockery

Lets level the playing fi eld

Project GRAD director, Tanisha Fitzgerald-Baker, they came to the University of Tennessee College of En-gineering, where they got a crash course in putting to-gether a fundamental robot from a kit. In a grueling 11-hour day, they worked out how to assemble and wire it, and one young man sat down with the program-ming manual and learned to make it obey. Other high school teams with more

experience were generous consultants. Sometime in February, Team 5744 faces its next step making their robot do the chores the contest requires. They are working on it.

But theres always a back story, the part that doesnt make the paper. In this case it was the bureaucracy needed to get the A-E team into the contest.

When Fitzgerald-Baker began to put together the A-E application, she was welcomed by the state FIRST coordinator and ad-ministrators in the College of Engineering. But the ap-plication process had unex-pected barriers: Parents of participating students were required to go online. Only

one family of the half-dozen involved A-E students had ready access to the Internet.

I had to print out all the forms, send them home for the parents to sign, and take them with me the morn-ing of the competition, she said. Then I had to explain why I was bringing paper forms instead of completing the process online.

The groundskeepers the people who created the game and drew up the rules threw up unnecessary barriers for some would-be players because of the as-sumptions they made about the lives and resources of the people they expected to go out for the team.

Expectation is also a ma-jor factor in warping the playing fi eld. When the UT philosophy department cre-ated its Ethics Bowl compe-

tition in 2009, David Goff, the librarian who sponsors the A-E team, quietly ad-mits that there was a lack of respect for the team from the East Knoxville school.

When we won third place in 2011, everyone was shocked, he said. Not so much now, for the team went on to win fi rst place in the 2012 and 2013 bowls and came in second in 2014. In fact, for the fi rst time since they began to partici-pate, the A-E team failed to place in the top three fi nish-

ers in the 2015 competitionrecently.

Our team knew they didwell. We were shocked notto place, Goff said. Thestudents deserve the credit.They worked hard and ex-pected to win.

Downpage in the sameissue of the Shopper-Newswas another story about anuneven playing fi eld thecontest to keep all studentsin school and out of the ju-venile justice system.

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On the Knoxville leg of her statewide listening

tour, Mary Mancini ar-rived early, stayed late, a n s w e r e d q u e s t i o n s and refused to be de-terred from her mission as the new

chair of Tennessees Demo-cratic Party:

Elect Democrats. Strengthen the Democratic Party brand. Damage the Republican brand, some-thing she said the opposi-tion is making it easy to do.

Chip, chip, chip, chip, chip away, she said, rais-

The Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) has come a long way since private citizens took it over from Knox County Commis-sioners.

The BZA is the last place to appeal a zoning before going to court. Until 2009, county commissioners ap-pointed themselves to the nine-member board.

A 2008 state law barring commissioners from serving on boards or commissions appointed by commission-ers forced all but two board members, Scott Moore and William Daniels, to step down. Daniels had fi nished his term as an interim com-missioner and Moore had been ousted from commis-sion for perjury.

Some were concerned that the commission would appoint developers and real estate agents to the board, says former BZA chair John Schoonmaker, who was re-cently appointed Fifth Dis-

Betty Bean

Wendy Smith

Mary Mancini

Schoonmaker

Mancini hits the ground listening

ing the issue of Chattanooga state Sen. Todd Garden-hires getting caught telling a whopper when he claimed he doesnt get state-subsi-dized medical insurance (Gardenhire was one of fi ve Republican members of the state Senates Health Com-mittee who voted to kill Gov. Bill Haslams Insure Tennessee proposal.)

Mancini is a known quantity in Nashville, where she owned a Nash-ville rec ord store and punk

rock venue, had a radio talk show, spent 10 years as an Internet provider and was executive director of Ten-nessee Citizen Action, but not so much across the state, so last week, she hit the road for a statewide tour that, if her Knoxville stop is typical of the others, is as much get to know me as listening.

Marys kind of data-driven and goal-oriented, said former state Rep. Glo-ria Johnson, who lost her seat by 183 votes and was also a candidate for state chair until she withdrew to clear the way for Mancini, about whom she is enthusi-astic. Shes really current on all that stuff and will

utilize those tools to make good things happen.

Randy Neal, Knoxvilles most prominent progres-sive blogger, describes her as smart, high energy and charismatic.

Mary did outstanding work as executive director at Tennessee Citizen Action, where she was the go-to person on voting rights and campaign fi nance. Her challenge now will be fund-raising and recruiting. I dont know how wired in she is with the old-school Dem-ocrats and money people in Nashville, but maybe a fresh new approach is what the party needs.

I hope she can get Ten-nessee Democrats back on

the right path and lead us out of the wilderness. She seems up to the task.

Organizers tagged the headcount at 125. Mancini pronounced it her biggest crowd of the tour. Repre-sentatives of the civil rights community, labor groups, Young Democrats, College Democrats and party lead-ers from surrounding coun-ties were present.

The Rev. Harold Mid-dlebrook offered the ob-servation that We have a Democratic pulpit and a Re-publican pew. Tax reform activists John and Nancy Stewart acknowledged that amending the state consti-tution to outlaw an income tax last year has driven a

stake through the heart of their efforts.

Thats 38 years of work down the tubes, John Stewart said, lamenting the diffi culty of communicating the advantages of a system that is not dependent on sales-tax revenue We need to simplify what we say.

When a labor union rep-resentative pushed her to take a stand against the Trans Pacifi c Partnership (called NAFTA on Ste-roids by opponents), Man-cini didnt let him down easy:

Ill be blunt: I dont think theres anything I can do to stop it. My priority is the state. My job is to elect Democrats in Tennessee.

The new BZA no politics allowed

trict county commissioner.But that didnt happen.

Schoonmaker, who was president of the Council of West Knox County Home-owners at the time, was encouraged to apply for the post by then-Commissioner Craig Leuthold. He thought Schoonmakers expertise would benefi t the BZA.

Schoonmaker was ap-pointed, along with other community leaders and professional experts from each district: Daniel Brown, Markus Chady, Jean Teague, Larry York, Les Spitzer and Carson Dailey. Daniels be-came the chair.

Politics plays no role in the decisions of the citizen

board, Schoonmaker says. Their decisions are based solely on county ordinances.

There is no time limit on cases. One case lasted four hours, Schoonmaker said.

BZA board members recognized that developers and builders had a tendency to overlook rules, like set-back requirements, and ask for forgiveness later. They changed the fee structure: $200 if construction had not begun; $400 if it had.

In one case, a builder who ignored a setback require-ment had to move a house that was already undeway.

While experts, like archi-tects, are helpful, common sense is the most valuable attribute for board mem-bers, Schoonmaker says. Petitioners seek variances for things they cant control, like property lines that were established before survey-ing was an exact science. Other times, they create their own hardships, and

its important to be able to tell the difference.

Schoonmaker says hes proud that board mem-bers dont make deci-sions be-fore theyve heard a case. Some-times, a case seems simple on

paper, but when its present-ed, it calls for a different outcome.

His biggest disappoint-ment is the Metropolitan Planning Commissions lack of action on the discrepancy between the citys and the countys minimum size for parking spaces. The coun-tys minimum size is 200 square feet, and the citys is 162 square feet. Business owners in the county regu-larly appear before the BZA, and pay a $200 fee, to re-ceive a variance that allows

them to have the same size parking spaces as business-es in the city.

BZA asked County Com-mission to request that MPC change the county code in January 2012, and there has been no action, he says.

But his time spent with the BZA was overwhelm-ingly positive, he says.

It was an absolute privilege to serve on BZA. I looked forward to every meeting because it was al-ways a challenge.

In a recent workshop by the NAACP and the Chil-drens Defense Fund, pre-senters used federal fi gures from Knox County Schools to show that African-Amer-ican students are suspended from school almost three times more often than their white fellow students. If dis-ability is factored in, about one in 10 white students will be suspended, while around one in four black students will be sent home.

Students who are sus-pended are much more likely to leave school and fall under the jurisdiction of the crimi-

nal justice system.The assumptions our in-

stitutions make about the lives and resources of our students are the factors that warp the playing surface, that skew even those hon-est attempts to level the fi eld so that everyone gets a fair chance to succeed.

The groundskeepers schools and courts, govern-ments and charities must make sure that their own expectations do not tilt the fi eld so that people of color and people with disabilities have no possibility of suc-ceeding.

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By Nancy AndersonThe evening was to be

all about Tom Becker. Still, it came as no surprise that Becker had some other thoughts on where the spot-light should go.

Becker was to be honored on Sunday, Feb. 8, at Bea-ver Ridge United Methodist Church for his dedication to the Boy Scouts of America. Scouting Sunday is an an-nual event at Beaver Ridge that is designed to recog-nize boys and leaders from Cub Scouts to Eagle Scouts for the time and efforts they give to scouting. This years celebration was intended to honor Becker, who has more than 50 years of scouting leadership and service un-der his belt.

Becker did the paper-work necessary for three of his fellow leaders Tim

Brown, Brian Damiano and Larry Rose to receive the Cross and Flame Award and insisted they receive the medallions and recognition during the morning service of Scout Sunday. The Cross and Flame Award is pre-sented by the United Meth-odist Church to adult lead-ers in scouting who have given exceptional service in youth programing and de-velopment.

You can talk for an hour and still barely touch on all the things Tom Becker has done for us, says Da-miano. Hes an amazing man who has made a huge impact on all of us. We in-tended for today to be about Tom. Hes been involved in this church on all levels for many years. Hes chairman of the trustees, sings in the choir, is on pretty much

every committee and has been on every mission trip that I know of. Basically, if anything needs done, hes there to help.

Becker was apprecia-tive, says pastor Darryll Rasnake, but wanted to recognize the other scout leaders for their service by giving them the Cross and Flame Award on his spe-cial day.

Tom is the one who said we needed to do this for these three men. He said it was important and had already done all the work and gotten the medallions. These guys are good men, an asset to the church and solid leaders, says Ras-nake. Theyre the next gen-eration.

Beaver Ridge UMC has nearly 70 boys involved in scouting.

Cub Scouts Wyatt Emery and Gage McGhee congratulate honoree Tom Becker.

Tom Becker, seated, is joined by three leaders of the scouting community who earned the Cross and Flame Award, presented at a special reception given for Becker on Feb. 8. From left are Tim Brown, Brian Damiano with son Anthony and Larry Rose.

Beaver Ridge United Methodist Church Pastor Darryll Rasnake takes a moment to speak withTom Becker during a reception on Feb. 8 to honor Becker for his 50 years of service to the BoyScouts. Photos by Nancy Anderson

Saying thanks for scouting leadership

With dinner winding to a close, family and friends get ready to enjoy the talent show at the Sonshine Ministry event. Seated, from left, are Grayson Walton, Allison Carbaugh and Brian Ferrell; standing, from left, Garrett Walton, Ali Gracia and Sherri Walton.

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The Sonshine group added their thoughts to the churchs project Ten Thousand Reasons We Worship Our God, helping fi ll the scroll with notes about all the blessings they fi nd through God.

An evening of blessings with SonshineBy Sherri Gardner Howell

Happiness is contagious. I am always amazed and continually blessed when the opportunity comes to cover or attend an event with the special needs class at First Baptist Church Concord. The joy, the hugs, the unbridled happiness these adults spread to those around them renews ones faith and adjusts our some-what tilted outlook on life.

Called the Sonshine Min-istry, the class serves an im-portant purpose in the com-munity. They meet twice a week on Sundays and Wednesdays for fun, fel-lowship and learning. In a community of people where isolation is often the biggest problem, the ministry gives the adults and their fami-lies an opportunity to build meaningful and authentic relationships with people who have unique walks with Christ because of the physi-cal challenges they face, says FBC communications director Tiffany Roy.

The weekly meetings include crafts, music and Bible teachings. They work on life skills and do com-munity service projects. This group demonstrates gratefulness for everything and everyone they meet on their journey through life, says Steve Peek, one of the pastors at First Baptist Con-cord. They challenge me to live my life with a fresh awareness of giving and re-ceiving love every day.

In February, the Son-shine Ministry pulls out all the stops with a Valentines Banquet and Talent Show. A dinner with the church community, family and friends is followed by a tal-ent show fi lled with songs, recitations of poems and Bible verses and dancing.

This year the group also participated in the churchs Ten Thousand Reasons We Worship Our God, based on the song by the same name. The congregation has been writing down their reasons and posting on a scroll to

Michael Kelly and Holly Johnson share smiles at the Sonshine Ministry Valentines Banquet and Talent Show.

Liz Adams shares her talents.

share. The scroll was un-rolled and shared, and the Helping Hands group sang the song at the talent show.

I was out-of-town on the night of the banquet but found I could still capture a little of the joy and excite-ment of the evening from photographer Amy Me-lendys pictures. Amy is a teacher at Cedar Bluff Mid-dle School and has a grow-ing love of photography. She covered the banquet for Shopper News.

FAITH NOTES Concord UMC, 11020 Roane Drive, will off er a Music and Creative

Arts Camp from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 13-17 for kids who have fi nished fi rst through sixth grades. Cost: $125. Signups continue through April.

Consignors needed for clothing consignment sale to be hosted by Central Baptist Church Bearden, 6300 Deane Hill Drive, on Friday and Saturday, March 6-7. Deadline to register: March 1. Info: [email protected].

Knoxville Day Aglow Lighthouse weekly Bible study, 9:30-11:30 a.m. beginning Thursday, Feb. 12, New Covenant Fellowship Church, 6828 Central Ave. Pike. Topic: Game Changers by Graham Cooke; instructor: Jeannine Courtney. Info: Diane Shelby, 687-3687.

Rabbi Lawrence Hoff man, Professor of Liturgy, Worship and Ritual at HUC-JIR in New York, will lecture on Limits, Truth and Meaning: The Anxious Search for Meaning in our Time, 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at Temple Beth El, 3037 Kingston Pike. His lecture will be followed by a reception and book signing. Info: 524-3521.

Its a dangerous world out there. We read of one epidemic after another, from AIDS to SARS, from tuberculosis to the fl u. To say the least, we need to take precautions. However, let me warn you of one more epidemic whose beginning literally dates back to the beginning.

This malady has plagued Christians for generations. It is a condition that seems to render ones hand immo-bile when reaching for ones wallet or purse while the collection plate is passed. Interestingly enough, this strange affl iction does not immobilize people when reaching for their wallet or purse at the shopping mall or sporting event.

m o o oo o rr, e e

Steve Higginbotham

Cirrhosisof the giver

I dont know if this ill-ness has an offi cial name yet, but some are calling it cirrhosis of the giver. Be careful you dont catch it!

But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthi-ans 9:6-7).

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By Betsy PickleIt all started with the ice

bucket challenge.As the country was in the

grips of that trend, Bonny Kate Elementary School fourth-grader Nolan Brang read an article that shared other types of charity chal-lenges. Interested in raising money for the Young-Wil-liams Animal Center, he got excited about the idea of a pie-in-the-face challenge.

His friend and classmate Emma Jo Hensley loved the idea as well, but they went back to the drawing board after Principal Linda Nor-ris helped them take a more practical view (less mess, expense, etc.)

With the holidays ap-proaching, Emma Jo had a brainstorm. Every winter at our school we make a tree, and we put mittens for the homeless and hats and stuff like that, she says. I wanted to put stuff for the animal shelter because I ab-solutely love animals, and I want to be a veterinarian when I grow up.

After enlisting Devon Folsom, another classmate whose friendship with both goes back practically to their beginnings at Bonny Kate, they put together a Power-Point presentation on the needs of animals to show Norris to get her approval.

PowerPoint. Fourth-grad-ers. Under their own initia-tive.

We (Bonny Kate) got the 1:1 Technology Challenge, so we have MacBooks, says Nolan.

My dad is a teacher, so I see him do it a lot, says Emma Jo.

They came up with the stuff, and I would put it

Fourth-grade animal loverschallenge school

Devon Folsom, Emma Jo Hensley and Nolan Brang display the pet food and items they collected for Young-Williams Animal Center. Pho-tos submitted

down and lay it out, says Devon, downplaying his role. I researched facts, and I would lay out the pic-tures and do some effects and stuff.

Devon was, like, our de-tail guy, says Nolan.

He pretty much got every-thing all together and glued it all together, says Emma Jo. We all had our own parts, and we couldnt have done it without each other.

Norris approved switch-ing the focus of the charity tree to animals, and she Air-Dropped the presentation to all the teachers so they could share it with their classes. The trio did a special show-ing for their own class and teacher Madison Snyder.

The donation response was staggering to the three friends.

My goal this year was just 50 (items), says No-

lan. When we reached 60, I went crazy.

There was so much un-der the tree; there was so much on the tree. It was just packed, says Emma Jo.

Bonny Kate students and staff donated bags and cans of dog and cat food, pet treats, chew toys, collars and even pet sweaters, which Nolan, Emma Jo and Devon found very enter-taining. With parental as-sistance, the trio took what they had collected to the Young-Williams facility on Division Street soon after

they returned from winter break in January.

We got a tour of the place, says Norris. They said they were really happy, and they posted a picture on Facebook of us.

We even got to pet a rab-bit, says Devon.

All three were inspired by their visit and say they would like to volunteer or perhaps intern at Young-Williams.

Devon, Emma Jo and Nolan want to do another pet tree next fall and aim for bigger and better results.

Memphis mayor is keynote speaker Memphis Mayor A.C.

Wharton will deliver the keynote address at the

15th an-nual Julian Blackshear Jr. Scholar-ship Gala, which rec-ognizes and celebrates students and alumni who have positively

impacted the University of Tennessee College of Law through their commitment to diversity.

Sponsored by UT Law in partnership with the Black Law Students Association, the Blackshear Gala begins with a reception 6 p.m. Fri-day, Feb. 20, at the Holiday

Inn Worlds Fair Park. The dinner and formal program will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $50 ($25 for current students). All proceeds will directly support the College of Laws Blackshear Scholar-ship.

Info/tickets: Rynn Dupes, 974-6691 or [email protected].

UT NOTES Rickey McCurry has been

selected as UT Vice President for Development and Alumni Aff airs and Programs and UT Foundation President and CEO. McCurry is currently vice president for institutional ad-vancement for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. He will join UT on May 15.

HEALTH NOTES The Alexander Technique, An Introduction, 1-2 p.m. Thursday, Feb.

19, Knoxville Healing Center, 313 N. Forest Park Blvd. Cost: free. But preregistration requested. Info/to register: Lilly Sutton, 387-7600, or www.AlexanderTechniqueKnoxville.com.

Back Pain: A Diff erent Approach to Prevention and Recovery Based on the Alexander Technique, noon-2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, Knox-ville Healing Center, 313 N. Forest Park Blvd. Led by Lilly Sutton. Cost: $30. Preregistration required. Info/to register: 387-7600.

Diagnostic Scanning: What, When, Why? noon-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, Cancer Support Community, 2230 Sutherland Ave. Speaker: Scott Warwick, dosimetrist, Provision Radiation Therapy. Light meal provided. Info/RSVP: 546-4661.

Emotional Health and Well-Being During and After Cancer, 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, Cancer Support Community, 2230 Sutherland Ave. Speaker: Debra Sullivan, PhD, CSC program direc-tor. Light meal provided. Info/RSVP: 546-4661.

Exploring Music for Health, 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, Cancer Support Community, 2230 Sutherland Ave. Instructor: Sara Matayo-shi, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra Violinist. No experience needed. Info/to register: 546-4661.

Healing Through Art: Tis the Season of Love, 1-3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, Cancer Support Community, 2230 Sutherland Ave. Instructor: Cheri Pollack. Info/RSVP: 546-4661.

HeartWise, 7:30 a.m.-noon Saturday, Feb. 21, UT Medical Centers Heart Lung Vascular Institute, 1924 Alcoa Highway .Features health screenings and health education talks related to heart, lung and vascular disease. Healthy breakfast cooking demonstration 9-10 a.m. requires preregistration. To schedule a screening or register for cook-ing demonstration: 305-6970. Info: www.utmedicalcenter.org.

Knit Your Way to Wellness, 1-3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, Cancer Sup-port Community, 2230 Sutherland Ave. Instructors: Shelley Hecht, Loopville, and Beth Hamil, CSC. Beginners welcome. Info: 546-4661.

Animals were the focus of giving at

Bonny Kate Elemen-tary, thanks to three

fourth-graders.

FARRAGUT Shopper news FEBRUARY 11, 2015 A-9 kids

DATE NAME OF TOUR PRICES START ATFeb 14 Valentine Special - 1-Day Mystery Tour $99.00Feb 20-22 Penn Dutch Country/Hershey Special $159.00Mar 12-15 New York City Economy/Penn Dutch Country $399.00Mar 27-29 Ohio Amish Country Special $179.00Apr 10-12 Washington, DC/Cherry Blossom/Mount Vernon $299.00Apr 17-19 Pennsylvania Dutch Country/Hershey/Gettysburg $199.00May 7-10 New York City Economy/Penn Dutch Country $449.00May 22-24 Loretta Lynns Ranch/Memphis/Graceland $329.00May 30-Jun 13 Southwest/Grand Canyon;Hoover Dam. Kings Canyon $1,649.00Jun 16-18 Ohio Amish Country $219.00Jun 20-24 Niagara Falls/Penn Dutch Country/Hershey/JOSEPH $459.00Jun 27-Jul12 The Great Pacific Northwest $1,879.00Jul 23-26 Niagara Falls/Great Lakes/Henry Ford Museum $410.00Jul 31-Aug 2 JOSEPH/Pennsylvania Dutch Co/Hershey/Gettysburg $299.00Aug 13-16 New York City Economy/Pennsylvania Ducth Country $449.00Sept 4-6 Pennsylvania Dutch Country/Hershey/Gettysburg $229.00Sept 26-Oct 2 7-Day New England Fall Foliage $819.00Oct 17-21 Niagara Falls/Penn Dutch Co/Hershey/Washington, DC/JOSEPH $479.00Oct 31-Nov 11 Southwest/Grand Canyon/California $1,199.00Nov 20-22 Washington, DC/Mount Vernon Off-Season $239.00Nov 25-28 New York/Macys Christmas Parade/Radio City Music Hall $819.00Dec 5-6 Nashville/Opry Mills Mall/Grand Ole Opry $199.00

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All tours include round trip by modern air conditioned, restroom-equipped motorcoaches. Also, all tours are full escorted and include motel accommodations as well as admission to the listed atttractions and many other extras.

Depart from: Johnson City, TN Kingsport, TN Bristol, TN & VA, Knoxville, TN Dandridge, TN Bulls Gap, TN Abingdon, VA Wytheville, VA Roanoke, VA, Chilhowie, VA Asheville, NC

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HEARTWISE

Our Mission To serve through healing, education and discovery

To see a complete list of all HeartWise activities, please visit www.utmedicalcenter.org.

Are you wise about your cardiovascular health?Join us for this comprehensive community wellness fair.

Saturday,February 217:30 a.m. 12 noon

For more information or

to schedule a screening or a seat for the cooking demonstration, call 865-305-6970.

Free Parking

Discounted Screenings for adults:(space is limited)

Comprehensive Cardiovascular Risk Assessment (Cholesterol/Glucose Testing, EKG, Carotid and AAA Ultrasound) Fasting Required but Breakfast included after screening, Only $35

COPD Pulmonary Testing, No Charge Cardiac Calcium Scoring (Utilizing the

Non-invasive 64-slice CT Scanner) Only $99

A Heart Smart Breakfast9 a.m. 10 a.m.Join the Healthy Living Kitchen staff for a healthy breakfast demonstration featuring our delicious pancakes from our cookbook, A Recipe for Life. You will learn new recipes and ideas to start your day off right with a heart healthy breakfast. There is no charge for this class but registration is required as space is limited. To learn more about Healthy Living Kitchen programs, please visit www.utmedicalcenter.org/hlk.

Nora James carries a bin of used books to be delivered to theHoliday Bureau.

It seems like Christmas 2014 has just passed, but elves are already working toward this years big holi-day.

A fi rst-grade class at the Episcopal School of Knoxville has been work-ing behind the scenes since the fi rst part of January to gather toys, books, clothing and bicycles for the Holiday Bureau in Oak Ridge. The 68-year-old nonprofi t is op-

erated by volunteers to help local families in need enjoy their holiday by providing items they may not other-wise be able to afford.

Students at ESK put a call out to classmates, friends and family for gently used items to donate, also going through their own belong-ings. They collected, sorted and boxed the donations and personally delivered them to the Holiday Bureau

Helping the Holiday Bureau

ESK fi rst graders Gus Wolski and Ethan Crooks help load dona-tions of toys into a U-Haul truck. Photos submitted

Sara Barrett

Because so many Con-cord Christian School stu-dents wanted to compete in this years middle school Science Bowl, two teams were formed.

By the third week of school, we already had our teams, said team mem-ber Raymond Wysmierski. His sister, freshman Anna

Wysmierski, competed last year and is mentoring this years teams.

Each student has com-mitted to studying indi-vidually about three hours a week and hopes to be prepared for pretty much anything, since questions are not released prior to competing.

Both teams agree the secret is familiarizing one-self with the buzzer system

used in competition and having a good mix of sci-entifi c knowledge among team members.

The winning team will represent East Tennessee in the middle school fi nals of the Department of Ener-gys 25th National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C., on April 30.

Concord Christian Schools Science Bowl team meets for practice: (front) Nathan Armour, Raymond Wysmierski, Jacob Armour, Haley Flynn; (middle) team coach Laurie Rose, team mentor and CCS freshman Anna Wysmierski, Elizabeth Farmer, Christian Whitehead, Callie Walmsley, Kristen Overbay, Emily Lester and (back) Tyson Smith. Photo by S. Barrett

Science Bowlers at CCS with some help from parent volunteers.This is the 14th year ESK

has helped families in An-derson and Roane counties have a brighter Christmas. First-grade teacher Chris Bishop said the event helps students learn on multiple levels.

I think the best part of it is that were taking some-thing that theyve had in their possession and they are having to make a deci-sion about giving that up for someone else to use, said Bishop. That is what we are all about at this school. That is our philosophy: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We have found a need and now we are fi nding a way that we can be helpful.

Students toured the Holi-day Bureau facility in the fall to see fi rst-hand how items are refurbished for others to use. Bishop said students were surprised when they visited again in January and saw empty rooms where loads of toys once sat. Items are delivered to families before the holidays, leaving the Holiday Bureau waiting for more donations.

Last year, students at ESK helped provide about 800 families with toys and bicycles and another 1,000 folks with clothing. This years delivery completely fi lled a 26-foot U-Haul truck.

The students get to the Holiday Bureau and see what the bike room looks like and how they have a bunch of seats and wheels and tubes that are hanging ready to use to refurbish a bike, so they get a better picture of how it works, Bishop said. They always say thank you to the work-ers at the Holiday Bureau for what they do. They re-alize those workers are the real heroes.

Textbooks availablefor public review

Parents and community members who wish to review math textbooks and instruc-tional materials proposed for use in the Knox County Schools during the 2015-2016 school year can view the selections at the Sarah Simpson Professional Devel-opment Center, 801 Tipton Ave., through Feb. 20.

Foster parents neededCamelot of East Tennessee is in need of foster par-

ents in Knox, Blount, Sevier, Anderson and Loudon counties. Anyone interested in becoming a foster parent should contact Michelle Hatter, 481-3972, ext. 412 or [email protected].

FHS robot to be revealedFarragut High Schools FIRST Robotics Team 3140

will host its offi cial 2015 Robot Reveal 7:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, in room T304 of the schools CTE building. Everyone is invited to attend.

The robotics team uses the reveal event as a chance to say thanks for the publics support, and an oppor-tunity to recap the seasons highlights of building the robot.

Refreshments will be served during the presenta-tion, and afterwards team members will bag and tag the robot for competition.


HOW-TO STAGE

February 13-15KNOXVILLE CONVENTION CENTER

James Farmer Author &Southern Living Magazines Editor-at-Large

By Betsy PickleA mind is a terrible thing to lose. Whats

worse is realizing that it is slipping away as you are still trying to live your life.

This is true at any age, but Still Alice focuses on the horror and tragedy of early-onset Al-zheimers disease. Julianne Moore b r i l l i a n t l y captures the struggles of a woman who real-izes perhaps more than most people all that she is losing as the process marches on.

Alice Howland is a highly regarded linguistics professor at Columbia Univer-sity in New York. She has a strong marriage with John (Alec Baldwin) and has reared three children who are now out on their own: Anna (Kate Bosworth), Lydia (Kristen Stewart) and Tom (Hunter Parrish).

Winding up her regular jog one day, Al-ice is disconcerted when she realizes she doesnt know where she is. Little details begin to elude her, and she talks to her doc-tor about the problem. When she fi nds out she may have early-onset Alzheimers, John promises to see her through the travails.

Alices deterioration is pretty fast, and

though she tries to hold on to her life, the disease is stronger than she is.

Other movies have shown how Al-zheimers tests a family. This one comes

from the patients perspective. Moore digs deep into the

frustration and fear of the experience, us-

ing her eyes, her face and her

body language to express what Al-ice is going through.

This isnt e s c a p i s t e n t e r t a i n -ment, but

its a form of relief for those

whove been touched by the

disease a story thats relatable, a per-formance that is true to life.

The fi lm shows how her family reacts to the crisis; some behav-ior is sadly predictable and some sweetly surprising.

The writing-directing team of Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, who adapted the novel by Lisa Genova, steers clear of manipulation, letting the natural-ism of the situation hit poignant notes.

And, always, theres Moore, creating a ball of confusion so believable, so powerful that Still Alice will stick with you long af-ter you leave the theater.

Romance or something is in the air

Has the controversy fi zzled out, or will Fifty Shades of Grey reignite the blaze it set off when it de-buted in book form? Well know more this weekend, when the R-rated sex fan-tasy arrives in theaters.

Its interesting that Fifty Shades is being marketed as a Valentines Day movie but actually debuts on Fri-day the 13th. The fi lm stars Dakota Johnson daugh-ter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffi th as literature student Anasta-sia Steele, who goes to in-terview wealthy, handsome Christian Grey (Jamie Dor-nan) and winds up falling for him.

The attraction is mutual, but nave Anastasia may not be able to keep up with Christians nontraditional proclivities or his control-ling nature.

Neither of the stars has an extensive list of credits, so they dont carry much baggage with them onto the screen (so much for hiding their nakedness!). Johnson appeared in The Social Network and 21 Jump Street. Dornan was in Ma-rie Antoinette but probably was seen by more people during his stint as the sher-iff on ABCs Once Upon a Time.

The cast includes Luke Grimes, Jennifer Ehle, Mar-cia Gay Harden and Callum Keith Rennie. Sam Taylor-Johnson directed.

On the surface, Kings-man: The Secret Service doesnt seem to be targeting the libido like Grey, but it does star Colin Firth as an extremely well-dressed spy. (And isnt it odd that he and his Pride and Prejudice leading lady, Jennifer Ehle, both have new fi lms out this week?)

Harry Hart (Firth) works for an independent spy agency and has just taken a rough but promising street kid (Taron Egerton) under his wing when an evil genius starts making some scary moves. The Force is strong with this fi lm: Star Wars alums Samuel L. Jackson and Mark Hamill both co-star. Michael Caine, Mark Strong and Jack Davenport are also in the fi lm directed by Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class).

Still Alice, which stars Julianne Moore in an

Oscar-nominated perfor-mance, looks at early-onsetAlzheimers from the suf-ferers perspective.

Moore plays a linguisticsprofessor who feels the painof the dread disease prob-ably more than most. AlecBaldwin, Kristen Stewartand Kate Bosworth co-stars.

Also scheduled to open locally this week are Mom-my and Mr. Turner.

Canadian fi lm Mommy is about a widowed mother who struggles to keep life on an even keel when her teen-age son whos prone to violent outbursts returns to live with her after being institutionalized.

The fi lm has won and been nominated for several festival and critics prizes. Anne Dorval, Antoine-Oliv-ier Pilon and Suzanne Clem-ent star for director Xavier Dolan.

Mr. Turner won two awards at the Cannes Film Festival last year and is up for four Oscars: cinematog-raphy, production design, costume design and original score. Timothy Spall plays eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner, whose odd lifestyle makes it hard for the public and royalty to ac-cept him.

Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies) directed the fi lm.

Betsy Pickle

Harry (Colin Firth) shows Eggsy (Taron Egerton) how to dress for the spy biz.

Alice (Julianne Moore) grapples with losing her memories in Still Alice.

Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and Anastasia Steele (Dakota

Johnson) dont always see eye to eye in Fifty Shades of Grey.

Moore fi nds truth in Alzheimers drama

Shopper news FEBRUARY 11, 2015 A-11 weekender

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FRIDAY Carmen presented by the Knoxville Opera, 8 p.m., Ten-

nessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St. Tickets: KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444; Knoxville Opera Box Offi ce, 524-0795. Info: www.knoxvilleopera.com.

Mandy Barnett in concert, 8 p.m., Ronald and Lynda Nutt Theatre, Clayton Center for the Arts, 502 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, Maryville. Tickets: KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444.

Winter Jam 2015 Tour Spectacular, 7:30 p.m., Thompson-Boling Arena, 1600 Phillip Fulmer Way. Tickets: $10 at the door. Info: http://2015.jamtour.com/shows/knoxville-tn.

SATURDAY Disney Junior Live On Tour: Pirate & Princess Adventure, 2

and 5 p.m., Knoxville Civic Auditorium, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave. Tickets: Coliseum Box Offi ce, 215-8999; KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444.

Pack of Wolves in concert with special guest Drew Sterchi & Blues Tribe, 8 p.m., Open Chord Brewhouse & Stage, 8502 Kingston Pike. Cost: $10. Benefi ts The Love Kitchen. Info: www.openchordmusic.com.

SUNDAY Carmen presented by the Knoxville Opera, 2:30 p.m., Ten-

nessee Theatre, 604 S. Gay St. Tickets: KnoxvilleTickets.com, 656-4444; Knoxville Opera Box Offi ce, 524-0795. Info: www.knoxvilleopera.com.

Jacob Whitesides in concert, 7:30 p.m., Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay St. Tickets: $22 advance, $25 day of show, $126.50 VIP. Info/tickets: http://www.knoxbijou.com.

Bass-baritone Ryan Kuster thinks that most people can relate to George Bizets opera Carmen, which is being performed by the Knoxville Opera Com-pany this weekend.

Theres just something about a man in a cape. Audrey Babcock in the title role and Ryan Kuster as Escamillo the bullfi ghter strike a fi ery pose in Knoxville Operas production of Bizets Car-men. Photo by Megan Clute Photography

Bass-baritone Ryan Kuster enjoys a break in Carmen re-

hearsals at the Knoxville Opera Company. Photo by Carol Shane

Carol Shane

Meet thehe

For one thing, people will recognize the music. Most people know a lot more of Carmen than they think they do. And the story is compelling. Theres no real hero. Its very human theres not a clear moment where you say, Oh, this is the person that I root for.

Kuster is intrigued by the shades of gray in the char-acters he plays and prefers to paint even the bad boys as fl awed humans rather than villainous archetypes. Theres a little bit of bad in the best of us, he says, and a little bit of good in the worst of us. Its not black and white.

His favorite role so far is Don Giovanni, the title character in Mozarts op-era based on the legend-ary fi ctional character Don Juan, who just cant keep away from the women. The notorious libertine eventu-ally has to pay the piper; hes dragged down to hell by the ghost of the man he murdered. Why does he do the things he does? Kuster muses. What is he trying to silence or compensate for?

The handsome singer hes been featured on http://barihunks.blogspot.com, a website dedicated to

operatic beefcake is look-ing forward to performing the part of bullfi ghter Esca-millo this weekend. Its his fourth time as the dashing matador. He enjoys singing the role and is having fun in rehearsals, though having to dredge up all that energy time after time is exhaust-ing!

Understandably so. Kuster belts out what is ar-guably the most famous aria in Carmen and one of the most famous in all opera: Votre Toast, also known as The Toreador Song.

You know the tune. Ev-

eryone does. The same was true in Bizets time, appar-ently to his immense frus-tration.

Bizet wrote Votre Toast as a joke, says Kuster. He was upset when it became the crowd favorite.

Indeed, according to the website www.classical-notes.com, the composer wrote the aria to stroke his stars ego. He considered the last-minute composition very much beneath him, re-ferring to it as fi lth.

Yet its guaranteed to set toes tapping, and strains of the chorus will undoubtedly

linger in memory long after the audience leaves the the-ater: Toreador, en garde! Toreador! Toreador!

Kusters background in-cludes a prestigious Adler Fellowship with the San Francisco Opera. Hes much in demand these days, having most recently performed as a soloist in Handels Messiah with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Other fall 2014 appearances included Don Giovanni at Memphis Op-era and Carmen at Opera Grand Rapids in Michigan. Next up is the role of An-

gelotti in Puccinis Tosca with the Orlando Philhar-monic in Florida.

Originally from Illinois, Kuster now says, I live out of my suitcases. Ive done that since 2013.

The singer thinks that there are signifi cant simi-larities between his bull-fi ghter and Carmen, the free-living temptress.

In terms of the way they live their lives, theyre well-matched. Its one day at a time for each of them.

But if you know the sto-ry, you know that Carmen and the matador are mere-ly ships that pass in the night, whereas her main squeeze, tenor Don Jos, is

so obsessed with Carmen that well, no spoilers here. Youll just have to go, see and hear how it all turns out.

The Knoxville Opera Company will present George Bizets Carmen, sung in French with Eng-lish supertitles, at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, at the Tennessee Theatre. Each performance will be pre-ceded by an opera preview hosted by KOC Maestro Brian Salesky. For tickets and info, call 524-0795 or visit www.knoxvilleopera.com.Send story suggestions to [email protected].

I have been told by those who know and cook great food not to mess with a good chefs creation. Dont ask to substitute the collard greens for a baked potato. Dont switch up the salad dressings. Chefs dont just throw this stuff together, they correctly say. There is a symphony of fl avors that should be experienced all together.

I get that. And 99 per-cent of the time, I follow

The bouillabaisse at Northshore Brasserie is a mix of seafood,sweet potatoes and risotto. Photo by Mystery Diner

Plate it

Northshore Brasserie

Mystery Diner

the rules. So please forgive my 1 percent this week as I confess: I wanted to try the bouillabaisse at Northshore Brasserie, but I cannot, will

not, eat mussels. I asked for them to be omitted.

Northshore Brasserie, 9430 S. Northshore Drive, serves French cuisine the way the French do it. The food is upscale, imaginative and creatively put together (again, sorry about the mus-sels), but the atmosphere is relaxed. If you mistak-enly think of French food as frou-frou, leave that

attitude at the door. Bras-serie serves hearty dishes, and you wont be looking under a lettuce leaf for your entre.

Brasserie owners encour-age the neighborhood ap-peal of the restaurant, and the bar is a lively place after working hours. Its a gather-ing place for lunch, dinner and in the bar.

In spite of my tinker-

ing with the bouillabaisse, it was delicious. The dish includes pan-seared cod, shrimp, mussels, sweet po-tatoes and risotto in a rich, savory saffron broth. Crusty French bread is served with

it and is the perfect accom-paniment to the dish. This is a fork dish with just enough broth to make each mouth-ful perfect. The bread is bet-ter than a spoon for getting that last bit of broth anyway.


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Clarity Pointe hosted a special networking event for the Farragut West Knox Chamber Feb. 5, with a fun focus on those winter blues.

Attendees were treated to food and beverages pre-pared by Clarity Pointe staff around the theme Embrace Your Winter Blues. Festive food names and decorations

completed the scene.This is an exciting op-

portunity for people to see what a wonderful commu-nity this is, said Mary Lynn Payne, director of commu-nity relations.

Clarity Pointe is an assisted living facility specializing in memory care. Info: www.cla

Farragut Shopper-News 021115

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