GOTriAPRIL 2016

LIVINGHERE

HIGHER EDUCATION

PARKS AND RECREATION

A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE

FIVE COOL PLACES

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16LIVING IN THE TRI-CITIES

GOOD PLACES TO EAT

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHTS

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PublishersKeith Wilson - kwilson@timesnews.netJustin Wilcox - jwilcox@thenetmg.com

AdvertisingBilly Kirk - bkirk@timesnews.net

Sharon Little - slittle@thenetmg.com

EditorMatthew Lane – mlane@timesnews.net

Graphic DesignCesar Santiago – csantiago@timesnews.net

GoTri Magazine is published monthly by the Kingsport Times-News, Johnson City Pressand the Northeast Tennessee Media Group.

For more information, visit timesnews.net or johnsoncitypress.com.

867 E. Stone Drive Kingsport, TN 37660 • 423-224-2260 • 1-877-281-2330www.rickhillimports.com

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GOTriAPRIL 2016

LIVINGHERE

Conveniently located. All city amenities includingunderground utilities, sidewalks, and city schools.

125.00’ 150.00’ 130.26’ 90.10’ 90.09’ 90.09’ 90.09’ 143.30’ 124.93’

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4 APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

Living in the Tri-Cities

It’s called the best of both worlds.The greater Tri-Cities area boasts a population of more than 200,000

residents, but even with all those people, there aren’t many of the has-sles of big-city living.

It’s easy to reach most destinations with the traffic flow around John-son City, Kingsport and Bristol and nothing like you see in the larger metropolitan areas. Even some of the fastest-growing areas in Middle Tennessee have traffic nightmares compared to our region.

With four distinct seasons in the Tri-Cities area, the recreation op-tions are numerous. As winter gives way to the warmer weather of spring, many of the outdoor activities change.

Trips to the nearby ski resorts of West-ern North Carolina and Gatlinburg are popular in the winter months, the spring time sees more folks out running, hiking and golfing with the area ranking among the best places nationally for all of those activities.

Way back in 1984, The Runner maga-zine ranked Johnson City the No. 1 run-ning city in the United States ahead of such places as Eugene, Ore., Boulder, Colo., San Francisco and Boston, home of the world’s most famous marathon.

“When it comes down to it, the other cities can’t match the tradition and environment that Johnson City has to offer,” the article said.

In addition, the Tri-Cities has plenty of walking trails like the Tweetsie Trail (stretching from Johnson City to Elizabethton) and Kingsport’s nine-mile walking and biking greenbelt.

For those interested in hiking, there are miles of trails on Bays Mountain, Buffalo Mountain and Holston Mountain, and easy access to the Appalachian Trail.

Bays Mountain and Bright’s Zoo in Jonesborough offer families the opportunity to view wildlife and plenty of spectacular waterfalls dot the region. Hunting, fishing and golf are among some of the strongest tra-ditions in our region.

The Tri-Cities ranked No. 2 nationally as the best places to play golf in a 2005 Golf Digest article and ahead of more well known places in the Carolinas, Florida and California.

Once a person has done those recreational activities, they’ve likely worked up an appetite and the dining options in the Tri-Cities area are too numerous to list.

While Memphis is world famous for its barbecue and Nashville was recently voted America’s No. 1 city for barbecue by Travel and Leisure magazine, Ridge-wood Barbecue in Bluff City was actually voted as the state’s best spot in a 2014 online poll.

Those who live in the Tri-Cities area know there are many other outstanding places to enjoy the cuisine. High-end res-taurants, country cooking, pizza places, sandwich shops and international cuisine, the Tri-Cities offers it all.

Bristol Motor Speedway hosts the two largest sporting events in the state with its two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race and Food City 500.

This September, the speedway will host the Battle at Bristol, billed as college football’s biggest game ever between the University of Ten-nessee and Virginia Tech. One week after that game which is expected to shatter all football attendance records, ETSU and Western Carolina will play at the speedway.

By Jeff Birchfield

5APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

Living in the Tri-Cities

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The adjacent Bristol Dragway hosts the Thunder Valley Nationals, one of the biggest events on the NHRA drag racing tour, and the com-plex has several other well attended events.

Other popular spectator sports include ETSU basketball with a history of NCAA tournament appearances and Appalachian League baseball with teams in all three Tri-Cities as well as Elizabethton and Greeneville.

High school sports are extremely popular with a basketball tradi-tion matched by few other places. Dobyns-Bennett High School has the nation’s winningest high school basketball program and the Arby’s Classic in Bristol has attracted top teams from around the na-tion and internationally for over 25 years.

A good number of those for-mer Arby’s players have gone on to further their education at East Tennessee State University, the region’s largest university and the fourth largest university in the state.

Founded in 1911 as East Ten-nessee State Normal School and later known as State Teach-ers College, it has over 14,000 students and is home to the Quil-

len College of Medicine and Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy.While ETSU is the largest school, it’s actually the area’s third oldest

college.

Milligan College is a Christian liberal arts college which was founded in 1866. There are over 1,200 students with the school offering more than 100 majors, minors and concentrations in a variety of fields. The school, located on a 195-acre campus, has consistently been named a top regional college in the South by U.S. News & World Report.

King University was founded in 1867 and is affiliated with the Pres-byterian Church, offering more than 80 undergraduate majors, minors

and pre-professional programs. NASCAR president Mike Helton is among the school’s notable alumni.

Northeast State Community College is the area’s second largest institute of higher learn-ing offering technical training and college transfer programs. While the main campus is in Blountville, there are sites in Johnson City, Kingsport, Elizabethton and Gray.

With diverse recreation, dining, sports and education, the Tri-Cit-ies area offers plenty to those of all ages.

6 GOTRI MAGAZINE | GOTRICITIES.COM6 GOTRI MAGAZINE | GOTRICITIES.COM6 APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

A Great Place to Live

By Hank Hayes

When the Tri-Cities touts itself as a great place to live, the Chamber of Commerce types pull out their heavy artillery talking points: Rank-ings plus quality-of-life measures.

For instance, Lee Ann Rasar at Move To Kingsport points out the Model City is consistently ranked as one of Money Magazine’s Best Places in the South to live.

Kingsport has also been named as one of the Top 100 Retirement Locations in America by BizJournals and has been listed by Forbes mag-azine as a Great Place for Business and as one of the Best Places for Business and Careers in the nation.

“Local giving to United Way is three times the national average,” Rasar, the Move To Kingsport di-rector, said in an email. “There’s no state income tax for salary or per-sonal property tax. On top of these impressive facts, our comfort index is 74 percent better than the national average. Our water quality is unri-valed, and our air quality index is 6.2 points better than the national aver-age. Don’t worry about your safety either ... Kingsport’s crime rate is 40 percent lower than the national average”

Barbara Mentgen, operations director at the Johnson City-Jonesbor-ough-Washington County Chamber of Commerce, also has a laundry list of high rankings.

She noted Johnson City was named the 4th Best Town to Live in Tennessee by Niche and ranked 12th in the Most Appealing Tennes-see Areas for millennial Job Seekers by NerdWallet in May 2015.

Main Street Jonesborough was also named one of the 10 Best Pret-tiest Southern Streets for a Stroll by USA Today Travel in November 2014.

“More than 126,000 people call Washington County home; over half reside in Johnson City, while about 5,000 reside in Jonesborough,” said the chamber’s talking points. “Wash-ington County is the perfect place to start a career, family or just enjoy life. Johnson City truly has the best of both worlds. It has a small town feel, with a big town vibe. Johnson City and Jonesborough are home to national restaurant and retail chains, in addition to many locally owned eateries and retail establishments. Whether you are looking for a con-venient city location or a home with large acreage and privacy, the place to live is Washington County.

“In addition, Johnson City is home to East Tennessee State Univer-sity and is within a one-hour drive of 18 higher education institutions ... Johnson City and Washington County serve as the region’s hub for medical services, offering a Level 1 trauma hospital, a children’s hospi-tal, a veteran’s hospital, mental health facilities, and university colleges of medicine, pharmacy, public health, and nursing.”

Apartments

1 Milligan Lane Johnson City, TN 37601 423-929-0711

7 7APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

Bristol Chamber of Commerce spokeswoman Lori Worley points out the Twin Cities were named the Best Music Town by Blue Ridge Out-doors Magazine. Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, a three-day fes-tival held each September, is one of the Southeast’s most popular out-door music events, drawing approximately 60,000 people each year.

The Birthplace of Country Music Museum also draws tens of thou-sands of people to Bristol each year. The 24,000-square-foot museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute and features exhibits, film experiences, a radio station, educational experiences and live perfor-mances in its theater.

Bristol Motor Speedway is touted as one of the five largest perma-nent seating facilities in the world with more than 150,000 seats. It is also NASCAR’s most popular track with fans, according to the Bristol chamber.

Bristol’s retail offerings, the chamber also notes, have been bol-stered on the Tennessee side of town by the new Pinnacle retail devel-opment including a Bass Pro Shops. Just up Interstate 81 in Virginia is the new Falls development anchored by a Cabela’s store.

To highlight Bristol’s other quality of life offerings, the chamber points to The Virginian Golf Course’s residential development being ranked as one of the 18 best places in America to live by the Robb Report Magazine.

“South Holston Lake is one of the top two lakes in Tennessee for small-mouth bass fishing and is also highly ranked among fly fisher-men,” the chamber’s talking points say. “Bristol’s historic downtown continues its remarkable revitalization as more restaurants and shops continue to open. Two hotels, the Sessions and Hotel Bristol, will open downtown by 2017.”

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8 APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

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SULLIVAN COUNTY• 23 schools• 4 high schools• 6 middle• 10 elementary• 2 K-8• Innovation academy• 722 teachers• 10,402 students• 58.3 percent economically disadvantaged• 1,832 students are disabled (17.6 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $9,189.90

KINGSPORT CITYSCHOOLS • 10 schools• 1 high school• 2 middle• 7 elementary• 468 teachers• 7,298 students• 56.5 percent economically disadvantaged• 1,454 students are disabled (19.9 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $10,438.80

JOHNSON CITY• 11 schools• 1 high school• 1 middle• 8 elementary• 1 intermediate• 483 teachers• 7,902 students• 49.5 percent economically disadvantaged• 1,084 students are disabled (13.7 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $9,434.30

WASHINGTON COUNTY• 16 schools• 3 high schools• 2 middle• 10 elementary• 1 virtual• 533 teachers• 8,790 students• 48.2 percent economically disadvantaged• 1,254 students are disabled (14.3 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $8,500.90

ELIZABETHTON CITY• 5 schools• 1 high school• 1 middle• 3 elementary

• 183 teachers• 2,594 students• 54.1 percent economically disadvantaged• 423 students are disabled (16.3 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $9,537

CARTER COUNTY• 15 schools• 4 high schools• 1 middle• 9 elementary• 1 alternative school• 407 teachers• 5,504 students• 76.6 percent economically disadvantaged• 936 students are disabled (17 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $9,133.90

UNICOI COUNTY• 7 schools• 1 high school• 1 middle• 4 elementary• intermediate• 165 teachers• 2,503 students• 66.5 percent economically disadvantaged• 476 students are disabled (19 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $9,362

ROGERSVILLE CITY• 1 school – elementary• 43 teachers• 647 students• 52.2 percent economically disadvantaged• 76 students are disabled (11.7 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $9,441.70

HAWKINS COUNTY• 18 schools• 2 high schools• 3 middle• 9 elementary• 1 alternative• 1 intermediary• 1 K-2• 1 K-12• 475 teachers• 7,169 students• 61.6 percent economically disadvantaged• 1,113 students are disabled (15.5 percent)• Per pupil expenditure of $9,131.70

9APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

10 APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

KING UNIVERSITY

BRISTOL, Tenn. — King University is a doctoral-level comprehensive private university based in Bristol, Tenn., with satellite campuses in East and Middle Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. It serves nearly 3,000 stu-dents.

Founded in 1867 as King College, the university remains in the 21st Century a Presbyterian-affiliated school offering more than 90 majors, mi-nors, pre-professional degrees and concentrations in fields such as busi-ness, nursing, law, medical and health sciences, pharmacy, education and humanities.

Graduate programs are offered in business administration, education and nursing. A number of research, off-campus learning opportunities and travel destinations are also available.

The most recent statistics released in early February indicates King had a student body count of 2,716 for the spring semester, a slight increase over last spring’s campus enrollment of 2,712. The official enrollment num-

ber for the 2015-16 academic year, reported in September, is 2,920.

The enrollment numbers are representative of all three educational platforms taught at King University including traditional, graduate and professional studies, as well as online degree programs. Richard Ray is interim King president.

Throughout the year, King has events for pro-spective students, including “King for a Day” events for high school students pondering col-lege. Though a private school, the university offers grant and financial aid opportunities with the average student receiving just more than $15,000 a year in financial aid, according to the school’s website.

As for sports, King is a member of NCAA Divi-sion II and a Conference Carolinas member with 25 varsity sports.

The King University main campus sits on 135 acres and includes resi-dence halls, food services, classroom and education buildings and sports facilities. It has satellite operations at the Kingsport Center for High Educa-tion and the King Downtown Campus, also in Kingsport.

King has satellite operations in Abingdon, Va., at the Southwest Virgin-ia Higher Education Center, Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Pellissippi State Community College in the Knoxville area, at Northeast State Community College in Blountvillle, Roane State Communi-ty College in Harriman, Tenn., the Hardin Valley campus in Knoxville, Wal-ters State Community College in Morristown and Sevierville, the Franklin, Tenn., campus near Nashville and at the Southwest Virginia Community College in Richlands, Va.

For more information about King University, go to www.king.edu or call (423) 652-4861 or (800) 362-0014.

- By Rick Wagner

NORTHEAST STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

BLOUNTVILLE — Northeast State Community College is a comprehen-sive two-year community college under the governance of the Tennessee Board of Regents of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee.

Founded in 1966, the college is marking its 50th anniversary this year, has a spring enrollment of 2,671 full-time and 2,781 part-time students and had a fall enrollment of 3,430 full-time and 2,654 part-time.

Janice Gilliam is the current and fifth president.As a comprehensive community college, Northeast State provides uni-

versity parallel programs designed for students desiring to transfer to an-other college or university, career programs for students planning to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation and continuing education and community service programs for professional growth and personal enrich-ment.

The college is designated to serve the citizens of Carter, Johnson, Sul-livan, Unicoi and Washington counties but also has students from Hawkins County and other Northeast Tennessee localities.

Northeast is planning a new Emerging Technologies Complex for which groundbreaking is tentatively set for April, and it recently added an aviation program to include a drone degree.

Aside from the main campus, Northeast has campuses in Bristol, John-son City and Kingsport as well as a presence in other Northeast Tennes-see areas. It helps operate the Kingsport Center for Higher Education and offers programs there. and the TBR will meet on the main campus June 24-25.

For more information about Northeast, go to its website, www.northeast-state.edu/ or call (423) 323-3191 or (800) 836-7822.; more information on the 50th anniversary is available at www.NortheastState.edu/50. The Ten-nessee Promise scholarship basically offers two years of free community college to Tennessee high school graduates.

In 1966, the college began adjoining Tri-Cities Regional Airport as Tri-Cities State Area Vocational-Technical School under the governance of the State Board for Vocational Education, but in 1970 the mission was expand-ed and the school became a regional center for vocational and technical training.

In 1978, the scope was again expanded to include the awarding of both one-year certificates and associate degrees in technology, and the name was changed to Tri-Cities State Technical Institute. Five years later Tri-Cit-ies State Tech was placed under the governance of the Tennessee State Board of Regents and became part of the State University and Community College System of Tennessee.

In 1990, a university parallel component was added, and the institution’s name was changed to Northeast State Technical Community College, and in 2009 the name was again changed, this time to Northeast State Com-munity College to reflect the diverse range of programs offered by the in-stitution.

- By Rick Wagner

11OCTOBER 2015 | GOTRI MAGAZINE 11

EAST TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY

Originally founded in 1911 as the East Tennessee State Normal School — a teacher’s college — East Tennessee State University has since become a regional touchstone for people seeking a degree in a number of professions.

ETSU has about 120 baccalaureate, graduate and doctor-al programs, including programs in Bluegrass, Old-Time and Country Music Studies, Storytelling and Sports Physiology.

In 2014, 24 percent of graduates earned a degree in a health-related program — the most popular degree path, ac-cording to the U.S. News and World Report.

In addition to the numerous colleges on its main campus, the university also includes the ETSU James H. Quillen Col-lege of Medicine, a medical school that was founded in 1974 and has an enrollment of about 290 students.

The university also features 18 NCAA Division I sports teams and is the home for a U.S. Olympic Training Site for weightlifting, canoe and kayak, and bobsled and skeleton. ETSU also recently reinstated its football team.

The university has been led by 10 presidents through-out its history, including sitting president Brian Noland, who started his tenure in 2012.

ETSU Facts:• During the 2014-15 school year, the tuition and fees for in-state students were $7,985 and $17,917 for out-of-state students. The costof room and board was about $7,822 during the 2014-15 academic year.

• 14,434 students are enrolled in the university — including graduate students — with about 43 percent of the undergraduate population beingmale and 57 percent being female

• The university’s Fall 2014 acceptance rate was 91.7 percent.

• The school’s endowment in 2014 was about $115.1 million.

• About 45.6 percent of the classes have fewer than 20 students. 46.7 percent have between 20 and 49 students and 7.7 percent have 50 or more.

• About 20 percent of students graduate in four years.- By David Floyd

MILLIGAN COLLEGE

Nestled between Johnson City and Elizabethton, Milligan College is cel-ebrating its sesquicentennial this year.

A member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Milligan College traces its roots to the Buffalo Male and Female Institute, a private religious secondary school founded in 1866. The arrival of Josephus Hop-wood brought the elevation of the school to a liberal arts college in 1881. The name “Milligan” came from a former professor of Hopwood’s.

Milligan now offers more than 100 majors, minors, pre-professional de-grees and concentrations along with graduate and adult degree completion programs.

This fall, Milligan plans to launch an engineering program with ma-jors in electrical and mechanical engineering. The college has also an-nounced plans to start a physician’s assistant program in the summer of 2017 in order to combat an anticipated shortage of doctors.

Miligan has had a long-time partnership with Emmanuel Christian Seminary, which offers master of divinity and doctor of ministry degrees.

Milligan facts:• As of the fall of 2015, Milligan had a total enrollment of 1,191 students, 979 of those undergrads.

• Over 70 percent of the school’s students live on campus in either a residence hall or an apartment.

• 195-acre main campus is located in Carter County.

• Approximately 90 percent of students receive some type of financialaid, including scholarships, grants, loans and employment.

• Milligan is consistently named one of the Best Regional Colleges in the South in “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report.

• Notable alumni from the school include former NBA head coach Del Harris and former U..S. Representative David Davis.

- By Dave Ongie

H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N

APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

12 APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

Two White Duck tacos and a Yee-Haw beer,

please!The downtown Johnson City game food and

brew changed when the Yee-Haw Brewing Com-pany and its in-house restaurant the White Duck Taco Shop opened up in the middle of 2015.

Downtown Johnson City previously had a many options for dining and craft beer — with the Johnson City Brewing Company and Atlan-tic Ale House serving local brews along with the food options of the nearby Buffalo Street Down-town Deli, Mid City Grill, Taste Budz Freiberg’s, Holy Taco Cantina, Label, Tupelo Honey Cafe, Main Street Pizza Company and other eater-ies — but the magnitude in which Yee-Haw and White Duck Taco do business was different than anything the immediate region had seen.

Many different taco options, catering to the needs and tastes of its vegan and animal-enjoy-ing customers, were accompanied by the craft beers produced in Yee-Haw’s massive brew house. As busy as the coupled businesses can get, it’s rarely seen that the respective staffs are overwhelmed by their popularity or the frequency of visits by their customers.

And not only are these customers going to Yee-Haw and White Duck for tacos and beer, it’s turned into a social hangout and sports-watching spot as much as it has a place for active people to fill themselves with calories after a bike ride or a run.

The company’s director of mayhem, Jeremy Walker, a cyclist himself, sees to it personally, that area beer drinkers and taco lovers are as interested in Yee-Haw’s community-building as they are chomping into tasty bites of food and tipping back carefully-crafted beers, made in downtown Johnson City.

- By Tony Casey

Braeden’s BarbequeKINGSPORT — Locally owned and operated,

Braeden’s Barbeque opened in late 2004, spe-cializing in several barbeque options.

The restaurant and catering business is locat-ed at 823 North Eastman Road in Kingsport and offers a wide variety of items on the menu.

Braeden’s changed hands in 2014 when local business owner, Reid Burton, bought the busi-ness. Burton continues to operate the restaurant with one of the founding members, Troy Jarvis-Comi.

Burton says he is committed to keeping Braeden’s Barbeque as delicious and friendly as it has always been during the past 12 years with efforts to expand not only the menu, but the catering side of the business as well. Burton says he and his staff can cater any size event, including weddings, company parties and pic-nics, rehearsal dinners, birthday parties and more. Braeden’s will even rent out their restau-rant for your event if you need a venue for your get-together.

Late last year, Braeden’s Barbeque purchased a new industrial outdoor barbeque smoker that allows for an expanded menu and new items with fresher on-site hickory smoked meats. Meats that are smoked daily on site include pulled pork, pulled turkey, sliced beef brisket, baby back ribs and smoked chicken wings. Two new items re-cently added to the menu include barbeque na-chos and Burton’s homemade bleu cheese dip.

If you’re not in the mood for barbeque, don’t worry. There is plenty more offered on the menu, including burgers, deli sandwiches, hot dogs, salads, soups and a wide variety of sides and homemade desserts.

A new appetizer menu is now available each Thursday and Friday night and all day on Sat-urday. Every Thursday night is kids night with 99 cent kids meals and Friday night is $1.50 rib night.

Braeden’s also offers fundraiser nights for the community. If your school, church group or sports team has a fundraising need, talk to the folks at Braeden’s and find out how they can help.

For more information, visit Braeden’s Face-book page or call (423)378-0500.

- By Marci Gore

Edo’s Sushi Bar & GrillKINGSPORT — Edo Sushi Bar & Grill first be-

gan as Edo’s Japanese Grill in April 2004 in Co-lonial Heights. After it was in business for about six months, the original owner sold the restau-rant to Benson Lai and his wife, MeeMee. Lai’s brother, Casia Lai, who has more than 20 years of restaurant experience, also came on board.

A month after Casia joined Benson and Mee-Mee at Edo’s, he made the decision to fine-tune the Japanese grill restaurant to be more of an authentic Japanese restaurant. Edo’s began of-fering a full-line sushi bar along with American-ized hibachi style teriyaki.

The restaurant, now located at 818 Johnathan Way, just off of West Stone Drive in Kingsport, is a casual sushi bar, offering five-star quality food prepared fresh right when you order.

Weekday lunch specials are offered at dis-counted prices on combination lunches and a private party room for special events is also available.

Buy one get one half off sushi specials are available every Wednesday and Saturday.

Last month, Edo’s also began offering free cooking classes to give participants the oppor-tunity to experience and taste the foods the Lais grew up eating with their family in Taiwan.

to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday and from noon to 10 p.m., Saturday. The lunch menu is available daily from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with dinner beginning at 3:30 p.m. For more informa-tion on Edo Sushi Bar & Grill, call (423)239-0355 or visit the restaurant’s Facebook page.

- By Marci Gore

Good places to eat and drink

13APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

Uncorked - Fine Wine & BourbonUncorked, Fine Wine & Bourbon Bar was born

out of the love of fine wines and delicious food and a desire for a quiet, relaxing place to enjoy them. Opening in February 2015, Uncorked is for people looking for a nice, upscale place to have a lite meal and a nice drink.

After traveling the world for business and vis-iting many wine bars I felt this was something Kingsport was missing, and needed. Owners Tony and Juli Hughes decided to make their dream a reality for not only them, but for all of Kingsport. A wine bar in Kingsport for people to relax and unwind with great jazz.

The couple stocked the bar with over 150 different wines from around the world, over 60 bourbons, and an extensive craft beer selection you will not find at any other restaurant in the Tri-cities. Uncorked is dedicated to offering only the finest wines and freshest foods in the area, served in a nice, friendly atmosphere.

Uncorked emphasizes quality in its service and food preparation, using fresh, seasonal produce and locally sourced meat. Every dish is handmade and served to the customer’s ex-pectations. And the menu changes with the sea-sons, offering lite dishes in the spring and sum-mer and hearty meals for fall and winter.

One of the most popular dishes would be the Filet Mignon, coming from grass fed cattle im-ported from New Zealand. Another popular dish is our Artisanal Cheese Board - gourmet chees-es selected from around the world. Uncorked also offer a variety of flatbreads with the most popular being the Doc’s Favorite - grilled chick-en, sun-dried tomato, fresh basil, goat cheese, and brushed with homemade white wine & lem-on butter glaze.

- Submitted by general manager Phillips Conrad

Americana on tapat The Cottage

For an authentic taste of Johnson City with a slice of Americana on the side, a visit to The Cot-tage is in order.

Made popular by its three most definitive qual-ities - a friendly, down home atmosphere, good food and ice cold beer - The Cottage has been doing business at the same West Market Street location since 1958.

Continuously operated for more 40 of those years by the family of the late Don Heiges, the retired Marine who took ownership of the place in 1974, it’s a little neighborhood bar and grill with a solid measure of national acclaim.

Along with generations of college students and neighborhood regulars, The Cottage is a favorite stop of several NASCAR teams who drop in whenever they’re in town and of Johnson City’s own favorite football son, Steve Spurrier.

CBS “Survivor” winner “Boston Rob” Mariano is another fan, having once clocked in for a full shift as an official member of The Cottage staff. CBS “This Morning” once featured The Cottage in a series on the survival of neighborhood bars in the age of brew pubs and 15-screen sports bars. And then there is Aunt Eloise Swain, the Hawaiian queen of The Cottage bar staff never on duty without the signature flower in hair.

Although the 89-year-old star of karaoke night hulas at The Cottage has finally retired to her native Hawaii, The Cottage continues to host its annual June celebration of King Kamehameha in honor of Eloise and her sister, Ellenmerle, Don’s wife and mother of the current proprietors, Son-ny and Patti Heiges.

Other things at The Cottage that never change are two of the most popular items on its menu, the Half Fried Chicken and The Cottage Cheese-burger.

Both are for hearty eaters - a half of a chicken rolled in milk batter and deep fried to crisp, gold-en perfection and an 8-ounce beef patty with the works stacked high on a steam toasted bun.

- By Sue Legg

Holy Taco Cantina isn’t your ordinary Mexican cuisine.

Planted in the center of Johnson City’s re-vamped downtown district, Holy Taco Cantina has been a model for other restaurants since opening a few years ago.

With a menu full of authentic Mexican and Tex-Mex platters, Holy Taco Cantina harbors a line of customers rotating through the front door between the 11 a.m. and 3 a.m. business hours.

For an entree, patrons can choose between three reasonably priced courses. The taco platter, with a choice of beef or chicken, is $9 a plate, while the tamale platter is stuffed with either meat for $8 a dish. The burrito platter is $10 with a choice of meat tossed in a creamy queso cheese and mixed with cast iron beans, white rice, onions and cilantro.

Holy Taco Cantina offers a lineup of salads to go with a tasty chicken tortilla soup, and a long list of nacho, quesadilla, and guacamole appe-tizers.

For those searching to quench their thirst, Holy Taco Cantina has an exclusive margarita directory, including the infamous jalapeño mar-garita. A bitter taste with a fiery bite, the jalapeno margarita has exceptional flavor.

Holy Taco Catina also features a long list of fine wines, tequilas and other cocktails.

Devil’s Backbone, Dos Equis, Duck Rabbit, Highland Brewery, Lagunitas and RJ Rocker are just a few of the craft beers on tab at the restau-rant’s bar.

- By Zach Vance

Good places to eat and drink

14 GOTRI MAGAZINE | GOTRICITIES.COM

Good places to eat and drink

If you suggest Indian food in Johnson City, one place tops the list

— Sahib.But make note of the fact that it’s long-time

location off the Interstate 26/Roan Street exit is closed, and the restaurant is now located at 1803 West Market Street. Sahib recently moved into the old Long John Silver’s building.

According to the Sahib website, the restaurant serves “authentic Indian foods” and meals with the expectations associated with “fine Indian cui-sine.”

Sahib offers a daily buffet lunch that offers din-ers a wide variety of Indian dishes. Staff mem-bers can also recommend selections from the menu for diners new to Indian cuisine. The menu selections range from appetizers like vegetable Samosa, a crispy vegetable turnover; various Indian breads; Tandoori specialties, chicken dishes, lamb selections and several Sahib spe-cialties; vegetarian dishes and chef’s specials.

Sahib is open seven days a week, 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.-10 p.m.

- By Becky Campbell

Gourmet & CompanyNow in its 27th year of operation, Johnson

City’s Gourmet & Company has grown from a walk-in food store with a deli counter to a fine-dining restaurant with a full bar and a retail store.

Since opening in 1989, the restaurant has expanded twice, adding 3,000 square feet to its location at 214 E. Mountcastle Drive.

Open for dinner, lunch and drinks, the menu is inspired by cuisine of the American South, and includes many fresh items sourced from local farms. Gourmet & Company also offers catering services and private dining space for meetings and parties.

The kitchen is headed by executive chef John Bryant, a graduate of Johnson & Wales Univer-sity in Charleston, South Carolina. Bryant is well-versed in modern Southern cuisine and stresses cooperation with local farmers and producers to acquire the freshest possible ingredients.

Gourmet & Company’s attached retail store sells items for the home from a number of rec-ognized brands. For more information, call 423-929-9007.

- By Nathan Baker

Williams Electric Supply2824 WEST MARKET ST.

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903 S. WILCOX DRIVEKINGSPORT, TN • 423-392-4330

3195 E. ANDREW JOHNSON HWYGREENEVILLE, TN • 423-638-2241

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16 APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

InternationalStorytelling

CenterTennessee’s oldest town

is also the hub of storytelling across the nation. The re-nowned National Storytelling Festival, which draws crowds by the thousands to Jonesbor-ough from around the world, stepped into the limelight more than 40 years ago, but it wasn’t until 2002 that the festi-val had its own center on Main Street to call home.

The International Storytell-ing Center is considered by many to be the heart of storytelling in the na-tion. For anyone wishing to sit down to a good story, ISC is the place to be. In addition to hosting different storytellers throughout the year, ISC brings together one of the biggest festivals in the region each year – all in the name of storytelling.

Each year, the tops of five vast tents sail above the streets of downtown Jonesborough to welcome thousands of guests to the area for the week-end. The National Storytelling Festival welcomes world-renowned storytell-ers from cultures around the world for the weekend, making it Jonesbor-ough’s largest festival.

The festival cycles through the best of the best in storytelling each year, giving guests a new experience every year and filling tents to the max.

The National Storytelling Festival may be one of the largest events en-veloping the International Storytelling Center throughout the year, but one doesn’t have to wait until October to experience what the center has to of-fer. From May until October, ISC will host a variety of nationally-recognized storytellers in an event known for the past 14 years as Storytelling Live.

ISC also serves as a year-round educational hub, hinged to East Ten-nessee State University’s storytelling program. The program aims to ready future storytellers for professional careers – careers that might bring them right back to the nation’s heart in storytelling.

More information on ISC, including event tickets and a list of storytellers slat-ed for the event, is available at www.storytellingcenter.net. Storytelling Live! tickets go on sale April 1, and season passes to the event will also be available.

George L. Carter Railroad MuseumRailroads helped shape Johnson City and the surrounding area, and

East Tennessee State University wraps up the history with the George L. Carter Railroad Museum. The 8-year-old museum remains one of Johnson City’s most well-kept secrets, pulling in thousands annually to its historic exhibits and models.

Settled on ETSU’s campus, the museum operates inside the mini dome and boasts 64,000 square feet of space sprawling with model trains and railroad displays. The models are operated by volunteers of the Mountain Empire Model Railroader club, who provide information about local historic railroads and tips on the basics of model railroading. The museum is also

affiliated with two railroad historical societies –the George L. Carter Chap-ter National Railway Historical Society and the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad Historical Society.

The museum is dedicated to George L. Carter, who built the 277 miles of the Clinchfield Railroad through mountainous terrain to carry coal from Eastern Kentucky to the Carolina Piedmont. In 1909, Carter offered his 120-acre farm and $100,000 to the establishment of a normal school, and ETSU was born.

The museum hosts a variety of different exhibits, including the Alsop Gallery, containing 10 display cases, the Tweetsie Exhibit, the Ken Marsh Gallery, which contains the largest display of the museum, and the Little Engineers Room, a playroom for children 3 to 8 years old.

The annual Train Show will pull into the museum this summer, running from June 3 - 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, and admission will be $5.

During its normal operating season, the railroad museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are always welcome.

The Down HomeOne of the region’s longest-running music venues, The Down Home has

become a mecca for musicians and music lovers all across the region. The Down Home has been providing a stage for local music for 40 years, and carries a down-to-earth atmosphere focused on listening to the best quality music the region has to offer.

The unique atmosphere that The Down Home has to offer coupled with a bursting list of local talent taking the stage each week, the venue quickly climbs to the top of the must-visit list for those wishing for a top-notch ex-perience with local music.

And there’s never a down season for The Down Home, if the venue’s show calendar is any indication. Local bands and musicians have filled the calendar’s weekends into May, and even weeknights have begun to swell with bookings. Guests at the Down Home don’t have to plan dinner before hand, as the venue also supplies a menu with affordable selections from burritos to soups to salad.

Even as downtown Johnson City’s oldest continuous music venue, that doesn’t leave The Down Home stuck in 1976. The venue offers digital broadcasts of select shows that viewers can watch from the couch, with a list of upcoming broadcast shows available at www.downhome.com.

According to the website, most of the venue’s guests pay at the door for shows, so advance tickets aren’t usually a necessity. But those going this route want to leave the plastic at home, as The Down Home only takes cash or check for pay-at-the door tickets and advance tickets. A list of up-coming shows, a the dinner menu, and other information about The Down Home is available on the venue’s website.

- By Jessica Fuller

FIVE COOL PLACES

17APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

Bays Mountain Animal Habitats

Bays Mountain Park may be well known for its hiking trails, fire tower, planetarium shows and wolf population, the facility does have a broader range of animals than most people probably think of and are well worth the visit during the warmer months of the year.

Opening in 1972, the park is a 3,600 acre nature preserve and the larg-est city-owned park in the state of Tennessee. Attractions include a 44-acre lake, an interactive nature center with a state-of-the-art planetarium theater, an observatory for star and sun watch programs, a ropes course with zip lines, and trails for mountain bikers, day hikers and backpackers.

The animal habitats reach out along the eastern side of the nature center over many acres between the Lakeside Trail and Lake Road with habitats for bobcat, deer, raccoons, wolves, otters, birds and the herpetarium.

Bobcats are larger than a typical house cat, weighing in at 25 to 35 pounds, leading a solitary life and coming together only to mate. The ani-mals are good climbers, spend many hours in trees and will find refuge when threatened. The bobcats at Bays Mountain feed upon various meats and treats of bones, mice, squirrels, and rabbits. Park officials say you bet-ter use your “wildlife eyes” and look hard to find these shy, secretive, and well camouflaged creatures.

The Herpetarium has a spacious classroom as well as a facility for food preparation for the various animal habitats in the park. In addition to rep-tiles and amphibians, Bays Mountain’s Herpetarium features America’s only marsupial - Opossums. Peek through some of the openings in this exhibit to catch a glimpse of these unique animals.

Raptor is just another word for birds of prey. Hawks, owls and falcons all fall within this category and are some of the birds housed in the Bays Mountain Park Raptor Center. Located on the far end of the animal habi-tats, near the wolf enclosure, the center was designed and built by volun-teer staff who also maintain the facility and train the birds for raptor pro-grams. The center now houses seven birds in two unique habitat structures and includes an office/food preparation building.

River otters spend most of their lives in the water and are most active at night. Bays Mountain’s otter habitat is used to rehabilitate otters that oc-casionally get hurt by people and the one that stay in the pool are deemed un-releaseable by park officials and are kept at the park for their safety. The habitat is located near Lily Pad Cove on the northern side of the nature center. Visitors may also seen otters in the Bays Mountain Lake, TVA lakes and the Holston River.

Turtle Cove is adjacent to the Herpetarium and provides habitat for vari-ous species of turtles. Turtles hibernate during the cold winter months until spring, so visitors coming to the park during the winter may think Turtle Cove is empty. However, the turtles are still there, though they have bur-rowed into the ground to hibernate.

The raccoon habitat is located between the Herpetarium and the deer habitat and a has a number of the black-masked mammals. Raccoons are mostly nocturnal, but sometimes venture out during the daytime. In the winter raccoons have less food so they live off of their body fat and can

lose up to 50 percent of their body weight while sleeping. The animals can live up to 16 years in the wild, but most don’t make it past their second birthday.

White-Tailed Deer are fairly common on Bays Mountain and freely roam the grounds. Some deer are being kept safe in a special habitat midway between the nature center and the wolf habitat, allowing them to be eas-ily viewed by the public. The deer are of course herbivores and feed on leaves, berries, seeds, nuts and mushrooms, eating early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Bays Mountain typically feeds its deer a mixture of wheat, oats, corn, apples, carrots, and sorghum.

The most well-known animals at Bays Mountain (and probably the most visited) are the wolves. Bays Mountain Park’s wolf program first began in 1992 with the arrival of three 6-month-old pups. Additional wolves were added in 1995, 2004 and 2007. In recent years, the park’s wolf habitat lost all three of its elder wolves, and when the park attempted to replenish its numbers, the usual source experienced two years of failed breeding sea-sons. But now, after two years of successful purchases, the park has been able to grow its wolf population back up to full strength.

For more information visit www.baysmountain.com.

Kingsport Carousel

Everyone is a kid when they visit the Kingsport Carousel.Located in the “Pal’s Roundhouse” adjacent to the Kingsport Farmers

Market in downtown, the carousel is a traditional carousel, complete with 32 wooden riding animals and two chariots. The animals include traditional horses, and other creatures, such as otters, dog and cat, a dragon, unicorn and princely frog.

A large organ plays historical carousel tunes, folks can buy shirts and photographs in the nearby gift shop and – if you go during peak visiting hours – you’ll likely see a room full of happy children.

And maybe some adults too.This unique attraction to not only Kingsport, but the Tri-Cities began

more than eight years ago as a dream of the late Gale Joh, who grew up in Binghamton, N.Y. — the “Carousel Capital of the World.” After Joh died in 2010, his widow, former Alderwoman Valerie Joh and local volunteer Reg-gie Martin headed up the project and continued to push it forward.

One of the first things that happened was the volunteers and carvers organized into Engage Kingsport – a non-profit organization charged with spearheading the carousel project, leading the carving effort and raising the necessary money to fund the endeavor.

More than 300 volunteers and woodcarvers spent countless hours carv-ing and painting animals, refurbishing the carousel frame and drafting plans to open the carousel. The attraction opened in the summer of 2015 and since then more than 50,000 people have taken a ride around the room.

The city of Kingsport is planning to establish a demonstration carving studio in the second floor of the farmers market later this year, a space where people can visit, meet the carvers and see firsthand the skill in-volved in creating the carousel.

The carousel is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Satursdays and Sundays. One dollar will get you a ride.

For more information visit www.engagekingsport.com.- By Matthew Lane

FIVE COOL PLACES

KINGSPORTPopulation: 48,205Kingsport’s name comes from an early

boat yard located in the city when it was first chartered back in 1917 known as William King’s port.

Kingsport’s nickname, “The Model City,” comes from either the city charter setting up a city manager form of gov-ernment or the city being professionally planned.

Outdoor lovers will find plenty to do in Kingsport. Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium offers barge rides, a nature center, hiking trails, zip lines and other attractions. Warrior’s Path State Park, a 950 acre park, offers paddle boats, disc golf, camping and a boundless playground.

Kingsport also offers great shopping and other attractions such as a hand carved carousel and the Kingsport Aquatic Center.

BRISTOLPopulation: 26,702 in Bristol, Tennes-

see and 17,835 in Bristol, Virginia.Before it was dubbed the Twin Cit-

ies, Bristol Tennessee/Virginia was part of a vast plantation owned by the Rev. James King. When his son-in-law, Jo-seph Anderson, learned two railroads would meet on the King land, he contracted 100 acres of the plantation. He would builed a house on what is now the southwest corner of State Street and Martin Luther King Blvd and would mark the beginning of Bristol.

Bristol was almost named Paradise. The name Bristol edged out Para-dise by one point.

The city is home to Bristol Motor Speedway, one of NASCAR’s most legendary tracks.

It is also called the “Birthplace of Country Music” after a music producer came to the area looking for that hillbilly sound. A number of acts recorded and started what is known as modern country music.

BLUFF CITYPopulation: 1,733The town went by many names be-

fore finally setting on Bluff City. It was known as Choate’s Ford, then Middle-town. Later it was known as Union, Zollicoffer and Union again. It officially became Bluff City on July 1, 1887.

During the Revolutionary War 400 Virginia militiamen crossed the Holston River and Choate’s Ford. The men were on their way to muster at Sycamore Shoals. From there, the group marched to King’s Mountain, a turning point during the war. Their path was certified as the Over Mountain Victory Trail in 2007 and is a recognized historical site.

Bluff City incorporates some of the area known as Piney Flats.Piney Flats Industrial Park is home to Bell Helicopter, Aeronautical Ac-

cessories Inc., Daramic LLC, Aurora Hardwoods, Polymer Industrial Prod-ucts, Lyon Roofing and other manufacturers.

Piney Flats Village, the orginial town, was designated as a Sullivan County Historic District in 2009.

BLOUNTVILLEPopulation: In 2010 Blountville had a

population of 3,074.It is the county seat of Sullivan County. It

is the only county seat in Tennessee not be an incorporate city or town.

Blountville was thought to have been the

location of a longhunter fort and was part of approximately 600 acres of land bought by James Brigham in 1782. Ten years later, Brigham gave 30 acres to Sullivan County to use as a County seat and to establish a hotel nearby. Blountville was laid out and established as the county seat in 1795.

The town saw a fierce battle between Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War. It is known as the Battle of Blountville. On the af-ternoon of September 22, 1863, a Union Army unit attacked Confederate troops. The town was shelled and the courthouse burned, forcing Confed-erate soldiers to flee the town. Blountville is currently working on a Battle of Blountville park.

In 2013, the Lucas Oil Pro MotoCross Championship was held at Muddy Creek Raceway in Blountville. It was the first Pro MotoCross Champion-ship held in the South in 15 years. The Pro MotoCross Championship comes to the track every year.

-By Nick Shepherd

GATE CITYPopulation: 2,034Gate City is the county seat of

Scott County, Virginia.It offers multiple festivals

throughout the year. Two of the most popular is the Grillin’ at the Gate music and bbq festival and the Clinch Mountain Music festival, a summer concert series.

The county was named after General Winfield Scott, a Virginia native.Daniel Boone commanded several forts in Scott County in 1774 during

Dunmore’s War.

JOHNSON CITYPopulation: 65,813The Council for Community

and Economic Research rated the area as one of the top 10 most affordable cities in the United States. In 2012, Johnson City was ranked the 23rd most affordable place to live, according to CNN Money.

Founded in 1856 by Henry Johnson as a railroad station called “John-son’s Depot,” Johnson City became a major rail hub for the southeast, as three railway lines crossed in the downtown area – the narrow gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (nicknamed “Tweetsie”), the standard gauge Clinchfield Railroad and the Southern Railway (now Norfolk Southern).

During the 1920s and the Prohibition era, Johnson City’s ties to the boot-legging activity of the Appalachian Mountains earned the city the nickname of “Little Chicago.” Stories persist that the town was one of several distribu-tion centers for Chicago gang boss Al Capone during Prohibition.

Mountain Dew soda originated here.Noteworthy events include the Blue Plum Festival held downtown in

early June and the Umoja/Unity Festival in early August.

GRAYThe Gray community stretches

from the northern boundary of Wash-ington County at Interstate 26, west to Sulphur Springs, east to Blountville and south to Boones Creek.

Orignially known as Gray Station for the rural railway depot located there at the turn of the last century, a large portion of the community is dominated by family farms, although the steady development of subdivisions and other residential properties has increased its population density significantly since the early 1990s.

Community Spotlights

18 APRIL 2016 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

19OCTOBER 2015 | GOTRI MAGAZINE

Community SpotlightsIn addition to its I-26 corridor, Gray’s transportation arteries – Highway

36 and portions of Highway 75 toward the Tri-Cities Regional Airport – have been annexed into the corporate boundaries of Johnson City and feature a number of national chain and locally owned restaurants and retail businesses.

Gray is best known for two cultural attractions, the annual Appalachian Fair and the Miocene-era fossil site officially known as East Tennessee State University & General Shale Natural History Museum Visitor Center and Gray Fossil Site.

ERWINPopulation: 6,021As of the 2010 U.S. Census, approxi-

mately 22 percent of Erwin’s population was comprised of residents 65 years of age and older.

According to the census, Erwin is 4.04 square miles with 1,510 people living within each square mile.

“Murderous Mary,” a circus elephant that is said to have killed one of its trainers in Kingsport, was hanged with a rail yard crane in Erwin in 1916.

Previously known as Vanderbilt, the town of Erwin, which was founded in the 1870s, got its name due to a typo. In March 1879, the Legislature changed the town’s name to Ervin in honor of David J.N. Ervin, who do-nated much of the land for the Unicoi County seat. But the local post office name was changed from Vanderbilt to Erwin. This error was not corrected.

PINEY FLATSPortions of Piney Flats are incorporat-

ed into Johnson City and Bluff City.It was established as a community in

the 1780s at “The Forks” between the Holston and Watauga rivers.

Growth came inthe 19th century with the construction of a railroad depot and the Wolfe Brothers Furniture Factory. Piney Flats Village was established in 1854.

The village was officially designated as a Sullivan County Historic Dis-trict in 2009. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. Tennessee Historical Commission marker placed in October 2014.

Mary Hughes School opened in 1897 as a four-room school. It was ex-panded in 1924, 1929 and again in 1930. A new building was added in 1942 with more expansion in 1949 and 1953. It is now a Sullivan County school serving grades K-8.

The Rocky Mount Living Hisotry Museum, site of the Cobb-Massengill Home, was built in the 18th century by William Cobb, one of Northeast Tennessee’s early colonial settlers. It was the first territorial capital of the Southwest Territory, which became the State of Tennessee in 1796.

Piney Flats Industrial Park is home to Bell Helicopter, Aeronautical Ac-cessories Inc., Daramic LLC, Aurora Hardwoods, Polymer Industrial Prod-ucts, Lyon Roofing and other manufacturers.

ELIZABETHTONPopulation: 14,271In 2000, the city’s population was

13,797, for a growth between 2000-2010 of 2.75 percent.

For 50 years, begining in 1926, Eliza-bethton was a world leader in the pro-duction of rayon.

Employment in the two rayon plants reached a peak of 4,500 in 1939.

Elizabethton is named for Elizabeth MacLin Carter, the wife of Landon Carter, for whom the county is named. They were among the leading citi-zens of the county during the late 18th century.

JONESBOROUGHTennessee’s oldest town

was founded in 1779, 17 years before Tenenssee came a state and while the area was under the jurisdic-tion of North Carolina.

The annual National Sto-rytelling Festival is the first weekend in October drawing in thousands to Jonesborough as dozens of celebrated storytellers, musicians and guest speakers descend on the town to share their stories.

Thanks to the efforts of the Heritage Alliance of Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, visitors can stroll through history by participating in historical walking tours.

Boone Street Market provides year-round access to the region’s locally grown foods, which had previously only been available at the outdoor farm-ers market and through the private farmers.

The McKinney Cultural Arts Center at Booker T. Washington School offers students of all ages the opportunity to enhance their artistic sides through a variety of art-oriented classes.

The arts also live on through the Jonesborough Repertory Theatre, lo-cated in the heart of downtown. The theater offers year-round performanc-es of all types of stage shows, including dramas, comedies and tragedies.

-By Matthew Lane and NIck Shepherd

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parks and recreation

BAYS MOUNTAIN PARK

Bays Mountain Park — one of Tennessee’s top attractions — offers a diverse array of pro-grams, activities and exhibits to the residents of Kingsport and greater Tri-Cities region, hosting more than 150,000 visitors each year.

The park opened in 1972 and over the years has grown to 3,600 acres in size, making it one of the largest city-owned parks in the country. On any given day the park will serve a visiting school’s educational needs, provide the perfect backdrop and challenge for a quick hike, run or mountain bike adventure, take visitors on a virtual and realistic journey through space, and also allow families to enjoy an outing in the great outdoors.

Bays Mountain Park’s 36 miles of trails sur-round a man-made 44-acre lake, which serves as the scenic centerpiece for the park. The trails offer enthusiasts of all ages breathtaking scen-ery and natural mountain terrain; 20 miles of trails are also approved for mountain biking of-fering a challenge for all levels of expertise and experience.

The park includes a Nature Interpretive Cen-ter with exhibits on rocks and minerals, pond life, insects and mammals, space exploration as well as a cave for youngsters to play in and explore. Housed within the center is the planetarium, which in recent years received a major overhaul and a new, state-of-the-art digital star projector, allowing patrons to watch professional made programs on space, the constellations, the night sky and the solar system.

Other outdoor features of Bays Mountain Park include the observatory, where folks can partici-pate in the StarWatch program or enjoy a filtered view of the sun for the SunWatch programs. The Adventure Education and Team Building ropes course has been one of the more popular addi-tions to the park in recent years, where groups can maneuver through a ropes course, three wooden towers and finish up with a ride down the zip line.

Featured in Bays Mountain Park’s habi-tats are white-tailed deer, several species of snakes including copperheads and rattle snakes, a bobcat, river otters, raccoons, birds of

prey such as a great-horned owl and red-tailed hawk, and of course, the gray wolves.

Bays Mountain Park is also host to many events, such as the annual Bays Mountain Trail Race (a 15-mile test of endurance), Art on the Mountain (a monthlong art show) and the Earth Day Celebration. Other events such as musical performances and plays have been held at the park’s 400-seat amphitheater.

For more information go to www.baysmoun-tain.com.

WARRIORS’ PATH STATE PARK

Warriors’ Path State Park is home to premier boating and fishing activities, 12 miles of hiking trails, an internationally-renowned mountain bike trail system (a designated National Recreational Trail), an award-winning nature education pro-gram and a nationally recognized golf course.

Named for the Great Cherokee War and Trad-ing Path, the 950-acre park is located on the shores of the Patrick Henry Reservoir on the Holston River and brings in thousands of visitors each year looking for outdoor recreation activi-ties, a picnic with the family, a game of golf with friends or a weekend of camping.

Warriors’ Path is the only Tennessee State Park with a Boundless Playground - where chil-dren of all physical and mental abilities can play together. Features of park include the Lions Nar-nia Braille Trail with eight sensory stations along a quarter-mile that tell visitors the story of Aslan of the Chronicles of Narnia, the Anderson Tree-house (a fully-accessible tree house) and the Palmer Center Foundation Amphitheater which can host audiences of up to 1,000 people.

In addition to the 12 miles of hiking trails, War-riors’ Path offers 8.5 miles of scenic and chal-lenging mountain bike trails, as well as the lap

around Duck Island. If you’re not interested in walking or biking, the park does offer two miles of horseback riding for adult and pony rides for children during the summer.

The park is a popular fishing hole for many with catches including bass, crappie, Hybrid Striped Bass, catfish and trout. And staying with the water theme, patrons fill up the lake during the warmer months in canoes, kayaks, fishing boats and two-person paddle boats.

The Olympic-sized pool is available from Me-morial Day through mid-August while the park’s 18-hole golf course is always a popular spot for golfers of all skills. The par 72 course was de-signed by George Cobb and opened for play in 1972. The course includes a large practice facil-ity complete with teeing ground, practice green and practice bunker.

SYCAMORE SHOALS

ELIZABETHTON — When American colonists first began settling beyond King George’s Proc-lamation Line of 1763, one of the major settle-ments was on the banks of the Watauga River and the Sycamore Shoals of the Watauga be-came a focal point for the settlers of the region.

Many of the events in the first chapters of his-tory books about Tennessee took place at Syca-more Shoals. These included the Transylvania Purchase in 1775, the Cherokee attacks and siege of Fort Caswell, and the gathering of the Overmountain Men to march to Kings Mountain, S.C. to meet the threat of British Major Patrick Ferguson.

These events are depicted in the state’s of-ficial outdoor drama, Liberty! Which is presented at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area on the last three weekends of July each year.

Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area was cre-ated to honor and preserve these historic mo-ments of Tennessee history. In addition to pro-tecting the historic grounds around the shoals, the park also preserves the Carter Mansion, which is located a few miles upstream. It was the first frame house built in Tennessee and was the home of John Carter and his son, Landon Carter. The park’s latest acquisition is Sabine Hill, the house built for Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Taylor after his return from the War of 1812.

While the park was created to commemorate and preserve some significant events in the history of Tennessee, the park’s grounds have also become a popular location for other annual events, including a Native American Festival in June and a Celtic Festival in October. The park is located at 1651 W. Elk Ave.

TWEETSIE TRAIL

Two-city Tweetsie Trail continues to produce new amenities

The Tweetsie Trail officially opened in August of 2014, some 18 months ago, but just because it allowed runners, walkers and cyclists to navi-gate its 10-miles between Johnson City and Eliz-abethon, work was far from over.

In 2015 alone, the trail saw various projects that improved the quality of its offerings. At the

trail’s three-mile mark, next to an old quarry owned by the Grindstaff family, two massive projects alone made the former railroad line trail even more picturesque than it was before.

Headed by East Tennessee State University’s Department of Geosciences professor Dr. Mick Whitelaw last May, students took kayaks, skim-mers, boons and more to the quarry’s waters to help clean up the mess that had accumulated there. Because it sits directly below a pavilion that was funded and constructed with the help of area Rotary clubs, it was paramount that this section of the trail looks as pretty as can be, and the Tweetsie Trail’s organizers have captured that.

And their hard work has paid off in a constant flow of traffic and a never-ending stream of Tweetsie Trail selfies and workout posts on so-cial media sites by the users of the trail.

Currently, Johnson City — the municipality that owns the property from the Alabama Street trail head in Johnson City to the Hatcher Lane trail head on the opposite side in Elizabethton — is sorting out the best way for the trails users to be delivered to and from the nearby downtown area. They want to see the trail improve the bot-tom lines of local businesses as much as they do an increase in local public health.

Because the trail runs nearly directly through the heart of downtown Elizabethton, they don’t have the same issue as Johnson City and have done well to bring the incoming recreational types into the downtown businesses.

But don’t bet that the construction of new ame-nities along the trail will end. There are many plans for more.

BUFFALO MOUNTAIN PARK

Johnson Citians don’t even have to leave their hometown to enjoy some of the best hiking around. Buffalo Mountain Park has been provid-ing hikers memorable experiences since 1986, even before it was owned by Johnson City.

The 725-acre park has been managed by the Johnson City Parks & Recreation Department since 1994 after the city obtained the land from the U.S. Forest Service. It has steep and forest-ed trails. Hiking and picnicking are the two main activities.

The park’s trails include White Rock Trail (1.9 miles), Lone Oak Trail (1.81), Tip Top Trail (1.5), Cascades Trail (1.0), Fork Knob Trail (.91), Tow-er Ridge Trail (.8), Fork Ridge Trail (.63), Hartsell Hollow Trail (.37) and High Ridge Trail (.35). Loops can be made by combining the trails into longer hikes.

Tip Top is the highest point of the park, al-though most hikers enjoy the views from White Rock Overlook. The famous views include downtown Johnson City, nearby East Tennessee State University and the surrounding mountains.

Autumn hikes are very popular as the leaves begin their annual colorful transformation.

The park serves as a nature preserve, and many species of wildflowers can be found along the trails, as can all kinds of wildlife.

Dogs are allowed as long as they are on leashes, and there is a parking area near the trail head.

The park’s hours are 7 am. to sunset in the summer and 9 a.m. to sunset in the winter.

Buffalo Mountain Park’s address is 570 Highridge Road, Johnson City, Tenn. It’s about four miles away from ETSU.

FOUNDERS PARK

Three years ago, the Johnson City Commis-sion approved the first of eight planned phases of downtown flood mitigation when the $3 mil-lion, 5-acre Founders Park stormwater/park proj-ect won approval.

Today the eye-pleasing green space, com-plete with revamped and visitor-friendly Brush Creek, greets visitors and residents as they en-ter downtown Johnson City from the west.

The watery greenway is a popular place to take a casual stroll, admire sculptures placed by the Public Arts Committee, enjoy musicians at the park’s open-air pavilion or children flying a kite on what now is known as “The Great Lawn.”

Residents and visitors can reserve the green-ery, amphitheater or the entire park for a fee.

parks and recreation

Founders After Five was launched last year, which takes place at the amphitheater. The pro-gram utilizes a pool of local acting, production and marketing talent, as well as providing some-thing not often seen in downtown Johnson City’s outdoor public space.

The Pavilion at Founders Park moved the Johnson City Farmers Market nearer the park, and opened up a mounting number of downtown event possibilities nearer downtown. The city also is preparing an addition to Founders Park off State of Franklin that will provide additional parking for events and serve as an aesthetic connection between Founders Park and East Tennessee State University.

A new plaza will have displays and sculptures and the city plans to build build a 10-foot-wide, roughly 200-foot-long walkway that leads from the plaza and runs between Brush Creek and State of Franklin toward Church Brothers Family Fun Store.

For information about event rentals, go to www.jcdevelopment.org or call (423) 928-2988.

WINGED DEER PARK

On many summer nights, there is a bevy of activity emanating from Winged Deer Park.

Sometimes it’s the glow of the lights humming over the heated competition of a softball tourna-ment -- sometimes fast-pitch and other times the less-stringent slow-pitch vareity. Action is overseen from the scorer’s tower which has a bird’s-eye view of four of the park’s five full-sized softball fields.

There’s plenty more to offer the residents of Johnson City, including batting cages that can be used for different levels of speed for honing the skills of baseball players -- or slow-pitch offer-ings for softball.

Also, people can take a walk through the for-est for an 18-hole battle with the disc golf course.

Other offerings include three lighted softball

fields, concession buildings, a half-mile walking track, and paved fitness trails that wind through the forested section of the park.

Down at the lake, enthusiasts can take advan-tage of two sand volleyball courts, a picnic shel-ter, public boating access, green space, a lighted handicap-accessible boardwalk, amphitheater, and a festival plaza multi-use area.

And there’s more with the park’s historical features: Robert Young Cabin (one of Johnson City’s oldest dwellings), Massengil Monument, and the James H. Quillen Historical Tree Arbo-retum.

Johnson City’s Winged Deer Park was estab-lished in 1991, and is a 200-acre facility.

The area was previously owned as a farm by the J. Norton Arney family. Arney was a car deal-er in the area, and he also trained show horses in the area. The farm was used primarily to grow hay, and there were several large stables on the lakefront portion of the property.

In 1985, the city of Johnson City purchased the property, converting the original Arney family farmhouse for the offices of the Parks and Rec-reation department.

Park hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the sum-mer, and 7 a.m. to sunset in the winter. The ad-ministrative office at the park is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ROCKY FORK STATE PARK

Designated Tennessee’s 55th State Park in October 2012, Rocky Fork State Park is 2,036-acres of scenic wilderness located in the southern ridges of Unicoi County, approximately 30 miles from Johnson City and 10 miles from Erwin.

The park is accessible from the Flag Pond Exit of Interstate 26 via Rocky Fork Road, a narrow, one lane, paved road with pull-offs along the side. A small, unpaved parking area is available inside the park gate but its space is so limited the state recommends carpooling and asks guests to be careful not to block the gate.

Sustainable recreation opportunities and infra-structure for Rocky Fork are still in the planning stages. Future amenities will include a visitor center and gift shop, picnic pavilions, a ranger station, campgrounds, and a hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding trail system with ac-cess to the Appalachian Trail.

The state Department of Transportation hopes to complete a one-mile paved access road into the park by early next year.

Located in the pristine Rocky Fork water-shed, the park’s, rugged terrain features numer-ous cool mountain streams including the park’s namesake, Rocky Fork Creek. With its large moss covered boulders, deep pools and eddies, the cold, swift flowing creek is known for its miles of excellent trout fishing.

The park is bordered on three sides by the Cherokee National Forest and laced by many miles of abandoned and unmarked logging roads. The Appalachian Trail and the Samp-son Mountain Wilderness Area are also located nearby.

- Compiled by Matthew Lane, John Thompson, Tony Casey, Joe Avento, Gary B. Gray,

Douglas Fritz and Sue Legg

parks and recreation

Bob Gilham, owner of Custom Asphalt Services has been a contractor in the pavement maintenance industry since 1973. He located his business in Johnson City, TN in 1981. That’s 43 years of valuable experience, and 35 years of serving our area.

His company provides “HEAVY - DUTY” protective sealcoating, striping, patching, crack� lling, concrete services, snow removal, parking area design, layout, and associated services.

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Having served the Johnson City and surrounding area of Northeast Tennessee for 35 years, our e� orts have always been to provide the most e� ective, longest lasting “HEAVY - DUTY” protective sealcoating available! We look forward to a prosperous year and wish the same for all of our friends and associates.

Bob Gilham2215 Ridge� eld DriveJohnson City, TN 37601Phone: 423-926-2742www.customasphaltservices.com

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