Lacking the Vision Thing

Jack Neely has struck again, and it was high time he did ["Knoxville in the Rearview Mirror," Vol. 8, No. 1]. Quite possibly, our worst civic failing here is complacency—in thought and in action. Most of the former residents quoted had insightful, albeit discomforting, comments. Obviously, no city will please everybody, and I suspect that a few of those folks will eventually find sufficient fault with their new home towns to move again, still searching for Shangri-La, or maybe just Mayberry. Still, we would be foolish to refuse to take off our blinders once in awhile.

Terms like "planning" and "leadership" were prominent in the comments. I found myself wondering if we do in fact have any. People who appear in front of cameras in our city are fond of the term "vision." Unfortunately, the current evidence seems to suggest that our "vision" is far too limited in scope. While we do have some well-planned and well-executed development, we remain indifferent to misbegotten projects that deface historic structures and waste tax dollars delivering utilities and roads to far-flung parts of the county once green, while large areas of the city needing a face-lift and already possessing that infrastructure are left to molder in neglect. Real "vision" means more than building riverside condos and million-dollar mansions for a few wealthy transplants. Shouldn't it also include improving living conditions for the majority of the population?

The sad fact is that the majority—that is to say, us—is apathetic. You can buy a house close to a good school, but that doesn't mean your kids can walk to it in safety, because in countless neighborhoods all over, there are no sidewalks. And it's rare to see a neighborhood work together for even such simple improvements.

Possibly, the roots of our apparent apathy lie in our virtues. East Tennesseans for generations were taught by their elders to work hard, mind their own business, and not make a fuss. Those virtues made our region attractive to industry and development when we didn't have any. Today, they may also make us appear a region ripe for exploitation, not respect. We can change that image by making the community—and not just our households—our business. We can, that is, if we want to make the effort.

Andrew Woods
Knoxville

Same Here

Betty Bean's article on the death of Andre Stenson ["Lingering Questions," Vol. 8, No. 2] and Joe Sullivan's editorial about the situation ["An Andre Stenson Postmortem," Vol. 8, No. 3] were both insightful and informative. More importantly, they were unavailable anywhere else. What would we do without Metro Pulse? I hope we never find out.

Greg Mackay

Knoxville

Deeply Concerned

The Knoxville Ministerial Association in its stated meeting on January 15, 1998, has adopted the following statement:

The Knoxville Ministerial Association is deeply concerned with the overall situations, including the January 9, 1998, death of Andre Stenson, prompting the Tuesday, January 13, 1998, meeting at the City County Office Building. A number of reported events prior to the Tuesday meeting at the City/County Office Building have created significant concern with Knoxville citizens. At the Tuesday meeting, a number of concerns were expressed by citizens about tensions between city officials, police, and citizens of Knoxville.

We endorse the principle of having a Citizens' Review Board to evaluate both police activity and racial tensions in Knoxville. We believe that a long-term effort needs to address the concerns and emotions of those at the meeting. We call on the political and police administrations to deal with the underlying issues and make necessary corrections and proactive actions to improve the relations in our community regarding all concerned.

We also call on the Ministerial Associations of Knoxville, KICMA and KMA, to have communication and meetings on the current situation in our community.

Tom Ballard, President

Knoxville Ministerial Association