Unmotivated Buyer

After reading your article (and several other missives on the subject that you have run), let me explain why I would never buy property in Fort Sanders ["A Fort Divided" by Jack Neely, Vol. 8, No. 37].

I, like most alumni, lived in the Fort while attending UT. I lived in a relatively nice house compared to most of the places I have visited in the Fort. Even as nice as it was I would never buy that place. The problem lies in that most of the houses in that area have been RAVAGED by decades upon decades of college students who are, for the most part, in the first place of their own, one that they neither think they need to take care of, clean, mend, or appreciate.

The money it would take to upgrade these houses to a somewhat livable standard is incredible. And once you've spent that money, what do you have to look forward to? Game day traffic woes, drunk collegiates partying 'til morn, rampant crime, and safety issues. All of these things aren't exactly conducive to attracting people with jobs, or with the funds to buy a house and renovate it.

I, like most people, do not want to see big development take the place of beautiful history, but I think the project needs help and money from the city and state before private buyers can seriously consider moving into that area.

Robin Thornett
Knoxville

Priorities

Every year at football season, on several Saturdays, a few hundred thousand people come to Fort Sanders. At each basketball game, at each event at World's Fair Park, and many other activities, thousands of people get their image of Knoxville, perhaps their only image of Knoxville, from Fort Sanders. How can the beauty of Fort Sanders not be a priority for Knoxville? With so many UT students living there, and so many potential students seeing it, how can it not be a priority for UT?

Everyone who has lived there will tell you it is in decay. Is there no way landlords can be rewarded for maintaining these old houses instead of watching them rot until they get leveled for another parking lot? Why can't the leaders of this city see that Fort Sanders is very important to this city? That importance is not in property taxes on new multi-unit housing, but in the image this city shows to hundreds of thousands of people every year. Take a look around at Fort Sanders. Would you like to invite 200,000 people to this neighborhood for a football game? Could someone at least pick up the trash and trim the weeds?

Fort Sanders is slipping away, and with it, Knoxville. Now we're going to build a huge new convention center there, and bring lots more people into Fort Sanders for the first time. It's very clear. A clean, well-kept, historic Fort Sanders, and downtown, will impact the future and bottom line of this city greatly by making people want to come back after they come here to see a football game or come to a convention. It ought to be a priority.

Tim Glazner
Knoxville

Inanity, Thy Name Be Local Government

Inane. Inefficient. That's our local government!

Go through your junk. Find hazardous waste—old paint, to be specific. But don't find more than 10 gallon cans, even if they only have an inch or less of paint each in them.

Because even if you have never been to the hazardous waste disposal facility in the ENTIRE DECADE you've been paying city and county taxes, you still can't leave more than 10 gallon cans at the facility. Not even if you bring 11 cans. Not even if they are all essentially empty. But, lo and behold, you CAN make another trip, use up twice the non-renewable resources (gasoline and time), THE VERY NEXT DAY and leave ONE gallon can!

Now why is it that the facility that was designed to encourage people to dispose of hazardous waste properly makes you want to dump the same in any nearby ditch because of such a ridiculous rule? Why shouldn't the facility encourage people to gather up hazardous waste from their entire neighborhood and bring it in? Isn't that the idea?

County commissioners, are you listening?

Elizabeth L. Morgan
Knoxville