Hometown Boy On Making Good

Knoxville movie star-badboy Brad Renfro was featured in a recent issue of Detour magazine. The story, "Brad to the bone," calls Renfro a "born smartass" and quotes the 16-year-old's musings on a range of issues from psychiatrists ("I can't stand someone who thinks they are f—king superior to me [and expects me] to pay them to listen to me!") to his attitude toward the public ("F—k America. I could care less what it thinks.") to the Good Book ("Basically the Bible breaks it down for you. Don't take up gluttony of any form. Don't f—k your buddy's wife. Don't do it before marriage. Don't kill somebody. Just basic shit here. Shit that's not too hard to ask.")

Renfro doesn't mention any prohibition against carrying dope, an offense for which he was arrested last summer (the story says charges are pending dismissal).

Accompanying the display of theological and vocabulary skills are shirtless photographs of the sultry tyke, who says that when he is home in Knoxville, "I usually stay half-nude for the better part of the day."

Christmas at the Dump

What do the Halls dump and Ray Hill have in common? Enemies, it seems. Two months ago, the newly-elected Commission kicked off business with a contentious debate over hiring Hill to be the Commission administrator. After a lengthy fight that changed no minds, the pro-Hill forces won 13-6.

The second big fight among this Commission occurred this week with a contentious debate over the Halls dump. After a lengthy fight that changed no minds, the pro-dump forces won 12-6.

The dump fight (outlined in this column a couple of weeks ago) came about after Halls Commissioners Mary Lou Horner and Leo Cooper, along with County Executive Tommy Schumpert, negotiated a solution to the Halls Dump Crisis after years of wrangling with residents who want to throw their trash away, but not where they have to look at it. New Commissioners Phil Guthe and John Schmid objected to the deal, suggesting that they should not be expected to ratify agreements made before the election that put them in office. They were joined by others, primarily John Griess, a former Commission chairman recently unseated by Cooper, and Wanda Moody, a leader in the anti-Hill battle.

The anti-dump forces were offered encouragement by lawyer/lobbyist John King, who represents the owner of property Schumpert proposes to condemn for dump access.

And amid the trappings of Christmas, it got ugly.

Pro-dump forces suggested Horner and Cooper know more about their community's needs than commissioners who dwell in far-away corners of Knox County. Anti-dump commissioners said it cost too much money. Schumpert explained why he had promised residents that he wouldn't route traffic onto a narrow, unsafe road. Anti-dump rookie Schmid said Schumpert shouldn't be making bargains that can't be tied up before election day. Then, the body that just a scant half-hour before had authorized Schumpert to acquire a chunk of downtown for a justice center and jail—by condemnation, if necessary—fought over the issue of condemnation, with many of them saying they oppose it.

Diane Jordan, who had arranged to cart them all out to Catholic High School at 4:30 to vote to kick in $500,000 toward Pellissippi State's purchase of the building for a downtown campus, looked at her watch and tapped her fingernails.

Finally, it ended as it began—with the changing of no votes or minds and Ray Hill shepherding them all out to the vans waiting to whisk them off to Catholic High.

Famous Again!

Well, Knoxville did make at least one national "year in review" list. In the current issue of Entertainment Weekly, amid all the most important cultural news events of the year, is an item recalling how a "Knoxville, Tenn. principal" canceled the Indigo Girls concert at a local high school. Yes, our reputation for tolerance makes the rounds once again. (By the way, we forgot to list the Indigo Girls debacle in our own Year In Review, but we're still plenty steamed about it.)