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A New Knoxvillian
Big Jim Haslam raised some neighbors' eyebrows recently by volunteering to have his Lyons Bend homeplace annexed. There was rampant speculation that this might be part of a bargain with Mayor Victor Ashe that would culminate with Ashe naming Haslam as a city representative to the Public Building Authority. Haslam, who has chaired the PBA since its inception nearly three decades ago, was voted off the board by County Commission this fall, stirring much lively debate and the expectation that Ashe would settle the issue with a Haslam appointment (both the mayor and the county executive make PBA appointments).
Not so.
Haslam says he has informed Ashe that he does not wish to be appointed, that Ashe requested the annexation, and Haslam complied. The annual county tax assessment on the 65.5 acre Haslam estate is $9,357, and will roughly double when city taxes are added.
Runners
Former County Commissioner Mike Ragsdale is looking ever stronger as the GOP pick for County Executive in 2002. Ragsdale has been quietly laying groundwork almost since he left office in '98, and opposition does not appear to be materializing. Meanwhile, on the Demo side of the political mainstream, local party faithful will be meeting early next week to discuss a push to persuade Wayne Ritchie to run for the U.S. Senate against Republican Bill Frist. Dem Dems have been romancing Memphis Congressman Harold Ford Jr., but Ford has recently been encouraging his party to look elsewhere.
Wreck It and They Will Come
Caswell Park may become East Knoxville's Field of Dreams, but the city's oldest shrine to baseball, Bill Meyer Stadium, may be demolished in the process. An extensive re-development project designed to expand the park's athletic facilities and improve the surrounding neighborhoods is currently underway at Caswell Park.
When a mayor-appointed task force met recently with LDR, International, a design firm out of Columbia, Md., LDR's Craig Watson said the stadium—meaning everything at Bill Meyer except the field itself—has reached the end of "its economically useful life."
During a luncheon meeting on Dec. 7, the task force kicked around the idea of preserving the field and some of the stadium's seats. Evans-Collins Field, another aging stadium inside Caswell Park, may not be as lucky. All of the design concepts being considered by the Caswell Park task force call for the demolition of this former home to Catholic High School football. Bill Meyer Stadium, or at least some part of it, could be saved. Parks and Rec Director Sam Anderson says he isn't pushing for the demolition of Bill Meyer, but adds, "I just said I wouldn't cry if it went away."
Pencil Us In for Lunch
County Commissioner Mark Cawood is not given to wild financial extravagances. In fact, he has a reputation for being downright, well, thrifty. So it was a surprise to his goombahs to hear that he had sprung for lunch for a bunch of Jail Inspection Committee members. Cawood says it was a horrible misunderstanding that began when inspection committee chair Hubert Smith suggested a get-together with Cawood, in his capacity of chair of the Intergovernmental Committee. Cawood agreed, and while he was off on one of his Western road trips, Commission Majordomo Ray Hill sent him a memo informing him of the meeting at the Great American Buffet on Merchant Drive.
The appointed day rolled around, and Cawood couldn't believe his ears when Smith thanked him for offering to pay for the meal. Hill has no remorse for the Lunchgate affair:
"I hear the Southern Baptist Convention is coming to town, and we're hoping Commissioner Cawood and his credit card will be available."
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