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Seven Days

Wednesday, Jan. 10
A national study of state education systems gives Tennessee an F for "standards and accountability." Kentucky gets an A-, and North Carolina gets a B+. Well, at least we're not copying off our neighbors' papers...
Regas announces it will reopen its landmark restaurant on Gay Street. Dislocated power lunchers everywhere—who have been forced to dine out without seeing or being seen for months—heave sighs of relief.

Thursday, Jan. 11
The state Court of Appeals rules the state Legislature is not subject to its own Sunshine Law. Good thing, too; all that openness and exposure might have made it hard to run the state in the orderly, responsible fashion to which we've become accustomed.
Clayton Homes announces slumping sales will force 379 lay-offs at its plants. Could be that all that talk about "manufactured housing" has confused people who were looking for "mobile homes."

Friday, Jan. 12
Knox County commissioners express shock and outrage at Superintendent Charles Lindsey's initiative to get the "school family" more politically active. Right, right, unconscionable. Um, how many teachers are on County Commission again?

Tuesday, Jan. 16
County commissioners say they're once again thinking about building a new jail and/or intake center, maybe in the federal Post Office building on Main Street. Gives a whole new meaning to "Going postal."

Knoxville Found

(Click photo for larger image)

What is this? Every week in "Knoxville Found," we'll print the photo of a local curiosity. If you're the first person to correctly identify this oddity, you'll win a special prize plucked from the desk of the editor (keep in mind that the editor hasn't cleaned his desk in five years). E-mail your guesses, or send 'em to "Knoxville Found" c/o Metro Pulse, 505 Market St., Suite 300, Knoxville, TN 37902.

Last Week's Photo:

Yep, it's the Union Memorial in the National Cemetery, adjacent to Old Gray Cemetery on Broadway. The pedestal was originally topped with an iron eagle, which was spectacularly destroyed by lightning around the turn of the 20th century (shortly after it was built). The federal government replaced the big bird with the marble soldier who stands there now. At one time it was alleged to be the tallest Union monument in the South. First right answer came from Sean Fleming of Knoxville, who will receive a copy of Tennessee author Bill Boyd's World War II novel For Love and Glory.

Meet Your City
A calendar of upcoming public meetings you should attend

FRIENDS OF HAW RIDGE
THURSDAY, JAN. 18
7 P.M.
LIFE DEVELOPMENT CENTER
OLD EDGEMOOR ROAD (OAK RIDGE)
The Friends of Haw Ridge, a group of supporters for the 788-acre public park in Oak Ridge, will plan upcoming events, including a spring mountain bike race, shoreline clean-up, and a management plan for the park.

ANTI-DEATH PENALTY RALLY
SUNDAY, JAN. 21
2:30 P.M.
CITY COUNTY BUILDING
* 400 MAIN STREET
The Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing and UT's Amnesty International are sponsoring this rally. Speakers include: Dr. Faye Harrison of UT's cultural anthropology department, local criminal defense attorney Herb Moncier, the Rev. J. Skinner, and a surprise guest speaker.

KNOX COUNTY COMMISSION
MONDAY, JAN. 22
2 P.M.
CITY COUNTY BUILDING
400 MAIN STREET
Among the topics County Commission is expected to consider: whether or not to buy out the county's contract with Roger Dotson, operator of the Farmers' Market.

KNOXVILLE CITY COUNCIL
TUESDAY, JAN. 23
7 P.M.
CITY COUNTY BUILDING
400 MAIN STREET
No vote on the proposed billboard ban just yet (that's probably next month).

NINE COUNTIES. ONE VISION
TUESDAY, JAN. 23
7 P.M.
TENNESSEE THEATRE
604 S. GAY STREET
The 6,000 people who have participated in the 9C1V process so far have been invited to the Tennessee Theatre for the unveiling of "action plans" for the future of the region. Anyone else is also welcome to attend, but the program will also air on local television.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PUBLIC HEARINGS
THURSDAY, JAN. 25
1-4 P.M., 6-9 P.M.
OAK RIDGE CONFERENCE CENTER
OAK RIDGE MALL
The DOE will hold two public hearings on an upcoming Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Critics complain that DOE plans to build a new arms-manufacturing plant at the Y-12 facility.

Off the Farm

Officials seem ready to dump the money-bleeding Farmers' Market. East Knox residents ask them to slow down.

There's not much going on at the Knox County Regional Farmers' Market these days. The parking lot is empty, few customers are inside, and all the produce that's normally available has been pulled from the shelves. Henry B. Woods, a vendor at the Farmers' Market for the last five years, says much of her stock of hand-made crafts and quilts was depleted over the Christmas holidays, and she's reluctant to restock until she's sure that her small space will still be open 30 days from now.

Woods' reluctance is based on the Knox County Commission's proposal to buy out the market's operator, Roger Dotson. If the county does buy Dotson's contract at a cost of $395,000, it's likely that the 70 acres on Washington Pike in East Knox County where the Farmers' Market is now located—about 27 acres owned by the Development Corporation of Knox County, the rest by the county itself—will be sold to a private developer and vendors forced off the property within 30 days.

The move isn't surprising—the county has subsidized the market with $7 million over the last eight years, and the property could be put to profitable use by a private developer. The H.T. Hackney Company, a local wholesale grocery distributor, has been rumored as a possible buyer. Less than a year ago, the Hackney company tried to rezone property for a regional distribution center just two miles east of the Farmers' Market along Washington Pike in the Ritta community. County Commission turned down that rezoning in February, at least partly in response to public outcry. County Executive Tommy Schumpert says other developers have expressed interest over the years.

"I felt it was time to try to move forward with a different mission for that piece of property," says Schumpert, who recommended the buyout to commissioners. "It's possible [the market would continue to operate], but the last time the job was out for bids, Mr. Dotson was the only person to bid on it. It's possible but unlikely."

But vendors and area residents want to try to halt the Farmers' Market deal—or at least slow it down enough that they can have a chance to be heard. More than 100 people attended a meeting of the Alice Bell/Spring Hills Neighborhood Association on Jan. 15 to discuss Schumpert's proposal.

"Just buying out Mr. Dotson's contract and selling it to a developer without public opinion isn't right," says Ronnie Collins, president of the neighborhood association. Collins hopes commission will postpone an expected vote on the buyout at its meeting on Jan. 22 for at least 30 days to schedule one or two public hearings. The initial vote on the deal was postponed at the December commission meeting.

Residents and vendors seem to share Schumpert's disappointment with Dotson's management of the Farmers' Market over the last few years. But Collins says the market itself is an asset for the community and could be improved with continued county support. "We're happy with it in the neighborhood," he says. "We're not happy with the way it's been operated...It's a vital part of the community. Other communities around town have ball parks, recreation areas, libraries. We don't really have anything. But this is ours."

Dotson has his own regrets about his operation of the Farmers' Market. "I've not really been satisfied with how it's performed myself," he says, speaking from the Chattanooga offices of Specialty Produce Company. "It's frustrating when things don't go as planned...I'd like to go back and do some things over, but you don't get that chance in life."

Henry Woods is confident that no matter what happens, she'll end up all right. But she's worried that an important part of East Knox County could be gone if commissioners don't listen to her and local residents. "We don't have much left, and what we do have we need to hang onto," she says. "We have enough warehouses and malls. Somebody somewhere has got to say, 'No,' or it'll never stop. And yes, it will cost, I'm sure. You've got to pay prices. I'd rather pay for something good than something bad."

—Matthew T. Everett

Trouble in the Forest

Krutch Park's trees slated for a cutback

Krutch Park is in store for some renovations, but city officials say the changes don't include cutting all the trees down in order to plant an English-style flower garden, as has been rumored.

Sam Anderson, the city's parks and recreation director, says the city plans to cut down some of the Bradford pears in one of Knoxville's few downtown parks. Although no decisions have been made, most of the candidates to be cut are along Union and Clinch avenues, he says. City workers tied string around these, to show people which ones they're considering taking out.

"We've got some trees that are getting so large, they're shading the whole park, and some of the plants can't bloom. And we've got a few trees that are dying," Anderson says.

The Bradford pears are causing a variety of problems, Anderson says. Their roots are starting to protrude through the sidewalks, limbs are falling off of the older ones, and starlings are fond of nesting in them because they keep their leaves until late in the year.

"There's some beautiful oak trees around the park. If you take out some of the Bradford pears, the oaks will become even larger. They're perfect trees. They don't tear up the sidewalks, they live 200 years, and the birds don't like them as much," he says.

The removed trees would be replaced with a variety of azaleas, Anderson says.

The chainsaws won't be fired up any time soon, however. "Our plan at this time is put it before the City Tree Board and get public input before we decide what to take out. We're looking at cutting some this year and some next year," Anderson says. "Whatever we take out will be done in the winter, and it won't be done this winter."

Bob Whetsel, head of the city's public works department, says the Krutch Park trees won't be on the agenda until at least March.

Aside from cutting down some of the trees, the city plans to put in a sprinkler system so it can grow plants during the dry mid- to late-summer months. "In the summer, we can't water plants, so we can't plant anything new," Anderson says.

Also, the man-made stream and pond (which recycles water) is leaking, so a new liner must be put in, he says. Some of the sidewalks need to be repaired, and benches replaced or refinished.

"It's something you've got to do every 20 years or so," he says. "A lot of it is cosmetic, but it's something you've got to do for the health of the park."

All of the work was estimated by a consultant at $500,000, but the city only has about $100,000 set aside. Much of the labor will be done in-house, Anderson says.

—Joe Tarr