Metro Pulse/Ear to the Ground

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Guided by...Nuthin'?

Put out by the League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County, the brand-spankin' new Voter's Guide for the upcoming elections may be of more interest for what it doesn't contain than what it does. No fewer than 18 candidates for County Commission, many of them incumbents, failed to respond to the league in time to have their answers included in the publication. Our nomination for Best Smartass Retort goes to County Commissioner Phil Guthe for his reply to the question, "Why are you the best candidate to represent your Commission district?" Phil's answer: "I'm the only candidate." Voters interested in what the other candidates had to say can call the league at 546-8961 to find out where to get a copy of the guide.

Blame the Help

Retained by Cherokee Country Club, Ackerman Public Relations has been feverishly mailing letters in favor of letting the club demolish the J. Allen Smith House, on behalf of country club members unable to take time out from their busy lives as "important members of the community." Unfortunately, as club members will tell you, you just can't count on the hired help anymore. Council members have received letters addressed to different members. And often the letterhead of the sender doesn't match the return address on the envelope.

Round Two

Meanwhile, Mayor Victor Ashe lost no time in launching the next phase of the campaign to save the J. Allen Smith house and the Sprankle Building on downtown's Union Avenue (threatened with demolition by its owner, Home Federal Bank). At a special City Council meeting called on Market Square Wednesday morning to grant conceptual approval to the Kinsey-Probasco proposal for the Square and Gay Street, Ashe thundered from the lectern about the importance of historic preservation. Noting that past city leaders had let the historic Market House be demolished years ago, Ashe said, "You can't simply say we're going to save 14 buildings and let the rest go to hell." Taking clear aim at the directors of both Cherokee Country Club and Home Federal, he said current Knoxville leaders should ask themselves "whether they want a stain on their legacies, a blemish, or whether they want to be celebrated as visionaries." The crowd, thick with downtown property owners and historic preservationists, roared with approval.

Sweet Old Howard

Few celebrities ever live to see a PBS documentary about their own lives. But if you were to think of those who have had two PBS documentaries about them nationally broadcast in their own lifetimes, you'd have a handful of presidents, maybe a Hollywood director or two—and a guy who used to play jazz mandolin for nickels in the streets of Knoxville. His name is Howard Armstrong, once known as the cornerstone of the ragtime/blues trio Martin, Bogan, and Armstrong. At 93, the good money is on the uninhibited string-jazz pioneer living to see the broadcast this July 30 of Sweet Old Song, a documentary by Boston-based filmmaker Leah Mahan. Parts of the film were shot in Knoxville and LaFollette during an emotional homecoming in October 2000, when Armstrong played an astonishingly long, energetic set at the Laurel Theatre. Sweet Old Song is said to be a kinder, gentler look at Armstrong than director Terry Zwigoff's hair-raising tribute to Armstrong, Louie Bluie, which aired nationally almost 20 years ago. Plans are underway to get Armstrong to return to Knoxville for some shows to promote the film in mid-July.

Sprankling

If "sprankle" were a verb, it might mean something like, "To demolish historic buildings for a surface parking lot." That's what most people think Home Federal Bank plans to do with the Sprankle Building and an adjacent office building on Union Avenue. If you want to join the growing chorus of preservationists and downtown revitalizers trying to save the building, you can join an Internet discussion group organized by architect Buzz Goss to talk about strategies and other potential uses for the buildings. To subscribe, just send a blank email to [email protected].