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Moving On
In 1997, 5th District City Council candidate Tim Wheeler, an employee of Stevens Mortuary, sold his house at 1029 Ledgerwood—and moved into the funeral home. At least that's what his voter's registration card says. Wheeler's legal address remained at 1304 Oglewood (the street address for the stately white funeral home building overlooking North Broadway) until 2002, when he again changed the legal address on his voter's registration card, this time to 916 Shamrock Avenue—another well-kept historic building.
There's a sign outside the little stone house behind Christenberry Recreation Center (also known as the 17th Ward for voting purposes) that says "Oakwood-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association Clubhouse—916 Shamrock Avenue."
In November 2002 Wheeler moved to 1021 Oglewood, and changed his voter's registration address to reflect the move.
The owners of Stevens Mortuary say Wheeler, who left their employ in November 2001, never lived there.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission's website has a directory of community organizations. Wheeler, who has served as president of the Oakwood-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association, is on this list with an address of 5408 Wildercliff Lane in the 37918 zip code. This list is probably not up-to-date, since Wheeler now lives at the 1021 Oglewood address.
But therein, apparently, lies the rub. Ledgerwood, Oglewood and Shamrock are all within the 17th Ward, which is in the 5th City Council District. 5408 Wildercliff Lane is not.
Knox County Election Commission administrator Greg Mackay says the office of the state attorney general has advised him that knowingly entering false voter's registration information is a Class E felony.
Wheeler, who was contacted at his office in the courthouse Wednesday morning, had no comment. His opponent, Bob Becker, declined comment. Neither Becker nor his campaign was the source of this information.
At the Gate
Jean Teague, the 28-year incumbent who has endured two years of sitting in the audience during City Council meetings after being term-limited from her 2nd District Council seat, is asking Knoxville's voters to put her back on the dais where she thinks she belongs by electing her to serve in an at-large seat. As the days dwindle down toward November, Teague is targeting vote-rich Sequoyah Hills (which she lost to opponent Chris Woodhull 182-535 in the primary) with a direct mail piece featuring the announcement "Sequoyah Hills Wants Jean Teague!"
The oversized card bears endorsements from neighborhood notables like neighborhood association president Jim Bletner and longtime Republican activist Louise Zirkle, who praises Teague as the one who "...helped build the entrance to Sequoyah Hills."
This claim has some Sequoyah natives guffawing, since the stone entrance columns at Cherokee Boulevard and Kingston Pike have been there since early last century.
Addie's Legacy
We have word that some folks at Heska Amuna Synagogue are drumming up some interest in establishing a Shersky Kitchen to memorialize Addie Shersky, the synagogue's best-known chef, and the longtime (55 years!) co-proprietor of Harold's Kosher Foods, who died two weeks ago. Most of the endowment will likely come from members of the synagogue, but interested donors should contact Rabbi Joseph Mendelsohn. Meanwhile, Addie's husband Harold has returned to his familiar post on Gay Street. We can only hope he feels like keeping the place open for us forever.
October 23, 2003 * Vol. 13, No. 43
© 2003 Metro Pulse
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