Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory
Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory
Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory – Vol. 9, No. 2 – Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016
PDF Version: http://bit.ly/NeighborhoodAdvisory2016-01-12
- Eastport / Lee Williams to Honor Police, Fire Fighters
- 2. ONK Names Spencer Interim President
- To Apply for Grant Funding, You Must Attend a Workshop
- Networking Luncheon Will Connect City Neighborhoods
- Consider Donating Door Prize for Neighborhood Luncheon
- MPC to Ponder Senior Living Facility in South Knoxville
- Meeting This Thursday: Future of Civic Auditorium and Coliseum
- Apply for Free Weatherization
- Magnolia Avenue Streetscape Designs to be Unveiled Next Week
- BZA Decisions Can Impact Your Neighborhood
- Bring Police Concerns to PARC Next Week
- Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Published by the City of Knoxville’s Office of Neighborhoods to report news important to Knoxville’s residential neighborhoods. News & calendar deadline: 9 a.m. Tuesdays.
- Eastport / Lee Williams to Honor Police, Fire Fighters
“Who has never needed to call 911?”
Sylvia Cook, president to Eastport / Lee Williams Neighborhood Watch, posed this question to the members of her organization one day last year. When no hands were raised, she proceeded with, “And, didn’t they always come?” Everyone nodded.
“They never say, ‘Oh, so-and-so lives at that address so we just won’t go’, she continued. There was more nodding. “So don’t you think it is a good idea to show the folks who take care of us that we appreciate them?” All were in agreement. This started a tradition of honoring the police and fire fighters who serve the Eastport / Lee Williams community in East Knoxville.
Eastport / Lee Williams will devote its January meeting to celebrate the Knoxville police and fire departments. The group will meet at the Lee Williams Community Center at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, January 20. Homemade chili and cider will be served. All available emergency personnel are invited to attend.
For more, contact Sylvia Cook at [email protected] or 206-3433.
- ONK Names Spencer Interim President
Old North Knoxville, Inc. has selected Donna Spencer to serve as interim president, succeeding the late Andie Ray, who passed away in December. Elections for new officers will be held later this quarter.
- To Apply for Grant Funding, You Must Attend a Workshop
City neighborhood organizations that wish to apply for funding under the Neighborhood Small Grants Program must send a representative to either one of two mandatory pre-application workshops scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, January 14, and 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 20, at the Cansler Family YMCA, 616 Jessamine Street.
Applications are due March 14, and awards will be announced in May for projects starting in July. The City is allocating up to $43,000 for the grants program this year.
Neighborhood groups can apply for grants ranging from $500 to $3,000. To enhance the impact of the city’s funding, grants must be matched with donations of goods and services, volunteer labor and other financial support for the project.
The grant guidelines and the application form are available on the city’s website.
Please note that many questions can be answered by reading the guidelines and looking over the application. Both the guidelines and application will be reviewed at the workshops.
Grant funds can be used for projects and programs developed by resident-led, resident-controlled neighborhood associations, tenant associations, homeowners associations, and neighborhood watch groups that serve neighborhoods inside city limits. Start-up neighborhood groups may also apply.
Questions? Call David Massey at 215-3232.
- Networking Luncheon Will Connect City Neighborhoods
In the cold of winter, those who loyally attend neighborhood meetings and invest their time in neighborhood improvement might understandably feel isolated and few in number.
In fact, hundreds of Knoxville citizens work tirelessly to strengthen their neighborhoods, either through their neighborhood organizations or in individual acts of neighborliness.
And all of them — all of you — will have a chance to meet and learn from one another at the City of Knoxville Neighborhood Awards and Networking Luncheon, which will be held Saturday, March 5, at the Knoxville Convention Center.
This is a heads up. Mark your calendars now. Registration will begin soon.
Doors will open at 10 a.m. for coffee and informal conversation with Mayor Madeline Rogero, city department heads, and neighborhood leaders from across the city. Information booths will offer a wealth of information on city services. A special program — more about this later — will take place from 11 a.m. until noon, followed by the awards luncheon.
Mayor Rogero will present the Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year Award and Neighborhood Achievement Awards. Nominations for the Good Neighbor award have now closed, but neighborhood organizations can still apply for an achievement award. (See this page or call David Massey at 215-3232.)
The event will close with drawings for door prizes beginning at 1:30 p.m. The “quirky” and popular local music group, the Old City Buskers, will provide the entertainment for the entire event.
This event will be useful to anyone interested in the health and vitality of Knoxville’s residential neighborhoods, especially members and leaders of Knoxville’s 120-plus neighborhood groups. The event will feature opportunities for sharing ideas and making cross-neighborhood connections.
- Consider Donating Door Prize for Neighborhood Luncheon
Neighborhood organizations, businesses and nonprofits are urged to consider donating a door prize for the 2016 Neighborhood Awards and Networking Luncheon on March 5 at the Knoxville Convention Center.
Donors will be recognized in this newsletter, on the Office of Neighborhoods website and at the luncheon itself.
Donations are needed by Friday, Feb. 12, but a commitment sooner would be greatly appreciated. Contact Rebecca McIver at[email protected] or 215-3456.
The following local businesses have already donated or committed to donating a prize for the luncheon: Bailey Fiber Art Studio, Billy Lush Board Shop, Bluetique, Bula, Central Flats & Taps, Happy Envelope, Good Golly Tamale, Knox Whisky Works, Lox Old City Salon, Pioneer House, SugarBuzz, Sweet P’s BBQ, Tennessee Theater and Visit Knoxville.
So far, the donated door prizes include gift certificates, gift baskets, printed posters, private tours, and even jewelry and Parisian macarons.
- MPC to Ponder Senior Living Facility in South Knoxville
The Metropolitan Planning Commission — meeting at 1:30 p.m. this Thursday, Jan. 14 — will consider whether to grant a use-on-review to transform the vacant and deteriorating Giffin School building, 1834 Beech Street, into a senior living facility.
Proposed by Giffin Senior Community Partners LLC, the facility would include nine independent living units, 50 assisted living units, adult day care and a clinic. The use-on-review would be subject to nine conditions. For details, see the MPC agenda at http://agenda.knoxmpc.org/agenda.pdf and click on agenda item 43.
Meanwhile, MPC staff is recommending that a proposal for a mixed use zone in the Bearden area be postponed until the March meeting “to ensure adequate time for public review and input.”
Other city items are on the January agenda. Neighborhood organizations are urged to keep up with the MPC agenda to watch out for rezonings and other changes that might impact their neighborhoods. To receive MPC notifications by email, visit www.knoxmpc.org and click on the email icon at the bottom of the home page.
- Meeting This Thursday: Future of Civic Auditorium and Coliseum
The City of Knoxville will hold a public meeting at the Civic Auditorium, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave., at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14, to discuss the recently completed feasibility study for the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum (KCAC). Free parking will be provided in the Coliseum garage.
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and City staff will be joined by representatives of the consulting firm Conventions, Sports and Leisure International. The consultant’s study — which is available on the City’s website at www.knoxvilletn.gov/kcacstudy — outlines three options and presents the pros and cons of each option. These are:
1) Retain existing KCAC with minimum upgrades – basically a “status quo maintenance.”
2) Major Renovation / redevelopment of KCAC (make major upgrades to the auditorium and build a new coliseum at that site)
3) Full Replacement (tear all down and build new — either at that site or elsewhere).
Cost estimates for various options within those alternatives range from $26 million to $279.5 million. The study also estimates the direct and indirect economic benefits of each of the scenarios.
“We look forward to a good discussion,” Mayor Rogero wrote in a recent email. “No decision has been made at this point, and it is important that the community hears the options, the costs, and the opportunities, and then shares their feedback with us.”
KCAC opened in 1961 and consists of the 6,540-seat Coliseum (4,790 seats for hockey or ice shows), the 2,500-seat Auditorium, a 4,800-square foot ballroom, 10,000 square feet of exhibit space and an outdoor plaza with a capacity of 10,000. There are 2,500 parking spaces among three connected/adjacent garages.
For anyone unable to attend the public meeting, comments can be submitted via email to [email protected].
- Apply for Free Weatherization
If you have not yet applied to the Knoxville Extreme Energy Makeover weatherization program (KEEM) yet, now is your chance.
KEEM will be holding special after-hours application sessions on Saturday, Jan. 16, and Saturday, Jan. 23, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at CAC’s Housing and Energy Office, 2247 Western Ave. Before attending, visit www.KEEMteam.com to view program eligibility information or call the CAC at 244-3080.
KEEM is a two-year, TVA-funded program that will provide energy efficiency and weatherization retrofits to over 1,200 low- and moderate-income homes in Knoxville. Eligible homes will receive upgrades that increase in-home comfort and reduce electricity consumption by an estimated 25 percent.
The KEEM Team is led by the Knoxville-Knox County CAC in partnership with the City of Knoxville, Knoxville Utilities Board, and the Alliance to Save Energy. KEEM supports the Smarter Cities Partnership, a coalition of more than 20 community organizations seeking to improve the quality, comfort, and affordability of Knoxville homes through energy efficiency.
- Magnolia Avenue Streetscape Designs to be Unveiled Next Week
The City of Knoxville will present the design details for Magnolia Avenue streetscape improvements at a public meeting on Thursday, Jan. 21, from 5:30-7 p.m. at the John T. O’Connor Senior Center, 611 Winona St.
Staff from the city’s Office of Redevelopment and Engineering Department, along with design consultants from Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, will present final designs for streetscape improvements to a six-block section of Magnolia Avenue between Jessamine Street and North Bertrand Street. Public comment will follow.
Proposed improvements include raised medians to replace the center left-turn lane; bike lanes; improved sidewalks; bus pull-offs; and streetscape amenities that include street lighting, benches and bike racks. Traffic signals will be upgraded, and pedestrian signals and crosswalks will be improved. Left-turn lanes will be provided at major intersections.
In addition, there will be a two-week public comment period following the Jan. 21 meeting. After Thursday, the proposed design can be viewed on the city website at http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/Redevelopment or in person at the Redevelopment office, Room 655, City County Building, 400 Main Street, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Comment cards will be available.
Ideas and comments also can be sent to Redevelopment Director Dawn Michelle Foster at [email protected].
- BZA Decisions Can Impact Your Neighborhood
Fifteen properties are on the agenda for next week’s meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA).
Established by city ordinance, BZA hears appeals of denials of building permits by the city’s Building Inspections Department. The board, consisting of five citizens appointed by the Mayor, meets at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the Small Assembly Room of the City County Building.
BZA meets next Thursday, January 21. Addresses on the agenda include 2701 Spence Place, 322 Barrar Avenue, 2308 Forest Avenue, 1612 Elm Street, 2613 Adair Drive, 1132 N. Sixth Avenue, 220 Carrick Street, 2714 Chapman Highway, 205 W. Depot Avenue, 310 Ogden Street, 203 N. Seven Oaks Drive, 300 E. Depot Avenue, 4315 Kingston Pike, 151 E. Blount Avenue, and 708 Morgan Street.
Keep up with how the BZA might impact your neighborhood. Watch for the black and white signs indicating that there is a pending decision on a particular piece of property. Most signs are for Metropolitan Planning Commission issues — which are also important — but signs with the word “variance” are BZA items.
The BZA agenda is posted on the city website. Browse to www.knoxvilletn.gov/boards and click on Board of Zoning Appeals. The agenda contains more detail on each variance request.
A neighborhood group that keeps track of BZA will call the Plans Review & Inspections Department at 215-3669 to request and study the paperwork on a particular appeal, decide whether to take a position on the appeal, and then attend the BZA meeting to voice the group’s support or objections. A group can also request a postponement to allow time to meet with the applicant.
Decisions of the BZA can be appealed within 15 days of the BZA decision to Knoxville City Council. Appeals of a City Council decision are made to Chancery Court within 60 days of a City Council decision related to BZA.
- Bring Police Concerns to PARC Next Week
The Police Advisory and Review Committee (PARC) is a civilian oversight committee that audits the discipline process and the policies and procedures of the Knoxville Police Department (KPD).
The purpose is to strengthen the relationship between the citizens of the City of Knoxville and the KPD; to assure timely, fair and objective review of citizen complaints while protecting the individual rights of police officers; and to make recommendations concerning citizen complaints to the Chief of Police and to the Mayor.
By making sure citizen concerns are addressed by an independent body, PARC aims to improve the relationship between members of KPD and the citizens they serve.
PARC meets quarterly, and its next meeting is at 6 p.m. Thursday, January 21, at New Friendship Baptist Church, 1933 Texas Avenue in Lonsdale. For more, contact Lisa Chambers at 215-3966 or visit http://www.cityofknoxville.org/boards/parc.
- 12. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Include your neighborhood-related event or meeting in this space. Call 215-4382.
Visit http://knoxvilletn.gov/calendar for a complete list of meetings of various city boards and commissions.
If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to attend a City of Knoxville public meeting, please contact Stephanie Brewer Cook at scook@knoxvilletn.gov or 215-2034 no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting you wish to attend. For an English interpreter, contact David Massey at 215-3232 or [email protected].
Tuesday, January 12 through Monday, January 18
King Week 2016
Martin Luther King Commemorative Commission
http://www.mlkknoxville.com/2016-events/
Tuesday, January 12 — 5 p.m.
Public Forum
Proposed Plans Review and Permit Fees Increase
Small Assembly Room, CCB
215-2999
Tuesday, January 12 — 5:30 p.m.
Public Meeting
City of Knoxville Community Development Department
Annual Action Plan Update for Use of Federal Funds in 2016-2017
O’Connor Senior Center, 611 Winona Street
Linda Rust, [email protected], 215-2120
Tuesday, January 12 — 6 p.m.
Brown Avenue Neighborhood Watch (Second Tuesdays)
Hoitt Ave. Baptist Church, 2121 Hoitt Ave.
Jimmy Ramsey, 637-0243
Wednesday, January 13 — 10-11:30 a.m.
Food Policy Council
(Second Wednesdays but check website for confirmation)
Knox County Health Department, 140 Dameron Avenue
http://www.knoxfood.org; [email protected]
Wednesday, January 13 — 11:30 a.m.
Community Forum (Second Wednesdays)
Bearden Branch Library, 100 Golf Club Road
Sue Mauer, 690-0269
Wednesday, January 13 — 4:30 p.m.
Neighborhood Advisory Council, City of Knoxville
(Second Wednesdays except December)
Cansler YMCA, 616 Jessamine St.
http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/neighborhoods
David Massey, 215-3232
Thursday, January 14 — 1:30 p.m.
Metropolitan Planning Commission (Second Thursdays)
Large Assembly Room, City County Building
Agenda: http://agenda.knoxmpc.org
Thursday, January 14 — 5:30 p.m.
Grants Workshop (first of two identical workshops)
Neighborhood Small Grants Program
Office of Neighborhoods
Cansler YMCA, 616 Jessamine Street
Debbie Sharp, 215-5382, or David Massey, 215-3232
Thursday, January 14 — 6 p.m.
Lonsdale Homes Resident Association (Second Thursdays)
Community Building, 1956 Goins Dr.
Phyllis Patrick, 323-7224
Thursday, January 14 — 6 p.m.
Public Meeting: Future of Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum
Presentation on Study Results and Public Discussion
Civic Auditorium, 500 Howard Baker Jr. Ave. (Free parking)
Thursday, January 14 — 6:30 p.m.
“Savings in the House” Workshop
Tips on how to reduce your KUB bill
Knoxville Area Transit Center, 301 E. Church Ave.
244-3080 or www.KEEMTeam.com
Saturday, January 16 — 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Apply for Energy Efficiency Upgrades to Your Home
CAC Housing and Energy, 2247 Western Avenue
Check your eligibility at 244-3080 or www.KEEMteam.com
Saturday, January 16 — 10 a.m.
South Haven Neighborhood Association (Third Saturdays)
Hillcrest United Methodist Church, 1615 Price Ave.
Linda Rust, 679-9924, [email protected]
Monday, January 18
Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
City Offices Closed
Monday, January 18 — 10 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
MLK Parade and Tribute Service
Parade starts at 10 a.m. from YWCA Phyllis Wheatley Center, 124 S. Cruze Street and runs to Greater Warner Tabernacle Church, 3800 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, for the Tribute Service
Martin Luther King Commemorative Commission, [email protected].
Monday, January 18 — 7 p.m.
Alice Bell Spring Hill Neighborhood Association
(Third Mondays except June, July, December)
All are welcome to attend.
New Harvest Park, 4775 New Harvest Lane
Ronnie Collins, 637-9630
Tuesday, January 19 — 5 p.m.
Knox Country Board of Education— Mid-month Work Session
(Usually held on the Monday before the regular meeting and
third Mondays, except holidays or holiday weeks.)
First Floor Board Room, Andrew Johnson Building, 912 South Gay St.
For agenda, work sessions, and other items:
Visit http://knoxschools.org. Click on “Board of Education.”
Tuesday, January 19 — 6 p.m.
Delrose Drive Neighborhood Watch
(Third Tuesdays in January, March, May, July, September and November)
Riverview Baptist Church, 3618 Delrose Dr.
Corina and John Buffalow, 523-0102
Tuesday, January 19 — 7 p.m.
Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association (Third Tuesdays, except December)
Larry Cox Senior Center, 3109 Ocoee Trail
Peter Pallesen, 200-8311, http://edgewoodpark.us/
Tuesday, January 19 — 7 p.m.
City Council (every other Tuesday)
Main Assembly Room, City County Building
http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/citycouncil
Agenda: http://knoxvillecitytn.iqm2.com
Thanks to the city of Knoxville
Please join me in thanking the city on their quick action cleaning up our entrance. There were deer parts, a stove, bags of trash and scattered trash. One e-mail and it was handled the same day. The people behind the work were David Brace, [email protected], Chad Weth, [email protected], and Sheryl Ely, [email protected]. And of course, it wouldn’t hurt to pass along your thanks to Mayor Rogero, [email protected]
Separate issue: Rene Montalvo, 200-0938, and Angel Garcia, (201)423-3699, did a great job cleaning our entrance garden and putting it to bed for the winter. If you need help indoors, outdoors, hauling away trash, whatever, give them a call.
Mary Cartwright
Chipper/Shredder for loan?
Might anyone have a heavy duty chipper/shredder that is in need of activity this weekend. We have amassed quite the a pile of “clearings” over the last 2 years and would like to turn it into future mulch.
Kristin & David Bianconi
Circle Lake Lane
Lost/stray cat found
We have had a lost or stray cat hanging around our yard (mostly under our bird feeder) for the last 5 days or so on Tall Pine Lane. She is a small, very young calico colored short hair cat. She is very friendly and used to being around people and houses, which make us suspect she is just lost. I have attached a few pictures. We have been providing her some food and shelter the last few cold nights, but if this is your cat or you know who it may belong to, please contact us so we can get you reunited. Our phone is 247-4891.
Thanks,
Scott Engel
Lakemoor Hills Art Club
Happy New Year!
Weekly meetings resume this evening (Monday, January 4, 2016) 5-7pm at Lake Hills Church near the corner of Montlake and Maloney.
All are welcome. We are artists of all media and levels, from beginners to advanced. Just come when you can, as often as you can, and bring what you’re working on. Informal, open discussion and good fellowship.
Any questions? Call or text Kenneth Pace at 865-919-4357.
Dumping Increasing at Entry to Lakemoor Hills
Entering the subdivision yesterday I noticed that there was a large amount of debris adjacent to the parking area just west of the triangle at Alcoa Hwy. The more I thought about it the madder I got so today I went by to see if the bags of trash included identification that could tie it back to the owner. I took these photos when I realized the extent of the debris – bags of trash, a blue plastic tub and many, many quart beer bottles. When I peered into the blue tub, there was an animal leg (with hoof), and the bag closest to the tub seems to be filled with more decaying animal parts – perhaps deer (?). I cannot believe that anyone who actually lives within our neighborhood would do this and I ask all of you to be vigilant to speak out to anyone that you see contributing to this disgrace. Does anyone know if the city or county will help remove these animal parts as it certainly may be a health issue?
Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory
Knoxville Neighborhood Advisory – Vol. 8, No. 44 – Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015
PDF Version: http://bit.ly/NeighborhoodAdvisory2015-12-29
- Good Neighbor Nominations Are Due Monday
- Andie Ray: Neighborhood Leader, City Light
- Zaevion Dobson: Greater Love Hath No Man
- City Offices Closed Friday; Garbage and Recyclables Will be Collected
- Two Blocks of Cumberland Avenue Closed for Electric Work
- Citizens Invited to Annual Legislative Breakfast
- Grants Enable Botanical Garden to Proceed with Food Center
- Need Funding? Art Exposure? Alliance Seeks Ideas for Micro-Funding Event
- Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Published by the City of Knoxville’s Office of Neighborhoods to report news important to Knoxville’s residential neighborhoods. News & calendar deadline: 9 a.m. Tuesdays.
- Good Neighbor Nominations Are Due Monday
Nominations for the Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year Award are due no later than Monday, January 4.
The award is presented annually to a City of Knoxville resident who — in a spirit of cooperation and with commitment to inclusive community — has devoted time and talent in service to his or her neighbors and neighborhood.
The winner and other finalists will be announced at the 2016 Neighborhood Awards and Networking Luncheon on Saturday, March 5, 2016, at the Knoxville Convention Center.
To learn more, visit www.knoxvilletn.gov/neighborhoods and click on Good Neighbor of the Year Award. Or just download the form. The form is easy to fill out. Just use your own words to describe the person you wish to honor.
Nominations can be sent to Debbie Sharp by email to [email protected] or by mail to Office of Neighborhoods – Room 528, City of Knoxville, P.O. Box 1631, Knoxville, TN 37901. Or call Debbie at 215-4382 to receive a hard copy of the form in the mail.
- Andie Ray: Neighborhood Leader, City Light
Good neighbors give their time and talent to community improvement, and this week Knoxville is remembering the many contributions of Andie Ray, who died Dec. 18 after a brief illness.
As others have noted, Andie was active in every neighborhood she lived in — from Maplehurst and Market Square to Old North Knoxville. As Jack Neely points out in last week’s Knoxville Mercury, she first lived on Market Square and then opened her women’s clothing store, Vagabodia, on the square in 2004. A tireless advocate for downtown renovation, she was active in Knox Heritage, City People, and the Market Square District Association.
Later she and her husband Noel Hudson moved to Old North. At the time of her passing she was president of the neighborhood association, Old North Knoxville. She was an ONK representative to the Broadway Corridor Task Force and a member of the Historic Zoning Commission.
“Andie really liked to connect with her community and her neighbors,” recalled Lauren Rider, her friend and colleague in Old North. “She adopted the neighborhoods she was in. There is barely a neighbor who walked past her house who did not know who she was. She made a point of talking to everybody, including everybody, and sharing her enthusiasm for the community.”
She will be missed.
- Zaevion Dobson: Greater Love Hath No Man
Our city this month is also mourning the death and celebrating the life and selfless sacrifice of Zaevion Dobson, the 15-year-old Fulton High School student who was shot and killed Dec. 17 shielding others from a spray of bullets fired by as-yet-unnamed assailants onto a porch in the Lonsdale community.
Zaevion was a member of Martin Chapel United Methodist Church and a sophomore at Fulton High School, where he played linebacker on the football team. He was well regarded by teammates and classmates, many of whom who wore his jersey number, 24, at his funeral services last weekend.
But Zaevion was much more than a young man enthralled with football, according to André Canty who, as a member of 100 Black Men of Knoxville, mentored the young student. “Being an athlete was only a part of his being,” Canty said. “He was always there. He was involved (in efforts) to stop the violence.”
Zaevion was part of what Canty calls the “Save Our Sons Brain Trust,” a group of young people who helped plan and identify the discussion topics for the “Son’s Summit” last June which in turn was part of a local “Save Our Sons” initiative to address violence among African American men and boys.
Moreover, having benefitted from the mentoring provided by Canty and 100 Black Men, Zaevion was himself helping youth at Emerald Youth Foundation programs in which he participated. “He did not wait until he was an adult,” Canty said. “He said, ‘I’m not going to wait. I’ve learned some lessons I can tell other kids.’ That’s powerful. That’s commendable. He took time out to mentor other kids.”
He was doing all of that while he was attending football practice,” Canty noted. “He was already involved in the community. He was around others who tried to show him the way. He learned lessons from his Mom, us, his coaches. He built up a sense of selflessness in himself.”
What Zaevion did on the night of December 17 “wasn’t just a quick reaction but a manifestation of all the lessons he had learned. If you see someone in need, you be there for that person. He went the extra mile and sacrificed his life.”
Canty, who is now president of 100 Black Men, notes that 23-year-old Brandon Perry also lost his life on Dec. 17, and his funeral was held on the same day as Zaevion’s service.
Because it is believed that Perry was involved in the retaliatory gang violence that took Zaevion’s life, “people may have demonized him,” Canty said. “Even if he did it, there is a culture of violence that made him the way he was. In a sense, that makes him a victim, too. I am not apologizing for what he did, but there is a family grieving on his side, too.”
Canty said the community’s effort to stop violence focuses, in part, on youth who have already lost their way, who have reacted negatively to pain and trauma, who have been bred for war as if they live in a third world country. “No child should be bred for war,” he lamented.
Canty and many others in the African American community in Knoxville have lost loved ones or friends or acquaintances to this violence. But Zaevion “did everything right and he was still taken away,” sharpening the grief, Canty said.
Zaevion’s courage and character have been praised all the way from Lonsdale to the White House. “Zaevion Dobson died saving three friends from getting shot,” President Obama tweeted two days after the shooting. “He was a hero at 15. What’s our excuse for not acting?”
See www.knoxvilletn.gov/saveoursons for more on the City’s Save Our Sons initiative.
Meanwhile, Overcoming Believers Church, 211 Harriet Tubman Street, will host a community meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 30, “to develop strategies for saving our youth.”
- City Offices Closed Friday; Garbage and Recyclables Will be Collected
City of Knoxville offices will be closed Friday, Jan. 1, but the city’s garbage and recycling contractor, Waste Connections, will run its regular trash and recycling routes this week, so pickups of trash and recyclables WILL occur on Friday despite the holiday.
Downtown trash and recycling will also run on the regular schedule on Friday. The city’s recycling centers will be open for recycling use, but the Goodwill attendant will not be available for household goods donations on Friday. The city’s Solid Waste Management Facility, 1033 Elm Street, will be closed both Friday and Saturday.
- Two Blocks of Cumberland Avenue Closed for Electric Work
Two blocks of Cumberland Avenue between 17th and 19th streets will be closed to through traffic beginning Tuesday, Dec. 29, until Tuesday, Jan. 5, to allow for the installation of an underground electrical line.
Local traffic and pedestrian access to businesses along Cumberland Avenue will be maintained.
The electrical line will carry power from a Knoxville Utilities Board substation at Dale Avenue to the Cumberland Avenue area and beyond. It will allow the removal of overhead power lines along Cumberland Avenue, part of the City’s overall $17 million reconstruction of the corridor.
The Cumberland Avenue project, scheduled to be completed in August 2017, will change the existing four-lane street on the eastern end of the corridor to a three-lane cross section with a raised median and left-turn lanes at intersections between 22nd Street and 17th Street.
Phase I work on the western end of Cumberland, between the Alcoa Highway ramps and 22nd Street, is coming to an end — on time and on budget. Phase II is underway.
More information about the project is available at www.CumberlandConnect.com , from which you can access the Cumberland Connect Facebook page and the Cumberland Connect phone app.
- Citizens Invited to Annual Legislative Breakfast
The League of Women Voters of Knoxville/Knox County (LWVKKC) is inviting Knox County citizens to participate in its annual Legislative Breakfast from 9-11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, at the Knox Room of the Knoxville News Sentinel building, 2332 News Sentinel Drive. A continental breakfast will be served.
State Senators Richard Briggs, Becky Massey and Randy McNally have been invited to participate in a question and answer session regarding legislation of the 109th Tennessee General Assembly, which convenes the following week.
Key legislation includes the reallocation of surplus revenues and the regulation of marijuana and handgun permits. Other likely topics are healthcare and the proposed outsourcing of management of state facilities.
The News Sentinel is co-sponsoring the event. The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
- Grants Enable Botanical Garden to Proceed with Food Center
Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum (KBGA), 2743 Wimpole Avenue, has now received all of the funding necessary to proceed with the $370,000 conversion of an existing structure, known as the Mule Barn, to an indoor food market, community meeting space and education kitchen.
Construction likely will begin by early spring, according to Robert Hodge, who heads KBGA’s Center for Urban Agriculture. “This initiative will be a model for permaculture and sustainable living practices that will provide both economic and ecological benefits to our city and its residents,” Hodge said recently.
Mayor Madeline Rogero and City Council allocated $250,000 for this facility in the City of Knoxville’s FY 2015 budget. This investment leveraged two more recent donations — $50,000 from the Siddiqi Charitable Foundation and another $70,000 from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.
The Center is already leasing plots of land for family and market gardens. Since food is grown on site, gardeners will be able to sell their produce locally at the new facility. Area farmers can also use the facility to sell their goods. Hodge noted that the 47-acre KGBA site is located in East Knoxville, where access to fresh, healthy and affordable foods is limited.
When not used for produce sales, the space can be leased by art and theatre groups, along with other cultural activities, for special events, Hodge added.
The kitchen “will be used by our gardeners and also will be rented out to entrepreneurs,” Hodge explained. “We are excited about the job creation that comes from having a rentable commercial kitchen available to people wanting to make money through food. This will be a jobs and business incubator.”
Finally, the kitchen will host culinary and canning classes. Hodge noted that the Center is already in discussion with community-based organizations that are working to improve access to and knowledge of healthy foods.
These groups include Nourish Knoxville, publisher of a local food guide and organizer of the Market Square Farmers’ Market; Slow Food Tennessee Valley, which stages the annual Pesto Festo; and the Knoxville Chapter of National Women in Agriculture, which addresses needs of women without access to healthy food.
Hodge projects that the space for the produce market will be open by late spring, and the kitchen will be ready by late summer. While there is a small waiting list for the 4×12 family garden plots, an even larger plot is available for someone who wishes to market the produce. For more, contact Hodge at [email protected] or 591-8677.
- Need Funding? Art Exposure? Alliance Seeks Ideas for Micro-Funding Event
The South Knoxville Alliance is now accepting proposals for community projects and featured artists for its next Knoxville SOUP dinner, which will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, January 7, at Vestal United Methodist Church, 115 Ogle Ave., with a suggested donation of $5 per person.
Proposal deadline has been extended to Sunday, January 3, 2016.
Knoxville SOUP is a dinner and micro-funding event designed to raise money for creative projects and to give exposure to local artists who display their art.
Project Proposals and Featured Artist Proposals are accepted from all over Knoxville, not just South Knoxville. Click here to apply for your project ideas. Click here to apply for the next featured artist slot.
“The exposure for the projects goes beyond the dinner,” said Debra Bradshaw, chair of the South Knoxville Alliance, which brought SOUP dinners to Knoxville. “One of the projects presented at our last dinner was funded in full by a private donation. The project funding need would not have been known if it had not been for the great press Knoxville SOUP received.” The last event dinner raised over $500 for the Joe Hill Roadshow.
Knoxville SOUP events are held quarterly. Proposal deadlines are always one week prior to the dinner. The next few proposal due dates are March 31, June 30, and October 29, all in 2016. See www.KnoxvilleSOUP.org for more information.
South Knoxville Alliance is a group of businesses and community leaders who promote growth and improvement in the South Knoxville area.
- 9. Neighborhood and Government Calendar
Include your neighborhood-related event or meeting in this space. Call 215-4382.
Visit http://knoxvilletn.gov/calendar for a complete list of meetings of various city boards and commissions.
If you are a person with a disability who requires an accommodation in order to attend a City of Knoxville public meeting, please contact Stephanie Brewer Cook at scook@knoxvilletn.gov or 215-2034 no less than 72 hours prior to the meeting you wish to attend. For an English interpreter, contact Joshalyn Hundley, Title VI Coordinator, at 865.215.3867 or at[email protected].
Wednesday, December 30 — 6 p.m.
Heal the Land Knoxville
“Community gathering to develop strategies for saving our youth”
Overcoming Believers Church, 211 Harriett Tubman Street
Monday, January 4 — 1 p.m.
East Knoxville Community Meeting (First Mondays)
Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway
Michael Covington, 274-7958, [email protected]
Monday, January 4 — 4 p.m.
Love Towers Fellowship Association (First Mondays except holidays)
Love Towers Community Room; 1171 Armstrong St.
Bill Jackson, 221-4402
Monday, January 4 — 5 p.m.
Knox Country Board of Education—Work Session
(Usually held on the Monday before the regular meeting and
third Mondays, except holidays or holiday weeks.)
First Floor Board Room, Andrew Johnson Building, 912 South Gay St.
For agenda, work sessions, and other items:
Visit http://knoxschools.org. Click on “Board of Education.”
Monday, January 4 — 6:30 p.m.
Parkridge Community Organization (First Mondays except holidays)
Cansler YMCA, 616 Jessamine St.
David Anderson, (803) 259-6289, [email protected]
Monday, January 4 — 7 p.m.
Oakwood Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association (First Mondays)
Community Club House, 916 Shamrock Ave. at Henegar St.
Bill Hutton, 773-5228, [email protected]
Monday, January 4
Deadline for Nominations
Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year Award
Office of Neighborhoods, www.knoxvilletn.gov/neighborhoods
Debbie Sharp, 215-4382
Lakemoor Hills Art Club
The Lakemoor Hills Art Club will not meet today and next Monday.
Meetings will resume 5-7pm on Monday, January 4, 2016.
Best wishes for the holidays and New Year!
Any questions? Call Kenneth Pace at 865-919-4357 or email [email protected].
2015 Holiday Decorating Recognitions for Lakemoor Hills
Thanks to everyone in the neighborhood who participated creatively and enthusiastically in this year’s Holiday decorating extravaganza!! So many of you had wreaths on doors, greenery and bows on mailboxes and brilliant lights all around that it was a very difficult decision to make! But here are the three residences selected for recognition this year in no particular order:
Gene and Rosemary Burr 3621 Maloney Road
C.L. and Kim Overman 3516 Bluff Point Road
The Zachary Parham’s 2513 Tall Pine
Additionally, Bluff Point Road residents won the decorating challenge with the residents on Maloney’s Deadend!
The neighborhood is a magical place thanks to all of you!
Happy Holidays!
The LHHA Beautification Committee
Decorating for the Season from Beautification Committee
Friends and Neighbors,
The red bows with glistening pine cones have been hung on street signs so now it is time to help us make this a magical peninsula for the holidays! The residents on the “Maloney Road Deadend” have issued a friendly decorating challenge to the residents on Bluff Point Drive creating a fun and exciting atmosphere! A lot of pine needles, holly, bows and maybe even lights will fill the air!
The Beautification Selection Committee will be driving the roads between now and the 16th of December, enjoying and selecting three residences as especially festive. The results will be posted on this website on December 17. Signs will be placed in the yards after permission has been granted by the homeowner. Additionally, the winner of the “Street Challenge” will also be posted on this Website. So now it is time to really get moving!
Thank you for participating and making this a particularly fun and enjoyable time of the year!