VOL. 2 NO. 20 May 19, 2014www.ShopperNewsNow.com | www.facebook.com/ShopperNewsNow

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By Betty BeanLauren Kitts did a good job of

hanging onto her composure the fi rst few minutes after she was de-clared the winner of the CTE goes Live, the talent show featuring vo-calists from every high school in Knox County.

Sure, she shed a couple of tears when her name was called – who could blame the Powell High School junior for being over-whelmed at having prevailed over tough competition in the biggest talent contest of the year?

But she pulled herself together when MC Jack Ryan summoned her up on the Market Square stage and asked her to sing an encore. She belted out the fi rst few lines of “I Will Always Love You” (the Whitney Houston version, not the Dolly Parton one) without a hitch.

And then she saw her daddy.“I’d gotten my composure back

until I looked down and saw him, and I started crying again. He was laughing and crying – he said he felt like he’d won it himself. And Mama? She was just fi lled with

joy. I just lost it.”The contest was on the night of

her 17th birthday. Offstage, Lauren is a little

bashful, but singing comes as naturally to her as breathing. In fact, it runs in the family. She is the daughter of gospel singers Michael and Delilah Kitts, AKA Michael and Delilah, the Sonny and Cher of gospel music (because of Michael’s diminutive stature). She’s been joining them onstage for several years, and hopes to jumpstart her career as soon as she graduates next year. Winning a trip to Nashville to record a song at Nash10 Studios won’t dampen her plans a bit.

Music runs in the veins of the Kitts family, a super-sized clan out of Luttrell that is closely relat-ed to the equally musical Hunley and Brewer families. Con Hunley is a cousin.

Mike Kitts, who began per-forming with area bands at the age of 12, is one of 12 children of longtime Union County school board member Samuel “Runt”

Lauren Kitts is heir to family tradition

Lauren Kitts, CTE goes Live winner

Kitts and Leita Rose Kitts, who sang at churches all over Union County.

“Daddy was the youngest of 12, Mamaw Brewer was the oldest of 14 and Papaw Runt was the oldest of 11,” Lauren said. “I’m from a really big family with tons of cousins. My

mom’s from Kingsport and was an only child. Daddy says he had to go all the way to Kingsport to get out of marrying a cousin.”

A member of the Powell High School Singers and the Concert

By Betty BeanFulton High School rising junior Thalia

Reyna wants to be a veterinar-ian. She was on the stage last Thursday and smiled broadly when Gov. Bill Haslam signed the legislation that will make Tennessee Promise a real-ity. Although she plans to go to a four-year college, she believes Tennessee Promise could benefit her.

“I think it’s a great honor and opportunity for those who don’t have enough money to go to college,” she said. “My mom and dad, the highest they got in school was 10th grade. I want to become the fi rst per-son in my family to go to college and graduate. I want to make them proud.”

Haslam, who said he was awaiting news of the birth of a grandson, was enthusiastic about the message he was delivering:

“If you graduate from high school and work with a mentor and do eight hours of commu-nity service, we’re going to promise you two years of college, absolutely free. We look for-ward to all of you taking advantage of a brand-new opportunity.”

Starting in 2015, Tennessee Promise com-mits the state to provide two years of commu-

nity college or technical school, tuition-free, to high school graduates who agree to work with a mentor, complete eight hours of com-munity service and maintain a 2.0 GPA. Once they graduate, students who choose to attend a four-year school can transfer and start as ju-niors, thus cutting the cost of a four-year de-gree in half.

Fulton students Devin Cullom, Simmone Smith, Adam Diggs and Makaley Black (all ris-ing seniors except for Devin, who is a sopho-more and wants to become a bionuclear en-gineer), were also onstage for the ceremonial signing. Each said they are glad this bill be-came law.

“I think it’s a great thing for helping stu-dents who are going to community colleges,” Devin said. “My sister just graduated from Pellissippi a few weeks ago and still has to pay off her student loans.”

Simmone, who plans to be a photojournal-ist, couldn’t contain her excitement: “I’m just blessed that the governor chose this school to do the signing.”

“Grateful,” said Makaley Black. “I know college isn’t cheap, but everybody deserves a chance to succeed and achieve their dreams.” She had planned to enroll in a four-year col-lege, but is now reconsidering her options.

Adam Diggs said Tennessee Promise will

give kids who aren’t quite ready for a four-year college a chance to get started.

“It’ll give them an opportunity to get their feet under them.”

Karns Middle School seventh-grader Chris-tian Copelan came along with his mom, school public information offi cer Melissa Ogden. He thinks Tennessee Promise is going to be a good thing:

“It’s going to help people who don’t have enough money for college,” he said.

Fulton principal Rob Speas warmed the au-dience up, reminding the students of the many CTE opportunities available to them at the school and the salaries these trades pay.

“Your future is right now,” he said. “The de-cisions you make today can change your life’s direction and your family’s life direction.”

Tennessee Promise is part of Haslam’s “Drive to 55” initiative aimed at increas-ing the number of Tennesseans with a cer-tifi cate or degree beyond high school to 55 percent from today’s 32 percent level by the year 2025. Its $34 million price tag will be funded by $300 million in lottery reserves and will reduce Hope lottery scholarships for freshmen and sophomores at four-year uni-versities to $3,000 from the current level of $4,000. Junior and senior year scholarships will be increased to $5,000.

Thalia Reyna

Gov. Bill Haslam celebrates with Fulton High

School students Simmone Smith (left) and

Devin Cullom.

‘A brand-new opportunity’Haslam inks Tennessee Promise at Fulton High

IN THIS ISSUE

SHOPPER ONLINEShopperNewsNow.com

Art on MainLibby Morgan is all over

the upcoming Art on Main promotion in Union Coun ty. It will draw storytellers, sing-ers, great cooks and a farmers market.

See Libby’s update online in the Union County Shopper.

Johnson on glide path to re-election

If anyone is on a glide path to easy reelec-tion it seems to be state Rep. Gloria Johnson, who squeaked out a 299-vote win 18 months ago to win a seat in the House of

Representatives. It was a dis-trict Mitt Romney carried by 1,100 votes, but several Rom-ney voters pushed the button for Johnson, who has become one of the most popular legis-lators among Democrats and least popular among Republi-cans (who control the House by a 71 to 28 margin.)

➤ Read Victor Ashe on page 4

Mattress Place is on the ‘grow’

In an iffy economy when many small businesses have closed, Steve Grossbard and Danny Phillips are not only going strong, but they continue to grow.

Grossbard and Phillips have been partners since 1986. They met while work-ing for a waterbed company. Business was booming for years. Then the waterbed in-dustry “collapsed” overnight, according to Grossbard.

➤ Read Nancy Whittaker on page 7

Vestival: All a festival should be

The 14th edition of Vestival was full of music and art – just the way it was supposed to be.

While the May 10 festival got off to a soggy start (like last year), the sun came out and turned the day bright and beautiful.

Music filled the air in every direction, thanks to perform-ers of all ages and genres.

➤ Read Betsy Pickle on page 3

2 • MAY 19, 2014 • Shopper news

health & lifestyles

Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center is a regional referral hospital where other facilities

REGIONAL EXCELLENCE.

94009494949494494494944909-007-00707-007-77

Kim Frasch of Tellico suff ered spinal stenosis before fi nding relief from his pain thanks to a pro-

cedure by Dr. Patrick Bolt at Fort Sanders Regional Medica l Center.

Second opinion gives Tellico man right treatmentAbout three years ago, Kim Frasch of

Tellico, now 65, had pain in both of his calves. Over time, it moved upward and became more intense.

“As it got worse, it went into my thighs and glutes. And finally I began to lean to the left as an involuntary effort to gain some relief,” Frasch said. “My wife was worried I couldn’t stand up straight. I had sharp, stabbing pains in my legs, and standing was intolerable. I could only walk for a short period of time.”

Frasch had spinal stenosis, a fairly common condition in which the spinal canal narrows. The bones of the verte-brae compress the spine and surround-ing nerves, typically in the lower back. This creates pain, numbness and weak-ness in the legs and feet.

Spinal stenosis typically comes on slowly and gets worse over time, most often affecting people over the age of 50.

“Apparently, I had it for years. This is a very slow process,” said Frasch. “They said I’d had it for years and years, but it just never manifested itself.”

Frasch is a business consultant in the medical field, so he did plenty of Internet research about the condition to find an area physician who could help him.

Frasch consulted one surgeon, but didn’t quite feel comfortable. He then went for a second opinion to Dr. Patrick Bolt of Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center. He liked what he experienced.

“The people are upbeat and work well together there,” Frasch said. “I have vis-ited practices and other health care enti-ties all over the country. I can walk into a business and tell if it is working well or needs better management. It’s one thing to entrust your care to the surgeon, but

When is back surgery right for you?Spinal stenosis is one of the most com-

mon causes of severe back and leg pain, and also one of the most effectively treated con-ditions with surgery.

Stenosis means “narrowing,” and it’s when the bones of the spinal column narrow from arthritis, bone spurs or other diseases. The bones then press on the spinal column or surrounding nerves, causing pain.

“This is probably one of the most com-mon surgeries that I do; it’s a very common problem. Stenosis manifests itself as back and leg pain that gets worse with walking. It’s relieved by sitting,” explained Dr. Pat-rick Bolt, an orthopedic surgeon at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center.

While medication and physical therapy can ease the symptoms of stenosis and in-stability, the only permanent fi x is surgery to widen the spinal canal space and stabilize misaligned vertebrae together.

While most people don’t relish the idea of spinal surgery, Dr. Bolt said modern, minimally invasive techniques offer the chance for an otherwise healthy patient to be up and walking again quickly.

Minimally invasive surgery involves sev-eral small incisions instead of one larger one, with computer-assisted imaging and microscopes used during surgery.

The incisions are so small that most otherwise healthy patients can go home in about three days, Bolt said. What’s more, the pain of recovering from surgery is typi-cally less than the pain of spinal stenosis.

“I think the public has a negative view

Tips for better spine health ■ Stop smoking. Not only is the nicotine bad for your spine, but if you have back surgery, smoking also makes it more diffi cult to recover.

■ Maintain a healthy weight.

■ Stay active and exercise every day. The couch is the worst place for your back.

■ Walk 30 minutes a day. It reduces chronic low back pain over time.

his staff has to be happy and supportive. I’m very happy to say Dr. Bolt was the right choice.”

At first, Dr. Bolt recommended the first-line treatments of physical therapy and steroid injections on Mr. Frasch, but those gave little relief from the pain. At that point, Dr. Bolt recommended the only permanent solution – surgery to widen and stabilize the spinal canal.

Frasch underwent corrective spine surgery at Fort Sanders Regional on March 11.

During the procedure, Dr. Bolt re-moved arthritis and bone spurs from in-side Mr. Frasch’s fourth and fifth lumbar

niques, making four smaller incisions in-stead of one larger one.

As soon as he woke up, Mr. Frasch saidhe immediately felt relief.

“I came out of surgery after five hours,and they said, ‘Would you like to get up?’And I said, ‘You bet.’ I got up and walked,and I was literally freely stepping, no legpain whatsoever, tears of joy runningdown my face!”

Frasch said he was home in two daysand has walked every day since then fortherapy. “Today I’m wearing my brace,and yes, I do have site pain, but it’s notsuch that I need to take any medicationfor it.”

Frasch said he would recommend Dr.Bolt, Fort Sanders and their support staffto anyone facing back surgery.

“You’ve got to do the work, but if youdo it, your results can be stellar. I gavemy caregivers five stars,” Frasch said ofFort Sanders. “When I pushed my buttonand needed something, I got it, from theday I arrived right through discharge.”

“This is what we’re striving for inhealth care in this country, and I can’t sayenough good about Dr. Bolt’s team. I wascared for properly. I got my life back.”

vertebrae, and then fused the two togeth-er using a bone graft and screws. Dr. Bolt did all that with minimally invasive tech-

Once a month, a group of senior adults gathers at the Frank R. Strang Senior Center in West Knoxville to learn infor-mation about a variety of health and life-style topics called “Covenant Presents.”

Covenant Health includes ten hospi-tals, employs thousands of medical pro-fessionals and is affiliated with more than 1,300 of the region’s elite physi-cians of many different specialties. The program connects medical professionals with local seniors to present health and lifestyle topics of inter est to the group. It costs $5 to attend, is open to the public, and lunch is provided.

On Wednesday, May 28, Dr. Paul Yau, orthopedic surgeon at the Hip Fracture Center at Fort Sanders Regional, will talk about hip fractures. The Hip Frac-ture Center incorporates “best practice” guidelines and has a team of experts to get patients back on their feet.

For more information about “Covenant Presents,” or about the pro grams and services of Covenant Health, call 865-541-4500.

Upcoming ‘Covenant Presents’ highlights hip fracture care

Dr. Patrick Bolt

Dr. Paul Yau

of spinal surgery, but much of that is from techniques that were used in the past,” said Bolt.

“Today there are many conditions that surgery can be very benefi cial for, such as spinal stenosis. Minimally invasive tech-niques can accomplish the goal with smaller incisions and a quicker recovery for the pa-tient. You can have a great outcome.”

For more information about spinal procedures at Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, call 865-673-FORT (3678).

NORTH/EAST Shopper news • MAY 19, 2014 • 3

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VISIT VoteJimBerrier.com VoteJimBerrier @VoteJimBerrier

Lauren Kitts From page 1

Choir (her cousin Caleb Brewer is also a member of the choir), Lauren is gen-erally classifi ed a “second soprano,” but considers her-self an alto. In addition to Whitney Houston, she likes R&B, ’70s music, Aretha Franklin, Etta James and Phoebe Snow. She says sometimes people compare her voice to that of Adele.

“I don’t see that one, though.”

Her mom says she inher-ited her prodigious pipes from her father.

“I’ve been singing since I was 2,” Lauren said. “My mom remembers me jump-ing up and down and sing-ing, ‘Man, I feel like a wom-an.’ My mother’s a soprano and a great singer. It’s kind

of hard to describe my dad-dy, honestly. He can sing anything he wants, and he can’t go anywhere without seeing somebody he knows.”

■ CTE goes LiveContestants in CTE

goes Live were winners of school events, and partici-pated in photo shoots, ra-dio interviews, choreogra-phy and dress rehearsals.

The audience was able to vote by “liking” the con-testants on the CTE goes Live Facebook page during the event.

“Likes” counted for 10 percent.

The celebrity judges ac-counted for the remaining 90 percent and included Antho-ny Bell of Bell Properties &

Razer Media; Ted Hall, news anchor with WVLT TV; John Wright, Coca-Cola; Carla Munger, vice president at Pinnacle Bank; and Andrew Carlton, Nash10 Studios.

Jack Ryan with Merle FM 96.7 hosted the event and Tracey LaBelle-Speeks, with Stellar Vision & Sound, co-hosted.

Career Technical Educa-tion students got hands-on experience in design/production of promotional posters and fl yers, pho-tography, stage construc-tion, cosmetology (hair and make-up), video production services and production of public service announce-ments on school-based ra-dio stations WKCS 91.1 FM and Retro Radio.

Gov. Bill Haslam acknowledges an old friend, Fulton High cheer coach Kimberly Pratt, while

celebrating Tennessee Promise with school board members Doug Harris (at left), Lynne Fugate

(at right) and Pam Trainor (in yellow).

Oona Morris models an im-

pressive balloon headdress

while listening to her father

(RB Morris) perform at Vesti-

val.

RB Morris is joined onstage by Greg Horne, left, and Daniel Kimbro. Photos by Betsy Pickle

Esme Shaver, 5, studies the work-in-progress by her brother, Archer, 6, at the art area set up at

the Green Party tent.

The 14th edition of Vesti-val was full of music and art – just the way it was sup-posed to be.

While the May 10 festival got off to a soggy start (like last year), the sun came out and turned the day bright and beautiful.

Music fi lled the air in every direction, thanks to performers of all ages and genres.

Youngsters were thrilled to watch the members of Dragonfl y Aerial Arts defy gravity.

Food booths and trucks sent delectable aromas across the grounds of Can-doro Marble.

Plants, crafts and knick-knacks were offered for sale at numerous booths. It looked as though an equal number of booths were pro-moting various causes.

The South Knoxville Al-liance had business on its mind, while the South of the River Democrats, the Green Party, Jobs With Justice and others were advancing political points of view, all with a friendly attitude.

Tents offered protection from the rain and sun, along with chairs for folks to sit and eat while watching per-formers on the main stage.

It was a perfect, laidback spring day that showed off some of South Knox’s fi nest.

■ VCO gets busyThe atmosphere was

equally friendly, but the vibe was much more businesslike at last week’s Vestal Commu-nity Organization meeting.

President Newman Seay kept the group focused on a couple of key subjects.

Gene Burr reported that the group is on track to achieve upgrades at Mary Vestal Park that will be re-imbursed by a challenge grant.

The VCO has pledged to make improvements to two bridges at the park to make them more user-friendly. Volunteers will be needed for a big painting party be-fore the end of May.

Ben Epperson from the

Good vibrationsat Vestival

Betsy Pickle

Knox County Health De-partment – continuing his rounds of SoKno commu-nity groups – came to talk about his mapping project, which will highlight ameni-ties of Knox neighborhoods.

He also reported on a re-turn visit of representatives of the Public Places Project, who came last fall to help Vestal residents assess pri-orities for neighborhood projects.

Their advice in their fol-low-up visit was to go after things that could be done quickly and cheaply for maximum impact.

Eric Johnson spoke about the new Beacon of Hope ministry starting at Vestal United Methodist Church.

Part of the ministry in-volves encouraging partici-pants to do community ser-vice, so there’s potential for the VCO to become a partner with Beacon of Hope.

Andy Wallace, at center sharing scissors with Mayor Madeline Rogero, is surrounded by his family: sister Susan Wallace, her daughters SaraBeth and Lily Duncan,

his son Zac, father Paul Wallace, wife Lori Wallace, mother Patti Wallace and son Caleb.

■ Trunk show, senior styleThe South Knox Senior

Center’s “Trunk to Treasure” show is 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Friday, May 23, at the center, 6729 Martel Lane. The rain date is Friday, May 30.

Anyone who has partici-pated in the center’s music program – as a performer or a listener – is invited to the Musician Appreciation lunch at 10:30 a.m. Thurs-day, May 22. County Com-missioner Mike Brown will be grilling hot dogs. Bring a covered dish to share.

Catch up with all your favorite columnists every Monday at

www.ShopperNewsNow.com

If you live in Knox Coun-ty outside the corporate limits of Knoxville and are given to carping about taxes and the cost of county gov-ernment you should count your blessings. You could be residing within the city’s boundaries where you’d probably fi nd more to com-plain about.

4 • MAY 19, 2014 • Shopper news government

VictorAshe

Betty Bean

Ever hear of Arthur Cope land?

You will.He’s about to become

the poster boy of Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey’s campaign to unseat three Tennessee Su-preme Court justices who are up for a “retention” elec-tion (supreme court justices are not elected outright, but the voters are given the op-portunity to say whether they should get another eight-year term).

Chief Justice Gary Wade, plus justices Sharon Lee and Cornelia Clark all re-ceived high marks from the panels empowered to evalu-ate them, with Wade and Lee receiving perfect scores and Clark getting one “no” vote.

If there’s a Democrat Re-publicans like, it’s Wade, a respected Sevier County lawyer who managed to get himself elected mayor of Sevierville six times despite that county’s bedrock GOP leanings. He’s a personal friend of (and former co-owner of the Smokies base-ball team with) Gov. Bill Haslam and was appointed to the state Court of Crimi-nal Appeals by Gov. Ned McWherter in 1988 and el-evated to the state Supreme

If anyone is on a glide path to easy reelection it seems to be state Rep. Glo-ria Johnson, who squeaked out a 299-vote win 18 months ago to win a seat in the House of Representa-tives. It was a district Mitt Romney carried by 1,100 votes, but several Romney voters pushed the but-ton for Johnson, who has become one of the most popular legislators among Democrats and least popu-lar among Republicans (who control the House by a 71 to 28 margin.)

Gloria Johnson:Glide path to re-election

The district is located mostly inside the city of Knoxville, stretching from Alice Bell to Sequoyah to South Knox County.

Johnson has an uncanny sense of public relations and has made herself the poster child for those who dislike Common Core, Knox Schools Superinten-dent Jim McIntyre and the current GOP leadership.

Team Rogero is strongly behind Johnson with its political operatives.

In 2012, she made headlines and gave TV interviews against the closure of Belle Morris School as a voting pre-cinct. She received huge publicity while her GOP opponent remained silent. This established her as a public-relations pro. As for Belle Morris, it is still not a voting place.

Johnson has been criti-cized for not voting at all on some legislation, such as the constitutional amend-ment to ban a state income tax that will be on the ballot this November. She hosted a fund-raising event May 10 in Knoxville for Nashvillian Brandon Puttbrese, who is opposing incumbent state Sen. Thelma Harper, one of only two African-American Democratic women in the state Senate. Puttbrese is white. Harper has served since 1990.

■ The two Republi-cans who seek to replace her have not laid a glove on her to date while they are fi ghting each other. They are Jason Emert and Eddie Smith.

Emert recently emailed this writer that, “It is unfor-tunate that (Smith) was ter-minated from his position at Sevier Heights (Baptist

Church) for cause.”When asked, Smith

denied it and secured a statement from the senior pastor, Dr. Hollie Miller, that said, “Eddie Smith served at Sevier Heights Baptist Church for over 13 years and was ALWAYS one of the most faithful and effective staff members I’ve ever known. Eddie resigned his position simply because God placed a desire in his heart to make a positive difference in the govern-ment of Tennessee. The re-port that Eddie Smith was fi red from Sevier Heights is a lie of the ugliest sort.”

Score one for Smith in his battle with Emert in the August GOP primary. He faces a much tougher contest with Johnson in November. Johnson could stumble, but don’t count on it.

■ Republican Mar-tin Daniel, who is opposing Rep. Steve Hall in the Au-gust GOP primary, is mak-ing the Rogero tax hike an issue on his campaign Face-book page. “Just remember those automatic pay raises for city employees that the City Council left intact. ...”

In fairness to Hall, he has opposed tax hikes, but it is telling that Daniel feels it helps him in a Republi-can legislative primary to go after Rogero and her spending policies. Daniel is running in a west and northwest Knox district. He feels Hall will only say “me too” on opposing Rogero and taxes.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett is holding the line on any tax increase, as is Gov. Bill Haslam.

■ Attending the April 24 fund-raiser for Chief Justice Gary Wade’s cam-paign to win retention on the Supreme Court at the Pete and Cindi DeBusk home was a who’s who of Republican leaders with a few Democrats.

■ Wade is a Democrat with strong Republican ties.

Jim Haslam II, father of Gov. Haslam, U.S. Rep. Jimmy and Lynn Duncan, former UT coach Phil Ful-mer, former Gov. Don and Martha Sundquist, former Rep. Bill Jenkins, state Sen. Doug Overbey, along with Democratic judges Harold Wimberly and Daryl Fansler, were there.

■ The state Supreme Court will choose the next state attorney general in September for an eight-year term. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey wants a Republican to be chosen.

Catching up with the ‘real’ governor

Court by Gov. Phil Bredesen in 2006.

(He was also Dolly Par-ton’s fi rst boyfriend, as per DP herself during an ap-pearance on Johnny Car-son’s “Tonight Show” in the mid-’80s, during which she mentioned tomfoolery in the back of a pickup truck at the Midway Drive-In The-ater, which doesn’t have a thing to do with jurispru-dence but sure couldn’t hurt him any.)

But back to Arthur Cope-land:

Think Willie Horton, the one-man crime wave who, while serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for fi rst-degree mur-der, somehow got eligible for Massachusetts’ prison furlough program and com-mitted rape, armed robbery and assault while enjoying his short-lived freedom, thus becoming the only is-sue anybody remembers from the 1988 presidential election campaign when Democrat Michael Dukakis

took on George H.W. Bush. Bush’s man Lee Atwater orchestrated a barrage of attack ads featured scary-looking-black-man mug shots.

Copeland’s got scary-looking-black-man mug shots, too, from when he was convicted of a 1998 contract killing in Maryville and sentenced to death. Death penalty conviction appeals cases are manda-tory (the high court must decide whether the crime was “proportiona te” to the penalty), but meanwhile, Copeland’s alleged accom-plice’s lawyer Herb Moncier unearthed proof that the state had withheld evidence that its only eyewitness had named a different shooter when fi rst questioned.

In 2007, the high court addressed the “proportion-ality” issue (ruling that the death penalty was warrant-ed), but by the time it got back to Blount County the case was bollixed beyond repair by Moncier’s discov-ery of prosecutorial miscon-duct.

A special prosecutor came in and cut a deal with Copeland for a second-degree murder plea and a 14-year sentence. He was

released in 2011 and re-arrested in 2013 for the al-leged rape of his girlfriend. This charge was dismissed three months later in Knox County.

Meanwhile, Ramsey, who likes it when people call him the “real” governor, is running around the state presenting his case against the sitting justices, which not only fi ts perfectly with the state GOP’s “Red to the Roots” campaign to rid Ten-nessee of Democratic offi ce-holders but serves as bait to entice big-money 501 (c) (4) “social welfare” organiza-tions like the Koch brothers’ “Americans for Prosperity” into Tennessee, where they have heretofore declined to spread the wealth on the “why buy the cow if the milk is free” principle.

It also gives Ramsey an opportunity to screw with a friend of the guy who’s where Ramsey thinks he ought to be – conveniently dismissing the inconvenient fact he got only 22 percent of the primary vote and fi n-ished a distant third when he ran for governor.

Free advice for Gary Wade:

Call Dolly. Ramsey’ll die of envy.

LarryVan

Guilder

A little budget dissection

Proposed budgets for Knox County and the city of Knoxville were introduced a few weeks ago. Townies have long moaned about “double taxation,” taking a hit from city and county tax property tax assessments. Let’s see what some simple arithmetic tells us about the respective budgets.

The county budget for the upcoming fi scal year is a shade over $709 million. This fi gure is net of inter-fund transfers.

The general purpose schools budget comprises a little more than 60 percent of the total, roughly $428 million. The city’s budget does not include schools, so we need to make an ad-

justment before we make comparisons. Net of the education outlay, the county budget is $281.2 million.

Knoxville’s net budget is $284.4 million. A $3 million difference in bud-gets that combined with schools top out at roughly $1 billion will set off few alarms. As always, there’s more to the story.

“PCBE” is not the latest chemical scare associated with hormone-enhanced beef production or your re-cycled plastic water bottle. It’s my acronym for “Per Capita Budget Expenditure,” and because I’m writing this column I invented it.

According to U.S. Cen-sus Bureau estimates, 441,132 (mostly) good folks called Knox County home in 2012. The city’s estimat-ed population for the same year was 182,200, leaving 258,932 county residents more or less happily “sin-gle taxed.”

Knox County’s PCBE de-rived from the proposed net budget is $1,086. Doing the math for the city yields a PCBE of $1,561, or 44 per-cent per resident greater budgeted expenditure.

With such a disparity to account for there should be service expenses borne by the city that don’t burden county residents, and there are, such as fi refi ghting.

The Knoxville Fire Department’s proposed budget comes in at $39,976,440. Subtracting that from the city’s net bud-get of $284.4 million lowers Knoxville’s PCBE to $1,342, still exceeding the county’s comparable expenditure by 24 percent.

The divergent philoso-phies of Mayor Rogero and Mayor Burchett come into play of course, with more or less emphasis and costs for green initiatives, economic development, infrastruc-ture, and cultural and rec-

reational projects. But let’s wrap up with a quick peek at the general funds.

The general fund is where the action is. For Knox County, the general fund budget is $164.3 million. The city tops that at $200.5 million, notably including $56.3 million for police pro-tection compared to $77.5 million for the county. But the sheriff’s budget includes 1,009 patrol and jailer slots versus 516 in the city. Cost per offi cer is roughly $32,000 more in the city. (No rank and fi le police of-fi cer is overpaid, however.)

The general fund budgets cover salary and benefi ts for 1,719 full-time employees in Knox County and 1,377 in the city. Per employee that breaks out to about $164,000 in the county and $207,000 in the city.

Are some folks over-paid? Underpaid? Read the budgets. After all, it’s your money.

Brown says Rountree ‘a fi reball’By Sandra Clark

South Knox Commission-er Mike Brown doesn’t have a great relationship with the school board, but that’s get-ting ready to change. Brown is ecstatic about the election of Amber Rountree.

“Amber will be a fi reball. She won’t take everything (Superintendent Jim) Mc-Intyre says for gospel.”

Brown said he’s unhappy that Michele Carringer was not elected to the 11th Dis-trict at-large seat.

“Ed’s (Brantley) popular-ity won it for him. And now I’ll have two disk jockeys sitting next to me.”

Bob Thomas, formerly a WIVK announcer who works there now in ad sales, won the District 10 seat.

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It is a fearsome thing to wander into Jeremiah.

This fi erce prophet did not pull punches; he did not hesitate to call ’em like he saw ’em. And he saw the fail-ings of his own colleagues. One wonders if he included himself in “the prophets” who had not spoken God’s own word.

Called “the weeping prophet,” Jeremiah was just a boy (by his own descrip-tion) when God called him to prophesy. His objections to God were overruled. God insisted Jeremiah was to be God’s own voice. Jeremiah obeyed but carried the bur-den of God’s word with fear and trembling and great sadness.

God had harsh things to say through Jeremiah. God berated the other prophets, who had freelanced, saying what they thought about the shape of the world in gener-al, and the Children of Israel in particular, rather than accurately conveying God’s own message.

God had opinions that needed to be voiced, and God was insistent that those opinions were more than that: They were God’s will.

God was impatient with prophets who “lead my peo-ple astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or ap-point them … .” God accused them of “using their own tongues …” and then declar-ing, “Thus says the Lord.”

Ouch! It is enough to make anyone who dares to say “Thus says the Lord”

I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” How long? Will the hearts of the proph-ets ever turn back – those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their own tongues and say, “Says the Lord.”

(Jeremiah 23: 25-28a, 31 NRSV)

God, misquoted

CrossCurrents

LynnPitts

think twice about it.It also calls us – all of

us who call on the name of the Lord – to take care with how we speak of God, and how we speak for God. It is a holy thing to say, “Thus says the Lord,” and one must do so with prayer and humility, not to mention accuracy!

God, through Jeremiah, accused the false proph-ets of leading God’s people astray by their lies and care-lessness, when God had not sent them. Jeremiah point-ed out that such false proph-ets are, therefore, of no use to God’s people. In fact, they are a liability!

We, as Christians, are called to pray and study and listen and think! We are called to live according to God’s will to the best of our understanding and abil-ity. We are called to be the people of God.

It takes integrity. It re-quires honesty, with our-selves, with others and with God. It requires obedience to the will of God. It requires humility, to recognize when we fail. It requires persever-ance, for the long haul.

Most of all, it requires that we do it for the right reason: because we want to live a life that will please and glorify the Lord.

Marvin West

Tennessee is selling a kicking camp, June 6, pro-fessional instruction, $90. All hopefuls invited.

Kicks to remember, kicks to forgetTennessee, trailing Ala-

bama by 11-10 in 1966, drove 67 yards in the clos-ing minutes. Instead of po-sitioning the football in the middle of the fi eld for what should have been an easy fi eld goal, the Vols tried for a touchdown, running a third-down sweep to the Alabama 3. Sixteen seconds remained.

Gary Wright, from Hef-lin, Ala., trotted in to kick from the right hash mark. Tough angle, but Wright had made it a thousand times in his mind, always to beat his home-state school.

Center Bob Johnson and holder Dewey Warren did their jobs fl awlessly. Wright kicked on cue and grimaced

as the ball drifted. The ref-eree signaled wide right.

“It was just a chip shot,” said Wright years later. “I should have kicked it right through. As it was, I thought the ball went straight over the right upright. It became a judgment call.”

Warren thought the kick was good and got in the ref-eree’s face. Assistant coach Vince Gibson landed face-down on the ground, beat-ing the grass with his fi sts. Wright went to the sidelines where the big rolled-up tar-paulins were parked.

“I wished I could crawl inside one and stay until the next week. I cried a lot. That’s the worst thing I’ve ever been through. I wore

my roommate’s mono-grammed sweater so people would think I was some-body else.”

Two years later, Tennes-see lost the Orange Bowl to Oklahoma, 26-24. Karl Kremser thought the Vols should have won. His 44-yard fi eld-goal attempt in the closing moments also drifted right.

This was a snapshot of the fi ne line between victory and defeat, the awful differ-ence in agony and ecstasy. Kremser felt he had let down those who had fought so hard to get so close. He was certain his heart was broken. At 4 in the morning, he was still in a remote cor-ner of the hotel lobby, face in

his hands, stomach in knots, real tears in his red eyes.

Do not miss kicks and sit in a corner, face in hands, stomach in knots. Go to kicking camp.

Ah yes, a kick to remem-ber … Jacksonville, 1957 Gator Bowl. Tennessee beat Texas A&M, 3-0, on Sammy Burklow’s fourth-quarter fi eld goal. It was a pretty little thing of 17 yards, just enough to spoil Paul “Bear” Bryant’s fi nal appearance with the Aggies.

All that evening was happy hour for the Tennessee fami-ly. Eventually, those gathered in Gen. Robert R. Neyland’s hotel suite persuaded him to demonstrate the winning kick. The game ball just hap-pened to be at the athletic di-rector’s fi ngertips.

Neyland gave the ball a swift kick and smashed the

dresser mirror. Oh my, that made quite a mess.

More normal festivities resumed, and after two more glasses of iced tea with lemon, kicking tech-nique came up for more discussion. Scrappy Moore, Chattanooga coach, stepped up to prove a point. His kick broke a window.

Weeks later, the bill for damages landed on the gen-eral’s desk. He paged Gus Manning, then business manager, and asked in no un-certain terms who had torn up a room in Jacksonville.

“General, that was the famous kicking exhibition,” said Manning, trying to keep a straight face.

“Oh that,” said Neyland. “Well, don’t just stand there, pay the bill.”Marvin West invites reader reaction. His

address is westwest6@netzero.com.

I have decided against participating, but the thought did stir memories. Kickers and kicks are sig-nifi cant in Volunteer lore. There are Tennessee kicks to remember and, alas, kicks that went wide but won’t go away.

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The Oreo matrix

Sandra Clark

You can fi gure how the economy’s doing by count-ing customers in the cookie aisle. That’s the gospel ac-cording to Steven C. Smith, president/CEO of Food City, who said, “Unemployed or underutilized people don’t go down the snack aisle or the cookie aisle.”

And although the econ-omy is coming back, there are slightly fewer people working today than in 2007, Smith said.

Food City hosted lunch for media types last week in Sevierville. Speaking without notes, Smith gave a sharp analysis of the econ-omy and the ways govern-ment interferes.

He sounded, for a min-ute, like a fellow who is run-ning for offi ce.

“Median income has de-clined in 9 of the last 13 years,” he said, leaving gro-cers “chasing fewer dollars.”

Smith said Food City has captured 52 percent of the market against traditional food stores. But that drops to 26 percent when you fac-tor in big box stores, drug chains and others.

Food City started in 1955 with Steve’s dad, the late Jack Smith, and one Piggly Wiggly store. The chain now has 107 stores, 77 pharma-cies, 81 fuel centers, 13,000 associates and annual sales of $2.2 billion.

“Thirteen percent of our company is owned by 8,000 of our employees through an ESOP,” he said.

Food City serves 2.5 mil-lion customers in 980,000 households, he said. “We’re No. 1 or No. 2 in every mar-ket.”

Political challenges in-clude the requirement that the company offer health in-surance to associates work-ing 30 hours or more per week. That’s a challenge for businesses that must staff for peak shopping times.

Cutbacks in SNAP (sup-plemental nutritional as-sistance program, formerly known as food stamps) have hurt grocery sales.

“One in fi ve kids lives in poverty,” he said. “The pov-erty rate was 14.2 percent when we declared war (on it) in 1964. It’s 15 percent today.”

Until this year, the Ten-nessee Legislature has for-bidden wine sales in grocery stores, and the stores still must get petitions signed and a positive referendum before such sales can be-come effective in July 2016

(and then only in counties which now have package li-quor or beer sales), he said. Food City will join other grocers to support this re-form.

Finally, families lose in-come when the breadwinner drops from a $20 per hour manufacturing job that goes offshore, for instance, to take a $14 per hour job in the service sector.

The “underutilized” workers can still “pay the mortgage and feed their family,” but you don’t see them shopping in the cookie aisle.

We’re calling that eco-nomic indicator The Oreo Matrix.

Steven C. Smith, president/

CEO of Food City

Kayla Neikirk plays the harp as media members fi le in for lunch

with Food City.

Carol Zinavage

“There’s something about wrapping yourself up in a quilt,” says master quilter Doyleen Taylor, “that makes you feel safe and comforted.”

Even – maybe especially – if you’re a war veteran.

On a recent visit with three members of the Smoky Mountain Quilters Guild, I learned a lot about the art and craft of quilting, as well as the tremendous compas-sion and camaraderie the guild’s members share.

Doyleen Taylor, Leslie Hinson and Chris Calhoun hail from Utah, Connecticut and Florida respectively, but all have been Knoxville resi-dents for decades. Doyleen is the “grande dame” quilter of the three, having prac-ticed her art since her child-hood involvement with 4-H. Leslie joined the guild in 2009 and considers herself an intermediate, and Chris, who’s been quilting for two years, is the newbie of the bunch.

“These two sucked me in,” she says with a grin.

They’re passionate ad-vocates for their craft and point with pride to its cross-generational appeal.

“In our Tuesday quilting bee, the ages run from 28 to the late 80s,” says Leslie. “And we’ve even got some younger folks in the guild. There’s a 10-year-old girl who comes with her mother.

“And there are some men!” All the women chuck-le and suggest that the male quilters should be featured in a future Shopper story.

Right now they’re gearing up for their annual quilt show and competition, to be held on Memorial Day weekend.

It will be a wonderful event for anyone interested

A quilt-lovers’ weekend

in this time-honored art. In addition to more than 200 quilts on display, there will

be vendors, including a scis-sors-sharpener.

By far the centerpiece of the three-day event is the ap-pearance of Merikay Waldvo-gel, member of the Quilters Hall of Fame and interna-tionally known researcher, collector, writer and curator of quilt-related history.

At 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Fri-day, she’ll present a “vintage bed-turning.”

Waldvogel will lay a stack of quilts on a bed frame. Then, one by one, she’ll examine them, tell their histories and point out id-iosyncrasies. “Merikay can look underneath a tear in the fabric and tell you some-thing about what happened, and whether there might be

an older piece underneath,” says Leslie.

The Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee’s 34th Annual Quilt Show and Competition will be held 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, May 23; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Satur-day, May 24; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 25, at Maryville College’s Cooper Athletic Center.

Admission is $5; multi-day admission is $8. Donate a can of food and get a dol-lar off the admission price. Parking is free, and the event is handicap accessible. Info: smokymtnquilters.com.

“I promise you will not be disappointed,” said Hinson. “Quilts are works of art in fabric.”

6 • MAY 19, 2014 • NORTH/EAST Shopper news

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A local mustard fi eld Photo by Mary Barker

A healthy respect for mustardA friend mentioned that

I might want to write about mustard. I had not really thought about its impor-tance, but when she men-tioned it I realized that the plant has much more histo-ry than many things I have written about. The parable of the mustard seed occurs in three of the four Gospels as Jesus discusses the king-dom of Heaven.

Matthew 13:31-32 – “The kingdom of heaven is like to a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his fi eld: Which indeed is the least of all seeds, but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.”

Mark 4:30-32 – “Where-unto shall we liken the king-dom of God: or with what comparison shall we com-pare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up and becometh greater than all herbs and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.

Luke 13:18-19 – “Unto

what is the kingdom of God like: and whereu nto shall I resemble it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and cast into his garden; and it grew and waxed a great tree and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it. (King James version)

Mustard seed jewelry is popular among Christians world-wide.

Last summer a painter at my house moved his ladder over a yellow jacket nest and was stung. When I scurried to get to “Sting Kill,” which I keep, he said he would pre-fer a spoonful of mustard.

I almost always keep mustard as a condiment for hot dogs and sandwiches so I quickly grabbed the mus-tard from the refrigerator. In minutes after applying the mustard, the pain had stopped and the painter went back to work.

Although I never experi-enced a mustard poultice, I recall hearing of a mus-tard poultice being used for

croup and other respiratory infections. Mustard is be-lieved to stop the toothache. Most all of the mustard plant is usable, the leaves and the seeds.

From my earliest years we ate mustard as a vegetable. I learned from my mother to prepare it Southern style. Boil the leaves or other greens in water until tender, take out of that water and fry in an iron skillet with a small amount of bacon grease and salt. With cornbread and boiled eggs, it’s a meal! Curly mustard leaves make a beau-tiful garnish for many dishes.

I read that there are three types of mustard – white, brown and black. In the United States the plant has been hybridized into many varieties. The American mustard consumption is the highest in the world.

The fi rst Saturday in Au-gust is National Mustard Day and is celebrated in many cities across the coun-try. Just as we have corn-bread festivals, so too do we have mustard festivals. There is a mustard museum in Wisconsin that houses a collection of 5,000 jars of mustard from 60 countries around the world.

Hats off to mustard!

A “Pick Tennessee” mo-bile app is now available which can fi nd and then map the way to locally grown farm products, farms and farmers markets.

The free app, download-able from both iTunes for Ap-ple products and from Google Play for Android devices, is the latest advancement of Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s Pick Tennessee Products promotion. Search for Pick Tennessee.

Tennessee Department of Agriculture Commissioner Julius Johnson called it “a new face for an old friend.”

The Pick Tennessee mo-bile app allows users to search by item, like “ap-ples,” by region of the state, or season. The mobile app then provides directions to the chosen location through

direct GPS mapping.“Every Tennessee farmer

or farm product producer who sells directly to the public can visit the Pick Tennessee Products website and apply to become part of this extraordinary free service,” Johnson said. “If a farm is listed on Pick Ten-nessee Products, that farm is automatically available on the new Pick Tennessee mo-bile app for GPS mapping.”

The Pick Tennessee mo-bile app can keep track of favorites and provides links to seasonal recipes, handy tips and fun facts, as well as the full Pick Tennessee Products website.

Farm direct and local items on the app include options as varied as lo-cal fruits and vegetables, wineries, greenhouses and

plant nurseries, Christmas tree farms and local honey. The items can be searched by the farm where they’re produced, or the markets where they’re sold.

The website www.pickt-nproducts.org also posts di-rectories of the state’s county fairs, equine trails and ser-vices, local meats and dair-ies, and agritourism farms and activities of all kinds.

Going live in 1995, the Pick Tennessee Products site was the state of Ten-nessee’s fi rst consumer Web presence. A completely free service, the site currently features close to 2,000 par-ticipating farms, processors and other ag and farm busi-nesses, listing about 10,000 individual items. It attract-ed more than 300,000 vis-its last year.

New mobile app for farms

Bringing the farm to schoolDavid McDaniel treats Naomi Corum, 3, to a miniature donkey ride as Paulette El-

ementary School hosted the annual Farm Day, organized by the UT Extension offi ce.

NORTH/EAST Shopper news • MAY 19, 2014 • 7 business

THURSDAYS THROUGH MAY 22Diabetes Management Series, 6:30 p.m., Knox

County Health Department auditorium, 140 Dameron Ave. Free fi ve-part series; open to the public. To regis-ter: 215-5170.

THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 8Registration open for AMSE Science Explorer

Camp for rising 5th, 6th and 7th graders. Two sessions: June 9-13, June 16-20. Info/to register: http://amse.org/visitors/summer-camps/.

MONDAY, MAY 19Schoolyard Garden Monday, 5 p.m., Paulette

Elementary School. Topic: gardening fun for kids. Everyone welcome.

Accepting appointments for the John 5 Food Pantry, Glenwood Baptist Church of Powell, 7212 Central Ave. Pike. Info/appointment: 938-2611 and leave a message.

Imagination Library presents the Penguin Players, 4 p.m., Norwood Branch Library, 1110 Mer-chants Drive. Presentation: “One Cool Friend” by Toni Buzzeo. Info: 688-2454.

Family Movie Night: “Free Birds,” 5:30 p.m., Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Rated PG. Info: 525-5431.

TUESDAY, MAY 20UT Hospice Adult Grief Support Group

meeting, 5-6:30 p.m., UT Hospice offi ce, 2270 Sutherland Ave. A light supper is served. Info/reserva-tion: Brenda Fletcher, 544-6277.

Imagination Library presents the Penguin Players, 11 a.m., Halls Branch Library, 4518 E. Emory Road. Presentation: “One Cool Friend” by Toni Buzzeo. Info: 922-2552.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21

Tours of the St. Mary’s Legacy Clinic’s free mobile medical unit, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Northside Community Cen-ter, located behind Washburn School in Grainger County. The Mobile Medical Clinic provides primary care services to people who are not currently receiving health care.

Fish Fry, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Sharps Chapel Community Center. All seniors, candidates welcome. Info: 992-3292.

Imagination Library presents the Penguin Play-ers, 11 a.m., Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville Highway. Presentation: “One Cool Friend” by Toni Buzzeo. Info: 525-5431.

Imagination Library presents the Penguin Players, 3 p.m., North Knoxville Branch Library, 2901 Ocoee Trail. Presentation: “One Cool Friend” by Toni Buzzeo. Info: 525-7036.

WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY, MAY 21-22AARP Driver Safety class, noon-4 p.m., O’Connor

Senior Center, 611 Winona St. Into/to register: Carolyn Rambo, 584-9964.

THURSDAY, MAY 22Living Well with Diabetes, 2-4 p.m., Halls Branch

Library, 4518 E. Emory Road. Deadline to register: Tues-day, May 20. Info: 922-2552.

Imagination Library presents the Penguin Players, 4 p.m., Corryton Branch Library, 7733 Cor-ryton Road. Presentation: “One Cool Friend” by Toni Buzzeo. Info: 688-1501.

FRIDAY, MAY 23Farm Fresh Fridays: Union County Farmers Mar-

ket, 4-7 p.m., downtown Maynardville. Info: 992-8038.School’s Out Movie Night in Wilson Park, 8

p.m. Admission gate opens at 7 p.m.: $3 per person, $5 per couple, $10 for family of four. Movie: “Monsters University” rated G. Concessions. Games/activities pro-vided until movie starts. Fundraiser sponsored by Union County High School HOSA club.

Imagination Library presents the Penguin Players, 10:30 a.m., Powell Branch Library, 330 West Emory Road. Presentation: “One Cool Friend” by Toni Buzzeo. Info: 947-6210.

Imagination Library presents the Penguin Players, 2 p.m., Fountain City Branch Library, 5300 Stanton Road. Presentation: “One Cool Friend” by Toni Buzzeo. Info: 689-2681.

FRIDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 23-25Smoky Mountain Quilters of Tennessee Quilt

Show and Competition, Cooper Athletic Center, Maryville College campus. Times: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday. Admission: $5; multiday pass: $8. Info: www.smokymtnquilters.com.

SATURDAY, MAY 24Open jam session bluegrass, country, gospel

music; 7 p.m.; old Rush Strong School, Leadmine Bend Road in Sharps Chapel. Free admission. Refreshments. Donations appreciated. All invited.

Thunder Road Gospel Jubilee, 6 p.m., WMRD 94.5 FM, 1388 Main St., Maynardville. All pickers and singers welcome.

Cades Cove tour with Bill Landry, 9 a.m., depart-ing from the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center in Townsend. Tickets: $50 per person; includes light snacks and a cold beverage. Reservations required: 448-8838.

Spaghetti dinner and silent auction, 5-9 p.m., Union County High School. To benefi t the Northeast Union Volunteer Fire Department. Cake walk, carnival games for the kids, live music, bake sale and raffl e. Ad-mission: $5 per person/ $8 per couple; kids 5 and under eat free.

Concert featuring Knoxville old-time string trio Red Shoes and Rosin, 7 p.m., Union County Arts. Hosted by Sarah Morgan. Reception begins at 6 p.m. Cost: $15. Lim-ited seating. Advance reservations required: 278-3975.

SATURDAY-SUNDAY, MAY 24-25The Great Smoky Mountain Llama Show, 8:30

a.m., Walters State Community College’s Great Smoky Mountains Expo Center. Covered warm-up ring. Free admission. Info: Jerry Ayers, 423-257-2875.

SUNDAY, MAY 25Learn to Sew, Part 1, 2-4:30 p.m., Appalachian Arts

Craft Center, 2716 Andersonville Highway 61 in Norris. Instructor: Janet Donaldson. Registration deadline: May 18. Info: 494-9854 or www.appalachianarts.net.

MONDAY, MAY 26Memorial Day Service, 2:30 p.m., Clapp’s Chapel

UMC Cemetery, 7420 Clapp’s Chapel Road, Corryton. Honoring all fallen servicemen/women from all wars, Revolution to War-on-Terrorism. Everyone welcome; veterans are encouraged to wear their uniforms if pos-sible. Info: Richard Wright, 687-3050.

Learn to Sew, Part 1, 6-8:30 p.m., Appalachian Arts Craft Center, 2716 Andersonville Highway 61 in Norris. Instructor: Janet Donaldson. Registration deadline: May 18. Info: 494-9854 or www.appalachianarts.net.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 28Computer Workshop: Word 2007 Basics, 2

p.m., Burlington Branch Library, 4614 Asheville High-way. Requires “Introducing the Computer” or equivalent skills. Info/to register: 525-5431.

Send items to news@ShopperNewsNow.com

ShoppernewseVents

Buck Vaughn, Linda Vaughn, Kathy Payne and Warren Payne

Steve Grossbard, co-owner of The Mattress Place, has “smiley face” delivery trucks. Photo by Nancy Whittaker

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee V alley honored Warren and Kathy Payne at the annual Gift of Hope Fundraising Lun-cheon at the Knoxville Con-vention Center.

Emmet P. “Buck” and

Linda Vaughn presented the Gift of Hope Award to the Paynes for their 28 years of dedicated service to the clubs. The award was cre-ated fi ve years ago to honor the Vaughns for their many years of service.

Hallerin Hilton Hill wasmaster of ceremonies, andentertainment was provid-ed by staff member IeshaHill and the Moses TeenCenter step team.

Info: bgctnv.org or call865.232.1200.

In an iffy economy when many small businesses have closed, Steve Grossbard and Danny Phillips are not only going strong, but they con-tinue to grow.

Grossbard and Phil-lips have been partners since 1986. They met while working for a waterbed company. Business was booming for years. Then the waterbed industry “collapsed” overnight, ac-cording to Grossbard.

The partners used their

Nancy Whittaker

Gift of Hope honors Kathy, Warren Payne

By Phyllis NicholsChris Qualls had bach-

elor’s and m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e s in sports m a n a g e -ment when he moved from New Orleans to Knoxville in 2012, but he

didn’t have a job.“It was hard to be in a

new town without connec-tions and fi nd a job that would allow me to provide for myself,” Qualls said. “I made a friend who had at-tended the same college as me in Louisiana, and she recommended the Knox-ville Area Urban League.”

At the Urban League, Qualls worked with Jackie Robinson, one of the non-

profi t organization’s work-force counselors. Together, Qualls and Robinson found the perfect opportunity for Qualls. Today, he is em-ployed as a merchandiser and account developer with Coca-Cola.

Qualls took advantage of training courses at the Ur-ban League that helped him secure the job. The courses provide specifi c skills need-ed in the workforce.

“The fi rst activity I did at the Urban League was the customer-service training and interview-skills prac-tice,” Qualls said. “Without that training and Jackie Robinson’s help, I wouldn’t have gotten the job.

“It was a gift from God that I was able to work with the Urban League. They treated me like family and were always honest with me

about what I could accom-plish.”

The Knoxville Area Ur-ban League believes willing adults in Knoxville should have a job that allows them to earn a decent wage and provide a reasonable stan-dard of living for themselves and their family. Qualls en-courages anyone seeking new skills or a new career to contact the Urban League for assistance.

The organization pro-vides workforce develop-ment and training with computer programs, em-ployment readiness, coun-seling and job placement, customer service, intern-ships and apprenticeships. To see how the Urban League can help you, call 524-5511.Phyllis Nichols is president and CEO of

Knoxville Area Urban League

Knox transplant connected to local career

Nichols

News from The Knoxville Area Urban League

Mattress business continues to grow

expertise to transition into traditional mattresses. They opened Discount Mattress

at 5925 Clinton Highway and The Mattress Place at 4939 Chapman Highway.

ner in Knoxville – so my question was, “What makes you different?” Grossbard immediately said, “If we weren’t doing what we do, we would just be another mattress store.” Then he gave me a quick synopsis.

The mattress industry puts different names on the same mattress, he said. Each year, the major com-panies have overstock, mis-matched and one-of-a-kind mattresses. The Mattress Place purchases from all na-tional companies. It may be as simple as last year’s mod-el being a different color.

The Mattress Place pur-chases in huge quantities and passes the savings on to its customers. Grossbard says, “Our policy is low over-head, low prices – twice the selection for half the price.”

The Mattress Place is the exclusive dealer for

Sleep Sensible Mattresses by Dutch Craft Bedding, an Amish company based in Celina, Tenn. They are the largest dealer for MLILY Cool Gel Memory Foam.

Now they are growing again. The Mattress Place’s newest location will open before the end of May in West Knoxville at 7219 Kingston Pike in the former Unpainted Furniture Store location.

There are plans for open-ing four more venues, so they must be doing every-thing right.

Check out the website, www.mymattressplace.com or contact Chapman High-way at 659-2337, Clinton Highway at 247-0156 or Kingston Pike at 951-0531.

As I walked out the door, Grossbard said, “Be sure and tell everyone – no credit needed – we will fi nance.”

They grew again with lo-cations in LaFollette and Kingsport.

Grossbard is the fi rst to admit that there are mat-tress stores on every cor-

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