West Knox observes Memorial Day
Farragut High School’s NJROTC recently took part in the Mountain Man Memorial March in honor of fallen soldiers. Pictured left to right are Zach Finuf, Grant Allen, retired U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Bob Cosby, Bradlee Webster, Randall Ford and Brady Tarr.
Memorial Day holds a special place in the hearts of residents in the West Knox County area.
U.S. Army Spc. Christopher Fox was looking for water for a young boy in Baghdad when a bullet took his life, just one week before his 22nd birthday on Sept. 29, 2008.
While on his second tour in Iraq, Fox reached to the top of a vehicle for a bottle of water and was shot by sniper fire in the armpit where his vest did not cover him.
“It’s what I expected of Chris. He loves kids. He used to worked at summer camp,” said Amy Frost, Fox’s mother and former FHS special education teacher.
“You can’t describe this kind of personality in a few sentences. But when they told me he was killed by a single bullet, I said no way this bigger than life kid was killed by one single bullet,” Frost added.
Retired Lt. Cmdr. Bob Cosby, NJROTC senior naval science instructor at FHS and former colleague of Frost, participated in his second Mountain Man Memorial March in honor of Fox April 19. Cosby finished the march in first place wearing full uniform and carrying a 35-pound pack in a time of 5:20:20. Five of his students also marched a half marathon together in memory of the late Cpl. Jason Davis, U.S. Marine Corps in 2:35:16, a winning time for their class division. read more
FHS, HVA, BHS send graduates into the world
FHS Class of 2013 graduates throw their caps high into the air of Thomson-Boling Arena at the end of their graduation ceremony Saturday night, May 18.
The freshest young adults of West Knox County zipped up their metallic blue, royal blue, and maroon gowns and secured their caps for their high school graduation ceremonies.
Two by two, the class of 2013 graduates from Farragut, Hardin Valley and Bearden took their walk down the aisle to their seats for the biggest day of their lives thus far on the floor in The University of Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena last weekend.
“We’ve loved you, and more importantly, we’ve believed in you,” said FHS principal Michael Reynolds Saturday night, May 18.
The academic statistics of the Farragut students blew the audience away into silent awe. The class of 414 is made up of 20 Advanced Placement scholars, 42 scholars with distinction, three presidential scholars, one presidential scholar finalist, one Siemen’s Award winner, one perfect score on the ACT and one perfect SAT score.
In addition, 70 percent graduated with at least a 3.0 grade point average, 950 completed AP courses and 200 completed duel enrollment classes at a local college. This class also will represent Farragut at 98 different colleges in 30 states, District of Columbia and Ireland.
FHS exceeded more than ever before in two additional areas. Ninety percent of the class earned at least one scholarship, totaling more than $30 million as a whole.
Lawrence Shengzhe Wang is the valedictorian and Sharon Bao the salutatorian. In addition, Austin Sneed was surprised with recognition for his four-year full scholarship, (including room and board) to the Air Force Academy. read more
Hotel/Motel tax tabled for now
Advocating a 3 percent Hotel/Motel tax to enhance town of Farragut attractions to “get more people to come to our Town,” a Town government leader said tax revenue would come back to boost business, drawing visitors into Farragut’s soon-to-be eight motels.The counter argument, including a Farragut hotel owner and top brass with two hospitality associations, is the tax will take away Farragut hotels’ edge as a cheaper alternative, versus City of Knoxville’s current 3 percent Hotel/Motel tax, therefore pushing away lodging visitors otherwise ready to spend money in Town.
Advocates for both sides met to outline there positions during a forum, sponsored by Farragut Business Alliance, in Town Hall boardroom Thursday morning, May 16.
Town leaders and Board of Mayor and Aldermen wanted to “start targeting that tourism effort, and start branding ourselves to the outside world,” said David Smoak, town administrator and tax advocate. “The county has a five percent Hotel/Motel Tax. The City of Knoxville adds three percent.
“Many cities” surrounding Knox County also have implemented a Hotel/Motel Tax, Smoak added.
One use of Hotel/Motel Tax revenues would be to “enhance those facilities” already in place “in order to get more people to come to our Town,” Smoak said. “That takes quite a few capital dollars.”
“We’re talking about capital projects that are worth $8.5 million, or more dollars, over the next five, six, seven years,” he added. read more
Town hosts healthcare forum
Jerry Askew, Tennova Healthcare senior vice president for governmental relations, gave an overview of the Affordable Care Act at a community forum at Town Hall Tuesday, May 14.“It might be useful to run through what is actually in the Affordable Care Act because frankly, given what you hear on the television, you rarely get a basic objective view of what’s actually in the act,” Askew said.
The forum, with the topic of “The Future of Healthcare and Its Impact on Business,” had four speakers, including Turkey Creek Medical Center CEO Lance Jones, BB&T Insurance Services vice president Pam Lawhorn, Summit Medical Group CEO Tim Young and Askew.
“The act requires just about everybody to have insurance,” Askew said. “It’s called the mandate.”
Healthcare.gov states that, “Under the Affordable Care Act, starting in 2014, you must be enrolled in a health insurance plan that meets basic minimum standards. If you aren’t, you may be required to pay an assessment. You won’t have to pay an assessment if you have very low income and coverage is unaffordable to you or for other reasons including your religious beliefs. You can also apply for a waiver asking not to pay an assessment if you don’t qualify automatically.” read more
Legal Notices
AGENDA FARRAGUT VISUAL RESOURCES REVIEW BOARD Farragut Town Hall, Tuesday, May 28, 2013, 7:00 p.m. I. Approval of Minutes for the April 23, 2013 meeting. II. Review a request for a tenant panel for the Koko Fit Club at 153 Brooklawn Street. III. Review a request for a replacement ground mounted sign for the Clarion Inn and Suites (formerly Baymont Inn and Suites) at 11341 Campbell Lakes Drive. IV. Review a request for a replacement interstate interchange pole sign for the Clarion Inn and Suites (formerly Baymont Inn and Suites) at 11341 Campbell Lakes Drive. V. Review a landscape plan for the Thornton Professional Building at 10904 Kingston Pike. read morecorrections:
In a photo cutline from a Farragut High School Relay For Life story in community section, May 9 issue, Annabelle Winfrey’s years as a cancer survivor was incorrect. Winfrey has been a cancer survivor for four years. We regret the error.police reports
• May 16: Knox County Sheriff’s Office was advised by a representative of Westside Unitarian Universalist Church an unknown suspect attempted to break into a shed located on the grounds. Complainant advised the shed houses the church’s lawn equipment. Pry marks were visible on the shed’s wooden doors.• May 15: An Old Colony Parkway resident reported to police an unknown suspect caused damage to both of his vehicles, which were parked in the driveway at the residence. Complainant stated the damage appeared to be key marks on the windshield and hood of both vehicles.
• May 14: KCSO was dispatched to a Peterson Road address after receiving a call from the resident reporting having heard someone outside near his vehicle. Upon checking the vehicle, the victim found the passenger door was open and the vehicle had been ransacked. read more
