Happiness: it’s what many find when they enter the gates of Shangri-La Therapeutic Academy of Riding, and now the non-profit is offering a way to take that same joy on the road with you. A Horse Country specialty plate soon will be available, as pre-orders are currently under way. The specialty plates will be $35 to reserve. This fee will be applied to the total cost when individuals receive their plate from the state. Purchasers will owe an additional $26.50 — plus any local county government fees — in order to register their plate at the time of pick-up. This plate is only available to Tennessee residents. While customized plates currently are not available, STAR is offering the opportunity to choose your number between its allotted numbers, 0001-1001, for an additional $40 donation to help celebrate the organization’s 40th year. Once plates are ordered online, purchasers can reach out to 865-988-4711 to choose their number and make the donation. Numbers will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. STAR, entering its 40th year in March, is a 501(c)3 non-profit offering a place where breakthroughs can happen, where healing through horses is possible and where each participant has something that is uniquely their own, according to a STAR press release. “It’s happy because it makes me happy, it makes him happy, and it’s just so uplifting for us,” one participant’s mother said. “Even driving out here, [my son is] so excited about it. He’s never unhappy to be here, even if he’s not feeling his best. This is always uplifting for him.”
Read MoreFarragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved its 2026-27 strategic plan during its meeting Thursday, Feb. 26, despite concerns about ambiguity raised by resident Kim Parks. “I want to begin by saying that strategic planning is important. Vision matters. Priorities matter. Words matter,” Parks said. “… And that’s exactly why I am here because the language used in the 2026 Strategic Planning Priorities document deserves closer examination. “The document opens with a beautiful vision … but when we move from vision to implementation, the language becomes broader and in some cases, more ambiguous. “For example, the plan states the Town will ‘identify properties that could be strategically rezoned to commercial.’ That single sentence carries enormous weight,” she said. “Which properties? Under what criteria? At whose request? With what public input before identification occurs?” The resolution for the strategic plan stemmed from a Board workshop retreat in January. “The Town of Farragut initiated its first strategic plan in 2010 and hired Raftelis Consulting to facilitate updating the plan in 2017 and 2023,” Town administrator David Smoak said. “The Farragut strategic plan helps identify the vision, mission and values of the organization and guides decision-making by prioritizing critical success factors the Town needs to pursue over the next few years. “Each department in the Town will set its priorities for the year based on these critical success factors, which will also help guide the Town’s budget priorities heading into FY2027 and beyond,” he said.
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