Cain-‘Kane’ a Town-County water relief tandem
While Jacobs helped lead the county’s effort in a Knoxville-based water drive Saturday, Oct. 5, from the Town side of things came a water donation drive spearheaded by Cain and Town administrator David Smoak — along with help from several Town employees and at least one local business — in the parking lot of Faith Promise Church, West End Avenue, from early morning to early afternoon, Friday, Oct. 4.
The result, according to Cain, was roughly 12,000 cases (each case having from 40 to 48 bottles ranging from 16 to 20 ounces) collected, which was “two full dump trucks plus a Town of Farragut pick-up truck equivalent of water collected today. … And that doesn’t count three extra vans full” from Protech Automotive Solutions/Caliber Collision.
As for what prompted the Town’s response, “Monday, (a local radio station) and The Sports Animal (radio), they were doing a supply drive at their radio station, and they had a company bring them a semi-truck trailer, and their goal was to fill the trailer,” Cain said.
“And so I went down there and saw my buddy Bob Yarbrough … and talked to him,” he added. “He introduced me to the lady who owned the trucking company that brought them the trailer. She said, ‘You just tell me where to bring the trailer, and I’ll drop it off, and we’ll come back and get it when you finish with it.’
“I did some of the footwork and then reached out to David Smoak and to (Town Mayor) Ron Williams. I sent an e-mail out to all the aldermen and everybody and said, ‘Hey, can we, as a Town, do something like this?’ Then David Smoak ran with it after that. He coordinated.”
Although originally planning to do something on campus at one of the Farragut public schools, “the security department at Knox County Schools said they really didn’t want people coming on and off a campus, dropping off water and stuff,” Cain said.
“David got together with Faith Promise and the gentleman who owns the parking lot there, and that’s how we ended up in the parking lot,” the North Ward alderman added. “And they made the decision that we’d involve the guys from (Town) Public Works, and that’s how we got the dump trucks. And we said, ‘Hey, we’ll just fill up the dump trucks until they’re full, and then we’ll take them to Knox County.’”
Cain said Yarbrough invited him to promote the Town’s sudden water drive plans on the air, “and so I was on the radio with them just real briefly telling them what we were trying to put together and plan,” Cain said. “And then David sent out an e-mail and said, ‘Ok, here’s what we got.’ And then the whole plan was put in place.”
Moreover, “Wayne (Griffin) from Caliber Collision (regional vice president) called me and he said, ‘Hey, I heard what you guys are putting together. … The offices that we have in Georgia and in Nashville and Chattanooga want to bring water up here and donate it to you guys, bring it to you,’” Cain recalled. That’s how the Caliber Collision and Protech guys all showed up here.
“I think they had 13 (vans) full of water.”
