News
A Big Splash!
August 22, 2019 by Tammy Cheek
Third Annual Dog Daze Dock Dogs national pool-jumping competition, hosted by Shop Farragut/Farragut Business Alliance, continues to explode in popularity as it breaks records in participation and spectators.
“We’re excited about the numbers,” Steve Krempasky, Shop Farragut executive director, said Sunday about the three-day event in the parking lot of Village Green Shopping Center Friday, Aug. 16, through Sunday, Aug. 18. “We’ve have over 5,000 people.”
The Farragut Dock Dogs event was the last regional competition in the Southeast where dogs/owners could earn points for the national event, which takes place at the end of September.
“We’ve had a lot of new competitors this year,” said Trent Steele, president of Smoky Mountain Dock Dogs.
Steele said about 240 dogs – 40 dogs in six waves — competed this year, an increase versus last year’s numbers.
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August 22, 2019 by Michelle Hollenhead
On what was the hottest day of the year so far, nearly 200 volunteers turned up the heat even more on the issue of gun safety.
The local chapter of the grass roots organization Moms Demand Action hosted a “Recess Rally” at the Howard Baker Federal Courthouse in downtown Knoxville Sunday afternoon, Aug. 18, specifically “demanding action from our senators to pass background checks and Red-Flag law legislation,” said Farragut resident and chapter co-leader Jodi Scheer.
“It is my understanding that (U.S. Senator) Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee) is open to legislative solutions, and he has said something can be done with background checks,” Scheer added. “I know he is retiring, but I hope he can leave a legacy of a safer Tennessee and a safer country when leaves the senate.”
The rally was organized in response to the latest U.S. mass shootings Aug. 3 in El Paso, Texas, and Aug. 4 in Dayton, Ohio, in which 31 people lost their lives, and was just one of dozens of Recess Rallies that took place across the country over the weekend.
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August 22, 2019 by Tammy Cheek
An initiative to help students deal with traumatic experiences is taking hold in Knox County Schools, and will be offered to Farragut High School staff members this month.
“It’s just growing and growing,” said Anna Graham, a Bearden High School English teacher who was on the six-member team that initiated trauma-informed training there three years ago.
Today (Thursday, Aug. 22), FHS faculty will be introduced to the same training during their in-service week, FHS principal Dr. John Bartlett said.
“Our first training will be called ACEs,” he explained, adding, “It stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences.
Such training “helps teachers understand how trauma affects students, their brain development and their mental health,
Bartlett said. “Essentially, it is how the student responds to certain stimuli based on past experiences and what does that do to a student in the classroom or wherever they are.”
“So that is the first big bite of the apple that we are going to start talking through,” he added. “There are other follow-on trainings — healthy brain trainings, trauma-informed trainings, where we are basically talking about ‘This is the issue. Now what are we going to do about it in our classroom?’
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August 22, 2019 by Staff Reports
Three Farragut schools were singled out as “Reward Schools” by the Tennessee Department of Education last week, as recognized by state Sen. Richard Briggs (R-District 7, which includes Farragut): Farragut High School, Farragut Intermediate School and Farragut Middle School.
“Reward schools are those that are improving in terms of achievement and growth for both all students and student groups. These schools are identified annually for making outstanding progress,” a press release from Briggs’ office stated.
“This is a tremendous honor for these schools,” Briggs said. “I congratulate these hard working students, caring parents, inspiring teachers and great administrators for a job well done.”
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August 22, 2019 by
• At 4:41 p.m., Monday, Aug. 12, a complainant called Knox County Sheriff’s Office Teleserve Unit to report a theft from First Choice Automotive, 11926 Kingston Pike. Complainant said she confronted the suspect on Monday, July 29, about store items that were missing — a pressure washer with a retail price listed at $500, and a wood-slated bench featuring metal holdings with a retail price listed at $100 — as she had been unable to locate them. Complainant advised the suspect denied stealing anything. She was then contacted by the suspect’s former fiancée on Aug. 12, who said the suspect had the stolen items at his residence.
August 22, 2019 by Staff Reports
Tennova Healthcare’s Turkey Creek Medical Center has received the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry Chest Pain- MI Registry Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2019.
Turkey Creek Medical Center is one of only 86 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.
“This award recognizes Tennova’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients,” said Ravi Mehta, M.D., a board-certified cardiologist with Tennova Heart at Turkey Creek Medical Center. “Further, it signifies our hospital and its accredited Chest Pain Center have met an aggressive goal of treating heart attack patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association.”
“As a Silver Performance Award recipient, Tennova has established itself as a leader in setting the national standard for improving quality of care in patients with acute myocardial infarction,” said Michael C. Kontos, M.D., chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “By meeting the award requirements set forth in the registry, Turkey Creek Medical Center has demonstrated a commitment to providing reliable, comprehensive treatment for heart attack patients based on current clinical guideline recommendations.”
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Whiskey, a 1 ½-year-old Australian shepherd, made a big leap-and-grab attempt while watched closely by owner LeeAnn Duckett.
