What a game! The entire community should be proud of these two teams and their fans. They put on a show last night and it was well worth the $6.

Check out KnoxViews for more.

We attended the TDOT meeting yesterday regarding the DEIS report. There was a large turnout, with, it appeared, half of the attendees in opposition to the PPE.

Twenty citizens of the community were able to speak and give their comments as to why the PPE should not (or should) be completed. Nineteen of the twenty citizens were opposed to the completion of the PPE. The citizen speakers did a very good job, many with facts, figures, and reasonable arguments as to why the PPE should not be completed. The one gentleman who spoke as a proponent for the PPE seemed to be just giving up, if you're going to do it, just do it, he said.

Kudos to Nina Gregg for her hard work and persistence.

Go to KnoxViews for the full report.

Something needs to be done about semi-trucks passing through our fair county. With all of the growth, it appears truck drivers have no concern for others around them. They only have a concern for getting to their destination as quickly as possible.

I had quite the scare the other day while traveling in Maryville. I and a passenger were sitting in a turn lane on 129 waiting to go left on Lamar Alexander Pkwy. towards downtown.

This is a good sized intersection with four lanes in all four directions and a traffic signal. We were quietly waiting for our turn, when the main light for people to go straight was turning yellow, then red.

As the light turned yellow we heard a very loud truck horn blasting frantically. The truck was hauling cut trees and did appear to be carrying a full load. The truck driver was attempting to warn everyone at the intersection that he was coming through no matter the color of the traffic light. Lucky for us and everyone else at the intersection, not one driver started to move upon receiving the green light. The truck came barreling through and anyone accidentally getting in his way would have been toast.

It's time to slow these big trucks down through our fair county before someone gets hurt.

Acts of kindness are worth the effort.

Recently I was driving down Hunt Road (East bound) and was closing in on the Hunt Road and Alcoa Hwy access ramps. I was definitely going the speed limit, which is 40 mph. There was a Blount County sheriff's deputy in the West bound side getting ready to turn left onto the Alcoa Hwy access ramp to go South bound. There was also a large black pickup truck that had exited Alcoa Hwy and was waiting to turn left (West bound) on Hunt Road. As I got much closer to the intersection, the black pickup decided to go ahead and pull out right in front of me, forcing me to put on my brakes. Luckily I was going the speed limit, thus no need to do any heavy duty swerving to avoid hitting the truck. I thought for sure the deputy sheriff would go after the offender for pulling out in front of me, but alas, it did not happen. Even if the driver of the large pickup truck did not deserve a ticket, the driver did deserve a lecture from authority. I was surprised and disappointed.

Message to the Sheriff's department, it would be nice if you would give at least a warning of possible dangers to bad driving habits when they occur right in front of you.

We are excited! It's happening.

The City of Alcoa held the groundbreaking ceremony today to start the Alcoa Highway pedestrian bridge. It should be complete in September, 2010 (eight months)!

Yeah! Kudos to the City of Alcoa for continuing the legacy of parks, greenways, greenbelts, and walkability!

The City of Alcoa offers electronics recycling for City of Alcoa residents.

Residential electronic scrap items such as computers, monitors, TVs, printers, keyboards and mice, scanners, fax machines, VCRs and other small consumer electronics can be dropped off at:

City of Alcoa Service Center (new building near Springbrook)
725 Universal Street, Alcoa, TN

Alcoa/Maryville/Blount County Landfill
240 Long Powers Road, Maryville, TN

Contact the City of Alcoa Public Works Department (865-380-4800) with any questions or for additional information,

Once again there is discussion of building an "Alcoa Parkway" to allow drivers to avoid a 3 1/2 mile section of Alcoa Highway. The 2007 estimated cost for this "parkway" is over $64 million, whereas the redesign of this section of Alcoa Highway with better turn lanes and traffic signals is approximately 1/2 million dollars.

Do we really need to pave Alcoa? Do we really need a 5 mile 6 lane interstate through Alcoa? Oh, my bad, it is a "parkway". Doesn't that sound pleasant?

There is no need to make Alcoa a parking lot so commuters can go 3 1/2 miles very quickly only to be stopped by the traffic light managed Hall Road (35 mph) or Alcoa Hwy bypass (US 129/State Road 133).

I'm pretty sure travelers can find the new "Downtown Alcoa" without this 6 lane albatross. Wouldn't it be nice if the section of Alcoa Highway from Singleton Station Road to Hunt Road/Hall Road was made a well managed boulevard? How long does it now take to get from Singleton Station Road to Hunt Road/Hall Road? 2-3 minutes? Okay, so there have been frequent accidents on Alcoa Highway, wouldn't it be more beneficial to redesign the existing road (better managed access) than to pave Alcoa to avoid this minor stretch of road?

Have you seen the section of Alcoa they are planning to pave? Lots of green space, including a golf course. The new "parkway" will be on the edge of the most historical neighborhood and park in the City of Alcoa, Springbrook. Won't that be pleasant? Just what those hard working, middle-class citizens need, more traffic noise and pollution. How about it if we encourage planned development with continued greenspace requirements and managed roads without an interstate through Alcoa.

Let's think about this people. Are you with me? We do not need the "Alcoa Parkway".

What are your thoughts?

The City of Maryville unemployment rate dropped from 19.6% in July, 2009 to 9.8% in August, 2009. It all happened with smoke and mirrors.

The county mayor's attorney has interpreted the law, no need for Blount County Commission to take a vote. By default, Blount County opts out of allowing guns in parks because the cities of Alcoa and Maryville have already voted to opt-out.

In the Legals section of The [Maryville] Daily Times, the South Blount Utility District Water has a post regarding their continuing drinking water problems. Higher than acceptable lead levels are being reported, 0.015mg/L versus 0.036mg/L. High levels of lead were reported for the South Blount Utilitiy District in 2006 and 2008.

As in the past, the blame is put on homes built prior to 1987, which may contain lead solder joints on plumbing.

This problem has been lingering for at least three years. The lead levels do appear to be going down, but they are still twice the actionable level. Why can't South Blount Utility District provide acceptable drinking water? Are other water districts having this problem? Don't they have homes built prior to 1987?

According to the South Blount Utility District, here are some important safeguards regarding drinking water:

• Do not drink of cook with water from the hot water tap.
• Do not boil the water in an attempt to remove contaminants. Lead remains in the water and cannot be boiled away.
• Run the water for 15-30 seconds before drinking or using to flush standing water from pipes.

For more information, contact South Blount Utility District, 865-982-3560.

The Cities of Alcoa and Maryville, and Blount County have yet to address the issue of the new law that allows individuals with handgun carry permits to carry handguns in our local parks.

If you want your local government to address this issue by opting out to not allow these individuals to carry handguns in your local parks, contact the members of your city council, city commission, or county commission and let them know.

The new law takes effect September 1, 2009. You will need to contact your local representative soon to get this issue on the agenda of the last city council/commission, county commission meeting.

City of Alcoa Board of Commissioners contact information.
City of Maryville City Council contact information.
Blount County Commission contact information.

According to reports by the Maryville Daily Times, four people were rescued the first Sunday of June, eight people rescued last weekend, and another person was rescued yesterday.

The rescues are occuring primarily at the bend behind the KOA campground.

"The problem is the hydraulics of the river," Townsend Police Chief Ronnie Suttles said Monday. "The force slams tubers into the rocks. There is nothing they can do because of the tremendous force of the river."

Be careful out there!

Wonderful news!

The Maryville Farmers' Market is now open Wednesdays in Alcoa.

Check it out!

Location: Anderson Lumber Company, Alcoa
Hours: 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

From June 17 to September 16

Thanks!

An article in the Wall St. Journal suggests that Foothills Mall is in the category of malls that generate "sales per square foot of $250 or less".

According to a study of publicly owned malls, Foothills Mall is one of 84 malls that fall into the category of "dead malls". According to their numbers, three other malls in Tennessee fall into that category: College Square in Morristown, Hickory Hollow Mall in Nashville, and Raleigh Springs in Memphis.

I don't know if I agree with the WSJ's assessment. Foothills Mall has been very low key for years. I cannot imagine Blount County not having a Sears or JC Penney. I could be wrong.