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.

Alcoa appoints CEO Kleinfeld as board chairman

Joe Hultquist will be the featured guest speaker at the 2010 Annual Meeting of CAPPE (Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension, Inc.). The meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 22, from 6:30-8:30pm in the Sharon Lawson Room at the Blount County Library.

"For several years we have designed our Annual Meeting as a community education event, featuring speakers who are knowledgeable about transportation issues relevant to our region," said Nina Gregg of CAPPE's Board of Directors. "We saw a need for education and civil discussion about transportation issues and decided to devote a portion of each year's Annual Meeting to fulfilling this need."

"This year we are pleased to welcome Joe Hultquist, Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth (ETQG) as our featured speaker," Gregg said.

Mr. Hultquist, who was born and raised in Blount County, will be speaking about the future of transit in the greater Knoxville area, including the upcoming Regional Corridor and Opportunity Area Study; options for transit between the airport and Knoxville; the role of independent advocacy groups; and ETQG's perspective on transit as a component of quality growth in the region.

Mr. Hultquist is currently serving as Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth, a new organization with representation from 16 counties of middle East Tennessee. ETQG's mission is to "create a vision for quality growth through dialogue, research, and education," and to "promote and facilitate implementation of this vision through regional cooperation and local action."

Previous speakers at CAPPE Annual Meetings have included Rees Shearer from RailSolution, Cindy McGinnis from Knox Area Transit (KAT), Jeff Welch from the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Bill Dunlap from the Blount County Highway Department.

The public is invited to come hear Mr. Hultquist's presentation, which will begin at 7pm. Refreshments will be served at 6:30pm. CAPPE's annual business meeting will follow the speaker.

For more information, call Nina Gregg, CAPPE Communication Committee Chair at 977 7399.

There is a Health Coverage Tax Credit program that will pay 80% of health insurance premiums for workers that are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits or receiving pension payments from Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) and over the age of 55.

The IRS is holding an education session to assist eligible individuals through the process.

Crowne Plaza
401 W. Summit Hill Drive
Knoxville, TN
9 AM to 3 PM

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a benefit for individuals who have lost their jobs because of trade with foreign countries. Employers and unions file a petition with the Department of Labor (DOL) to have their employees TAA certified.

Area companies that are Trade Adjustment Assistance certified include:
Alcoa, Inc., Alcoa, TN
Newell Rubbermaid, Maryville, TN
Ceramaspeed, Inc., Maryville, TN
Key Safety Restraint Systems, Knoxville, TN
Panasonic Electronic Devices Corp. of America, Knoxville, TN
DeRoyal Industries, Inc., Powell, TN
La-Z-Boy, Dayton, TN
Bos Automotive, Morristown, TN
Berkline/BenchCraft, LLC, Morristown, TN
The Mazer Corporation, Johnson City, TN

Use the US Dept. of Labor web-site to search for TAA certified companies.

According to the Maryville Daily Times,

A Health Care Reform discussion forum will be held at the Blount County Library on January 26th at 6:30PM.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College, the Blount County Ecumenical Action Council and the nonpartisan Tennessee Health Care Campaign.

The groups "advocate for health care reform as a moral imperative regardless of the current national political debate."

Previous events by the groups were held in September, 2009, and January 3, 2010.

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 Last Friday Art Walk is a recurring event to celebrate the arts on the last Friday of every month in Downtown Maryville.

Maryville Arts Coalition is proud to present the second annual Last Friday Art Walk Tribute to Music event! August 28, 2009. 5-9pm. Artists and Musicians will be lining the streets of Downtown Maryville. The theme? Paint the Music!

Note from the Little River Watershed Association:

Keep Blount Beautiful needs your help to prevent Cigarette Litter in Downtown Maryville... the Friday Night Art Walk and KBB is looking for 24 volunteers to help hand out free pocket ashtrays at the event for one hour... Please contact Jillian Atchley at 681-4809, email intern@keepblountbeautiful.org to volunteer, please specify a time you are interested in.

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.

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.

From the Tennessee Economic Council on Women:

Justice Sharon Lee

Judge Angelita
Blackshear-Dalton

Maryville, TN – Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Sharon Lee will deliver the keynote address during the 2009 East Tennessee Regional Women’s Economic Summit scheduled for Thursday, June 4th on the Maryville College campus. Nashville General Sessions Judge Angelita Blackshear-Dalton will open the Summit’s breakfast meeting.

"We’re thrilled to bring these distinguished professionals to East Tennessee," says Sharon Hannum, co-leader of this year’s event. "They are an inspiration to all women who aspire to reach the top of their profession."

The one-day Economic Summit for Women, hosted by the Women’s Economic Foundation and the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College, offers two learning tracks. One track focuses on establishing and growing a business in a challenging economy. The second track focuses on personal and professional skills development. Participants may choose the session of their choice in either track.

More details and registration information after the jump. Registration deadline is Friday, May 29.

Knoxville News Sentinel

Employees confirmed this morning that Walker's Supply, a landmark Blount County business that provides fixtures and decor for area homebuilders, is closing its doors.

A private airstrip is in the planning stages for Seymour and the community is not happy. There was an attempt to put a 90-day moratorium on the construction of airstrips in the county. The moratorium was voted down by the Blount County Commission, 12 against and 5 for the moratorium.

Several commissioners were concerned that the moratorium would leave the county open to a lawsuit from Maryville developer Dennis Weaver, who is planning Into the Wind Airpark.

Is it relevant that the airstrip developer Dennis Weaver may be the same developer that allowed the foreclosure of a condominum project he was unable to complete in South Knoxville? Note, the bank was left holding the property until just recently (December 31, 2008).

If you haven't been by The Market at Washington and High, tonight (Thursday) is a good opportunity to check it out. Store merchants are having a free tasting at 7PM, and you can sample some of their fresh meats, seafoods, produce and more.

I stopped by earlier today and got some crab cakes from Blue Moon Seafood, although I was tempted by a nice pork tenderloin at the Laurel Creek Farms butcher shop. I picked up some fresh corn on the cob and some squash and a couple of loafs of artisan bread. The Ciao Deli had an awesome looking buffet going on.

The location is, well, the corner of Washington and High in Maryville, so it's not hard to find. Go check it out.

Previously...

The Maryville Daily Times reports that Puleo's Grille hopes to open in the former Up the Creek space by late March.