Shopper Blog: Seniors program needs drivers – and they’ll supply the wheels

NORTH KNOXVILLE

Seniors program needs drivers – and they’ll supply the wheels

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

Like many organizations, the Knoxville-Knox County Community Action Committee’s Volunteer Assisted Transportation program was hit hard by COVID and has not yet bounced back.

They desperately need volunteers.

“We are celebrating 14 years of service in August,” said Nancy Welch, who’s been onboard for 13 of those years. “It’s an ongoing need, a very much needed service.”

The CAC VAT program is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven program dedicated to providing accessible and affordable transportation services to Knox County seniors and people with disabilities who require aid and assistance to travel safely.

“Our drivers are volunteers from the community who are trained and screened to help individuals to go grocery shopping, get to medical appointments and other much needed errands,” said Welch. “Our volunteer drivers stay with the rider/client and provide one-on-one assistance at their destination(s), described as door-through-door service.” The training program includes CPR and first-aid skills.

As a result, older adults are able to be more independent and active. “With the use of our program we are helping seniors to access local food and also be less socially isolated. We are giving them hope and helping them live a better quality life.”

Volunteers don’t have to provide anything except a good heart and willingness to help their neighbors in need.

“What makes our program unique is that we provide the vehicle and the gas,” said Welch. Toyota Priuses and Ford Fusions – hybrid sedans – are used, and wheelchair accessible vans are also available.

“The volunteers can pick and choose when they would like to volunteer, and volunteer as much as they would like. There is no special driver’s license required. However, volunteers must be able to pass a background check, physical and drug screen and have a good driving record.”

Welch would like to accommodate all seniors who need the service, but transportation is always dependent on the availability of a volunteer driver and a vehicle.

“Anytime we are able to match a volunteer and a vehicle with a rider’s request, we will provide the ride. And we’re available weeknights and weekends based on volunteer availability.”

If you’ve got extra time on your hands and would like to help someone who otherwise cannot leave their home, please contact Nancy Welch at: 865-673-5001 or nancy.welch@cactrans.org.

POWELL

Experience with her own ADHD gives teacher insight

Al Lesar, Shopper News

If a tall youngster wants to learn the game of basketball, getting lessons from a lanky coach might make sense.

If a student with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder wants a guide through the educational process, finding a teacher who has walked in those same shoes could be the best bet.

Samantha Karsh is relatively new to East Tennessee. She arrived in the Powell area last September, moving from the west coast when her daughter enrolled at the University of Tennessee.

She could be that guide.

“I love this place,” Karsh said. “It’s so much different than California.”

Karsh got a degree in humanities, with a lean toward English, in 1997 from the University of Hawaii. She embarked on a journey of raising three children, then got active as a substitute teacher and tutor.

She became a single mother and earned her master’s degree and teaching certificate from the University of Southern California in 2011.

“I wanted to be a teacher to have the same schedule my kids had while they were growing up,” Karsh said. “It worked out well.”

Learning differently

Those kids are grown now. Her daughter is studying biology and forensic psychology at Tennessee.

It’s now her turn to get established and find a way for herself.

Karsh said what has made her unique through this journey has been the fact that she has made it while dealing with ADHD, which was diagnosed after she was an adult.

“The way I was able to learn was by writing everything down,” she said. “That way, everything was in front of me.”

Karsh’s situation has been instrumental in forming her philosophy toward education and the learning process.

“I believe that everyone learns differently,” she said. “We all have strengths and weaknesses. The important thing for a tutor to do is to get to know the student and to understand how they process what you’re trying to get through to them.

“That’s an important way to maintain the self-confidence for the student to keep trying. You want them to understand that they can do anything.”

Not a disability

Karsh has recommendations from former principals who attest to the success she’s had working with special needs and ADHD students.

“Overall, it takes patience,” she said of the ability to get through to all students. “You may have to explain the same thing different ways until something clicks.

“I don’t call what I have a disability. There are some areas where I struggle. I flail when I’m not in my wheelhouse.  But when I would be doing something like writing or reading, it was on. I was focused and I retained everything.”

Karsh said she is trying to establish herself as a tutor in East Tennessee. She will cover any subject up to seventh grade. That’s where she leaves math and science to others with that expertise.

She said her sessions will take place in the student’s home or the library, whichever is preferred.

Karsh can be contacted at: samantha@thelctutor.com or 818-480-8742.

SOUTH KNOXVILLE

Local businesses band together to help new homeowner

Ali James, Shopper News

Shortly after homeowner Tracie Gamble purchased her Seymour home in 2022, she discovered an unwelcome surprise. Gamble’s roof was leaking.

After getting several roof inspections, there was no way around it. She needed a full roof replacement.

“I felt so bad because we are in a market where there is a housing shortage,” said Cheryl Hatfield, with Realty Executives. “Every time someone wants to buy a house there are multiple offers and it is hard to get anything. She is a single mom who desperately wanted to get a house for her and her son.”

Hatfield said they paid for an inspection and knew the house needed some work, but that the seller had not disclosed some serious unseen problems.

“Tracie hadn’t been in long and started having so many troubles,” said Hatfield. “She would send me pictures of buckets in her house; water wasn’t just trickling in, it was pouring down the inside of her windows like a waterfall. It was horrible.”

It took six months, but Hatfield felt compelled to help, even if she had to chip in financially. “I have been doing this job for 16 years and this really got to me,” she said.

Hatfield reached out to Phil Fries, the owner of FLOW Roofing, to ask him if he could help. This is not the first time Fries has given a roof away, so he jumped at the opportunity and reached out to the co-owners of True Metal Supply, Mason Burchette and Adam Clark, to ask them if they wanted to partner with him.

The two companies dubbed the project the “We’ve got you covered” event.

A few weeks later, on April 23, Fries and Burchette met with Gamble to surprise her with some good news. They would install a brand new metal roof, for free.

Then Burchette and Fries inspected the property to plan out their work. They discovered that the roof on the existing carport was also in bad shape and downright dangerous. Motivated by the time they spent with Gamble and her son, Frankie, they were determined to do more.

“Tearing down the existing, unstable fence, replacing the dangerous carport with a new one and adding landscaping came about simply because Tracie and her family had more needs than just a roof,” said Fries. “We want her to be proud of where she’s at and let her know that we’re here for her.

“It wasn’t really something we needed to do, it’s something we wanted to do because of the way our community has supported us and our businesses,” Fries continued.

Local volunteers pitched in the next day: building the carport, pulling weeds, spreading mulch, planting flowers and adding a few bushes and trees. Gamble had the honor of taking the first swing at knocking down the ramshackle fence.

The 1,800-square-foot metal roof and other projects took just a weekend to complete.

“We are busy, but when it comes to helping others, we can always find the time,” said Fries. “True Metal Supply and I work together every day putting metal roofs up in East Tennessee, so our communication is really strong. We understand each other well, so the coordination of this project did not take much time.”

Fries put out calls to other organizations and businesses, and a team of volunteers jumped in to help, including Knoxville’s Women’s Council of Realtors, John Baird of Baird Home Improvements, Judah Baird from Atlas Foundation and VaVia Dumpster.

“I have found that Knoxvillians are giving people in nature, they want to help others, but many don’t have the platform to do it,” said Fries.

“This is our first giveaway. We actually just started True (Metal Supply) in the Fall of 2022,” said co-owner Mason Burchette. “We’ve had conversations with Phil expressing our interest in doing a metal roof giveaway, so we were excited about this opportunity.”

Burchette said they provided a color chart for Tracie Gamble to pick out her new roof color. Given that the most popular colors right now are neutral like a burnished slate or their signature black, the Barn Red was a bold choice.

In June, Hatfield is holding an event in her home. Every month a Facebook group she belongs to holds a fundraiser to raise $2,000-$4,000 to help with local causes. The upcoming event will help Gamble with some much-needed electrical repairs.“All homes are supposed to have working components,” said Hatfield. “I don’t know that it added value; it made it worth what she paid for it.”

NORTH KNOXVILLE

For reliable, enriching child care, ‘It Takes a Village’

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

Last summer, Shelby Stennes and Kacey Mills – pals, professional accountants and young mothers of preschoolers – had what Stennes calls “an instigating event.”

“We had been doing a nanny-share together and our nanny graduated with her master’s degree and moved on to a full-time position as a therapist.”

The two realized that they probably weren’t the first to face these or similar circumstances.

They started brainstorming and hit upon the idea of compiling a database of vetted, trained caregivers, making it available citywide, and eventually building relationships around it. Hence the name: “It Takes a Village” – a nod to the African proverb stating that an entire community of people must provide for and interact positively with children for them to grow up in a safe and healthy environment.

Stennes is driving the project. Her board so far includes Rebekah Carpenter, owner/operator of “Happy Holler Circle,” home to Knoxville’s only Montessori parent/child classes, workshops, and parent coaching; and Kate Rafferty, who is brand manager for Bush’s Beans.

“We want to have parents and educators on the board,” says Stennes. “We’re trying to build our board in a way that’s diverse – in phases of life, culture, relationships to the kiddos. We want both sides of the table.”

While many caregiver connections are made through friend groups, church or school, babysitters still come and go, and Stennes says that expanding the potential pool will benefit everyone. She envisions get-togethers – with the children present and attended – so that parents and caregivers can build trust within a much larger circle.

“As an accountant and a business advisor, that’s something that I absolutely love about working with small local businesses. There is this culture of community with Knoxville’s entrepreneurs – I can easily see that same culture translating to how we parent in our city. I’m originally a Midwesterner, and I have come to love and adopt Southern hospitality!”

She’s exploring the idea of subscriber memberships through the website. “They can log in, see each other’s profiles – meet at events if they’d like.”

And she’s thrilled with a recent agreement for rental space at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church. “It’s a different kind of option,” says Stennes, ideal for those who work remotely or just need an affordable, quiet, non-chaotic space in which to complete tasks.

“We’ll have sitters onsite, using their nursery, classroom and playground. The parents will be in a different area designated for them to come and work. It’s on a bus line, centrally located.

“Our goal with this initiative is to provide a creative communal solution for child care that is accessible and affordable. So we’ll be working on finding teachers and volunteers for this program now that we have confirmation for this facility.”

The business is still getting off the ground, and the website is under construction. Interested caregivers, parents, teachers – anyone who wants to help children through It Takes a Village – will find information and signups at instagram.com/ittakesavillageknox.

POWELL

Couple aims to help you party for less cost

Al Lesar, Shopper News

Necessity has given Maddy Blackwelder and her fiancé, Colby Huffaker, some ideas about possibility.

Blackwelder, who graduated from Powell High School in 2012, and Huffaker, who lived in Powell but graduated from Karns High School in 2014, have their own real jobs. Blackwelder is a national nurse recruiter and Huffaker works for a logistics company.

But when Blackwelder was looking to celebrate her birthday last year, she was looking for some real fun.

“I remember, as a kid, inflatables were so much fun,” she said. “Why couldn’t they be just as much fun as an adult?”

She scoured the Knoxville area and finally found a piece of equipment that wasn’t booked. She and her friends had a great time.

Blackwelder said the costs were high and choices were scarce. That combination got her thinking.

“Colby and I always wanted a side hustle, especially while we’re young,” Blackwelder said. “We thought this was something we could put our flair to.”

That’s when Time To Party Rentals was launched.

Slides and bounce house

This was no spur of the moment venture. Blackwelder and Huffaker did their due diligence in terms of research into the product, licenses, insurance and other aspects that would be part of the business.

They have started with two slides (one smaller for young kids and one bigger) along with a bounce house. They’re working on acquiring one new piece of equipment to add to the inventory.

Prices range from $150 to $280 for the rentals.

They are also considering an indoor portion for the business.

“Everyone looks for something to do when it rains,” Blackwelder said.

A party for less cost

Growth can come in several directions. Whether it’s adding to the outdoor stable of equipment or adding an indoor element, the possibilities exist.

Also, as she gathers information for everything that will make their June wedding a success, Blackwelder is overcome with the idea that the wedding business − table and chair rental, tents and everything else involved with the celebration − is lacking competition.

“It’s like there are only a couple companies you can use,” she said. “They almost have a monopoly on things. That’s something that we could get into down the road.

“When we researched the party industry, we got kicked in the face by how expensive it is. We could do better than that.”

Legacy of entrepreneurs

That aggressive and independent spirit comes naturally.

Blackwelder’s father, Kent, who died in 2017, was an entrepreneur. He owned a deli, an insurance company and a care-giving company. In 2001, he was on the TV show “Big Brother.” He didn’t win, but came home with a new car.

Huffaker’s father, Steve, owns Huffaker Insurance.

Blackwelder is hoping the Powell community can see the benefits of dealing with a small, local company for its party needs.

“Living in Powell is like living in a small community,” she said. “I’ll go to Kroger and always see someone I know. The community has been supportive about what we’ve done.

“We plan on giving that back to the community. We like to make people happy and we won’t break the bank. We’re always ready to work with people.”

For more information, call 865-269-1905.

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HALLS

Gibbs Middle’s multi-sport athletes qualify for state meet

Ali James, Shopper News

In Jeremy Swift’s first year coaching track and field at Gibbs Middle School, eight of his athletes have qualified for the middle school state track and field meet in Clarksville on May 20.

“We don’t necessarily have kids that just do track year-round, they are multi-sports kids,” Swift said. “I think every kid that is going to state does at least two or three things; they go from football to basketball or baseball to track. Some might do competitive dance and gymnastics, any sport you can think of. We have swimmers and cheerleaders – anything that is offered, we probably have them on the team.”

This is possibly due to the fact that the Gibbs community schools tend to have a smaller population than, say, some of the West Knox County schools, according to Swift. “They may have 1,500 students, whereas we probably only have 600-800,” he explained.

Swift has taught special education since he graduated in 2008 and is the Gibbs High School cross country coach, too.

“I wouldn’t say it’s been a challenge,” he said about coaching middle schoolers. “It is the same but different. We try to work hand in hand with the high school track program, mimicking the warmups, stretches. We are usually out there together practicing at the same time on the high school track.”

The Gibbs Middle School track team has about 35 kids.

“I think we are one of the larger teams when we go to the meets,” Swift said. “We participate in every event; it would be easier to tell the ones we don’t do. We do just about all of the track and field events apart from pole vault and triple jump.”

The Gibbs track team competes in everything from distance running to sprinting to hurdles, shot put to discus, long jump to high jump.

Some team members compete in a variety of events, while others specialize as sprinters or running the 800 and up, according to Swift. The Gibbs Middle team is a good mix of sixth, seventh and eighth graders.

“We have one girl who is doing the open 200 and 400 and another that is doing the open 800 and high jump,” said Swift of the upcoming state competition. “Then we have a team of boys going for the 4x400 relay and we have two throwers – one female and one male, both doing shot put and discus.”

Now that the regular season and sectionals are done with, the eight who qualified for the state meet are continuing to practice. “It is not the whole team, but we are just doing what we have been doing. That has been successful all season long and (we are) not changing anything,” Swift said.

To qualify for state, Swift said the middle schoolers must finish in the top four in their event.

“For example, there will end up being 16 teams participating in our small school division,” he said. “There are probably several kids that qualified in the big or small schools in Knox County. Whittle Springs has some really good sprinters that qualified, and Carter has a kid that is really good at long jump.”

BEARDEN

After 20 years, principal retires with 'grateful' heart for loving school community

John Shearer, Shopper News

Retiring Bearden Elementary principal Susan Dunlap has enjoyed her education career so much that she was not only full of smiles as she reminisced, but also a few tears.

“I love my job. I love working with children,” she said as she choked back emotion while sitting in her office on May 9. “Here at Bearden, we have great families and I have had an opportunity to work with so many wonderful people. There are so many people in a school system that contribute to what takes place in a classroom. I’ve had a great experience.”

Signs around the school − from out front to bulletin boards full of student notes − wish her well in her retirement and thank her for her contributions. Many appreciative members of the larger Bearden Elementary community have dropped off flowers and potted plants in recent days, often when she has stepped away from her desk.

Staff members have also appreciated her service as principal there for nearly 20 years, with several encouraging the Shopper News via email to write a story about her. One of them was music teacher Lee Ann Parker, who wrote, “I came to Bearden Elementary in 2010 and have always been so impressed with how well our school runs.  She puts in many dedicated hours, even after everyone else has left for the day.”

Added fellow teacher Angela Sitzlar in another email, “She will be missed and deserves to be celebrated.”

Even the day before Dunlap was honored with a special retirement reception open to the entire school community, she was admittedly humbled by all the attention. “I’ve had all kinds of nice things people have shared,” she said. “I’m very grateful. It has been a long and rewarding career.”

Dunlap, who has a calm and upbeat manner when talking and does not seem to be the typical principal whose office students fear being sent to, came to Bearden Elementary in January 2004. By then, she had already put in more than 25 years in the system − enough to almost qualify for full retirement.

Reared in South Knoxville, she had always wanted to be an educator, remembering playing school with her neighborhood friends when she was young and even giving them report cards. After graduation from the old Doyle High and then the University of Tennessee, she embarked on her first job under Knox County Schools Supt. Mildred Doyle in 1974 as the only kindergarten teacher at the now-closed White Elementary.

“It was overwhelming,” she recalled while saying she soon learned how to find a bond of support among other teachers there. “We did puzzles and games. We didn’t have Chrome books” (like today’s Knox County elementary students).

In 1981, she moved over to New Hopewell Elementary before later becoming a curriculum generalist at Cedar Bluff Primary and Intermediate schools. Later stops included serving as assistant principal at Powell Elementary, principal at East Knox County Elementary, and assistant principal at Farragut Primary for a semester before being promoted to Bearden Elementary principal mid-year to fill an opening there.

And the last 19-plus years there have been wonderful, she said. “Bearden Elementary is great. It’s like a family. There are great families, great kids, great teachers, and a great community,” she said of the school that she describes as diverse in multiple ways. “The families really value education and are very supportive of the teachers and what we do.”

However, getting to enjoy the rewards of leading this school has involved plenty of work, she added. An admitted night owl who sometimes does not get as much sleep as she wants, this woman who tries to learn as many students’ names as she can is often at the school 12 hours a day from early in the morning until the evening dinner hour.

As a result, she is looking forward to sleeping later in her retirement, she added with a laugh. She is also happy she will get to spend more time with her nearly 94-year-old mother, Peggy Blevins; her retired architect husband, Dale Dunlap; her three children, including Pleasant Ridge Elementary assistant principal Jennie Scott; and her two “wonderful” grandchildren.

She has mixed emotions about retirement and has not completely closed the door on some smaller-scale work with the system down the road. But she leaves with plenty of great memories about an unusually long career of 46 years with Knox County Schools.

“It’s bittersweet because I love my job,” she said of leaving this school also known for its annual spring dance festival. “But I am taking lots of good memories with me. It’s really about the people you meet along the way.”

OPINION

Coming back to life, seeing past the sadness

Leslie Snow, Shopper News

When my father died in early February, I felt a tremendous urge to clean. I wanted to purge the sadness and the medicinal smell permeating my parents’ house. I wanted to open the blinds and let in the light.

So, while my mother slept and tried to find the strength she needed to get through the funeral, I let myself into her house and boxed up all my father’s medications.

I called hospice and told them, more sternly than I intended, that they needed to come immediately to pick up all the equipment that had been so essential during my father’s final weeks of life. I never knew dying required so much equipment.

When the hospital bed, Hoyer lift, and all the other gear were finally loaded into the van, I started scrubbing the floors, the walls, the kitchen, and the bathrooms. Every surface was polished and sanitized.

I even threw out the living room rug, worn from the tracks of my father’s walker. I opened the windows and doors to let the fresh air flow. I wanted to wash away the layer of illness and grief that had collected over time.

And when I was done, the house looked fresh, but bare. It was pristine in a way that didn’t feel quite comfortable, but it was what I needed. And for a while, it suited my mother as well.

Then, a few weeks ago, I invited her to pick out flowers and tomato plants for her raised beds. And something shifted in us both.

We wandered the nursery holding hands and admiring the greenery. My mother spoke to the zinnias, softly thanking them for their colorful blossoms. She caressed the unruly macho ferns and talked to the petunias reaching toward the sun.

We asked about the best tomato plants then ignored the advice and picked the ones with the prettiest names. We bought everything we could carry, then with my mom directing, I planted everything we’d bought.

That was just the beginning.

The next day my mother showed me an ad in the paper and asked me to take her to buy some pink flowers on sale. The day after that, we bought a ponytail palm and a pretty wicker stand along with more flowers for her beds. She picked out two trees, too, one for the front yard and one for the back, both with beautiful pink flowers that will bloom in the spring and summer.

Slowly, my mom’s house is coming back to life. The hospital bed has been replaced by a fig tree. The oxygen tank has been exchanged for a rubber tree plant and a peace lily.

My mom’s grief is still deep and wide, but she’s finding a way to let in some light. And some life.

Yesterday, when I came over for dinner, we took a walk through her backyard. While she was admiring a new green tomato hanging on the vine, I said, “We’re both busy planting flowers and buying too many houseplants. That has to mean something, even though we’ve never talked about it.”

She gave my hand a little squeeze and said, “I think it does mean something. I think we’re ready for a little sweetness in our lives.”

Then my mom whispered goodnight to her tomatoes and her zinnias. She thanked the dipladenia for its bright pink blossoms and the mimosa tree for sprouting new leaves.

With the plants tucked in for the night, we walked back into a house still touched by grief, but ready for the new blossoms of spring.

Leslie Snow may be reached at snow column@aol.com.

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