Shopper Blog: Longtime Karns resident with a heart for volunteering needs a kidney

WEST KNOXVILLE

Longtime Karns resident with a heart for volunteering needs a kidney

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

Connie Dagley was the belle of the ball at this year’s annual Flotilla on Beaver Creek connecting Powell and Karns. She volunteered to shuttle people from Charlie’s Launch in Karns back to the beginning launch in Powell.

Dagley is special because she’s in renal failure requiring dialysis, but she doesn’t let that slow her down. She has a big heart and a love of volunteering just as big. At 69, she still works full time for Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

But Dagley has a problem. The average wait for a kidney is three to five years. Dagley’s wait is much longer because she has B negative blood type, which is very rare. She’s hoping for a living donor to come forward and participate in the Kidney Pair Donation program at UT Medical Center.

In the meantime, she lives her life fully and goes to dialysis at 5 a.m. three times per week.

“You just have to do it. Just get up and do it. Whether it be dialysis or volunteering for something. I’m a people person, and when Charlie Austin asked to borrow a van from my church, Beaver Ridge United Methodist, I chimed in to drive it. It was a great day. I loved hearing the stories from the people about their float and how nice Beaver Creek is now.”

According to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), more than 42,800 organ transplants performed in 2022 set an annual record. Total kidney transplants exceeded 25,000 for the first year ever. The total of 25,498 marked an increase of 3.4 percent over 2021. Annual records were also set for liver, heart and lung transplants.

The Kidney Pair Donation program allows someone who is not a match to donate in Dagley’s name. Someone who is a match gets the kidney. Dagley then moves to the top of the transplant list. There is no charge – zero – for the donor. Dagley said a donor can live a full and healthy life with one kidney.

Dagley used to be athletic, playing golf and softball. She volunteered as an umpire for softball and fastpitch for years. Her knees and hips finally gave out. She received total replacement of both knees and hips. Still she volunteers for whatever, whenever she can.

Dagley said taking an anti-inflammatory killed her kidneys.

“My cardiologist told me to stop taking the anti-inflammatory as it was an allegedly known kidney killer. I cut back on it, but when my left hip collapsed, I started it back in heavy doses due to the extreme pain. That was that for my kidneys.”

She has high hopes for the Kidney Pairing Program. The number at UT Medical Center Transplant Services is 865-305-9236.

HALLS

Central’s J.D. Lambert retires

Ali James, Shopper News

J.D. Lambert has been a Central High School mainstay for more than 10 years. So, as another school year ends, it was a surprise that the athletic director had decided to retire.

What better way to celebrate someone who is arguably the biggest cheerleader of the Bobcats than with a pep rally on May 12.

“Central High School is not just about one specific person, it is about the school as a whole,” said Lambert. “The biggest thing I will miss is the relationships with the people, the co-workers, or the students; that’s what makes Central such a special place.”

Lambert moved from Kentucky to East Tennessee in 1991 to attend Carson-Newman College. After stints as a teacher and coach in Morristown and Jefferson County, he returned to Knoxville in 2000.

“At one point I had been in 14 schools in 23 years. This was my 10^th year back at Central High School,” Lambert said. “I always just knew when it was time to move on.”

No specific event or moment led to Lambert’s retirement, but he considered retiring during the pandemic when staff and students would return to his replacement sitting in his chair in August. No fuss or fanfare.

Traditionally, the seniors pull off a prank on their last day. “It is usually a look-at-us moment,” said Lambert.

“Instead, the class of 2023 created a schoolwide celebration that included the band, dance and cheer teams and the whole student body. That got lots of people involved and created a lot of positive energy and atmosphere. Our kids tend to be inclusive.”When Central’s cheer coach and world languages teacher, Kira Lawson, was a student at the school, Lambert was her economics teacher.

“We printed fat heads and staked out the lawn with pictures of his face to support him at the rally,” Lawson said. “I believe it was my first year teaching that he was the Elf on the Shelf and got on the roof of the school. He is very charismatic and always has a fun and selfless persona. He is always everyone’s biggest advocate.”

“The first thing someone will say, as a coach or an administrator, is that you can’t measure the impact J.D. has had on this school,” said principal Andrew Brown.

About 100 people came to say goodbye at a staff luncheon on the last half-day of school, and plenty of those in attendance had good things to say.

Former Central High School principal John Miller hired Lambert. “He was a dynamo when he started,” said Miller, who hired Lambert as a basketball coach. “There’s no doubt he is a tireless worker. He had the gym open at 5:30 a.m. every morning over the summer and no one showed up. I reminded him it was the city and that no one gets up that early.”

Miller said that Lambert is the “most unbelievably genuine guy ever.”

Gordon Sisk was the social studies department chair when Lambert taught economics at Central. “He would know every kid’s name and it would take me a semester to learn them,” said Sisk.

Lambert took Central High’s motto of “Pride and Tradition” to heart, according to Sisk, reaching out to old coaches and recording past and present students’ accomplishments.

“We have had some awesome kids, and one of them went on to the Olympics. Those are the things people wanted to know,” he said. “J.D. worked so hard to make sure people knew those things.”

He added that Lambert was the glue that holds everyone together. “He makes a difference and leaves an impression,” said Sisk. “It’s not just about what we are teaching, it’s about making connections so that those kids will remember him. He never knew a stranger.”

In 1996, Tony Patterson and Lambert were both assistant basketball coaches in Jefferson County. “To pick the tournament teams we had to watch 20-30 games in a week. I remember him saying out of the blue, ‘I like you and if I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know’,” Patterson said. “Occasionally I’ll ask him whether he has changed his mind, our friendship has gone on 39 years and I think it’ll go on forever.

“I think the kids really gravitate to him; they know how much he cares about them,” said Patterson. “He is out there and more seen and could probably name every kid in this school. He is the go-to guy when there is a situation that needs to be handled. He just knows how to talk to people, especially the students.”

“The things I do to spread positive energy is really simple when you have great kids doing great things,” said Lambert.

“There needed to be a voice to these activities that were already happening, and somebody needed to make them more well known.”

POWELL

Mystery solved, Powell senior caps the year by writing the spring play

Al Lesar, Shopper News

When the ghost of the cop finally solved his own murder and the female lieutenant was arrested, the auditorium was filled with applause.

And … Shelby Whitehead was completely relieved.

Whitehead, a senior at Powell High School, wrote the school’s spring play, “Partners.” It was the second time in Jennifer Doubleday’s 18 years of being in charge of stage productions at Powell that a student was the playwright.

There were three evening performances and a matinee for the students.

That’s the one that worried Whitehead.

“There were three classes at the play where everybody knows me,” Whitehead said. “A lot of teachers I knew were there. I was panicked. They would be the most judgmental.”

Doubleday said there were laughs when there were supposed to be laughs and applause at the climax.

“That said most of them were paying attention,” she said with a laugh. “They just didn’t want an excuse to get out of their second-period class.”

An ‘outline’ person

Whitehead has always been a cop show junkie. “Law and Order” is on her must-see list.

Since she was a sophomore, the idea of a crime drama/comedy has been bouncing around in her head. She has been working with Doubleday for quite a while, running the bits of her script past her teacher, while getting feedback on her progress.

“I’m an ‘outline’ person,” Whitehead said. “I follow an outline through the whole play. At one time, I had three different ways that the play could have gone.”

The story is about two detectives who not only were partners, but were best friends. One was murdered. He came back as a ghost to solve the mystery of his death. He had no memory of the circumstances that led to his demise. While piecing things together, clues started to click.

“During the writing process, we realized there was something missing,” said Whitehead. “We figured out there wasn’t enough character development in the middle of the play, so we added that. We worked a lot of character consistency.”

Spoiler alert: The police corruption was at the heart of the murder. A female lieutenant had been framing others for crimes. When it was revealed, the lieutenant slammed the detective's head into the desk (thus, his memory loss). It caused his death.

“At the very end, (the detective’s ghost) crawls under his desk,” Whitehead said, alluding to the ghost finally being at peace.

The blunt approach

In addition to her writing and directing obsession with the play, Whitehead maintains a 4.1 GPA. Also, she played the trumpet in the band throughout her high school career, and this year she was the band’s drum major.

“I learned a lot about dealing with people,” Whitehead said. “Sometimes, with difficult people, you have to figure out a way to get to them. Dealing with that in band helped prepare me for the play. I ended up taking the blunt approach.”

Whitehead just laughed when she talked about how the actors would tell her their character wouldn’t think or talk like that. She said they were her characters, so she had a pretty good idea of how they would think, act or talk.

It wasn’t until the morning after the fourth and final performance of the 1 hour, 45-minute play that the end finally sunk in.

“I told my mom I was sad,” Whitehead said. “I worked for three years. Now, it’s gone.”

But there’s already another script rolling around in her head. She’ll attend East Tennessee State University next fall majoring in music education.

“I talked to the theater people at ETSU and they said I can be around without being a major or minor,” she said. “I’m looking forward to that.”

NORTH KNOXVILLE

'Master plan' looks to enhance city's health, livability

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

The good folks from Trees Knoxville have been very busy listening to Knoxvillians.

Since December, they’ve been holding open houses and workshops and offering online input opportunities for Knoxville’s Urban Forest Master Plan. “We’ve been working hard to reach as many folks as we can,” said Rachel Comte, founder of Cincinnati-based Urban Canopy Works LLC, who’s been consulting on the project.

“Urban forest”?

Comte said that simply means all the trees in the city. “The other term we use is tree canopy cover. That’s a way to measure the amount of trees in a city when viewed from above, expressed in a percentage.

“In Knoxville we have data from 2018 and 2008. Over 22,000 acres – 38% – are covered by tree canopy. That is down from 40% in 2008. Most of that is on private land, which is very common, but also a challenge. How do we have influence on land that we don’t control? Everyone controls their own private land.”

One answer is by educating the public about the importance of trees.

Dan Steinhoff, a Trees Knoxville board member for six years, said, “the tree canopy is really important. Standing in the shade could be about 10 degrees cooler with several shade trees. If you have big heavy rainstorms, you have the trees to capture some of that rain and put it in their system. The roots hold the soil. The canopy itself is a great place for wildlife and a home for pollinators. So it’s a total thing.”

The benefits of trees, however, extend far beyond the back yard. Probably the most important, said Comte, is public health.

“There’s a lot of linkage of trees to better quality of life. By reducing temperatures and intercepting air and water pollutants, trees do huge amounts for public health, and they do more exponentially more as they age. A tree that’s four times larger in size intercepts 70 times more air pollutants.

“Walkability is one of our focuses in Knoxville. It’s not enough to have sidewalks. If it’s so hot that nobody wants to walk on an unshaded sidewalk, we don’t consider that a successfully walkable place.

“For those who want to age in place, AARP has a fact sheet that shows how trees are important, and includes recommendations. People need shade, benches, water fountains.”

Trees, Comte said, have economic impact.

“People will shop longer and visit more often in business districts with trees than without. If we look at positive return on investment, we see that for every dollar cities spend on trees they get up to three dollars in services. And those are the services that we can quantify at this point; I think the amount is much higher.”

Trees Knoxville hopes to formulate a 10- to 20-year plan to increase the tree canopy equitably, in every Knoxville neighborhood, and you can keep up with their progress online.

Kasey Krouse, the City of Knoxville’s Urban Forester, said, “We are going to put out a lot of the information that we’ve had from these meetings. Our steering committee will start formulating plans, and I’m projecting around fall time we’re going to release our goals; we can then again solicit input from the community. So far, we’ve gotten a great response.”

Info: Visit knoxvilletreeplan.org.

HALLS

Counselor and landscaper tends to new business idea

Ali James, Shopper News

A year after Alex and Abbie Gottfried were married, Alex lost his mother. “Two of her favorite things were hydrangeas and wildflowers,” he said.

“Then two years after her unexpected death, Abbie and I lost our twin girls, Lilian Elizabeth and Magnolia Mae, in a late pregnancy complication. To honor the three of them, we are excited to begin the journey of starting something amazing for our Knoxville community.”

The seed of Lilian Magnolia Garden and Gather was planted. As a full-time counselor and part-time landscaper, Gottfried noticed that during the pandemic people were gathering at local gardening centers.

“I realized everybody who wanted to be around others wanted to gather in pretty places,” he said. Gottfried decided to start hosting pop-up plant sales while he works toward his dream of building a place for people to gather.

He held his first event on Mother’s Day weekend, selling plants and Rifle Paper Co. products from his home city of Winter Park, Florida. “I sold out over the weekend,” said Gottfried.

The event was held on the grounds of the 110-year-old Babelay Farm, next to 865 Axe Throwing. “It is a pretty cool location. A guy that I get all of my hardscaping material rocks from put me in contact with the Babelays,” said Gottfried. “Their family used to have a massive greenhouse operation growing flowers and plants. They are pretty protective of their land and people trying to develop it, I thought he would laugh at my idea, but his father had just passed away and really fell in love with our story of losing our girls.”

Gottfried had no intention of starting Lilian Magnolia as quickly as he did.“It is just a pop-up business now,” he said. “I am not here to create this juggernaut money thing. I want to create a space where the community can gather, and one day have a microbrewery or café attached – something elegant. I want to create this space that will help our community.”

The next step is to collect enough capital to build a North Knoxville gathering space on the Babelays’ property.

The next pop-up event Gottfried is planning will be on July 4. Through his pop-up events Gottfried hopes to showcase what his landscaping business can do for someone’s yard as well.

“We want it to be a place where people feel inspired, learn and purchase plants while being a destination/venue for people to gather with friends and loved ones throughout the year,” he added.

Gottfried got his start in landscaping at an early age. “I started doing small jobs for my neighborhood when I was 10 years old,” said Gottfried, who had a garage sale and made $200 to buy a lawnmower.

“Our family was not the most well off and tennis was one of those things you needed the best equipment and training to compete at the top level.”

He ran his landscaping business throughout middle and high school and only quit when he went off to college in North Carolina to pursue a business degree in Tourism and Leisure Management.

During that time he learned a lot about outdoor education. “It really got me interested in providing services for people that helped make them think and grow and help their mental health,” said Gottfried. “I like group dynamics, discovering why people choose to leisure or vacation in particular places, and why they pick a part of town to have food. I love creating places where people can gather.”

This summer the certified therapist is offering individual, couple and family counseling where he can meet up at parks, his counseling office in Norris or even walk around downtown.

Info: Find Good Roots Landscapes on Facebook.

Take that, Florida and Georgia. The SEC All-Sports trophy is Tennessee's | Mike Strange

FARRAGUT

What is that thing? It’s a Sikod-Sikod

Nancy Anderson, Shopper News

The colorful contraption came from the Philippines more than 25 years ago. Dr. Ray Pais, a retired pediatric oncologist, disassembled it and packed it into suitcases with tubes sticking out for the long journey to the United States.

“I got by customs with this thing on a day when there was a bomb threat at the airport. They just opened the case, took a look at it and let me through. I was astonished,” said Pais.

What is it? In the Philippines it’s known as a “Sikod-Sikod” or “Long-Long.” It’s a colorful pedicab that was completely refurbished and cared for these 25 years by Fares Schlank, owner of West Bicycles at 11531 Kingston Pike in Farragut.

The contraption is painted a cheerful red and decorated with a number of interesting gewgaws including a duck wearing a helmet, a whirly wand, horns, fringe, and an American Flag. Pais drove the Sikod-Sikod from Cedar Bluff to West Bicycles, which is not unusual for the spry retiree.

Schlank is a talented technician with 30 years’ experience and a multitude of Yelp reviews lauding his special talent. His shop has hundreds of bicycles for every need, and he makes sure the fit is perfect for each and every rider. He will even teach a new cyclist the ins and outs of bicycle ownership and riding.

“Of all the cycles I’ve refurbished, this has got to be the most interesting. I certainly wondered what I was getting myself into when I started, but slowly it came together. I had to find a whole new bike to fit the cab, which was hard, but it finally happened. I put an automatic transmission (derailleur) on it to make it easier to ride. The whole thing was and is a labor of love,” Schlank said.

Pais said he wouldn’t take his Sikod-Sikod to anyone else.

He spent many years entertaining his patients with his charming and optimistic countenance, odd neckties … and rides on the Sikod-Sikod around Children’s Hospital.

“I really can’t do that anymore; it’s too dangerous with the buildings going up and the now heavy traffic. But taking the children for a ride used to be one of my greatest pleasures. It certainly brought my son Jacob and I closer together. Jacob loves the Sikod-Sikod.

“Over the years Jacob and I have taken the Sikod-Sikod on fun adventures to playgrounds, swimming pools, Volunteer Landing, Waffle House, Sonic, Denton’s, World’s Fair Park, Melton Hill Dam, Cub Scout meetings, Cades Cove, July 4th parades, trick-or-treating, morning dropoff at school, and other rides.

“Sitting side-by-side on long rides was awesome father-son bonding time. Jacob and I became very close. Once when he was riding through the fountain at Volunteer Landing he said ‘Dad, this is the best day of my life!’ Well it was the best of my life too. I’ll remember that forever,” said Pais.

Info: Westbikes.com

POWELL

Health professionals open medically based aesthetics salon

Al Lesar, Shopper News

More than a decade in the aesthetics field has convinced Emily (Damewood) Spiller there is a need in the Powell community.

Emory Aesthetics Center (7553 Barnett Way) opened its doors the first week of May with three Halls High School graduates and current Powell residents ready to give back to their friends and family.

“We’re about short, sweet and simple,” said Spiller. “We’re simple people who want to help grow and succeed with our business in our home.

“This is our hometown. We didn’t want to have to venture out of this area. We saw there’s a need for the services we offer.”

Spiller is joined by her sister Jennifer White and Haley (Lucas) McMahon as professionals in the healthcare industry who are finding a different path to distribute their care.

“Our focus is to be ethical and moral,” Spiller said. “We’re all Christians. Whatever we do, we’ll do what’s right.”

Weight loss popular

Spiller is a registered nurse. White is a pediatric nurse practitioner and McMahon is a family medicine nurse practitioner. With a doctor overseeing them, they are able to write prescriptions for whatever course of action they choose for an individual.

Weight loss is the most prominent issue that the three deal with. It’s a broad topic with several possibilities.

“Everything we do is individualized treatment,” Spiller said. “We want to cater to our clientele. What works for one might not work for another. It might take a bit to determine which way we want to go. We can pick and choose from what we’ve got.”

The three nurses are able to give Botox injections, as well as doing Juvederm treatments that are used to fill in facial lines.

Also, they use Latisse, which helps eyelashes grow longer, thicker and darker.

At some point, they will pinpoint the specialized skin care line that they will sell throughout their facility. They are the guinea pigs in the testing process now.

“We’re not going to push something to make a dollar,” Spiller said. “We’re going to do the best we can for every one of our clients.”

Health care foundation

White graduated from Halls High School in 1997. Spiller was in the Class of 2000, and McMahon graduated in 2009. Besides working in the hospital, all three have experience in aesthetics − White and Spiller for 14 years and McMahon for six.

“We all loved the work in the hospital, but the hours were too tough,” Spiller said. “When we had kids, we looked for something else.

“Nursing school and hospital work gave us a great foundation. We learned that we’d have to put our boots on if we were going to survive. We learned so much that helps us in this business.”

Treatments are based on prescriptions. Everyone involved has proper licenses and medical background. Insurance is not used in any of the procedures.

“We make sure to stay up to date with any of the new trends in the business,” Spiller said.

Hours are: Monday 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. The business is closed Thursday and Friday for now. On the first and third Saturday of the month, it’s open 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Info: 865-859-9141.

NORTH KNOXVILLE

Local music lovers love Yo-Yo and friends

Carol Z. Shane, Shopper News

Area music lovers are still reeling – in a good way – from the concert presented by world-renowned cellist and humanitarian Yo-Yo Ma at World’s Fair Park on May 26.

Presented as part of Big Ears, Knoxville’s international spring music festival, the Memorial Day weekend kickoff event was titled “Our Common Nature: An Appalachian Celebration” and was preceded by a street party featuring the Cattywampus Puppet Council and many beloved Knoxville musicians, including Kukuly Uriarte of the Gypsy Fuego, Evie Andrus and Drums Up Guns Down, the drumming troupe led by Austin East’s Obayana Ajanaku.

The day’s star performer did not disappoint.

“Yo-Yo Ma is not of this world,” said Rick Carl, retired from Baker Donelson law firm. “He is on some other astral plane, a shaman or something.” Carl is a former Webb School of Knoxville music teacher and a trumpeter with Boys Night Out. His wife, Joanna, is a classical pianist.

“Jo described him as a father who invited his children to come play and make music with him; it’s cliché, but the way he introduced and described each artist was like they were a family jamming in their living room.”

Ma’s musical friends included bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile, both of Ma’s “Goat Rodeo” project; two-time Grammy Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning singer/instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens; and vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and poet Eric Mingus, whose famous father, Charles, was an American jazz icon.

“Yo-Yo Ma is a talent magnet!” said Jill Bartine, instructor at Real Hot Yoga and flutist with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO). And there were plenty of cellists in the audience. Alicia Randisi-Hooker, KSO cellist, said, “I felt such a childlike delight and complete engagement throughout the entire evening. Being in a crowd like this with such enthusiasm and enormous love and humanity had to be a highlight of my life.”

“I think it is apparent that he has gotten to a point in his career and life where it means more for him to pass on the spotlight to younger artists who are deserving of recognition, and it was really beautiful to see that in action last Friday,” said Cecilia Blair Wright, cellist, composer and singer with Second Rodeo who was there with Caesar Stair, recently named “Volunteer of the Year” by Knox Heritage.

Wright’s mom, Stacy Nickell, a certified music therapist and cellist with the KSO, was there; she cherishes the memory of driving Ma to a performance when she was in graduate school.

Covenant Health West nurse practitioner and KSO cellist Alice Stuart said, “Yo-Yo used his platform to introduce many people to other voices of thought and music. I loved the fact that he didn’t dominate at all. That is just like his personality.”

Aside from enjoying and marveling at the obvious wealth of musical talent on display, concertgoers were profoundly moved by the experience.

Allyson Virden, who with her husband, Chris, owns Mid Mod Collective and Olde Virden’s Red Hot Sprinkle brand of chili pepper seasonings, said the event made her proud to be an East Tennessean.

“What a night to celebrate all coming together for the greater good! I loved that they celebrated our wonderful diversity here in the foothills. When Yo-Yo described our region of Tennessee as paradise, it made me sit a little straighter. Last night brought tears to my eyes. We all need to listen to one another and try to find a common ground.”

Terry Silver-Alford, musical director for the Clarence Brown Theatre, said the event was “remarkable, moving, momentous and inspiring. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it.”

Montessori teacher Kim Barnes said, “It was musically inspiring to me and emotionally moving. I will be processing it for days to come.”

And Kristi Johnson Burkhalter, director of special projects at The Burkhalter Group business service in Maryville, said, “Last night touched my soul in places I didn’t know I had, and awakened a spark that I didn’t know needed lighting.”

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