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.

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).

A new hotel is being built at the intersection of Singleton Station Road and Alcoa Hwy. This is a very dangerous intersection. Will they provide customers with a warning, Do Not Turn Left on Alcoa Highway?

What were they thinking? Don't they care about visitors to the area?

Might just be time to go out and play a bit.

Once again, Blackberry Farm receives kudos for delivering excellence.

As a resident of Blount County, I say thanks to Blackberry Farm and the Bealls.

The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville is the other Tennessee hotel to make the list.

...the Tornadoes cruised to their fifth-consecutive Class 2A state championship — a ring for the thumb so to speak — with a 28-14 win over previously-unbeaten Milan (14-1).

“I’ll tell you what I’m amazed at, and it’s how our kids have showed up every year to play in this game,” said Nix, the defensive architect for the duration of the Tornadoes’ five-year rule and a certain future head coach. “There’s a lot of pressure. These are high school kids, and sometimes people lose sight of that. And they show up every year to play. They come out confident, just get after it.

Congratulations to all the young people at Alcoa High School for their hard work to achieve this goal!