Gatlinburg 75th-Themed Event To Feature Stories of Long Ago Current and former Gatlinburg residents will gather downtown at the historic Gatlinburg Inn on Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to reminisce, relate stories and share photographs of the days before the establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Established in 1934, GSMNP was created from more than 6,000 tracts of private and commercial land that was bought with money raised by public and private donations. Once a timber and farm region, it was home to many families who relocated in order for the showplace we now call the Smokies be created. Special guests will congregate for a discussion, sharing photographs and recounting memories of the time some 75 years ago they and their ancestors lived in communities like Sugarlands, Greenbrier, Smokemont, Laurel Creek and Banner... (more...)

May 29, 2009 – Interstate 40 in downtown Knoxville is reopening and as part of the celebration the Tennessee Department of Transportation is offering you a chance to run on the newly completed roadway before the official opening. The Knoxville Track Club, TDOT and the City of Knoxville are sponsoring the first – and last – “Fast 40 Dash” a mile run and fun walk beginning at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 11, on the just finished portion of I-40 in downtown. Race Registration Form [PDF] SmartFIX40 Opening Events SmartFix40.com Interstate 40 officially reopens the next day, June 12, which completes TDOT’s ambitious SmartFix40 project. The mile run and fun walk is open to all ages and is expected to draw about 1,000 participants. The race will be run in waves beginning with male runners 39-years old and younger at 7 p.m., followed... (more...)

May 28, 2009 – Magnolia area merchants and business owners are invited to an organizational meeting aimed at creating a professional business association for the area. The meeting is set for 8 a.m., Thursday, June 4, at the Knoxville Area Urban League Office at 1514 E. Fifth Avenue and is the second in what will be a series of meetings exploring the possible development of an association for Magnolia businesses. Meeting Agenda: “Steps to creating a Professional Business Association” # Commissioner Larry Smith # David Massey, City of Knoxville, Office of Neighborhoods # Joshalyn Hundley, City of Knoxville, Community Relations Office, Title VI/Equal Business Opportunity Program Coordinator “Magnolia Avenue Corridor Plan” # Metropolitan Planning Commission # Jeff Archer # Mike Carberry For more information please contact: Joshalyn... (more...)

May 27, 2009 – Enjoy Tennessee Statehood Day Cultural Heritage Festival on Saturday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Blount Mansion, James White’s Fort, Mabry-Hazen House, Marble Springs, Ramsey House and the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum. Enjoy free admission, live music and tours. Historical re-enactments, arts, crafts and more will be on hand. Blount Mansion Free admission. Enjoy live music featuring The Concord Brass, Mounatin Laurel and the Spurgeon Boys. Historical re-enactments, arts, crafts and more will be on hand. James White Fort Free admission. Mabry-Hazen House Free admission. Marble Springs Free admission. Ramsey House Free tours and special demonstrations. Find out the role Col. Francis Alexander Ramsey played in the formation of our state. Blacksmithing and spinning demonstrations, live music, and more! Sequoyah Birthplace Museum Free admission to the Museum on this day. Cherokee demonstrators and artists will be talking to the museum visitors... (more...)

May 27, 2009 – Mayor Haslam and Senator Lamar Alexander took a walk and picnic today on one of the most beautiful spots in Knoxville – the River Bluff Wildlife Area overlooking the Tennessee River from the south side of Knoxville. Legacy Parks Foundation has a contract to purchase this land and the adjoining Fort Stanley parcel in order to complete the Urban Wilderness and Historic Corridor of parks, greenways and natural trail system proposed for South Knoxville. The proposed corridor will consist of the River Bluff Wilderness Area, the Log Haven Conservation Area, Fort Higley, Fort Dickerson, Fort Stanley Ridge and Ijams Nature Center. Plus, ten additional existing city parks have the potential to be connected. To move forward with the corridor project, Legacy Parks Foundation is launching the “Save the River Bluff NOW!”... (more...)

May 27, 2009 – The City of Knoxville’s Solar America Cities Program is partnering with Knox Heritage in the restoration of one of the Victorian-era houses on the edge of Fort Sanders and World’s Fair Park. The partnership, using grant funding, expects to install three different solar energy devices on the house at 1011 Laurel as part of the effort to make the restored home a showplace of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. The installations will feature a type of solar photovoltaic panel that is integrated into the metal roof of the house and possibly traditional solar photovoltaic panels on a separate structure such as a pavilion or covered parking area. These technologies will use the sun’s energy to generate electricity, which will be sold back to the Tennessee Valley Authority, and help offset the home’s electricity bills. The third device, a solar hot water heater, will be used to preheat water, thereby... (more...)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent, Dale Ditmanson, has received word that the nation’s most visited national park is slated to receive $64,006,150 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The bulk of the money is targeted towards road work, but the Park’s trails, cemeteries, public restrooms, and other buildings will also be improved. “This is about eight times what the Smokies receives in an average year for projects of this type.” Ditmanson said. “We look forward to making improvements in the Park’s infrastructure and improving the experience of those using Park facilities as well expanding job opportunities in our neighboring communities.” The Park expects to receive more than $1.2 million to hire trail workers to make improvements to 22 miles of eroded horse trails in Tennessee and 10.4 miles of trails in North Carolina, as well as to restore 61 historic cemeteries in North Carolina. Contracts totaling $259,000 will be... (more...)

May 26, 2009 – On Thursday, June 4 at 3 p.m. staff members from the City of Knoxville’s Department of Policy and Communications and from the Metropolitan Planning Commission will moderate a Fort Sanders Long-Range Planning Meeting which involves stakeholders in the Fort Sanders area. The meeting will be held in Classrooms A & B in the Howard Baker Center for Public Policy, located on the University of Tennessee campus at 1640 Cumberland Avenue This public meeting is part of a regular series of meetings that are looking at prior planning efforts for the Fort Sanders area and determining the next steps that need to be taken in developing plans to benefit the community.  Read More →

May 22, 2009 – The City of Knoxville’s Community Development Dept. is seeking public comment on a plan to use federal economic stimulus funds allocated under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. On May 6, 2009, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued the notice of funding allocation and requirements for the CDBG program under Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The City of Knoxville has been allocated $504,654 in CDBG-R funding as a supplemental appropriation for CDBG-eligible activities that will maximize job creation and promote economic benefit. HUD strongly urges grantees to use CDBG-R funds for activities that promote energy efficiency and conservation through rehabilitation or retrofitting of existing buildings. In order to receive these funds, the City must submit a substantial amendment to the Consolidated... (more...)

May 22, 2009 – It’s time to jump in and get wet this summer. The City of Knoxville Parks and Recreation Department will open its two outdoor pools this Saturday, May 23, 2009 at 11 a.m. Inskip Pool (4204 Bruhin Rd) is a 285,000-gallon pool with two low dives, and a high dive. The pool area also features a sand volleyball court, concession stands, and three picnic shelters. Admission is $3 for adults and $1.50 for children. Group rates are $1.50 for each person. To contact Inskip Pool, please call 865-687-9919. Ed Cothren Pool (1737 Reynolds St) is a 275,000-gallon pool with one diving board and accessible ramp. The pool’s enclosure area features two shelters and concession stands. Admission is $1 per person. To contact Ed Cothren Pool, please call 865-546-8796. Inskip and Ed Cothren pools are the last remaining public pools in Knox County. For information on lifeguard classes, learn-to-swim programs, and other outdoor pool events,... (more...)