By Sally Absher

sallyabsher@knoxfocus.com

Knoxville’s Summer Interns Create Mosaic in Honor of Zaevion Dobson

High school and college students participating in the City of Knoxville’s Summer in the City internship program have created a mosaic in honor of Zaevion Dobson, the 15-year-old Fulton High School student who was tragically killed in December 2015. The 26 students have been working on the mosaic during their six-week internships in multiple City departments.

The mosaic was unveiled last Thursday in the 5th Floor Atrium of the City County Building, with Mayor Madeline Rogero presiding.

Photo by Dan Andrews.

Help A Student Get Ready for School!

From now through the end of this week, there are two great ways you can help provide a Knox County student with the supplies they need for back-to school success. And with the back-to-school sales already in full swing, it’s easy to participate!

First Day, the annual clothing/school supply drive to benefit the Boys and Girls Club in Vestal, is accepting donations through July 29. Simply contact firstdayknox@gmail.com and they will send you the name, photo, sizes, grade, school, favorite color, etc. (you can state a preference to sponsor a boy or a girl). Then go shopping! Pick out a new backpack with school supplies, 2 new outfits, shoes, socks and underwear, and anything else you can think of to make their FIRST DAY special.

Drop off  clothing and school supply donations at Calvary Baptist Church, 3200 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919. If you can’t drop your donation off, they will even come pick them up from you! Or, you can write a check to Calvary Baptist Church (note First Day on the memo line) and mail it or drop it off at the church.

Stuff the Backpacks

Knox Area Rescue Ministries (KARM), KARM Stores, WIVK-FM 107.7, and Sweet Frog Premium Frozen Yogurt are partnering to support homeless and needy children in the Knoxville area through the Stuff the Backpacks campaign.

Donate the following supplies at any KARM Stores or Sweet Frog location through July 30:

• Backpacks
• Three Ring Binders
• Loose Leaf Notebook Paper
• Spiral Notebooks
• Pocket Folders
• Glue Sticks/Glue Bottles
• Pencil Boxes
• Pencils and Pens
• Crayons and Markers
• Rulers
• Scissors
• Boxes of Kleenex

Sales Tax Holiday

Tennessee’s annual Sales Tax Holiday is Friday, July 29 through Sunday, July 31. During the three-day tax holiday, shoppers can save nearly 10 percent on clothing, school and art supplies, and computer purchases. The tax-free weekend begins at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 29 and ends Sunday, July 31 at 11:59 p.m.. To see the list of school supplies for your student’s classroom, please visit your school’s website by first going to knoxschools.org and using the “Select a School” button at the top of the page. Also, school supply lists are posted on the doors of our schools.

During the designated days, shoppers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item and computers with a price of $1,500 or less.

A few examples of exempted items include the following:

• Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, athletic and non-athletic uniforms, scarves, jackets, jeans, socks and underwear
• School supplies: Binders, book bags and backpacks, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, pencils, rulers and scissors
• Art supplies: Clay and glazes, paints, paintbrushes, sketch and drawing pads and watercolors
• Computers: Computers are defined as central processing units (CPUs) and bundled components including speakers, monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables and basic software
• Laptop computers, desktop computers and tablets less than $1,500 each are eligible