Robust Discussion at Joint Commission/School Board Meeting By Sally Absher sallyabsher@knoxfocus.com The annual joint meeting between the Knox County Commission and the Knox County Board of Education took place last Thursday at the East Tennessee History Center. The topic was Mayor Burchett’s recommended $435M funding for the schools, about $6.5M less than the BOE-approved budget […]
Rescue Squad Assists with Meads Quarry Dive, Cleanup On Saturday, May 16, the Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad conducted a dive training exercise and cleanup of Meads Quarry in South Knoxville as part of a project to assist Ijams Nature Center. Ijams Nature Center offers a variety of recreational activities at the Quarry, and the […]
Seymour Volunteer Fire Department Graduates Volunteers To Serve Seymour’s Tri-County Community The Seymour Volunteer Fire Department has trained 15 new recruits to become interior firefighters. These men and women have devoted a combined total over 2,400 hours, which will benefit the department and ultimately the Seymour community. This large graduating class has exceeded the state […]
Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event Met With Great Success More than 1,000 people attended the 2015 Tennessee Civil War Sesquicentennial Signature Event April 30-May 1 at various historic sites and downtown Knoxville. Attendees from 27 states like Colorado, New Jersey, and Texas and 40 Tennessee cities received a national, regional, and local perspective on how […]
Community Schools 2: Christenberry Elementary By Sally Absher sallyabsher@knoxfocus.com As part of our series on Community Schools, we had the opportunity to visit Christenberry Elementary Community School (CECS) and meet with the Community Schools Site Coordinator Tiffany Davidson earlier this month. This is the second year CECS has been a part of the Community Schools […]
School Board Debates, Approves FY16 Budget By Sally Absher sallyabsher@knoxfocus.com Last Monday, the Board of Education considered Dr. McIntyre’s proposed General Operating Fund ($441.5M), Capital Fund ($19.15M for next year), and School Nutrition Fund ($28M) budget recommendations for FY 2016. The budgets have been “iterative,” with revisions announced almost weekly. McIntyre announced the latest revision […]
Tennessee River Tour Kicks Off In Knoxville By Dan Andrews andrewsd@knoxfocus.com As fire, police, and emergency service boats flanked a large environmental barge, the Mayor of Knoxville beamed with pride as she welcomed the crew from Living Lands and Waters Thursday afternoon. Chad Pregracke, Living Lands and Waters founder and president and 2013 “CNN Hero […]
Board Discusses FY 2015-2016 Budget By Sally Absher sallyabsher@knoxfocus.com The Board of Education spent the bulk of last week’s work session discussing Dr. McIntyre’s revised draft General Fund Budget for the 2015-2016 school year. McIntyre explained that since presenting his initial budget last month, “we have been able to make some progress on a couple […]
Rogero Kicks Off Political Season By Mike Steely steelym@knoxfocus.com Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero kicked off the political season as she announced her intention to run for re-election Tuesday. Rogero, the first female to be elected as mayor of a larger city in Tennessee, drew a packed house of members of both political parties at The […]
Volunteers needed for Ijams River Rescue Over the past several months, The Focus has been documenting the pollution problem of our Tennessee waterways on 24×7.knoxfocus.com. We will continue to document the water conditions on an ongoing basis. With recent snow and heavy rain, the pollution problem has only become worse. Currently the good people at […]