Early voting totals higher than expected By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Early voting ended Saturday and Knox County residents have turned out in large numbers despite the COVID-19 pandemic. “Overall, turnout has been much higher than anticipated,” Chris Davis, Administrator of the Knox County Election Commission told The Focus Friday. He added, “We’re pleased […]
Anne Crais is Good Neighbor of the Year By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com The Diana Conn Good Neighbor of the Year for 2020 is Anne Crais, secretary of Wesley Neighborhood Community Association. The announcement was made during an Office of Neighborhoods Recognition Dinner Thursday. Normally the honors are presented in the city’s annual Neighborhood […]
Haslam family gift will support insurance for student laptops A generous gift from the Haslam family will help economically disadvantaged families obtain insurance for new Chromebooks that will be provided to all K-12 students in Knox County Schools. Earlier this year, the Knox County Board of Education and Knox County Commission approved a 1:1 plan […]
Duties of Knox County Mayor debated by Charter Review Committee By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Knox County voters may see a charter amendment on the November ballot. The Knox County Charter Review Committee voted 21-3 last week to have any purchase of less than $100,000 placed on the commission’s “spread of records” each month. […]
Knox Health Board mandates masks By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Wednesday’s meeting of the Knox County Board of Health saw masks being required in most indoor businesses to flatten the surge of COVID-19 but the effort saw some resistance. The board’s involvement goes back to orders issued by Dr. Martha Buchanan in March instituting […]
$1,500 bonus for deputies in approved Knox budget By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler’s persistence won out Wednesday with a victorious split vote granting a bonus to his deputies. The county commission also passed the amended budget that included the bonus payments during the special session. The sheriff’s department discovered […]
Sheriff implores commission to grant bonus to employees By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler made an impassioned plea to the Knox County Commission last week to permit him to use part of a $3 million surplus in his budget to reward department employees with a bonus. Speaking during a public […]
Central football team receives title rings, surprise visit at ceremony By Ken Lay The 2019 Central High School football team got its Class 5A State Championship rings Thursday at Dan Y. Boring Stadium. The rings were the jewels that culminated a second consecutive championship. The ceremony, which was conducted with social distancing protocols in place, […]
Giving back to KAT employees By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com “They are our front line people we don’t think about. They provide an essential service,” said Cameron Brooks of Realty Executives Associates and the Knox County Election Commission. He was talking about Knoxville Area Transit employees. Brooks had been pondering how he might show […]
Has Burlington been forgotten? By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com The residents of Burlington are wondering if the City of Knoxville has abandoned them. Funds were granted back two years ago for business facade renovations and the city offered a tax credit for rehabilitation of structures. But since then, the 2.19 square mile community with […]