Former Knoxville TV Anchor's Son Fights Brain Cancer

Former WBIR-TV 10 anchor Ted Hall's youngest son has brain cancer, but continues to fight it every day.

So far the prognosis looks very hopeful that he will continue to live a normal life.

Ted is now at a TV station in Atlanta, and the recently did a story about the little boy's battle against the odds.

Watch this, and be inspired by the young man.

Social Symphony

Frank Murphy informs us it's time again for Blogger Night at the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra!

Be the first 50 49 48 local bloggers to email Stephanie Burdette at the KSO and, assuming you promise really nicely to blog about the concert the next day, she will give you a pair of tickets to the January 15, 2009 performance free!

The KSO will perform selections from Bach, Mozart and Mendelssohn that night, and the featured soloist will be pianist Navah Perlman (daughter of violinist great Itzhak Perlman - or as my kids know him, "that guy with the violin that introduces the whale segment of "Fantasia 2000")

Media Fail

Friday morning on NewsTalk 100's Hallerin Hill Show this past Thursday, Hal interviewed the widow of the vice-principal who was shot in Cumberland County last year. It was an emotional interview in light of the Central High shooting that had happened the day before.

The interview concluded, Hal went to commercial.

The sponsor?

Frontier Firearms.






And the kicker?

They did it again later that afternoon.




Listen, I don't care that they are a sponsor for the station. They're a legit business, buying legit advertisement on a local radio station. But WNOX should at least have the forethought to know when their ads are running on a local political/news-based talk show and ensure things like this shouldn't happen. And if they don't have the ability to know exactly when the ads are running, they should figure out a way to be able to.

Danger, Will Robinson

Just passed a convoy of four trucks from The Washington Group on Pelissippi Parkway, headed south. I guess toward the airport.

Among many other things, they are in the business of nuclear and hazardous waste disposal services. Which was pretty much confirmed by the big yellow "RADIOACTIVE" stickers on the sides of all the trucks.

Yikes. I thought about taking a picture with my cell phone but was afraid some security goons would force me off the road and rough me up.

I Hatez Libruls

So now it's being reported the church shooter hated liberals

The shotgun-wielding suspect in Sunday’s mass shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church was motivated by a hatred of “the liberal movement,” and he planned to shoot until police shot him, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said this morning.

That struck a chord with me, but not for the reason you might expect.

There's a local radio station in town that broadcasts a show hosted by a husband and wife team. I don't want to name the show or link to it because I don't want to give them publicity.

Occasionally I will tune in while in the car, mainly when one of my sports shows is at commercial, and also mainly to hear what they have to say about local issues (county government, schools, etc). But a lot of what I end up hearing (and fascinated with, in a watching-the-accident-as-you-pass-on-the-highway kind of way) is a lot of deep-seated contempt toward liberals.

Now, I know you're thinking, "What? A conservative local talk show? In Knoxville??? Who whoulda thunk?" And as we all know there's nothing conservatives love better than bashing liberals (and vice-versa) so it's nothing really new here. Rush Limbaugh and Jeneanne Garafalo have turned this sort of thing into an art form.

But there's always been something a little over-the-top about this particular radio show in its discussion style. There's haughty, and then there's haughty. There's contempt, and then there's contempt. Substitute the word "black" for "liberal" and you'd think you were listening to something from the 50's in Mississippi. In fact, they and some of their callers don't simply call them liberals - they're "Libs". "The Libs" say this, and "The Libs" do that. Insert your own racist-derogatory terms to understand the tone and bias that comes across on this radio show.

And, to top it off, there's always a taste of Christian apologism that they bring to their broadcasts. They publicly avow their religious convictions (which I happen to agree with) yet their actions betray their beliefs.

Here's the thing: they're perfectly free to broadcast whatever they like. Just because some of it rubs me the wrong way, that's my own thing to deal with. I can turn them off anytime I like. If they want to say how much they hate liberals - fine. That's totally their right to feel, and right to say. If they want to broadcast their opinions of whether gays might be immoral deviants (a policy they also seem to espouse) that's fine and totally within their rights as well.

But people listen. And people learn. And people follow. And people act.

The media's reach is wide and their influence is vast. People's capacity for tacking onto a movement or belief and letting their flames be fanned by those they listen to in the media is well-documented.

When you speak publicly how much you hate certain groups of people, how certain groups of people are contemptible, and stupid, and how some barely deserve to exist in our society - the message I get from this radio show - then you have to understand that some people will be listening to you, and some people may agree with you.

And no matter how well intentioned you may be, some evil people may energized to act. I have no idea if the shooter listened to this radio show (his hatred of Christians makes me doubt it), but he likely listened to something like it. Or he talked to and associated with people who do listen to it, or read literature about it, or frequented websites or blogs that mirror it, and it increased his hatred. To a point where he felt he had to act. When groups of people are marginalized in the media, it become much easier for these evil people to find targets for their hatred. "Didn't get a job? Must've been the libruhls! Or the gays! Lost my food stamps? Must've been those Muslims! Or the blacks! Or the ________'s!" (again, you fill in the blank of the favorite compartmentalized labeled group of your choice)

And here we are, a day after, dealing with the aftermath.

Be careful what you say. Children Will Listen.

What's Left to Say?

One of the things I find hard about writing a blog and keeping it fresh is thinking of something interesting to say.

There are plenty of bloggers that can always find a unique or noteworthy commentary to make about, well most anything.

I've thought a good while about the shooting that happened here in Knoxville yesterday morning at a local church. At this point, 2 people have died, about 5 more are in serious or critical condition in the hospital, and the shooter is in custody. Signs are pointing to some kind of hate crime, whether against the church or Christianity or gays or whatever is still uncertain.

I could have joined in the number of local blogs yesterday and "reported" on it but I didn't. I could have at least posted an "our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families" post but I didn't. There wasn't anything new I could add that hadn't already been covered elsewhere, and sometimes to me the "thoughts and prayers" messages fall a little flat. That's just some of the dark cynicism I find in myself peeking out, I suppose.

But I still felt I would be remiss if I didn't say something about it. I wouldn't be a proper Knoxville blogger. People might thing I was cold and heartless or uncaring.

Let me tell you how I found out about it. During our 11 o'clock service yesterday at a Methodist Church only a few miles from Tennessee Valley Unitarian, our minister told the congregation. I was in the middle of a (discreet) conversation with a fellow sitting next to me and missed most of what the minister said. During the offertory, I pulled up local news on my cell phone and read what had happened.

Still, the full impact didn't hit us until we got in the car after the service and listened to the local news-talk radio station, and got home and watched coverage on local TV. I logged into Twitter to follow local reaction, cruised around my Bloglines news feeds to see if any eyewitness accounts were being reported and then tried to put it out of my mind.

Laura and I watched the finale of The Next Food Network Star, of which I already knew the outcome.

Last night we attended our weekly small group session and discussed several points of the incident. Before my son went to sleep we prayed for the victims, their families and I especially included the shooter in the prayers.

When I woke up this morning, I realized I'd been having disturbing dreams - I felt physically ill waking up - and upon reflection I think I'd been trying to make sense of everything while sleeping. Why? What if he'd come to our church? What would I have done? What systems are in place in Knoxville and Knox County by the government to warn local churches instantly that one man and maybe more could be targeting their Sunday morning worship services? How does this affect my views on guns? What can we do to make things safer? How do we forgive, how do we forget, how do we continue to live our lives in the shadows of gunmen?

I don't know if my sleep will be any easier tonight. It certainly won't be for those involved and especially those kids. I can't imagine what would be going through my kids' heads if they'd witnessed something like that. Would I have had the courage to stand up and take a shotgun blast to protect my family and friends like Greg McKendry?

Someone asked last night at small group - if you had the opportunity to live your life over again, would you do it? Do the high points outweigh the low points enough to make you want to do it all over again? I go to thinking about what a great childhood I had - I would live it over in a heartbeat.

Now some kids, because of what happened yesterday, have an indelible stain on their childhoods. Something that hopefully a lot of love, attention, caring and maybe therapy may be able to soften. But it will never be erased.

Thanks, mister, for proving to us once again it's a Hard Knock Life.

Speak Up Because Others Cannot

As some of you may know, a travesty is in the making regarding the University of Tennessee. Last week, the University of Tennessee proposed cutting the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology in the College of Arts and Sciences; the Industrial and Organizational Psychology graduate program in the College of Business Administration; and the dance program, a minor concentration in the College of Education, Health and Human Services in a number-crunching move designed to help eliminate $11.1 million from next year's budget.

Take a look at those programs. To be honest, I don't know much about the Industrial and Organizational Psychology program, so I can't comment on that. I never had much official interaction with the dance program while I was majoring in Theatre at UT, but from time to time recitals would be presented in the Music Hall, where I had a work study position. As a student of the arts who's made it into a professional sideline, I am always wary about those who would cut the arts from any curriculum.

However, the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology is a different animal. I want to tell you about a friend of mine, Hal Luper.

From his bio:

Dr. Harold Luper was head of the department of audiology and speech pathology from 1963-1986. He became director of the Hearing and Speech Center in 1966 when the center merged with the department. During his tenure, the first doctoral degrees were awarded and new clinical programs such as the UT Hospital Clinic, the Neuropathology program, and the Pediatric Language Clinic were added.

The Silverstein-Luper Building on the UT campus that houses the Hearing and Speech Center is partly named in his honor.

For several years, Dr. Luper sat beside me in the tenor section of the Bearden United Methodist Choir. When my wife and I first came to Bearden and joined the choir he was probably one of the first people I met. Soft-spoken with a gentle sense of humor and a keen mind, I looked forward to speaking with him every chance I could.

Unfortunately, about ten years ago while on a trip by himself to his native Portugal Hal tragically passed away. The news shocked us all... We've been very fortunate to continue to be blessed with his wife and daughter in our choir, as well as many other members of his family in the church. The family also owns and operates Naples restaurant on Kingston Pike, a local Italian favorite for many years.

But at the slash of a red pen, the department he worked so hard to build could come to an end.

My friendship with Hal and his family are my personal connection to the story. But there's a bigger reason to save this department - the work that they do for not only the dedicated students of audiology and speech pathology that have come through and continue to learn, but the many people the Speech Center has helped recover from such challenges as stuttering, voice and laryngeal disorders, hearing-impairments, children developmental and speech delays and other life-altering situations. According to current department head, Ilsa Schwarz:

The department clinic draws patients from as far as the Virginia and Kentucky border and is one of the largest university clinics of its kind in the U.S. There is an entire region of the state that will be without (an audiology and speech pathology) program.

The program has won national awards and great recognition in its field and more importantly has assisted many people with speech and hearing afflictions that otherwise may never have found the opportunity to live more productive lives.

Many local opinionists agree - today's News Sentinel editorializes:

Phasing out UT's [Audiology and Speech Pathology] program over the next couple of years might be - as one UT dean noted - 'the best of the bad choices under the circumstances,' but it will stand as a ringing indictment of the state's inability, if not unwillingness, to fund higher education at a level that encourages success and competitiveness in all areas instead of merely survival until the next round of budget cuts.

What can we do?

I have a list of all the email addresses of the UT Board of Trustees, including UT President John Peterson and Governor Phil Bredesen. Since I'm a nice guy and at least fairly ethical, I'm not going to post the email addresses online for fear of attracting spammers to their mailboxes but if you are as concerned about the possible loss of these departments as I am and are willing to contact these Board members and request that the decision be reconsidered, I'd be happy to give them to you. Simply email me at innofthelasthomeinsolace@yahoo.com and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

It's my understanding the final decision is set for a Board meeting next week. Time is of the essence. I'll try and find out for certain what the deadline is and update this post.

I know budget shortfalls are never easy to overcome. Not only are these departments threatened - campus administration may have to absorb $6.7 million in cuts, as well as other campus academic departments and chancellor areas. But of all the departments at UT that do good for not only the student population but the community in general, the Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology should have been one of the last ones to go. Please let your voice be heard and request the decision be reconsidered.

Heard on the Radio

Yesterday on the Terri and Lee Frank show on AM850 (a local ultra-conservative radio show I only listen to because they talk about local issues sometimes. And even then, it's only when Sports Talk's at commercial), they were railing about how global warming and how the "Libs" (their favorite term) misuse statistics to support their case.

Never mind that the "Pubs" do the same thing as regard to global warming, but that's not the point.

A guy called in to mention that the night before at a Knox County Commission meeting, local Commissioner Mark Harmon (that is it say, local DEMOCRATIC Commissioner Mark Harmon, who is definitely one of the only honorable ones on County Commission) mentioned that according to statistics, based on the national average of one policeman per 1,000 people nationwide, Knox County has 56 too many officers. Based on the statistics, Mr. Harmon made an observation.

I hope everyone understands what he did - he simply stated that, compared to the national average, Knox County is above that average in number of sheriff deputies. That's all. Not an endorsement of the idea, not a recommendation that we fire 56 deputies, nothing like that at all. That's extremely obvious, isn't it? Right?

Not according to Lee and Frank, as Frank proceeded to practically explode at the notion that this (every unflattering name in the book conservatives insult liberals with that can be said on the air) Democrat was calling for 56 deputies to be fired, just to make the national average. In this day of increased crime - and he proceeded to rattle off recent crimes that have been going on around the area - Harmon wants to decrease the amount of officers on the street! The nerve of this city-living, peace-loving, soft-on-crime LIBERAL!!

Folks, this is a prime example of what happens when we continue to separate into our two camps of liberal/conservative or Democrat/Republican. I'm confident Frank knew full well just what Harmon meant, but saw an opportunity to attack a liberal and took it. And those listening who follow that line of thinking I'm sure just ate it up.

The more we continue to follow this traditional liberal vs. conservative model as the way to define our lives, our politics and our leadership the worse things are going to get.

6th District to get a Merry Christmas this year

(from the live blogging of the County Commission meeting)

District 6, Seat A

Interim Knox County Commission Chairman Thomas "Tank" Strickland drew 6th District, Seat A from the hat.

Strangely enough, there's a little-known Knox County regulation: Tank Strickland is now also required to be the 6th District's "Secret Santa" at the County Commission Christmas party.

Cause and Effect

Maybe I'm being totally simplistic about such matters, but after reading this the yesterday:

TVA board will vote on rate increase (Knoxville News Sentinel, 2/12/08)

Tennessee Valley Authority board members will vote Friday on a rate increase that would add between $4 and $7 to monthly bills for residential customers, starting April 1.

...

"The reason for it is we are going to do these long-term investments and meet new power generation," said TVA spokesman Gil Francis. "It is a combination of gas turbine plants and Watts Bar 2 and it is going to allow us to continue to have the resources to keep the lights on."

...

TVA is spending $423 million this year to build and buy more gas-fired plants and recently began a $2.5 billion program to finish its second reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant by 2013.

Ok, higher power rates you just have to deal with. If they're for increasing capacity to meet future demands, I'm kinda ok with that - I'm not sure an addition $4-$7/month ($48-$84/year) would be that big of a burden on anybody...

But then I saw this in the paper today:

Drought induces TVA's $17M first-quarter loss (Knoxville News Sentinel, 2/13/08)

TVA reported a loss of $17 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2008, as the federal utility continues to feel the pinch from a drought that has stretched on for more than a year across the Tennessee Valley.

...

To make up for the gap between power demand and TVA's generation capacity, the utility is spending $423 million this year to build and buy more gas-fired power plants and is launching a five-year, $2.5 billion project to finish a second reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant.

I'm not trying to make more of this than there is, but the separation of the two stories makes it seems like TVA's increasing our rates to pay for increasing infrastructure, but then the next day it comes out to appear they're only trying to recoup a significant 1st quarter loss that, even allowing for the intensity of the drought, should've been handled to a tune of less than a $17 million loss.

Am I being needlessly suspicious here, that execs are raising rates not just to increase generation capacity but make up for the loss of the bottom line on their paychecks?

Catfish Hunters

Voters boot officials tied to county turmoil

Republicans repudiated the officials directly involved in the year-long political upheaval in Knox County on Tuesday, turning out all but two of those who had opposition in the county primary.

Democrats got in on the rebellion, too, with Amy Henley-Vandergriff thumping George Stooksbury, despite running a shoestring campaign against a seasoned politico in the county clerk's race. Stooksbury has been running the clerk's office since October.

Foster Arnett Jr. attributed his runaway victory over Commission Chairman Scott "Scoobie" Moore and two other opponents in the GOP county clerk's race to anger over the status quo.

The citizenry taking charge of their county combined with the NYT article that said (among other gems):

At curtain’s close, the 12 appointments included the son of one outgoing commissioner, the wife of another outgoing commissioner, the father of a sitting commissioner, a top aide to the politically muscular sheriff, and a businessman who years earlier had come out on the wrong end of a sexual harassment suit. It seems a catfish could have been appointed if properly connected.

The Catfish Hunters have practically hurled a no-hitter.

So Ironically Symbolic

One of the worst things about election time in Tennessee (one of the many bad things, of course) is the interminable litter:





Pathetic.

What makes it ironic is that the candidates' campaign staffs - all campaign staffs, nationwide really - actually think these road sign jungles represent anything more than what their candidates really are: artificial, paper-thin, insubstantial participants in popularity contests. All that matter are their names. In their eyes if you recognize the name, the more likely we are to vote for them. The more people recognize the name, the better chance they'll be elected.

Meanwhile we have to put up with scores of blighted spots like the one above (taken at lunch on Northshore Dr. near Kalamata Cafe and the Pizza Kitchen). They might as well be cardboard cutouts of the candidates waving for all the good they do.

Good Luck, Amy!

I finally dragged myself to the TV and watched a little of "American Idol" - not because I have the slightest bit of general interest in the show, but because Knoxville teen Amy Catherine Flynn is a contestant.

Amy Catherine (or "AC" as she introduced herself) is a junior at Knoxville Catholic High School, and more relevant to your family, is a former student at the my kids' school. When she was in 7th and 8th grade, I helped her out a couple times in the school talent show so I'm acquainted with her and her singing.

She's developing into quite a nice talent, with a soft voice and good tone. We wish her a lot of luck!

Oh, and the best part was she really got under Simon Cowell's skin during the audition, which is always a plus. Has there ever been a less-likable person on TV?

Fossils on Exhibit

Sue the T. rex stomps into East Tennessee

Millions of years ago, T. rex was the top of the food chain. Today the T. rex named Sue comes to East Tennessee State University and General Shale Brick Natural History Museum at the Gray Fossil Site near Johnson City for a first-ever visit to Tennessee.

This is really cool, and I'd love to take a trip to Johnson City to visit. However, it occurs to me that we have more fossils in Knox County than we can handle.

They call it county government...

Please, Just Don't...Don't....DON'T Get Them Wet!

You remember last month I warned everyone about the gremlins in the water?

Is it just me, or does there seem to be an inordinately high number of school closings lately, especially those based on breaks in the local water systems?

• Broken water main washes out Pigeon Forge classes
  
• Water problem gives Jefferson County students school break
  
• Water main break closes Pellissippi’s main campus
  
• Central High back in session tomorrow after dishwasher problem

Either there's some mad plot by a Batman-type villain, determined to keep students out of school (Could it be the dreaded Drainer? Or how about the Mad Sprinkler? Or dare I even mention the maniacal Captain ColdorHot?) That or there are some fiendish Gremlins wreaking havoc across East Tennessee, determined to get wet after midnight and spawn more of themselves.

Well, apparently the gremlins couldn't get enough of Pellissippi water, because they're at it again - this time at another campus:

Classes are canceled Thursday night at Pellissippi State's campus on Magnolia Avenue, due to a water line break.

Officials say classes are expected to resume Friday morning.

Maintenance crews are working to make repairs.

What are they making these water lines out of - posterboard? Saltine crackers? Flan???

Gremlins in the Water

Is it just me, or does there seem to be an inordinately high number of school closings lately, especially those based on breaks in the local water systems?

Broken water main washes out Pigeon Forge classes

Water problem gives Jefferson County students school break

Water main break closes Pellissippi’s main campus

Central High back in session tomorrow after dishwasher problem

Either there's some mad plot by a Batman-type villain, determined to keep students out of school (Could it be the dreaded Drainer? Or how about the Mad Sprinkler? Or dare I even mention the maniacal Captain ColdorHot?) That or there are some fiendish Gremlins wreaking havoc across East Tennessee, determined to get wet after midnight and spawn more of themselves.

Actually, I assume it's just because someone's mad about this.

Must've Missed Something

Weren't we in the middle of a heat wave?

Blah

Man, there is seriously nothing going on out there that is worth blogging about.

• Atomic Horns in concert
  October 6, 2007
  Eagles Lodge
  Oak Ridge, TN
  8pm-12 midnight
  
  Come out all bloggers!!
  
  
• I could blog about Knox County politics and the Sunshine Law lawsuit, but truly, other than these guys - who understands it? I can't get through one of their posts without sitting back and going, "huh??"
  
  Part of the reason is that the crux of the blog coverage thus far has been pre-trial, and thus mainly commentary on the integrity of the Sentinel's coverage. Since there's no factual information to report on yet, it's just random griping. And of course, the partisanship and bias is showing through already. Which means, of course, we still won't get an unbiased look at the trial. The bias and preconceived ideas regarding each side of the aisle is going to make this difficult to understand.
  
  
• 9/11 for my family means my newly married brother's 36th birthday. Happy Birthday, bro!
  
  
• When you've spent 6 months trying to get to the heart of an annoying, chronic and particularly vexing non-serious medical problem and it finally ends with a big *shrug* from the doc, and you're back at square one - particularly when you waited 1-1/2 hours in the doctor's office for a 5-minute consult - one can be tempted to lose one's cool. Not that I would, of course. I'm way too even-tempered for that..........................
  
  
• Two more weeks + 2 days till a week park-hopping in Orlando with my wife for our 15th anniversary!
  
  
• Have you ever seen a more scarily useless group of people running for president?
  
  
• It's nice to be in demand for Music Directing jobs, but I've pledge to take the rest of the year off from theatre unless a plum directing job opens up. I've already had about 3 requests to be MD, and had to turn them down (one of them twice!). Guess it's a case of careful what you wish for...
  
  

Blogging for Clarinets

The Knoxville Symphony Orchestra is sponsoring a blogger night at their Sept. 27th concert at the Tennessee Theatre in downtown Knoxville.

Stephanie Burdette, Communications Director for the Symphony, has invited area bloggers to win free tickets by emailing her at stephanie@knoxvillesymphony.com by 2:00 on September 27 and pledging to blog about the event. Unfortunately we'll be leaving that day for our trip to Orlando, but if we get tickets I know plenty of folks who would love to have the opportunity to hear the Knoxville Symphony.

Hat tip to Frank Murphy (you can read more on his page as well)

School Matters

Yes, this is late :)

If you or someone you know has children in any school in the Knox County school system (public or private), encourage them to participate in School Matters:



This new site (Cathy is one of its blogmammas) is for parent networking and discussion of issues facing Knox County schoolchildren of all ages and walks of life.