Everything On Campus is 'For Sale' as UTK Inks Deal with Food City

As a continuation of the 'cancel culture' that is ripping through the country, UT has made a deal with Food City to add their name to the Thompson-Boling Arena.  In an article by Adam Sparks, of the Knoxville News-Sentinel (8/23/2023), the headline of the article reads, "Tennessee Vols fans OK with renaming Thompson-Boling, but leave Neyland Stadium alone."  In the article Sparks' further quotes three sources, rather anonymously, as "a UT fan said," and "one fan said," and then "another fan said."   In any verifiable poll, 3 out of over 1,000,000 plus Tennessee Volunteer's fans is hardly a representative sampling of the group; to assert that VOL's fans are 'OK' with the change.

I certainly received no 'survey' and do not approve of 'renaming' Thompson-Boling Arena.  If you want to put signs on the side of the building showing Food City as a sponsor, then certainly do so; and Tennessee will greatly benefit from the revenue, but when you talk about renaming a facility, that is reaching to the absurd.

What's so important about a name change?  First, and I'm sure UT only thought about the money, but Thompson-Boling Arena is a map designation.  It appears in every search, in maps in every smart phone and other devices, and on current road maps.  It appears on every campus map that the university publishes, and in other online searches about basketball on the University of Tennessee campus.  And secondly, since searches will pull up any name reference, visiting fans will become confused about whether they are searching for Thompson-Boling, or Food City Arena.  as this confusion grows, UT will be tempted to drop Thompson-Boling all together and that I am not 'Okay' with.

The article went on to, in my opinion, mock 'Garza Law,' and 'Pilot Truck Stops,' citing again "fans cringed," "a fan said," and "two other fans, with gritted teeth, suggested,".  This falls under the category of editorial comment much more than it does news reporting.  I doubt anybody is really shocked by that.

UTK likes to go after the big paydays and that is understandable, but please don't sell out our collective heritage, eliminating the names and deeds of former greats, on campus and in life.  Leave the individual names alone on buildings, stadiums, arenas, and other special places around campus that individuals invested their time and hearts in helping to build.  My diploma has Ed Boling's signature, and it wouldn't mean nearly as much with a 'Food City' logo.

(PS - I shop Food City and love that they offer more of the brands that I like to buy, rather than filling the shelves with only their store brand like two of the area's other large grocers.  I appreciate all they do for our area, the cleanliness of their stores, and their courteous staff.)

This post is editorial content and is intended for the enjoyment of those who read it.  

Save the Planet: Demand Better Products!

 We have our kids growing up thinking that electric cars are better for the environment, than anything that has come before them.  I don't agree with that, and believe electric cars are more toxic than anything that has come before.

If you listen to experts, not vested in the electric car market, then you hear the negative attributes.  We don't have the electric power grid to support all these cars.  The power to charge them comes from electricity which is still not clean energy.  There has been no discussion on the disposal of electric car batteries, or the mining processes for producing new batteries in such quantities.  Electric cars are not the solution.

If you want something truly better for the environment, then pick a car model and make that same car for the next 50 years.  This would eliminate cars piling up in junkyards because they couldn't be fixed for lack of replacement parts.  Make cars where transmissions, engines, mufflers, etc all fit the same brackets, space, and configuration.  Manufacturers thrive on selling parts long after the car is sold.  If they keep producing new models, where the components of the new model dosen't match the next model, or the older model, then you have to buy a new part.  What if you could buy a new car that had the same parts as your old car?  You could keep the old car as a 'parts' warehouse.  The old car may be worn out, but windows, doors, fenders, a bracket, etc. may still have a lot more life left in it.  We need to ditch the 'Newer is Better' mentality and look at how we can 'Build to Reuse.'  

In the 1940's and 1950's, cars and appliances were made to be 'repairable.'  Now everything is made to be disposed of, and replaced.  We need to look at making things that last, or where at least the components of an item can continue on.  Marketing Directors would disagree and say that people want new items, not old worn-out models.

This is destructive, non-environmentally sound thinking that causes a greater toll on our environment.  We continue to add to our landfills and increase the space allocated to our junk yards.  We need to refurbish and reuse, but that begins with the design process.  The old adage, 'If you build a better mousetrap they will beat down the door to get it,' needs to be replaced, with a demand from the consumer, 'We want a better product and will not buy until we get it.'

Demand better!

Great Smoky Mountains 'Parking Fee' is a Farce to Federal Law

Beginning yesterday, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) enacted a 'Parking Fee' on all cars visiting the park, which park for more than 15 minutes at any one location.  To steal a concept from Shakespeare, 'A Toll by any other name would still Stink.'  

A federal law (1994 {1964} U.S. Code Title 16) prevented the NPS from charging entrance fees where tolls are prohibited on primary park roads. Because Newfound Gap Road and Little River Road are the primary roads in GSMNP, we are, to this day, unable to charge an entrance fee. [Source: Why No Entrance Fee? - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) ]

The GSMNP is the highest visited park in the country (12,937,633 visitors in 2022); more than doubling the visitors to the Grand Canyon (4,732,101), and tripling visitors to either Yosemite (3,667,550), or Yellowstone (3,290,242). (STATS - Welcome to Visitor Use Statistics (nps.gov).  GSMNP receives less than $20 million dollars annually from tax-payer support and about $4 million from park partners such as the Great Smoky Mountains Association, Friends of the Smokies, the Tremont Institute, and Discover Life in America.  That is less than $1.90 per person that visits the park each year.  

The NPS has never seemed to be able to find enough money to offer the services and upkeep that is necessary to a park that entertains that many people annually.  In the 1980's, the NPS turned down an offer from the residents of Elkmont to extend their individual leases (on less than 50 acres of land).  The impact on the environment of these residences to the Park would be considered negligible, but the National Park Service bowed to pressure from the Sierra Club and other environmental groups and refused the economic support.  [ The Curious Case of Elkmont, Tennessee: The Ghost Town of the Smoky Mountains (tnmuseum.org) ]

The GSMNP at one point took out all of the trash cans around the Cades Cove loop, because, according to a ranger I spoke to, it was deemed too expensive to service them.  

The problem for locals is that we represent a high percentage of 'visits' to the park each year and if we buy an annual tag for $40 it only covers one car.  That means that to cover each car in our family it could cost more than $120 annually.  While visitors from other states who come for the day, or a week, are only going to pay $5-15 depending on their stay.

This is yet another example of a federal entity bending the rules to subjecate the law in their favor.  Our Tennessee representatives need to step up and protect the rights of Tennesseans access to the park; access that is not fettered in fees that would pay for services our tax dollars should be accomplishing.

A fee for parking, in lieu of an admission fee, is government over-reach in triplicate.

Here are some tips directly from the NPS website (Seniors Take Note):

Parking Tag Basics

·      -Three tag durations are available for purchase for all vehicle sizes and types:

o   Daily - $5

o   Weekly - $15

o   Annual - $40

·  -Parking tags are not replaceable, refundable, transferable, or upgradable.

· -Each tag is valid for a single vehicle and must include a license plate number matching the vehicle in which it is displayed.

· -Parking tags are available for purchase both online and onsite.

· -Display of physical parking tags in each vehicle is required.  Digital representations are not accepted.

· -Parking tags are not location specific.  A parking tag is required to park anywhere within the boundaries of the Smokies.

· - Parking tags are not required for motorists who pass through the area or who park for less than 15 minutes.

· -Interagency passes (senior, access, etc.) are not accepted in lieu of a parking tag.

West Hills Neighborhood Seeks to Control the World

With property values in Knox County reaching all-time highs, many homeowners are putting their homes on the market and taking the money and running.  Neighborhoods have personalities and it is important that you understand the people you will be living with for the foreseeable future.

Nestled at the edge of the City of Knoxville on the westside is the West Hills neighborhood; with a neighborhood association on steroids.  The neighborhood was begun in the 1950's and has built out to almost full occupancy.  Very few, if any, lots still exist to build on and the neighborhood has not begun to see the rash of 'tear down and start over' that neighborhoods like Deane Hill, Westmoreland, and Sequoyah Hills have seen.  

The West Hills Association continues to fight for traffic measures that would deter anyone from cutting through their neighborhood.  What their efforts have done thus far is to push traffic off of the main roads and more it into the interior of the neighborhood to avoid their 'traffic calming' devices.  This is readily evident along Westly Road where, without any traffic surveys, or need, stop signs appear at almost every intersection along this stretch of road that runs from Kingston Pike to Middlebrook Pike.

Broome Road is the latest victim of this neighborhood over-reach as speed humps on hills, and before stop signs will make the road dangerous to travelers during rain, snow, and in the dark of night.  There interference with public thoroughfares will most likely end up in a court of law; with motorists citing damage to undercarriages on expensive sports cars.  

For residents, who are members of the Homeowner's Association they should realize that if the association is sued, homeowner's insurance policies will not foot the bill, or the liability, because the association is a voluntary group; no deeds in the neighborhood require membership in the association and therefore it will not be covered by their policies.  

Until then, the best way to combat the spread of these 'traffic calming' devices is to lay on your horn every time you have to slow down to below the speed limit to traverse one of these sleeping policemen.   

What Should Happen After Covid-19?

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We are beginning to see Covid-19 cases drop way down in both numbers and severity as municipalities open back up following government enforced shutdowns.  So, where should we go from here?

1) Property taxes should be pro-rated for 2020- All property taxes should be pro-rated based on Covid-19 shutdowns.  Residential property taxes should be pro-rated and business/commercial property taxes should be pro-rated based on the length of time they were under a mandatory shut down notice.  If they were under a mandatory shut-down, then they should not have to pay property taxes or rent during that time period. Period.  They were denied access to the business/property for the purpose for which it was designed and taxed.  This is a not open to debate and there should be massive lawsuits if counties do not automatically implement this procedure.

2) Mandatory year-round school should be taken off the table- For years we have seen the school system inch closer and closer to a year-round calendar.  Governor Bill Lee mandated that all public primary and intermediate schools be closed by March 20th and they did not re-open for the school season.  This means that children missed 9 or 10 weeks of their regular school session and then started summer break not to resume until the start of the new calendar year in August.  However, all students will advance to the next grade level and all seniors graduated in the Spring of 2020.  This should forever put to rest the idea that students cannot retain what they have learned in the previous year, without going to a year-round school calendar.  This was always a policy not supported by the data, but rather to solve some other problem, most likely the need for year-round meals for at risk children.  I do not suggest that we suspend meals for at risk kids, but to say that all kids need year-round school is hijacking the system for other purposes.  Kids benefit in learning through other means than school.  Summer jobs, internships, work study programs, and apprenticeships are all ways that our youth can learn from environments other than a classroom.  What could be beneficial is to bring back summer school alternatives for at risk children so that they may not only receive meals throughout the year but continue to receive additional classroom training that will help them not only move into the next grade but do so while excelling at their schoolwork.

3) No government employee should receive pay without producing equal work- Schools were closed, government offices were on reduced schedules, state parks were closed, and many other government workers were not doing the work for which they were hired during the pandemic.  If the Governor of the State of Tennessee implements any type of work restrictions on the public, then all government personnel (other than law enforcement) should receive and be burdened with the same economic impact that applies to residents of the state.  Imagine if DMV personnel had to rely on tips like waiters and waitresses in a restaurant or bar.  Just think about that sentence one more time, "What if DMV personnel where paid $2.12 an hour and benefits, but the rest of their income came from tips from customers?"  So immediately any government employee is going to cry foul and say, "You don't understand what we have to deal with?"  You tell that to servers who see every kind of abuse and obnoxious customer that exists.  If state employees had to lose some of their pay during the shutdown, then the governor would think twice before pulling that option out of the hat.  

I don't deny that Covid-19 was an unknown in late January and February, but the numbers were not bearing out the continued shut-down into March and beyond.  Yet the government continued to restrict people's opportunity to make a living; at the same time paying full benefits and pay to most government workers.  FIGHT BACK.  Do not put anybody back into state elected office that was there this year. 

This blog is the opinion of the writer and is published as editorial comment.

UT Chancellor Should Be All VOL

UT Chancellor Should Be All VOL

I have watched the search process for a new UT Knoxville Chancellor with excited anticipation at the possibilities that could occur.  I now fear that I will only be disappointed with the choice being made by a professional head hunter group.

Nowhere in the list of candidates that has been released has there been a graduate of UTK.  Now many people will tell you that it is more important to find someone with the proper academic qualifications and a past history of teaching, fund-raising, and management experience to take the reins at the Knoxville Campus. To them I would say we have tried that and the results were abysmal.

UT Knoxville needs a leader who has gone through the UT Knoxville experience as a student if he/she is to relate to the students on campus.  We need a leader that understands the inter-relationship of the campus with the City of Knoxville, the farmers in Tennessee, the business community, and the Oak Ridge laboratory.

The news reports and press conferences that I have seen show UT Knoxville bringing in candidates to meet with faculty and staff, maintenance workers, and student representatives.  What is the purpose of having a search committee if they are just going to gauge public response and pick the least objectionable candidate?

UTK needs leadership and needs a strong presence as the head of the University.  My fear is that they are looking for a mouthpiece and a PR manager.  What we need is the next Andy Holt, Ed Boling, or Jack Reese.  For now, the Alumni wait to see.

Where's the Outrage? Ban These Instruments of Death Now!

Almost every day you hear of another life lost, yet these instruments of death continue to proliferate.  Day after day the numbers of licenses increase for individuals to own one.

Where is the voice of reason calling for us to ban once and for all these weapons of death?  You won’t hear it from me, or even the liberals among us.  The current statistic in Tennessee, as posted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation on their digital message boards is 622 roadway fatalities this year alone. So what does this number tell us?

It tells us that we are okay with people dying for the sake of convenience.  The liberal left will tell us that we must ban all guns because guns kill innocent people.  Automobiles kill far more people in this country than guns year after year, yet they are silent on banning automobiles.

So, if tragic deaths (automobile accidents) are not offensive, then you have to ask yourself why the outcry to ban guns?  Our founding fathers realized the importance of a well armed public that could defend themselves against the usurpation of our liberty by a tyrannical government bent on stripping away our freedom.

When our military personnel are sworn into service, they vow not to answer to a president, or to congress.  Their oath states that they promise to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. 

We are a nation of free individuals partly because we have the right to carry guns.  Guns don’t kill people any more than cars kill people.

This blog is the personal opinion of the writer and is published as editorial comment.