The Celebration Continues! Have a Happy Kwanzaa!

Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa is dedicated to one of the following principles, as follows:

1. Umoja (Unity) To strive for and to maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race.

2. Kujichagulia (Self-Determination) To define ourselves, name ourselves, create for ourselves and speak for ourselves.

3. Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) To build and maintain our community together and make our brothers' and sisters' problems our problems and to solve them together.

4. Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics) To build and maintain our own stores, shops and other businesses and to profit from them together.

5. Nia (Purpose) To make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.

6. Kuumba (Creativity) To do always as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

7. Imani (Faith) To believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

"Share The Spirit Of CBS--The Central Baptist Singers"

MORE PHOTOS IN THE PHOTO GALLERY

VIDEOS OF SOME OF THE SONGS COMING SOON!


20 years ago, "Share The Spirit of CBS" was the slogan of the CBS Television Network.

(LOGO AT RIGHT IS A COPYWRIGHTED TRADEMARK OF CBS-TV)

In 1968, the slogan of CBS was "The Look of a Winner!"

In that particular year, the spirit of another winner involving those same initials was born at the Central Baptist Church in Kingsport.

Almost 40 years ago, several members of Central's Senior Choir and members of the congregation, organized a youth choir, filled with the voices of their children and grandchildren.

The group chose the name "CBS," although everybody thought it stood for choir member Curtis Springs' initials, some laughingly saying, that's why he suggested it. But he really meant it to stand for the Central Baptist Singers.

The name stuck around. Today, CBS is an inspiration in the church singing community of Kingsport, and Christmas Night, 2007, the group held a concert at the church, to commemorate the achievements of the group, to welcome home some of its members, and to honor those founding church members who made sure the singing group never lost its focus.

TODAY'S CBS: THE CENTRAL BAPTIST SINGERS

The Christmas Night event was heralded by the New Vision Youth, who lent their young voices to the Christmas classics "Silent Night," and "Oh Come Let Us Adore Him." The group is directed by Johnnie Mae Swaggerty.

Although CBS was the featured group, singing many audience favorites, other vocalists at the event included Sister Lauri Hale, whose rendition of "I Won't Complain" simply brought the crowd to its feet in praise. Sister Jessie Dennis, Sister Lynette Alley and Sister Bonita Johnson also rendered traditional Christmas songs.

Noted singer and performer Wayne "Scat Cat" Springs, an original member of CBS, his sister Tona, also a CBS original member, and mama Louetta Springs Hall sang several selections, that reminded everyone how instrumental this family was in the evolution from traditional church favorites, to the newer-age, newer styles of Baptist Church music, although mama Louetta Hall, still keeps her roots in the down-home music of our ancestors.

Probably, the most moving selections came from the time-honored group "The Heavenly Echoes." This group of former Central Senior Choir Members Pinkie Horton, Louetta Hall, Eula Cartwright, and Bernice (Watterson" Horton accompanying on the piano, evoked memories of the Central Baptist Choir of old. If you closed your eyes, you could hear Sister Mary Rutledge, Sister Sarah Kincaid, Sister Dorethea McMiller, Sister Frances Graves and others all singing along with them in the choir box behind and beside the pulpit, while Sister Betsy Sneed played the piano, as Reverend Stokely tapped his feet to the music, urging sinners to repent and join the fellowship of the church..

A highlight of the event Christmas night, was the dedication of plaques to the memory of those church members who were instrumental in helping get the CBS off the ground, and insuring their success. Families, individuals and descendants of Rev. William Stokely, Mrs. Virginia Lytle, Mrs. Gladys Bly, Mrs. Francis Graves, Mrs. Pinkie Horton, Lawrence "Tom Thumb" Tinsley, Curtis Springs, Joe Allen McMiller and Bravonne McClintock were presented the commemorations.

For years, the Riverview and South Central Kingsport community has been truly blessed to have "American Idols" right in our midst that we all grew up with, and to hear them continuing to lend their voices to song, uplifting the Name of Jesus, and the Word of God, leaves everybody who attended the CBS Concert with a warm feeling of fellowship.. the same fellowship we all grew up with.

WATCH FOR VIDEOS OF SOME OF THE CONCERT SONGS COMING SOON!

Funeral Services for Mr. William Bond, Jr.

KINGSPORT — Mr. William (Billy) Matthew Bond, Jr., was born on Aug. 1, 1950 in Kingsport to his parents Mr. William Matthew Bond and Ethel Mae Leeper Bond. Both parents preceded him in death. In 1988, he was united in holy matrimony to Gretchen Weathers. Their daughter, Tiffany Bond was born July 31, 1990.
Billy graduated from East Tennessee State University with a degree in accounting. After college, he went to work for Monsanto Corp. in St. Louis, Mo. He later moved back to Tennessee to work for Mason-Dixon Trucking Company. In 1987, he relocated to the Dallas area where he worked as manager of Pension Funds for the Internal Revenue Service. On Dec. 20, 2007 at the age of 57, Billy was prematurely taken from his family by a tragic car accident.
Billy is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Gretchen Weathers-Bond; a beloved daughter, Tiffany Bond; three brothers, Darwin, Marvin and Tony Bond; two sisters, Kathy Evans and Susan Bond; three caring sisters-in law, Jean, Thelma and Hazel; a host of nieces, nephews cousins, other relatives and friends.
Billy loved Tennessee and he will be laid to rest in the historic Bond-Pierce Family Cemetery in Kingsport.
The family request either flowers or donations be made to the International Myeloma Foundation.
The family will receive friends from 1 p.m. until the hour of services.
Friends may call at the residence of Ms. Roselene Bond at 1018 East Sevier at anytime.
Funeral service will be conducted at 2 pm. Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007 at the Shiloh Baptist Church with Rev. Dr. Kenneth Calvert officiating.
Interment to follow in the Bond-Pierce Family Cemetery.
Mr. William (Billy)Matthew Bond, Jr. and family are in the care of R.A. Clark Funeral Service, Inc.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE DOUGLASS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION AND THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF DOUGLASS!








WE WISH YOU A VERY "MEOWY" CHRISTMAS!









THE DOUGLASS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION HOPES THE JOLLY FAT MAN IS VERY GOOD TO YOU THIS YEAR!












AND IF YOU DO THIS ON THE HOLIDAY, PLEASE DON'T GET BEHIND THE WHEEL!

Bizarre Tollway Accident Kills Passenger William Bond, Jr.

****PLEASE KEEP THE BOND FAMILY AND RELATIVES IN YOUR PRAYERS****

STORY AND PICTURES FROM WFAA-TV, DALLAS, TEXAS

From WFAA-TV Staff Reports



A Chevy Avalanche overturned on the Dallas North Tollway shortly before rush hour traffic.

A chunk of concrete debris flew through a car windshield and fatally struck the passenger.
Craig Civale reports..

DALLAS - Just before rush hour traffic hit the roads Thursday, two cars involved in a bizarre, fatal accident led to the closure of lanes heading both southbound and northbound on the Dallas North Tollway.


Heading northbound, Irving activist Anthony Bond was driving his brother home from a day of cancer treatment Thursday afternoon when a pickup on the other side of the Dallas North Tollway slammed into the median, he said.

The collision sent a large chunk of concrete through the passenger side of the windshield of Bond’s PT Cruiser shortly before 4 p.m. The concrete struck Plano resident William Mathew Bond, 57, in the face, killing him instantly, authorities said.

“There was nothing [Mr. Bond’s] vehicle could have done to prevent this,” said Sgt. Robert Bernard Jr. of the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Forty-two-year-old Christopher Spicer, the driver of the southbound truck, said he lost control of his car when he attempted to change lanes and suddenly noticed a car in his blind spot. Spicer said he swerved back in an attempt to avoid an accident, but struck the median, which led to his car overturning near the Walnut Hill exit.

However, Sgt. Bernard Jr. said Spicer had been following a vehicle in the left lane "extremely close" before he lost control while trying to switch to the center lane.

The accident left Spicer with only a few minor cuts and bruises.

Hours after the accident, a shaken Anthony Bond returned to the scene as the Dallas medical examiner prepared to remove his brother’s body from the car.

“My brother was already suffering from bone marrow cancer,” said Bond, a former president of the NAACP’s Irving chapter. “All of a sudden, I saw a truck getting ready to come over the median. I saw my windshield break and look over and saw my brother bleeding," he said, before breaking down in tears.

William Bond, of Plano, is survived by his wife and 17-year-old son.

State troopers are investigating the accident, and said criminal charges may be issued against Spicer in the future.


WFAA's Craig Civale, WFAA.com's Marjorie Owens and The Dallas Morning News contributed to this report

The Archives For Riverview: The First Great Riverview Homecoming

On a slightly chilly, but sunny afternoon the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, 2007, an exodus of Riverview folks came back home.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE PHOTOS BELOW TO ENLARGE THEM.
THE HISTORIC ALBUM IS IN THE PHOTO GALLERY UNDER: "THE ARCHIVES FOR RIVERVIEW."


Current and former residents of the Riverview Apartments in Kingsport came home to have historic pictures made, on what may be the last time many of them see the apartments.

In just a few short weeks, the Riverview Apartments will be torn down to make way for the $11.9 million dollar HOPE VI Revitilization that will replace the four blocks of apartments with free-standing, single and multi-family homes.

A few tears were shed, as residents gazed upon the particular apartment they called home for many years and remembered the closeness. So many of our friends and neighbors raised generations of children that played in the fountain that used to be in the center of the complex.. studied and read grade school books at the historic George Washington Carver Library.. ate lunch at the nearby Edge's Place.. sipped sodas at the Taylor Confectionary.. heard a rousing "Good Morning" every school day from Mr. Releford sitting on the front porch of Apartment #81, the apartment closest to Douglass School.. learned to swim in the Riverview Pool.. played "Cowboys and Indians" on Clay Hill, Riverview's First Unofficial Playground.. and then graduated to their life's calling at the nearby Douglass School.


Even on this day, folks were gathering together, catching up on the neighborhood news. It was almost like the days of old, when you could walk up and down the streets or the alleys, see a loved friend or neighbor, and stop to talk about something or someone. It was a blessing indeed, to hear folks talking, chatting, just having a good time with loved ones. And as always, a careful eye out for the young ones scurrying around.


THIS PHOTO FROM THE HELEN BUNTING COLLECTION: CARVER LIBRARY DEDICATION

Imagine what it must have been like, when the apartments were new.
1940.. 1946.. 1951.. 1958..
You're living in a faraway city, and your father gets a call from his brother, his uncle, his cousin, who are working at Tennessee Eastman..
He says, "man, you've got to come to Kingsport, there's jobs here. You KNOW you can stay with us until you find a place."
Your family moves to Kingsport, Daddy gets on at Eastman, and starts looking around for a place to live.


THIS PHOTO FROM THE HELEN BUNTING COLLECTION: "The Children of Riverview"

The Riverview Apartments.. they must have seemed like condominiums back then.
Everybody called them "projects" back then, because the government built them and others as work "projects" for the Works Progress Administration, later the Works Projects Administration. Seems like that name stuck with them forever.
But because of the close friendships, close family ties, and close neighbor relations, all bound together by love, these were never "projects" in a derogatory sense of the word. These homes became part of our Kingsport heritage, THE PART THAT BINDS US ALL TOGETHER AS FAMILY!

We will never forget the Riverview Apartments.. they stood for a new beginning for most of the families who lived there. We should be proud of the heritage they stood for, for we all had a part in them.

KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER CLIFFORD JEFFERY TAKING MRS. MAMIE GILLENWATER'S PICTURE IN FRONT OF HER RIVERVIEW APARTMENT


In the PHOTO GALLERY is a special album of many of your friends and neighbors who came home before the apartments are torn down.. they came to reminisce, to walk the same paths they walked many short years ago, and most of all, to remember those friendships, bourne of the coincidence of just being neighbors.

If you missed getting your keepsake picture made over Thanksgiving and would like to have your picture included in the special album, please have one taken of you and your family standing in front of your apartment, and please send that to: csneed@newschannel9.com If you don't have email, call Calvin at (423) 421-7784 or Johnnie Mae Swaggerty at (423) 246-6623, and we can arrange to have one made of you to include in the on-going album.

DION "DINKY" RUSSELL WELCOMING FOLKS BACK HOME!

This is a special album, that honors the memory of the relationships, the fun, and the closeness the Historic Riverview Apartments inspired in the residents and former residents of our community. The apartments may be gone soon, but the friendships they spawned, will live on in the history of our community forever.

If you want to include relatives, either still with us or deceased, that you want to include in the apartments, please email that information to me at: csneed@newschannel9.com (copy and paste this email address), and I will include it. Also, if there is a correction, get that to me, too. This album is an on-going work and items can be added to it, so please check back with it often.

Also, if you'd like to include your picture standing in front of your apartment, please take one and email that to me, too. There is a time deadline, though.. I'm told, the Historic Riverview Apartments will be gone within the next eight weeks, and for the next year or so, the four acres where they used to sit, will be nothing but an open field until the new housing is built. Please get your picture in front of your apartment to me ASAP, or call Johnnie Mae and we'll schedule one to take with you pronto, in the next eight weeks.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS!

PLEASE VISIT THIS HISTORIC ALBUM IN THE PHOTO GALLERY: "The Archives For Riverview."

More Vintage Photos of our Riverview Heritage

As we get ready to celebrate and honor the Historic Riverview Apartments and our loved ones who help make them part of our culture, Helen Bunting and Virginia (Jenny) Hankins have sent along some vintage pictures, guaranteed to get the nostalgia machine going. If you'd like to share some vintage photos, please send them to me.
Thanks Helen and Jenny!


FROM THE HELEN BUNTING COLLECTION:

DEDICATION OF THE CARVER LIBRARY IN THE RIVERVIEW APARTMENTS, 1951.

The inscription from Helen reads as follows:
"Opening of the George Washington Carver Branch Library Picture (Metafile)Title: Opening of the George Washington Carver Branch Library Description: Opening of the Carver Branch library in the Riverview section of Kingsport. When this branch opened, the Riverview neighborhood was still segregated. Some of the people in the picture are E.W. Palmer (near the right pillar), sisters Anita and Marie Briscoe, Annette Burnette, Linda Cox, Reverend William H. Stokely, Willard C. and Ressie H. Long."
Photographer: Unknown
Date of Image: 1951
Date Added: 03/02/2007
Subject: George Washington Carver Branch Library-Tennessee-Kingsport.
People, groups-Tennessee-Kingsport.
African Americans-Tennessee-Kingsport.
Riverview-Tennessee-Kingsport.
Public buildings-Tennessee-Kingsport.
Palmer, E.W. (Elbridge W.), 1886-1953.
Kinchloe, Marie Briscoe.
Briscoe, Anita.



WILLARD C. LONG

The inscription from Helen reads as follows:
Willard C. Long with Picture of George Washington Carver Picture (Metafile)
Title: Willard C. Long with Picture of George Washington Carver
Description: This image of Willard C. Long was taken shortly after the George Washington Carver Branch Library opened in Kingsport, Tennessee.
The branch library opened on 11 June 1951 in Kingsport's segregated Riverview Community.
Photographer: unknown
Date of Image: circa 1951
Date Added: 07/11/2007
Subject: Long, Willard C.
George Washington Carver Branch Library-Tennessee-Kingsport.
African Americans-Tennessee-Kingsport.
Riverview-Tennessee-Kingsport.
Collection: Photographs from Riverview Community, 1950s.
Provenance: Helen K. Bunting donated this image during 2007.
Repository: Archives of the City of Kingsport


FROM THE VIRGINIA HANKINS COLLECTION:

EMOGENE CARTWRIGHT HANKINS.

Jenny says: "This one is of my mother, Emogene Cartwright Hankins, standing in front of Apt 53 and 54. These are some of the apartments built especially for the larger families."












MABEL HOARD MONTGOMERY AND LORAINE CARTWRIGHT LOLLAR.

Jenny says: "They are standing at the end of Booker Street. If you look over to the right it looks like that might be the future location of the Library and the new apartments.







LORAINE CARTWRIGHT LOLLAR, ADA GILLENWATER AND EMOGENE CARTWRIGHT HANKINS.
Jenny says: "This picture is of Loraine Cartwright Lollar, Ada Gillenwater and Emogene Cartwright Hankins on their graduation day in 1942."

Building the New Homes of Riverview & Sherwood-Hiwassee

Former residents of the Historic Riverview Apartments in Kingsport wanting to make the profitable jump to home ownership, will have that chance when the Sherwood-Hiwassee homes are finished, and also when the HOPE VI Revitalization Program is completed in the Riverview Neighborhood.

THE INTERSECTION OF SHERWOOD ROAD AND HIWASSEE DRIVE IN KINGSPORT, WHERE HOPE VI IS BUILDING NEW HOUSING

"All of the new homes being built at Sherwood-Hiwassee are for sale," says HOPE VI Director Doris Ladd. "We are still working on the price range for those, but they will probably be in the range of $120,000 to $130,000. They will all be mostly brick, and all are three bedroom and two bath houses."

Meanwhile in the Riverview Neighborhood, there will be four homes that will be for sale. "We are working with the Youth Build Program," says Mrs. Ladd.


Youth Build has a grant that allows the agency to take about 24 young people who do not have high school educations, and not only furthers their education, but allows them gainful employment. "At the Riverview site, the Youth Build participants will spend half their time in a classroom setting, during which they will work on getting their G.E.D.'s," says Mrs. Ladd, "then the other half of their time will be spent at the Riverview site building homes. The grant provides for the funding to pay their labor, and also the educational process. They're also working with the Eastern 8 non-profit agency, which helps build affordable homes.

A YOUTH BUILD HOME


"Two Youth Build homes will be built, with the first starting in February of '08," says Mrs. Ladd, "then two others in '09. Those four homes will all be for sale, and any Riverview Apartments resident moving back will be given first chance to purchase those."

Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, all of the HOPE VI homes being built on the Riverview Apartments site, will be public housing available for rent to former apartment residents and others who qualify. There will be a total of 38 rental units built, plus the separate 4 Youth Build for-sale homes. "There will be eight corner rental duplexes," says Mrs. Ladd, "at the corners of Louis and Douglass, and Louis and Lincoln, and also Carver and Douglass and Carver and Lincoln, for a total of 16 individual housing units. These are still under design, but will be geared towards seniors and the disabled."

ARTIST RENDERING OF THE NEW RIVERVIEW HOMES

"Then, there will be 16 other single-dwelling housing units interspersed on the site," she says. "Those will mostly be three-bedroom, two-bath, and we are still trying to decide whether to add a fourth bedroom to some of those."

"And then, 6 more single-dwelling, three-bedroom (maybe four), two-bath units will also be scattered through the community," she says.

"We have no restrictions on the number of stories, but some of the housing designs for the senior and disabled call for a limited or no second floor," says Mrs. Ladd.

As previously mentioned, tear-down for the Historic Riverview Apartments is scheduled by this coming February, with bids for construction of the new HOPE VI housing going out during the first quarter of 2009. Actual construction could begin by April or May of 2009.

The New Homes Of Riverview

The new homes that replace the Riverview Apartments have names.

There are five different housing plans, all of them named after families in the Riverview Neighborhood.

CLICK ON EACH PHOTO TO SEE THE HOME AND BLUEPRINT UP CLOSE


THE BLY HOUSE: 1, 471 square feet


Charlie Bly moved his family from Morristown to the Riverview Neighborhood in Kingsport in the early 50's, according to grandson Ozine Bly. "He always spelled our last name B-L-Y, but over the years, others have added an "E" to it for some reason. My mother Gladys raised 7 kids, 4 girls and 3 boys, in the Riverview Apartments. She was one of the longest tenants there, and was a faithful member of the Central Baptist Church just up the street. Between my mother and her brother Nathaniel (Nathan's father), we have six generations of Bly's that all began right there in the Riverview Apartments."


The Blye House features two bedrooms upstairs and one bedroom downstairs. The home also has one full bathroom upstairs and one full bathroom downstairs. It has a small front porch.











THE DOBBINS HOUSE: 1,610 square feet


V.O. Dobbins Sr. moved to Kingsport back around 1940, from his family home in Columbia, Tennessee. Here, he brought his bride Fannie Mae, who like him, was a school teacher, and they came to Kingsport to teach at Douglass High School. "He and my mother had to keep their marriage a secret for a couple of years," says son Van Dobbins, Jr., "because Kingsport had a rule that married couples could not teach in the same school. They later did away with that rule." Professor Dobbins was first a coach at Douglass, then a science teacher, then rose to the rank of principal. He and Mrs. Dobbins raised 3 children in Riverview. "He was a strict disciplinarian," says Van, "but had a great deal of compassion for the Douglass students, believing that knowledge was their key to success."

The Dobbins House features two bedrooms upstairs and one bedroom downstairs. It also has one full bathroom upstairs, and one full bathroom downstairs. The home has a big L-shaped front porch.











THE PIERCE HOUSE: 1, 507 square feet


Both Jack Pierce and his brother Jerome, were products of Old Kingsport, and moved to Riverview from the Horse Creek area south of town when the Riverview Apartments were first built back in the early 1940's. "My father Jerome is a living history of Riverview," says daughter Sherry. "After his service in World War II, my father worked in the coal mines for a while and then went to barber school, before settling down right across the street from the apartments. He's always talking about the way family life was from the mid 40's to the 70's," Sherry says. Jerome and his wife raised 4 children in Riverview, and Jack and Betsy raised 7 children there.

The Pierce House features two upstairs bedrooms, and one downstairs bedroom. There is also one full bathroom upstairs, and one full bathroom downstairs. It also has a big long rectangular front porch.











THE CUNNINGHAM HOUSE: 1,610 square feet


Robert Cunningham and his family moved to Riverview from Johnson City, and originally lived on the upper end of Carver Street. Later, he and his family moved into the Riverview Apartments. His brother Ned and sister Tathia also lived in Riverview. For a while, Mr. Cunningham worked for one of Raz Morelock's used car lots, according to neighbor Jerome Pierce, then got on at the glass plant as a janitor. Mr. Jerome says he used to cut his hair, as well as his son Gary Cunningham. Robert was described as a quiet, laid-back sort of person.

The Cunningham House features one bedroom downstairs, and one bedroom upstairs. The home also has one upstairs bathroom and one downstairs bathroom. It has a big rectangular front porch.












THE DOUGLASS HOUSE:1,610 square feet


Of course, this house is not so much named after the great African-American orator and journalist Frederick Douglass, as it is about the former school in Riverview that bears his name to this day. At the time of its closing in 1966, the Douglass High School in Kingsport was the largest African-American school in upper East Tennessee. Its roots date back to the early 20's Oklahoma Grove School (which counts among its early students Gladys Bly), and was renamed Douglass High School in 1927. The current school building was built in 1951, with top-notch athletic teams, marching bands, plays and pageants. The school was accredited by the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges.

The Douglass House features two upstairs bedrooms and one downstairs bedroom. Like all the others, it also has one upstairs bathroom and one downstairs bedroom. The home also has one long rectangular front porch.

Historic Riverview Apartment Demolition on Schedule

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 4 HOMES, ALL OF THE NEW RIVERVIEW HOUSING UNITS WILL
BE PUBLIC HOUSING RENTAL UNITS



ON TUESDAY, WE'LL SHOW YOU WHAT THE NEW HOMES WILL LOOK LIKE, AND PROFILES OF THE RIVERVIEW FAMILIES THEY ARE NAMED AFTER

Over the past few months, it has indeed been an exodus of people moving out of the
Historic Riverview Apartments.


Since April, about 70 families have been relocated from the apartments, which are
scheduled to be torn down, to make way for new homes being built with the $11.9 Million dollar HOPE VI Revitilization Grant, awarded to Kingsport on December 6, 2006.

"One of our biggest challenges has been trying to keep children in their same school
districts," says Wendy Ramsey, HOPE VI Relocation & Supportive Housing Coordinator.
"Only just a handfull of families are left, and most have homes identified to move to. The time sort of crept up on people and all of a sudden, there was a deadline, but overall, the relocation has gone on smoothly.. everybody seems happy with their
move."

"We are still working on some environmental issues on the Riverview Apartment site
itself," says Doris Ladd, HOPE VI Director. "The state has requested additional
soil samples from the site. We have completed the asbestos assessment. Some of
the original flooring in the apartments was asbestos but during past remodels it was encapsulated by adding new flooring.

However, during the demolition the flooring will require careful removal and specific site disposal."

"There has really been nothing major that we have found."

"Right now, we are looking at mid-January for the crews to come in and start the
demolition process," says Mrs. Ladd. "We also are working with the Kingsport
Fire Department to let their crews come in and do practice drills with their
equipment, and also the Kingsport Police Department SWAT team to do rescue and
training in the apartments, which might move the demolition date back a bit."


"Our demolition crew is the D. H. Griffin Company of Bristol, Virginia," she says.
"They're OK with moving the actual tear-down date to sometime in early February, if the crews haven't finished training yet."

Once the demolition starts, the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority will
apply for what's called "Low Income Housing Tax Credit Funding" to assist in the rebuild of the new single and duplex housing. Mrs. Ladd says that application is due in March. "We have meetings scheduled in January to complete the application ," she says. "The awarding of the tax credit funding probably won't happen until September of '08, and then we'll shop those tax credits around to banks and lending institutions in the marketplace to see who is interested. That process could take until February or March of '09."

Mrs. Ladd says, given those parameters, the bid process for construction could start
during the first quarter of '09 and once a financial institution picks up the tax credit funding, actual construction of the new Riverview housing could begin in April or May of '09.

"It's not a quick process," she says. "With all the excitement that's been
generated about the new housing, we really wish we could do it faster."

There is one myth that Mrs. Ladd wants to put to rest, concerning who will be moving
into the new Riverview housing. "The new homes built, will be public housing
rental units, not for sale," she says. There has been a rumor that the new homes
would be for Eastman employees working in the headquarters next door, and Ms.
Ladd says, "that is definitely not the case. Rent for the new housing, just like
for the former apartments will be based on low income and rental payments will continue to based on the same calculation as today."

"We are happy to dispell that rumor and look forward to our residents returning to Riverview in the future," Mrs. Ladd says.

The KHRA is now working with applicants on home ownership at Sherwood-Hiwassee, and
are still taking applications from HOPE VI, Section 8, and other public housing
candidates. If you have questions or you want to apply, please call Maria Catron,
HOPE VI CSS Coordinator, at 423-384-6306, or stop by the office at 1140 Lincoln Street in Kingsport.

Paul Montgomery Appointed to Tennessee Board of Regents

‘It’s really an honor to be asked by the governor to serve on any board or commission, especially this one....’
— Paul Montgomery


THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By CHRISTAN M. THOMAS
cthomas@timesnews.net

KINGSPORT — Paul Montgomery has been involved in education in some capacity for the last 20 years.
Now he can add another honor to his list of accomplishments in that arena. Montgomery was recently appointed to the Te n n e s s e e Board of Regents by Gov. Phil Bredesen.
“The governor called me,” Montgomery said. “We had a chat, and he asked me if I’d be willing to serve, and I accepted. It’s really an honor to be asked by the governor to serve on any board or commission, especially this one, because I’m really following someone who’s done a tremendous job representing the 1st Congressional District — Leslie Pope. She’s done that for over 12 years, and she’s done an outstanding job, so I have some big shoes to fill.
“I was really honored and a little bit humbled by all the support I’ve been given by the local community, as well as the governor himself.”
According to the Tennessee Board of Regents Web site, the board was created in 1972 by the state General Assembly to serve as governing body for the State University and Community College System of Tennessee.
The board consists of 18 members. Twelve members are citizens, like Montgomery, who are appointed by the governor for six-year terms. In addition, the board is made up of one appointed faculty member and one student from the system institutions appointed, who each serve a one-year term. The other four seats consist of ex-officio members including the governor, the commissioner of Education, the commissioner of Agriculture and the executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission — who serves as a nonvoting member.
Montgomery said his first goal is to learn as much as possible about his new position. He said he’ll be attending an orientation at the beginning of the year.
In addition to serving on the Board of Regents, Montgomery is vice president of talent management for Eastman Chemical Co. Prior to this position, he was vice president for communications and public affairs. Montgomery joined Eastman in 1991 in the supply and distribution division.
Montgomery received his bachelor of arts degree in history and an MBA from King College. He currently serves on the boards of the East Tennessee State University Foundation and Northeast State Technical Community College Foundation and is a past president of the Kingsport Board of Education. Montgomery has also served on the Kingsport Regional Planning Commission, as president of the Kingsport branch of the NAACP, as president of the South Kingsport Optimist Club, as a Paul Harris Fellow of the Kingsport Rotary Club, as president of the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, and as chairman of the Tri-Cities All America City Partnership.
Montgomery and his wife Cherry, have two children, Christin and Curtis.
Over the years, Montgomery said he has many fond memories of working in the educational system, especially when it meant giving students more opportunities in life.
“Education has been very good to me,” Montgomery said. “I think it’s important that our higher ed schools are equipped with all the technology and teachers that they can get, in order to prepare our students for the future. ... It’s important that we all are as highly educated as possible.”

A Walk Down Memory Lane--Vintage Riverview Apartments Pictures

As we celebrate the tradition and the heritage of the historic Riverview Apartments before they are gone forever, Virginia Hankins sent along some photos of folks in the neighborhood from back in the day.

Thanks to Jenny for sharing these with us!

These wonderful photos from about 1964, 65, or 66, are a prelude to the new homes to be built on the Riverview Apartments site, when the apartments are torn down. That article, complete with pictures of the new homes to be built, is coming soon.

Click on the pictures below for a closer view!

BELOW: B. L. UNDERWOOD, STANDING ALONGSIDE THE HISTORIC APARTMENTS ON LOUIS STREET, NEAR BOOKER STREET
















BELOW: SISTERS JOY AND JENNY HANKINS, STANDING ON PORCH OF THE HISTORIC RIVERVIEW APARTMENTS #76 AND #77, WHERE THEY LIVED FOR MANY YEARS











BELOW: JIMMY MOORE, GLEN BAILEY, AND JERRY CAMPBELL STANDING NEAR THE CARVER LIBRARY IN THE HISTORIC RIVERVIEW APARTMENTS (LOUETTA HALL IS IN THE BACKGROUND)

Firefighters Practicing Their Skills In Riverview

For the next month or so, be prepared to see firefighters on the streets of Riverview.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Don't be alarmed.. they won't be fighting fires raging at our neighbors' homes, unless it's the real thing.

But there will be a "hotbed" of activity in Riverview for the next couple of months, as firefighters from the Kingsport Fire Department practice their skills on abandoned homes and housing in the neighborhood, using what it takes to possibly rescue a homeowner, get them out of a smokefilled house, and get a blaze put out quickly.

MORE PHOTOS OF THE RIVERVIEW PRACTICE DRILL IN THE PHOTO GALLERY

"We just don't get to practice our skills enough," says fire captain Bill Anders. "When a real fire happens, we have to go into reality mode, but being able to practice, gives us a wealth of good training skills the men learned to become better firefighters."

I found some of Kingsport's off-duty firefighters running a practice drill on the old McMiller house on Wheatley at James Street. The home has been vacant for years, and is now owned by the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority. The vacant home is scheduled to torn down and James Street eventually closed, to make room for the expansion and renovation of the Douglass School Building right across the street.


"The KHRA gave us permission to use this home as a practice facility," says Captain Anders, "and when we found out it was available, we jumped at the chance to get practicing as soon as possible."

"Today, we have about ten firefighters from Station One (Downtown Kingsport), Station Three (Memorial Boulevard), and Station Five (Lynn Garden), and we've got all our pumpers here," says Captain Anders. "Sometimes, it's not just the fire itself, it's the smoke that clouds your breathing, your eyesight and your judgment, the heat and the water we spray, that weakens the roof or the flooring, that could prove dangerous."

There was a time when the only holes we knew in a roof provided our parents access to the roof to adjust the TV antenna back in the days before cable (many of the kids in the neighborhood also used those "doorways to the stars" to get to hideaways where we could survey our territory, the neighborhood).


Today's firefighters have a different purpose for making new holes in the roof..
Huge holes drilled into the roof of the McMiller house providing firefighters in a life-or-death situation the chance to allow smoke and heat from a blaze to escape. "Ventilation is very important, because heat and smoke are two combinations that will take a life or destroy a home, even if we are able to get the fire put out," Captain Anders says.


Firefighters also used a portable concrete cutter, with this scenario: there is a homeowner, bedridden.. trapped between life and death, with no way to escape. The men used the cutter to widen the doorway to allow that incapacitated person to be removed with little or no injury. The cutter blasting through the brick McMiller home, produced a lot of dust, which if it's combined with the smoke from the fire, will almost completely obscure the operator during the drill.

"If we have to get them out in a hurry, this helps us do that."


Another scenario placed an injured, downed firefighter just inside a door that's either locked or blocked off by burning debris. The men also used their techniques on getting through the door using sledge hammers and other tools. First, they dismantled the door frame with effort, splintering it seemingly into a million pieces, then ripping it out, forcing the door open and getting the firefighter out.

The old McMiller house provided firefighters the perfect facility to level the playing field when it comes to fighting fire.


Members of the Kingsport Fire Department also have permission to practice on the Riverview Apartments once they are vacant at the end of the year, and before they are torn down several weeks later. "There," he says, "we'll put up the aerial trucks, the 24-footer and the 35-footer. We can put in a smoke machine in the apartment and smoke it up pretty good. That will give our men the chance to get better acquainted with their breathing apparatus. We can then go in and practice searching for dummy bodies hidden in the smoke, and maybe learn better ways of getting them out as soon as possible."

"It's just a tremendous training opportunity."

Riverview residents should not be alarmed if they see fire trucks in the neighborhood. "We know those concrete cutters and pumper trucks can be loud," says Captain Anders. "There's no way we can be quiet, but we can be courteous to our Riverview neighbors, by trying to schedule our activities in the middle of the day when not many people are home."


(A SPECIAL NOTE HERE FROM CALVIN: These are only drills. Residents should not assume that homes or the apartments are on fire, just because there are fire trucks there, nor should them assume the demolition of the Riverview Apartments has started. That itself will not occur for several more weeks, if not months, and I am carefully monitoring that situation for you).

One thing Riverview neighbors probably won't see are actually pre-set fires during the firefighter drills. "We don't really try to burn down houses anymore just to practice," Captain Anders says. "It's a combination of the liability, the EPA, just a number of safety factors.. unfortunately, those practice skills are reserved for the real thing, and hopefully our firefighters have their wits about them, and are ready to work together to get through the real thing on site."

"Fire-fighting is coordination between the men involved, each one looking out for the other," says Captain Anders, "all of them always working for the same goal.. get the occupants out to safety, get the fire out with as little damage as possible, and live to go home to fight another day."