Happy Birthday!

Your Douglass website published its very first post on December 29, 2006.

That means, today, Douglass-Riverview's information source is now officially 8 years old.

Considering the modern-day internet (the one we all use today), is only 20 years old, it means we have been around for half the life of the internet.

Not a bad recognition.

Thanks for supporting us!

To the Douglass School family, and our Riverview friends and neighbors... Merry Christmas and a joyous holiday season, from your Douglass website!

Public Invited for Caroling and Cider in Riverview

The public is invited to join the Kingsport Parks and Recreation Department and South Central Kingsport's New Vision Youth on Monday, December 22, at the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex from 5:30 to 6 PM for Christmas caroling and hot apple cider.

For more information, contact Chassie Smiley at 224-2428 and Johnnie Mae Swagerty at 429-7553.

South Central Kingsport's Christmas Dinner: Setting the Holiday Mood!

Good food... good fellowship.

Seniors in the South Central Kingsport community gathered on Saturday, December, 6, 2014, as they do every Christmas season to break bread around the holiday table, at the annual dinner held in their honor.

"Every year, the community comes together just to have a fellowship during the holidays," says Reverend Pastor Kenneth Calvert of the South Central Kingsport Community Development Corporation, one of the sponsors of the event. "Our seniors have already given so much to the community, and many of them cooked themselves out doing Thanksgiving.  As we head towards Christmas, we want them to know that we love them."

"It's a great way for them to celebrate the season, together."

The event is free of charge, and is held in the Douglass Community Room at the V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex.  Depending on who you talk to, the annual dinner has been held from 12 to 15 years, a great tradition for the South Central Kingsport community, which includes Riverview.

A special highlight of the dinner, was the service offered to the seniors by members of the community's New Vision Youth.  Chicken, green beans. corn, rolls and tea were the menu's fare.   The young people served the seniors their dinner plates and desserts.

"They bring the plates, they come back later and pick them up," Reverend Calvert noted, "and they cater to their needs.  It's a good thing for our seniors to be treated like royalty every once in a while."

Seniors at the dinner seem to enjoy the attention.

"They get to bridge the generation gap with some talented young folks, all members of the New VisionYouth," he says.  "The youth put on an inspirational song and dance program and poetry.  Later, the youth were in charge of drawing names for free gifts for the seniors

He also paid tribute to the popularity of the dinner, to the folks in charge of pulling it together.

"Johnnie Mae (Swagerty) and her helpers did a great job this year of organizing the event," says Reverend Calvert.  "In prior years, Jeannie Hodges put it together and before that, other directors have carried on the tradition from year to year, and they've always made it one of the highlights of the season."

"It always run smooth, and it has been a great tradition for our community."











A SLIDE SHOW OF THE EVENT IS COMING SOON, RIGHT HERE!

Local Douglass Descendant Is Off to the Big Time!

THIS STORY COURTESY THE JOHNSON CITY PRESS - MALIK'S FATHER IS RODERICK MCGUE OF KINGSPORT


Science Hill senior quarterback Malik McGue has committed to Army.

McGue made the announcement Sunday night, one day after attending the Army-Navy game in Baltimore and absorbing all its pageantry.

“It was already my No. 1 school … and it was a pretty amazing experience,” McGue said. “It was pretty surreal just to be there and knowing I’d have an opportunity to be a part of that in a few years. … Actually, I didn’t think I was gonna be making a commitment this early. Just being at that game kind of gave me a feel for what they’re all about.”

McGue is also receiving interest from East Tennessee State, Chattanooga and Tennessee State, among others. He still intends to make an official visit to West Point, and said he might make one to Tennessee State, though he’s 99 percent sure he’ll stick with his commitment barring an extreme circumstance such as a coaching change.

McGue capped a busy weekend by formally being announced as the Big Seven Conference offensive player of the year at the league banquet on Sunday. He went to Cookeville last Tuesday to begin practice for Friday’s Toyota East-West All-Star game.

After the all-star game he went to Nashville to fly to Baltimore by way of Charlotte. He stayed with a cousin he’d never met, Derek Holly, who lives some 45 minutes outside of Baltimore. Holly attended the Army-Navy game with him.

“It was cooler than I expected it to be,” McGue said. “Coming to the game it was already my No. 1 school and that just kind of put the cap on everything. … I kind of wanted to go ahead and get it over with and get that weight off my shoulders. I was pretty sure in my heart that this was where I wanted to be, so I went ahead and made the commitment.”

The elusive McGue was the Johnson City Press Elite 11 co-player of the year – with Elizabethton running back Ethan Thomas – and a Mr. Football finalist this season.

McGue started two years at receiver and kick returner and played defensive back before taking over the past two years at quarterback, where he engineered the Hilltoppers to two straight Big Seven Conference titles.

He rushed for 1,171 yards and 21 touchdowns this season, and passed for 2,320 yards and 25 TDs. He also had in excess of 400 yards via kick and punt returns.

He produced 93 TDs during his career as a ‘Topper.

Perhaps his most impressive feat was going 3-0 as a starting quarterback against Dobyns-Bennett, which had beaten the Hilltoppers 19 straight times prior to him taking over at quarterback. And his first win against the Indians came two days after popping his throwing shoulder out of place.
He was reminded of the D-B series while watching Army lose to Navy for the 13th straight time – coming up short despite battling passionately in a 17-10 loss.

“I didn’t realize that Navy had a streak on ‘em like that,” McGue said. “When I heard that streak … I was thinking about the D-B streak and how long they had beat up on Science Hill. … So hopefully I would be able to go in there and be a part of a team like I was at Science Hill that ends the streak at Army.”

Also a quarterback as a point guard in basketball, McGue got a late start this season due to leading the Hilltoppers football team to its first quarterfinal appearance since 1994. But he averaged 15.5 points per game in two games prior to missing three last week to play in the all-star game.
McGue is being loosely projected as a slot back and slot receiver, and said he’s told he’ll get a shot at quarterback – at least for certain packages.

“With that veer offense they basically have three running backs,” McGue said. “They said they’re putting in more of a shotgun spread package and I’d be running slot receiver with that. And then also they told me that they’d give me a look at quarterback just based on what I’ve done in my high school career. … They told me they’d move me around, see what I have the best feel for and then just go from there.”

Science Hill coach Stacy Carter, a former Army Ranger, said the intelligent McGue has excellent leadership skills which West Point will enhance.

“When I told him about it today he was kind of surprised,” McGue said. “The look over his face, you know, he was really surprised about it. … I feel like going to West Point, definitely, that’s the goal to come out of there being a leader. And those leadership qualities – this will definitely pull the best out of me.”

Alumni Board Meeting Rescheduled

The postponed meeting of the Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni Board will now be held this coming Saturday, December 13th at 1 PM.

As always, the meeting will be held in the Eastman Conference Room, 2nd floor of the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex tower in Riverview.

We would like to see Douglass and Riverview alumni who have never been to a meeting, or have not been to a meeting in a while.

Please spread the word, and bring a friend!

"The Enchanting Clay Hill 'Fort' and the Grown-ups Who Brought The 'Fort' Back to Reality"

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT RIVERVIEW KIDS DON'T KNOW THE HISTORY OF CLAY HILL... CHECK OUT THE FOLLOWING STORY FROM JUST A FEW MONTHS AGO THIS YEAR.... FROM THEIR POINT OF VIEW

Once upon a time, there was a boy named Savion.  He, like all of his friends, have very vivid imaginations, and loved playing outdoors.

The most fun that Savion and his friends had, was playing "fort."  For that, they built a real "fort" out of planks, sticks and boards, and held it together with wire and even a few nails.  It hurt sometimes hammering the nails into the boards that came loose, but that was the price kids paid, for holding something together so it wouldn't fall apart.



The "fort" that Savion and his friends built, was in this magical place called "Clay Hill."  It was a child's paradise that had rolling hills with faraway views, trees with swingy vines that were fun to play Tarzan on, and wild animals that mostly hid themselves from view when the friends played.  Occasionally. they would peer with curiosity and amusement around the rocks and from high branches at the children as they played. "Clay Hill" even had holes in the ground that water collected in, and tall, massive pieces of steel machinery left there by grups, who probably knew a child would have fun crawling on the monoliths of metal, pretending that the rusty relics in this 'creation of the imagination' were real play toys.   Even Captain Kirk himself would have enjoyed playing on a make-believe Starship Enterprise on one of the abandoned steel structures covered in weeds.... this fantasy world, known as 'Clay Hill.'

But best of all, underneath all this stuff that kids could claim as their own conjured-up hideaway, was clay.  Clay dirt.. clay rocks... clay mounds... anything, everything CLAY.  It was a light brown, almost pasty kind of rock, that held the limestone slate in place until little boys and girls came along and dug it up out of the ground.  They made handballs out of the clay for baseball, knocked with sticks that were pulled right off the nearby trees.  The clay was pushed up into mounds that little boy "John Wayne's" could hide behind, while shooting toy guns at the bad guys.  The whole area was shaped and reshaped into small hills and valleys that sleeping bags could be placed in, so you wouldn't roll away.  

If there was ever the right name for a enchanting world of make-believe right in your own backyard, 'Clay Hill' was it!

This netherworld... this 'Clay Hill' was a place that grups (grown-ups), especially Nana's, were not allowed.  And the grups (grown-ups) knew that.  They were always forbidding Savion and his friends from journeying up to this mysterious place called 'Clay Hill.'  'Oh, you'll hurt yourself,' they would exclaim loudly.  'You'll fall outta them trees and hurt yourself,'  the grups would yell if they saw you headed in that direction.  'You'll fall in one of them holes and that quicksand, and you'll never get out!" was a popular one.  ' Boy, have you lost your mind... stay off that hill!'  (that's the one the friends heard the most).

Despite the grups' disdain for 'Clay Hill,' Savion and his friends loved their fantasy world called 'Clay Hill,' just like their Nana's and big brothers and sisters and their grandmama's, granddaddy's, aunts, uncles and all the other ancestors who came before them.  'Clay Hill' had a reputation for drawing in kids who wanted to stretch their imaginations, and even though it seemed like they were trying, grups could not stop that.

But back to the 'fort.'

Savion and his friends had fun in their boarded up 'fort.'  It was big for a kid, even two-story!  It took two years to build it, pushing down trees and cutting back underbrush to clear the area.  They found some tiles and put them down to make a floor.  They put up the boards, and discarded netting they found over the windows and doors to keep the bugs out.  They had so much fun at the 'fort,' being kids and getting away from the grups, 'because sometimes kids want to get away from grups,' Savion says.  Think back.. it is the natural order of things.  Everybody needs their space.  The kids played games, brought food, and enjoyed their little getaway.  They even had safety rules and stuff:  'only one person could use the chain in the ground to pull themselves up 'Clay Hill.'  The real little kids couldn't come around, because we didn't want them to get hurt,' says Savion.  

"But it was fun.  Kid fun."

Every day during the summer, and each day after school, the 'fort' was busy with activity.  When they weren't playing games, Savion and his friends would help each other with homework, or they'd sit around and talk about kid stuff.  Every kid had a good reason to come to the 'fort.' 

The group even stayed the night in the 'fort' once, listening to the mysterious sounds of the crickets and the night birds, and also the distant, strange hum of this huge monster that the grups call 'Eastman.'  Off in the distance from the 'fort,', the kids could see this big thing called 'Eastman' with all its buildings and lights and steam and trucks and trains and people running around.  In front of the homes and 'Clay Hill, this 'Eastman'  had built baseball fields for its own people to play and have fun on, but that didn't bother Savion and his friends.  For in their magical fantasy land called 'Clay Hill,' they could play their own baseball and have their own fun, so how about that!

But one day, disaster struck.  Bulldozers and dump trucks came to 'Clay Hill.'

With deafening sounds, the dozers pushed down the hills and valleys... with their big blades, the the dozers mashed up the clay and limestone... with one fell swoop, they pushed down all the trees with swingy vines... As the ground shook, the dozers leveled out the ground and the dump trucks hauled the clay dirt away.  They left 'Clay Hill' flat as a pancake.

Seems the grups had a plan Savion and his kid friends did not know about... That big thing called 'Eastman' had decided to build a big skyscraper where its ballfields were, and so their ballfields had to be moved.  

Where do you think they wanted to move all their ballfields?  To 'Clay Hill!'  Oh my!  That would spell an end to the 'fort' and all the fun Savion and his kid friends were having.

"It's terrible!" exclaimed Savion.  "It was so much blood, sweat and tears that we put into our 'fort,' he said.  "It's real pitiful that they took this away from us.  All the time they want us to 'go green' and use stuff that's here to have fun with, and right when we do, they force us to tear it down.  It's not fair to us.  All this work we did, and now it's gone."

Savion remembers that some of his friends cried when they had to take the 'fort' down.

Others were even mad at the bulldozers working nearby, as the group took down the 'fort' board by board, plank by plank.

"It was really the only place around where we could have fun," he remembers.  "The parks are always crowded.  The splash pad down the street is always crowded.  If we play in the street, we get honked at and the grups get mad!  The 'fort' keeps us off the streets, it keeps us away from bad things.  We don't get to do bad things, 'cause we're up here having fun."

"If they keep building and pushing us kids around, pretty soon there's gonna be no place for us to play and be kids at all.  Actually, they're pushing us away."

"It's just not fair!"





Alas, the enchanted area where the 'fort' used to be is now just a mashed-out area.. it's just a 'hole in the thicket' because weeds always take a while to grow over a place that was once cleared off.

The grups' new ball fields are named 'The Clay Hill Ball Fields at Brickyard Park.'  Four smaller ball fields are just downwind of one huge, massive ball field that would rival any major league ball park in a big city. That one field required the complete bulldozing of the wondrous illusion that generations called 'Clay Hill,' the magical place where fantasies came true... where needs not gratified by reality were met... and generations like Savion and his friends grew up. 

Kids like them will eventually play on the new ball fields, and fun will still be had, at 'Clay Hill,' where dreams met daydreams.

Did Savion and his friends live happily ever after?  Does the story of the 'fort' have a happy ending?  Stay tuned.  The grups' new ball fields open in the spring of 2015.  The story is not over yet!   

Riverview's New Ballfield Neighbors: The Name's Now the Same

It's the land of our fathers.. a place that saw many generations take the light brown clay from the ground, shape it into balls, rip sticks from the tree branches of its hallowed ground, and literally, "knock 'em out of the ball park."

The place is Clay Hill, known to nearby Riverview residents as the land between Dunbar Street and Industry Drive.. they were the generations who came from the African-American children who lived in nearby Riverview.. the clay balls and sticks were among the stickball games the children played on Riverview's "unofficial playground" back in the day.

And with the new recreation ballfields under construction on Clay Hill now, those children, now grown with kids and grandkids of their own, will be happen to know that the city of Kingsport has heard their wishes to have their fond memories of playing on Clay Hill remembered forever.

The name of the new ballfields has been chosen.  Drum roll, please.........

"Really?" says former resident Sandra Pierce Ewing.  "The Clay Hill Ball Fields?  That's great.  It means a lot for the Riverview community and the kids who used to play up there in the woods."

"The name speaks to the residents who lived here years ago, long gone, who played up there and had a good time," says resident Linda Kincaid, who lives right beside the ballfield location.  "Clay Hill and the neighborhood will always be interconnected.  I'm glad there was no controversy over the naming."

"The city listened to us," agreed Vickie Smith, another Riverview resident whose home borders the new ball park.  "They could have named it anything they wanted, but Clay Hill has a history that is meaningful to us.  Sometimes, it's hard to ignore the voice of the people."

Your Douglass website did a poll on what Riverview residents felt the name of the ball park should be.  Of all of the suggestions, the top three most popular had the name 'Clay Hill' in them.

Kingsport City Manager Jeff Fleming says, in many neighborhood situations, it's important to listen to the people who live there.  Doing that about the new area acquired from General Shale, he says, uncovered a rich history about the ballfield site previously unknown.

"Originally, we were working under the assumption that the new ballfields would be named 'Centennial Park,' coinciding with the city's upcoming 100th birthday," he says.  "But in talking with neighbors of the ballfields in Riverview, we became aware of a more meaningful name that related to the Riverview neighborhood.  That name was 'Clay Hill.'  We could not ignore that history, and made the decision not to."

AT LEFT - RIVERVIEW, 1963.  CLAY HILL IS THE GROVE OF TREES ACROSS THE TOP OF THE PICTURE

In fact, nobody knows who coined the phrase 'Clay Hill.'  In the background of the Riverview community, names of places can be easily traced to the individuals who named them:  Mrs. Bessie Hipps won a contest in 1940 by offering the name 'Riverview' for the new community (even though the river could not be seen from the community except from Clay Hill)..... V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex, named by the city Parks and Recreation Department to honor the stoic Douglass School principal who guided the school through its growth years in the Kingsport city school system..... Dunbar Street, named for the poet, novelist and playwright Paul Lawrence Dunbar.... Carver Street, named for inventor and scientist George Washington Carver.... Douglass Street and Douglass High School, both named for the famed social reformer and orator Frederick Douglass.... Louis Street for the heavyweight champion boxer Joe Louis.... Wheatley Street, named for renown poet Phyllis Wheatley... Booker Street, the first given name of educator and author Booker T. Washington... and James Street, named for local businessman and Riverview property owner James Stafford.

AT RIGHT - THE 'CLAY' THAT IS CLAY HILL


But 'Clay Hill?'  It's obvious why the name was picked.   Underneath the topsoil, is acres and acres of light brown clay.  The person who first noticed it shall probably be forever unknown in the ages, but the reference they laid to the area has survived generations of African-American children who played there.  For years, the Clay Hill area was considered "Riverview's Unofficial Playground." It was during years of segregation that black children were not allowed to play on playgrounds in nearby white neighborhoods.  Even the name 'brickyard' was the name always given to the General Shale property next door, where thousands of bricks were made in the kilns on the site.

"Clay Hill deals with the rich history of the Riverview community," says Fleming.  "For that reason, we decided to incorporate that name into the designation of the ballfield area where Clay Hill was located.  It makes perfect sense, as was also the decision to use the name 'Brickyard' for the entire park area because of original land owner General Shale."

"I'm not sure who within the city came up with the name 'Brickyard Park," he says, "other than the citizens committee suggesting we name the entire area that, because of General Shale.  "I wasn't aware of anyone else calling it 'the brickyard,' but that was not as clear-cut to me as 'Clay Hill' was."

"I can see why Clay Hill was so attractive to the children as a getaway when they were growing up," he says.  "Kids are always looking for places to explore and play Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer, and Clay Hill obviously fit that bill being just next door.  From a city perspective. our advantage is having an area like that, that we can carry on its tradition."

CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO SEE THE BALLFIELDS SITE LAID OUT - THIS VIEW IS FROM THE GENERAL SHALE ENTRANCE ROAD, LOOKING SOUTH TOWARDS EASTMAN


Fleming says the Clay Hill Ballfields, including the four smaller fields, and the huge upper deck field are all on track to open for play in the spring.

"We have the sod that will be delivered soon just in time for the cold weather when it needs to be planted and stabilized," he says.  "The field house that will be surrounded on four sides by the four smaller ballfields is under construction, as well as the poles going up that will front the forward, outward view from home plate to the left and right outfields.  Underground plumbing that will water the sod is also being laid.  Site preparation is also about to wrap up on the largest ballfield, where the original Clay Hill once existed."

CLICK ON THE PICTURE AT RIGHT TO
SEE THE FULL SIZED BASEBALL FIELD LOOKING NORTH (THE BULK OF THE CLAY HILL PLAYGROUND WAS HERE).  
DOWNTOWN KINGSPORT IS TO THE RIGHT, CEMENT HILL IS TO THE LEFT


Fleming says, the Clay Hill Ballfields will be something the city, the baseball enthusiasts, visitors, and the Riverview neighborhood can all be proud of.

"This is a first-class facility," he says.  "If you're familiar with going up on Clay Hill, you already know it's got this gorgeous 360-degree view of Bays Mountain, Cement Hill, downtown Kingsport, all the way over to Eastman.  It's a beautiful view where you feel like you're in nature, but you're right in the middle of town."

"To have this area close to downtown is a gem."

AT LEFT - ABANDONED GENERAL SHALE BUILDINGS


Future plans around nearby Brickyard Park are still up in the air.

"Probably the next most significant thing people will notice, will soon the demolition of the remaining structures on the General Shale property," Fleming says.  "We appreciate the patience that neighbors on Dunbar Street have had for all the bulldozers and dump trucks digging and stirring up all the dust on Clay Hill, and pretty soon, they'll be hearing the sounds of steel being torn down as we demolish the buildings that General Shale used in brickmaking.  Right now, they're just big, ugly rusty hulks of abandoned buildings and machinery that need to come down, because they attract kids that could be hurt climbing all through them."

Sort of reminds everybody of how Clay Hill was discovered by hundreds of Riverview kids searching for a place to play back in the community's early days?

The thought of those old buildings and machinery becoming Riverview's NEXT unofficial playground was amusing to the city manager.

For now, fences will keep future kid explorers at bay.

"Although the ballfields are next door, there are no plays to have either pedestrian or vehicular access to Dunbar Street or MLK Drive," says Fleming.  "Access to the ballfields will primarily be from the General Shale access on Industry Drive.  We are still toying with the idea of extending ML King to whatever future development that happens in Brickyard Park, but there are no firm plans in place right now."

Fleming says, tourists and visitors would be best served, by having direct access between Brickyard Park and the downtown area, via a connection with the CSX Railroad that the company has made no secret of its desire to close -- the Cherokee Street railroad crossing.

"We are working with CSX," he says.  "They have an economic development department that markets rail crossings, and crossings in this particular part of East Tennessee are very limited.  By the same token, the city is under a pretty aggressive loan with the balloon payments on the Shale property, so we have a fairly high interest in connecting Brickyard Park with the downtown area.  What we have learned in Kingsport with so-called 'brownfield industrial sites' like that area is, you have to be extremely flexible."

CEMENT HILL, LOOKING NORTH FROM THE CLAY HILL BALLFIELDS


And then there is Cement Hill.. the highest point in downtown Kingsport.

It's what Tannery Knob is to downtown Johnson City... what Sharp's Ridge is to downtown Knoxville... what Missionary Ridge is to downtown Chattanooga.  The one single place, that offers the most panoramic views of a city that can be found.  In Kingsport, it's Cement Hill, downtown's crown jewel of possible downtown development.

Right now, it's off the city's development radar.

"The company that owned Domtar originally acquired the old Penn-Dixie Cement Corporation, one of Kingsport's original founding industries," Fleming says.  "With that acquisition came the tall cement stacks along the railroad tracks, and also the built-up area of dirt we know as Cement Hill.  At one point, as you noted Calvin, there were homes up there for Penn-Dixie families.  Kingsport's Ethel Ruth Russell was born up there.. so was Kingsport Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Miles Burdine.  It was a thriving neighborhood, towering between downtown and the river."

"Right now, current Cement Hill owner Domtar is not interested in letting it go, so for now, it will maintain its green, natural setting as long as they control it," he says.  "If by chance, the Domtar folks wants to get rid of it, we are certainly interested in developing it as a park.  Nobody is forcing the question right now, because of the development that is going up all around it.  The main thing is, it's safe, it's secure, it's green... it is still the historical role it's always played in the history of Kingsport, and the backdrop for the train station and the city's ultimate development."

BACK HOES WORKING IN WHAT WILL BE THE PARKING LOT FOR THE FULL-SIZED BASEBALL FIELD - RIVERVIEW IS JUST PAST THEM IN THE CENTER OF THE PICTURE


It's that history angle that Fleming says, makes the naming of the Clay Hill Ballfields so meaningful.

"I think the heritage of every community is important," he says.  "This is the way to maintain that heritage.  Kingsport does have a track record of doing things to acknowledge and remember kep names that mean something to the community.  You work together with the neighborhoods and do these things to preserve memories."

OPPOSITE FROM THE ABOVE PICTURE - LOOKING UP FROM DUNBAR STREET, THE CLAY HILL BALLFIELDS ARE JUST OVER THE RIDGE IN THE BACKGROUND


"The city needed to hear our voices on this one," says Van Dobbins, Jr., another Riverview homeowner whose Dunbar Street property borders the Clay Hill Ballfields at Brickyard Park.  "It was an important issue to consider our name for the area, not just to us who played up on Clay Hill, but to our descendants.  Clay Hill is part of their history, too. When you look at everything that's being built up there and our history with that area, the city's thoughtfulness of what our feelings are, made it even more important.  It was a blessing to have them consider our feelings."

"With the name 'Clay Hill Ballfields'," says resident Ron Taylor, who can see the new ballfield net poles just over the ridge from he and his mom's home on Dunbar Street, "there should be some kind of memorial there to explain what the area means to our community.  I think they can look at the ground at see the brown clay, but it's not just about the clay."

"Clay Hill was about the fun we all had up there, that now, others will have."

Best Foot Forward Scholarship 2015

Best Foot Forward Scholarship 2015
$1,000 scholarship for graduating seniors who are college bound.

300-500 word essay on "Who am I?"...."Why College?"

Deadline for essay is January 6, 2015.

(No essay will be accepted after January 6, 2015 at 5:00 PM.

Scholarship winner will be announced at the 2nd Annual Dobyns-Bennett Alumni Basketball Game at John Sevier Middle School on January 17, 2015.

Mail essays to:

Fredrick Smith

1413 Prospect Drive

Kingsport, Tn 37660

FOR MORE INFO CONTACT:
FREDRICK SMITH (615) 679-2023
JOHNNIE MAE SWAGERTY (423) 429-7553
MRS. VIRGINIA ELLIS (423) 245-3524

Cogratulations, Sasha!

From the Dobyns-Bennett Lady Indians basketball team, Sasha Morrisette has signed a national letter of intent with Tusculum College of Greeneville, TN.

As a junior Morrisette averaged 18.8 points a game, and she has scored more than 15-hundred points in her career, along with 499 rebounds and 330 steals.

Congratulations to Sasha and her family on a job well done, with more basketball wizardry to come!

Spreading Holiday Cheer, Just Before Santa Spreads Even More!

It's the season of giving back, and for the New Vision Youth, it's yet another chance to give back to the community.

Just before the Santa Claus parade, the kids joined other youth groups from around the city, to get the the gifts that they would hand out to other kids in the crowd along the downtown parade route.

"Today is our annual help for the city of Kingsport, giving treats and things to the crowd at the Santa Claus parade," says New Vision Youth director Johnnie Mae Swagerty.  "We do this every year, working with the the Chamber of Commerce and Keep Kingsport Beautiful.. they ask us every year, along with other kids' organizations.  It's always a big project for us, and we do it with love and joy and thanks giving."

It's the 4th year the New Vision Youth kids have taken part in the gift bag giveaway.

"The kids will get about 4 or 5 backpacks and they'll go through the crowd with bags of fruit, giving them out to kids, ages 3 to 14 years old," says Swagerty.   "The backpacks are different colors for different age groups, and the other kids are glad to get them."

Swagerty says, the gift bag giveaway is in conjunction with the parade, but is part of a bigger program happening just before the parade.

"The Santa Claus Train goes through the coalfields giving out toys and gifts to the needy," she says.   "Just like many of the kids along the train route, some of the kids that come to the parade, may not hardly anything for Christmas, and they may not know that somebody is thinking about them.  We are, and that's why we volunteer to do this every year, after the train trip and during the parade.  We don't miss anybody.. we even go over to the area where the challenged kids are, that may be unable to catch any of the candy or gifts that are tossed out into the crowd."

Once the kids are done spreading holiday cheer, it's on to enjoying the parade themselves!

Kingsport Loves a Parade!

On the wonderful Santa Claus Train, Jolly Ole St. Nick has arrived in Kingsport!

Santa Claus made his annual trek through the streets of downtown Kingsport on Saturday, November 22.

Thousands of people lined the streets to greet Jolly Ole St. Nick, who had just gotten off the Santa Claus Train, another annual trek through Southwest Virginia. He delivered toys and goodies during the trip, and his elves (members of some of Kingsport's non-profit agencies), helped hand out the goodies along the downtown parade route.

Kingsport's Santa Claus parade is like its 4th of July parade. Long. It seems that nobody can get enough of it.

Folks 'oo'ed' and 'ah'ed at every passing car or float, as you would expect them to. Dozens of floats came down Main Street where the parade traditionally begins, after Santa and his train guest warm up the crowd. There was plenty to see and hear, as float after float came by. There were cars with dignitaries in them, to genuine floats sponsored by local businesses with people on them. There were military vehicles and veterans, but the high school ROTC marchers in formation, seemed to get the most applause.

There may have been just as many kids as adults along the route, eager to see the next big thing coming down the street. They were not disappointed. Cartoon characters, TV personalities, pretty ladies, and guys giving away handouts for pizza and local theaters. Make no mistake about it, though... it was the free candy the kids were after. Halloween can't hold a candle to the treats that a kid can get, as floats, exhibits and parade cars go by.




Minor mishaps do happen in any parade, and any time something other than candy was given out, it caused a small panic. Kids, with their parents on the fly, simply ran out into the street and up to the parade participant, eager to get the stuffed animal, or the candy doll, or the bright toy being given out. Despite the admonishment of the participant to 'don't run into the street, take your time, don't push, be careful.... not a single kid was wanting to hear that. All they could think about was the prize that awaited them. They were not disappointed!

Probably the best acknowledgement of the Kingsport Santa Parade was the realization that parades are indeed, all about children. Whether in New York City or Kingsport, Tennessee, the children are the most important recipient of the day's efforts. The most prime example of that, was when the bag containing one small child's candy, accidently burst, spilling candy, chocolates, toys and goodies onto the street, right in the middle of the parade route. This long parade came to an immediate halt, while grownups gathered and scooped up all the goodies into a new bag. The end of the parade got ahead, but not one event vehicle moved, until all of the items were put back into the bag for the child, who was glad to get everything back.

You won't find the big-city parades willing to hold up an entire procession, for the sake of one child and his candy!

It's a safe bet that just about everybody in Kingsport was on hand for the Santa Claus parade. For the ones who could not attend, enjoy these pictures, plus videos of the Sullivan South, Sullivan North and the Dobyns-Bennett High School bands!

SEE THE SLIDE SHOW OF THE 2014 KINGSPORT SANTA CLAUS PARADE BELOW

Great Commission Church's Pastor Anniversary

Members of the Great Commission Church in Kingsport gathered on Saturday night, November 22, 2014, to commemorate the 12th anniversary of Pastor Matthew Thomas and First Lady Pamela Thomas.

The celebration was held in the Douglass Community Room at the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex.

The church, located at 1249 Chestnut Street in Kingsport, has more than 70 faithful members.. its motto is: "Where Everybody is Somebody, and Jesus is Lord!"

At the get-together, church members and friends were treated to music, and a scrumptious meal that included wings, both hot and mild, glazed meatballs and sandwich meat combinations.

A good time was had by all!







Click on the link below to see a slide show of:

Created with flickr slideshow.

Former East Tennessee Resident Dr. Rosemary Gray to Retire from West Texas A & M

Dr. Rosemary Gray is a graduate of Douglass High School, Kingsport


Former longtime Johnson City resident Dr. Rosemary Gray, chief diversity and inclusion officer at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas, has announced her retirement from a long and successful career of more than 30 years in higher education as an administrator, educator and community leader. Her retirement will begin after the first of the year.

Dr. Rosemary Gray was appointed August 1, 2013. Prior to this appointment, she served in a variety of capacities at many universities and campuses across the country.

In addition to her current and previous administrative positions, she has served as a public school teacher of English and department chair, adjunct faculty, and instructor at various public schools, community colleges, and universities in the District of Columbia, Tennessee, and Virginia. She has also served as a diversity consultant to public schools, city governments, a state task force on African American males, and has chaired university diversity task forces, advisory groups, and a committee on Black graduation rates for Black student-athletes. Dr. Gray has presented at the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), and other national, regional and local diversity conferences. Dr. Gray also received a 2010 Louisiana Most Powerful Woman Award from the National Council on Diversity.

Dr. Gray has worked at WT to promote and increase diversity and inclusion through campus collaborations to support recruitment and retention of under-served and underrepresented students as well as helping with efforts to build a diverse faculty and staff.

She is a native of Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee and holds an A.A. Degree in Liberal Arts from Morristown College, a B.A. Degree in English from Emory & Henry College, a M.A. Degree in Education from Catholic University, and an Ed.D. Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from East Tennessee State University.

“I have had a wonderful experience at WT,” Gray said. “Dr. O’Brien and his wife Karen are the best that I have seen when it comes to building community on a University campus.”

Her community interests are health education and revitalization of minority communities economically and educationally along with multicultural awareness training and skill-based diversity training for increased understanding of the benefits of workforce diversity.

“My future plans are to enjoy my family. I have an adult son, and I am the Glam Mom of one very special Chihuahua, Savannah Rose. Eventually, I will do some writing about my career in secondary and postsecondary education, women, and diversity.” Gray said. “West Texas A&M University has been a wonderful experience for me as it gave me an opportunity to assist students, faculty, staff, and the community with diversity and inclusion.”

“Dr. Rosemary Gray has done an excellent job during her time at WTAMU establishing and developing a foundation for us to fulfill better our mission of being a diverse and inclusive student-centered community of learners. She will be missed.” J. Patrick O’Brien, University president, said.

An interim will fill the position while a national search is conducted to fill the role of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

Marching in an "Oasis" of Change: Empowering Women with One Woman's Story

Marching for a wonderful cause, brought together civic leaders and local Kingsport residents on Saturday, November 15th..

The subject of the march is an "oasis" of hope for women through love, laughter... and laundry.

"We're marching to support 'The Oasis of Kingsport,' says former Kingsport Mayor Jeanette Blazier, who walked alongside new Sullivan County mayor Richard Venable.  "This walk is helping to spread the word to women in the Kingsport community that they have a place to get direction they might need in their lives."

"The beauty of that is.. they can get that direction, while their laundry is being done."

"We're always looking for people who themselves are looking for something more than what they have," says Oasis of Kingsport director Kermit Addington.  "We're trying to show them that it is possible to find it.. that it is not a lost cause.  We invite anyone who can benefit from the outreach to come in."

The march began at the corner of East Center Street and Dale Street and, with a police escort, ended at the Oasis building on East Sullivan Street, near the intersection with Main Street.

"It is wonderful to see the folks waving as we walk along," says Mayor Blazier during the march.  "Their interest is being stirred up, and hopefully word of mouth will spread about the center.  It's amazing to me that it's been here for such a short time and it's already known."

The Oasis' journey to Kingsport has been a fortunate one.  Patterned after a similar program called "The River" in Johnson City, in its short existence in the Model City, more than 170 women have come through the doors.  They come from all walks of life.. White, Black, Latino, Asian-American.. with children, without them..

All of them with something missing in their lives.  Searching.  Hearing the word "no" a lot.  Not knowing where to turn.

One person who has been in that situation, stopped by the open house at the Oasis at the end of the march. Lia Brown met and greeted marchers and center supporters with one of her sons, a 7-year old.  The transplant from Boston, Mass and single mom says, the Oasis is helping turn her life around.

"I had seen a flyer about it at the WIC office," she says.  "I didn't think too much about it, until I told my mom 'I need some money for laundry.'  I didn't know it, but Johnnie Mae (Swagerty) had told my mom about it, and my mom says you can go wash clothes at the Oasis cheaper than a laundromat.  I was like 'OK, cool."

Brown is raising twin, 14-year old boys, and the 7-year old by herself.  Both 14-year olds play football.  The 7-year old wants to.

"I have three boys," she says.  "We have lots of laundry."

"We always have laundry."

It only took her a few trips to the Oasis to find out what she liked about it.. and it was something more than just an inexpensive 50-cents washing and drying a ton of clothes.

"It's the fellowship," she says.  "Other women like me are doing laundry here and we talk about each other's situations.  We advise each other, support each other, and gain an empathy for each other's problems.  We rejoice in the ups, and console each other in the downs.  If you need a prayer request, you'll find lots of support..we all prayed together just the other day, and it was so uplifting.  When the kids are in school, it's so good to come down here in the morning, get the laundry done, take part in the ministry and the fellowship, and get caught up on the lives of the other women I have met."

"It's important to have someone to talk to sometimes," Brown says.

Brown says, she was impressed by the way the Oasis staff cares for the women here.  No men are allowed inside during business hours.  The front door is also locked during that time.

"Everybody is safe in here," she says.  "A lot of women don't like going to the laundromats because they are not always safe.  I can't do laundry at night because I am there for my kids when they come home from school, so the daytime is the only time I get to do it.  I don't dare go to the laundromats.  Lots of times, if it's raining or cold outside, people would come in that were homeless, or for some other reason.  I don't know if it's a pickup thing, but total strangers that aren't washing clothes want to talk to you.  Sometimes, you get uncomfortable with people you've never met before, trying to talk to you.  I just don't feel safe there."

And then, there's the price of doing laundry at the Oasis of Kingsport.  25 cents per load.  It may be the best laundry bargain in town.

"For about 50 cents, you get the washing powders, the bleach, the dryer sheets, and sometimes, the staff will even help you fold the clothes," Brown says.  "If you have to use the washers and dryers at some of the laundromats and the apartment complex, it's more than triple that cost.  If you're on a budget, there's no wiggle room.  A lady told me last week that the money she saves on laundry here, she was able to save enough money to buy her kid some shoes.  That's just awesome.  Here, you get the laundry done and the ministry as well, and some of us need that.  You gotta have that.. sometimes, you just need the encouragement."

Center Director Kermit Addington says the center has served about 175 women so far, and he says, thankfully, that number is growing.  The center volunteers have outfitted the Oasis of Kingsport with many amenities, including a kitchen area, a standup shower, a hair shampoo area, a lounge and a prayer area.  There's even a play area for the pre-school kids.  Washers, dryers and other appliances have either been donated, or repaired slightly used.  Food, washing materials are all donated, too.  "We want the women to not have any pressure on themselves at all," he says.  "This place has the comforts of a home away from home, because only in a comfortable atmosphere, can women in need be empowered to help themselves."

Brown herself has used the center's computer, provided free of charge.

"I had to get on the computer here to do a survey that was needed for my youngest son," she remembers.  "It was important to be able to provide that feedback to the school.  If you don't take the surveys, you don't have a voice in your child's education.. you end up taking whatever decision the school makes for the child."

"They won't let you take a survey in person because they want a record of it," she says.  "Through the computer here, I was able to be that voice for my son."

Reality is difficult in a changing world.  Brown says, the Oasis of Kingsport helps her face that reality often.

"Reality is a mess," she says.  "You're like, 'I gotta get these bills paid, I gotta get these kids to school, I gotta get this laundry done.'  As a single parent, you try not to stress out in front of the kids.. the mornings are hard.  Once they get off to school, the reality sets in...OK, what do I need to do?  The Oasis makes that reality a lot better to deal with.  If you don't have wash to do, you can come in and just get recharged, re-energized."

Despite the crowd at the Open House, the bulletin board at the Oasis is always busy.

"Not everybody gets the newspaper to see what's going on," Brown says.  "On the bulletin board, folks put up different flyers and business cards about programs and services in the area to help them out, different church events and prayer ministries.  There's a special heating program, an energy-assistance program for the winter at V.O. Dobbins that I learned about from the bulletin board.  I'm going over to get an application."

"There's always somebody looking at the bulletin board to see what's new."

Temperatures in the 30's probably kept many people from taking part in the march for the Oasis on this day, Saturday in the middle of November.  Bright sunshine and an eagerness to spread the word about the center, definitely brought out the faithful.

"It truly is an oasis for many of the women in our community who don't have places to wash their clothes, can bring their children and be at a place to find inspiration, study, lessons about nutrition, sewing, life skills, you name it," says former Mayor Jeanette Blazier.

It's no secret the Oasis of Kingsport is making a difference in the lives of women in need.  Lia Brown says, she's among the living testimonies of women, whose lives have been changed for the better.

"Come find us at the Oasis," she beckons to other women lost in the throes of reality.  "We've been where you are... and we are right where you need to be."