• KINGSPORT — The Greater Kingsport Ministerial Alliance will hold a community health fair from 10 A-M. to 1 P-M Saturday in the Riverview Community Room on Wheatley Street.
Blood pressure, oxygen level and blood glucose screening will be offered. Information on medication safety, heart healthy exercises and heart healthy food choices also will be presented.
A healthy lunch will be served at 11:30 A-M. The health fair is held in partnership with GKMA Lay Health Ministries, Bethel AME Zion Church, Lyons Chapel AME Zion Church, St. Mark United Methodist Church, Shiloh Baptist Church, Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Sullivan County Health Department, Kingsport Housing & Redevelopment Authority, South Central Kingsport Community Development Inc. and Golden Corral.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
2014 MLK Day in Kingsport: A Candlelight Vigil to Honor the King
"THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE.... I'M GONNA LET IT SHINE."
A mainstay of the celebration of the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in most cities around the country, is the candlelight vigil.
It is during that time that people of business, government, religion, and education come together in a spirit of community. Symbolically, they light candles to honor the man who sparked the Civil Rights movement.
It is a solemn occasion, as the candles are lit and remembrances are put into words, as the flames of equality and justice blaze away into the rapidly descending dusk.
This year's Candlelight Vigil began with the opening prayer given by the Reverend Kenneth Chad Roberts with the Christ Preaching Church, and the Scripture lesson by Taslin Coward with the New Vision Youth.
The lighting of candles were as follows:
Miles Burdine, representing the Downtown Kingsport Association and the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce....
Rev. Kenneth Calvert, with the Kingsport Ministerial Alliance....
Mayor Dennis Phillips, representing the city of Kingsport and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen....
Retired Master Sergeant Combat Nurse Sinora Lewis, representing the United States Army Medical Corps....
Captain Dimingo Hale, representing the United States Armed Forces....
And.. Ms. Jaquetta Hale, parent representative for the New Vision Youth.
A SLIDESHOW OF THE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL IS BELOW
2014 MLK Day Luncheon: Breaking Bread Together in Riverview
Those who knew of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and those who have read his teachings, came together on the national holiday to celebrate his legacy.
After the march in downtown Kingsport on MLK Day, later that afternoon, the faithful gathered to continue remembering that legacy, at a luncheon in the Riverview Community Room at the V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex.
Sponsors of the luncheon were the New Vision Youth; the South Central Kingsport Community Development Corporation; Alpha Kappa Alpha, Pi Omega Omega Chapter; the Riverview Residents Association; Van Dobbins, Jr.; the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority, and the Kingsport Parks and Recreation Department.
BELOW IS A SLIDESHOW OF THE LUNCHEON
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Saturday, January 25, 2014
The ‘Dream’ coming true
Kingsport MLK parade organizer notes many accomplishments, says ‘there is still work to be done’
THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
By MATTHEW LANE
mlane@timesnews.net
Pictures from your Douglass website
douglassriverview@gmail.com
Before the march: video of the rousing pep rally speech by march organizer Rev. Ronnie Collins
KINGSPORT — An annual parade in downtown Kingsport commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day drew a diverse crowd of more than 150 people — many of whom were teenagers and young adults — who took the time on Monday to honor the life and dream of the slain civil rights leader.
Click here to hear our interview with marcher Terry talk on the importance of taking part in the march
Click here to hear our video interview with Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips on the importance of honoring Dr. King
“We believe it is time to bring in more youth. The youth is our main goal,” Collins said. “All of our other objectives we started 17 years ago have been accomplished, but we still cannot get the bands involved from Kingsport and the surrounding areas, nor a huge number of youth.”
AT RIGHT.. FREDDIE SKAGGS WITH
BOOKS ON DR. KING'S LEGACY
Last fall marked the 50-year anniversary of King’s march on Washington, D.C.
AT LEFT... A CERAMIC BUST OF DR. KING, THAT PASTOR GERALDINE SWAGERTY DISCOVERED IN HER CLOSET AFTER 30 YEARS
Linda Calvert, president of the Kingsport Ministerial Alliance, said the day is good to be able to remember what King did and for people to give back to their community.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
By MATTHEW LANE
mlane@timesnews.net
Pictures from your Douglass website
douglassriverview@gmail.com
Before the march: video of the rousing pep rally speech by march organizer Rev. Ronnie Collins
“This is our annual time to really get to talk to people about who and what Dr. King stood for,” said Overseer Ronnie Collins, who helped organize the parade. “We believe there has been a lot of change over the past 50 years and the dream itself has come to pass in some aspects, but we have not arrived yet. We think there is still work to be done and we want to do our part in this region.”
The Tennessee/Virginia Fellowship Against Racism and the East Tennessee Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship sponsor and organize the yearly parade on the national holiday honoring Dr. King. Other organizations participating included Joshua Generation International, the United Religions Initiative, Girls Inc., New Vision Youth and the HOPE (Help Our Potential Evolve) youth organization.
Monday’s parade drew one of the largest crowds in its 14-year history, a diverse crowd of African-Americans and Caucasians of all ages, many of the younger generation carrying signs with “Unity,” “Peace” and “Love”
Collins said there needs to be a push for people to love each other. “It’s all about the love of Christ in 2014. Allow God to use you to help change society,” he said.
For the first time, the TVFAR gave out two new “Keeping the Dream Alive” awards to HOPE and New Vision Youth for their efforts in promoting Dr. King’s vision for America.
As to why the youth are not getting involved, he said, “I think it’s because they’ve grown up in the aspect of everything is good, blacks and whites are already going to school together and there is no segregation. All of those things are something they’ve only heard about and not anything they’ve experienced.”
BOOKS ON DR. KING'S LEGACY
King was born in 1929 and would have turned 85 this month. The federal holiday is the third Monday in January and has been celebrated since 1986. King’s legacy was marked on Monday with special events held across the nation, from parades and church tributes to youth-led service projects.
“The dream says a lot of things to many people, but what it was trying to do is tell us to become one,” Collins said. “From the White House to Congress to the Senate ... if we can’t work together, we can’t be a shining example to the whole world. America is the greatest country in the world, and it’s time for us to treat each other like brothers and sisters.”
Linda Calvert, president of the Kingsport Ministerial Alliance, said the day is good to be able to remember what King did and for people to give back to their community.
“Today is a very special day because it commemorates the birth of Dr. King and celebrates what he was able to accomplish,” Calvert said. “Though it’s been 40-plus years since his death, we’re still seeing the dream materializing, though it’s not a race-based dream, but a dream that encompasses all ethnicities and socioeconomic standards.”
A SLIDESHOW OF THE DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING MARCH IS BELOW
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Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Leeper to be honorary official at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway president calls Paralympian from Kingsport ‘true inspiration and legend in the making’
THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
From staff reports
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The American Blade Runner and The Great American Race will come face to face next month.
THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
From staff reports
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The American Blade Runner and The Great American Race will come face to face next month.
Paralympic athlete Blake Leeper will serve as honorary race official for the 56th annual Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 23rd at Daytona International Speedway.
As honorary race official, the Kingsport native will be introduced at the driver’s meeting, participate in prerace ceremonies and ride in one of the honorary race official vehicles ahead of the 43-car field for the prestigious 200-lap, 500-mile event.
“Blake Leeper is a true inspiration and a legend in the making,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said. “We are honored to have him participate in the pre-race ceremonies at the ‘World Center of Racing’ for the thrilling and historic Daytona 500.”
Leeper, a Dobyns-Bennett High School alum who attended Tennessee before transferring to San Diego State, was born without legs from the knees down because of a congenital birth defect.
In 2008, he started intensively running after the Challenged Athlete Foundation presented him with a grant for state-ofthe-art blade prosthetics.
Leeper won the silver medal in the 400-meter dash and the bronze in the 200 at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. He captured gold in the 400-meter relay at the 2013 IPC Worlds in Lyon, France.
Leeper is currently training for the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he would become the first double-amputee American to compete in the Olympic Games.
For more information on Leeper, go to www.americanbladerunner.com
For more information on the Daytona 500, go to www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com
Sunday, January 19, 2014
DB Basketball Alumni Reunion: Still Dominating the Boards
But this past weekend, they jumped at the chance to reconnect with the game, and the crowds again.
Get them all together for a reunion, and you have the D-B Alumni Basketball game.. 25 former players whose love of the game never left. The game was held in familiar DB Indian territory.. the Buck Van Huss Dome at the school in Kingsport.
"I bumped into (former DB) coach Steve Shipley at a gas station," remembers Fred Smith, former point guard for the Indians back in the early 90's. "We got to talking about how everybody was doing, and how much fun it might be to get the players back together from over the years."
"I didn't imagine at the time it would get this response."
Click here to hear Fred talk about how successful the First Annual DB Alumni Basketball Game was.
Hundreds turned out at the Buck Van Huss Dome at DB to relive their memories of some of the school's best players.
"We got Mickey Seavers, Travis Sensabaugh, my younger brother Calvin Smith, Shane Carnes, and Domingo Hale," says Smith just glancing around (a complete player's list is below). "Major Bristol, JaMichael Mills, Trevor Head, and Demar Lewis, one of the best 6 men to ever play the game.. just a good bunch of guys."
So you've got the Maroon Team and the Grey Team.. how did they decide who would be on what team, and who would match up against who?
"We just put maroon and grey in a bag and let 'em draw," Smith says. "A lot of people wanted to go "Coach Shipley versus Coach Van Huss (Shipley succeeded Van Huss on the occasion of the legendary coach's passing in 1990). "Nothing against Coach Van Huss, but his players are a lot older than the ones out here now."
Make sense.. the oldest of the DB players in the Alumni game last played for Coach Van Huss in 1982... 31 years ago.
A portion of the 5-dollar admission goes to the Dobyns-Bennett Slamp Dunk Club. "They help the basketball team when they go on road games," Smith says. "The club also prints the programs and brochures about the team, and even helps maintain a basketball shooting machine that helps kids improve their skills. All the kids practice with it, and it helps them get better."
The DB Alumni Basketball Game was, by all accounts, a huge success.
And don't forget the halftime show.. after a great performance by veteran Dobyns-Bennett cheerleaders, it was the crowd's turn.
Check out the halftime show here. The video is courtesy Josh Harwood at Model City Sports.
SLIDESHOW FROM THE DB ALUMNI BASKETBALL GAME FROM CALVIN
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
A BONUS SLIDESHOW FROM THE DB ALUMNI BASKETBALL GAME FROM MODEL CITY SPORTS, COURTESY JOSH HARWOOD
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
And don't forget the halftime show.. after a great performance by veteran Dobyns-Bennett cheerleaders, it was the crowd's turn.
Check out the halftime show here. The video is courtesy Josh Harwood at Model City Sports.
"We are definitely going going to do the Alumni game next year," says Smith. "We got a tremendous response from the guys, plus an even bigger response from players who wanted to play, but weren't able to because we only had so much room. I had them fill out some stuff, so that next year, we'll be able to accomodate everybody."
SLIDESHOW FROM THE DB ALUMNI BASKETBALL GAME FROM CALVIN
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
A BONUS SLIDESHOW FROM THE DB ALUMNI BASKETBALL GAME FROM MODEL CITY SPORTS, COURTESY JOSH HARWOOD
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
A list of the players, their graduation year, and Alumni Game number (to help you with the pictures), follows:
MAROON TEAM: "INDIANS" ON THE SCOREBOARD
Coached by Steve Shipley
Phil Begley 1982 (40)
Antwan Smith 1998 (42)
Travis Sensabaugh 1994 (50)
Domingo Hale 1998 (21)
Corky Blye 1993 (12)
Mickey Seaver 1988 (22)
Rashad Wolfe 1995 (20)
Tom "TR" Robinson 1982 (30)
Henry Stokely 1987 (44)
Major Bristol 1992 (34)
Steve Cross 1982 (24)
Justin Sylvester 2009 (10)
Shane Carnes 1994 (14)
GREY TEAM: "GUEST" ON THE SCOREBOARD
Coached by Jeremiah Adams, in honor of his dad Jerry Adams
Trevor Head 1991 (34)
Blake Leeper 2007 (12)
Kevin Robinson 1996 (20)
Ryan Wagner 1994 (10)
Demar Lewis 1992 (24)
Jay Bloomer 1995 (14)
Michael Farthing 1996 (30)
Fred Smith 1993 (42)
Dustin Deal 1999 (50)
Azmar Blye 2003 (22)
Darius Davis 2010 (40)
Erwin Lewis 1992 (44)
JaMichael Mills 1994 (32)
Reliving history Former Tribe basketball stars return to Buck Van Huss Dome for inaugural D-B alumni game
THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
By DAVE ONGIE
dongie@timesnews.net
Photos by JONATHAN MCCOY
Above left, the gray and maroon teams huddle prior to Saturday night’s Dobyns-Bennett basketball alumni game at the Buck Van Huss Dome in Kingsport. Top photo, Corky Blye (12) makes a behind-the-back pass as Blake Leeper guards. Top right, Domingo Hale (21) puts up a shot. Left Bottom, the Grey Team and the Maroon Team
KINGSPORT — Before Coty Sensabaugh became a defensive back for the Tennessee Titans, he dreamt of playing basketball just like Dobyns-Bennett standout Shane Carnes.
Before Blake Leeper was a world-class Paralympic sprinter, he was just a kid cheering from the stands as Carnes and JaMichael Mills led the Indians to back-to-back 30-win seasons, both ending with trips to the state tournament, under the watchful eye of D-B coach Steve Shipley.
All five men gathered inside the Buck Van Huss Dome on Saturday night along with several other former players for the first Dobyns-Bennett alumni basketball game.
The contest gave players like Leeper the chance to play with their childhood heroes while fans of all ages watched players representing more than 30 years of D-B history mix it up one more time.
“I grew up as a kid watching these guys and to be able to play on the same court is like a dream,” said Leeper, a silver medalist at the 2012 Paralympic Games. “It was like an all-star team of the best Kingsport guys ever.”
Sensabaugh wasn’t able to play because of a foot injury that parked him on injured reserve near the end of the Titans’ season. But even as the defensive back posed for pictures with kids who came out of the stands to greet him on the end of the bench, Sensabaugh couldn’t help feeling like a kid himself as he watched some of his favorite players back in action.
“With my foot and everything, it’s healing up just fine, but it’s too soon to get back and start doing things on it,” he said. “Some of these guys, when I was little, they were my role models. Like my brother Travis, Shane Carnes — he was my favorite player growing up.
“Just seeing all those guys brought back memories of when I was little watching them. I used to look up to all those guys.”
Left top, Blake Leeper brings the ball down court.. right, he eyes a shot. Left bottom, Dimingo Hale brings the ball up court.
The event was spearheaded by former D-B point guard Fred Smith, who ran into Shipley at a gas station and decided it had been too long since everyone on his tight-knit squad from the early 1990s had seen each other.
A basketball game seemed to be a natural fit, and pretty soon players from throughout the program’s history vowed to come back to Kingsport for the game.
“It’s a testament to our community and how they raise their kids to be men and how we support each other,” Smith said. “Not only did you have some great athletes out there, you had some great people.”
Smith was thrilled to get out on the floor at his former school, and he even managed to score six points.
“This is more than I expected and I’m really excited about it,” Smith said. “We raised a lot of money for the Slam Dunk Club.
“It brought back a lot of memories. I only scored six points tonight, but I haven’t scored six points in 20 years, so I’m overexcited.”
Former Tribe coach Shipley: ‘Once you’ve been a part of Dobyns-Bennett, it sticks with you for your whole life’
Shipley also came back, returning to the sideline where he amassed a 98-37 record as a head coach after taking over for the legendary Buck Van Huss, whom Shipley played for at D-B.
Shipley coached the maroon team, which won 100-97, but he didn’t accept much credit for the win.
“I didn’t have much control, but it was fun,” Shipley said. “Some of these guys I haven’t seen in 20 years, so it was a blessing to me just to be able to see and hug them and be reminded of how great they were.
“It was just a wonderful evening.”
At the conclusion of the game, the players and coaches gathered for a picture under the sign in the corner of the gym that gives each one of them a great deal of pride.
On that sign is a number — 2,156 and counting — that everyone who has ever worn a D-B basketball jersey has contributed to. It is the total number of wins in the school’s history, a number that makes D-B the winningest high school basketball program in the country.
“This is a special place,” Shipley said. “I had a chance to play on some great teams and coach some really nice teams.
“Once you’ve been a part of Dobyns-Bennett, it sticks with you for your whole life.”
Friday, January 17, 2014
The New Eastman Ballfields - The Impact on Riverview and Cement Hill, The Chapter in a Book on Kingsport that has Never Been Told... Until Now.. Part 4
Fifth and final story in a series
CEMENT HILL, SEEN BEHIND THE KINGSPORT RAILROAD DEPOT ON A EARLY POSTCARD.. THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN HOMES WERE BARELY SEEN OVER THE HILL SUMMITT.
"The houses on Cement Hill were not shanties.. they were just houses like anybody else's."
"There were homes on the top of the hill, but not in the front of it facing downtown," she says. "I guess they (the city) figured it would make the downtown look bad, so they didn't let them build houses on the town side. They were all on the back side.
Mrs. Russell was born in Kingsport, and lived on Cement Hill until she was 11 or 12 years old. She admits to not remembering a whole lot about "life on the hill" that early. She does say the homes were nice and comfortable, even though they were close together, and everybody "had it pretty easy."
FROM CEMENT HILL, LOOKING ACROSS THE
HOLSTON RIVER AND SLUICE, TOWARDS THE
HOLSTON ARMY AMMUNITION PLANT
"Most of our neighbors were black families," she says. "There were maybe 2 or 3 white families, but there were more blacks than whites. Most of the black families were all from South Carolina that came to work in Kingsport. At my house, it was me, my grandfather Reed Alexander, my mother Corrine, and my uncle June in our little house."
THE PENN-DIXIE CEMENT PLANT, 1938. CEMENT HILL IS TO THE LEFT OF THIS PICTURE, WITH JUST A FEW WORKERS HOMES VISIBLE.
Mrs. Russell says, everybody who lived on Cement Hill, worked for the nearby Penn-Dixie Cement Plant, which owned the land on the hill. Of course, this is not surprising in Kingsport. The homes of Borden Village were built to house the workers of the nearby Borden Mills Plant.. the homes of Fort Robinson and West View Park housed workers for the downtown Mead Paper plant and the Kingsport Press.. and although Tennessee Eastman workers were scattered throughout the city, Green Acres, Litz Manor, Greenfields, Fair Acres, Ridgefields tended to get more concentrated populations of Eastman workers.
But many Penn-Dixie Cement workers had the convenience of living in homes, on land owned by their company that was very nearby. Mrs. Russell says, the only person who lived on Cement Hill, but did not work at Penn-Dixie was Eddie Ervin. He was the mail carrier.
1942 DOUGLASS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FIRST GRADE ROSTER: Some students wholived on Cement Hill, others in the new Riverview Apartments
She says, when she was born, her family had arrived from Woodruff, South Carolina just a little while earlier. Her grandfather also came to work for Penn-Dixie Cement.
"My grandfather Reed Alexander, was a well-respected man," she says. "I always called him 'Pap.' I used to roll his cigarettes with this little machine he had. He never called me Ethel or Ruth, he called me 'Daughter' even though I was his granddaughter. In the house with us, was my uncle June and my mom Corrine. I did not know my grandmother much.. I was only about 2 or 3 years old, but I been told that I was the best-dressed little girl around. She belonged to the Holiness Church and I would go with her and I was dressed nice from head to toe. My uncle June also dressed nice.. a sharp dressed man. He used to shine shoes at Jason Taylor's hat shop."
FOOT BRIDGE OVER THE CLINCHFIELD-KINGSPORT RAILROAD YARD, FROM CEMENT HILL TO DOWNTOWN KINGSPORT
Mrs. Russell does not remember a lot of cars around Cement Hill, but she does remember a foot bridge between the hill and downtown Kingsport. "Scared to death of it," she laughs. "I used to crawl under the trains, just to keep from walking that bridge. It was too high up, I guess, but I sure didn't like to cross the tracks on it. I guess I was too young to know that it was probably fine to use it, but I saw it the first time and I hated it. They couldn't have dragged me across it. Eveyrbody else used it, though, going back and forth to downtown."
DOUGLASS ELEMENTARY-HIGH SCHOOL, WALNUT AVENUE AND BRISTOL HIGHWAY, KINGSPORTMrs. Russell attended Douglass Elementary School, when it was "up on East Walnut Avenue and the Bristol Highway (the corner is now East Sevier Avenue and East Center Street), and sometimes I would just walk to school from home. Other times, I would just call a Gilliam's Cab. Pap had an account with Gilliam's, and whenever I need one, it was right there. Gilliam's came in handy too, when I started going over to Riverview from home. Me and Janie Goodwin became good friends because we were in the same grade, and I started spending the night with her and her mother and Miss Bly. When I started coming over, the last memories I had of Cement Hill, was staying with Florida Lytle. She lived in Riverview Apartments #46. Since I was 11 years old, I would come over and stay with her because I was best friends with Janie."
ONE OF THE LANDFILL MONITORING STATIONS ON THE SIDE OF CEMENT HILLMany people knew that African-Americans lived on Cement Hill, but nobody had heard about what life was like there. Peaceful... calm... but what was the history of Cement Hill before anybody lived on it? Oddly enough.. it shares the same form of history as its successor, Riverview.
"The top part where you went to observe and take pictures from, Calvin" says out-going Kingsport City Manager John Campbell, "was pretty much a covered landfill. In fact, there are 3 landfills that Domtar has to monitor on a regular basis, and that would pretty prohibit any future development up there, except a passive recreation area. That's where we feel the future lies for Cement Hill."
ONE OF THREE LANDFILLS ON CEMENT HILL
He says, the idyllic life like Mrs. Russell and her neighbors lived would not be possible on the Cement Hill of today.
Campbell says, the Kingsport Leadership Group had developed some creative plans for putting housing on Cement Hill, but he says he's pretty sure that Domtar, the current owner of the property would ban that because of the landfill monitoring. "Some people say there's a lot of bad stuff in those landfills, but we (the city) doesn't know of anything other than routine, general miscellaneous materials that go into landfills," he says. "They are clearly marked, and they have been minitored in TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conversation) files. We have look through those files, and that's why we are looking at passive trails because with that, you can work around most landfill issues."
SITE OF THE NEW EASTMAN BALLFIELDS, AS SEEN FROM NEARBY CEMENT HILL... THE 4 SMALLER BALLFIELDS ARE PLANNED FOR THE LOWER PART OF THE PICTURE WHERE THE TREES ARE... THE LARGER BALLFIELD IS PLANNED FOR THE OPEN FIELD, WHERE "CLAY HILL" USED TO BE.
When the ballfields are built on the General Shale site, Campbell says, the athletic theme would fit in nicely with Cement Hill.
"We actually have some money set aside to purchase Cement Hill at what we think is a reasonable price," he says, "although we're not sure Domtar thinks it's reasonable. There's also money set aside to do a master plan. Our vision has been for the past two years is a passive recreation area for the most part, with walking trails and mountain biking trails. The idea of taking advantage of the views with some picnic shelters and overlooks is a good one. Also, planting trees in certain ways that would look good in artwork, even a waterfall there at the train station, have been talked about."
"The idea of developing Cement Hill, in conjunction with the new ballfields is a good one," Campbell says, "and it's definitely an idea we're considering."
CEMENT HILL: A LEGACY TO BE REMEMBERED
"I wouldn't mind seeing the history of Cement Hill preserved in any development they build," says former resident Ethel Ruth Russell. "I've never really thought about going back up there, other than just passing by on Industry Drive. Every time I do, I think about the gardens, the nice homes, and of course the hogpens."
"There's not too much to look at now, except a bare hill. Maybe that will change back to the nice area I knew, growing up."
TO SEE THE MAGNIFICIENT VIEWS FROM CEMENT HILL IN DOWNTOWN KINGSPORT, SEE THE SLIDE SHOW BELOW:
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Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Events in Kingsport
The annual MLK Day Parade starts at 11 AM in Kingsport. The parade route begins in the Rhoton Insurance Agency parking lot, E. Sevier Avenue at E. Center Street, and will proceed up Center Street to the Kingsport City Hall.
Immediately after the march, the New Vision Youth invites everyone to the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon on Monday, January 20th, at 1:15 PM.
The menu will be spaghetti, bread, desserts and drinks.
The luncheon will be in the Riverview Community Room on Wheatley Street, next to the tennis courts.
New Vision Youth is sponsoring the luncheon in partnership with South Central Kingsport Community Development, Kingsport Parks and Recreation, and Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Also, the New Vision Youth is sponsoring the annual "MLK Community Unity Candlelight Vigil," at 5:30, in the Shiloh Baptist Church Parking Lot, 712 E. Sevier Avenue.
Please bring a candle to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King and loved ones.
If inclement weather, the event will move inside the church.
Everyone is welcome to join us!
For more information, contact Johnnie Mae Swagerty 423-429-7553 or Jaquetta Hale, 423-579-4651.
Immediately after the march, the New Vision Youth invites everyone to the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon on Monday, January 20th, at 1:15 PM.
The menu will be spaghetti, bread, desserts and drinks.
The luncheon will be in the Riverview Community Room on Wheatley Street, next to the tennis courts.
New Vision Youth is sponsoring the luncheon in partnership with South Central Kingsport Community Development, Kingsport Parks and Recreation, and Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Also, the New Vision Youth is sponsoring the annual "MLK Community Unity Candlelight Vigil," at 5:30, in the Shiloh Baptist Church Parking Lot, 712 E. Sevier Avenue.
Please bring a candle to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King and loved ones.
If inclement weather, the event will move inside the church.
Everyone is welcome to join us!
For more information, contact Johnnie Mae Swagerty 423-429-7553 or Jaquetta Hale, 423-579-4651.
Movie About the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
New Vision Youth in partnership with South Central Kingsport Development and Kingsport Parks and Recreation would like to invite the public to a free movie and free popcorn at the Douglass Room in the V.O. Dobbins Center on Sunday, January 19th at 2:30 pm.
We will be showing the Martin Luther King Jr movie. Everyone is welcome to come join us.
For more info contact: Johnnie Mae Swagerty (423)429-7553 or Jaquetta Hale (423)579-4651 or Chasity Freeman (423)224-2428
We will be showing the Martin Luther King Jr movie. Everyone is welcome to come join us.
For more info contact: Johnnie Mae Swagerty (423)429-7553 or Jaquetta Hale (423)579-4651 or Chasity Freeman (423)224-2428
Monday, January 13, 2014
The New Eastman Ballfields - The Impact on Riverview and the Future of the Entire Brickyard Site, Part 4
FOURTH IN A SERIES
CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO MAKE THEM LARGER
"There's been a lot of noise coming from the brickyard, and since it's been abandoned, there's not supposed to be any noise from there at all."
That's the word from Vicki Smith, who has lived on the side of Dunbar Street with the now-empty General Shale facilities right behind her. Seems, when Shale employees left for the last time in 2011, someone else moved in.
"People started using the site as a dumpster.. a place to bring all of their garbage," says Mrs. Smith. "With that, came raccoons, possums, skunks just like we used to see on Clay Hill. And rats... huge rats running through the weeds just like dogs and cats."
She says, complaints to the city stopped that activity with the garbage being cleaned up and she says, thing quieted down.
"GENTLEMEN... START YOUR ENGINES"
But then, gradually at first, then at a huge pace... the empty entrance roads became a drag strip.
"You could hear it all the time," Mrs. Smith says. "It would wake you up at night, and you couldn't even go out in the yard at dusk. There are a lot of elderly people on Dunbar Street and when they hear the tires squealing, they think something's going on."
Again, complaints to police produced mixed results at first.
"One police dispatcher I spoke with, acted like she didn't know where it was, because I didn't know General Shale's address," Mrs. Smith says. "Finally, I got through to dispatch, and the woman told me they'd had more complaints, that they'll send a cruiser. They would come in spells, then that stopped. About that time, the dirt bike riding started. It just seemed that whatever anybody wanted to do over there, they could, because it was vacant."
"Neither the police nor the trespassers were respecting the fact that neighbors on the other side of the fence in Riverview did not want to be bothered by all that noise."
GRAFFITI PAINTED ON ONE OF THE ABANDONED KILN BUILDINGS AT THE FORMER GENERAL SHALE PLANT
"We are making sure that police drop in on the abandoned site from time to time," Campbell says. "I go in there myself randomly from time to time to check on the property. I've really never seen anybody else ever in there, but nobody should be over there except people authoritized to be there. If we catch them over there without permission, police will deal with it."
"I'll mention that to the police again and make sure they monitor the situation with an eye towards trespassers." (to date, this writer has seen police ride through the Shale property several times).
"BALLFIELDS PRESENT A UNIQUE CHALLENGE TO SHALE SITE DEVELOPMENT" -- City Manager John Campbell
THE ABANDONED GENERAL SHALE PROPERTY, WITH CEMENT HILL (OWNED BY DOMTAR, RISING BEHIND THE SERVICE BUILDING ON THE FAR LEFT
"We actually have some money set aside to purchase Cement Hill from Domtar, the owner," he says. "Our vision for the past few years, is to make it a passive recreation area, unlike the active recreation area the ballfields would be. You'd have walking trails and mountain biking trails around Cement Hill, leading to the top, with a flagpole for the American Flag at the summit that you could see from Broad Street below. The idea of taking advantage of the views from up there, with picnic shelters and benches at overlooks. We've even thought about a waterfall of some sort and trees across the railroad tracks behind the train station."
THE SUMMIT OF CEMENT HILL, DOWNTOWN KINGSPORT
"Believe it or not, the top part of Cement Hill, pretty much in the middle of the flat area where you went up to observe and take pictures, is actually a covered landfill," Campbell says. "We just think there's a lot of potential use for a passive recreational area for people there. The athletic use for mountain bike trails is pretty good for that kind of thing."
Campbell says, the possible development of Cement Hill was also part of the Model City Coalition effort, which stalled while another project planned for the area moved to the forefront. When that project was tossed out, the idea of the passive park moved back to the forefront.
Campbell says, access from the Cement Hill area and the ballfields, to the neighborhood of Riverview is being considered, although as his assistant Chris McCartt says, nothing definite is on paper yet. He says, this first phase of planning is crucial to laying out a framework of the ideas that have been suggested.
Any kind of development might work for the Dunbar Street residents of Riverview.
"I, for one, really wouldn't mind if the ballfields went in at the brickyard," Vicki Smith says. "It's giving kids something to do, and whereas ball games cut off by a certain time, drag racing never does. Just looking at the Eastman ballfields and the ones at Domtar Park, they are well-kept, very well groomed."
FLOODING ALONG M.L.K. DRIVE IN FRONT OF THE ELKS LODGE, ONE OF 4 AREAS ALWAYS UNDER A FLOOD WATCH IN RIVERVIEW DURING A HEAVY RAIN
She also says, extending MLK into the brickyard, might solve a few other problems, too.
"Sometimes, it makes you think the city doesn't listen enough to us here in Riverview when we complain about things," she says. "For example, if they extended MLK, that would force them to also fix the flooding problem we still have in the community. If there are problems on the ballfields or on Cement Hill and there is access to MLK, maybe that would make the city look at our neighborhood infrastructure problems closer."
But as far as moving the Eastman ballfields from one side of Riverview to the other would be welcome to Mrs. Smith.
"Anything the city puts on the General Shale property would be better than what we got now."
AND IN PART 5.. MORE ON THE VISIT TO CEMENT HILL WITH ONE RIVERVIEW RESIDENT WHO GREW UP THERE, AND A LOOK AT FINAL PLANS FOR THE BALLFIELDS AT RIVERVIEW.
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