CBS Youth Gospel Explosion: In The Spirit, Say Yes!

The second annual Youth Explosion 2009, “In the Spirit, Say Yes,” was held this past Friday and Saturday, August 7th and 8th.


For more pictures of the event, just click on 2009 CBS Youth Gospel Explosion.

The event at the Douglass Field and the V.O. Dobbins Center featured singing and praise dancing by local artists, groups and churches. The host singers were the New Visiion Youth Kids, directed by Johnnie Mae Swaggerty.



The event features free food and special guests including Transition, Kacy McClinton, Arron Howard, Unvailed Praise, J’Tia Williamson, P.O.G., Annointed, For His Glory, Hood Memorial Praise Team, Hale’s Chapel Praise Dancers, Shellé, Mr. Dell & the Holy, Sould-Out, The Karah Dance Ministry, VFL Praise Team, and Loleta Dukes Praise Dancer.


One of the highlights of the event, was the special presentation of a plaque to Ms. Pinkie Horton, one of the community's famed and most memorable singers. Money raised by the event provides scholarship money to deserving high school students, with the money given in Ms. Pinkie's honor.

The event was presented and sponsored by the CBS Alumni, directed by Lisa Williamson.

Rebuttal to Douglas Releford From A Douglass Board Member

We received this letter from Douglass Board Member Virginia Hankins, as rebuttal to Douglas Releford's comments, concerning the Douglass Alumni Board meeting of August 1st. The letter is unedited and printed in its entirety:


In answer to Mr. Releford's account of what is causing turmoil within the Douglass Alumni Association, let me first confirm that I, Virginia (Jenny) Hankins daughter of Emogene Cartwright Hankins and Lloyd (Teen) Hankins is one of the three persons in question. A majority of the Douglass alumni know that I have worked diligently with the association for years and have no intent whatsoever to disrupt the organization. During Mr. Releford's first term as President of the Douglass Alumni Association, if he will admit, I was his right hand person. I also was the person who prepared the financial report for our 501(c)3 during the time when I was not an officer. I have also acquired for the association $2,000.00 for the scholarship fund through Kholl's Department Store. This is just a very small portion of my resume concerning the Douglass Alumni Association. If you need more information about my loyalty to the association talk with Louetta Hall and Kathryn (Che-Che) White former presidents.
I do not want the job as president and have made it known several times over the years. My life as a volunteer does not allow me time to head an organization but only to assist in it. If I see something that is affecting the association, yes I will question it. There is animosity within the group and is my opinion that it all began when several members, me being one of the outspoken ones, questioned the fact that the Ebony club could join us without a vote. I was told that it was an executive decision and an apology was offered. We the association voted to table the Ebony club's joining us until after the reunion. Since then I feel that incident has put a damper on the association. Another incident involves the add-booklets that we gave out this year. I want you all to know that those booklets have allowed us to have more income in the bank at the end of the reunion than we have ever have. But the person who headed that endeavor was presented with roadblocks during the entire process.
I had intended to step down from the board because I feel that there are people who have their own agenda other than funding scholarships. Whoever is on the board in the future just remember that one of the main reasons the Douglass Alumni Association was formed was to give equal scholarships to sons and daughters of our alumni members.
This is my last comment concerning this matter. Friends do not despair because the Douglass Alumni Association will continue as long as our Lord breathes breath into at least one of us.

Respectfully Submitted,
Virginia (Jenny) Hankins

Why is There Turmoil on the Douglass Alumni Board?

"I think it boils down to people who wanted to be elected to office in the recent Alumni Board election, were not elected to office, and now they are doing everything they can to disrupt the Douglass Alumni Association Board and its meetings."

Those words from Douglass Releford, who resigned his post partly in frustration, at the Douglass Alumni Association meeting on August 1st.

The dispute apparently started at a board meeting on June 13th of this year.

According to the minutes of that meeting which were published the next day on the Douglass website, Board member Virginia Hankins made a motion to "amend the Alumni Association by-laws (Article 5, Section 2) to allow the election of new officers by the existing board members PRIOR to the Reunion within the Body of the Board itself, and then present the new officers to the Alumni at the Memorial Service on Sunday." The motion was seconded by Pam Sensabaugh. There was no discussion, and after the vote, the motion passed, with Wallace Ross, Jr. abstaining from the vote.

The by-law that was suspended, calls for the "election of officers" process to be AFTER the Reunion, and once a by-law is suspended, according to Roberts Rules of Order, any provisions within that by-law are also suspended as well.

Meanwhile, adhering to the board's vote of the 13th, at the board meeting on the 27th of June, the committee formed to coordinate the election, passed out ballots to board members, and after filling them out, the results of the election were announced. The new officers elected were:

President: Douglas Releford
Vice President: Lillian Leeper
Correspondence Secretary: Pamela Sensabaugh
Treasurer: Sandra Wilmer
Recording Secretary: Thelma Watterson
Chaplin: Louetta Hall
Sergeant-At-Arms: Andra Watterson

Permanent positions:
Webmaster, Public Relations Manager: Calvin Sneed
Food services: Van Dobbins, Jr.

The election was approved by a majority show of hands of the Board members present, and a quorum of members was met at the meeting.

But questions have now arisen from three members of the board about the validity of the election, although it does not appear to have violated any rules of the Douglass Alumni Association charter, or Roberts Rules of Order.

"It seems that some people on the board have a different agenda than the other board members," Releford said recently, "and it's been going on for some time. I think challenging something the board already discussed and voted on, is only going to keep turmoil going. Sometimes it's hard to get alumni to serve on boards and committees, but the Douglass Alumni out in the community and in the other cities just don't know what we've been going through."

At the Board meeting of August 1st, "we had three Board members who kept arguing about the rules and by-laws, but we have been operating this way for years, in accordance with or charter and Roberts Rules of Order," says Releford. "The way that we elect officers for the next two-year term is the way they have been elected for years. This year, board members voted to move the election to before the reunion, instead of after it. And we have always had a committee to elect officers, bring their names to the board, the board votes on it, and it has always stood. Despite that, at this particular meeting, that was challenged."

Minutes from the meeting show, Wallace Ross, Jr. challenged the election, and made a motion to have the election thrown out.

The motion was defeated. The election still stands, and the officers have not taken office yet.

But the resulting dispute over the election, plus personal attacks on himself, prompted Releford to resign his position as president of the Douglass Alumni Board.

"I feel like my job as president was being challenged for the simple reason that somebody else wanted the office," he says. "In one of their arguments to challenge, they were determined that I wasn't going to serve another 'year' which is incorrect. Douglass Alumni officers do not serve in 'years,' they serve 'terms,' and each term is two years long. If the three people who challenged the election did not like the way it turned out, they had plenty of opportunity to bring it up and challenge it at the meeting when the election by-law was suspended, and then, the meeting when the ballots were passed out and the election was held and the votes counted. The same people that are questioning my office, are the same people who voted to put me IN the office."

"The only thing I can figure out is, that they just wanted someone else to hold the executive offices."

"My health is my main concern," he says. "I felt uneasy, nervous and stressed as that meeting went on, and then being harrassed and insulted, along with my health problems of the past, I did not want to keep myself in the situation of having to deal with that."

As it was left, the installation of those new officers is still on the future agenda of the Douglass Alumni Association Trustee Board, Releford says. "Right now, what I feel is a useless challenge to something the Board has already decided, is distracting the Board from doing its work. Those officers have to be installed, so that the IRS sees, that we are following the federal law. We also have community responsibilities that our 501 (c) 3 non-profit status requires of us, and this is holding us back. It is jeopardizing that non-profit status."

Would Releford want to come back to the Board as its president, and would he?

"Yes, absolutely," he says. "We went through so much to get the non-profit status having to do it without an attorney, and I feel that I and the other two people who worked on it, need to follow it through. The dispute brought by these three Board members, is distracting and getting us off-track. There is philanthropic work that this Board and this Alumni Association need to be doing right now. Some people were not in favor of getting the non-profit status, but the majority of the Board saw how the 501 (c) 3 designation holds us to a certain standard, it imposes many rules that make you accountable, and they saw the need for that. The audits the government routinely does on how the agency spends money, routs out fraud and people who may have financial ulterior motives."

"I do feel that the alumni from Knoxville and Chattanooga and Nashville, Atlanta and even out in our local community, need to come to our meetings and experience what the Board itself has to go through. Their opinions need to be heard, too. Many of them have questioned before how we ever get things done, through questions and debates that they think, are meaningless. They definitely need the insight. Many of them hear through the grapevine what goes on, and the only word they all share is SHOCK. Even an outside mediator would be helpful to moderate our disputes, an attorney or a judge would be acceptable, too. We need to show them the legal things we are doing, and then some of the obstacles that we face trying to put them into motion."

"I have checked other websites of alumni associations whose schools are still open, and they even have by-laws that say, 'if you haven't paid your alumni dues, you are not a member of the alumni association,' much less a board member. We have never enforced that, because sometimes it's hard to get folks with difficult schedules to attend meetings. But some of our folks who used to come to meetings, have said they've been scared away from all the disputes we go through. And the one thing they bring up, is that most of the disputes are useless."

"It's time we have harmony on that Board," Releford says. "or else, the Douglass Alumni Association will just fade away. It will cease to exist. Things will have to get better, hopefully with more input, more attendance, and more participation from Douglass Alumni to keep us together."

To the out-of-town, and out-in-the-community Douglass Alumni, Releford has an invitation that he says, is made out of desperation.

"PLEASE come to the meetings," he says. "You don't have to participate. Just come and watch and listen. Maybe the folks who cause the disharmony and disunion will see you there, and know that other people are watching them."


ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THEIR SIDE OF THIS STORY, PLEASE EMAIL CALVIN FOR AN INTERVIEW: douglassriverview@gmail.com

KingsportDeals for the Tax Free Weekend

If you're planning to take advantage of Tennessee's tax-free holiday weekend, please check out KingsportDeals. We got this via Jeff Fleming, Kingsport's Assistant City Manager for Development.

Just click KingsportDeals and print the coupons.

Happy shopping!

Douglass Alumni Association Board Minutes - 8/1/09

SPECIAL NOTE:
AFTER CHECKING THE TAPE, ONE ITEM HAPPENED BEFORE THE BOARD WENT INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, AND THAT IS THAT ALUMNI PRESIDENT DOUG RELEFORD RESIGNED FROM THE BOARD, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. IT IS AN ADDENDUM TO THESE MINUTES.

THE ELECTION OF NEW BOARD MEMBERS DONE ON JUNE 27, 2009 STILL STANDS AND WAS DONE LEGALLY.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTS OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT ACCOMPANY THESE MINUTES, PLEASE SEND YOUR REQUEST IN AN EMAIL TO: douglassriverview@gmail.com AND I WILL SEND THEM TO YOU.

THE DISCUSSIONS I RECORDED AT THE MEETING ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECORDING SECRETARY'S MINUTES, BUT SERVE AS BACKGROUND FOR THEM.





Douglass Alumni Trustee Board Meeting Minutes

August 1, 2009


Those in attendance:

Shelia Leeper, Kathy Evans, Lonnie Cox, Virginia Hankins, Pamela Sensabaugh, Wallace W. Ross, Jr., Linda Bly, Sandra Wilmer, Lillian Leeper, Calvin Sneed, Douglas Releford, Thelma Watterson, Andra Watterson, Van Dobbins, Jr., Dawnella Ellis.

Meeting was called to order by President Douglas Releford

Prayer by Vice President Lillian Leeper

Minutes of the last meeting was read by Recording Secretary Thelma Watterson. Motion to accept the reading of the minutes was made by Kathy Evans, second by Lillian Leeper. Motion Carried.

Financial Report by Treasurer Sandra Wilmer, she handed out the financial report for 2007-2009.

Linda Bly gave a report of the monies she spent in putting the alumni booklet together. She stated that she spent $97.74. Virginia Hankins made a motion to repay Linda for her expenses, second by Kathy Evans. Motion carried.

Sandra Wilmer also gave a report of the money she spent to balance her books, $135.00. Linda Bly had said Richard Clark told her he had already mailed his 100 dollars for his ad, but the money has not been received, so Sandra put in 100 dollars of her own money to balance the books, and also for Clinch Mountain Lodge's ad. Motion to repay Sandra was made by Wallace Ross, Jr. second by Andra Watterson. Motion carried.

Old Business:

Virginia Hankins stated that we have duplication in reporting the alumni meetings/minutes. We have the Streaming Media for those that can’t wait and we have the minutes that are posted on the website. Her question; why can’t we use the minutes of the appointed Recording Secretary as the legal minutes. Since we are not in competition we should use the minutes that the secretary typed up?

Calvin Sneed stated that in the past four months the minutes that the secretary typed up are the minutes that are posted to the website.

Reunion Booklets were handed out to those individuals that paid for full-page ads. There were considerable discussions concerning the Alumni Ad-Books.

Virginia Hankins made a motion that only those individuals who bought full-page ads should receive a book. By a show of hands the motion was carried, one abstains. Motion carried.

There were two ads that didn’t get in the Ad Book. The City of Kingsport stated that there was too much paper work involved in money that is to be returned so they made a donation of $100.00 to the Alumni Association. Nathan Vaughn asked that his money be returned.

Wallace Ross, Jr. asked a question about Article V of our By-Laws. He stated that according to Article V Section II of the By-Laws the election of officers should be null and void and that the officers should be restated by the By-Laws of Article V.

President Douglas Releford declared all offices vacant. Douglas asked Wallace Ross, Jr. what he was challenging. Wallace stated that the board should brings names for acceptance according to Article V of our By-Laws this was not done.

Calvin Sneed asked should we throw out the election. Wallace said that Sections 4 & 5 was not voted on. Wallace made a motion to void the past election and have a new election. Linda Bly stated that all members should be notified.

Motion to have a new election failed there were three abstains. Calvin Sneed stated that we should bring the original motion off the floor and address the issues of Article V. We need to accept the current By-Laws or amend the By-Laws. After the motion is tabled we will be able to discuss the articles and get them out of the way.

Addendum to the Douglas Alumni Association Meeting Minutes of 8/01/2009

President Douglas Releford Resigned before we went into Executive Session.

The Alumni Association went into Executive Section.

Respectfully Submitted

Thelma Watterson, Recording Secretary



AGAIN... THE RECORDED DISCUSSIONS ON THESE MINUTES ARE AVAILABLE BY SENDING A REQUEST TO: douglassriverview@gmail.com

City adding community area to V.O. Dobbins project

Community room will include the resident activity office, training facilities, and a Boys and Girls Club branch site.

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By MATTHEW LANE
mlane@timesnews.net



KINGSPORT — The city of Kingsport is expanding the V.O. Dobbins Community Center renovation project by adding an 8,900-square-foot community area to the footprint of the facility. The cost of the addition will be $1 million.
The V.O. Dobbins Center is a city-owned community center located between Louis and Wheatley streets in Riverview. The building served as Kingsport’s “blacks only” school from 1951 to 1966 and was named Douglass High School.
Kingsport plans to renovate 46,000 square feet of the facility and initially add 50,000 square feet of new space including another gymnasium and a new 28,000-square-foot, three-story nonprofit wing.
Chris McCartt, assistant to the city manager, said work has begun on the $5.9 million project, adding he is confident the new V.O. Dobbins will be ready by July 2010, with the new community wing being open a month later.
“The parking lot for the nonprofit wing has been constructed and is being used as a lay-down yard,” McCartt said. “The nonprofit wing has the steel being put in place. They’ve begun to lay the block on the new educational wing and are in the process of doing the undercutting of the soil for the new gym and community c e n t e r. ”
McCartt recently came before the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and updated them on the proposed addition to the facility — an 8,900-square-foot community center to be located on the ball field side of the building between the two gymnasiums.

The new community room will contain the resident activity office, Riverview administration offices, community supportive services program, family selfsufficiency program, training facilities (computers, job training, room for speakers) and a Boys and Girls Club branch site.
Many of the offices from the Fresh Start building will be moved over to this new facility, then that building will house South Central Community Development Inc., the Weed and Seed and tax assistance programs.
“All of the housing authority complexes have some sort of community room and on-site office. That’s required at all housing projects,” McCartt said. “When the houses are built back in Riverview, they’re going to be required under the HOPE VI grant to have a community cent e r. ”
Since there is no room on the actual site of the new houses, McCartt said the city’s thinking was to put the new community room at V.O. Dobbins instead of tying up another property along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
The city and the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority own most of the property along MLK Drive, with the plan now being to sell some of those properties for private development.
“We looked at (putting the community room in V.O. Dobbins) early on to see if there was enough space to accommodate it. Ultimately, the decision was reached there wasn’t (enough space),” McCartt said. “At the same time we have to adhere to the HOPE VI grant, and the requirements set forth in it require a separate community center.
“By bringing them both together it is a win-win for everybody.”
The cost of the addition will be $1 million, which includes prep work and construction. McCartt said the architectural work for the addition is being rolled into the existing contract with Cain Rash West Architects at no additional cost.
Two years ago, the BMA approved a Section 108 loan for $1 million as part of the city’s commitment to the HOPE VI project. This is the money that will be used to fund the construction of the new addition and will be paid back with Community Development Block Grant funds over a 20-year period.
McCartt said paying the loan back with CDBG funds will not affect any of the city’s funding for community development partnerships, such as the Salvation Army and CASA.

Location of Stormwater Runoff Leaves Resident "Across the Big Pond"

The location of the retention pond for the V.O. Dobbins Community Center renovations on Louis Street in Riverview has raised the eyebrow of a nearby resident.



Jack Pierce says one day, "right out of a clear blue sky," he noticed what looked like a long, rectangular ditch right across the street from his Louis Street home.

"We saw them digging it one day," he says, "but we didn't what it was for, or if they were going to leave it open like it was. When I asked one of the fellows working over there what it was, he told us it was for holding rainwater."



What Mr. Pierce saw, is the latest eco-friendly process to keep land from being flooded. It is commonly referred to as a retention pond, usually built to catch excess stormwater runoff from parking lots and construction projects. If it is working correctly, a retention pond holds excess storm water from a heavy rain just long enough so it will flow into a small pipe that connects it to the nearest storm water drain, whose pipe is much larger. The resulting "damming" effect holds the water in the pond for a few hours while it goes into the drainage system and not onto nearby land. Almost every municipality requires builders to install these ponds on the downslopes of new buildings and parking lots. Often, new construction will upset the normal flow of excess storm water, and often sends that excess water into previously unflooded places like nearby basements, crawl spaces, and low spots in streets.


When the Dobbins Center was Douglass High School, the building was "grandfathered" from having to install a retention pond. Once the building was approved for renovation though, that "grandfather" rule did not apply anymore, and new rules requiring a retention pond went into effect.

But it's not the pond itself that concerns Jack Pierce. It's an unwanted by-product of the standing water that may be left behind as the pond slowly drains into the stormwater drainage system.

WATER FLOWING FROM THE RETENTION POND INTO THE STORM DRAIN

"We're concerned that standing water that has not flowed out of the pond yet could breed mosquitoes," says Mr. Pierce. "We have not had any problems with the bugs yet because we haven't had that much rain, but if you give them a habitat like standing water, they're drawn to it. We're worried that we won't be able to enjoy our yards if the mosquitoes establish a breeding ground in any water that's left in the pond."

"And then, what about the appearance of the pond?" he wondered out loud. "Will we have to come outside and stare at that hole in the ground all the time?"



"Mr. Pierce has legitimate concerns about the retention pond," says Chris McCartt, Kingsport's Development Service Manager and Assistant to the City Manager. "I wish there were any other place to put that pond, but if you look at the lay of the land and the way the slope is, water flow from Lincoln/MLK and the railroad tracks, slopes downward through Riverview towards the Holston River. We had to put the pond down from the building in the direction of the river, but near enough to the construction site and the parking lot to catch the excess runoff from heavy rains."


"We will be monitoring for bugs, especially mosquitoes," he says. "One of the good things is, that this is a retention pond, not a detention pond. A detention pond normally holds the excess storm water and lets it seep into the ground without drainage into the stormwater system. As this water leaves, it might leave little pockets, but those will either evaporate or sift into the ground quickly."

"We are also considering landscaping for the retention pond," Mr. McCartt added. "Another good thing about retention ponds, is they lend themselves to landscaping with shrubs, bushes and decorative plants. A detention pond retains too much water for those types of plants to work."




Storm water runoff has always been problematic for Riverview. Longtime residents say problems with excess water after heavy rains date back to the early days of the neighborhood. The community was built over the site of a former chemical dump for nearby industries, and as some chemical wastes hardened, seeping water moving towards the water table was obstructed by the the new barrier. That water frequently seeped back to the surface and flooded backyards and storm drains.




Upgrades to the storm water drainage system along Carver, Louis, Dunbar, Lincoln and Douglass Streets helped to move the excess rain water along somewhat, but heavy rains still produced flooding. Wheatley Street was the last new street added to the neighborhood, and as a result, does not experience the standing water the other streets have.

Apparently, without the retention pond, the V.O. Dobbins renovations would intensify many of the flooding problems the neighborhood has suffered in the past.



"We may also be forced to build another retention pond on the other side of the building," says Mr. McCartt. "The other one may not be as big as the present one, but when you look at the additional parking lot we have to build at the new Headstart classrooms, you have to start figuring up your drainage calculations and once they hit a certain point, you have to start thinking of how to capture that water also."

What should local residents do, if they notice more mosquitoes than normal?

"Just call City Hall," Mr. McCartt says. "Let us know, and if we find out the mosquitos are coming from the retention pond, then we will act quickly to spray for them. There is also a tablet you can drop into standing water that poisons the larvae immediately. Residents just need to let the building manager Mark Kilgore know, and he'll take a look at it and do the right thing if they're coming from the pond."


Mr. McCartt visited the pond to personally hear Mr. Pierce's concerns.

"I feel confident that Chris will take care of any problem we might have," says Mr. Pierce. "They've always been pretty good about looking into anything we have a problem about. I realize the pond has to go someplace and we were surprised to see it right across the street from us, but I feel the city won't let us down if problems come out of it."

V.O. Dobbins Renovations Comparison Pictures

A month ago during an interview with the main architect for the Douglass/V.O. Dobbins Center renovations, design specialist Dineen West said, every major construction project in the renovation would be started during the month of July.

She was right.


The 3-story tower steel framework is almost complete, the block walls for the Headstart expansion on Wheatley Street are up, ground has been broken for the new gymasium and the new KHRA offices, and walls on the first floor are ready to be busted out for the new Douglass Alumni Association offices. And we have pictures of it all.

To see pictures of the latest construction on the Douglass/V.O. Dobbins Center, click

Douglass/V.O. Dobbins Update, July 25, 2009. I think you'll be surprised at the progress workers are making to our building. Direct comparision pictures and the date of the photos are below:

Below is a sequence of photos from the beginning of July until July 25, 2009, and as you can see, the project is really progressing.

JUNE 2, 2009
VIEW FROM WHEATLEY STREET TOWARDS BAYS MOUNTAIN First picture is from June 2, 2009, Second is from July 13th, and Third is from July 25th)


















NEW HEADSTART CLASSROOMS (First picture is from July 2, 2009, Second is from July 25th)























CARVER STREET LOOKING AT OLD AUDITORIUM SITE (First picture is from April 23, 2009, Second is from May 30th, Third is from July 25th)





Artchitect Dineen West says, all of the construction on the project should be underway by the end of July, and indeed it is.

2009 Summer Block Party

The annual REsident Block Party on Saturday, July 25, 2009, sponsored by the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority, brought out friends and neighbors in the South Central Kingsport communnity.

To see pictures from the event, click KHRA Summer Block Party 2009.

The event that featured pizza, soft drinks, music and fun and games for the children, was sponsored by the Kingsport Housing and Revelopment Authority.

Back to School Celebration in Riverview

The Kids Back to School Celebration on Saturday, July 25, 2009 was a rousing success.

The annual event was held in the Douglass Ballfield next to the Riverview Splash Pad, because its usual home, the V.O. Dobbins Community Center gym is undergoing renovations.


To see pictures from the celebration, click Riverview Back to School Celebration 2009.

The celebration is sponsored every year by the Kingsport Weed and Seed office of the South Central Kingsport Community Development Corporation.

"Every year during the summer, Weed and Seed gets a supply list from the Kingsport city school system," says Jeannie Hodge of the local Weed and Seed office. "It's a list of what every student will need to at least start every grade level from kindergarten to 12th grade. The Weed and Seed office then goes out and either purchases those materials or tries to get them donated, so our students will be ready for classes."


At the event, kids get pizza and soft drinks. The kids enjoyed that, and they also liked getting to know their fellow students, some of whom they hadn't seen all summer long. The kids and their parents filled out forms, picked up their school supplies and then hit the pizza and drinks.

They also got a tee-shirt and a backpack with all of their supplies inside.



Also joining in the celebration with exhibits were the local Headstart office, whose classes have temporarily been relocated to the old Dickson School while the Dobbins Center renovations are being done... and the local Drug Task Force walk-through trailer, whose displays and demonstrations on illegal drug use and prevention is always a big hit with visiting children.



With the Splash Pad so close by, the kids could not resist getting wet. "Those that were dressed for swimming, went from the pizza to the water," says Jeannie. Plenty of them were not dressed for it, but if their parents didn't mind, it was hot enough for them to get wet fully clothed. When the clouds came in and the wind blew a little, some of the kids got cooled off with their wet clothes, but they sure did enjoy it."

Douglass Alumni Board Trustees Meeting

The Douglass Alumni Association will have its next meeting at 1:00 p.m., at St. Mark United Methodist Church on August 1, 2009. It will be "POT LUCK".

Details to be announced. Please make plans to attend.
The meeting will also be televised on the Douglass Website, www.sonsanddaughtersofdouglass.org

--Board President Doug Releford

Pastor Ricardo Dorcean: Taking the "Central" Message to the Community

He is relatively young, by today's ministerial standards..

But 28-year-old Ricardo Dorcean is on a mission, and he's following in the footsteps of his elders.. that is, to continue leading followers of the Gospel to understand the true meaning of God's Word.



Reverend Dorcean has just ascended to the pastorship of the Central Baptist Church in Kingsport, Riverview-South Central's oldest church, and although he says he cannot predict the church's direction, his plans are to keep it wherever the Lord leads it.

The Haitian native sat down with the Douglass website, for his first interview, right after his very first sermon in Central's pulpit.

Click here to see a slideshow of the historic event.

"I am so excited about coming here," says Reverend Dorcean. "It's something that I feel God himself ordained, especially from the way it occurred. I am looking forward to whatever God wants me to do here."



EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, 2 MILES FROM NEWARK

Born in Haiti, Ricardo Dorcean grew up and graduated high school on the tough streets of East Orange, New Jersey, outside Newark. He remembers those streets as being very straight-forward, in-your-face and strict.

"Where I was raised," he says, "it wasn't the popular thing to do, to read the Bible and lean on its teachings. Sometimes, I would even try to avoid it, because most classmates and friends just didn't believe it, or buy into it, and they would tease you a lot about it. But I always had a sense that the calling was there, that an inner voice was saying, 'trust in me, and I will give you peace.'

"I really got depressed," he says. "I felt under-appreciated for what I was going through. I even thought about just ending it all, because of the emptiness I was feeling, and my friends that I grew up with, weren't helping. I felt that I wasn't appreciated for who I was. But somewhere in the depths of despair, the Holy Ghost spoke to me CLEARLY, and said 'your time is not yet, there is work for you to do. I wasn't sure what that work was."

"The first thing I thought, was 'man, I can't believe that He's calling me to do this."

"What was strange to me," says Reverend Dorcean, "was, the more I tried to move away from it, the more I started hearing the message, and finally I just stopped resisting because for me, it was the right thing to do."


"And then, God started putting me in positions where I had to speak on his behalf, I had to minister to others," he says. "I had to speak God's Word to people. Everywhere I would turn, I was ministering to somebody. As time when on, the Lord was sharing with me what he needed me to do."

"You know I was raised in the church," he says, "and I would think 'Lord, I still can't believe that You're choosing me. It was overwhelming to be, being God's Servant in that fashion, handing that responsibility of speaking for God was, in a sense, exciting. It was fearful sometimes, too, with the emotions I went through."

Reverend Dorcean continued finding his faith and his calling at Virginia Union University in Richmond.

DR. JOHN KINNEY, DEAN OF THEOLOGY, VIRGINIA UNION UNIVERSITY, RICHMOND

"When I was in school," Reverend Dorcean says, "I heard one of my professors, Dean John Kinney preach during class..he's the Dean of Theology there. During his teachings, he used all these words which I had never heard before. It immediately caught my eye and ear. But as he was preaching, he also gave you examples of what the words meant. I was fascinated by that, I was intrigued by what he was saying. Even though I had never heard the words before, the fact that he was explaining them as he was going along was just fascinating. You were able to understand everything he saying.. the most amazing thing I had ever heard."

After graduation, armed with a Bachelors degree (2003), and eventually a Master's degree in Divinity (2006), Reverend Dorcean found his plate full.

PASTOR KEVIN SYKES, ST. JAMES BAPTIST CHURCH, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

"At the St. James Baptist Church, Pastor Kevin Sykes spread my name around, really helped me out a lot. I was always preaching somewhere on Sunday. He really helped me get started. My parents had moved to Virginia, and I became very active in the ministerial spotlight in the area, since I already had my license to preach."



PASTOR TERRY STREETER, MOUNT PLEASANT BAPTIST CHURCH, WASHINGTON, D.C.

"Then, when I moved to Washington, D.C., I was introduced to Pastor Terry Streeter at the Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, and man, we just connected. From Day One, it seemed the Lord brought us together. I don't know why Pastor Streeter found favor with me, but he pushed me to the limits of what a minister is supposed to do..he also put my name around the D.C. area. I was only in D.C. for a couple of months, but it was a very busy couple of months, ministering and preaching quite a bit. He saw where I was going and realized I needed to be ordained. He doesn't ordain easily, but he must have seen something in me because he got the pastors together in Washington, we had a service and man, it was awesome. The Spirit of God was moving through that service, no hindrances, no blocks..the Holy Spirit guided us through the entire service. We all then just waited for the divine call."

"And then, I was called to Central."

Rev. Dorcean and his new wife Chaka just completed their move to Kingsport.


So, what kind of preacher is Reverend Ricardo Dorcean? Click Reverend Dorcean's First Central Sermon to hear an excerpt of Reverend Dorcean's very first sermon at Central.

"I am expository, very demonstrative," he says. "I like to use life experiences, as lessons in faith. I'm very structured, and I have certain structures that I use when I'm preaching. If you have good structure, it helps the followers, the listeners, the Believers in the Word, to follow more succinctly. I love to follow the Word of God, to sense what he wants to say, even in the midst of the structure. I'm passionate, excitable and easy to follow, especially if your faith is wavering. Even today, I still make the sermon easy to understand, just like Dean Kinney in school. I want to invite people to learn and provide them vocabulary, then break that down into examples so they can understand the Word. It's an excellent teaching tool that Dean Kinney taught."


Reverend Dorcean also uses prayer as power. Click Reverend Dorcean's First Central Prayer to hear Reverend Dorcean's first prayer ever at Central.

"Prayer is the basic key that unlocks the Doors to the Kingdom of Heaven," he says. "It's not just me speaking about him, it's also about Him speaking through his followers. The prayer line, the devotional, the meditation is so very important. Prayer is the Power Source, how you communicate to God and how he responds through the Holy Ghost. There's a story in the Bible where the disciples couldn't cast out the demon from a boy, even though they kept trying. And Jesus told them, they had not spent enough time in prayer and fasting. It's communication with God that strengthens you, and gives you to strength to cast out demons or whatever comes your way. If the church ever gets away from praying, I feel it automatically loses its power, in my opinion."

"If we don't do anything else, we have to maintain that lifeline of prayer in the church."


In what direction does Reverend Dorcean see Central Baptist Church going?

"Where we go, is dependent upon God leading us there," he says. "I will follow God's Plan, because upon this rock his church was built. We have wonderful ministries, particularly the Manna ministries..that is an amazing ministry the church does. Central Baptist has a devoted following, and one of the things they do best is be active in the community. Every community needs the church to be the beacon of light, the main support system that people can lean on. I automatically knew how connected these folks are to God, when, during the process of coming here, one church lady told me 'Reverend Dorcean, I think God's gonna get you here whether we like it or not, and then she smiled at me. That was a clear indication to me that this connection is not human, it's divine orchestration. I thank God for their faith and their inspiration to let Him work his will, calling me as Pastor."

"I feel that we will work well together," says Reverend Dorcean. "As God leads us, we will follow, and rally others around us. Continuing to meet the spiritual needs of people."

"I feel that is our calling."

Tarheel of the Week: Wake Star Left Basketball for Bank

A BIG THANKS TO DOT CALLOWAY FOR GIVING ME THE 'HEADS-UP' ON THIS ARTICLE ABOUT ONE OF OUR OWN!

THIS STORY COURTESY THE RALEIGH (NC) NEWS AND OBSERVER


Simpson O. "Skip" Brown Jr.

POSITION: President and CEO, TriStone Community Bank in Winston-Salem

BIRTHPLACE: Kingsport, Tenn., Jan. 21, 1955

EDUCATION: B.A. in sociology, which Brown jokes is "the art of making the obvious sound profound," and M.B.A., both from Wake Forest University

DEMON DEACONS BASKETBALL CAREER: Played point guard; four-year starter, 1974-1977; two-time All-America; fifth in all-time scoring with 2,034 points; second in career assists with 579; holds school record of 43 consecutive free throws.

CAREER: Former senior vice president at Bank of America; vice president of consumer loans at First Federal Savings & Loan in Winston-Salem

FAMILY: Wife, Minda Brown; daughters Maya Elizabeth, 16, and Samantha Anne, 15.

CIVIC ACTIVITES: Chairman, N.C. Bankers Association; serves on the boards of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Winston-Salem Business Inc. and CycleSafe.

OUTSIDE INTERESTS: Bicycling -- his goal is to bike 150 miles a week -- and golf.


Wake star left basketball for bank
By DAVID RANII, RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER


WINSTON-SALEM -- Skip Brown displays numerous photos of his wife and daughters in his modest office at TriStone Community Bank, but not a single memento from his years as an All-America basketball player at Wake Forest University.
"I think he wants to be recognized as a banker, not as a ballplayer," says Mark Evans, the bank's executive vice president.

And so he is. Brown, the founder and CEO of TriStone -- a young, up-and-coming Winston-Salem bank with two branches -- recently was elected chairman of the North Carolina Bankers Association, which represents 144 banks.

"He is very well-liked and respected," said Paul Stock, the association's executive vice president. "That's a big piece of how you become chairman of an organization like this."

Brown's goals include raising bankers' awareness of -- and participation in -- the association, which leads the industry's lobbying efforts. "Collectively, the NCBA is the voice that can make things happen," he says.

Although the industry's image has suffered some body blows -- blame heavy losses by some banks and the subprime mortgage mess -- Brown says he isn't overly concerned.

"Banks do an awful lot of good in all the communities we serve, particularly community banks," he says. "We help individuals and business reach their goals."

It's been a steep climb from the public housing projects of Kingsport, Tennessee, for Brown, who is 6 feet tall and 185 pounds, just 10 pounds heavier than when he was setting scoring records as a Demon Deacons point guard in the mid-1970s. He long ago shed the Afro he sported then, and at age 54 his short-cropped hair sports just a tinge of gray.

After nearly 20 years as an executive at Bank of America, Brown chose to strike out on his own and raised more than $16 million from investors to form TriStone in 2004. "I've always enjoyed being in leadership roles," Brown says. "When I played basketball, I was in a leadership role."

But TriStone's days as an independent bank could end soon. TriStone's board of directors decided to solicit acquisition offers late last year and, in April, Virginia-based First Community Bancshares agreed to purchase TriStone for stock valued at $9 million.

"I'm very proud of what we accomplished," Brown says. "At the same time, you have to think of the long-term.

"The management and the board made a strategic decision to partner up with a bank that would generate the long-term returns that we think our shareholders deserve," he says. "The regulatory environment is very difficult, and it is going to get more difficult. The economic environment, I don't think we have seen the worst of that yet. The bigger you are, the better it is going to be when you try to weather these storms."

Brown would become a regional president at First Community if the acquisition wins shareholder approval.

Unfortunately, the Virginia bank deal has put Brown at odds with his mentor, William B. Greene Jr., chairman of the Bank of Tennessee's corporate parent.

Greene's bank is TriStone's largest shareholder and last month sent fellow shareholders a letter arguing that the price is too low and urging them to vote against the deal. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal July 30.

Greene said he loves Brown -- "I would take a bullet for Skip" -- but hates the deal.

TriStone wasn't profitable in its early years, as is typical for a start-up, but Greene argues that the bank recently turned the corner and is being sold at a time when bank stocks, including TriStone, are at an ebb.

"They just made $132,000 in the first quarter," he says. "Why would you sell now? This is the worst time to sell."

SKIP BROWN, MRS. WILSON'S 1ST GRADE CLASS, DOUGLASS SCHOOL, 1962


SKIP BROWN, WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACON, ALL ACC FIRST TEAM, 1977


SKIP BROWN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, TRI-STONE COMMUNITY BANK, WINSTON-SALEM, NC
CHAIRMAN, NORTH CAROLINA BANKERS ASSOCIATION, 2009-2010

Mark your calendars!

Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday - Aug 7-10, 2009


Be sure to check www.KingsportDeals.com for specials!

For details on Tennessee's tax holiday, go to: http://tennessee.gov/revenue/salestaxholiday/

Wrestling Event to Benefit Shriners Hospitals’ Efforts

Wrestling promoter Jeff Tankersly was inspired by the efforts of 9-year-old Savion Jamar to collect money for the Shriners.

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By KEVIN CASTLE
kcastle@timesnews.net

KINGSPORT — Savion Jamar cherishes a tackle in a football game or a hit in T-ball probably more than his teammates. The fight to walk, then run, defines his stand in life.
Savion, 9, of Kingsport was born with a clubfoot and has gone through several surgeries at the Lexington, Ky., Shriners Hospital since he was 1 year old.

Photo by Kevin Castle —kcastle@timesnews.net

Savion Jamar, 9, and his grandmother, Veronica Kemp, have collected thousands of aluminum pull tabs to help raise funds for Shriners Hospitals. Savion has undergone several operations to repair a clubfoot, and he collects the tabs as a way to pay back the organization.

Now his physical condition has improved dramatically, and his mental capacities are totally focused on helping kids who have to go through the same things he did and the organization that took him back and forth to surgery and doctor’s visits.
“I’m paying them back for what they did for me, and I want other kids to get the help I did,” said Savion, who is away at summer camp this week.
For several years, Savion has been collecting aluminum can pull tabs for Shriners Hospitals, which recycle the tabs for money that goes directly back into patient care and equipment purchases.
“I’ve seen him dive into trash cans for them,” said his grandmother, Veronica Kemp.
“He sees somebody with a pop can, he makes sure he gets the tab off of it. I just can’t believe the drive he has to do this. He’s just so passionate about it, and him only 9. I guess it just says a lot about what kind of kid he is. He’s my baby, but there’s more to him.”
Savion caught the eye of local businessman and wrestling promoter Jeff Tankersly last week during Fun Fest when the youngster was out finding and collecting can tabs, so Tankersly has decided to help the fourth-grader and Shriners financially.
An evening of professional wrestling featuring World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer Ric Flair at MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center on Friday will have a portion of the gate re- ceipts donated to area Shriners officials, Tankersly said Tuesday.
“I just thought it was such a great thing that Savion was doing that I wanted to help him someway. Wrestling is what I do, and I know our fans are the best at helping people out, so we hope people will come out because it will help these kids,” Tankersly said.
Children who come to MeadowView on Friday between 3 and 5 p.m. with 15 or more pull tabs will receive a ticket good for free admission at the Shrine Circus coming to Freedom Hall in Johnson City in October.
For more information on Friday’s show, visit: www.jtsport events.com.
More information on the Shriners Hospital/Aluminum Can Pull Tab Drive is available at: www.shrinershq.org/Hospitals/ Springfield/Aluminum_Tab_ Collection.aspx.

Local Kingsport Athlete Qualifies for U.S. Paralympic Team

19-year-old Blake Leeper is one special athlete.

The Kingsport native, D-B alumnus and rising U-T student is making a name for himself in national track and field competition, and he's doing it, without the two things an athlete needs.


Legs, below the knees.

Blake is a bi-lateral, below-the-knee amputee from birth. In runner's language, he is considered a T-43, the official classification for a Paralympic amputee, and that's where Blake has begun making a name for himself.

Recently, Blake Leeper competed in the 2009 Endeavour Games at Edmond, Oklahoma, and the son of Edith and Bill Leeper and grandson of Lillian Leeper, and his time of 11:96 not only won the 100-meter race.. his running time in that single event has placed him on the Paralympic Team.


For the entire United States.

"It was wonderful.. just awesome," Blake says. "I did not know what to expect or how it would go, it being my first race. I had so many butterflies in my stomach, and man they were huge."

To see Blake's interview with the Kingsport Times-News, click Blake's Interview.

He had some formidable competition. In the 100-meter race, there were three competitors already on the national Paralympic Team. "You could see it in their faces, they were professionals..they do this all the time," said Blake's father Bill. "Blake kinda looked intimidated by them and he finally told me later that he was. He felt threatened by the fact that they did this professionally, where they'd traveled to, where they'd been. This being his first meet, I felt for him. It was something new for him and I thought he handled it great."


But Blake wasn't finished. He also placed first in the 200-meter race AND the 400-meter race. Only the 100-meter qualified him for the national Paralympic Team. "I did not expect to come in first in the other two races," he says. "The competition was just too great. I felt really blessed to be triumphant in all three."

In the 100-meter race, "he came off the block and just flew," Bill Leeper says. "It took a 12:19 to qualify, and he scored the 11:96. The second place Paralympic guy ran a 12:06, and the third one did 12:33. My wife Edith and I just looked at each other.. we wanted to scream out 'he did it!' but we didn't. We WERE asking ourselves 'did he do it, did he really do this? He beat the best."


Blake's older brother Chris attended the event with their parents, but then there was the proud grandma back home in Church Hill. "We called and told her (Lillian Leeper), and she was Praising the Lord and everything. She told us to tell Blake that she was proud of him, and to continue taking the Lord with him. She said she had been praying for him, and knew he would do well."

But now, the U.S. Paralympic Team has a "diamond in the rough" they did not know about.



"As soon as he came off the track with that time and those medals," Bill said, "the coach came over and told us 'now we have something to work with.' We've been watching him race since he was 4 years old, and never dreamed this would happen. He ran cross-country in middle school, but this is the first time we've ever seen him compete on the same level as national paralympic athletes."

Oscar "Bladerunner" Pistorius, himself also a T-43 double-amputee, ran the 100-meter in 11:06, and he is considered one of the fastest runners in the world. Blake's 11:96 places him in some good company.


"Oscar Pistorius also ran an 11:17 in the 100-meter in Manchester, England last month," says Bill. "He's considered the man, the golden child in paralympic running around the world. The United States Para-Olympic Team doesn't have anybody that can compete on his level. Blake has both limbs missing, and they classify him as a T-43.. on the Olympic teams, they do not have any T-43's, they're all T-44's meaning they're just missing one leg. They've got one good leg and one prosthetic leg, and they have nobody that's a T-43 like Blake. They were just really excited that they have finally found a T-43 that can compete on the level that Oscar Petorius competes on. There was another T-43 there, but Blake beat him in all the races.. he was good, but the coach said Blake's take-off speed was just too much."


So where does Blake go from here?

"I think this was the last qualifier for the year," Bill says, "so we'll have to wait and see what the coaches has planned for Blake, now that he's on the U.S. team."

Blake's focus is a bit more narrow.

"I'm planning to say in school," he says. "I plan to finish my bachelor's degree at U-T in physics. That's number one. I'm also pre-med at U-T and I will be going to medical school."

"Talking to the coach and everything, she said there's a really good chance of making a name for myself with the running for the U.S. Parylympic Team, winning more medals and really competing. It may open up another chapter in my life, and the sky may be the limit."

Blake's sponsors are Pro-Balance of Kingsport, and the Challenge Athletes Foundation of San Diego, California. Both sponsors paid for the Leeper family's trip to Oklahoma, and for Blake's prothetics.


Blake does spend time, talking to other paraplegics. "I always tell them, they can do it, too," he says. "We all have disabilities and challenges to life, and we just have to overcome them. I feel like when they see me out there giving it everything I've got on the track, or I'm in class giving the brain a good workout, I want them to know there are better days coming for them, too."

"God has Blessed me to peak in my life, and do the best that I can. That's their goal, too, that no matter what, you, too can overcome the obstacles and accomplish the hard parts and the challenges."