Riverview Passing

Rev. James Ellis Snapp, 64, 949 Dale St. passed away this morning (Saturday, January 29, 2011) at Holston Valley-Wellmont in Kingsport.

Funeral arrangements are posted in the PASSINGS AND OBITUARIES link.

Rev. James Ellis Snapp and family are in the care of R.A. Clark Funeral Service, Inc.

Please keep the Snapp family in your thoughts and prayers.

Meeting Reminder!

REMINDER: The Douglass Alumni Association Working/Executive Board will have its next regularly scheduled meeting this coming Saturday at 2 PM, in the United Way conference room at the V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex. NOTE THE CHANGE IN TIME: 2 PM.

From our president, Doug Releford: "Please try to inform everyone that we need them at this meeting. Time is getting short and we have a lot of work to do for the upcoming reunion. Please try and persuade a member that has not been to a meeting in a while to come."

We will also get an update on things from the Events Committee which has been working behind the scenes on several reunion Events.  Also expected in attendance, are members of the Kingsport Ebony Club Association, to see if any of our joint reunion plans are overlapping, and what we can share from each other.

Kingsport’s Black History Month festivities start on high note

THIS ARTICLE COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

Stella Robinette says Saturday’s Gospel Fest is the kick-off event for Kingsport’s celebration of Black History Month.

“Our goal is to educate all people about black history and to bring in ethnic artists to showcase our heritage,” said Robinette.

Gospel Fest will begin at 7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 29 in the Kingsport Renaissance Center, 1200 E. Center St. Tickets are $5 for reserved seating.

Some of the performers scheduled to appear include the choirs of Bethel AME Zion Church, the Bristol Lee Street Praise Team and Central Baptist Church and Praise Team, the TCB Singers (Tri-Cities Blessed), ADMC Singers, Greater Commission and Lynette Alley.

Kingsport native and up-and-coming comedian Xavier Hall will emcee the event.

Hall is a 1992 graduate of Dobyns-Bennett High School and has toured the country with a troupe of comedians that have been featured on BET’s "Comic View.”

But he hasn’t forgotten his roots, making previous stops in his hometown to do a couple of comedy concerts at Rascals. Hall’s brand of comedy, which he has labeled PG-13, draws from everyday life.

Robinette said she hopes an event such as Gospel Fest will touch the younger generations, too.

“This will be an evening of art and music. There will be something for everyone,” Robinette said. “We will have art up in the gallery and the atrium by ethnic artists. We hope some of our youth will come out to this event.

“We want the young people to see that there are other professions out there besides football or basketball. For a lot of kids, especially the boys, their goal is just to play sports. They think art is ‘sissy.’ We want to show them this is not true. I’d love for our youth to start showcasing their own talents more.”

Kingsport’s Black History Month celebration will continue with Barter Theatre’s production of “The Eye of the Storm” at 7 p.m., Feb. 3 in the Renaissance Center. Tickets are $20, or $19 for students and seniors. HOPE (Help Our Potential Evolve), a day featuring free workshops on topics ranging from cooking to drumming, face painting and a Wii competition, will be held from noon to 3 p.m., Feb. 19 at the Renaissance Center.

For more information about Gospel Fest or to order tickets, visit www.KingsportArts.org

Prayers for Bro. James Snapp

We've been told that Brother James Snapp, the son of Bro. Ellis Snapp of Riverview suffered a heart attack Thursday, January 20th, and is in the ICU at Holston Valley-Wellmont in Kingsport.

Please keep the Snapp Family in your prayers.

Blake Leeper Representin'

SYDNEY, Australia—Team USA athletes took to the track at Sydney Olympic Park on Friday night for their final tune-up meet in the lead up to the 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships.

Competing against athletes from six other countries, the 51 Americans preparing for next week’s world championships in Christchurch, New Zealand capped a week-long training camp with multiple personal best performances.

Blake Leeper (Church Hill, Tenn.) looked sharp in the men’s 100m (T44), dropping a personal best time of 11.08 seconds. “I’ve been living and training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista since December and this showed that all my work and training are paying off,” said Leeper. “I felt great tonight and after this I feel confident and ready to go for world championships.” Leeper is making his Team USA debut at these world championships and will take on some of the sport’s top competitors in Christchurch. Leeper will face-off against South Africa’s Oscar Pistorius and his U.S. teammate Jerome Singleton (Irmo, S.C.), who won gold and silver medals, respectively, in the 100m at the 2008 Paralympic Games.

‘Carry on the legacy:' Marchers in Kingsport celebrate, Remember Dr. King

‘We want people to rejoice in all the legacy (King) left for us, and the actual push is to become brothers and sisters.’

— Pastor Ronnie Collins


THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By MATTHEW LANE
mlane@timesnews.net

KINGSPORT — Martin Luther King Jr. Day should not be a day off, but rather a day on — to do good in the community and to help carry on the legacy of the slain civil rights leader.

Pastor Ronnie Collins gave this message during the annual MLK Day parade in downtown Kingsport on Monday, where this year’s theme was “Remember! Celebrate! Act! A Day On, Not a Day Off.”

“Remember the legacy of Dr. King, all that he stood for and the great works that he did. Celebrate his 82nd birthday, the national holiday. And the ‘act’ part is to do something. Do something in the community — an act of kindness or love or help someone less fortunate,” Collins said. “It’s not a day off, but it really should be a day on and doing good to carry on the legacy.”

Click here to see a slideshow of the 2011 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. March through downtown Kingsport.

More than 70 people walked in Monday’s parade, which stretched from East Sevier Avenue to Kingsport’s City Hall. The event drew as many young people and children as adults and seniors, with about half of the participants being Caucasian. Many people carried signs and banners with messages of “Justice, Equity, Compassion for All” and “I Stand on the Side of Love.”

“We want people to rejoice in all the legacy (King) left for us, and the actual push is to become brothers and sisters,” Collins said.

Sullivan County Schools elected to be in session Monday to make up one of the 11 days schools have missed this year due to the weather. Kingsport City Schools, which have missed three days this year due to the weather, were not in session Monday.

Collins said he found it disturbing some school systems elected to be open on MLK Day.

“It sends the wrong message to our youth,” Collins said. “Our goal is to get young people acclimated to what is happening, why (the holiday) is important and the crux of it. (Schools being open) sends a message that the holiday is not important. I know they have to make (the day) up, but today is probably not the best day.”

Collins said he hopes school systems that were in session on Monday offered programs or assemblies on Martin Luther King Jr.

During Monday’s parade, three people brought their canine friends with them to walk, while Jenny Rogers of Kingsport brought several of her Djembes (drums) and maracas for the participants to play during the event.

Rogers, a former worship director at First Broad Street United Methodist Church, said she started the Drum Circle Connection as a form of outreach to the community, using drums to help kids communicate and build teams together.

In recent years, the cold winter weather has kept some people from turning out and resulted in small turnouts for the MLK Day parade. This year, however, more people showed up with the warmer weather.

“Our numbers always increase when the weather is good. Our prayers have always been each year to have reasonable weather. After the last couple of weeks, we couldn’t have asked for anything better,” Collins said.

Margaret Smith, who lives on Myrtle Street and attends every year, brought her children down to walk in the parade.

“I like for all of us to get together, and it’s a real nice turnout. Much better than last year; I believe so,” she said.

A special treat this holiday was an afternoon dinner for the community, held in the Riverview Community Room.  Turkey and dressing, fried chicken, vegetables, and cakes and pies were the order of the day, as residents who had just taken part in the the march downtown, sat down to fellowship with each other, and get caught up on the excitement of the day.   Entertainment was provided by the New Vision Youth in the form of song, and the singing was well received by those eating.

Click here to see a slideshow from the Community Dinner on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2011, held at the Riverview Community Center.

During the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day program at the Central Baptist Church, former Kingsport mayor Jeanette Blazier told an enthusiastic audience the city has made many strides since that fateful day in 1994, when 8 year old Jalissa Ferguson was killed by a drug dealer's bullet.

"I'll never forget the tears of anguish as I heard folks in Riverview telling them, they'd had enough of the crime ruining the neighborhood," she said.  "You went from being the worst crime neighborhood in the city, to the safest neighborhood."

That last part, produced a rousing show of applause from an approving crowd.

Click here to see a slideshow of the 2011 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program held at the Central Baptist Church.

Mrs. Blazier also talked about how the revitalization of the neighborhood has produced positive results such as the HOPE VI homes, and the renovated V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex.  "One of the most exciting moments during the dedication in September," she remembered, "was the unveiling of the historic marker from the Tennessee Historical Commission.  That marker placed the wonderful heritage of Douglass High School on a state and national map of history, and will forever mark the school's place in the state archives."

(EDITOR'S NOTE:  We were able to shoots some panoramic pictures inside the santuary at Central while Mayor Blazier was speaking. 

Click here to see panoramic pictures of the santuary of the Central Baptist Church during former Mayor Blazier's address.

You may have to turn your head to see the panorama shots.. they work better if they're printed off, then displayed tilted).

One highlight of the event at the church, was a presentation made to the new residents of the Riverview Place homes, which replaced the historic Riverview Apartments.  Each head of the household in the new homes was presented with a new Bible, to guide their new lives by.





The program at Central was sponsored by the Greater Kingsport Ministerial Alliance.

Later, at the annual Candlelight Vigil, sponsored by the New Vision Youth and the Kingsport Parks and Recreation's Community Services Division, candles were lit to honor many of the Riverview Community's people, events, history and fiture.  Candles were lit for the new HOPE VI homes at Riverview Place, the seniors of the community, the New Vision Youth, Parks and Crecreation, the new V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex, Kingsport City Government, the Kingsport Board of Education, and many family and loved ones still with us and those gone, but not forgotten.

Click here to see a slideshow of the 2011 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Candlelight Vigil, held at the V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex.

The lighting ceremony was held in the parking lot of the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex, and capped off Riverview and Kingsport's wonderful celebration and tribute to the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Young Ambassador has ties to Riverview

 Hunter Muller has been chosen to represent Tennessee as an ambassador to Europe. This entails travel and study in England, France, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Switzerland. After being invited, Hunter passed an interview that confirmed this honor.

Hunter Muller is the son of Pepper Muller and the grandson of Gary and Valorie (Davis) Thompson.  He is a sophomore at Volunteer High School.

 

Some of Hunter's past accomplishments include winning the National History Award Winner, the Tennessee Academic Award, the Citizenship Award, an award from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and several ACE awards. Hunter is also a member of Who's Who Among American High School Students. He has been recognized by the United States Achievement Academy.

Hunter received a personal letter from the President, as a winner of the Outstanding Academic Excellence Award.

False Report: U.S. Post Office Destroying African-American Stamps?

A recent report sent to the Douglass website, indicating that the Post Office is about to destroy all remaining African-American Heritage stamps at the end of this month, is false.

The Post Office IS NOT destroying these stamps.

Here is the OFFICIAL statement from the U.S. Postal Service:


"A recent Internet rumor saying the Postal Service is discontinuing the Black Heritage series, is another one of those untrue yarns that the Internet is sometimes famous for, as is the rumor that the Postal Service is destroying current Black Heritage series stamps."

"The fact is, the Black Heritage stamp series is one of our most popular.  We have no plans whatsoever to discontinue it.  The Postal Service remains as strongly committed to honoring the historical achievements and contributions of African-Americans on stamps, as we've always been."


A post official official also tells the Douglass Website that if people are not buying the stamps, that's news to the agency.

He reports sales of the Heritage stamps are continuing, and after January 31st, you can still purchase them.

He says, the rumor that they were being destroyed is just another wives' tale, that goes between people, without being checked out first.

Congratulations to Our Young Champions of America Cheerleaders!

 

The group from Kingsport recently competed in Regional Competition on December 10, 2010 in Maryville, TN and won 2nd place. Amid all the snow and bad weather this past weekend the group competed in the State competition in Nashville, Tennessee AND WON FIRST PLACE!.

Two of our alumni grandchildren participated in the competition. Seated in the first row is Asante Lovelace, granddaughter of Sheila Releford, and seated in second row middle is Ariana Wolfe, granddaughter of Virginia Hankins and Patricia Stokely.

There will be a registration on January 31st at the Renaissance Center for children from ages 4 and older who are interested in becoming a cheerleader.

Submitted by Virginia Hankins

Sign of the Times: Knoxville Has First African-American Mayor

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL:

KNOXVILLE - Knoxville City Councilman Daniel Brown made history today when he was selected interim mayor - becoming Knoxville's first black mayor.

He succeeds outgoing Mayor Bill Haslam, who resigned his position at 9:32 a.m. to become governor. He will be inaugurated on Saturday, Jan. 15.
"My challenge will be to serve in the best way possible for all the citizens of Knoxville," Brown said after he was sworn into office. "I thank my colleagues whether they voted for me or not."


He noted that being the city's first black mayor was of special significant with the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday coming up.
"This is going to be a temporary thing," Brown said. "As long as I have a good relationship with council," Brown said, he could do the job. "I plan to be fair and just with all elements of the city."
He said his first step would be to meet with all department heads, then he will begin work on the budget, which is presented in the spring.

Brown was one of five candidates vying for the position. All declared before the voting began that they would serve as a temporary mayor until Dec. 17, when the next elected mayor is sworn in, and that they would not run for office.
Brown was sworn in on the 11th round of council voting. Then, at Councilman Nick Pavlis' request, the council took a 12th vote to unanimously elect Brown as interim mayor.


Brown's biggest competition came from Councilman Duane Grieve. Both councilmen kept getting three or four votes apiece throughout much of the voting until, in the final round of voting, Councilman Joe Bailey voted for Brown instead of himself.
The council was required to elect an interim mayor from among its own ranks, Five votes were needed for a majority of the nine members.

John Stancil, a neighborhood activist from Brown's own neighborhood of Park Ridge, said, "It's a perfect example of democracy at work."
Added Rachel Craig, observer for the League of Women Voters, "This is a wonderful example of our democratic process. The meeting was conducted with dignity and civility."


It took about 20 minutes and a series of 11 votes before Brown - a 6th District councilman for the past 13 months - received a majority of votes from his peers to be named mayor. Five council members - Brown, Becker, Marilyn Roddy, Chris Woodhull and Bailey - selected Brown in the 11th round of voting. In previous rounds, Brown and Grieve of the 2nd District each received the most votes but fewer than the necessary five.

An interim mayor election was necessary because Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam was elected governor in November. The city charter requires the council to elect an interim mayor from among council members to serve until the next mayor can be elected in the fall of 2011.


Brown, a native Knoxvillian and graduate of Austin High school and Tennessee State University, is retired from the U.S. Postal Service. He's also a Vietnam War veteran.  He is serving his first term on City Council, having been elected in the fall of 2009. His district includes East Knoxville, downtown, Mechanicsville and part of Sutherland Avenue.   Brown also is a member of First A.M.E. Zion Church and is a past member of the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals.

Five council members had had their eye on the interim mayor's position. In addition to Brown and Grieve, an architect, the list of interested mayoral interim servers included Brenda Palmer of the 3rd District (Northwest Knoxville); Bailey, an at-large councilman, who has a marketing and governmental affairs consulting firm; and Woodhull, an at-large council member and former executive director of Tribe One, a Christian ministry to inner-city youth.

Haslam has stayed out of the interim mayor selection, not endorsing any candidate.  Council members Roddy, Nick Pavlis and Nick Della Volpe decided not to seek the appointment. Roddy is running for mayor in the fall elections and said she withdrew her name from consideration because she didn't think the next mayor should have the advantage of having served as interim mayor for almost a year.  Pavlis initially said he was interested, but withdrew his name because he said he needs to concentrate on needs in his South Knoxville and Fort Sanders district.

The mayor earns $130,000 a year.

Ebony Club Conference Call: Tentative Reunion Schedule

FROM JEFF FAULKERSON:

Reunion Weekend 2011 will be held Friday, July 1-3 in Kingsport, Tennessee. The purpose of this event is to restore linkages to our glorious past at Dobyns-Bennett High School. We also want to use this time to reconnect with old friends.


Tonight's (Sunday, January 9th) Reunion Weekend Conference Call went well, as we were able to nail down a tentative agenda. Members on the call included Nikki and Trippy Deal, Miesheisa Larkin and me. Here's the agenda that we agreed on:


Friday

12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Check-In/Registration (@ Meadowview/Jameson Inn)

6:00 p.m. to Whenever Block Party/Mixer (@ Borden Park/Riverview)


Saturday

(?) Douglass Alumni Association Golf Tournament (Optional)

10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Family Day @ Warrior Path State Park


Sunday

8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Attendance at Home Churches

The next conference call is scheduled for Sunday, January 23rd at 7:00 p.m. If you would like to help with the planning, please join us by dialing (646) 716-5918. The calls usually last 45 minutes to an hour.

Registration materials will be posted as PDF documents on the Kingsport Ebony Club Alumni Association Facebook page when they are available. If you have any questions or suggestions about Reunion Weekend 2011, please send an e-mail to Jfaulk28@nc.rr.com.

Be blessed, and continue to be a blessing.


Jeff "Pac-Man" Faulkerson
DBHS Class of 1986
Jfaulk28@nc.rr.com

Dr. King March 2011 - Please Put on Your Calendar

CLICK ON THE POSTER TO MAKE IT LARGER

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Day Events in Kingsport - Monday, January 17th

12 Noon:   ANNUAL DR. KING MARCH.   

The 11th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Parade will be held on Monday, January 17th from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Parade participates will need to assemble at 11:15 a.m. at the intersection of E. Sevier & Center Street (Rikki Rhoton Allstate Insurance Co.'s Parking Lot). The parade route will follow Center Street and end on Shelby Street (City Parking Lot between Kingsport City Hall & The Justice Center).


The theme is "REMEMBER! CELEBRATE! ACT! - A Day On, Not A Day Off.” If you would like to enter a car, float, church/business van, bus, truck, other exhibits or take a 20 minute walk during lunch in the parade, please contact Elder-Elect Gwen Collins (TVFAR) at (423) 753-2345 or General Overseer Ronnie Collins (JGII) at (423) 956-0675 or email gacssccc@aim.com or elderronwcollins@aol.com.

Parade sponsors include Eastman Chemical Company, Food City, Office Depot, Joshua Generation (JGII), My Brother's Keeper, Putting Babies First, & Upper East Tennessee Human Development Agency.


Please take time to help bring about positive change in the community in which we live and help us Change a Generation!

    

2 PM:  KING COMMUNITY DINNER, sponsored by New Vision Youth and Friends of Distinction.   Dinner will be held in the Riverview Community Room, Carver Street.  The Dinner is free of charge.   MENU:  Ham, turkey & gravy, dressing, fried chicken, macroni & cheese, greens, green beans, corn, sweet potatos, cornbread, rolls, desserts and drinks.

4 PM:  MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR REV. DR. KING:  Sponsored by the Greater Kingsport Ministerial Alliance.  The event will be held at the Central Baptist Church on Douglass Street.  The Guest Speaker is former Kingsport Mayor Jeanette Blazier.

6 PM:  7TH ANNUAL KING CANDLELIGHT VIGIL.  Sponsored by New Vision Youth, and Kingsport Parks & Recreation Community Services Division.  Event will be held in the parking lot of the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex, Wheatley Street.  Candles will be lit on behalf of the HOPE VI homes and residents, the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex, Kingsport Housing and Revelopment Authority, the Riverview Community, In Memory of Seniors, Steve Shipley, and others.   All Kingsport area residents are invited to attend.

Douglass Alumni Association Events Committee November Meeting

Events Committee met Nov. 20, 2010 at the home of Frank Horton. Members present were Calvin Sneed, Joy Hankins, Don Hickman, Dee Dee Horton, and Virginia Hankins.

Frank Horton called the meeting to order and presented an inspirational reading to the group.


The first order of business discussed (more or less as a sidebar discussion) was the process by which the Alumni dues were to be handled. Don Hickman suggested that since the dues were previously included in the registration fee, and that process was working well, to leave it as is.

The Events Committee suggest to the Executive Board Members to solicit separately funds for operating expenses. He also suggested that we post our expenses on the website and allow Alumni members to make separate donations toward those expenses.

The next order of business discussed was a caterer for the events of the reunion in 2011. The Events Committee wants to do business with someone in the community. Several names were suggested. Joy Hankins made a motion to use a particular person and the committee agreed, but we will withhold that information until the person can be contacted and we can ensure that person is able to provide what we need for an acceptable fee.

The Events Committee wants to make the reunion appealing to a wider range of people on field day. Don Hickman suggested perhaps a bid whiz tournament and he and Calvin Sneed suggested to also extend an invitation to the non-profit businesses that are housed in the V.O. Dobbins Complex to have a booth alongside our food vendors. ( All booths will pay $25.00) Dee Dee Horton knows of a 14 year old rapper that she will see about getting to perform on field day. The young man is the son of the rapper that made “865Area Code“. Calvin Sneed also said that he would get in touch with Stella Robinette about the Kingsport Drum Line and the person who was a contestant for American Idol as entertainment.

Calvin Sneed suggested that we begin considering a speaker for our Memorial service. The following people were suggested: Halleran Hilton Hill, a radio talk show host, Walter Williams, a Judge and Skip Brown, entrepreneur and Douglass High school alumnus.

The committee suggested to charge a nominal fee for the golf outing but to have side games for a fee to generate money for the scholarship fund. Frank is contemplating no less that 50 teams to participate. He and Donald suggested several names to make appearances and participate in the golf outing. Those persons are: Skip Brown, Gerald Sensabaugh, Willie Horton, Anthony Hancock, Lester McClain, Stanley Morgan, Wilbur Jones, Leotis Burton, and Condridge Holloway. These men are known athletes from Kingsport and surrounding areas and some are former UT football players.

The Events Committee agrees that immediately after the first of the year we need to step it up and get rolling with our plans for the 2011 reunion. Don Hickman will draft letters to solicit donations from area businesses, invite the non profit organizations to put up booths for field day, and contact Meadow View to confirm our usage of the golf course. Calvin Sneed will contact the city of Kingsport Parks and Recreation through James (Moose) Henry to see about getting a stage and sound system set up for field day entertainment. Frank and Donald will contact the former athletes.

Calvin made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Joy Hankins seconded.


Respectfully Submitted,

Virginia Hankins

FROM STELLA ROBINETTE:

DB Basketball

Don't forget---all your Dobyns-Bennett boys and girls basketball highlights, at Model City Sports!  Click on the icon in the left column!

Mr. & Mrs. Wallace Powers' 50th Anniversary Celebration

Shirley Burnette of Kingsport met Wallace Powers of Chattanooga at a teacher's meeting in Chattanooga back in 1958.  It was a match made in Heaven.

After a year-long courtship, the couple were married in Kingsport on June 4, 1960.  They made their home in Chattanooga, and were blessed with three children, Denise, Ben and Cindy, who have been a joy to their lives.

This past year, the happy couple were made even happier, with a celebration commemorating their 50th wedding anniversary.  The event was held at the prestigious Walden Club in Chattanooga, given by their three children.

Click here to see a slide show of the Powers' 50th Anniversary Celebration held on June 4, 2010. The photos were taken by Nate Cox.

Wallace and Shirley's love for God, training in Christian Homes, and service in the church have been the motivating factors in their lives.  Wallace has served on the Deacon Board, and Shirley is a Deaconess in the New Emmanuel Baptist Church, where they have been dedicated members for many years.  They both teach Sunday School classes, and volunteer with the Angel Food Ministry.  Wallace is a member of the Men's Ministry, and Shirley is a member of the Virtuous Women of Excellence Women's Ministry.

The couple attributes the success of their union to the love of God and each other, mutual respect, understanding, trust, friendship, communication, devotion, and the love of their children.  One of the scriptures that has been a main guiding force in their lives is: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not onto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Construction takes toll on Riverview roads

THIS STORY COURTEST THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

EDITOR'S NOTE:  YOUR DOUGLASS WEBSITE FIRST REPORTED ON THIS STORY ON FEBRUARY 3, 2010... THE LINK TO THAT STORY WITH PICTURES OF THE STREETS IS:

http://douglassalumni.blogspot.com/2010/02/riverview-roads-are-wagon-ruts.html

Erica Yoon —eyoon@timesnews.net
Lewis, Douglass and Carver streets suffered damage and had to be reconstructed.

By MATTHEW LANE

mlane@timesnews.net


KINGSPORT — A lot of traffic in a short amount of time took its toll on three key roads in the Riverview community, resulting in the city of Kingsport recently spending more than $34,000 on repairs.

Over the past four years, the Riverview neighborhood experienced a major overhaul and face-lift — demolishing the old Riverview Apartments complex and replacing it with 32 rental homes and expanding and renovating the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex.

Both projects cost about $8.4 million each, during which time numerous construction vehicles, dump trucks, supply trucks and other heavy equipment came in and out of the neighborhood on a regular basis.

This resulted in three roads suffering damage — Lewis, Douglass and Carver — and having to be reconstructed, said Ronnie Hammonds, streets and sanitation manager for the city. The work included some curb repairs, but no sidewalks needed to be repaired.

“Due to several different circumstances we had to do some reconstruction of portions of all three streets and the repaving of the three streets,” Hammonds said. “There was a lot of concentrated work in a short period of time over those sections of the roadway.”

The reconstruction work was done using a technique called full-depth reclamation with a cement stabilized base. More than 300 tons of asphalt was also used on the project.

“It’s a process where we take our asphalt zipper, rip up the road about 12 inches, and add cement in front of the machine and till the cement into the work we’ve done,” Hammonds said. “It brings a cement stabilized base, then we repave over the top of that.”

In addition to the traffic, other factors played into the damage to the road, including the age of the streets and the bad subsurface conditions of the ground, Hammonds said.

“Several sections of town there are soils not conducive to construction, that area being one. The base is not the best in the world. But the roads are not substandard and have held up fairly well over time,” Hammonds said. “Before construction started we noticed we were getting alligator cracking over sections of the roadway, which is an indication of base failure. The contractor had no fault; it’s just one of those things. Hauling in the brick and cement trucks, we just had a road failure happen.”

Kingsport crews performed the work, which took about eight days to complete, wrapping up a few weeks ago. The material cost of the project came in around $34,000 and was paid for by the city. Hammonds said labor costs were estimated to be $10,000.

Please see your website year-end stats below

Your Douglass Website Year-End Numbers: Around the Neighborhood, Around the Town, Around the Country.... Around the World

In October of 2006, after a meeting with Bert Webb and Donald Hickman in Knoxville, secret plans were laid out, and work began on a project that would eventually bridge the gap in Douglass alumni and members of their community keeping in contact with each other, and keeping abreast of what was going on in Riverview and South Central Kingsport.

Mysteriously, almost overnight two months later on Saturday, December 29, 2006,  nine black-and-white, hand-made signs popped up at selected street corners in the neighborhood, with only one message on them:

sonsanddaughtersofdouglass.org/

Remember seeing those?  By that Monday, 318 people had viewed the link.

The Douglass Alumni Association website had been born.  By the end of the first week of 2007, 879 more people had visited the website.  Word of mouth spread, and the website was on its way.

""It's no secret that people saw those signs, got curious, went to their computers, typed in the link and got connected to the Douglass website," says Doug Releford, president of the Douglass Alumni Association - Kingsport.  "It was the instant link to what the fellow alumni were doing, and what Riverview was doing."

The goal, stated on the website's main page, was to "celebrate the history and tradition of the former Douglass High School of Kingsport, Tennessee, the Riverview Neighborhood and the heritage of South Central Kingsport, Tennessee."

Graduates of all the grades 1 through 12 at Douglass would make that easy... teachers and our parents sent most of their students down the right path.  There would be no bad news on the website.. no arrests of our alumni, no crimes.. news of that nature is what the newspaper is for.  This would be a website that promoted good news about Douglass and its alumni, Riverview and its people, Kingsport and its community,

Releford saw this as an inspiration.

"I have always thought that the website was the perfect opportunity to keep us in the spotlight on, not just what's going on in Kingsport, but also what's going on in East Tennessee, and how all that relates to our community," he says.  "No matter where people are in the area, there's always something going on in Riverview, and not all of it is bad news."

RIVERVIEW, 2007

To clear up that misconception, the coverage of news on the website has always focused on the African-American community, and that's when the coverage had to expand past just the alumni association.  Outside news was covered, but only as it related to African-Americans themselves.  On the other hand, news of the African-American community would be written as to how it relates to the entire Kingsport community, so that cultures could be shared, heritages could be learned and histories could be appreciated.
Ultimately through the next four years, there would be stories on the activities going on in the African-American community.  Little things going on that folks would normally take for granted, would be treated with full-blown stories, complete with pictures.   Those activities would be treated with respect, and would therefore be elevated to a level of  importance in the lives of ther residents.  If the newspapers and television could do stories on community activities, the Douglass website, through its various pages, would have the same kinds of stories, only based in Riverview and South Central Kingsport.  Those stories would never be taken down.. they would serve as inspiration to future generations, and when readers clicked on OLDER POSTS at the bottom of each page, they could go all the way back to the beginning of the website.

That goal has never changed. 

The target audience was simple... alumni and their families of the Douglasss High School, Kingsport, Tennessee.  Ultimately, that goal was reached in the Riverview-South Central community, and the alumni, relatives and friends scattered around Kingsport and the Tri-Cities.  As word spread that Douglass had its own website, alumni and friends in other cities around upper East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, Knoxville, Nashville, Charlotte, and Atlanta became part of the mix.

But then, a miracle happened.

Other people discovered the website.  Others discovered that Riverview had a new, electronic means of covering news of its community, as it relates to the rest of Kingsport and upper East Tennessee:  there's good news going on in Riverview, and somebody's covering it.

The Douglass Website's audience literally exploded.

Thousands of people started visiting the website on a regular basis, all of them friends and neighbors, apparently eager to learn how the spirit of neighborhood family is maintained in what used to be, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city.  That continues today, and research shows, each day, visits increase.

To keep track of this phenomenon, site meters were attached to the website links a couple of years ago, to  track who visits the website, when they visit, what they visit, and what they visit the most.  Below is a sampling from the month of December to both the news and information pages, and the photo galleries, to see the trends.

The most popular page on the Douglass website is, the NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS page.  From December 1st to the 29th,  75, 161 visits were made to the NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS page in that one month alone.  The average page view is around 2 minutes per visit.  Statistics on the IP addresses indicate they come right back a short time later.

But check out WHERE they're visiting from.

Tracking indicates in the month of December, most of the Douglass website visits came from the South Central Kingsport area, including Riverview, downtown Kingsport, Borden Village, Cherokee Village, Highland Park, Litz Manor and the Eastman Chemical Company area.

But the website also received multiple visits from Johnson City, Morristown, both Bristols, Big Stone Gap and Norton, Virginia, Knoxville, Nashville, Charlotte, Raleigh, and many visits from Atlanta. 

But then... Mountain View, California.... Lexington, Kentucky... Arlington, Virginia... Cleveland... Chicago... San Antonio.. San Francisco... Detroit... Boston... Pittsburgh... Dallas... Columbus, Ohio... Springdale, Arkansas... Chandler, Arizona... Swainsboro, Georgia... Greenville, South Carolina... West Jordan, Utah... Winter Park, Florida.. Bronx, New York... Queens, New York... Manhattan, New York... Hollywood, California... Miami and Orlando... even Great Falls, Montana.  There are also visits from several foreign countries.

"Yes, it shocks me," says Releford.  "It goes to show you that people that we know, may have relatives or friends who don't live here, but this is their way of checking up on the area.  Our families have many relatives in the military stationed all around the world.  They know what's going on back in Riverview and Kingsport, by checking on the website."

In the past month, one week stands out as the single, most visited week.  During the week of December 11th through the 17th... 2,326 people visited the NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS page.  That was the week of the article with Andy Seaver, the young man who admitted to spray-painting racist graffiti on the Meadowview I-26 overpass.  That one week also set a record for the largest number of visits in a week EVER.

"That is tremendous, Calvin," says Releford.  "The Times-News only hit the highlights of the story and there's nothing wrong with that.  But we went in depth.. you sat down with him and talked to him about what he was thinking.  I think most people were curious to see what his reason was, and then when he said he told the police about these people who contributed to his crime, we did not see that part in the paper because it was not included in the police report.  I think that was eye-opening for people.  I had people commenting to me that they had read that, and it wasn't in the paper.  Word spread about that, because it gave the other side that we hadn't heard.  Whether people believe it or not is their own choice, but here it is."

The second most popular page on the website, is the PASSINGS AND OBITUARIES page.   From December 1st through the 29th... 13, 153 people visited that page, with the average visit lasting about 2 minutes and 30 seconds per visit.

"That's another thing.. we'll hear from time to time from folks out of town, who say 'I didn't know so-and-so had passed until I saw it on the website,'' Releford says.  "That's a valuable public service.  People out of town and those in town may not know that someone in the community or in the area has left us, if it weren't for our obituary page on the website."

The other pages on the website don't get nearly as many visits as those two, and serious consideration is being made on whether to eliminate them.

The photography department is where the numbers become even more staggering.

Since albums of pictures of Douglass-Riverview-South Central-Kingsport events began on the Webshots photo server, the largest collector of personal photos in the country... 837,850 people have visited the Douglass Alumni Association's collection of albums.  As of December 29th, the Douglass website has 358 albums in one little corner of the millions of photos on Webshots.





The Douglass Website albums are among the leaders in many of the categories in millions of photographs.  Here is how the Douglass photo albums rank in Webshots' various categories:

The Douglass website ranks 592nd out of 2,138,440 members in the FRIENDS AND FUN category, with 171,963 views.
Douglass ranks 9th out of 40,478 members in the REUNIONS AND CELEBRATIONS category, with 136,811 views.
Douglass ranks 9th out of 5,498 Webshots members in the CURRENT EVENTS category, with 113, 783 views.
Douglass ranks 13th out of 30,642 members in the SCHOOL REUNIONS category, with 87,021 views.
Douglass ranks 73rd out of 2,812 members in the PUBLIC SERVICE category, 33,944 views.
Douglass ranks 143rd out of  10,716 members in the HISTORY category with 74, 160 views.

By far, the single, most popular album of the 358 total albums to date, is the PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA INAUGURATION, published on January 20, 2009.  A total of 23,118 people have visited that one single album.

Other albums are popular, too.

11,476 people visited the SISTERLY LOVE: LEGENDS IN WHITE album, published September 16, 2007.

That same year, 7,956 people visited the REUNION 2007 PICTURES from Bert Webb Lanauze, published July 13, 2007, and 7,426 people visited the REUNION 2007 PICTURES from Joy Hankins, published July 13, 2007.

Among seniors birthday parties and celebrations:
 5,544 people visited the MRS. WILLIE KATE BRADFORD'S 90TH BIRTHDAY PARTY, published February 6, 2010.

5,513 people visited the MISS PINKIE'S 82ND BIRTHDAY PARTY CELEBRATION, published March 14, 2009.

5,970 people visited the MRS. BARBARA JEAN CLARK:  HAPPY 75TH BIRTHDAY", published April 13, 2008.

8,114 people visited the VIRGEALIA "MAMA JILL" ELLIS' BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, published November 25, 2007.

12, 198 people visited the BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR MRS. ETHEL RUTH RUSSELL, published May 13, 2007.

What some people might consider a routine community event, the 2007 KINGSPORT HEALTH FAIR, held in the Douglass/V.O. Dobbins gym, published April 15th, 2007, garnered 11,630 views.

To protect our interests, it has become necessary to license all of the pictures we take and articles we write on the Douglass website, to protect the interests of our community. The license works similar to a copyright, and requires anyone wanting to use the materials, to get permission from the webmaster.

From its humble beginnings four years ago, the Douglass Alumni Association website has grown into a monster, with a million legs, stretching all over the world.   But powering that monster's heart, was, and still is, a commitment to cover news in Riverview, South Central, the city of Kingsport and upper East Tennessee-Southwest Virginia, and then report that news as it relates to the alumni and the residents of those areas.



""It makes people want to go to the website and see what's going on," says Doug Releford.  "We need to invest whatever we can to make sure it is always online for folks to view.  I think the Douglass website puts Kingsport on a different kind of map.. not one where businesses and industry look at the city, but how average people who used to live here and average people who have never been here before look at the city.  It's a great representation of how we live, how we overcame problems, how we adjusted, how things have changed in the city, and the progress that has been made in its neighborhoods.  What's important to people, is a tremendous asset to any city."

"And that's a good thing for Kingsport."

An Interview With God

Eddie Charles sent this to share with everybody:

An Honor for the Honoree: New Vision Youth Up for Award

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES NEWS

By Carmen Musick - ink@timesnews.net


If the New Vision Youth had a theme song, it might be Alabama's "Angels Among Us."   In it, the songwriter proclaims his belief that there are angeles among us "to show us how to live, to teach us how to give, to guide us with the light of love."

For Johnnie Mae Swagerty, those are exactly the traits that make the older members of the New Vision Youth so special---and it's why INK is proud to recognize the gorup as one of its 2010 Students Who Make a  Difference honorees.  The older members of the group were nominated by Swagerty, the New Vision Youth director.

Those older members include Zena Huff, Briesha Camp, Diamond Wykoff and Javonte Lewis from Sevier Middle School;  Jessica Sensabaugh from Science Hill High School;  Chris Greer from Sullivan North;  Teiria Blye, Shakary Johnson, Victoria Price, Emmanuel Amaoka, Briasha Russell and Breton Leeper from Dobyns-Bennett;  Darius Davis from ETSU;  and David Lytle from Northeast State Community College.

"Most of the youth have been with New Vision Youth for 10 years," said Swagerty.  "They do outstanding volunteer work in the community."

The youth team up with other agencies to conduct a community clean-up twice each year.  They visit nursing homes and help with the Grandparents' Day Luncheon and the South Central Kingsport Senior Christmas Dinner.  They hand out fliers for Kingsport's Weed & Seed.

"They are involved with churches, they perform every second Sunday at the Bethel A.M.E. Zion Church.  They are partners with the city of Kingsport Parks and Recreation Community Services," Swagerty says.  "They help prepare baskets for Thanksgiving and Christmas to distribute to needy families.  They write to our troops overseas, and are members of DEFY--Drug Education for Youth of Kingsport," she said.

The group also plays a pivotal role in the annual New Vision Black History Month program, and the kids' annual Easter Egg Hunt for which they partner with the Kingsport Senior Center.

They prepare care packages for college freshmen, help with the police department's Prescription Drug Program, and supervise the younger youth at the annual Splash Party.  Each year, they participate in three camps:  Bancroft Bible Camp, DEFY Camp and Path Finder's Camp.

They have served as youth representatives for the Johnson City Drug Coalition at a meeting about its Prescription Drug Program, and for the "Inasmuch Project" in Bristol.

Additionally, they host a halloween program go caroling at Christmas and help with the New Vision Youth Prom each spring.

This year, the New Vision Youth volunteered their time to help Keep Kingsport Beautiful clean up during and following the Dobyns-Bennett band competition.  They also traveled to Nashville to the Governor's Highway Safety Council's Lead and Live Youth Conference on underage drinking and driving and drugs.

The older members of the New Vision Youth program also serve as mentors for the younger children.

"These youth are well-mannered and respect each other and others.  When asked to volunteer to help out, they are always willing to give back to the community," Swagerty says.

"Known as New Vision Youth Guardian Angels, they are always supportive and ready to help anyone or any organization in Kingsport and have gone outside to help others."

Each year, INK accepts nominations from the public and honors at least two individuals or groups of stsudents who "Make a Difference" in their families, schools, neighborhoods, churches, or the world.  The honorees are selected from the nominees by a panel of staff members and INK advisory board members.

"Miss Tootsie" Comes Home: Happy Return for One of Riverview's First Residents

"I want to thank the Lord for letting me live in Riverview... Such a wonderful place.. Wonderful place to live. Everything was in Riverview.. grocery store, laundrymat, funeral home, Sarge's Place.. It's really gonna be missed because we were the first family to move in the apartments, December 1940.

I love Riverview always!


- Mamie Gillenwater

We got that note from Mrs. Mamie "Tootsie" Gillenwater in the Douglass Alumni Association Website office, right after she was forced to moved from Apartment 79 in the Riverview Apartments. The buildings were demolished a short time later to make room for the HOPE VI Homes Development, planned for the site.

The demolition broke the heart of the neighborhood matriarch everybody calls "Miss Mamie." She'd lived in Apartments 40, then 15, then 79. It was in 79 she got the news that the apartments were to be torn down.

"I had a fit when they came by and told me about what was going to happen here in Riverview," she remembers, "that they were tearing down all the houses. I said, 'you kidding.' They said 'no m'am.. we're telling the truth.' And then they told me when I had to move out. I cried and cried. I didn't know if we'd have a Riverview back or not."

During the two-year time when most neighborhood residents were looking at an empty field that was better suited for Canada geese, Miss Mamie saw nothing. She refused to come back to see the ground where the apartments once stood.

"All that time, I wouldn't come over here," she says. "Period. Somebody said 'come on, let's go over and see what they're doing, what they're building' and I said 'no, I don't want to see it.' You remember Calvin... I was supposed to be with you all that day in the (Douglass School) auditorium ("The Last Great Program at Douglass"). "I said, 'no.. I don't want to see it. It just hurt too bad."

"I imagine there were a lot of tears that day."

She also remembers the opportunity she had to move into her late brother "O.M." Gillenwater's home at the corner of Carver and Douglass Streets, when his wife and her sister-in-law Ann, passed away.

"I didn't take it because I'd have to look over here and see no apartments," she says.

When Miss Mamie moved out of her Riverview apartment, her adventure really began. First stop.. The Washington School Apartments on East Sevier Avenue.

"They got some beautiful apartments there," she says, "but the first day over there, I fell. This ole walker was so slick over there. I fell and couldn't get up, and I had to call somebody on my monitor. I fell a lot over there."
Next stop.. the Holston Terrace Apartments.

"Oh Lord.. I was living between two people that acted terrible," she says. "They started being bad up there, cutting people's tires, cut everybody's tires. Everybody was nice to me, but I was ready to go, ready to get out of there. It was pitiful. I'd go to bed at night, I was so scared, I put a chair against the door. Nice people, but they were just rowdy."

Although unnerving experiences piled up while she was away from the neighborhood she calls home, Miss Mamie says, they didn't compare to the monster that Riverview turned into in the 80's and 90's.

"Riverview was nice back in the day," she remembers. "But when they built that playground over there, that's when all the mess started. One day, them boys shot fireworks in the playground, and it was lighting up Riverview."

She says, it got to where she'd see the police running around "the projects" on a regular basis.

"One day I was sitting on the porch," she says, "and one man was running around, and the police was right behind him. The policeman grabbed him, and I started crying 'oh Lord, what's going on?' The policeman said 'honey, he just sold this boy we got in the police car some dope.' When they caught him in front of my place, they was throwing him around ever which-a-way."

Miss Mamie says, it seemed like every day, there was something bad going on.

"There was this girl who lived downstairs under me," she remembers. "She had done something to some ole man and he was telling her husband 'you'd better tell your wife to...I can't say what he said...'to give me my money back.' Her husband said 'that's between you and her,' so the man said 'I'll be back.' After while, I heard this shooting, and they were hollering to me to call the police. I said 'I ain't calling nobody, you had no business with that man in your house.' It happened right over from where I was sitting, and I hurried in to my house. I looked out the window, and Riverview was covered with police. This man they were after, he was a real good friend of this other man, and that morning, the police knocked on my door. I thought it was the Kingsport Times wanting to come, and I said 'no, I'm not opening the door 'cause I don't want to be in that mess. I don't want them coming in here and getting me.' The man said 'Miss Gillenwater, you have to open the door...if you don't, we have to tear it down.' I said 'well, wait a minute, I'm coming.' So the police came in and said the reason they didn't want to tell me anything was, because they didn't want me to get excited. They finally raided that girl's apartment, and found a bunch of guns in the freezer."

All that is behind us now, she believes. And Miss Mamie says, she thought she would never see the day, she'd get to come back home.

"It was a long, long wait to get back home, but I finally made it."

Miss Mamie now reflects on her time away from the Riverview Apartments as just something that had to happen. She's at home now, in one of the new HOPE VI homes at Riverview Place, counting her blessings and hoping the good ole days of faith, family and friends come back.

Hers was one of the first families to move into the Riverview Apartments back in 1940. "There was so much family, even people you didn't know. We were all family, and everything was good. Only thing.. the keys fit everybody's door," she laughs. "It was all safe, though.. nothing illegal going on."


RIVERVIEW DIRT ROAD, BAYS MOUNTAIN IN BACKGROUND

"When we first moved over here, it was beautiful," she remembers. "Nothing but woods. They had a slaughter pen down in the field, and then there was a great big ole house, a roundhouse that belonged to the Eastman. No streets.. they were all dirt and on up further where they built the other houses, was woods. We paid 9 dollars apartment rent a month. There was just one phone in the whole apartments and we had it..I think it was a dollar-and-a-half to put it in. Since we had the only phone, everybody came by and used ours. There was this girl.. poor little thing, I felt sorry for her. Remember how they used to say 'number, please?' You were pretty young then, I think you were living up on Dunbar. The operator would say 'number, please?' and this woman would say 'one, two, three, four, five,' and my daddy would say, 'go in there and show her how to use that phone, honey.' She would sit there, counting.'

"I also remember that time when Riverview got flooded, Calvin" she says. "Just water everywhere.. went in people's houses, got in the (Central Baptist) church over here. We had gone to see my sister in Atlanta, and we come back, and water was sitting all up in the house. It rained hard down there in Atlanta, and it had to rain hard up here, too. Kids were out there playing in the water, splashing around. Johnnie Mae had a boat going around, checking on folks. She had Reverend Edge's boat, going around."

That sense of family was never forgotten. And "Miss Mamie" believes, that time is coming back. That's based on the warm feeling she got, when she moved back into Riverview a month ago.

"I started saying 'thank you Jesus," she says. "I started thanking and praying, thanking God for giving me a house, and when I got down there, I shouted 'I'm HOME, I'm HOME, I'm HOME!' Oh, it feels so good to be back over here, Calvin, feels real good. When I was in Dogwood climbing all those stairs, they wanted to put a bed on the first floor, and I told 'em 'I don't need one, 'cause I'm moving back to Riverview.' They said 'how do you know you're going?' I said 'honey, I know I'm going.. the Lord done talked to me."

About that time in our interview, there was a knock on Miss Mamie's door.. one of her home help specialists stopped by to make her bed, clean up a little, and help with ordinary household chores. At 86 years old, she admits that she "might need a little help every now and then."

"KHRA (the Kingsport Housing and Redevelopment Authority) knew I was coming back, because I was the first one over here," she proudly says. "I am still unpacking stuff, and getting used to everything. I never had a refrigerator with water in the door before... didn't know what it was, when I saw it. We've got a microwave, too, and a dishwasher. I can't imagine having those things back then..people wanting to borrow ice and everything."

There's one former housing feature Miss Mamie says, she can do without.

"Ain't no stairs over here," she laughs. "Thank God.  I got so, I couldn't even walk up those steps, period at the other places. I got on the stairs one night at Dogwood, and I said "de'aris, come here..I can't move my leg. He got behind me, trying to push me up the stairs, but I was too heavy, so I started praying. We finally made it."

These days, Miss Mamie keeps a busy schedule. About THAT time in the interview, the phone rings. It's a friend, whose sister just went into the hospital, and she's asking her good friend in the Spirit to pray for her. In a soft voice, Miss Mamie prays for the sick woman, not forgetting to remember the family.. calling on the Lord to care for the woman and help her feel better..

"In the Name of Jesus... Amen."

"Miss Mamie" is back home.