February 1, 2012
January 27, 2012
Newport Optometry Center’s Student Voucher Program
by Martha Rose Woodward
A voucher program that helps disadvantaged youth receive a yearly eye exam and other eye care is in effect due to the efforts of the America’s Promise Alliance founded by General Colin Powell in 1997. America’s Promise Alliance has grown to be the nation’s largest partnership network working to improve the lives of America’s young people.
Also due to the efforts of the doctors and staffs of Foster, Steele and Stone Optometry Center in Newport, TN, the voucher program continues to affect lives in a positive way.
Dr. Kurt Steele, a graduate of Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee, says that the a voucher program known as VSP’s Sight for Students has given out more than 1,000 Sight for Students gift certificates. In Tennessee, accounting for $385,000 worth of eye care and eyewear supplies.
According to Dr. Steele, the VSP’s charitable Sight for Students program has helped more than 530,000 children nationally since its inception in 1997. The program has funded almost $100 million in free eye care and eyewear for low-income, uninsured and underinsured children.
VSP’s Sight for Students program offers qualified families with vouchers to visit one of their 25,000 network doctors who provide comprehensive eye exams, identify vision issues and prescribe glasses during their visit.
“This is a significant milestone for us because investing in the community is at the heart of VSP’s mission as a company,” said VSP President and CEO Rob Lynch. “More than 94 percent of the children who have these exams need and receive free prescription glasses. This underscores the important role that Sight for Students serves for children who lack access to eye care.”
According to a recent nationwide study, more than 76 percent of American children under the age of five have never received a comprehensive eye exam and one in four kids in every classroom has vision problems.
VSP works with non-profit community organizations including Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Communities in Schools, Head Start, National Association of School Nurses, Prevent Blindness America as well as other agencies and clubs.
Dr. Steele says the main goal of the program is to help ensure all children receive much-needed vision care to do their best work in school and perform their best at play. He is pleased that the program has helped more than 676,000 children across the country and has had a life-changing impact on numerous lives.
For more information about all of the VSP charity programs visit www.vsp.com/community
l. What is the VSP program? Sight for Students® is one of three VSP Vision Care charity programs that provide free comprehensive eye exams and, if needed, glasses to low-income, uninsured children. The program operates nationally through a network of community partners who identify children in need and the VSP network of more than 28,000 private practice doctors who provide the eyecare services. 2.How long has it been in service? / Who created it? VSP founded the Sight for Students program in 1997 and has since been able to provide more than $128 million in free eyecare and eyewear for low-income, uninsured and underinsured children, resulting in the detection of nearly 2,000 chronic health and eye diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, glaucoma and cataracts. In Tennessee, VSP has given out more than 1,000 Sight for Students gift certificates, accounting for $385,000 worth of eye care and eyewear materials. 3. What are its main goals? “The goal of the VSP Sight for Students program is to help ensure all children receive much-needed vision care to do their best work in school and perform their best at play,” said Jill Novelo, Global Charity Market Manager at VSP. “We are proud to have helped more 676,000 children across the country and are committed to this program and its life-changing impact.” 4. Feel free to send any comments or statements.
For more information about all of the VSP charity programs visit
January 27, 2012
Love Kitchen Sisters Delighted to Receive Donations
by Martha Rose Woodward Twin sisters, Helen Ashe and Ellen Turner, founders of the Love Kitchen, were on hand on Thursday, January 19 to accept donations of 2,500 pounds of food and $2,582 in cash presented by Mayor Tim Burchett and Knox County Parks and Recreation Director Doug Bataille. The reaction of the 87 year old sisters to the donations could only be described as gleeful. Ashe and Turner hugged the mayor, the director and all other workers they could as they said repeatedly, “Thank you, thank you.” At one point, Helen Ashe ask members of the news media to let her give a comment and when everyone had quieted down, she said, “We just want to thank each of you. Each person who had anything to do with this, please know that we just thank you, thank you. Every bit of this food and the money will be spent to help the homeless, the helpless, the handicapped, the hungry and hopeless. We promise this will go to the people who need it the most.” The donations were made available through the Holiday Festival of Lights Celebration that was held last December at The Cove at Concord Park. The free event presented by the Parks and Recreation Department was a time when visitors are treated to a light show as they drove through the park. Those who attended the light show were encouraged to donate boxed or canned food and cash was also accepted. Doug Bataille said that this year’s giving topped that from years before and he was so pleased to see the outpour of support for the Love Kitchen. Mayor Burchett arrived holding a stack of cash and was quickly hugged by the sisters who surrounded him while also talking a mile a minute. The mayor asked them for a kiss on his cheek and, at one point, even twirled Helen around on the floor as he said he felt like dancing. Ellen continued to remind the mayor that she is 5 minutes older than her sister, Helen. Mayor Burchett was clear that the donations came about from the labor of the staff at the Parks and Recreation Department as well as from the generosity of the public. “I am the one who gets to have all the fun of bringing these donations to the Love Kitchen,” Burchett said. “However, it is the find staff that deserves the credit, and the citizens who are always so willing to help others. Helen and Ellen are a national treasure and it is always a delight to spend time with them.”
January 27, 2012
Talk of the Town January 27
Time: March 10, 2012 from 8:15am to 2pm
Location: L & N STEM Academy
Street: 401 Henley Street
City/Town: Knoxville, TN Congratulations to author, Terry Shaw, who spoke to the Torch Club on Thursday, January 19 and was well received. According to Stephen Levy, president of the Torch Club„ “Terry was a joy for all of us. We did not break up the meeting until near 2 pm. We all were enthralled with his reading of his latest novel, The Way Life Should Be, and Beth was given a book by Terry which she is reading at this moment. She said that she is really enjoying the novel. Terry was so good that he became one of us and we want him back as a member. What a humble, intelligent guy.”
by Martha Rose Woodward The Board of Directors for the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation say they had “no idea that Gloria Ray was being paid” over $405,000 per year, and only Chairman Duncan did know Ray’s salaries, yet here are the records: For the Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation Fiscal year 2007, July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008 Total Income-$5,680,051 For Fiscal Year 2008, July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009 Total Income-$4,284,077 For Fiscal Year 2009, July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010 Total Income-$3,853,531
Income from Government Grants, (including Tax revenue)-$3,737,524
Total Income from Programs-$1,942,527
Total of All Salaries paid to top five Executives-$897,062
Total Salary paid to Gloria Ray-$433,700
Income from Government Grants,(Including Tax Revenue)-$3,614,842
Total Income from Programs-$669,235
Total of all Salaries for top Three Executives-$624,418
Total Salary paid to Gloria Ray-$390,207
Income from Government Grants, (Including Tax Revenue)-$3,177.022
Total Income from other Programs-$676,509
Total of all Salaries for top three Executives-$668,094
Total Salary paid to Gloria Ray-$405,583
Are we to believe the Board did not read this information? What kinds of decisions are they making if they are not reviewing the budget?
Hurrah, Terry Frank is running for Mayor of Anderson County. She is amid discussions as to what she will or will not support and, just like the true conservative she is, according to the Oak Ridger Newspaper, “…she said she would not have supported the 16.2-cent property tax rate increase the Anderson County Commission approved in 2011. And, if elected mayor later this year, Frank vowed she would veto any future property tax rate increases over the next two years.”
However, the paper went on to say, “Isbel, an Anderson County commissioner who represents District 4, defended his decision to support last year’s tax increase, after first rejecting a proposal that would have raised property taxes by 24 cents.”
“It’s time for common sense and business-minded management,” Frank told the more than two dozen citizens who attended Thursday night’s forum sponsored by the Anderson County Tea Party.
“People are struggling. People are taxed enough at all levels,” Frank said at the forum in Oak Ridge.
Way to go, Terry. Finally, a politician that gets it, we can’t keep raising taxes. At some point, the government has to learn to live on less, just like people do.
Check out the following information from Eat-Pray-Live Knoxville, a conference organized by the Knox County Health Department and Knoxville/Knox County Food Policy Council in order to promote healthy living.Time: March 10, 2012 from 8:15am to 2pm
Location: L & N STEM Academy
Street: 401 Henley Street
City/Town: Knoxville, TN Congratulations to author, Terry Shaw, who spoke to the Torch Club on Thursday, January 19 and was well received. According to Stephen Levy, president of the Torch Club„ “Terry was a joy for all of us. We did not break up the meeting until near 2 pm. We all were enthralled with his reading of his latest novel, The Way Life Should Be, and Beth was given a book by Terry which she is reading at this moment. She said that she is really enjoying the novel. Terry was so good that he became one of us and we want him back as a member. What a humble, intelligent guy.”
January 27, 2012
Poetry of Jason Sturner
submitted y Martha Rose Woodward According to Kerry McDuling, “The poetry of local Knoxville writer Jason Sturner has been selected to appear as part of a banquet of original love stories and poems from uniquely talented writers from around the world, aptly named Speaking of Love.” Jason was born in Harvey, Illinois, and raised in the western suburbs of Chicago. He now makes Knoxville, Tennessee his home. Jason has published four books of poetry: Kairos, 10 Love Poems, Selected Poems 2004-2007, and Collected Poems.
The Bright Light Café, a free entertainment website that provides an online platform for creative talent from around the world to showcase their work to a growing global audience, recently selected Jason’s poem “Holding Hands (a simple pleasure)” to highlight from among hundreds of other submissions. Jason is one of 19 poets and writers from Australia, USA, the UK, and New Zealand selected to contribute to this heart-warming collection of stories and poems expressing different versions of romantic happiness, interspersed with graphics and quotes. Representing the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day, Speaking of Love can be purchased at
.The Bright Light Café is the initiative of two high profile Australian entertainers, Rod Kirkham and Barbara Llewellyn as part of their publishing company, Bright Light Multimedia.
The Bright Light Café currently contains nearly 1,000 short stories, poems, anecdotes, multimedia pieces, original artwork, streaming audio performances, musical works and articles. All submissions to The Bright Light Café are personally reviewed by founders Barbara and Rod, who then select only the best pieces that fit the website’s criteria of positive and uplifting entertainment. The aim is to provide a spiritual, mental and emotional escape for visitors from everyday life, and a place for new and established writers and creative talent to submit their works for global enjoyment and acknowledgement.
January 20, 2012
Talk of the Town, January 20
Talk of the Town—January 20
by Martha Rose Woodward
Ever heard the expression, “Saved by the bell?” Looks like this time instead of being saved by the bell we were saved by Commission R. Larry Smith. It was Commissioner Smith who called for an investigation into the awarding of $3,000 in bonuses to staff members by Trustee John Duncan, III. After he called for this investigation, Trustee Duncan and others decided to repay the bonus money, saving our county over $40,000. Many thanks to Commissioner Smith for looking out for the citizens.
Americans are
(HealthDay News) —
Meanwhile, U.S. death rates dropped half a percent between 2009 and 2010, and hit the lowest rate ever, at 746.2 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the latest set of data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
And while both heart disease and cancer stubbornly remain in place as the nation’s leading killers (together accounting for 47 percent of deaths in 2010), death rates here declined as well. Mortality from heart disease went down 2.4 percent, while it dropped 0.6 percent for cancer.
The report is based on 98 percent of death certificates from 50 states and the District of Columbia available to the NCHS.
January 5, 2012 - Mayor Madeline Rogero, Fire Chief Stan Sharp, Councilman Nick Pavlis and several current and retired firefighters helped reopen Fire Station #19 today in an official ribbon cutting. Because of a large annexation by the city in 1962, Fire Station #19 was built at 6328 Chapman Hwy. to help in aiding the newly acquired area by the city.
During the late 1980’s fire station #19 was closed and combined with a newly located station #13 at 4701 Chapman Hwy. Since then, the neighborhood surrounding the old station #19 has continued to grow, which brings us to current day.
Seeing a need to serve the medical and fire needs of the growing South Knoxville business and residential community, Chief Sharp along with the approval from the Mayor and City Council, agreed to re-open the recently renovated location.
January 20, 2012
Gary Bickford-Healthy Life Clinics
by Martha Rose Woodward
While others continue to ponder how to solve one of the nation’s largest problems— health care, Dr.Gary Bickford is doing something about it. Bickford is the founder of Healthy Life Clinics, a system he developed for offering medical services to the poor and underprivileged. It was at age 56, when Bickford was newly retired from Dupont where he had worked in medical diagnostics, that he decided to return to school at the University of Tennessee to become a board certified nurse practitioner. Armed with a plan for a different way of delivering health care, Bickford saw a new way to fulfill his dream of establishing family medical clinics for the truly needy. Although the coursework was demanding and time spent in training was taxing, he fulfilled the requirements and set out to make his plan a reality. Bickford opened the first of what would become five Healthy Life Clinics in October 2009. Unfortunately, the growth of the clinics proved to be unsustainable as finding qualified and responsible providers to run the other sites he opened was difficult and two clinics were closed. The three that remain open are located in Knoxville at 110 G Perimeter Park and 900 W Baxter Avenue, with one also open in Jamestown, TN. According to Mark Toney, the Industrial Medicine Manager for the Healthy Life Clinics, patients receive full care and are seen by doctors who prescribe medicine, perform minor procedures and treat common health issues such as sore throats, flu, as well as screenings for more serious diseases. The company takes all forms of insurance, but deals mainly with TennCare, Medicaid, Medicare and cash. The way Healthy Life Clinics is able to access these providers is a large part of the design of the system Bickford created. They take pride in the fact that they are paperless. Bickford, now 66, says that he is joyful about the success of his system, however, he currently works between 60 to 70 hours per week seeing upward of 30 patients a day and keeping the mountain of records required.. In order to make HLC work, Bickford says he has borrowed over $1 million dollars over the years and has used his own money from his 401(k). His clinics receive no money from the government. The largest challenge he has faced is that of keeping the clinics going while waiting on payments that can take 30, 60, and even 90 days or more to arrive. Bickford’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, not only does he receive praise from the thousands of patients who have been helped by his system, he has also won awards in Washington, D.C. through SCORE (Service Core of Retired Executives) for the 2011 Outstanding Small Business Launched by an Individual Age 50-Plus and Walden University’s Alumni of the Year—an honor that came with a $5,000 cash award. Bickford used $2,500 of the award money for his favorite charity, the Healthy Life Clinics he founded. SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and has been mentoring small business owners for more than forty years. Bickford says that he plans to franchise his clinics, and winning these important awards will give him great credibility as he goes forward with his medical mission. Franchising will help him to expand greatly in the work and help other dedicated providers to be successful. Another large part of Bickford’s life’s work is spent providing medical care, along with his friend, Stan Brock in the Remote Area Medical clinics. All in all, Dr. Bickford and his teams are to be praised for their work in this much needed area.
January 19, 2012
Helen Ashe and Ellen Turner, founders of the Love Kitchen, say thanks to the community, especially the Knox County Parks and Recreation Department for donations of over 2,500 pounds of food and $2,582 in cash for use in their program to help feed the needy.
January 19, 2012
Mayor Burchett Delivers Donations to Love Kitchen
The sisters hugged the mayor and repeated, “Thank you, thank you, and tell everyone who had any part in this thank you. Our staff will be able to do so much good with this generous donation. Thank you, thank you.”
by Martha Rose Woodward
Mayor Tim Burchett brought joy to Helen Ashe and Ellen Turner, the twin sisters who founded the Love Kitchen, on Thursday, January 19 when he presented them with 2,500 pounds of food and $2,582 in cash. The gifts came from an event sponsored by the Knox County Parks and Recreation Department as a part of the celebrations at The Holiday Festival of Lights at The Cove at Concord Park during the 2011 Christmas season. Visitors to the festival were encouraged to donate boxed or canned food and many gave cash as well.
The sisters hugged the mayor and repeated, “Thank you, thank you, and tell everyone who had any part in this thank you. Our staff will be able to do so much good with this generous donation. Thank you, thank you.”
Read more about thsi event in the Knoxville Journal Newspaper.
January 14, 2012
Writers’ Guild President to Speak at Torch Club
by Martha Rose Woodward
Stephen Levy, president of Knoxville’s Torch Club, invites everyone to the club’s January 19th meeting at noon at the Orangery Restaurant. The guest speaker for this month is Terry Shaw, president of the Knoxville Wrtiers’ Guild. Shaw will speak about his career as a reporter and author and discuss his activities while president of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild. Entry to the meeting is free and you are on your own for lunch which can be ordered from the menu.
Shaw’s latest book, The Way Life Should Be, is a novel published by Touchstone-Simon & Schuster in 2007. It’s the story of a smalltown Maine newspaper editor who seeks to find the truth behind a married politician’s brutal murder in a gay pick-up spot. The mystery was chosen as winner of the Gather.com First Chapters Contest out of more than 2,600 entries.
A native of Corry, Pa., Shaw has worked as a newspaper reporter and editor in several states. He graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in political science and English.
He is currently serving as the president of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild, a group of over 230 local writers who seek to learn more about the craft.
He, his wife Beth and standard poodle Zoe live in Knoxville’s Parkridge neighborhood.
He’s putting the finishing touches on a crime novel set in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
The Torch Club is an international association of local clubs in which respected persons practicing recognized professions enjoy the cultural interchange of knowledge. Established in 1924, Torch Club now operates in 75 locations in the United States and Canada. Each has a monthly meeting that is highlighted by the presentation of a paper by a member or guest on a topic of concern to modern society. Following the presentation, the members discuss the subject. It is through this sharing of knowledge and points of view that Torch becomes a unique and beneficial experience.
Call 865 951 0319 for more details.
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