THE DAILY TIMES

BLOUNT COUNTYS N E WS PA P E R OF RECORD SINCE 1883

FRIDAY
April 15, 2011
Maryville, TN thedailytimes.com

75 Cents

SPRING FEVER COMES TO HONEY ROCK HERB FARM IN A BIG WAY. 11A GARAGE SALES Find those hidden treasures in other peoples stu . 16A
BY THE GRACE OF GOD

GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH BOUGHT at auction Thursday the former Swanks Jazz Restaurant and Bar in downtown Maryville.

Church buys downtown Swanks bar at auction

BY ROBERT NORRIS
bobn@thedailytimes.com

To make this really ironic, well go in the bar and sign this thing. Itll be one for the Lord, boys. With those words, auctioneer Mike Walker walked through the door of the former Swanks Jazz Restaurant and Bar to fill out the contract that would turn the building over to Grace Community Church. The former bar is located at the corner of Court Street and Harper Avenue, right across the intersection from the church. Pastor Chris Riser said the church has been interested in the old building for a while. Weve been thinking about it, wondering if it would ever come open. The church is growing and could use the extra space. Sunday morning attendance averages about 230. Right now, we run two services and the services are maybe two-thirds full so we have some room there. But its mostly our Sunday school space thats maxed out. We have some room in the sanctuary, but everything around it is packed. Plus, the church has only a warming kitchen. A restaurant kitchen

GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH PASTOR Chris Riser (left) watches as auctioneer Mike Walker fills out paperwork on the bar.

with professional appliances would be a big step up. But minutes earlier when the auction started at 11:03 a.m. Thursday, nothing was assured. In fact, it looked doubtful the church would end up with the building.

FAA res air tra c o cial, doubles sta ng at over two dozen airports
BY JOAN LOWY
The Associated Press

THE DETAILS
Mcghee Tyson Airport FAA Tower: Employs 30 air traffic controllers and four supervisors Handled 254,000 operations in 2010 Tower operators handled 110,000 takeoffs and landings TRACON (radar) operations totaled 144,000 Airspace handled by the facility is a 45-mile radius around the airport up to 10,000 feet Tower is staffed 24/7 by at least two controllers Source: Federal Aviation Administration

WASHINGTON Publicly fuming, the FAA chief collected Thursday the resignation of the head of the U.S. air traffic system, doubled controller staffing at more than two dozen airports and ordered a sweeping review of the entire system that ensures planes fly safely, as the government sought to reassure the public that air travel is safe despite at least four instances of controllers sleeping on the job. But present and former controllers told The Associated Press that grueling work schedules and the design of the job itself sitting in a dark room at night waiting for pilots to call have made taking naps on the job necessary, even if unauthorized by the FAA. One whistle-blower complained to the Transportation Department that cots can be found in one radar center, most often with controllers asleep in them. The National Transportation Safety Board warned FAA after a deadly 2006 air

crash that controllers schedules were creating unsafe situations in which they were going into work after only a few hours of sleep. But little had changed until this week when Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt said he was immediately adding a second controller on overnight shifts at 26 SEE FAA , 5A

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TVA to cut coal units to settle lawsuits

BY BILL POOVEY
The Associated Press FRANK BUZZ TREXLER | THE DAILY TIMES

Walker, of Lebanon-based United Country Walker Realty & Auction Co., started the bidding by asking for $200,000. The seller was BB&T Bank of Winston-Salem, N.C. SEE SWANKS , 5A

CHATTANOOGA The Tennessee Valley Authority over the next five years will shutter operations that account for about 16 percent if its coal-fired capacity to settle lawsuits from several states over air quality, its board said Thursday. TVA chief executive Tom Kilgore said the nations largest public utility will also pay a $10 million civil penalty under the agreement with the states, the Environmental Protection Agency and environmental groups. Kilgore said the agreement announced at a board meeting resulted from long-running private negotiations. The shutdowns starting in 2012 include all 10 units at Johnsonville Fossil Plant and two units at John Sevier Fossil Plant in Tennessee, along with six units at Widows Creek Fossil Plant in Alabama. Kilgore said the moves will phase out 2,700 megawatts of TVAs 17,000 megawatts of coal-fired capacity by 2017. The shutdowns also will mean a loss of 300 to 400 jobs. TVA executives said efforts will be made to provide other jobs. Kilgore said TVA cannot guarantee that every displaced employee will be offered a job at the same location. U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., expressed support for the agreement. I hope this decisions negative effect on TVA families will be as small as possible, he said in a statement Thursday. The positive effect will be cleaner and healthier air for Tennesseans. This will create new jobs by making Tennessee more attractive to new businesses and millions of tourists. Environmental activists were also commending TVA for initiating the private talks that settled court fights between the nations largest public utility and Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and North Carolina. This is the largest coal retirement agreement the nation has ever seen, said Bruce Niles, the Sierra Clubs deputy conservation director. We have been battling SEE TVA , 5A

ree arrested, two cited at Seymour apartments

From Staff Reports

Authorities made two drug-related arrests Wednesday night after executing search warrants on two Seymour apartments, the Blount County Sheriffs Office reported. Officers took Elvis Olin Webb Jr., 37, Seymour, into custody after investigators allegedly found oxycodone pills inside the apartment, according to the sheriffs office. He is charged with possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell. Webb was being held in the Blount County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bond pending a 9 a.m. April 20 hearing in Blount County General Sessions Court. Robert Mikel Gibson, 24, Knoxville, was taken into custody on outstanding warrants from Knox County for violation of probation and failure to appear, the report said. Members of the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force and the Blount County Sheriffs Office SWAT Team led the raid.

Elvis Olin Webb Jr. Webb was charged with possessing oxycodone pills with intent to sell them. He is being held in the Blount County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bond.

According to authorities, the Sevier County Sheriffs Office cited Jarred Ross Schoondermark, 24, Seymour, with simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance (crack cocaine), and took Schoondermark into custody on an outstanding warrant for violation of probation. The report also said David Alexander Carter Jr., Seymour, was cited with simple possession of marijuana and Beverly Lynn Miller, 34, Seymour, with possession of drug paraphernalia. Authorities reported a stolen motorcycle was recovered from one of the residences after investigators executed the warrant.

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