Bits of Stone for April 8, 2007
Originally published: April 08. 2007 3:01AMLast modified: April 08. 2007 1:10AM
Parson Branch Road
The gravel one-way Parson Branch Road from Cades Cove to U.S. 129 is scheduled to re-open in late summer or early fall.
The road was washed out by a major flood in May 2003, then damaged by further flooding during the 2004 hurricane season. The $744,000 repair cost is being paid from the Federal Highway Administration's emergency relief fund.
A major flood also closed the road in 1994 but as a result of public opinion it was repaired and reopened in 1998.
The eight-mile long road, located entirely within the Blount County sector of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is an historic route. It intersects Calderwood Highway and was once a main access to Cades Cove and Blount County from North Carolina.
Because of its steep, winding and narrow design, motor homes, buses, vans over 15 feet long and all trailers are prohibited.
The route offers an excellent close-up view of the back country for those unable to hike. It also provides access to two trail heads, including the 4.5-mile path to Gregory Bald, famous for its wild flame azalea blooms in late June.
At the U.S. 129 terminus, travelers may turn left toward the Fontana Lake area and Robbinsville, N. C., and the Cherohala Skyway which goes from Robbinsville to Tellico Plains. A right turn goes to the southern terminus of the Foothills Parkway with access to Look Rock and Maryville.
Smokies elk herd
is growing, spreading
The elk herd established in the Cataloochee Cove area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has increased to between 65 and 70.
At least 13 calves were born during the May-June calving season last year and at least 11 survived. Two newborn calves were killed by black bears.
A year earlier fewer than one-third of the calves survived.
While most of the elk live throughout the year in Cataloochee, a cove similar to Cades Cove on the North Carolina side of the park, some travel.
Wide-ranging bull No. 81 crossed the state line to Newport, then on to Cosby and Greenbrier before heading back to the vicinity of Del Rio and Hot Springs, N.C. He was finally immobilized by park staff near Walnut and returned to the relative safety of Cataloochee.
Radio collars enable the Park Service to track the elk.
Three adult elk died in 2006, two were the result of unknown causes. A third was euthanized after being struck by a vehicle on Interstate 40. All five known fatalities were male.
The experimental elk reintroduction began in 2001 when 25 elk were brought to Cataloochee from Land Between the Lakes on the Tennessee-Kentucky border. Twenty-seven were added in 2002.
Native to the Appalachian Mountains, elk were extirpated more than 150 years ago as the result of unregulated hunting and land use changes.
Legislature honors Leadership Academy
The legacy of Richard Williams Jr. and the Leadership Academy named in his honor was recognized last week in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Senator Raymond Finney and Representatives Doug Overbey and Joe McCord sponsored the joint resolution. The students were recognized for thier citizenship, academic progress and overall self-development.
The academy, honoring the late former Blount County commissioner, is a youth development initiative of New Trinity Tabernacle and Life Covenant Ministries Church of God in Christ. Its purpose is to assist seventh and eighth grade students in realizing their potential as students thus enhancing their future opportunities to serve as church, civic, business and political leaders.
The program teaches bibically-based principles, direct contact with positive images as well as developmental experiences, lecture and field trips to teach lessons of self-development, self-esteem, character and accountability.
The initial phase is 20 weeks for one and a half to two hours a week The sessions visit a number of topics of importance to young people of that age. Upon completion of this phase, a long-range commitment is considered to work with the student to successfully pursue college entry.
Founded by Williams' younger brother, Alcoa City Commissioner George Williams, the cadets currently include students from Alcoa and Maryville schools and Austin-East High School in Knoxville.
Administered by the Blount County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the academy receives support from DENSO, Maryville College, the Alcoa City Center and friends of the Williams family.
Akeen Gilmore, Aloeric Walker, Tommeka Jackson, Drew Goddard, Sarah Beard, Augusta Brown, Tiffini Littlejohn and Avrin Biley were the cadets attending the event during which Littlejohn addressed the Senate.
Also attending the event in addition to George Williams were MC tutor Dominique McCraven and parents Patty Littlejohn, Deborah Bailey and Ginger Goddard.
John Hay experienced
three assassinations
Secretary of State John Hay was close to three U.S. presidents who were assassinated during a 36-year period.
He was a personal secretary to President Abraham Lincoln, a personal friend and confidant of President James Garfield and secretary of state when President William McKinley was assassinated.
An American History magazine story about the assassination of McKinley said his death led to action to step up security, directing the Secret Service to head that responsibility.
McKinley was notably lax in accepting security measures. A popular president, as is often the case there was some dissatisfaction. The anarchy that was evident in Europe had some sympathizers here.
Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot McKinley Sept. 6, 1901, as he was in line to shake hands with the chief executive at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. One bullet struck his sternum a glancing blow and the other entered his abdomen, a potentially fatal wound.
He underwent surgery in little over an hour and initial reports were optimistic but he died Sept. 14, apparently from gangrene in the path of the bullet. This was 40 years before penicillin became generally available.
His assailant readily, proudly admitted his guilt and received the death sentence.
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded McKinley.
The nation's first presidential assassination is better remembered in our history. President Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a Ford Theater production on April 14, 1865. Lincoln died the next day.
His assailant, John Wilkes Booth, a Shakespearean actor, was captured several days later.
Vice President Andrew Johnson of East Tennessee succeeded Lincoln.
President James A. Garfield was shot and seriously wounded while entering a Washington, D. C., railroad station on July 2, 1881, by a mentally disturbed office-seeker, Charles Guiteau. He died Sept. 19 in Elberon, New Jersey. He was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur.
Our fourth presidential assassination was that of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. He was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.
He was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Other presidents have died in office:
- William Henry Harrison contracted pneumonia a month after his inauguration and died April 4, 1841. He was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler.
- Zachery Taylor suffered acute gastroenteritis but the cause of his death on July 9, 1850, is unknown. Vice President Millard Fillmore succeeded him.
- President Warren G. Harding on his return trip from Alaska contracted food poisoning in Seattle, Washington, on July 27, 1923, then developed pneumonia, and suffered a stroke in San Francisco, California, where he died from a blood clot on Aug. 2, 1923. Vice President Calvin Coolidge succeeded him.
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died April 12, 1945, of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia. He was succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman.
Alexander wins big
victory over billboards
In case you missed it in the news, Sen. Lamar of Alexander won a big
victory for scenic beauty recently.
Although it may be only temporary or until political donations swing the vote, it is good for now.
USA TODAY in a nice spread put it this way:
"Power an dmoney suffered a rare setback in the Senate on Thursday as Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., stopped the top Senate Democrat from inserting a favor for the billboard industry into a must-pass emergency funding bill."
Alexander raised a parliamentary point of order to force removal of the measure which he and other opponents said would have effectively exempted certain billboards in 13 Southern states from regulation under the Highway Beautification Act.
The move was a defeat for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the Outdoor Advertising Association. Reid had written a letter to the committee that drafted the funding measure, asking that the billboard provision be added. Alexander, a member of the panel, said he wasn't even aware that it had been added.
The industry group's members and their employees gave more than $167,000 to congressional candidates in the last election cycle and spent more than $800,000 lobbying Congress last year.
The Highway Beautification Act was championed by Lady Bird Johnson and was signed by her husband, President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.
Reid apparently lacked the votes to prevail and did not oppose Alexander's point of order.
Dean Stone is Editor of The Daily Times.
Legislature honors Leadership Academy
The legacy of Richard Williams Jr. and the Leadership Academy named in his honor was recognized last week in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Senator Raymond Finney and Representatives Doug Overbey and Joe McCord sponsored the joint resolution. The students were recognized for thier citizenship, academic progress and overall self-development.
The academy, honoring the late former Blount County commissioner, is a youth development initiative of New Trinity Tabernacle and Life Covenant Ministries Church of God in Christ. Its purpose is to assist seventh and eighth grade students in realizing their potential as students thus enhancing their future opportunities to serve as church, civic, business and political leaders.
The program teaches bibically-based principles, direct contact with positive images as well as developmental experiences, lecture and field trips to teach lessons of self-development, self-esteem, character and accountability.
The initial phase is 20 weeks for one and a half to two hours a week The sessions visit a number of topics of importance to young people of that age. Upon completion of this phase, a long-range commitment is considered to work with the student to successfully pursue college entry.
Founded by Williams' younger brother, Alcoa City Commissioner George Williams, the cadets currently include students from Alcoa and Maryville schools and Austin-East High School in Knoxville.
Administered by the Blount County Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the academy receives support from DENSO, Maryville College, the Alcoa City Center and friends of the Williams family.
Akeen Gilmore, Aloeric Walker, Tommeka Jackson, Drew Goddard, Sarah Beard, Augusta Brown, Tiffini Littlejohn and Avrin Biley were the cadets attending the event during which Littlejohn addressed the Senate.
Also attending the event in addition to George Williams were MC tutor Dominique McCraven and parents Patty Littlejohn, Deborah Bailey and Ginger Goddard.
John Hay experienced
Secretary of State John Hay was close to three U.S. presidents who were assassinated during a 36-year period.
He was a personal secretary to President Abraham Lincoln, a personal friend and confidant of President James Garfield and secretary of state when President William McKinley was assassinated.
An American History magazine story about the assassination of McKinley said his death led to action to step up security, directing the Secret Service to head that responsibility.
McKinley was notably lax in accepting security measures. A popular president, as is often the case there was some dissatisfaction. The anarchy that was evident in Europe had some sympathizers here.
Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shot McKinley Sept. 6, 1901, as he was in line to shake hands with the chief executive at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, N.Y. One bullet struck his sternum a glancing blow and the other entered his abdomen, a potentially fatal wound.
He underwent surgery in little over an hour and initial reports were optimistic but he died Sept. 14, apparently from gangrene in the path of the bullet. This was 40 years before penicillin became generally available.
His assailant readily, proudly admitted his guilt and received the death sentence.
Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded McKinley.
The nation's first presidential assassination is better remembered in our history. President Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a Ford Theater production on April 14, 1865. Lincoln died the next day.
His assailant, John Wilkes Booth, a Shakespearean actor, was captured several days later.
Vice President Andrew Johnson of East Tennessee succeeded Lincoln.
President James A. Garfield was shot and seriously wounded while entering a Washington, D. C., railroad station on July 2, 1881, by a mentally disturbed office-seeker, Charles Guiteau. He died Sept. 19 in Elberon, New Jersey. He was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur.
Our fourth presidential assassination was that of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. He was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.
He was succeeded by Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Other presidents have died in office:
- William Henry Harrison contracted pneumonia a month after his inauguration and died April 4, 1841. He was succeeded by Vice President John Tyler.
- Zachery Taylor suffered acute gastroenteritis but the cause of his death on July 9, 1850, is unknown. Vice President Millard Fillmore succeeded him.
- President Warren G. Harding on his return trip from Alaska contracted food poisoning in Seattle, Washington, on July 27, 1923, then developed pneumonia, and suffered a stroke in San Francisco, California, where he died from a blood clot on Aug. 2, 1923. Vice President Calvin Coolidge succeeded him.
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died April 12, 1945, of a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia. He was succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman.
Alexander wins big
In case you missed it in the news, Sen. Lamar of Alexander won a big
victory for scenic beauty recently.
Although it may be only temporary or until political donations swing the vote, it is good for now.
USA TODAY in a nice spread put it this way:
"Power an dmoney suffered a rare setback in the Senate on Thursday as Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., stopped the top Senate Democrat from inserting a favor for the billboard industry into a must-pass emergency funding bill."
Alexander raised a parliamentary point of order to force removal of the measure which he and other opponents said would have effectively exempted certain billboards in 13 Southern states from regulation under the Highway Beautification Act.
The move was a defeat for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the Outdoor Advertising Association. Reid had written a letter to the committee that drafted the funding measure, asking that the billboard provision be added. Alexander, a member of the panel, said he wasn't even aware that it had been added.
The industry group's members and their employees gave more than $167,000 to congressional candidates in the last election cycle and spent more than $800,000 lobbying Congress last year.
The Highway Beautification Act was championed by Lady Bird Johnson and was signed by her husband, President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.
Reid apparently lacked the votes to prevail and did not oppose Alexander's point of order.
Dean Stone is Editor of The Daily Times.
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