It's almost Thanksgiving and yet some deciduous trees are just now finally losing all of the green in their leaves. All trees reached their peak colors very late this year and some tourists who came to Jellico to see the colors during the regular third week of October were greatly disappointed. We have had a most unusual fall and as someone said a few days ago, we have basically gone from summer to winter. Lawns were being mowed around town on Tuesday, November 12th and we had snow flurries on Sunday. And now the weather forecast is for 55 degrees in Nashville for the Vanderbilt game. (And Tennessee winning that game is far from a certainty in spite of the Commodore's record.)

But things will probably be back to normal by Thanksgiving weeekend when the Kentucky Wildcats come to Knoxville for a game that traditionally brings the real cold. Thank goodness it generally does not get nearly as cold for the games in Knoxville as it does in Lexington where that icy wind constantly cuts through the stadium at what must be ten to twenty miles an hour. (It feels more like 30 miles an hour.)

Knowing the situation that we are now facing in having so many players out due to injuries and in light of the great season that the Wildcats are enjoying, I expect their followers to really turn out for this game. We will in all probability see a flood of 'Cat fans on the interstate heading south with those blue flags with the big "K" in the center flying from every vehicle.

I don't know what the odds makers will say about the game, but in my opinion Kentucky should be favored. But in the supposed words of the legendary Yogi Berra, "It ain't over till it's over" and someone said, "The opera ain't over till the fat lady sings". (Berra also reportedly said that sports are half physical and the other ninety percent mental!) But regardless of who predicts what - it should be quite a game. And if the temperature is away down, what's a little cold for a game like that? It sure won't be the first time!

At the time this article was written, Councilman Jim Dobson and I were to meet with Director of Utilities John Leach and a representative of a well known engineering firm that is very knowledgeable in the field of public utilities. The meeting was to pertain to the availability of grants for expansion of water and sewer systems that would be required as a result of any annexations that might be enacted by the City Council. All of the data (including that gathered by the state) will enable the Council to make an educated decision.

The Jellico Learning Center located in the old Jellico Elementary School next to the First Baptist Church is a valuable asset for Jellico and our surrounding area and benefits a lot of youngsters. The Center requires help from the community to continue to provide services for children and must conduct an annual drive to raise funds.

The drive for funds this year will have its kickoff in Veterans Park this Wednesday, November 20th at 3:00 PM. The drive is being headed by Mr. David Butler, Administrator of the Jellico Community Hospital, with a lot of volunteer citizen help. A "thermometer" will be placed in Veterans Park by Rev. Wayne Hedrick to indicate progress in collecting funds during the drive. I hope that all of our citizens will contribute.

(The Student Council at Jellico High School is also collecting funds for the relief of the victims of the killer tornados in the Morgan County area. We never know when something similar will strike our area and I hope everyone responds to that fund raising drive also.)

I want to again commend Tourism Director Jake Bennett and members of the Tourism Commission for the great job they are doing. I am hearing nothing but compliments concerning the way that we are having activities and how well they are being conducted. For the first time, some members of the Commission including Carolyn Leach, Alla Faye Rutherford, Jamie Ivey and Wanda Perkins planned and worked the reception for veterans and their families following the ceremony at the Veterans Memorial. The reception went extremely well and was well attended and greatly appreciated by the veterans. The ladies initially thought that they had much more food available than would be required. But only one sandwich was left. I started to eat it but I did not want to appear impolite - since I had already had several sandwiches along with some great desserts and a lot of punch.)

I wrote in earlier notes that the current Commission members are an energetic and enthusiastic group and we are fortunate that they have agreed to serve. And with the addition of Mary Jarboe who fits that description as well, things can only get better.

Every town has citizens who are willing to work for the betterment of their community. And every town has a group that never contributes in any way but criticizes everything positive attempted by those who do work and try. That's certainly true in Jellico! But I honestly believe that the former now far outnumbers the latter and that in itself is a positive for us.

The first wedding in our new wedding chapel is now history and from all accounts, it was an extremely nice wedding. There have been numerous compliments from the family and friends of the new bride. They have lauded the beauty of the interior of the chapel - and in fact one lady told me that it reminds her of some of the restored structures in Bardstown, Kentucky (where Stephen Foster wrote the classic state song of Kentucky, "My Old Kentucky Home") that is such a popular tourist attraction.

But Jake emphasizes that the work is not yet complete on the interior and that there are still plans to erect a very nice sign on the exterior. So we will all just have to wait for the open house when Jake and the Tourism Commission are satisfied that everything is ready for the public to view. But that time is getting closer!

Our new city Christmas lights are beautiful and a lot of folks are anxious to see them once they are turned on for the holidays. The short lighting ceremony will take place in Veterans Park at 5:30 PM on Wednesday, November 27th and officially kick off the season in Jellico to include the Thanksgiving weekend.

The ceremony is still being planned but hopefully will include an opening prayer, some of those beautiful Christmas songs sung by Carlos "Carbide" Warman, a speaker once again reminding us of the true meaning of Christmas, some singing of Carols by all those in attendance, and the throwing of the switch to light the decorations.

The Tourism Commission has traditionally had hot drinks to help kill the chill for those who attend the annual lighting. It has been suggested that we have some big pots of hot chocolate available this year. Nothing warms a person on a cold evening like a big mug of hot chocolate with some "marsh mellows" melting on top. We are supposed to have cold temperatures at Christmas time and hot chocolate would greatly add to the atmosphere of the occasion.

Good high school band directors are hard to find and even harder to keep as Jellico High School can attest. We presently have no band at JHS due to that very reason. The last director apparently was doing a good job, and those that do produce good bands literally have their choice of locations and schools in which to live and work. No replacement has been found.

Every school no matter how large or how small, needs a music program of some type - whether vocal or instrumental but preferably both. Music adds a great deal to a person's enjoyment of life and the fine arts are now being given equal status with the academic curriculum on national achievement exams. And they should be!

The last time I checked with Jake, he had two (2) commitments from area high school bands to participate in our Christmas Parade on December 8th. (Whitley County HS and Campbell County HS). He was still attempting to fill the vacancy in the line created when JHS had to discontinue band for the present time but having little success. Let's just all hope that they find a director before next year and we can again have our high school band in the parade as well. It just doesn't seem right not to have our band in the parade every year.

The annual Elk Valley Christmas Parade is Sunday, December 1st and it usually has a very good attendance. It's great to see communities having any type of activities that involve so many of their citizens.

Our Christmas Parade on the following Sunday, December 8th promises to have a lengthy line of march this year and that is great. The longer the better. But there are always problems getting everyone into the position where they need to be or where they may want to be. There often is frustration on the part of those participating - and especially on the part of those attempting to get everyone into the line. But things always seem to work out somehow.

The situation reminds me of an incident several years ago of which I am familiar involving an aging school custodian who had worked for a number of years at the same school and was prone at times to get very upset with real and imagined problems pertaining to his job. But he always cooled off eventually and went on about the business of cleaning the school. However on one occasion that custodian became totally frustrated and agitated and went to the principal's office. Pulling out his huge ring of keys and throwing them down on the principal's desk, he announced in no uncertain terms, "I've had enough! I'm turning in my letter of resurrection!" So determined was the custodian to "resurrect" that only a threat from the principal to likewise "resurrect" and walk out with him, made him reconsider. With a lot of persuasion, he eventually did reverse his decision and went back to work.

So to everyone who participates in the parade and/or works with getting the parade lined up - take heart and don't even consider "resurrecting". Everything will fall into place!!!