The Jellico High School Alumni Association has been sending out information concerning JHS Homecoming 2004 scheduled for October. And Mrs. Marjorie Johnson has recently contacted me in an attempt to learn the identities of all those who were the original founders of the JHS Alumni Association.

The first name that I gave her was the late David Chitwood who was very instrumental in starting that organization. He was virtually the organizer of the "Parade of Classes" that was conducted before one of our home football games that was so well received that it led to the scheduling of a full scale alumni homecoming the following year. And the success of that first full alumni homecoming in turn led David, Carson Ridenour, John Turnblazer and others to meet, found and incorporate the Jellico High School Alumni Association. He also worked closely with Dr. Joe Smiddy to plan and present the great entertainment that we all enjoyed so much during those very first homecomings.

It is my personal feeling that JHS Homecoming 2004 should be dedicated to the memory of David and a very nice plaque presented to his family to commemorate the event. In addition to being a member of the alumni and so active in founding the Association, he also served the school as a teacher, coach and assistant principal and late in his career filled the position of Title I Director for the Campbell County School System.

One of the main objectives of the Alumni Association is to recognize individuals who have served our school and our community and who have brought credit upon themselves and our alma mater. And certainly David filled that bill. I wrote a few weeks ago that he was one of the greatest basketball players and coaches in the history of our school - a fact of which most of us were well aware. But he was much, much more than that.

He was very active in the drive to obtain a new building to replace the old structure that was so cold in winter and so hot in the fall and spring seasons; he was the first to introduce computer technology into the school; he and his family often kept students in their home when roads were either iced over or flooded and too dangerous to be traveled; he on too many occasions to cite drove students home from school activities due to the fact that they had no transportation and could not have attended otherwise; he annually ran a survey of the senior class to see who needed financial assistance in obtaining the required graduation supplies and often personally and privately purchased them for those who did not have the money; and the list of his contributions is lengthy.

And it brought back an awful lot of memories to talk to his numerous former students and players who came to visit him during his illness and who attend his memorial service. Many stated that he had had a very positive influence upon their young lives that resulted in their later success. Some even credited him with being responsible for the fact that they did not take the wrong path in life due to his constant counseling and encouragement. One only had to hear the stories related by the Rev. Roger Webb, Denny Bridges and others to fully understand the respect and admiration that they held for David. I recently ran into a former student in Knoxville who stated that she will always remember him for all of the help and support that he provided to her. And she said that the classes he taught in health and anatomy were very difficult for her but made life much easier after she began study at a vocational/professional school.

I can personally remember when he was soundly criticized for keeping a player on the basketball team that many said only came to school and did enough studying to remain eligible to play ball. But David stuck with him and continued to encourage him to remain in school and to graduate - which he did! Today that former student and player is an extremely successful citizen, both financially and highly respected in his own community! All of those stories would have made David much more proud than any of the successes that he posted in those incredible years that some of us refer to as the "golden years" in JHS basketball. And I can remember him bringing students to the office for discipline and ending up sympathizing with them upon learning of their home life and other factors - such as the time he saw a misbehaving young man's shoes that were in such terrible condition that he couldn't rest until he obtained a new pair for him.

And his pride and loyalty to alma mater are legendary. For many years when talking with representatives of other schools, he could literally recite from memory all of the student ACT and SAT scores that were so high for several years. And I sometimes still chuckle when I recall the telephone conversation that he had with a receptionist at the Central Office on one occasion when he requested to talk to the superintendent of schools. When told that the superintendent was "at the high school" meaning Campbell County High School, David informed her in no uncertain terms that "the" high school in Campbell County is Jellico High School. And those who were there will never forget the night when he leaped from the bleachers to the floor when Johnny Baird hit the "miracle" last second shot literally from one end of the gymnasium to the other to beat our arch rival Williamsburg -after many of the Yellow Jacket fans had left the gymnasium celebrating their "victory". His leap must have set some kind of broad jump record and was quickly followed by the student body that poured from the stands to join him in the celebrating.

His sudden illness and untimely death prevented the Alumni Association from recognizing him in his lifetime. But he should be posthumously honored for all of his contributions and I certainly hope that the Association will do just that! It would be an appropriate and highly deserved tribute to his memory!

Thankfully our collections for the months of January and February were higher than we had anticipated and many of us feel much better now concerning our 2003-2004 city budget. But as I have mentioned several times in the past, now comes the momentous task of projecting a balanced budget for 2004-2005 without the possibility of utilizing any reserve funds. We are going to start working on that problem within the next few days and as we have emphasized on several occasions, we hope to avoid any cuts in personnel, employee benefits and services. Those actions will be a very last resort - but they certainly are not entirely out of the question.

After viewing the signs along Interstate-75 inviting motorists to visit "old city Clinton", I did just that. There are several antique shops, "preserving the past" shops and other such attractions.

And the old-city restaurant mentioned in the article in Knoxville News-Sentinel is the "Apple Blossom Café" located on Cullom Street just off North Main Street. (Open 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM on Sunday and 10:30 AM - 8:00 PM Monday through Friday. Closed on Saturdays.)

The restaurant was not open at the time I was there, but from the exterior it appeared to be much smaller than I had expected. However folks who were around spoke favorably of the food.

When compared with our downtown with all of our buildings that project a true "old town theme", the view of veterans park and with so much available parking, I could not help but think that we have far greater potential than Clinton for such an "old town theme" to attract tourists. Our downtown is much closer to the Interstate and we have some old buildings that with extensive renovation, would be ideal for an "old town" style restaurant. Additionally we will soon have Rarity Mountain residents looking for a clean restaurant with good food, good service and atmosphere. The opportunities are here!

And speaking of Clinton, my life long friend George Wilson who is a Jellicoan transplanted to that town and who makes regular visits back "home", told me a few days ago that the streets of Jellico now look the best that he has seen them in many, many years. And as I emphasized to him, we still have a lot of work to accomplish and they can look a whole lot better still - especially if we can get five or six buildings renovated.

I have long pushed for community involvement in bringing back our town and it seems to me that that is beginning to happen. And I certainly hope so! It requires everybody's help!

We are currently experiencing typical March weather around here. And while the spring flowers start blooming, the snow flakes and sunny days alternate. However we certainly cannot complain about the fall, winter and early spring that we have experienced so far. The warmer than usual temperatures have held down utility charges and I have heard the least number of complaints about bills this year than any previous year since I have been mayor (although the utilities are run by the utility board and I can only pass complaints on to be checked out by the department).. In fact two or three have mentioned to me that their recent monthly bills have actually been much lower than they had expected.

We have several of those spring flowers in our neighborhood that are starting to bloom - but nothing to match the dandelions and wild onions popping up on our front lawn. I don't know if there are any folks who have ever eaten wild onions but many of us can still remember the time when dandelion "greens" were often found on the table. (I ate an awful lot of wild greens picked in the bottoms behind "Yellow Row" when I was just a kid, but I can never personally recall having ever eaten dandelion greens. But the wild greens that my mother and grandmother picked and prepared were very good when served with hard boiled eggs and vinegar along with a big bowl of pinto beans, potatoes fried in an iron skillet, cornbread and buttermilk. And occasionally we had fresh fish caught from the creek at the back of the fields in those days before so much water pollution. Now that was good eating! (And that creek was a great place for young boys to go swimming. Just ask Skeez Housley.) If anybody should decide to go back to a diet of dandelion greens (or to try wild onions for that matter), they can come to our place and pick all they want. It won't cost them a penny! (We like to share a bountiful harvest!)

Since it is coming spring, I recently attended a University of Tennessee baseball game and it was good to see the game being played at such a high level of competition - for fun and not for high salaries (although UT and other SEC schools do send numerous players to the major leagues including some like Todd Helton who have achieved star status.)

And it's getting awfully close to time for "old-timers" baseball to begin in Jellico. Carlos "Carbide" Warman appears to be chomping at the bits to get started - as are Gene Tye, Bobby Daniel, A. B. Foreman and a whole lot more. Carbide has recently been to Florida but we have not been able to confirm or deny a rumor that he was down there for spring training. However we will know for sure the first time we see him field a ground ball or take a cut at the plate. And if it is determined that he has indeed undergone spring training, we will collectively assign all other players a handicap due to his getting an early jump on everybody else.