Interest is really starting to build in anticipation of our 4th annual Fall Fest scheduled for Friday, September 30th and Saturday, October 1st and questions are being raised concerning the list of scheduled events and other details of this year's Fest..
Tourism Director Jake Bennett has released a tentative schedule of activities and as reported previously, the entertainment this year promises to be the best ever. Nationally acclaimed guitarist Ray Cummins will be here on our stage that Friday night - along with locally popular Bill Rigney, Larry Meadors and possibly others. Saturday night will feature the group "Klassyc Tymes" with its music that appeals to all age groups and especially those that can remember the '50's, '60's, and '70's.. Klassyc Times is much in demand throughout a large area of this region of the country and that demand is constantly increasing.
As an added exciting possibility, Harold and Barbara Gibson put me in contact with Lieutenant Colonel Scott Cuel who was visiting his family in Woolridge last weekend.
Colonel Cuel is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and pilot of a military A-10 "Wart Hog" jet.. The A-10 has been called the "most beloved" plane by many of our servicemen and service women for the close support that it provides for our troops on the ground. In fact, Colonel Cuel has been highly decorated for helping to save a large contingent of U. S. Marines from death or capture during combat operations by utilizing his A-10 to protect them..
Colonel Cuel currently serves as a Squadron Director of Operations and has offered to do a "fly-by" in Jellico if granted permission from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). He is certainly most welcome at any time and especially including Labor Day, our 9/11 Candlelight Vigil, Fall Fest, Veterans Day, etc.. However the Fall Fest is the most likely time since gaining approval from DOD will probably require some time - and of course our crowds are much larger for the Fest.
But regardless of if - or when - the fly-by takes place, it will be an honor to have Colonel Cuel, his A-10 and any other pilot(s) and plane(s) that might be involved. And thank you Colonel Cuel for your service to our country and thank you to every serviceman and servicewoman who is now serving or has ever served in our armed forces. (And a very special welcome home to Jason Hacker who has just returned on leave from Kuwait. Jason will be returning to that country upon completion of his leave and his brother Martin Hackler will be returning to Iraq in September.)
In that same light, a law of physics holds that for every action there is an equal reaction. And the reaction appears to be gaining steam concerning the lady, Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in Iraq and recently began to protest near President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Nothing can ever be said or done that will diminish or tarnish her son's sacrifice in any way and we all need to be eternally grateful for his willingness to give his life for our country and our freedom.
But his mother's recent actions have convinced a lot of folks that her main objective rather than grieving, has now become political and she sure does appear to be looking for the television and video cameras to be sure of the best camera angles. And fathers and sons of other servicemen and women killed in that same war (as well as Afghanistan) are starting to become angry at her statements since they feel that she is down grading all members of the armed forces.
A group that strongly supports U.S. troops and their war on terrorism has launched a "You Don't Speak for Me, Cindy" tour that will lead a caravan of military family members from all over our country and converge on Crawford this Saturday, August 27th for a rally in support of our troops and their mission in Iraq.
And the President's neighbors -regardless of their political affiliations - are apparently becoming more and more resentful of the actions of Sheehan and her supporters. Michael Graczvk of the Associated Press reported the neighbors' reactions in the Sunday edition of the Knoxville News-Sentinel and quoted one Crawford resident thusly, "I'm a Democrat and proud of it", Keith Lynch, 62, said while taking a break from trimming the brush around the flag pole in front of his 600-acre ranch near the Bush spread. "But you've got to respect your country, you've got to respect your flag and you've got to respect your president". Right on Mr. Graczyk! It can't be stated any better than that!
Did you happen to watch Oliver North's "War Stories" last Sunday night on Fox News Network? North traced the history of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division - one of our military's most elite and honored divisions - to include its virtual total destruction of a large part of the Iraqi army during the first Gulf War.
Serving as that unit's Command Sergeant Major (top enlisted soldier in the entire division) is an honor that few ever experience. But during the Gulf War, that extremely prestigious rank and position was held by none other than CSM Fred Davenport, a Jellico High graduate.
At one time, Campbell County had one of the highest ranking officers Four Star General Carl Wade Stiner and one of the highest ranked noncommissioned officers in the entire military CSM Davenport - both raised within 30 miles of each other.
Our annual Jellico High School Homecoming has become quite an affair and now draws alumni from all over the country. CSM Davenport, now retired from the military, would be a most worthy recipient of our outstanding alumnus award presented each year at homecoming. He has certainly done our alma mater proud (more biographical information next week).
The 40 Days and 40 Nights Christian Youth Center got off to a great start and it was good to see so many of our young people there for the first two nights. They are going to need improved air conditioning for the facility and I hope that folks will contribute financially toward that objective. We need to support our young folk when they are involved in such positive activities,
I talked with Ronnie Buck concerning the buildings currently being renovated in the center of town. The floor of the former Sue's Flowers (original Tibbie's Restaurant) is being refinished and part of a wall is being removed to tie that building with the hardware store. And Ronnie says that an awning (green and white) has been ordered and is presently being prepared. Once renovation on those two building is completed, work will then begin on the old Gay Theatre and Creekmore Grocery/Bill's Dollar Store buildings.
Hopefully all of the work will be completed by the Fall Fest since we expect some out-of-town media coverage for this year's Fest. - to include looking at all of the improvements.
When I began planting trees in town a few years ago, I received a lot of criticism to include a comment from one lady that "Jellico must be the only town anywhere with trees growing in the downtown". And she went on to question my mental state for planting them there. (I didn't mention to her Paris, France or Washington, D. C. or even Knoxville among thousand of towns and cities that have countless trees in their downtown areas. I felt that her ignorance pertaining to the situation was bliss and I didn't want to disturb her happiness.)
The above brings me to the fact that I received a letter last week from the city of Germantown, Tennessee citing a statewide conference to be held there on October 13th that will discuss having more trees in towns and cities. According to the correspondence, "….trees are a distinguishing element in a city's streetscape, a vital force in cleansing urban air, a natural cooler in a hot and humid environment, and a presence of beauty that softens the asphalt, concrete and other manmade hard structures and surfaces of a city".
Wonder if they checked with that lady before they scheduled the conference?
I sure received a lot of comments from folks pertaining to "dog days" that I mentioned in last week's article. One fellow that I met in the post office filled me in on a lot of "don'ts" and things to be avoided during that period of the summer. (And he further educated me on the "signs" that I have heard about all of my life but never understood. According to him - and most folks when I was a kid -things like having teeth pulled, planting crops, etc. depended upon the correct "signs" as well as dog days.)
After reading that article on dog days, Linda Meadors went to the trouble of calling up "dog days" on the Internet. According to the WeatherBug Weekday site (Mark Hoekzema, meteorologist), "…..the term (dog days) brings up images of dogs lying on the front porch on hot summer days, not moving for fear of over heating or the extended late summer heat that sends dogs running for the cool shade of a porch or tree."
Hoekzema discussed the ancient beliefs that dog days came from a celestial dog, Sirius or the "Dog Star" , the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major that is so evident at this time of the year. But he states that, "We now know that the hottest days of the year occur during these 'Dog Days' because of the tilt of the earth. Because of the tilt, over the summer months in the northern hemisphere, the earth stores up heat and becomes hotter until mid-August when the cooling begins. Despite the reasoning for this hot time of the year, this period of time still sends dogs running to the shade of a cool porch." (wonder if it makes snakes go blind too?.)
Our Blue Devils won their opener with Oakdale last Friday night (8-6) but the game certainly was no offensive show. Early season mistakes and penalties kept halting Jellico offensive drives.
However the Devils' defense looked the best it has looked in several years with a lot of defenders "taking both the high road and the low road and meeting at the ball carrier". And gang tackling is one of the key ingredients to success in playing defense.
Like all young teams (and a lot of veteran teams), our pass defense will have to improve - and it will with experience. However several of the teams on this year's schedule rely greatly on the pass and that is certainly true of this week's opponent Williamsburg. The Yellow Jackets often come with four wide receivers and have a quarterback that can throw - a frightening situation.
It should be an interesting match-up and the Devils appear to be much more competitive in the rivalry with our next door neighbors. And wouldn't a win over the Jackets do wonders for our program? But regardless of whether we win or lose, folks are convinced that new head coach Danny Oakes and his staff are in the process of building a much more competitive football program and the future looks brighter -in fact at least two freshmen started last Friday night and others played. And as written earlier, both of our quarterbacks are sophomores.
It is extremely important that our fans get out and support the Blue to give the coaches and players an always welcome boost. There's nothing like looking into the stands and seeing a large crowd of rabid fans rooting the team on - and we all need to be there Friday night at Humphrey Stadium/Morton Field to do just that! GO BLUE!!! BEAT WILLIAMSBURG!!!
E-mail me at: mayor@jellico.tn.us
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