Talk about hitting the big time tourism wise! Jellico's Fall Fest has just been included in one of America's top tourism publications, The ABC Art & Craft Event Directory, that is said to be the original publication of its type. Our Fest has been selected as one of 1,000 national events of interest to artists, crafters and food vendors. In fact Jellico is placed between adds for such activities annually taking place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Lakeland, Florida and Spring, Texas. (Most if not all states have activities included in the 1,000 that were finally selected and included in the publication.)
Tourism Director Jake Bennett has done a tremendous job of organizing, conducting and advertising the Fest and it will certainly be interesting to see what affect the publication has around the country. We have several arts and crafts produced and presented by locals but it would be great to have them come to Jellico from all around the country.
Our meeting of the Campbell County Joint Economic and Community Development Board (JECDB) at the Court House in Jacksboro on Thursday night discussed several prospective small industries locating somewhere with the county.
But an item of great interest to me and especially the mayors of Caryville and Lake City dealt with the poor lighting along our Interstate interchanges. Unquestionably we have some of the poorest lighting to be found anywhere on Interstate-75.. As one mayor stated, it is not surprising that some folks are hesitant to get off in our towns with such poorly lighted areas.
The utilities departments of all three towns have attempted to improve the situation and have improved it as much as they possibly can. But state and federal assistance is required if we are ever going to have the kind of really good lighting that is badly needed. Grants are said to be available for that purpose. But if that is true, they in all probability require a 50-50 match which is just too hard for most small towns to furnish..
The Board did agree to explore every possible source of funding to help obtain much better lighting.. Millions are spent annually on the Interstate highway but yet little has been spent on interchange lighting for our three towns -especially Jellico - that are the "gateway" into Tennessee and the south.. The drive is on all over the state and country to increase tourism and improved lighting along interstate interchanges could be a big help in that process - as well as greatly improving the safety aspect..
As expected, the Jellico Beer Regulatory Board during its special call meeting on Thursday night, granted a permit to sell beer to the new "El Charrito" Mexican restaurant. As I wrote last week, it is my understanding that the new restaurant will open around April 1st..
The meeting at the Community Center also on Thursday night concerning wireless Internet service conducted by our local server Netlink 2000, drew a number of interested citizens and Steve and Lisa Casey were well pleased with the response.
We had an item to come up at our last meeting of the City Council that we need to address but one for which we do not have the funds for accomplishing anything like total corrective action. Our sidewalks are deteriorating but the expense to do all that needs to be done is far beyond our present ability to finance. However street commissioner Alvin Evans did commit to have the city street crew to do as much as is within their capability to accomplish..
And we hope to be able to soon start work on the sidewalk leading from Veterans Park out South Main Street to London Avenue and on to the baseball fields that is to be funded under a special grant. But we do need to include repairs of existing sidewalks in our long range planning - and possibly include one or two sections in the budgets for several future years.
Johnny Baird informed me that the roofing of the old Coca-Cola plant has now been completed and the interior of the building is being power washed. Following that task, work will begin on the exterior of the building. Johnny said that no decision has yet been made as to the color of the building once it is restored or even what purpose it will serve.
But if it resembles the other buildings that he has already improved and painted, it's for sure that it will greatly improve the appearance of that entire block of South Main Street.
Ronnie Buck also gave me a tour of the work still in progress on those buildings. With the exception of the work done on the rear of the old Creekmore Grocery/Bill's Dollar Store which has made a great improvement there, most of what is being done is not visible from the exterior of the buildings. Such a massive renovation program as the Bucks have underway requires time but we are all looking forward to the completed project of renovating those structures. As I have written many times in the past, renovation of those buildings is the key to our entire downtown restoration project.
And as folks prepare to put out their gardens (and as I think about putting out mine), they might want to check out the stock the Bucks have on hand. From just looking around, it appeared they have about everything a person could need for a garden, caring for a lawn, pruning trees and shrubs and all kinds of related spring and summer projects.
Speaking of the coming spring weather and planting, Indian Mountain State Park Manager Jerome Cummins informed me that planting of dogwoods and redbuds should start at any time. The row of flowering trees will start on Walker Lane/Proctor Hollow Road near the swimming pool and continue down that road to London Avenue and then all the way along London Avenue to almost the basketball court and the ball fields. Can you imagine what a gorgeous sight such an enormous number of dogwoods and redbuds are going to present in a few years when they mature and are in full bloom?
(For a few years, it seemed as if almost everyone was setting out flowering trees and shrubs but that seems to have slacked off in the last year or two. Here's hoping that everyone once again gets involved in such plantings this year and that we have them everywhere. As one senior citizen lady informed me a few years ago, "We can't get too many of them!" Well stated!)
It was really a great day for our Indian Mountain State Park when Jerome was named as Manager, Ranger, Director or whatever his correct title may be. He and his staff have made some tremendous improvements during his tenure to date and he has some hopes for future improvements that he does not want to reveal at this time.. But if he is able to acquire some land that he desires to add to the park sometime in the future, the plans he has for it will bring folks from far and wide. Having lived on Indian Mountain for several years, it is something that I had thought about many times for that area but certainly never expected to see become a reality.
However Jerome has demonstrated his tenacity in working to accomplish what he sets out to do and I expect to see his hopes realized sometime in future years. The Park is already one of the most beautiful around and the potential is there to make it even more so.. I have had out-of-area and out-of-state campers to tell me that they could not believe their eyes when they got their first good look upon entering the Park. As many have told me, "we are very fortunate to have it!"
March weather this year was what we have learned to expect around here. Last Saturday it was snow showering when I first got out of bed, cleared up some, snow showered some more, the wind blew, the sun came out, it began snowing so hard it looked like a Christmas card, the sun came out, etc.. But neither rain, nor sleet nor snow nor gloom of night (or however that old postal saying goes) has stopped the annual growth of wild onions on our front lawn that seem to be indestructible even to weapons of mass destruction.
As I have often written, long range weather forecasts don't always mean anything. But if the one posted on the Internet at the time this article is being written is to be trusted, we might as well get ready now for the April showers. Believe it or not, we are actually running behind on our annual rainfall around here and maybe the rain will bring the water table back up to where it should be. But don't you dread those dreary rainy days?
Let's hope the showers don't put a damper on some of the spring activities that are planned. You may want to place them on your personal calendar!
Alla Faye Rutherford has scheduled her now annual HEALTH WALK at Indian Mountain Park for Saturday, April 15th starting at 9:00 AM.. The number of participants in that activity continues to increase and it is expected to do so again this year.
The EASTER EGG hunt will then be conducted in the Park following the walk and starting at 11:30 AM.. It's a great time for the kids and the efforts of the young folks and park staff in conducting that activity is greatly appreciated.
UROC will be back in town for the weekend of Saturday, April 29th and that event always brings a good number of out of town folks from all around the country.
Our "CLEAN UP, PAINT UP, FIX UP WEEK" will begin that same Saturday, April 29th and continue through Saturday, May 6th.. Here's hoping that we make an all out effort this year.
MAY DAY also sponsored by Alla Faye too will be held on Saturday, May 6th.. Likewise it is expected to draw even more participants this year since it will not conflict with spring break for local schools as it did last spring.
The WOOLDRIDGE REUNION for present and past residents of that community will be held in the Park on Saturday, May 13th..
It looks like Jake is going to have plenty of activities to post on the community bulletin board for quite a while! And that's good!
This time of the year always reminds me when in the second grade at Jellico Elementary School, I made my stage debut in an operetta produced by Mrs. Ida Bugg Hackney who always did such a good job with those things. I was a bunny rabbit and mother made my costume out of some white "long handled" underwear complete with a big wad of cotton sewn on at a strategic location. In a never to be forgotten performance, I hopped out on the stage and joined other little bunnies in singing Irving Berlin's all-time classic, "April Showers".
Bet you didn't know that I had a theatrical background! (But then again I seem to recall having written about it several times in the past. Such an outstanding event in a person's life deserves great publicity.)
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