Hoosier Elected to SUD Board

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Ron Hoosier was elected to serve a four-year term on the Board of Commissioners of the Sewanee Utility District of Franklin and Marion Counties. The results of the election were announced at the Jan. 27 meeting. Hoosier’s term begins in February. 

At the January meeting the board reviewed year-end data for 2014 and looked at progress on the Constructed Wetlands project. The board also discussed concerns about low water pressure in the Midway community.

Hoosier will assume Cliff Huffman’s Marion County seat. The board thanked Huffman, who served on the board eight years, three of those years as chair. 

Reporting on 2014 financial data, SUD Manager Ben Beavers said total revenues were 1.2 percent above budget. Water sales were 3.5 percent less than expected, but sales of water taps made up for the revenue deficit. Operating expenses for 2014 were 11.4 percent less than expected.

The installation of automated meter reading (AMR) technology, largely charged to the 2014 budget, cost SUD $300,000 according to Beavers. SUD paid for the project without borrowing money and without dipping into savings by drawing on accrued income in its cash accounts.

Beavers anticipates final data will show unaccounted-for water loss decreased in 2014, contrary to what earlier data indicated. [Unaccounted-for water loss is the difference between water produced and water registered as passing through customer meters.] A software error resulted in reports for the last three months showing inaccurately low water use from two-inch commercial meters installed during the AMR upgrade. The unreported water registered as unaccounted-for loss, and customers with two-inch meters were under-billed. 

Two-inch meter customers will receive a revised bill, Beavers said, with the additional amount owed per customer averaging $50–$100. Beavers predicted 21–22 percent unaccounted-for water loss for 2014,  compared to 23 percent in 2013.

Sewanee forestry professor Scott Torreano updated the board on the trial wetlands slated for construction at the SUD Wastewater Treatment Plant, in conjunction with a research project undertaken jointly by the University of the South and the University of Georgia. University of the South legal counsel Donna Pierce and the project engineering firm Golder and Associates are reviewing the licensing agreement drafted by SUD’s attorney, Don Scholes. Golder engineers will be in Sewanee Feb. 3–4 to visit the project site and discuss the design. Torreano invited Beavers and SUD board members to participate in the meetings.

Commissioner Randall Henley said two constituents asked him if SUD had plans to address low water pressure in the Midway community. SUD initially intended to install a pressure boosting station, Beavers said. SUD has tried for more than a year, without success, to get a landowner to grant the easement necessary for the project to move forward. Beavers said relocating the project closer to the airport would add $20,000 to the cost, making it difficult to justify the expense since only 10–12 Midway customers would benefit.

The board designated the fourth Tuesday of each month as the meeting date in 2015. At the Feb. 24 meeting, Hoosier will be sworn in.

Deadline to Enroll in ACA is Feb. 15 -- Marketplace Form is Needed for 2014 Taxes

The deadline to enroll in health coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is Sunday, Feb. 15, and there are local resources to help consumers get more information and obtain insurance. The South Cumberland Plateau Health Network is sponsoring two Marketplace enrollment events.

The Health Insurance Marketplace helps people without health coverage enroll in a high-quality plan. When you apply, you’ll learn if you qualify for a health insurance plan with savings based on your income, and learn if you qualify for premium tax credits that lower the costs of coverage. 

From 1 to 4 p.m., today (Friday), Jan. 30, free in-person assistance will be available for the Marketplace at the Smoke House Restaurant in Monteagle. Certified ACA navigators and application counselors will be on-site. They will be able to answer questions about eligibility and enrollment procedures, assist consumers with the enrollment process and facilitate options for insurance premium reductions.

At Emerald-Hodgson Hospital in Sewanee, free assistance will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 31. There will be certified ACA navigators and application counselors to help. To enroll in ACA, folks must bring the following information: proof of identity; Social Security numbers and birth dates for individuals in the household; pay stubs, W-2 forms; policy numbers for any current insurance coverage; and a valid email address.

People who were enrolled in the 2014 Marketplace should not file their income taxes until they receive IRS form 1095-A from the Department of Health and Human Services. When it arrives, verify that the information is correct and keep copies of it. If there is a problem with the form, go to <www.healthcare.gov/tax-issues> or call (800) 318-2596 to get it corrected. If you filed your tax return before you received the 1095-A form, you must file an amended federal income tax return. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that as of Jan. 16, more than 184,000 Tennesseans have signed up in the Health Insurance Marketplace. However, many people are unaware that free assistance is available, that those who fail to obtain insurance may be subject to a fine, and that the enrollment deadline is near.

Financial help may be available in the form of tax credits to help pay for plans. According to federal reports released recently, 83 percent of Tennesseans who selected a Marketplace plan qualified for such financial assistance, and three-quarters of Tennesseans who selected a plan during the first month could find coverage for less than $100 per month. In 2015, Tennesseeans can choose from five issuers in the Marketplace; there are an average of 71 health plans this year, up from 48 in 2014.

Help is also available from a number of organizations. 

Katie Goforth, network director of the South Cumberland Plateau Health Network, can be reached at (615) 417-7258 or by email, <Goforth.SCPHN@gmail.com>.

The Mission of the South Cumberland Plateau Health Network is to improve the health and quality of life for the people of the region.

To contact a certified ACA navigator, call the Medical Foundation in Chattanooga at (423) 622-2872 or a certified application counselor at Erlanger Health Systems, (423) 778-7828.

There is also information available online at <www.HealthCare.gov>; or call (800) 318-2596; or find local in-person assistance by going to <www.localhelp.healthcare.gov>.

“Visual Vibrations” at SAS Gallery

The St. Andrew’s-Sewanee Gallery is pleased to welcome the work of  Pippa Browne, Feb. 2–March 6. There will be a gallery reception 5–7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 5. The exhibit is titled “Visual Vibrations.”

Browne, who moved to Sewanee in 2014, was born and lived most of her life in Zimbabwe, Africa. She earned a degree in fine art and psychology from the University of Natal, South Africa. Her art and illustrations have been exhibited in Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Slovakia, and she has been on touring exhibitions to many other countries worldwide. In Zimbabwe her work was accepted for a number of national exhibitions where she has received awards of merit. Barefoot Books of Bath UK and others have published her five books: “African Animals ABC,” “Gaggle of Geese,” “Kangaroos Have Joeys,” “Elephants and Emus” and “Legend of the Chinese Zodiac.”

Browne will offer a day-long painting workshop on Saturday, Feb. 21. 

For details about the workshop or to register contact SAS Gallery director Molly Schaefer by email, <sasgallery@sasweb.org>.

A Messenger Interview: In the Projection Booth with Michael Dunaway

by Elizabeth Ellis, Messenger Movie Critic

I had the pleasure of interviewing 1991 Sewanee alumnus Michael Dunaway, editor of the film section of Paste Magazine and founding partner of Gasoline Films and of Poitier & Dunaway Motion Pictures. While in Sewanee in January Dunaway screened his latest film, “21 Years: Richard Linklater,” a documentary that follows the work of the acclaimed filmmaker whose film “Boyhood” is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. 

Passionate and affable, Dunaway agreed to meet with me in the projection booth of the Sewanee Union Theatre where, as a student, he worked many a night, and answer a few of my burning questions about “21 Years” and why he chose to become a filmmaker. 

When filming, there is so much footage to choose from. How do you sort out the best parts? 

It is very difficult. There is a lot of stuff that is great and fantastic, just as good as you thought it was, and it doesn’t fit with the story you’re trying to tell. Those are the really difficult parts, because you think, “Wow, no one will ever see this. This is a great moment with a famous person, talking about a really interesting thing on film, and no one will ever see it.” It is a good Zen practice of letting go and trusting that the next great moment will fit into the story you’re trying to tell. 

What are your favorite Linklater films? What are some films we should see before we die?Rick’s three best movies are the last three he’s done: “Boyhood,” “Before Midnight” and “Bernie.” That’s completely extraordinary. I’m pretty sure you cannot say that about any other director who has been around as long as Rick has. It makes me excited what the next 21 years are going to hold for Rick and what he’s going to bring us now that he has really hit his stride. Recently, in the last decade, are five American masterpieces: “Boyhood” [by Linklater], “Take Shelter” [2011, directed by Jeff Nichols], “The Tree of Life [2011, by Terence Malick], the director’s cut of “Margaret” [2011, by Kenneth Lonergan] and a little movie, “That Evening Sun” [2009, by Scott Teems] shot in Tennessee near Knoxville and based on a William Gay short story. 

There are some great animated shorts in “21 Years: Richard Link-later.” How did you choose the parts to animate?

I have to give a shout-out here to my producing partner and co-director Tara Wood. Among many, many other things she did is find Powerhouse Animation from Austin, Texas … they did “Clerks: The Animated Series.”  Everything we threw at them, they said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it, let’s try it,’ which is not always the case. Each animation is in a different style. As for choosing parts to animate, part of it came organically as we thought, oh that story would be great! Also, if there was a long bit on a person’s face, we would throw in some animation for interest.

Tell us about your journey as a filmmaker and why this is such a passion for you.

Rick is such an inspiration for so many other filmmakers, and to me. He captures that punk rock ethos: Don’t ask anybody for permission, don’t wait till the time is right, don’t wait till everything’s perfect and until your skills are perfectly honed, f that, just get out and make something. The idea that you can just pick up your camera and film something and if it was sufficiently interesting people would wanna see it; that’s revolutionary. Rick is revolutionary in that way, and that’s incredibly inspiring and empowering. There is certainly no art form as immersive as the cinema—it is a strong instrument to be wielded carefully. “With great power comes great responsibility,” to quote Uncle Ben [who says this to Peter Parker in “Spiderman”]. Filmmakers like Rick enlarge our possibilities of what can be done. 

What is your best advice for up-and-coming filmmakers, people who want to break into the industry? 

The first thing is do what Rick teaches: Do it. Don’t plan on it, don’t think it through, don’t wait till you’re ready­—just start doing it. Songwriter Johnny Mercer had a great saying about how he wrote so much: You write for the dust bin. You wake up and you write something assuming that it’s going in the dust bin. It’s not for everyone else, it’s for the process. Then one day you start to throw one in the dust bin and you can’t quite do it. You start rewriting and revising and that’s the one to keep. Make your movies now even if you’re the only one that ever sees it. Find the right collaborators and partners, people you share your creative vision with. Find people who still love you and still want you to succeed and will work with you to overcome weaknesses. Once you get to the point where you are taking other people’s money to make a movie, treat money as if it were your own. Make a movie that has a shot of doing right by your investors…don’t create a dream project that takes $3 million to shoot that’s never going to make more than $60,000 at the box office. That’s completely irresponsible. It’s an unromantic thing, but an important thing. 

To see Liz’s full conversation with Michael, watch her video interview at <theinsatiablecritic.blogspot.com>.

Free Income Tax Assistance Available in Monteagle

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) will file income taxes for residents with family income of $53,000 or less, beginning in February. There is no charge for this program.

VITA is a team of IRS-certified tax preparers who can prepare your tax return and provide information about special tax credits for which you may qualify, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. 

The Monteagle-Sewanee VITA site will be located this year at the Church of the Holy Comforter, 16 First St., Monteagle. No appointment will be necessary.

In addition to assisting low-to-moderate income individuals, VITA is an IRS initiative designed to help persons with disabilities and the elderly. For more information email <vitasewanee@gmail.com>. 

Sewanee Community Chest Nears Goal

Because of the generosity of the entire community, the Sewanee Community Chest campaign for 2014–15 needs less than $10,000 to meet its goal of $101,000. Organizers are hoping to wrap up the annual campaign in the coming weeks and are optimistic about the campaign’s success.

The goal of the Sewanee Community Chest is to help support groups that provide critical services to our community. Through Community Chest funding, 27 local organizations help those caught in the cycle of poverty, improve lives through outreach and community initiatives, and provide support for children with a variety of programs. These organizations rely on the Sewanee Community Chest for yearly support. 

Even the smallest donations can help: $25 will help to spay/neuter one animal through the Animal Alliance South Cumberland program; $50 will help to buy camping gear for two Scouts; $75 will help pay one month of maintenance expenses for the Sewanee Community Center; $100 will help defray the cost of fireworks for the annual Fourth of July celebration; $250 will help to pay for a scholarship at the Sewanee Children’s Center; $500 will help five TigerShark swimmers with registration fees; and $1,000 will help to pay for Sewanee Elementary teachers’ professional development.

Go to <www.sewaneecivic.wordpress.com> for more information about the organizations supported by the Community Chest.

Since 1943, the Sewanee Civic Association has organized the Community Chest, which now raises tens of thousands of dollars yearly for local organizations. Donations and pledges can be made any time to the Sewanee Community Chest, P.O. Box 99, Sewanee, TN 37375. PayPal is also an option; go to <www.sewaneecivic.wordpress.com>. The Sewanee Community Chest is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible.

Partin Named CEO of Sequachee Valley Electric

The Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) board of directors has named Mike Partin SVEC’s new president and chief executive officer. Partin succeeds Bob Matheny, who retired earlier this month after serving for more than 16 years. Partin will be the seventh manager/CEO in the SVEC’s 75-year existence.

“Mike is knowledgeable and experienced in the electric cooperative industry, having grown in responsibility and leadership over the course of his career,” said board chairman Mike Jordan. “The board has complete confidence in his ability to lead SVEC in the delivery of safe, reliable, affordable electric service to its 35,000 members.”

Partin began his career with SVEC in 1998, serving first as vice president of marketing and member services and for the past five years, as chief operating officer. He is an alumnus of Grundy County High School and Middle Tennessee State University. Partin is also a graduate of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s management program at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Partin has also served in various capacities with industry-related organizations, including Touchstone Energy Cooperative, the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association and the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association. 

“I am certainly humbled and honored that the board has put their trust in me to lead the cooperative,” said Partin. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with our board and the dedicated men and women serving our communities and members. Our industry is on the brink of tremendous change, and I look forward to the challenge of navigating SVEC into the future.” 

Partin and his family live and farm in the Pelham Valley on the same land that has been in his family for generations. Mike and his wife, Kim, a teacher at Monteagle Elementary School, have two daughters, Macy and Maty. 

Area Hikers Complete the FSC Hike ’Em All in 2014 Challenge

Four area hikers accepted the Hike ’Em All in 2014 challenge and accomplished their goal; the challenge was sponsored by the Friends of South Cumberland (FSC). 

Each hiker completed hiking the 14 trails described in Mary Priestley’s “Hike ’Em All” guide to hiking in South Cumberland State Park. 

The four hikers who met the goal are: Marietta Poteet of Monteagle, Naullain Kendrick of Manchester, Linda Spangler of Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Linda Daniels of Powell, Tenn. Each hiked 120 miles of trails in the park. 

Poteet and Kendrick are veteran hikers; Spangler and Daniels are novice hikers who had only completed a 12-mile hike before setting this goal. 

In addition to finishing the Hike ’Em All challenge, Poteet completed the coursework and community service hours to become a Tennessee Naturalist. She is an active member of FSC and is a frequent hike leader. She is also involved with the Tennessee Trails Association. 

Kendrick has also completed the coursework and community service hours to be a Tennessee Naturalist. He serves on the FSC board and was the chairman of the hike challenge. 

Those who completed the challenge received a T-shirt, a certificate of achievement and free FSC membership for a year. Although the FSC spotlighted this challenge during 2014, the opportunity to complete the designated trails and be recognized is open to all and does not have to be finished in one year. FSC is planning a new challenge for 2015. For more information go to <www.friendsofsouth​cumberland>.

Regents Approve New Dorm on Van Ness Site

At its December meeting in Birmingham, the regents approved the construction of a new undergraduate residence hall on the Van Ness Hall site. The new residence hall, which will accommodate between 109 and 114 students, follows the principles of the 2013 facilities master plan in adding residence hall capacity near the center of campus.

The firm of Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas of Norfolk, Va., which designed Smith Hall as well as the recent undergraduate theme house complexes on Georgia and Mississippi avenues, has provided a schematic design. Street Dixon Rick, the Nashville firm that most recently worked on the Cannon Hall renovation and on Smith Hall, will handle the balance of the design work. American Constructors, which built Smith Hall and has done work for Vanderbilt and the University School of Nashville, will handle construction. 

The facility is planned to be open for fall 2016.

Town Meetings Scheduled About Area Health Care

The South Cumberland Plateau Health Network and the town mayors of Grundy County are sponsoring community conversations about how to improve health care in the county. Organizers want to hear from everyone. The information they receive will help as new programs are created to improve the health and wellness of the entire community. Dinner will be served. There is no charge to attend.

On Thursday, Feb. 5, the meeting will be at the Palmer Community Center. On Thursday, Feb. 12, the meeting will be at Dutch Maid Bakery in Tracy City. On Thursday, Feb. 19, the meeting will be at the DuBose Conference Center. 

All meetings will be 5:30–7 p.m. Organizers expect to have locations for future meetings in Altamont/Beersheba, Pelham and Coalmont.

These conversations are made possible through the support of the Grundy County Health Council, the South Cumberland Community Fund and the South Cumberland Plateau VISTA Program. 

The mission of the South Cumberland Plateau Health Network is to improve the health and quality of life for the people of the region.

The mission of the South Cumberland Community Fund is to improve the quality of life across the plateau by increasing philanthropic giving and providing community leadership to build on the strength of the area’s people, communities and natural setting; enhance community capacity and collaboration; and support innovative ways to solve community problems. 

For more information contact Katie Goforth at (615) 417-7258 or email <Goforth.SCPHN@gmail.com>.

Martin Luther King Celebration on Monday

All Saints’ Chapel and the School of Theology Committee for Diversity and Reconciliation are co-sponsoring the annual All Saints’ Chapel MLK Service recognizing the life of Martin Luther King Jr., at 4:45 p.m., Monday, Jan. 19, in All Saints’ Chapel. Students and faculty of the School of Theology, University faculty and staff, and members of the community will read selected excerpts from the life and works of King. This will mark the 30th year that the Sewanee community has gathered for this purpose.

University Carillonneur John Bordley will perform a short recital with works honoring King at 5:45 p.m., as people move from All Saints’ to the Bishop’s Common.

At 6:30 p.m., the community is invited to share a potluck dinner and celebration in the Bishop’s Commons Hearth Room. The keynote speaker will be Rev. Dr. Deborah Jackson, associate dean for community life at the School of Theology. Students will share poetry and dance, and everyone will join together in song. The Sewanee Praise Choir, under the direction of music professor Prakash Wright, will perform selections chosen for the occasion.

The African-American Alliance, the Cumberland Center for Justice and Peace, the School of Theology, and the Office of Multi-Cultural Affairs, are the co-sponsors of the service and dinner. 

The events are free and all are welcome to attend.

Low Country Boil Dinner & Fund-Raiser Saturday

The fifth annual Low Country Boil will be 4–7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 17, in the Tennessee National Guard Armory, 107 Armory Rd., Monteagle. This event is a fund-raiser for Friends of South Cumberland Park, the Monteagle Food Bank and the Monteagle Mountain Chamber of Commerce. 

Enjoy a delicious meal and music by Bazzania! The menu is Cajun-spiced shrimp, potatoes, sausages and corn; gumbo; dirty rice; bread pudding with rum sauce; and tea. For those with seafood allergies, there will be a boil without shrimp.

Tickets are $15 for adults ($18 at the door) and $7 for children 12 and under. 

Advance tickets are available at Regions Bank, Sewanee; Citizens Tri-County Bank, Monteagle; Monteagle Sewanee Realtors, Monteagle; Citizens State Bank, Monteagle; Mountain Valley Bank, Monteagle; Citizens State Bank, Altamont; Dutch Maid Bakery, Tracy City; Monteagle City Hall; Monteagle Mountain Chamber of Commerce and online at <www.monteaglechamber.com>. 

There are a limited number of tickets available, so early purchase is encouraged. For more information call (931) 924-5353 or email <mmtn​chamber@blomand.net>.

Help Available for ACA Enrollment

Assistance is available for people who need help with enrolling in Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans. For folks who are uninsured, under-insured, or need assistance, this free program will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 31, at Emerald-Hodgson Hospital in Sewanee, part of the Southern Tennessee Regional Health System. Open enrollment for ACA ends on Feb. 15.

In-person assistance will be provided by certified ACA navigators, and application counselors will be on-site. They will be able to answer questions about eligibility and enrollment procedures, assist consumers with the enrollment process and facilitate options for insurance premium reductions.

To enroll in ACA, you must bring the following information:

• Proof of identity;

• Social Security numbers and birth dates for individuals in your household;

• Pay stubs, W-2 forms;

• Policy numbers for any current insurance coverage; and 

• A valid email address.

For more information contact Katie Goforth at (615) 417-7258 or email <Goforth.SCPHN@gmail.com>.

Folks at Home Caregiver Workshops Offered

Folks at Home is offering a series of three workshops for family caregivers that is titled “One Day @ a Time: Taking Care of Yourself While Caring for Others.” The workshops will be facilitated by Kathleen Banchoff, a writer and hospice volunteer based in Providence, R.I. 

The workshops will take place 3:30–5 p.m., on Sunday, Jan. 25, Sunday, Feb. 15, and Sunday, March 1, in Claiborne Parish House at Otey Memorial Parish. 

Topics will include “Communication Dilemmas: Making Others Understand,” “Story-Telling: Entertaining Ways to Ask for Help” and “Spirituality of Caregiving: Finding the Smile.” Each session is a stand-alone workshop and will include “tips and tools” handouts. 

Participants may attend any or all of the three workshops.

The cost of each workshop is a food donation to Community Action Committee or a donation of 1.5 hours to the Folks at Home timebank program.

Folks at Home (F@H) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping members continue a comfortable lifestyle in the greater Sewanee community with services they need. 

For questions or to reserve a place, contact Folks at Home at 598-0303 or by email, <folksathomesewanee@gmail.com>.

Summer School will be Option for Elementary Students in Franklin Co.

by Kevin Cummings

Parents of second- and third-graders in Franklin County will have the choice to send their kids to summer school if they perform in the bottom 10 percent in reading or math. Rebecca Sharber, director of schools in Franklin County, talked about the offering during the Jan. 12 school board meeting. 

“The elementary summer school is new in the way we are planning for it. We have had elementary summer school in the past, but it has been several years since we have done so,” said Sharber. 

Using an effort called “Response to Instruction and Intervention,” Sharber said, educators “have better been able to identify students who need more help than we can give during regular classroom instruction.

“We will have better defined the students who could best benefit from summer instruction under our new processes. We think this will help our elementary summer school be more helpful to students going into the next school year,” she said.

Clark Memorial Elementary will be the site of the program, which begins June 1 and ends June 26. Students will attend from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., Monday through Thursday. 

Adam Tucker, District 5 Board of Education representative, said he supports the summer program, which will provide an additional month of intense instruction in small class sizes.

“Unfortunately, due largely to funding constraints, the program is limited to 20 second-grade students and 20 third-grade students,” he said. “My hope is that the County Commission and the State General Assembly will recognize the value of such interventions and provide additional funding to expand this program and offer similar interventions to students in other grades in the future.”

“Extended contract,” a state program that funds outside-of-the-school-day help for students, will pay for four teachers and one administrator at summer school, Sharber said. 

“The funds have dwindled over the years, but we do still receive some funding from the state for these activities,” she added.

In other business at the meeting,  Kevin Caroland, school board chairman, said that as of Jan. 9, there were 18 applicants for the position of director of schools. Sharber is retiring this summer. The final date for applications is Jan. 19, and the Tennessee School Board Association is tentatively scheduled to present five finalists for the position at the Feb. 9 Franklin County board meeting. Caroland said it might be better if TSBA can present the finalists a week sooner at the Feb. 2 school board work session. Board member Chris Guess said he would like to see all the applications, not just those of the finalists.

Sharber discussed the possibility of adding a Knox-Box Rapid Entry System at the 11 county schools. The locked boxes would contain a key to the school, and emergency responders would have access to the boxes to take action quicker during emergencies. Sharber said the cost would be about $3,300. The issue was not on the agenda, and the board took no action.

Lula and James Burnett: A Love Story for a Lifetime, a Marriage for 50 years

by Kevin Cummings,  Messenger Staff Writer

Lula and James Burnett pose for a picture on the couch in their little beige home on Oak Street in Sewanee.

“You’re sitting way over there,” she says to him. James slides closer and puts his arm around her.

James, 73, says God meant for him to marry Lula, 74, from the moment they were born. They grew up together in Belvidere, Tenn., where they lived two miles apart, played together as children, went to the same elementary and high school and sat in the same church pews on Sunday.

Did James have a crush on Lula when they were little kids?

“I don’t know all that,” he says brusquely.

“He did,” Lula says smiling.

As of Jan. 7, the day of this interview, the Burnetts have been married 50 years.

James says, “I tell you one thing, we’ve been to the mountain top, and we’ve been to the valley, but we always got back to where we started from. You believe that can happen?”

Their first kiss was in high school after watching a ballgame. Lula was getting out of the car in front of her house when he kissed her.

“You ain’t gotta tell the whole story,” James says, and she starts laughing.

Many of their early memories are faded now, “but I remember that kiss,” Lula says. She laughs again when asked how that first kiss made her feel.

“I don’t know, I can’t explain that,” she says.

They broke up several times in high school and got back together, the moments apart making them appreciate one another even more.

In a car again, he asked her to be his wife in December 1964, when he came to pick her up for a date. They don’t remember where they were going that day.

“We were going to Paris,” James jokes.

They got married on Jan. 7, 1965. On Saturday, Jan. 10, the couple will renew their vows at Belvidere Church of God, where they still go to worship. A community reception will follow at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Cravens Hall in Sewanee.

Lula says a lot of people around town don’t know her first name, they just call her “Ms. Burnett,” like the kids did at the Sewanee Children’s Center pre-K class, where she taught for three decades.

James held a variety of jobs in Sewanee, working at Sewanee Military Academy, the University Supply and Grocery Store, and the University athletic department. He started work for Goodrich in Tullahoma in the 1970s, helping build landing gear for airplanes, and worked there 30 years before retiring. He also served on the Sewanee Community Council for about 10 years.

They raised four daughters in Sewanee, living 48 years in the same house. They also have four granddaughters, two great-granddaughters, and a great-grandson who is about a month old.

The phone rings during the interview and Lula goes into the hall to answer. “Hi, Poo-Poo! How you doin’?” It’s their four-year-old great-granddaughter Arianna calling to wish them a happy anniversary. 

Lula hangs up the phone and sits down next to James again.

“I just call her anything, sweet pea or Poo-Poo or whatever,” Lula says. “She’s going to be a flower girl in the wedding.”

Lula says she is excited about renewing her vows, but she can’t speak for James.

“I’m already married is what I say,” James says.

“I didn’t say we weren’t married,” she counters exasperatedly.

They banter back and forth constantly, correcting one another, the arguments not arguments at all, but a sweet rhythm of two people who have spent a lifetime together.

“As long as I’m with him, I’m happy,” she says. “Everybody has disagreements and stuff, but I don’t have no complaints about him that make me want to smack him upside the head.

“Isn’t that right?” she asks him.

“I don’t know, you’re the one talking; I’m listening,” he says.

James jokes often, but reveals a depth of heart and sincerity when he says, “Lula Mae is the sweetest woman in Sewanee.”

Lula says one of the secrets of a long marriage is to let disagreements go. And “prayer, lots of prayer.”

“Raise Cain and forget about it,” is James’ advice and they start laughing again. “Some people’s wife or husband get angry at each other. I’ve heard about people angry at each other three or four weeks at a time and sleeping on the couch.”

“Huh?” Lula turns to him, as if she can’t believe that’s possible.

“You sleep on the couch and you sleep in the bed. We ain’t never done that,” James says. “I ain’t never been mad enough to sleep on the couch. I ain’t gonna do it, no way — couch gets hard.”

 James smiles at Lula once again.

Council’s New Municipal Fee Invites Proposals

A new effort, the Sewanee Community Funding Project Committee, invites individuals and groups to submit proposals for projects that enhance the community and improve the quality of life for area residents. 

In June, the Sewanee Community Council approved increasing the municipal service fee paid by all leaseholders to generate funds to be used by the Community Council for physical improvements and amenities on the Domain. Charged with the task of deciding how those funds will be used, the new committee will receive and evaluate proposals.

The anticipated $10,000 in funds can be used for “practical, functional or educational purposes or somewhere in between,” said Sarah Marhevsky, chair of the committee. Large-scale projects such as sidewalks and projects of smaller scope such as bulbs for planting by Sewanee Elementary School students both fit the criteria outlined in the guidelines.

Applicants submitting proposals can identify new projects, as well as projects that are part of an already existing initiative undertaken by a group or organization. Applicants submitting proposals can identify new projects, as well as projects that are part of an already existing initiative undertaken by a group or organization.

The two-year pilot program, 2015–16, allocates $10,000 each year for municipal improvements, with any unspent funds from 2015 to roll over into the 2016 budget.

The application form asks how the project will benefit Sewanee and its residents, the estimated cost, who will be doing the work, and who will be accountable for completion. Applicants needing help determining the cost of a project or proposing projects requiring University involvement with contractors should contact the project committee at <sewaneeprojectfund​ing@gmail.com>.

Application forms are available at the Sewanee post office and the Sewanee Community Center. Applications can be returned by postal mail or email to the address on the form. The deadline for returning applications is March 1.

Members of the Sewanee Community Funding Project Committee were selected by Vice-Chancellor John McCardell and Provost John Swallow. In addition to Marhevsky, the committee includes Annie Armour, Pixie Dozier, Michael Hurst, Dennis Meeks, Theresa Shackelford, Sarah Sherwood and Adam Tucker. Armour, Dozier, Hurst, Meeks and Shackelford also serve on the Community Council.

For more information email <se​waneeprojectfunding@gmail.com>.

Reported by Leslie Lytle,
Messenger staff writer

Charming Magic: 100-Year-Old Sewanee Talisman Returned After Lost for 70 Years

by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

Did you ever lose something precious, and after resigning yourself to never seeing it again, have it returned to you? This past Christmas, Jane Tolley Harper received the gift of a Sewanee football charm she lost in 1943. Collector of Sewanee memorabilia Rocky Morris brought together Jane and the precious talisman that was awarded to her father, Lee Tolley, in 1914 to commemorate Sewanee’s historic win over Vanderbilt that year.

On a balmy autumn weekend in 1943, Jane Tolley and her friends gathered on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga for a game of tag football. Unbeknownst to her father, Jane had slipped out of the house wearing the 14-karat gold football charm on a chain around her neck. In the course of the afternoon’s spirited play, Jane lost the charm. Furious when he learned what happened, her father insisted they return to Missionary Ridge to look for the keepsake, but they never found it.

Robert “Lee” Tolley played football for Sewanee from 1911 to 1914. Captain and quarterback his senior year, Tolley led Sewanee to the team’s first win over Vanderbilt since 1909. Reporting on the game, the Nov. 28, 1914, Hopkinsville Kentuckian said, Tolley “contributed one of the most spectacular runs ever witnessed on Dudley Field when he returned a punt 75 yards through the entire Vanderbilt brigade for Sewanee’s second touchdown.”

The football charm that 16-year-old Jane Tolley Harper lost had paid tribute to Tolley’s role in the historic game. Engraving on the charm reads, “Captain Lee Tolley” and includes the game’s score, “Sewanee 14,” “Vanderbilt 13.”

In September of 2013, Rocky Morris, a Sewanee resident and collector of Sewanee memorabilia, came across the football charm on eBay. Raised in Winchester, Morris lived in Chattanooga for 25 years; he moved back to the Franklin County area in 1985. He began collecting local picture postcards and developed a special fascination with postcards featuring Sewanee and the surrounding vicinity. His interest in Sewanee postcards led to Morris collecting other Sewanee memorabilia, especially jewelry.

Morris checks the Internet several times a day for collectibles. The eBay seller who posted the gold Sewanee football charm gave prospective buyers two options: “buy it now” or “make an offer.” The lacing on the football was visible in the photograph of the intricately engraved piece, as well as a dominant letter “S,” still showing traces of purple paint and the year 1914, “19” left of the “S” and “14” to the right.

Afraid he might lose the football charm to a higher bidder, Morris took the “buy it now” option. When the charm arrived and Morris got a closer look at the engraving, he researched the story behind the historic game memorialized in the inscription and began searching for people who might have known 1914 Sewanee football star “Captain Lee Tolley.”

Morris first contacted Lynn Tolley, ambassador for Jack Daniel’s Distillery, having seen her name in advertisements. When he came up empty with this Tolley, Morris began an extensive online search for Tolleys in Tennessee. Finally, he connected with Mark Tolley, a car salesman in Nashville who graduated from the University of the South. When Morris questioned him further, Tolley said, “Lee was my great uncle. His daughter Jane is still living. She’s 88 years old and lives on Signal Mountain.”

Morris phoned Jane Tolley Harper, and when he began to describe the football charm he purchased on eBay, she filled in the blanks, exclaiming excitedly, “It’s gold, isn’t it?”

Jane told Morris the story about losing the charm 70 years before while playing tag football on Missionary Ridge. Lee Tolley had gone on to serve as an official for the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and along with the football charm, Jane wore her father’s referee jersey that day.

“I thought I was so cute,” Jane said remembering. “I was just 16.”

In November, Morris received a phone call from Mary Bach, Jane’s daughter. She wanted to buy the charm for her mother as a surprise Christmas present.

“I hated to part with it,” Morris said, “but it needed to go back home.”

On Dec. 11, Mary Bach and Rocky Morris met at the Blue Chair Café in Sewanee to share stories. Among the many coincidences, two stand out. Bob Tolley, Lee’s father, was a distiller from Lincoln County, and Lynn Tolley from Jack Daniel’s Distillery is, in fact, a distant relative. Even more curious, the U.S. Postal Service delivered the charm to Rocky Morris on Sept. 17, Jane’s birthday.

Christmas morning, Jane and her extended family gathered to exchange gifts. After the flurry of present unwrapping, a small silver bag containing a tiny silver box remained under the tree. With more than 20 family members looking on, Jane Tolley Harper unwrapped the gift from her daughter, Mary Bach.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Jane said, stunned and pleased.

The eBay seller who Morris purchased the charm from specializes in estate sale jewelry, but he doesn’t recall where he acquired the charm. Lee Tolley’s football charm is back home, but where the charm spent the past 70 years remains a mystery.

Easter Convocation at Sewanee on Jan. 16

Opening convocation for the Easter semester at the University of the South will be at noon Friday, Jan. 16, in All Saints’ Chapel. Honorary degrees will be presented, and new members will be inducted into the Order of Gownsmen. Eric Metaxas, author and television host, will give the convocation address and will receive an honorary degree. Honorary degrees will also be presented during the convocation to Janice Holder, the Rt. Rev. Whayne Hougland, Michael Leslie and the Rt. Rev. Nicholas Thomas Wright. Convocation will be streamed live online for those who are unable to attend.

Metaxas and Wright will each give a talk during the days leading up to convocation.

Metaxas is a leading evangelical thinker, an award-winning author, a speaker, and a television and radio host. He is best known for two biographies, “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery” and “Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.” He has also written humor, children’s books and scripts for “VeggieTales.” Metaxas is the founder and host of the New York City-based event series, “Socrates in the City: Conversations on the Unexamined Life.” Metaxas was recently named as a senior fellow and lecturer at large for the King’s College in New York City.

Metaxas will give a public talk at 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 15, in Gailor Auditorium, followed by a book signing and reception in the Gailor lobby.

Janice M. Holder retired last August from the Tennessee Supreme Court after 24 years on the bench. Holder was the third woman to serve on the state’s high court and was the first woman to serve as chief justice (2008–10). Following law school, she served as senior law clerk to the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, worked as an attorney in private practice and was elected circuit court judge in 1990. She was appointed to a vacancy on the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1996, and then won election and re-election. Holder made attorney well-being a priority at the state and national level and was an advocate for access to justice initiatives. Among numerous other awards, she was presented the 2014 William M. Leech Jr. Public Service Award by the Tennessee Bar Association.

The Rt. Rev. Whayne M. Hougland Jr., T’98, is the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan. A Kentucky native from a Roman Catholic family, Hougland came to Western Michigan after serving as rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Salisbury, N.C., and as canon evangelist at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Ky. During his eight years there, St. Luke’s became known locally as the “Church That Feeds People,” feeding hundreds of children through its BackPack Buddies program. He was active in the Diocese of North Carolina, serving on several teams there and as a clergy mentor for postulants and newly ordained priests. When Hougland was called to Holy Orders following a corporate career, he graduated from the Master of Divinity program at Sewanee’s School of Theology and was ordained a priest in 1998.

Michael Leslie is a professor of English and dean of the British Studies at Oxford program for Rhodes College in Memphis. Before joining Rhodes in 1994, he served as senior lecturer in English literature at Sheffield University. He was educated at Leicester and Edinburgh universities, held research fellowships at London and Sheffield universities, and taught at Bedford College, University of London. He writes on Renaissance literature and on the relationships between literature and landscape and the visual and verbal arts in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. His teaching and research interests tend to combine literature with the visual arts, the history of designed landscapes, and the history of science. He has published books about Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene”; on culture and cultivation in Early Modern England; and Samuel Hartlib and Universal Reformation.

The Rt. Rev. Nicholas Thomas Wright is professor of New Testament and early Christianity at the School of Divinity, the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He also has served as the bishop of Durham, England, since 2003. 

Widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost New Testament scholars, Wright has written more than 50 books, both academic and mainstream, including books of apologetics, such as the best-selling “Simply Christian.” Time magazine has called him “one of the most formidable figures in the world of Christian thought.” Wright received degrees in philosophy and ancient history at University of Oxford: Exeter College and in theology at University of Oxford: Wycliffe College, and earned an M.A. in 1975. He taught New Testament at McGill University for several years, returning to the United Kingdom in 1986 as lecturer in New Testament at the University of Oxford and chaplain at Worcester College. He became canon theologian of Westminster Abbey in 2000.

Wright will give a talk at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, in Convocation Hall. He will have a book signing at 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16, at the University Book and Supply Store.

Free Income Tax Assistance Available

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) will file income taxes for low- to moderate-income residents for no charge, beginning in February.

VITA is a team of IRS-certified tax preparers who can prepare your tax return and provide information about special tax credits for which you may qualify, such as Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Credit for the Elderly or the Disabled. 

The Monteagle-Sewanee VITA site will be located this year at the Church of the Holy Comforter, 16 First St., Monteagle. No appointment will be necessary; times for the program will be posted soon.

VITA is an IRS-initiative designed to assist low-to-moderate income individuals, persons with disabilities and the elderly. For more information email <vitasewanee@gmail.com. 

DREMC issues call to Beat the Peak

Peak power demand expected as Arctic air descends on Tennessee

Forecasts for Middle Tennessee and most of the eastern U.S. this week call for a blast of Arctic air to settle over the region, bringing bitter cold and wind chill readings near zero degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday morning. This means demand for electricity to heat homes will be high, and wholesale power costs could skyrocket unless co-op members take steps to conserve electricity.

Duck River Electric Membership Corp. (DREMC) plans to activate Beat the Peak™, the co-op’s residential demand reduction program, on Thursday morning between the hours of 6-8 a.m. Emails and text messages will be sent to 14,000 members, while radio ads across the service territory will warn of the impending peak event.

During periods of extremely low or high temperatures, the wholesale cost of electricity can reach more than $9 per kilowatt-hour, adding millions of dollars to the bill that DREMC must pay the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Co-op members can help “beat the peak” by setting thermostats down 2-3 degrees and taking other energy conservation steps during the hours when highest demand is expected.

“This seems like déjà vu because in 2014 on January 7, we activated Beat the Peak for the first time in response to the polar vortex,” said Michael Watson, president and CEO.

This week’s temperatures could go even lower, according to some forecasts. The range is from 5 to 9 degrees on Thursday morning, when households are preparing for work and school and businesses are gearing up.

EnerNOC, the demand response program for commercial and industrial co-op members, will be ready to activate, if necessary. Combined with Beat the Peak, this gives DREMC a one-two punch for reducing demand – but only if co-op members help.

“We ask that during the two-hour peak expected on Thursday morning, our members take steps to reduce their demand,” Watson said. “We know from past experience that Beat the Peak can save money. It all has to do with the number of folks who heed the warning and take action.”

While reducing thermostat settings has the greatest potential to impact household demand during bitter cold, other conservation measures can also help:

• ·      Defer hot water use. Give the electric water heater a break by not showering, running the dishwasher or laundering clothes during the peak period.
• ·      Delay running the clothes dryer.
• ·      Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms.
• ·      Try not to use the oven or stovetop.

DREMC line crews will be ready in case the extreme cold causes load problems on the system.

TVA has issued a power supply alert, predicting that demand across the region could reach 32,000 megawatts on Thursday morning.

The forecast calls for temperatures to steadily drop on Wednesday, plunging into the teens during the afternoon and single digits after midnight. Not only will power demand peak, the cold brings potentially dangerous conditions for humans and animals.

Make sure outdoor pets and livestock have adequate shelter. If you must go outside, wear appropriate clothing. Avoid situations in which skin might be exposed to the cold as this could result in frostbite.