Bluebell Island Tour

The annual tour of Bluebell Island will be 10 a.m., Saturday, March 26. This event is sponsored by South Cumberland Regional Land Trust (SCRLT). 

Located on the Elk River, the island is regionally famous for its plethora of wildflowers, especially Virginia Bluebells. Meet at 10 a.m. at the gated entrance to the Tyson Foods parking lot on TN-50/US 64 W, just south of exit 127 off I-24 near the bridge over the Elk River, about 2 miles west of I-24. Instructions and a map are available at <scrlt.org>. 

Rain may cancel this event if the river is too high to cross over.

The Land Trust has a new Facebook page with more information at <https://www.facebook.com/SouthCumberlandRegionalLandTrust/>.

Beavers Announced as Editor & Publisher of the Mountain Messenger

Longtime Sewanee community member Kiki Beavers will take over as editor and publisher of the Sewanee Mountain Messenger, effective June 1. Co-publishers Janet Graham and Laura Willis are both leaving the paper.

“We wanted to ensure that the Messenger stayed in the hands of someone who loves it as much as we do,” Graham said. “Laura and I have great confidence that Kiki will be a wonderful editor and publisher.”

Graham is retiring after 20 years at the Messenger. She was hired by Geraldine Hewitt in 1996 to sell display ads. 

The last issue with Graham and Willis as publishers will be May 20. Willis is stepping down as editor on April 8, when she begins her full-time position with the South Cumberland Community Fund. Beavers will begin editing the paper on April 12. She will take ownership of the paper and publish her first issue on Friday, June 3.

“You won’t see many changes,” Beavers said. “There will just be one person instead of two publishing the Messenger.”

Beavers has been active in the community in a variety of roles. She is president of the Sewanee Civic Association. She has co-chaired the Sewanee Community Chest and has also served as its administrator for four years. In the past four years, the Civic Association has raised $460,000 for local organizations and programs. 

For 10 years, she coached basketball at the elementary, middle school and varsity levels. She was the treasurer and secretary for the Sewanee Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization. She was treasurer of the Sewanee Youth Soccer program for six years, affiliated with the national American Youth Soccer Organization. For three years she was the auction chair for the St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School Parents’ Council.

“I believe in our community,” Beavers said. “It is a great place to live and work, and I look forward to bringing my skills to the Messenger.”

Her past work experience includes advertising specialist, event chairman and technical writer for Computational Systems Incorporated in Knoxville. She was a self-employed graphic designer, most notably for Industrial Communications, Inc., in Knoxville, publishers of Reliability®Magazine. 

For 15 years, she was the owner and operator of Shenanigans Restaurant. 

Beavers has been a staff writer and sports editor for the Sewanee Mountain Messenger, and currently designs one of its websites, <www.themountainnow.com>. 

She and her husband, Ben, live in Sewanee with their children, Sarah, a sophomore at George Mason University, and John, a freshman at St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School. She is currently employed by St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School in the communications and marketing office, responsible for maintaining the website <www.sasweb.org>, advertising layout and purchases, graphic design and writing of press releases. She is also the editorial assistant for the alumni magazine. 

Beavers has a degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee.

Rotary Hosts Cajun Supper

The Monteagle Sewanee Rotary Club will host its annual Cajun Supper, 4–6 p.m., Saturday, March 5, in Claiborne Hall at Otey Parish. Live music by the Bazzania band will provide a festive atmosphere, while diners or take-out patrons can enjoy Cajun crawfish etoufee or vegetarian red beans and rice.

The Cajun Supper is an ongoing service project to raise support for the Monteagle Sewanee Rotary International Outreach Haiti project.

Tickets are $20 per person and can be purchased from any Monteagle Sewanee Rotarian, online at <www.mon​teaglerotary.org>, from Barry Rollins at Tower Community Bank (formerly Citizens State Bank) in Monteagle by calling (615) 504-3132, or at the door.

Civic Assn. Seeks Nominees

The Sewanee Civic Association (SCA) invites nominations for the 33th annual Community Service Award. The award recognizes the person or organization that has made outstanding contributions to the community. The kind of contribution varies widely, but the recipient is one who has helped make Sewanee a better place and improved the quality of life for everyone in the area.

Nominations are due by Monday, March 21. Past recipients are not eligible to receive the award again. Send the name of your nominee, along with the reasons you are nominating this person and/or group, to <se​waneecommuni​tychest@gmail.com>. The award will be presented at the SCA meeting on Wednesday, April 20. Nominations can be mailed to the Sewanee Civic Association, P.O. Box 222, Sewanee, TN 37375.

Past recipients include Pixie Dozier; Barbara Schlichting; Helen Bailey; Sewanee Youth Soccer; Dr. Matt Petrilla; Harry and Jean Yeatman; Marshall Hawkins; Karen Keele; Tom Watson; Susan Binkley and the Blue Monarch; the Sewanee Senior Center Food Pantry (Lena McBee, Sue Hawkins, Charlsie Green); George and Ruth Ramseur; John Gessel; Dora Turner; the Community Action Committee; Geraldine Hewitt Piccard and the Messenger; Myrtis Keppler; Connie Warner; Ina May Myers; Pete Green; Duval and Boo Cravens; Housing Sewanee; the Sisters of St. Mary’s; Martha Dugan; Emerald-Hodgson Hospital Auxiliary; David Green; Joe David McBee; Robert Lancaster; Marcia Webb; Doug Cameron; Phoebe Bates; and Louise Irwin. 

Mountain Goat Trail Plans Third Annual Run & Walk

The third annual Mountain Goat Trail Run and Walk, co-sponsored by Mountain Outfitters and the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance (MGTA), will be on Saturday, April 2.

“Thanks to the collaboration between the Town of Monteagle and the MGTA, we opened the Monteagle-Sewanee section of the trail in time for last year’s event,” said Patrick Dean, executive director of MGTA. “We are excited to partner with Mountain Outfitters again to promote the trail and to get people walking and running for a good cause.” 

The five-mile run will begin at 10 a.m. in downtown Sewanee; a two-mile walk will begin at 10 a.m. at Pearl’s Foggy Mountain Café. Both will finish at Mountain Outfitters in Monteagle. Additional sponsors include Road ID, Mountain Medical Clinic, North Face, Salewa, CamelBak, Swiftwick Socks and Kavu.

Prizes will be awarded for the fastest men’s and women’s finisher, and for best runner or walker costume. There will also be drawings for outdoor gear after the race. 

Registration is $15 for students. For non-students, the fee is $25 for early registration; $30 the day of the race. Registration forms are available at Mountain Outfitters, Woody’s Bicycles and online at <www.mountaingoattrail.org>.

Refreshments will be available at the finish.

For more information, call Mountain Outfitters at 931-924-4100 or email outfitters@gmail.com or info@mountaingoattrail.org.

Local Results for March 1 Primaries

Tennesseans went to the polls on March 1 to cast their ballot in the presidential primary election.

In the Democratic Party primary, Hillary Clinton won the state, 66 percent to Bernie Sanders’ 32 percent. Votes for Martin J. O’Malley and uncommitted made up 1.5 percent.

In Franklin County, the breakdown was virtually the same as the state: 65 percent for Clinton, 33 percent for Sanders.

In the Sewanee precinct, 538 people voted in the Democratic primary: 56 percent for Clinton and 44 percent for Sanders.

In the Republican Party primary, Donald Trump won the state with 39  percent of the vote; Ted Cruz came in second place with 25 percent, and Marco Rubio got 21 percent of the vote.

In Franklin County, the breakdown was: 48 percent for Trump, 23 percent for Cruz and 15 percent for Rubio.

In Sewanee, 244 people voted in the Republican primary: 31 percent for Rubio, 29 percent for Trump and 18 percent for Cruz.

In Sewanee, 782 voters cast ballots (42 percent turnout). 682 people voted on election day, and 100 absentee and early ballots were cast. 

Statewide election results can be found online at <http://elections.tn.gov/results.php>. For local information go to < http://www.franklincotn.us/departments/election_commis​sion/>.

Mobile Rabies Clinic in Area on March 19

Tennessee state law requires that dogs and cats be vaccinated for rabies as early as 3 months of age and must be vaccinated by 6 months of age to be compliant with the law. 

Three local veterinary offices—Town & Country, Animal Care Center and Midtown Veterinary—will be conducting rabies clinics at numerous locations during March. They will also give rabies vaccinations to any healthy dog or cat during their regular office hours at a discounted price of $11 for each dog and cat, which is the same price as during the rabies clinic.

The clinics in the Sewanee area will be on Saturday, March 19:

8:30–9:30 a.m., Cowan, at the Cowan Police Department (Old City Hall); 9:45–10:45 a.m., Midway, at St. James Episcopal Church; 11:15–11:45 a.m., Sherwood, at the Community Center; 1–2 p.m., Sewanee, at Sewanee Elementary School; 2:30–3 p.m., Oak Grove, at the Oak Grove Community Center; 3:30–4 p.m., Decherd, at the new City Hall.

Rabies clinics for Grundy County are usually in April. Dates and locations will be announced as they become available.