Displaying items by tag: knox county
Knox County is trying to fix what we broke at Plumb Creek
KNOXVILLE — Knox County government announced the kickoff of the Plumb Creek Park Stream Enhancement Project, a strategic effort aimed at revitalizing the water quality and ecosystem of Plumb Creek, a tributary of Beaver Creek, supported by federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act.
(Eds. note: Every Republican representing Tennessee in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House voted against the act that provided the money.)
Plumb Creek Park, located at 1517 Hickey Road, features a disc golf course, playground, shelter, walking trails and an 8-acre dog park.
The project, which began this month, is expected to wrap up in December and include a comprehensive set of restoration activities. Work includes removing obstructions such as culverts and debris; controlling invasive species; stabilizing stream banks; and installing stream structures to improve habitat quality, erosion, and sediment control measures.
Some sections of the park will close temporarily during construction. The dog park will remain open.
This project is funded in part by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), a federal initiative to aid state and local governments in mitigating the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— Knox County
Advance Knox envisions three trajectories for development in Knox County, wants your opinion by Oct. 31
Advance Knox proposes three growth scenarios for the future of the unincorporated areas of Knox County.
If you missed the community meetings and the Zoom event during Advance Knox’s “Choices Week,” you can still take the survey online!
If you are unfamiliar with the Advance Knox project, you may find it helpful to watch the first 19 minutes of the Choices Week webinar recording before taking the survey.
“Advance Knox is a process to prepare a land use and transportation plan for Knox County that is informed by research and community input,” according to its website.
In March 2022, Advance Knox offered a first round of public input opportunities during its “Ideas Week.” As reported in Hellbender Press, community meetings were held all over the county. Participation opportunities at special group presentations, a Zoom webinar, and individual commenting on the website were similar to those of Choices Week.
Foundation for Global Sustainability appeals to Knox County Commission to preserve the Dry Hollow heritage area in South Knox County
Dear Commissioner {last-name}:
We implore you to vote against the request to strip the Agricultural zoning from the core area of the historic Twin Springs Farm in Dry Hollow.
(11-B-21-SP & 11-F-21-RZ Request of Thunder Mountain Properties, LLC for rezoning from A (Agricultural) ... Property located at 8802 Sevierville Pike and 0 Dry Hollow Road.)
This property is an integral part of a forgotten Knox County heritage area that has unique historical, cultural, economic and ecological values.
Updated: Your — once in 20 years — opportunity to influence the livability of Knox County
You can still share your own ideas to improve and protect our community Advance Knox
Updated again on May 4: Hundreds of ideas, complaints and comments, many of them with map locations, have been posted on the Advance Knox website.
As announced in Hellbender Press earlier, Advance Knox held a series of public input events across Knox County during its Ideas Week at the end of March.
If you missed those in-person gatherings and could not attend the virtual session, we hope you recorded your preferences and opinions online at the Advance Knox website.
You can now see what others had to say about your neighborhood and your favorite places.
And, even if you already participated, you may have had new ideas or important thoughts not recorded yet. Please let us know,
— what you treasure in Knox County
— what you miss
— what you think is most important to consider as the county keeps growing.
The interactive facility to submit ideas will remain open online through May 10, as suggested at the last Advisory Committee meeting.
Natural 911: Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad whisks threatened plants to safety
Joy Grissom (left) and Gerry Moll pose for a photograph with their collection of rescued native plants at Knoxville Botanical Gardens. Photos by Anna Lawrence/Hellbender Press
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll: Preserving East Tennessee’s natural heritage with shovels and wheelbarrows
If there’s a massive ecological disturbance in your neighborhood, who you gonna call?
The Knoxville Native Plant Rescue Squad, of course.
Joy Grissom and Gerry Moll spent the past six years identifying, digging, hauling and muscling native East Tennessee plants to salvation from construction, grading and logging sites.
The duo has saved thousands of plants and their communities from certain demise. They have plucked plants to safety from areas ranging from a 170-acre logging operation in Cocke County to relatively small commercial developments in Knox County.
- knoxville native plant rescue squad
- ecology
- habitat
- garden
- plant rescue
- tree rescue
- planting
- knoxville botanical garden and arboretum
- preservation
- east tennessee
- natural heritage
- knox county
- developer
- land owner
- contractor
- forever home
- farmers market
- salvage
- eastern band of cherokee indians
- knox county schools
Hard Knox Wire: Renowned white supremacist killed by accidental headshot in South Knox
Well-known Knoxville white supremacist and ‘cultured thug’ dies of apparent accidental gunshot wound to head
Originally published by Hard Knox Wire
A Knoxville man who earned widespread notoriety as a leader in the violent white nationalist movement died last week after he was shot in the head in South Knox County.
Spaulding was among eight white supremacists who were arrested in the summer of 2020 during a Black Lives Matter protest in Rogersville.
Follow the latest Knoxville crime and justice news from Hard Knox Wire.
The battle of Flenniken Branch
This photo was included in a TDEC report compiled March 11. It shows an excavated stream channel amid extensive grading work at 2306 Maryville Pike.
Developer of Maryville Pike property in South Knox County faces multiple state, county citations over alleged sediment pollution
The rapid growth of South Knox County has expanded far from the perimeters of the center city and extended into more development-rich areas.
One case in point: Significant development is taking place along a once-sleepy section of Maryville Pike between Vestal and Rockford.
There is a new entrance to the expanded I.C. King Park and its dog park and playground. Just south, one of the country’s largest home builders is finishing its Sevier Meadows subdivision.
There is another development that illustrates the growing pains and legacy costs that have prompted the county and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to issue a stop-work order and levy multiple fines and citations against the current developer of the old Mayo seed warehouse site.
There are lessons to be learned from a small waterway called Flenniken Branch about the potential impacts of development on aquatic habitats and other public resources — and the ability of the government to protect those resources.
A troubled legacy
Decades of heavy industrial activity left a troubled environmental legacy near the Mount Olive community. Now a new 30-acre construction site is alleged by the state and county to be a significant source of sediment and debris that ultimately end up in the Tennessee River and its tributaries. The state also alleges the contractor buried a stream, and destroyed wetlands at another nearby property.
The Knoxville-based contractor, Kenn Davin, said he is working to correct the violations, but contends the alleged erosion violations are largely the result of runoff from nearby properties, and that the removal of trees from utility rights of way worsened the problem.
To make matters worse, one of those nearby sources of runoff, Davin said, is the so-called Witherspoon property, which was so contaminated by industrial waste the Environmental Protection Agency capped and sealed the site a decade ago.
The property in question is a 28.5-acre parcel at 2306 Maryville Pike, which abuts the Mount Olive Cemetery near Berry Road and was once the site of the D.R. Mayo Seed Co. warehouse.
Mayo sold the property in August 2019 to Florida-based CW Trust. Davin, principal at Knoxville-based contractor Design One, was designated as the site developer.
Over the course of the last 13 months, TDEC’s Department of Water Resources has issued three notices of violation for land disturbances and other impermissible activity at the Maryville Pike property.
The last notice was issued Nov. 20, 2020. Subsequent inspections in January and March noted that Davin was still out of compliance with action steps that had been required by the state.
Davin has not secured the permits required for the significant grading operations on the property, according to the county.
“They have not secured their necessary permits through our department for land disturbance,” said Knox County Stormwater Program Manager Natalie Landry.
Knox County Stormwater Management served a notice of violation for the 2306 Maryville Pike property on Feb. 9, 2021. The developer did not appeal, and a $500 civil penalty was levied.
Health officials: Knoxville air quality on sustained upswing
WBIR: Knoxville air quality data indicates sustained improvements
The Knox County Health Department reports that fine particles declined by half between 2007 and 2018. Ozone levels also remained below national standards during that period. The combined pollution reductions — achieved through tighter emissions standards on power plants and vehicles — have resulted in the cleanest air in Knox County since 1999, according to the Health Department.
Here’s a link to the full 2019 Knox County Community Health Assessment.