By Ken Lay

Knox County celebrated the opening of a dog park at Clayton Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning.

The park is located in the Halls Crossroads community on Norris Freeway,

The grand opening culminates a project that the county began in 2020 and the dog park is the fifth and final park to open.

It’s a natural facility, meaning that the county left the trees and fallen logs in place.

Knox County Parks and Recreation Senior Director Joe Mack emceed the brief ceremony but one person who played a vital role in the project, Mayor Glenn Jacobs, was absent due to a prior commitment.

“Glenn Jacobs won’t be able to join us today and I’m sorry that he’s not here,” Mack said. “He played a big part in this and we’re lucky to have a mayor that understands the value of recreation.

“We learned from COVID how important parks are and the role they play in the community. It was one of the only places people could go. And we’ve seen that continue to grow since 2020.”

Randy Boyd of the Boyd Foundation was also present in North Knox County. The foundation formed a partnership with the county and the City of Knoxville. It donated $500,000 and the goal was to make Knoxville and Knox County No. 1 per capita in dog parks.

The county took surveys to determine where the public wanted the dog parks.

“This shows just what can happen when we as the county communicate with the people,” Mack said. “In order for us to provide the services the community wants, we have to get their input.”

Boyd said that dog parks can bring people together.

“The dog parks are great for dogs,” Boyd said. “But they’re about more than just dogs,” he said. “So many things can divide us right now, but dog parks bring us together. They always have benches where people can watch their dogs play.

“That’s where friendships are made. They have benches where you can see rich and poor, or sometimes you can see a Democrat and a Republican sitting together.”

081726_KNOX FOCUS

By Steve Hunley

It seems everywhere I go, I hear complaints from Knox Countians about traffic congestion.  It is a legitimate complaint, as over time, it is increasingly apparent we have more folks driving on more roads.  According to statistics, the City of Knoxville had 185,121 people in 2016; Knox County had a population of 456,410 in 2016.  Today, the best estimates are that there are 203,991 residents in the City of Knoxville and 515,309 people living inside Knox County.  Those are likely conservative estimates.  Another frequent complaint, both from city and county residents, is the skyrocketing cost of housing.  The root cause of that has to do with supply and demand.  People are moving here in a constant stream and paying more for houses, which, naturally, drives up the cost for everyone.  The demand for housing increases and rents escalate.  Another reason for housing costs to rise is that tax hikes – like raising the property tax – also raise mortgages and rents for EVERYONE.  The City of Knoxville has raised the property tax just about every two or three years under Madeline Rogero and Indya Kincannon. The City has a spending problem, and while they increase their spending every year, somehow they deliver fewer and fewer services.

Knox County, which runs the school system and provides the bulk of services for its citizens, has not raised property taxes in 30 years. No realistic person believes that will last forever.  And for those people who yammer about “fully funding the schools,” ask them just what that figure is, exactly.  My guess is those people can’t give you an accurate figure and quite likely don’t even know what we are spending on our schools presently.  When factoring in federal, state and local funds (and we are all federal, state and local taxpayers), we are spending over $713 million on our school system.  The entire budget for Knox County (including for schools) is roughly $1.1 billion, so we are spending an incredible amount of our entire budget on our school system, leaving the balance to  cover everything else.

Knox County will be considering a very important matter soon that will almost certainly dramatically affect not only our existing infrastructure but also increase our already terrible traffic congestion.  The most important change in the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which will be considered by the Knox County Commission is the fact that the most recent draft removes the “Agricultural/Residential” designation entirely.  It ceases to exist under the current draft.  Instead, everything presently zoned “agricultural” is designated as “rural residential” under the current draft.  It sounds much the same, but it most certainly is NOT.  Under the current agricultural zone, a one-acre minimum lot size applies for dwellings. The proposed “rural residential” zone would maintain a one-acre minimum in most cases, but under specific circumstances — including access to sewer and adequate roadways on properties of five acres or more — developers could build up to two dwelling units per acre with a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet. If the new “rural residential” designated area has access to sewer and a legitimate “classified” road, then there would be no hearings before Knoxville-Knox County Planning or the county commission.  There would be no need for a zoning hearing.  It would be a done deal.  At best, there might be a “traffic study” or a “concept plan” requested, but it’s largely all over but the shouting.  A neighbor having five acres could sell it to have a subdivision without hardly any effort.

The gift to developers is that, if approved, it will instantly have the effect of rezoning 170,000 acres inside Knox County.  It will also give vested rights to developers to build subdivisions.  The changes are VERY important to the future of our community and will only cause more urban sprawl, increase traffic congestion, and, like the city, reduce our green areas to the occasional lot of scrub grass on a lot populated by asphalt and concrete.  There are already areas in our county that are being reduced day-by-day from a designed scenic highway to something far different.  Drive down John Sevier Highway sometime if you don’t believe it.

Inside the city, they are constantly building huge apartment towers with the residents pouring out onto main thoroughfares without the least bit of planning or consideration addressing traffic congestion. We’ve mentioned this in editorials before; the best current example is the city trying to cite more apartment complexes while pouring out traffic along Chapman Highway with one bridge closed because it supposedly cannot handle the weight of cars and trucks, the James White Parkway is being closed sporadically for inspection, and the people of South Knoxville left with the Henley Street Bridge as their only option. The city has traffic pouring into both sides of Chapman Highway right at the precise point where the bridge exists.  If there has been any consideration for existing residents, it is a closely guarded secret.  We can all look forward to situations like this if we do not pay close attention to what our government officials are discussing and voting on.

My experience has been that when our officials are rushing something through, more than likely, the people will pay the price – one way or the other.

To his credit, Mayor Glenn Jacobs pulled the plug on the rush to have the UDO plan approved before the new mayor and commission take office on September 1.

“From the beginning, we have said we want to get this right, and we are going to follow through with that, even if it takes more time,” Mayor Jacobs announced.

Jacobs said it will be up to Mayor-elect Betsy Henderson and the incoming Knox County Commission to “fully understand the proposal, gather more community feedback, and make informed decisions about how to proceed.”

Informed citizens can help direct public policy; an ill-informed or complacent public allows the politicians and special interests to do as they please. The choice is up to you.

By Mike Steely

Senior Writer

steelym@knoxfocus.com

The third monthly meeting of the Chilhowee Park Advisory Group drew some questions and some disappointments last week in the Jacob Building. The 81-acre property, with its features and buildings, will be transitioning into a Knoxville City Park over the next few years.

The city has already pledged $10 million in changes, beginning with $2 million this year. Parks and Recreation will operate the park, opening the gates for public use. Muse Knoxville is to begin renovations at the Jacob Building after the Tennessee Valley Fair uses it in September. The fair’s agreement to use Chilhowee Park runs through 2029.

Citizens had comments about possible plans to enlarge the lake there along with their fears of flooding. Some were upset that the proposal for housing and a hotel there were neglected in the plans. The use of buildings that are historic or cultural was questioned. The future of the amphitheater there was also questioned concerning how much of it would be preserved.

The future of the “tunnel” below Magnolia Avenue, separating the former midway from the main park, was also discussed.

The Chilhowee Park Advisory Group will hold another public meeting September 22 in the Jacob Building.

By Ray Hill

The final report of the Reece Committee, which had been charged by the U.S. House of Representatives with the task of investigating the ties between tax-exempt foundations and the American education establishment, set off a firestorm.  The disdain for the committee and its hearings from much of the press was immense.  Some accused Reece and his staff of incompetence while Wayne Hays, one of the leading opponents of reauthorizing the committee, and the Eisenhower White House, on behalf of the foundations, made things difficult for everyone.  Clearly, Reece and the committee staff had to overcome a hostile news media, the White House and the determined opposition of many Democrats.

At the time, the Republicans held the majority in both the House and Senate and a GOP incumbent occupied the White House in the person of Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The chairman of the Select Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations was Carroll Reece, long-time congressman from Tennessee’s First Congressional District.  The committee was in its second incarnation and had first been known as the “Cox Committee” after its first chair, E. E. “Gene” Cox of Georgia, who had been a Democrat.  Cox had died on December 24, 1952, of a heart attack and in 1953, Reece, who had been unhappy with the report of the Cox Committee, sought to renew the special select committee, which the GOP majority approved.

Known as B. Carroll Reece in the rest of the country for his first name of “Brazilla,” a Biblical name, the Tennessean had been the Republican National Committeeman from 1939, a post he continued to hold until his death in 1961.  Reece had been elected as chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1946 and did not seek reelection to Congress that year.  Reece experienced tremendous success utilizing the slogan “Had Enough?” which expressed the growing frustration of American consumers following the Second World War.  Reece presided over the biggest political comeback made by the Republican Party since 1928 as the GOP won control of both the Senate and the House in 1946.  Reece thought he saw an opportunity to win statewide office in 1948 with the Democratic Party being seriously split both nationally and in the Volunteer State.  Carroll Reece became the first serious GOP candidate for the United States Senate since 1916, running on a ticket with country music legend Roy Acuff as the Republican gubernatorial candidate.

Reece was a nationally known and respected figure and the most prominent Republican in the South, which was then almost completely dominated by Democrats.  A genuine hero from his service in the First World War and decorated for his bravery by both the American and French governments, Carroll Reece was no golden-throated orator.  One friend and supporter once laughed while saying Reece’s speechmaking was comparable to that of a fourth-grade elementary school student.  Reece’s enormous personal popularity inside Tennessee’s First Congressional District was rooted in his constituent service, which was impeccable.  Reece had followed the example set by Senator Kenneth McKellar and provided prompt and courteous service to every constituent who called upon him for assistance.

Liberals suggested Carroll Reece was an “Old Guard” Republican and he was very conservative, having opposed most of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal and Harry Truman’s Fair Deal.  Those on the left wing of the political spectrum dismissed Reece as an “isolationist,” but it was more accurate to observe that like many of those who had actually fought in a bloody war, he was more of a “noninterventionist.”  Certainly, Reece was not averse to fighting and, in one notable scuffle, the congressman had once quite nearly bitten the ear off an officer who tried to prevent him from reboarding a ship to meet his wife and daughter.  One scholar writing about the Reece Committee years later described Carroll Reece as “the prototype of the liberals’ idea of an ‘anti-Communist crusader’ is supposed to be.”

The left-leaning press of the country set about to demolish the final report of the Reece Committee, and the crescendo came at a January 26, 1955, meeting of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., when Robert Hutchins, then president of the Fund for the Republic, blasted Carroll Reece.  The Tennessee congressman was present when Hutchins let loose.  One can easily gather Hutchins’ own opinion of himself by considering he had taken himself quite seriously as a candidate for the 1940 Democratic nomination for vice-president to run with Franklin Roosevelt, a suggestion made by Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, while he was still president of the University of Chicago.  It was an absurd notion likely made to promote Ickes’ own vice-presidential aspirations or divert FDR’s attention away from his rival, Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace.  Hutchins was one of the jewels in the crown of the higher educational establishment and foundations in the country.  Robert Hutchins was the kind of pillar in the educational and foundation community to serve as the spokesman for both.

Congressman Reece was sitting at the head table when Robert Hutchins got up to speak.  Hutchins charged that “the Reece investigation in its inception and execution was a fraud.”  Hutchins decried the “wild and squalid” assault upon the foundations.  “Nobody in his right mind could suppose that the great accumulations of wealth left by our richest men were being intentionally used by their trustees to overthrow the institutions of this country,” Hutchins declared.

Hutchins swatted away Reece’s observation that many of the trustees of the foundation were busy with their own affairs and lives that they left the oversight to “officers who were quite often disreputable.”  Hutchins lobbed his own charge, saying the parade of witnesses before the Reece Committee were “of dubious standing” and asserted “the foundations were elaborately attacked by the staff.”

Robert Hutchins scoffed at “one of the more absurd charges of the Reece Committee that the foundations were an intellectual cartel.”  “The Reece Committee forced them to huddle together in self-defense,” Hutchins explained.  “One more investigation and they might become a cartel.”

Hutchins accused Reece and Congressman Jesse L. Wolcott of having come “bustling out in second-hand suits of anti-empiricism, supplied them by the sages of staff. . .”  Hutchins lamented that the Reece Committee investigation had frightened foundations away from funding research in those fields that might be either unpopular or controversial.

“Though this relieved the men of wealth and standing of the charge of being knaves,” Hutchins sniffed, “it did so only at the expense of charging them with being fools.  Only fools could be so careless as to allow enormous sums entrusted to them for charitable purposes to be stolen away and lavished on the subversion of their country.”

Robert Hutchins insisted the Reece Committee’s final report was nothing more than an effort to exploit “public concern about Communism and subversion to further political ambition and to work off political grudges.”

“Congressman Reece was scoffed at,” Hutchins smirked.  “It was agreed that his investigation was a farce.

“I think he had good reason to be satisfied with himself.  I think he won,” Hutchins added.

“Without firing a single serious shot, without saying a single intelligent word, he accomplished his purpose, which was to harass the foundations and to subdue such stirrings of courage, or even imagination, as could be found in them,” Hutchins thundered.

Clothed in a cloud of smug self-righteousness, Robert Hutchins piously exclaimed the foundation he headed made do with a $50 million (almost $600 million today) grant from the Ford Foundation, but noted the Fund for the Republic was independent of its funding source.  Hutchins’ speech contained more than its share of both arrogance and disdain and rang clearly with the tones of an ill-disguised elitist.

Throughout Hutchins’ speech, Carroll Reece sat composed and politely applauded when the former university president finished.  Reece even agreed to pose for a picture with Hutchins, and it was the Tennessean who looked amiable and cordial while Hutchins had a look of condescension on his face.

Reece did turn to someone and say, “He’s pretty hard.”  Lucian Warren, president of the Press Club, stated Reece would be welcome as a speaker if he wished to reply.  “Later I will take advantage of some forum to make a reply,” Reece promised.

Congressman Carroll Reece did indeed make a reply to Dr. Robert Hutchins the following month in a speech to the National Press Club.  Reece dismissed Hutchins, who he said had once been hailed as a “boy wonder,” pointing out the foundation head was no longer either “a boy or a wonder.”  The congressman assailed Hutchins and other “top social science planners” for having used “a Communistic tactic” in denouncing the House investigation of foundations.  The congressman said Hutchins was a prime example of social planners.  Reece said the language used by Hutchins in speaking before the National Press Club was “typical of the vituperation which has been poured on us by the professional operators of foundations.”

Reece told the gathered newsmen the committee investigators had gathered evidence which indicated “that the major foundations, by subsidizing collectivistic-minded educators, had financed a socialist trend in American government.”

“Realizing the impossibility of controverting the massive evidence which we produced, they have resorted to smear and slander,” Reece said.

Congressman Carroll Reece defended the work of the committee as having been completely “competent,” as well as “historic.”

“These planners accuse the committee on foundations of wishing to suppress freedom of thought,” Reece told his listeners.  “The fact is that the intellectual cartel which they created itself suppresses freedom of thought by expending millions of foundation money under their control to determine opinion, academic and public, in the leftist directions they favor.”

Doubtless to the horror of the super wealthy and foundation members, Congressman Reece pointed out the fact that average Americans enjoyed a heavier tax burden as the rich avoided paying taxes by funneling their money into tax-exempt foundations.

“The rest of the people must pay heavier taxes, for example, because the Ford family was relieved of estate taxes upon the creation of the Ford Foundation, and because the foundation itself pays no income tax on 90% of the profits of the Ford Motor Co. it receives in dividends.

“Citizens with their own money may promote any cause, good or bad, not forbidden by law, but tax-exempt funds should not be used to propagandize for the theories of either Karl Marx or Mark Hanna.”  Mark Hanna had been a powerful Republican United States senator from Ohio who had done more than any other living soul to place William McKinley in the White House.  Hanna was an enormously wealthy businessman who promoted the business interests of the country.

Reece noted the personal attacks made on his character by Wayne Hays and said he could have compared military records, but acknowledged it was a childish impulse which he immediately dismissed from his mind.  Wayne Hays sat in his seat, his scalp turning crimson beneath his thinning hair.

Congressman Reece pointed out the foundations exercised enormous power over educators through financial subsidies and grants, which enabled them to have a powerful say in what direction education in the country would go.  Reece noted, “This power to impose brainwashing at the key points is against everything America stands for.”

John O’Donnell in the New York Daily News chortled that Reece had taken the “hide off of the onetime boy president of Chicago University and let fly at House colleague Hays sitting three chairs away.”  O’Donnell caustically noted when Hays had accused Reece of being a coward and liar “all to the tittering applause of the pinkos and the New Deal one-worlders of press, radio and lecture platforms.”

Irrespective of whatever Robert Hutchins said or thought, the people of Tennessee’s First Congressional District cared not at all.  Carroll Reece proved to be unbeatable at the ballot box in upper East Tennessee.  Reece was reelected yet again in 1960 and sometime later began feeling poorly.  Initially, family and friends thought the congressman was suffering from the long-term effects of having been gassed during World War I.  Doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital discovered Reece was suffering from lung cancer.

^{© 2026 Ray Hill}

State and local leaders Tuesday morning hosted a building dedication to name the county’s new Knox County Regional Forensic Center after its long-time chief medical examiner, Dr. Darinka Mileusnic.

The new facility was a goal Mayor Glenn Jacobs and RFC leaders have pushed for years. It will almost double the office and laboratory size of the current one at 2761 Sullins St. That operation was funded under the state and then Knox County Mayor and now U.S. House Rep. Tim Burchett in 2014 when it needed to move from the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

The new name was kept under wraps and a surprise for Dr. Mileusnic, who studied medicine in Croatia and Chicago and is internationally recognized among her peers.

An emotional Dr. Mileusnic was set to speak before officials unveiled the new sign at the front of the building. Afterward, she talked about the operation and what it means to the community.

“We are constantly reminded and we will never forget that behind every heartbreaking story, there is a family that deserves answers, requires our help, and may need guidance how to navigate the most difficult times of their lives,” she said. “This facility is dedicated to those families, our citizens, and all our partners who never wavered in their support on this long journey.”

Construction crews are wrapping up work on the new 33,000-square-foot facility, located in the Karns Valley Business Park off Oak Ridge Highway in the Northwest, and the largest of its kind in the state. It should be complete by early September, and the staff is expected to move in October.

Several years ago, Mayor Glenn Jacobs, Thomas and Dr. Mileusnic met with Gov. Bill Lee to talk about funding a new site. Later, the state approved $20 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, a federal economic stimulus plan, to help pay for the $30 million facility. The county covered the remaining $10 million.

“The center was needed as caseloads continue to grow and the region needed room to cover the demands of both today and tomorrow,” said interim Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health John Dunn. “This gives the professionals the infrastructure they need to meet the very high standards they perform.”

The expansion comes as the workload has increased in recent years and as a 30-member staff grew from overseeing 1,900 cases in 2018 when Jacobs took office to 43 team members managing as many as 3,000 cases annually in the years that followed.

The growth is driven by a number of reasons, including an increase in population and the center’s expanding role throughout the state’s eastern region.

Mayor Jacobs called Dr. Mileusnic “a leader across the nation” and noted that the center has played a large role helping to identify cold case victims and implement a program that honors unclaimed veterans.

The Knox County RFC, which operates 24/7, 365 days each year, performs autopsies for 23 counties and serves as the official medical examiner for Knox, Anderson and Blount counties.

In addition to size, the new facility also will bring major upgrades in technology. Plans include the addition of a CT scanner and twice as many autopsy stations, a larger lobby, an outdoor area for staff to decompress, and more space and workstations so team members can handle cases more efficiently.

By Pete Gawda

On Thursday evening, August 6, historian Josh Anderson gave a talk on East Tennessee in the Civil War at the Lenoir Museum at Norris Dam State Park. The talk was part of a series of talks celebrating the 250th birthday of our country and was illustrated with slides and artifacts.

Anderson noted that East Tennessee was not too keen on secession from the Union. On Feb 9, 1861, Tennessee voted against secession. Soon after that, groups from other Southern states visited Tennessee to persuade the state to secede.  Finally, on June 8, 1861, Tennessee became the last state to secede.  However, in East Tennessee the vote was 2 to 1 against secession. In Anderson County, only 7 out of a total of 98 votes cast were for secession.  The division of loyalty was evident in the number of troops from Tennessee serving on each side. While 120,000 Tennessee troops fought for the Confederacy, 31,000 Tennessee men enlisted in the Union Army. Even though every Confederate state had some men join the Union Army, Tennessee’s total was the highest.

Anderson told the story of Julia Marcum of Scott County. Her father, Hiram Marcum, was loyal to the Union and was harassed for that stand. On September 7, 1861, while her father was hiding in the woods, a group of Confederate soldiers raided the house looking for him. They attacked the women of the household trying to learn his whereabouts. Julia fought off their attack, hitting one soldier with an ax. However, she lost an eye from a bayonet and a finger from a gunshot. Her father burst in in time to save his family. Julia’s wounds were treated by a Confederate Army doctor.  As a result of these activities, Julia was the only woman to receive a pension for combat in the Civil War.

Anderson also told the story of William Blount Carter, an abolitionist and Presbyterian minister who planned a guerrilla raid in November 1861 to destroy nine bridges on the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad to disrupt communications and supply lines and to hinder the transport of troops.  This action was supposed to be done in connection with a raid conducted by Union forces in the area. However, that raid was called off, and only five bridges were damaged or destroyed. The bridges were quickly rebuilt, having little military impact. However, as a result of the bridge attacks, the Confederate government declared martial law in East Tennessee and about 150 Union sympathizers were arrested. Several suspected bridge burners were tried and hanged.

There was also a skirmish at Wallace’s Crossroads, now known as Andersonville.  On July 15, 1862, four companies of Confederate cavalry stationed at Andersonville were surprised by two regiments of Union infantry. The Confederates were put to flight, and the Union forces withdrew.  Anderson displayed several cannonballs found in the area and showed a slide of a receipt from the store at Wallace’s Crossroad where Confederate soldiers bought hay, bacon and corn. He also had a photograph of J.K.P. Wallace of Andersonville who provided an eyewitness account of the skirmish.

Anderson detailed the November 29, 1863 Battle of Fort Sanders, displaying a slide of the earthwork defenses and a drawing of the battle showing telegraph wires strung low to the ground between tree stumps. This foreshadowed the barbed wire strung between the trenches in World War II. Anderson also noted that this was one of the most lopsided battles of the war with 800 Confederate casualties and few Union casualties and resulted in a Union victory

Anderson related the story of E. C. Camp, a Northerner who came to Knoxville as a Union soldier and remained after the war to become U.S. Attorney for Eastern Tennessee and found the Coal Creek Coal Company. He built the large stone house on Broadway which now houses the offices and studios of WATE television.

There is an interesting reminder of the Civil War in downtown Clinton; about a block apart are two Methodist Churches. Members of St. Mark’s were Southern sympathizers while members of Memorial were loyal to the Union.

During the course of the Civil War, Greenville changed hands between the Union and the Confederates about 50 times.

Anderson stated that Tennessee was second only to Virginia in the number Civil War battles fought in the state.

At the conclusion of the Civil War, Tennessee was the first state to be readmitted to the Union.

The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation has recognized several Knox County Republican state lawmakers for their commitment to supporting farmers and strengthening agriculture across the Volunteer State.

State Reps. Dave Wright, Jason Zachary, Michele Carringer, Elaine Davis, and Justin Lafferty, all Republicans representing Knox County, were honored as part of the inaugural Friends of Farm Bureau award program for their support of legislation benefiting Tennessee farmers and their engagement with the local agricultural community.

“No group has contributed more to Tennessee’s success than the farmers who work tirelessly to feed our state and nation,” the lawmakers said. “We are grateful to the Farm Bureau for this recognition and remain committed to protecting our state’s agricultural heritage by supporting the family farms that make Knox County unique.”

This year, lawmakers in the General Assembly approved new laws to expand insurance coverage for homeowners and farmers, protect the Volunteer State’s meat industry by launching a statewide branding initiative highlighting Tennessee-raised livestock, and streamline the process for local farmers to lease land from historic sites.

The agriculture and forestry industries employ hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans and directly and indirectly contribute up to $103 billion to the Volunteer State’s economy every year.

State Reps. Dave Wright of District 19, Jason Zachary of District 14, Michele Carringer of District 16, Justin Lafferty of District 89, and Elaine Davis of District 18 each represent part of Knox County in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Remote Area Medical (RAM®), a leading nonprofit provider of pop-up clinics delivering free, quality dental, vision, and medical care to those in need, will hold free Telehealth Mobile Clinics in East Tennessee. These one-day, medical-only clinics aboard RAM’s Telehealth Mobile Unit will be set up at:

Salvation Army Knoxville Area Command

August 17 & 19

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

409 N. Broadway, Knoxville, TN 37917

Care Cuts

August 18 & 21

10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

5200 Clinton Highway, Knoxville, TN 37912

This mobile telehealth unit will give individuals an opportunity to speak to a doctor alongside an in-person nurse. All RAM services are free and on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached. No ID or insurance is required. Once patients arrive at the mobile unit, additional information regarding next steps will be provided.

This is a medical-only clinic. No dental or vision services will be provided. Services available at the free RAM Telehealth Clinic include medication refills, second opinions on diagnoses, blood sugar/diabetes education, evaluation and prescriptions for common ailments, cold, flu, UTIs, sinus infections, and more. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit www.ramusa.org or call 865-579-1530.

In some situations, outside of RAM’s control, such as inclement weather, volunteer cancellations or other circumstances, the clinic may serve fewer patients than expected. RAM encourages everyone who would like services to arrive as early as possible. Clinic closing time will vary based on capacity.

RAM Telehealth was founded in 2020, and it connects volunteer healthcare practitioners with individuals seeking healthcare services through online appointments. The telehealth program is a direct result of the dream and dedication of founder Stan Brock to provide care to those in need, regardless of their location.

RAM’s Mobile Telehealth schedule can be found at https://www.ramusa.org/schedule/

About Remote Area Medical: Remote Area Medical (RAM®) is a nonprofit organization that brings doctors, dentists, and vision care directly to people who otherwise go without. Through free pop-up clinics held across the United States, RAM deploys large-scale volunteer medical teams to deliver essential dental, vision, and medical services at no cost to patients. Founded in 1985, RAM has delivered care to more than one million individuals at over 1,800 clinics, providing more than $235 million in free healthcare services, making it the largest organization of its kind operating at this scale. RAM recently received national media attention, being featured on CBS’s ’60 Minutes.’

• Saturday, Aug. 15, 7 a.m.-1 p.m.
• Ijams Nature Center Homesite
• A celebration to educate visitors about all things with wings, inspire them to protect and support them, and have fun
• Ticketed event
• More information: Ijams.org/ijams-hummingbird-festival

Hummingbirds, butterflies, and other things with wings are the focus of Ijams Nature Center’s annual Ijams Hummingbird Festival: A Celebration of Wings presented by Wild Birds Unlimited Knoxville on Saturday, Aug. 15, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The outdoor festival features art and science activities for all ages, speakers, live animal encounters, guided nature walks, education tables, community science opportunities, hands-on sessions, and a marketplace of vendors. Certified master bander Mark Armstrong will demonstrate to small groups how ruby-throated hummingbirds and other birds are captured, examined, and released, and discuss why banding is important. Bird banding sessions are not included with general admission.

Special thanks to the sponsors who helped make this event possible: Wild Birds Unlimited Knoxville, Magnolia Landscape Construction, Stanley’s Greenhouse, Tennessee Wildlife Federation, and Wild Birds Unlimited Maryville.

Ijams Nature Center and Lauren Strohacker Present Communion: A Projected Hummingbird Experience

• Thursday, Aug. 13, and Friday, Aug. 14, 8-10 p.m.
• Ijams Nature Center Homesite
• An avian art exhibition by artist Lauren Strohacker
• Ticketed event
• More information: Ijams.org/ijams-hummingbird-festival

This two-night twilight art installation is designed to conjure an otherworldly encounter with the hummingbirds of Southern Appalachia. Projected larger than life, these charismatic subjects will be suspended in looping, slow-motion, animated sequences that capture intimate states such as frantic flight, feeding, rest, and the eerie stillness of torpor (their deep nocturnal hibernation). Eight hummingbird projections will transform portions of the Serendipity and Discovery Trails at the Ijams Homesite into an immersive gathering space.

Ruby Rhapsody Flower Show

• Sunday, Aug. 16, 12:30-3:30 p.m.
• Ijams Nature Center Visitor Center
• A floral design and horticulture show presented by local garden clubs
• FREE event

The Council of Flower Show Judges invites the public to the Ruby Rhapsody Flower Show, and event celebrating hummingbirds, other pollinators, and their favorite blooms. The petite floral designs with hummingbird themes are part of a National Garden Club Flower Show honoring the ruby-throated hummingbird.

Ijams Nature Center is located at 2915 Island Home Ave. Knoxville, TN 37920.

WHEN: August 15, 2026 @ 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
WHERE: East Tennessee History Center, 601 S. Gay St., Knoxville, TN 37902 and surrounding streets

The East Tennessee Historical Society, in partnership with the Knox County Public Library, is proud to announce the return of the East Tennessee History Fair. This well-loved event will take to the streets of downtown Knoxville once more, but in a new way.

This FREE celebration will take place in and around the East Tennessee History Center in downtown Knoxville and will include:

• regional historic/cultural organizations
• living history
• live music by the Knox County Jug Stompers, Clinch River Ramblers, and more
• an old-time musical jam (bring your own instruments)
• square dancing
• film screenings at the Tennessee Theatre including 1776 the Musical
• children’s activities
• lectures from local historians
• and more!

The theme will center around our nation’s Semiquincentennial (250th) with a focus on these four pillars: Celebrate, Commemorate, Contemplate, and Commit. These pillars will be woven throughout the event with engagement areas and educational programming materials to spark conversation, encourage reflection, and help broaden our understanding of our diverse region.

Visit our website at easttnhistory.org for a full schedule!

We will be continually updating our website over the next week with a full line up of music, poetry readings, lectures, and more!