Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs

It’s Friday. Time for another weekly update.

This week, I stopped by the 13th annual Keeping the David Landes Miracle Alive blood drive. The folks at Medic Regional Blood Center want to remind everyone that the annual Orange and Blue blood drive, pitting the Knoxville area against the Lexington, KY area is coming up November 17-21. The Wildcats have beat us the past three years and we can’t let that happen again so please make sure to get out and donate. All donors will receive a sweatshirt, a Fantasy of Trees ticket, and other goodies.

I also delivered Mobile Meals with volunteers from Comcast, spoke at Aging: A Family Affair luncheon, and spoke to the senior class at L&N Stem Academy.

Thank you to Cruze Farms for their support of the Veterans Heritage Site Foundation. One of the Foundations projects is the upcoming Wreaths Across America at which volunteers place wreaths on the headstones in our veterans’ cemeteries. Thanks to your generous support, over the last several years, each headstone has received a wreath. Let’s make sure that happens again this year. Click on the Wreaths Across America banner on our website for more information.

Our offices will be closed on Tuesday, November 11th in honor of Veteran’s Day. We’ll be open normal business hours on Wednesday the 12th.

Until next Friday, I hope everyone has a great week!

To all you witches and vampires. Ghosts and ghouls, zombies and skeletons. Oh, and giraffes. Can't forget giraffes. Have a safe and happy Halloween!

TRANSCRIPT:
It’s Friday. Time for another weekly update.

This week, I welcomed over 150 new citizens to America during the most recent naturalization ceremony. The process for becoming a citizen is not easy and includes testing of both English language proficiency and civics knowledge. So congratulations to these folks.

I also helped cut the ribbon for the Metro Drug Coalition’s Pathfinder mobile learning lab. The Pathfinder is the first-of-its-kind in the nation. It will visit schools and neighborhoods across our county, especially underserved areas, bringing not only substance misuse prevention education, but also building resilience, confidence, and emotional wellbeing among our young people.

And I placed a plaque in honor of Ngina Blair at the Little Free Library at the Five Points Boys and Girls Club.

Some news about the Richard L. Bean Juvenile Service Center.
Unfortunately, we have discovered more issues since oversight of the facility was transferred to a new board of directors consisting of five county commissioners. A recently released 98-page report by the University of Tennessee’s County Technical Assistance Service discovered numerous shortcomings in the management of the facility, from staffing and operations to record keeping, security and standards compliance under the Center’s previous administration. While things are progressing and the new administration is doing yeoman’s work, there’s still a lot to be done, so the committee overseeing the center has asked county commission to delay the transition to the Sheriff’s Office. On the positive side, we are hoping that the Center will soon earn approval from the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services after losing it three years ago. I’ll keep you updated as things move forward.

Knox County Criminal Court Clerk Mike Hammond and his team have launched a new program to support domestic violence survivors called Bridge to Safety. Bridge to Safety serves as a vital connection between victims, law enforcement, and community resources to help individuals safely cross from crisis to confidence. The program provides guidance, support, and direct assistance during some of the most difficult times in their lives. For more information, please visit www.bridgetosafetytn.org or contact the program at (865) 215-3221.

This month’s Employee of the month is Alan Childers from Engineering and Public Works. Congratulations and thank you, Alan!

Until next Friday, I hope everyone has a great week!

It’s Friday. Time for another weekly update.

This week, I toured the Voestalpine Nortrak factory in west Knoxville, where they fabricate railroad track and switches, attended Emerald Youth’s annual Legacy Dinner at which Tennessee Men’s basketball coach and all around good guy Rick Barnes was recognized for his outstanding support of our community’s youth, and helped cut the ribbon for Knox County Schools’ new book bus. The book bus will travel to the school system’s preschools which do not currently have libraries. Many thanks to the sponsors who made this project possible and to our school district for recognizing the importance of early childhood literacy.

This week’s Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization’s Executive Board Meeting featured an update from the Tennessee Department of Transportation on their I40/75 corridor plan. You can find information about the plan on TDOT’s website by Googling West Knoxville Corridor. TDOT is also hosting a series of public meetings about the plan: November 10th at the Farragut Community Center Assembly Hall, November 12th at Pellissippi State Community College at the J.L. Goins Administration Building, and November 13th at the City of Knoxville Public Works Service Center. All the meetings are from 5:00-7:00 p.m.

Speaking of public meetings, Engineering and Public works will be at Northshore Elementary School on Thursday, Oct. 30, from 5-7pm to discuss the flood control pump station that we’ll soon be installing on Bluegrass Lake and the traffic impacts associated with the project.

And, finally, congratulations to my friend and former Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale who was recently inducted into the Cleveland High School Alumni Hall of Fame. Well done, Mayor!

Until next Friday, I hope everyone has a great week!