RoaneViews notes some changes in their website advertising, and wonders if they are rethinking their business plan.

If it doesn't work out for them over there in Roane County, maybe they should take a look at Rhea County.

UPDATE: KAG has more.

Knoxville News Sentinel:

A 17-acre addition to Knox County's Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge will be purchased this week by a private foundation set up to expand the area's public green spaces.

The article says the expansion will include a pedestrian bridge across the French Broad River.

Scott Frith is quoted as saying "It's all right here. We should settle for no less than being the cleanest, greenest, most beautiful city in America."

The Legacy Parks Foundation raised funds for the land purchase.

According to this Knoxville News Sentinel report, a state audit of the publicly funded "Sportsman's Wildlife Foundation" found numerous problems, but says steps are being taken to correct them. H.E. Bittle, head of the foundation, says "not a single penny was misspent."

The foundation is funded by sales of a specialty license plate. You may recall previous discussion about this here. Apparently, most of the funds have gone to build a luxury hunting lodge and payment of Bittle's salary. (Bittle sponsored the bill that created the specialty license plate and directed the proceeds to his foundation while he was a member of the Tennessee House.) The state audit recommends changes to state law to require better accounting of how such funds are spent.

Earlier this year, legislation was introduced to discontinue funding for the Sportsman's Wildlife Federation and instead allocate proceeds from the specialty license plate to TWRA for hunter education. Another bill would require the Secretary of State to verify the non-profit status of any organizations receiving funds from specialty license plate sales. More on those bills can be found at TennViews.

Gov. Bredesen was in Knoxville today to celebrate the "the successful conclusion to the largest land conservation initiative in our state since the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was dedicated in 1940."

Connecting the Cumberlands is a joint project of the State of Tennessee, the Nature Conservancy, and two timber companies. More details here.

The American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration and the National Recreation and Park Association have named Tennessee State Parks the best in the U.S.

Tennessee was recently awarded the 2007 Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management. The other two finalists were Georgia and Utah.

Among Tennessee's accomplishments since 2003:

• Reopening 14 parks that had been previously closed;

• Removing access fees from the 23 state parks that had instituted them;

• Acquiring properties with exceptional conservation value from Bowater;

• Partnering with the Nature Conservancy and conservation-minded timber companies to protect 124,000 acres on the Northern Cumberland Plateau;

• Working with community organizations and other partners to open the first Boundless Playground at a state park anywhere in the country at Warriors’ Path State Park;

• Purchasing renewable “Green Power” in all state parks where it’s available.

A panel of parks and recreation professionals judged state park programs on "long-range planning, resource management, citizen support systems, environmental stewardship, program and professional development and agency recognition."

A few more photos after the jump...

Don't forget, the great Backyard Bird Count starts today.

Northern Flicker in Lakemoor Hills this past Wednesday.

The Great Backyard Bird Count starts this Friday, Feb. 16th and goes through Monday, Feb. 19th.

What it is:

The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts. It takes as little as 15 minutes. It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.

Why do it:

Scientists and bird enthusiasts can learn a lot by knowing where the birds are. Bird populations are dynamic; they are constantly in flux. No single scientist or team of scientists could hope to document the complex distribution and movements of so many species in such a short time.

What to do:

1. Plan to count birds for at least 15 minutes during February 16–19, 2007. Count birds at as many places and on as many days as you like—just keep a separate list of counts for each day and/or location.

2. Count the greatest number of individuals of each species that you see together at any one time, and write it down.

3. Enter your results on the Great Backyard Bird Count web site!

Follow the above links for more info. It's a great educational outdoors/nature activity for the kids and fun for the entire family.

Here are the statistics from last year's GBBC:

Total Checklists Submitted: 60,503
Total Species Observed: 622
Total Individual Birds Counted: 7,594,742

Among Tennessee reporting localities for 2006, the Knoxville area topped the list with 81 species and 161 reports, which was more than double the nearest location (Nashville) with 78 reports.

You can view all the results from last year's count here. When the count gets underway, post yours in comments here!

The State of North Carolina is going to purchase Chimney Rock Park:

The state will spend $24 million to buy privately owned Chimney Rock Park, a landmark in western North Carolina that has served as the setting for several major motion pictures, a state parks official said Monday.

Gov. Mike Easley is expected to formally announce the pending sale late this morning, said Charlie Peek, spokesman for the state Division of Parks and Recreation.

The article says the family who owns the park turned down $20 million and listed it with Sotheby's for $55 million. A private donation of $2.35 million helped sweeten the deal.

It's probably the second or third snow in the high mountains but "First Snow" sounds better. This image is the Appalachian Trail at Newfound Gap taken this morning. A steady stream of backpackers were making their way to the Icewater Springs shelter and points beyond. What you can't see here is the 30 degree temps and 30mph winds with blowing ice and snow. I'll be thinking of these backpackers tonight up there at that shelter while I'm relaxing in my La-Z-Boy by the fireplace with hot cider watching the Simpsons.

Reported in the Orlando Sentinel, a spotted eagle ray leaped out of the water and onto their 18-foot boat. When Bertakis tried to lift the stingray out of the boat, it hit him in the chest with its poisonous barbed tail.

We used to encounter "flying" mullets on the St. Johns River quite frequently, jumping over our small boat.

Be careful out there!

The KNS reports that Little River Road is closed due to a rock slide resulting from heavy rains last night. It's closed from Metcalf Bottoms back to the park entrance on the Townsend side.

According to the report, it's likely to be closed all weekend. If you're going up there and plan to go to Gatlinburg by way of Townsend, or planning to come over to Cades Cove from Gatlinburg, you'll have to go across Wears Valley by way of 321 and Pigeon Forge.

(Usually when they close Little River Road it makes for some nice bicycling opportunities, so there's that. And you can park at the Y and safely walk your dog up that way along the river, too. UPDATE: According to today's paper, the road will be closed to ALL traffic, including bicycle and pedestrian, until it's fixed. Bummer.)

We were up there yesterday evening for a quick spin around Cades Cove. The colors haven't started turning in earnest yet, but it's beautiful as always. We saw deer, a pileated woodpecker, and a couple of bears, including an immature that ran across the road right in front of us requiring a panic stop and almost getting rear-ended. (There was quite a bit of traffic, mostly out of town folks.)

The Mrs. predicts that the colors should start turning nicely by next weekend, and it looks like it might be a good year.

Cataloochie Elk

I saw a couple of weeks back Number 9’s Halls Shopper Tyler Harber string with a couple of posts about Bill Johns should be our county mayor.

I doubt that Mike Ragsdale will let the Sentinel ever cover this guy, but maybe the Metro Pulse will since he is also an organic farmer. As suggested, here is a new string about the guy I met last week:

It is funny about that "degrees of separation" thing since last Thursday; I met Bill Johns at the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Nanotechnology Conference in Oak Ridge. Bill Johns was the keynote speaker about nanotech business.

It just so happens, he is the guy who ran the "Marty" for mayor campaign (dog - voter awareness) in which I wrote about last month. Apparently, my wife also met him that same day at Bearden High School when he was talking about the new high school ( Link... ).

If you did not watch the County Commission meeting on this past Monday, you should have. With Mike Ragsdale sitting a few feet from him, Bill Johns gave probably one of the most serious, facts-based, and informative talks linking education, technology, and economic development that has ever been heard before the commission. He also laid down the law about financial management and proactive planning of our community.

I heard he blasted the proposal of the PBA conducting a $600,000 study to determine if our schools are overcrowded to the likes of studying if Al-Qaeda wants to kill us. Bill Johns also talked about how politics and bureaucracy are hurting us and referenced an e-mail group he had with the school board and the PBA.

During his talk, he mentioned his background and referenced his site:

Link...

For those who are interested in nanotechnology, education, politics, conservation, and other information, you should check him out.

If anything, check out the posts about education. Our community has really dropped the ball on education and Bill Johns clearly states it there.

Perhaps we should start shopping around for a new vision and leader. If the current guy is already looking at Nashville, then why not start?

(Click image for larger view.)

Unidentified members of the Future Stuntmen of America
at Tellico Lake.

We've been meaning to go up to Roan Mountain for a while, and decided yesterday was a nice day for a driveabout. We hoped the rhododendrons would be in bloom, but expected we might be a week or so early and we were right. But there were a few stray blossoms here and there.

(The annual Roan Mountain Rhododendron Festival starts next Saturday. You can call the Roan Mountain State Park ranger's office for updates on the rhododendron bloom. Judging from the abundance of buds, it looks like it will be a good year.)

More photos after the jump...

We just ran into a neighbor who works with the Blount Co. Rescue Squad. They are having a busy weekend. He started at 4:00 AM and was headed back out at 7:00 PM.

He said the lakes and highways are crowded, and they've had several motorcycle accidents up on 129 and at least one serious boating accident.

Some guys on Fort Loudoun Lake ran their boat aground at a high rate of speed, narrowly missing an anchored cabin cruiser. He said the boat got airborne, and it was a big boat. They were looking for one occupant, and they weren't sure whether he fell out or ran away. (UPDATE: the missing guy was found at home sleeping. TWRA is still investigating.)

So have fun, be safe, and watch out for the crazies.

It usually starts around Memorial Day weekend, but with the onset of warm weather, people are looking to cure "cabin fever" on East Tennessee's numerous lakes and waterways.

Which brings two heartbreaking stories from this weekend.

On Friday, a boat was found idling on Norris Lake minus its occupants. Someone heard cries for help and flagged down a passing boater to investigate. As of now they are still searching for the missing occupants. Officials say it was a father and son on their first outing in their new boat. There aren't any official conclusions, but details from the scene lead to obvious speculation about what probably happened.

Saturday, a 62 year old man drowned while canoeing on the Tennessee River/Fort Loudoun Lake with his dog. According to this article, "Authorities were alerted to the scene at 8:46 p.m. when people at a nearby park saw Humphrey's empty canoe in the water and witnessed Lucy, who swam to shore, standing on the water's edge and barking."

Sadly, there were two terrible tragedies in as many days. It's unlikely anyone will ever know for sure what happened in either case. One thing is for sure, though. If you are going into open water for any reason, you really should be wearing a personal floatation device. Even if you're an Olympic-class swimmer, there are too many things that can go wrong. The same applies if you're in an inherently unstable craft such as a canoe or a kayak.

As a kid, the best thing I learned from Red Cross water safety/life saving classes was the "reach, throw, row, go" protocol for potential drowning rescue situations.

First try to reach the victim from the safety of land or the boat, by hand, with a paddle or oar, a fishing rod, a stick, a rope, a towel, anything. If that's not possible, find something to throw to the victim such as a life vest, seat cushion, boat fender, plastic jug, cooler, or anything that floats. If that's not possible, try to reach the victim by boat, canoe, inner tube, or whatever other floating vessel might be about (but do not approach the victim under power). Entering the water to attempt a swimming rescue is always the last resort. All too frequently the result is two victims, even if the rescuer is trained and in good physical condition.

As the summer boating season approaches, boating safety cannot be stressed enough. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is primarily responsible for safety and enforcement on Tennessee waterways. They have safe boating courses and now require anyone born after Jan. 1, 1989 to pass a boating safety exam and carry a certification card. There is more information here, including a free online boating safety course.

Here are some other useful Tennessee boating and water safety links:

It's heating up. The final two rounds are tomorrow and Sunday, April 8 & 9. Tiger is one over par, along with ten others. I do not watch that much golf, but I love to watch the Masters. The course is absolutely beautiful this time of year.

Winter Park, FL - Popular dog park placed on gator alert.

... signs will be posted in the park cautioning people not to let children and animals play by themselves near the water ...

You would think people know gators are abundant in Florida, but as with the Smoky Mountains, many people are visitors or new to the state. Gators can also be a little more stealthy than bears.

Be careful out there.

If you grew up in the Knox/Blount County area, odds are that you spent a summer week or two at Camp Montvale. YMCA of East Tennessee owns the camp now, and announced last November that they were shutting it down due to declining attendance.

Following the announcement, the Maryville Daily Times asked readers to share their memories of Camp Montvale. Here are some reader responses, and here's an article with reaction to the news from some of the first campers and counselors.

In late December, a group of concerned citizens formed the "Friends of Camp Montvale" to explore ways to save the camp. According to the article, YMCA of East Tennessee said officially that the camp was not for sale, but that they were interested in having a non-profit take it over and continue operation. A figure of $5 million was "tossed around" in the discussions.

In January, YMCA of East Tennessee met with the Friends of Camp Montvale to discuss the future of the camp. Again YMCA indicated they were open to working with anyone interested in saving the camp. Blount County Mayor candidate Joe Gallagher also said he would make it an issue in his campaign and would "work to block any sale of Camp Montvale to developers."

According to today's Maryville Daily Times, the Friends of Camp Montvale organization has obtained official non-profit status, and plans a fund-raising campaign to save the camp. On their new Friends of Camp Montvale website, they say they "are pleased that the YMCA of East Tennessee has begun to engage in a dialogue with the Friends of Camp Montvale about the future of the property."

Most folks, at least most folks around here in Blount County, agree it would be a good thing to save the camp. Good luck to the Friends of Camp Montvale!