News Updates FALL NEWS

Governor announces 14 state park closures

NASHVILLE – The governor announced the closing of a number a state parks last week in his attempt to cut state services and expenses. Among the parks being closed, five are in East Tennessee. Partial closings also began this past Tuesday with the exception of Panther Creek State Park in Hamblen County being closed completely. The others scheduled to be closed include:
o Big Ridge State Park
o Frozen Head State Natural Area
o Indian Mountain State Park
o Norris Dam State Park (except the marina)
o Big Cypress Tree State Natural Area
o Bledsoe Creek State Park
o Bruton Branch Campground
o Burgess Falls State Natural Area
o Dunbar Cave State Natural Area
o Henry Horton State Resort Park (except for the golf course)
o Johnsonville State Historic Park
o Port Royal State Historic Park
o Reelfoot Lake State Resort Park Inn and Restaurant
House Mountain State Park in Knox County was also on the list to be closed, but the state was already in negotiations to lease the park to the county, which will keep it open.
The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will also suspend the inn, restaurant, and gift shop operations during the winter season at Montgomery Bell and Natchez Trace State Resort Parks. The total savings to the state is estimated to be around $3.2 million.
No park with a state golf course was closed by the TDEC. Officials with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation say the cutbacks will also include the closing of some Park restaurants and campgrounds, but also say that the Parks could be re-opened if legislators find a way to fund the shortfalls in the state park’s budget.
"One of Tennessee’s most valuable resources is our beautiful landscape," said Gov. Don Sundquist. "I am disappointed that we must limit our citizens’ access to our diverse parks across the state because the legislature refused to invest the money necessary to keep them open."
"These parks are truly the crown jewel of this state," said TDEC Commissioner Milton H. Hamilton, Jr. "They have become one of the best systems in the nation and I regret that the General Assembly has refused to recognize their value. I hope these will be temporary measures, as we expect them to have a very adverse affect on our long-term ability to run a quality state park system."
Manyl analysts are saying that the Governor is doing what they expected him to do following the General Assembly’s actions in the last session.
"A couple of years ago the state park’s system was supposed to restructure and reorganize its management of these parks," said one economic analyst, "and what has happened is that nothing was done to make the operation of these parks more efficient, which made them prime candidates for closure. The closing of East Tennessee parks like Norris and Big Ridge will actually cost the state money as many people who attend University of Tennessee football games stay at them. I didn’t hear of any state golf courses being closed and I am sure upkeep of them is more expensive than those chosen. Of course it won’t look as good politically to close them and doesn’t make good financial sense when you realize just how much money the state has dumped into developing them so they can compete with those commercial courses owned by Tennessee residents. For the governor and the TDEC Commissioner to lay all of this on the General Assembly pretty much shows there is plenty of politics involved in this, regardless of what they may say to the media."
o In a related story, the governor also announced that he is also cancelling the Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts. The 18-year-old educational program has provided a month long special school for young artists during the summer, which includes musicians, drama, and other artistic endeavors. The school is regarded as a special prep class for gifted student going on to college.
The House of Representative passed a version of the budget that did include funding for the Governor’s School program, but the governor chose to cut it and giving the school only enough funds to reportedly dismantle the office on the Middle Tennessee State University Campus.
It is one of seven governor’s schools to be cancelled in 2002 reportedly saving $750,000. Those in charge of the school are asking those interested to contact their local legislators as well as Gov. Sundquist at the e-mail address dsundquist@mail.state.tn.us.

CHARLESTON – Archaeologists have found that eight – not nine – men were on board the CSS Hunley when she sank off the coast of Charleston in 1864. It was always believed that a crew of nine men took the submarine out, but scientists discovered earlier in 2001 that only seven duty stations existed on the sub. The seven stations plus the captain would have equaled eight and scientists say they have excavated the interior enough to conclude that no more human remains are inside the vessel. "It is surprising," said Bob Neyland, the project director. "Everybody always talked about nine individuals. But we've got eight craniums, eight sets of bones and eight pairs of shoes."The number was relied upon through historical reports from Confederate officers and engineers associated with the project, but clues began to emerge in eyewitness accounts of the vessel’s numerous sinkings that it only carried a compliment of eight men total. Archaeologists and scientists had assumed for years as had historians that they crew had gone out shorthanded on occasions, but the new evidence reports the information was a misconception. Scientists allowed the mystery to continue until they had excavated enough of the sub to be reasonably sure there were no more spaces that could hide the remains of another crewman. Archaeologists recently reached the forward bulkhead of the submarine and began to see traces of the sub's controls in the muck. In addition to that revelation, scientists now believe that the crew was much more diverse than originally thought.

Smithsonian Institution forensic anthropologist Dr. Doug Owsley and his team have been sorting the remains, trying to put the skeletons back together again. His initial study of the remains show the Hunley crew ranged in age from 19 to their early 40s. "With what we have recovered, we can put a face and age to each set of remains," said Glenn McConnell, chairman of the Hunley Commission, "but with the exception of Lt. Dixon, the true identity of each of the others still eludes us."Neyland says that he is confident the rest of the crew eventually will be identified. Dixon has been identified because he was at the captain's post in the sub and by the gold coin in his pocket bearing his initials - and dented by a bullet at the Battle of Shiloh. The other men may be identified through health records and physical descriptions, and by matching artifacts with the skeletons. Some of the men’s descendants have offered to provide DNA samples to aid in identifying the remains and scientists may also be able to use artifacts to help identify them. Since the archaeological excavations began, it has turned into one of South Carolina’s most visited tourist attractions. The team hopes to preserve the vessel and reconstruct the men’s faces where computer enhancements can show people what they looked like at the time of their historic military mission. The men are then expected to be laid to rest with the proper ceremony and honors benefiting a Confederate soldier.

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New TDOT archaeological team to begin tests on
Sevier County’s historic First Baptist Cemetery

SEVIERVILLE – Historical preservationists and descendants of those buried in the First Baptist Park cemetery are watching as a new archaeological company is being brought in to examine the historic cemetery for grave sites that will interfere with the proposed Highway 448 slated to run through the land, which was made a scenic park in 1976 in honor of the nation’s bicentennial.
University of Tennessee archaeologists were surprisingly yanked away from the site and replaced by a new archaeological group a few months ago when Sevierville citizens began protesting the proposed road – fearing it would disturb the graves of the region’s first founders. The first spade tests have also shown there to be an American Indian presence at the site as well, which led to the Native American Indian Movement joining forces with the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, who are protesting any road through the cemetery, which could disturb or outright destroy the final resting places of Sevierville founders and veterans who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Officials with the Tennessee Department of Transportation say that contrary to rumors, they will not "pave over the graves if they find them." Historical activists say they want to see a new plan for the proposed road and want no part of any project that will run through one of the oldest cemeteries in East Tennessee. "As we have said since Memorial Day of this year, " said one activist, "this is something we will not compromise on with the state. This land was given in trust to the government on the basic premise that it be preserved for future generations in Sevierville and Sevier County. We never thought in any way that it would someday be considered as a thoroughfare or a road and resent the fact that the state and our representatives have chosen to attempt to do so."Native American spokesperson Carl "Two Feathers" Whitaker says NAIM is concerned about the new archaeological team and will keep an eye on the project. "I have been involved in enough of these projects to know that T.D.O.T. is an agency you have to keep your eye on when they have their minds made up about what they want to do. We know from our research and contacting representatives from the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution as well as descendants of the families buried there that many grave sites have become unmarked over the years and its location on the river makes it historically suitable to have supported a Native American presence. Concerned citizens from Sevierville and Sevier County, who had seen the cemetery deteriorate over the years, decided in the 1970s to try and preserve it as a historic site and that is what was done. To now just dismiss their efforts because the state wants to throw a road through it, is completely unacceptable and we will fight along with them to preserve it." The groups are expected to meet there this weekend and decorate the graves this Veterans Day.

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GSMNP beginning Winter scheduleGATLINBURG

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is beginning its annual Winter schedule,
which will include a few extra changes this year.

Visitors Center
The Sugarlands Visitor Center is now open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Oconoluftee Visitor center is Cherokee, N.C. will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Cades Cove Visitor Center located half way around the Cades Cove Loop Road will be opened daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Roads
Tunnel construction on the Newfound Gap Road tunnels, which began Nov. 1, will see a total shutdown of 42 days until Jan. 18. Winter weather could also still cause a shutdown if GSMNP officials determine the road is impassable.

Little River Road is open during the winter, but may be closed due to weather.
The Gatlinburg Bypass, Cades Cove Loop Road, Cosby Road, Greenbrier Road, Foothills Parkway(East and West), Upper Tremont, Little Greenbrier, Forge Creek and Lakeview Drive will open and close as conditions mandate.

The following secondary roads will be closed as indicated: Balsam Mountain, Heintooga/Roundbottom and Straight Fork are close. Rich Mountain and Parson Branch Road will close on Nov. 16 and Clingmans Dome and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail will close on Dec. 1.
Lodging
LeConte Lodge will accommodate guests until Nov. 20, when it will be closed for the season.
Camping
Two of the three major campgrounds will remain open all year: Cades Cove in Tennessee and Smokemont in North Carolina. Starting on Nov. 1 the campgrounds will be on a self-registration basis with a reduced number of available sites. Elkmont in Tennessee will remain open through the Thanksgiving weekend and will be closed on Nov. 26.

Balsam Mountain campground is closed for the season as are the six remaining self-registration campgrounds.
Picnicking
Six picnic areas will remain open through the winter: Chimney Tops, Cades Cove, Cosby, Greenbrier, Metcalf Bottoms and Deep Creek.
Stables
The Smokemont, Deep Creek and Cades Cove Riding stables are closed. McCarter’s will close for business on Nov. 24, weather permitting and the Smoky Mountain Riding Stable will continue service until Nov. 26, also depending on weather.
Horse Camps
All auto-accessed horse camps close for the season on Nov. 1.
For weather and other necessary updates from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, you can telephone the Park locally at (865) 436-5615.

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How did Veterans Day begin?

NASHVILLE - In 1921 an American soldier – his name "known but to God" – was buried on a Virginia hillside overlooking the Potomac River and Washington, D.C. The Arlington National Cemetery burial site of this unknown World War I soldier became the personification of dignity and reverence for America’s veterans.
Similar ceremonies occurred earlier in England and France where an "unknown soldier" was buried in each nation’s highest place of honor. In England it was in Westminster Abbey and in France, the Arc de Triomphe.
This memorial gesture took place on November 11, giving universal recognition to the celebrated ending of World War I hostilities at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918 (i.e., the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year). The day became known as "Armistice Day."
Armistice Day officially received its name in the United States in 1926 via Congressional Resolution. It became a national holiday 12 years later by a similar Congressional action.
In 1954, President Eisenhower signed the Bill proclaiming November 11 as Veteran’s Day and he called for Americans everywhere to rededicate themselves to the cause of peace.
A law passed in 1968 changed the national commemoration of Veteran’s Day to the fourth Monday in October. It soon became apparent, however, that November 11 was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of citizens. Congress enacted legislation (Public Law 94-97), which returned the observance of this special day to its traditional date to begin in 1978.
This year President George Bush will issue a special proclamation declaring the week of Nov. 11-18 as a Special Week of Observance for veterans and military personnel now serving in Southwest Asia. ‘Friends of the Smokies’ is state’s most popular license plate
GATLINBURG – With more than 75 specialty plates to choose from in Tennessee, the Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains is the state’s most popular.
Tennessee Department of Safety officials reported that they have sold 23,125 Smoky Mountain plates generating $485,625 for the National Park Service.
Officials with the National Park say the plate’s popularity among Tennesseans is just one of many success stories the Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains organization has had over the years and one of the principal reasons it has become one of the nation’s premier support organizations for a national park.
"I think it is a wonderful statement by the people of Tennessee that they will pay an extra $25 to help preserve the Park through their support of the Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains," said one GSMNP official. "Without their help over the years, there would have been many projects that wouldn’t have been accomplished or taken many more years to do. For Tennesseans, especially those living in Sevier and Blount counties and other regions affected by tourism and travel to the Smoky Mountains, this is just one of the ways they can help the Park Service continue to maintain its services to visitors and assist an organization that means a lot to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park."
Tennessee drivers asked why they purchased the specialty plate gave a variety of answers, but the overwhelming response was to aid the Park Service.
"I thought it was just a good way to help the Park and bought one for mine and my husband’s car when we registered them this year," said Knoxville resident Betty Davis. "Our family spends a lot of time in the mountains swimming and using the resources of the Park and it never costs us a dime to do so this just a way I felt that we could give something back. "
Tennessee Department of Safety officials say the second best selling plate was the 1998 Tennessee National Champions football plate at 21,177 and was followed in popularity by the state parks plate, the "Watchable Wildlife" and the agriculture plate. The Belmont University plate was the least purchased at 123.
Other specialty plates are under consideration by the state. Any organization can apply to the state of Tennessee for a specialty license plate if they can meet a minimum ordering requirement.

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NASHVILLE – Federal and state officials are urging Tennesseans to get on with their lives following the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and say the recent slumps in business and local economies are exactly what the terrorists wanted to accomplish. Their message is simply “get back to normal and don’t let fear prevent you from doing what you would normally do.”
A professor of military studies and tactics at the University of Tennessee says that Tennesseans have little to fear and the fear-mongering going on in the media needs to be taken with a grain of salt and a measure of common sense.
“Terrorism is a tactic used to destabalize the government, rattle people’s confidence and generally cause a shutdown in daily life, which can easily turn neighbor against neighbor,”  he said. “The best to do right now is to go on about your life and do what you normally do. We have more than ample forces in the field who will extract justice for this nation and the best revenge is rebuilding what was destroyed. Terrorists strike at largely symbolic targets and those that will give them the most impact with the least amount of work and, while East Tennessee has some traditionally strategic points of interest for a foreign enemy, security at these establishments has been increased tremendously since Sept. 11 and terrorists would not derive any sustainable results in challenging them.”
Reportedly Oak Ridge has resumed shipments in and out of Y-12 and officials there said the one myth they want people to know is that no weapons-grade nuclear material is in the city that should cause worry among East Tennesseans. The facilities which do as sist in nuclear weapons have only components on hand and there is no danger of explosions.
Other points of interest include Holston Valley Armory, which produces the explosive C-4 for the military and other facilities that produce nuclear fuel for submarines and similar facilities. Security at all have been increased and officials say that these would not be strategic targets as there are few people that would be impacted and thus not a target for terrorists.
The Tennessee Valley Authority has also gone back to business as usual, but, like other government installations, has increased its security as a precaution around any potentially hazardous targets. Their biggest concern from people has been with the nuclear power plants operated by the utility and stress that nuclear power plants do not use weapons grade material that could be used in making a nuclear device.
Biochemical devices have been the topic of choice among pundits in the last couple of weeks, but chemists say that most terrorists do not have the sophistication necessary to develop a biochemical agent that could cause major problems. While cow pastures contain anthrax, the process used to convert it into a lethal weapon with an effective delivery device is hard to come by for even the most dedicated terrorist.
“It is possible that we could see an attempt,” said one chemist, “but I don’t think it could be done without drawing attention. There have been rumors galore about anthrax, smallpox and other diseases, but, in spite of what has been said, America does have the medical supplies to handle it.”
Officials have been more worried about the recent run on gas masks at local military surplus stores and says that people need to educate themselves a little better and not be lured into a false sense of security. Emergency and
First Responder workers say that gas masks will do little good against such an attack because biochemical agents can work on the entire body and enter through the pores of the skin. The best protective measure if something like that was to ever occur is to follow directions from emergency management personnel and evacuate the premises.

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Volunteer outpouring for terrorist victims
continues in East TN

KNOXVILLE– The volunteer efforts across East Tennessee continue and donations are now being taken to help raise money for a new fire truck for the City of New York, money is still coming in to the Salvation Army Relief Fund, lines at Medic are still long with people giving blood, and the national organizations say all totaled the money donated by Americans to help victims will total more than half a billion dollars. Officials with Medic and the American Red Cross say they are still needing blood, however, and are encouraging people to return and give again. Supplies were taken to record lows and the organizations need to increase the number of units they have on hand in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency should strike.
Government estimates say it will probably end up costing New York City $40 billion to clean up and rebuild. All is not well with many returning to their homes as some are finding that their apartments were looted during their forced absence from them. There has also been a number of reported cases of people posing as charities to scam money from those who are wanting to help victims of the disasters. Law enforcement officials and the attorneys general say they will prosecute anyone found engaged in such practices to the fullest extent of the law and encourage people to contact local authorities if they have any questions of to use common sense and just deal with the charities you know.
Gov. Don Sundquist was among a group of state governors to take to the air over the weekend in an effort to show that air travel is safe in America. The governors spent a couple of days in New York City taking in a Broadway show and dining.
More than 100 Congressmen an dwomen were at the World Trade Center site on Monday to see for themselves the damage caused by the terrorist attack. New York Emergency officials say they understand the need for the tours, but are trying to end the V.I.P. trips as the security precautions taken to accommodate them slows down progress at the site and workers are wanting to dig in and start getting the job done. Super heavy equipment was brought to the site over the weekend and workers have removed more than 160 tons of debris and recovered more than 30 bodies of firemen from the site on Monday. The number of missing has dropped to just over 5,000 at the WTC and cadaver dogs from across the nation and Knoxville are being used to help locate human remains.
Officials say the military personnel killed in the Pentagon will each receive a Purple Heart and a new Department of Defense Medal that will be struck as part of the new War on Terrorism. News reports last week that the passengers who apparently overtook their hijackers and rammed the plane into the Pennsylvania countryside may get a Medal of Honor was quickly discounted by DOD officials, who pointed out that the Medal of Honor can only be awarded to uniformed military officers. Officials say, however, they expect the passengers to be properly recognized for their courageous actions and honored.
Pentagon repairs and construction is expected to cost in excess of $200 million and emergency personnel are still working at the site recovering bodies and trying to shore up the structure so construction crews can begin the rebuilding process. Crews report that there is still a lot of danger in the section struck by the jetliner and removing debris can cause problems by destabilizing the remaining structure and possibly collapse so work is continuing at a measured pace until the site is completely cleared. Most of the volunteer groups, which included a team from Tennessee, have been sent home. The Tennessee team was presented a commander’s coin for their efforts, which officials say will be framed and displayed in the volunteers headquarters for their efforts aiding in recovering the injured and dead from the structure.

Newfound Gap tunnel repairs could start
as soon as October

GATLINBURG – Officials with the Great Smoky Mountain National Park report that the Federal Highway Administration has awarded a $7.4 million contract to Charles E. Blalock and Sons, Inc. to do the repairs and improvements to the tunnels on Newfound Gap Road going over the mountains. Blalock and Sons will be raising the overhead clearance of the two 60-year-old tunnels to accommodate today’s Recreational Vehicles and will also replace the crumbling concrete tunnel linings.
According to the report, preparatory work could begin in October, but is not expected to affect traffic. The most disruptive work is scheduled to occur between Thanksgiving and March 15, 2002, which is traditionally the slowest visitation period. Between Nov. 26 and Jan. 31, 2002 the road will be closed to all traffic for two periods totaling 42 days, but work will be ceased between Dec. 22 through Jan. 2 to allow for the heavy holiday travel.
During the full closure period, Newfound Gap Rd. will be open, weather permitting for 16 miles north of the Park’s Cherokee, NC entrance to the Newfound Gap Parking Area, where motorists will have to turn around and exit through Cherokee. On the Tennessee side, the road will be closed two miles south of Gatlinburg near Sugarlands Visitors Center. The only access to the Park’s high elevation overlooks, trailheads and the Appalachian Trail will be via the Cherokee entrance. Park officials emphasized that access to other popular visitor destinations on the Tennessee side of the Park, including Little River Road and Cades Cove will not be affected.
Park Superintendent Mike Tollefson also stressed that during the road closure period Newfound Gap will also be closed to hiker and cyclist use.
“For safety reasons,” said Tollefson, “we don’t want to take a chance on having trucks and heavy construction equipment unexpectedly come upon pedestrians or cyclists who assume that they have the road to themselves. And, since the contractor‘s schedule is based upon them working multiple shifts, seven days a weeks, there could be construction vehicles coming and going at any hour of the day or night.”
Due to the narrowing of lanes and reduced overhead clearance, buses and R.V.s will be prohibited from using the road during the entire Nov. 26 to March 15 period, including the Christmas holiday work suspension period.
From March 15 through May 18 and between Aug. 19 through Sept. 27, 2002, the contractor will be authorized to impose one-lane closures controlled by flaggers day or night. During those two periods, no work will be allowed on Saturdays, Sundays, or Holidays.
“In a busy Park like the Smokies,” said Tollefson, “it is not possible to do construction on a major thoroughfare without any impact on Park visitors or the traffic which flows back and forth between our gateway communities. But the Park and Federal Highway Administration have made every effort to schedule the most disruptive phases of work when they would have the least impact on traffic and tourism.”
Park officials say they will try to keep visitors up-to-date on traffic problems that may arise throughout the construction period with updates to the media, visitors centers and on the Park web site at www.nps.gov/grsm and will also post messages on their normal information number (865) 436-1200.

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