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Bluegrass mass concert will help Second Harvest Food Bank

Posted at 12:32 pm October 9, 2019
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Tim Sharp (Submitted photo)

A unique blend of bluegrass and classical choral music and lively Appalachian storytelling will be presented on October 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Second Presbyterian Church of Knoxville, 2829 Kingston Pike.

The University of Tennessee Chamber Choir and the choirs of First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge and Second Presbyterian Church of Knoxville will perform the choral music. The event is free and open to the public, but an offering will be taken to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank, which serves both Anderson and Knox counties, a press release said.

“Come Away to the Skies: A High Lonesome Mass,” composed by Tim Sharp and Wes Ramsay, will be the main musical feature, the press release said. It combines the classical structure of the mass with bluegrass and mountain music performed by guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, and voice.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Community, Entertainment, Front Page News, Music, Nonprofits, Top Stories Tagged With: bluegrass, bluegrass mass, choral, classical, First Presbyterian Church, Second Harvest Food Bank, Second Presbyterian Church, Tim Sharp, University of Tennessee Chamber Choir

Lake City is now Rocky Top, Tennessee

Posted at 9:52 pm June 26, 2014
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Lake City to Rocky Top Vote

The Lake City Council on Thursday agreed to change the town’s name to Rocky Top as part of an effort to attract a multi-million dollar development that could include a water park, interactive theater with children’s museum, and coal miners music theater, among other things.

 

Note: This story was last updated at 1:10 p.m. June 28.

LAKE CITY—Lake City is now Rocky Top, Tennessee.

For most people, Rocky Top has been, until now, the name of a bluegrass song that is wildly popular in East Tennessee and the unofficial anthem of the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Hikers might know it as a sub-peak of Thunderhead Mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains. And shoppers might recognize it as the name of a bookstore, or gas station, or wine trail, or one of many other businesses registered in Tennessee.

But officials and business leaders here have worked for months to make their town to first to use it in a city name.

The idea is to use the name change to spur developments along Interstate 75 that could be worth up to $237 million. Proposed projects include an indoor and outdoor water park, interactive theater with a children’s museum, a coal miners music theater, and laser tag, among other things. Officials have said those developments—which have also included other options such as a hotel, restaurant, and candy company—won’t happen without the name change.

Residents hope the change and subsequent developments will create jobs, add sales tax revenues, and provide a vital economic boost to this depressed town of 1,800 people in northern Anderson County. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Lake City, Lake City, Lake City, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Bill Haslam, Boudleaux Bryant, Brad Coriell, children's museum, Coal Creek, coal miners music theater, economic boost, Felice Bryant, Great Smoky Mountains, House of Bryant, House of Bryant Publications LLC, interactive theater, jobs, Lake City, Lake City Council, Lake City Middle School, lawsuit, Michael L. Lovely, name chagne, Rocky Top, Rocky Top Marketing and Manufacturing Co., Rocky Top Tennessee, Sharon Templin, tax revenues, Tennessee General Assembly, Thomas A. Varlan, Thunderhead Mountain, Tim Isbel, Tim Sharp, trademark infringement, U.S. District Court, water park

Lake City to Rocky Top: Bill clears first hurdle

Posted at 11:37 am February 5, 2014
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Lake City Rocky Top Meeting

A standing-room-only crowd assembles to watch the Lake City Council vote 4-0 in November to recommend the town’s name be changed to Rocky Top.

Legislation that could clear the way for Lake City to be rechristened Rocky Top cleared its first hurdle on Tuesday as it was approved by the Tennessee House of Representatives’ Local Government Committee in Nashville.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge, is a private act requested by Lake City officials as the first step toward developing Lake City and its two exits off I-75 into a tourist destination.

Developers say that without the name change, the project—which could include a theater, a restaurant, and other amenities—cannot move forward. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Government, Government, Lake City, Slider, State, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, John Ragan, Lake City, Lake City Council, Local Government Committee, name change, Rocky Top, Tennessee General Assembly, Tennessee House of Representatives, Tim Sharp, tourist destination

Lake City recommends Rocky Top name change, but receives copyright warning

Posted at 6:37 pm November 7, 2013
By John Huotari 5 Comments

Lake City Council Approves Rocky Top Name Change

The Lake City Council votes 4-0 on Thursday to recommend changing the town’s name to Rocky Top, and Rep. John Ragan, right, said he has drafted legislation to approve the rechristening in the state legislature.

LAKE CITY—Just hours before a historic vote to change this town’s name for the second time in less than a century, Lake City Mayor Tim Sharp received a legal letter warning him that a proposal to build a Rocky Top theme park here could violate trademark rights and should be dropped.

But project supporters packed City Hall on Thursday, and the Lake City Council pressed on, voting 4-0 to recommend changing the name of this former coal mining town to Rocky Top. It’s the first step in a project to build a multi-million dollar theme park that could include an interactive Knotty Pine 3-D theater, water park, hotel, and restaurant.

The last-minute letter from an intellectual property attorney in Nashville could have Lake City officials and the park’s investors scrambling to answer legal questions. The notice was “very unexpected,” Sharp said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Lake City, Lake City, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County, Andrew J. Howard, Barry Thacker, Boudleaux Bryant, Brad Coriell, Buck Wilson, Buddy Warren, Coal Creek, Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, David Dezern, Donald Douglas, Felice Bryant, Gary L. Montle, Gary Mullins, House of Bryant, House of Bryant Publications LLC, Lake City, Lake City Council, Louise Nelson, Michael J. Lovely, Rocky Top, Rocky Top Tennessee, Rocky Top Tennessee Marketing and Manufacturing, Shain Vowell, Tennessee General Assembly, theme park, Tim Isbel, Tim Sharp, University of Tennessee Volunteers, Waddey Patterson

More than 400 attend Rocky Top meeting in Lake City on Friday

Posted at 1:12 pm November 4, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

More than 400 people attended Friday night’s bean and cornbread social and informational meeting on a proposal to change the name of Lake City to Rocky Top as the first step toward the creation of a massive Rocky Top theme park.

The event was held at Main Street Baptist Church and featured a presentation from the developers of the proposed tourist destination as well as from Anderson County Property Assessor Johnny Alley, who told the crowd that property taxes would not only not go up because of the project, but if all goes as planned, residents could actually see their property taxes decline as new revenue comes in. Lake City Mayor Tim Sharp told residents that the only cost to the town will be changing the name.

The park, as proposed, would be built on land owned by the city on Highway 441 between I-75 and Highway 25. The first phase of the development would be called the Rocky Top Pavilion and would feature a theater designed to attract musical acts like those found in Branson, Mo.; an indoor-outdoor water park; and a large restaurant. Developers also envision a sports hall of fame and museum. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Government, Lake City, Lake City, Top Stories Tagged With: I-75, Johnny Alley, Lake City, Lake City Council, museum, property taxes, restaurant, Rocky Top, Rocky Top Pavilion, sports hall of fame, theater, theme park, Tim Sharp, tourist destination, water park

Anderson County Commission considers coal mining museum tonight

Posted at 12:43 pm August 19, 2013
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Bank of America Lake City

Bank of America has agreed to sell this two-story brick building on Main Street in Lake City for $100,000 for a Coal Miners’ Museum and county storage space and satellite offices.

The Lake City Council on Saturday developed a plan for operating and maintaining a coal mining museum, a proposal that will be presented to the Anderson County Commission this evening, a nonprofit organization said this weekend.

The Commission will consider buying the former Bank of America building in Lake City as a home for the Coal Miners’ Museum during a meeting that starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Anderson County, Community, Government, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: Anderson County Commission, Anderson County Operations Committee, Bank of America, Coal Creek, Coal Creek Motor Discovery Trail, Coal Creek Watershed Foundation, Coal Miner’s Museum, Emory Valley Road, Fort Anderson, Gary Cinder, Lake City Council, Militia Hill, Oak Ridge, sewer system holding tank, sewer system overflows, Tim Sharp, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

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Classifieds

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

Public notice: Draft environmental assessment for Y-12 Development Organization at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

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