Daily Times looks back on 2007’s highs, lows

By Joel Davis
of The Daily Times Staff

It has been a year of horror and hope, controversy and accomplishment. As 2007 wanes, The Daily Times looks back at some of the stories that have touched the lives of our readers.

The Debuty tragedy and aftermath

The fire that ravaged the Friendsville home of Amanda and Roston “Ross” Debuty early on the morning of Feb. 6, horrified the community and the nation.

The parents and Raymond Debuty, then 3 years old, who had been sleeping on the ground floor of the two-story structure, reached safety; However, the four older children on the upper floor died of smoke inhalation. They were Shelbea Debuty, 7; Sinjin “Bubby” Smith, 10; Jerry “J.T.” Debuty III, 12; and Mandolin “Mandy” Mason, 14.

Contributions from the around the county, state and country poured in to help. In September, the One Home Many Hands Project dedicated a new house for surviving family members at 4255 Miser Station Road, Louisville. It was the result of a five-month volunteer project to rebuild the Debuty home at no cost to the family. More than 100 companies from East Tennessee dedicated their materials and labor to the project free of charge and volunteers spent more than 10,000 man-hours rebuilding the home.

Water woes

The continuing drought in the Southeast has made itself known locally in dropping water levels in the Little River and other bodies of water in the county. Alcoa and Maryville residents felt the heat through calls for voluntary and then-mandatory conservation efforts.

Both Maryville and Alcoa draw water out of Little River at two separate sites. At several times over the summer, the flow of the river at the Maryville plant on Sevierville Road fell below the lowest point at which the state permits the city to withdraw water. Alcoa also had a problem with low flow at its plant off Sam Houston School Road, but never as serious.

To resolve the problem, Alcoa installed a secondary water intake point on the Little River embayment at Fort Loudon Lake near Williams Mill Road at Rockford. An above-ground pipeline was installed from the intake point to the Alcoa water plant. Maryville allocated $610,000 to help pay for the secondary water line and is looking to increase water and sewer rates through 2012 to help pay for increased costs.

Overlook lawsuits settled/camp re-opens

In May, Harmony Property Group settled two lawsuits against its The Overlook at Montvale development that had been filed by Save Chilhowee Mountain Inc. Just months later, in July, the Blount County Planning Commission approved a final plat for Phase I of the development, located on Chilhowee Mountain, off Happy Valley Road and adjacent to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

In a move that generated much local interest, Harmony had purchased the 400-acre-plus Camp Montvale property in December 2006, giving a local nonprofit group the chance to operate a youth camp on the site. In 2006, the East Tennessee YMCA had closed the camp, which it had operated since 1948. The Harmony group spent $4 million to purchase the property, borrowing $3.4 million of the total.

In July 2007, Camp Montvale reopened its doors to children for the first time since 2006. The Friends of Camp Montvale, a local nonprofit group, provided a day camp for children related to employees of Ruby Tuesday.

Judge Young Controversy

In September, Blount County resident Ana Calixto, an immigrant from Nicaragua who is in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), drew national attention after an incident in Blount County Circuit Court. According to multiple witnesses who were in the courtroom on Sept. 7, Judge W. Dale Young asked the Calixtos if they were in the United States legally, told them they had no rights in court and instructed them to go back where they came from. He then dismissed Ana Calixto’s request for an order of protection and refused to rule on the divorce.

Calixto has been in the United States since 1994 when she came here to attend school and work. She met her husband, an immigrant from Mexico, in the U.S. and the couple has a U.S. marriage license issued by the state of Virginia. Her current employment authorization card from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department is valid through Jan. 5, 2009.

After the story appeared in The Daily Times, the Tennessee Supreme Court’s Court of the Judiciary launched a judicial conduct review of Young. The case is currently being appealed in Knox County Appellate Court. A civil rights attorney from Knoxville and an immigration attorney from Chattanooga are representing Calixto pro bono.

Alcoa and Maryville championships

In early December, Alcoa High School became the first school in Tennessee history to win four consecutive state championships, defeating Goodpasture. 35-3, for the Class 2A title. Just days later, Maryville High School (15-0) became the second school in Tennessee history to win four consecutive state championships, defeating Maplewood, 28-13, for the Class 4A title.

Magistrate in the crosshairs

Former Blount County Magistrate Dustin Hatcher’s legal troubles continued after being arrested in August on charges related to allegedly taking lewd pictures of a 17-year-old girl.

Hatcher was charged with sexual activity involving a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The alleged victim was named in the indictment, but due to the nature of the charges she is not being identified by The Daily Times.

The first charge against Hatcher stems from an incident that allegedly happened on or about Nov. 30, 2006, at the Blount County Justice Center. Hatcher, 25, Sevierville Road, Maryville, is accused of calling the 17-year-old girl into his office and coercing her into putting on lingerie so he could take pictures of her.

The charge centers on the allegation that Hatcher took pictures of the girl’s bare breasts. A civil suit filed last December against Hatcher, his father Blount County Circuit Court Clerk Tom Hatcher, Blount County and the clerk’s office, was settled by the county on Jan. 10 for $45,000.

The case has been moved to Sevier County where Circuit Court Judge Rex Henry Ogle will preside. Blount County Circuit Court Judge Mike Meares in October decided to transfer the case to Sevier County after motions from both the prosecution and defense meant to limit any possible perception of conflict-of-interest in the case.

Proposed zoning changes provoked controversy

Efforts to approve a controversial “Sports Complex District” met widespread opposition in early 2007. The Blount County Commission finally allowed the proposed amendment to fall by the wayside when Commissioner Scott Helton withdrew the zoning amendment from consideration at the June commission meeting.

Frank Bradley and partner Jerry Simmerly had asked for the amendment to allow them to build a sports complex on a 230-acre site located on 411 South just south of Henry Lane.

As originally written, the amendment would have allowed a mix of commercial and residential usage, with proposed lot sizes at a minimum of 30,000 square feet and a density of three residential units per acre. Because of community concerns with the proposal, the County Commission voted on April 19 to send it back to the Planning Commission for further consideration.

Economic growth

With massive expansions and plant upgrades under way, DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee and ALCOA Tennessee Operations are continuing to invest in Blount County.

Although ALCOA spends a fortune every year to maintain its Tennessee Operations, it’s been about 20 years since the company made a local investment like the one it kicked off in September when the company started the installation of two massive “pusher preheat furnaces” - a project with a $42 million price tag.

The two new 1,200-ton furnaces have a 48-ingot capacity and provide both quality improvements and energy savings, according to the company.
In August, ALCOA announced capital improvement projects totaling $113 million that were approved for both the smelting and fabricating areas of its Tennessee Operations. The projects are part of a $265 million capital improvement program planned for the next three years at the smelting and rolling facilities and the Tapoco hydropower plant.

Approximately $80 million will be invested in ALCOA’s Rolled Products area and $33.5 million in the Primary Products area.

The ongoing DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee plant expansion moved ahead this year at the 55-acre construction site off Middlesettlements Road. When finished, the new plant will house an electronics division and should create up to 500 new jobs in Blount County by 2010.

DENSO’s electronics division currently manufactures about 40 different automotive components ranging from keyless entry systems to engine control units.

The new plant, which will provide more than 200,000 square feet of space when completed, is the largest expansion project in DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee’s 16-year history.

Maryville College assistant football coach dies in accident

The Maryville College community was shaken when a Nov. 19 traffic accident, apparently involving alcohol, claimed the life of Maryville College assistant football coach Shawn Jeremiah Cody Bowers, 25, of Madisonville
Bowers apparently lost control of his truck while driving on College Woods Lane near the Ruby Tuesday Lodge at the rear of the college campus, slamming the vehicles into two large trees. One of his passengers, Jack Heatherly “Trey” Lefler, 25, of Loudon, an aide to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, died days later from injuries sustained in the accident.