Sara Mitchell 
The Maryville train derailment sparked an investigation by Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health (TOSHA) that uncovered problems within the Alcoa Police Department and the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
The July 2015 train derailment in Maryville hospitalized at least three Alcoa Police Officers and five Blount County Sheriff’s Deputies according to a report by TOSHA.
Now, one year after the crash, businesses and residents remember what it was like to evacuate their homes and stores.
Cameron Perkins, owner of Five Star Auto, reflects on the days following the train derailment. He said those days of not having doors open impacted his business.
“One thing that I was concerned about was having people from out-of-state actually coming to purchase vehicles,” Perkins said. “So I had to call them and I actually lost a business off of that. It’s crazy that it has been a year.”
Perkins said the aftermath of the crash displaced him and his family and it is a situation he does not want to ever go through again.
“I guess now looking back it felt kind of like, it’s not the same as being in a war zone,” Perkins said. “But I felt like a refugee for a few days, so all I can say is I’m glad I don’t live in a war torn country because it is an awful feeling just seeing all the lines and people taking over the hotels. It was strange.”
Other Blount County businesses like Ginger’s Flowers, located about 300 yards from the crash scene, took a hit when all of their herbs and produce had to be thrown away.
“They didn’t make us throw anything away, but just because we wanted to be safe,” Drake Martin, employee at Ginger’s Flowers said. “And make sure our customers are safe, we we went ahead and threw out over 100 pounds of produce and maybe 150 to 200 herbs and vegetables that we had put on the ground.”
Residents like Ronnie George and his wife said they were not in a big hurry to leave their home until they saw the sky.
“What alarmed us the most was probably when we saw the smoke,” George said. “But it was blowing away from our direction, from our subdivision.”
CSX, the rail line involved, offered gift cards and reimbursements for hotels to those who were evacuated.
Video courtesy of WVLT Local 8 News.
Sara Mitchell shot the wedding scene in the movie “Dog Years” staring actor Burt Reynolds and actress Ariel Winter. Sara plays the bride with former NFL coach and actor Jerry Glanville playing the role of the groom’s father.
In the movie, Burt Reynolds crashes the wedding reception with his co-star Ariel Winter alongside him.
The movie wraps up shooting in Knoxville July 1, 2016.
When a gym is not an option, or you just want to change up your workout routine, a park or track is a great place to go. There are total body workouts that you can complete with no equipment. Just use your body weight to create a workout that will increase your heart rate and burn calories.
As with each workout, it is important to warm up with cardio before participating in physical activity. At a park, you can walk or jog to warm up and stretch.
“You can run anywhere in a park,” John Jones, personal trainer at National Fitness Center says. “You can always do laps, you can do shuttle runs, even just basic endurance like high knees, lunges around the lap… that is always good to get your heart rate up.”
Use items around the park or track such as benches, lawn space, stairs and playgrounds to help create workouts. Examples of exercises that involve items at the park:
Bench push-ups
Bench step-ups
Bench tricep dips
Bench lunges
Bench crunches, bicycles, ab work
Burpees
Planks
Jumping jacks, walking lunges, air squats, push-ups
Stair sprints
Stair squats
Stair planks
Stair walking lunges
Stair shuffles
“Some apps you can add in your weight, height, you can add in what kind of athlete you are,” Jones says. “Some apps will even ask you what you’re looking for based on what you’re asking for.”
Search for workout apps on your smart phone; some apps are free. Suggestions for popular fitness apps:
Tabata Training
Workout Trainer
Nike+ Training Club
30 Day Fitness Challenges
7 Minutes Workout – Fitness for Women
Daily Ab Workout
“Summer always equals family time,” Jones says, “so always grab the husband and wife, go out to the park and do a family workout.”
There are many options for outdoor, park workouts in east Tennessee.
In July 2016, the top 40 men and top 40 women will compete for the title of “Fittest on Earth” at the CrossFit Games. Alex Anderson is a 26-year-old CrossFit athlete who began competing in the spring of his senior year of college after playing football at Maryville College for four years.
His love for competition and CrossFit began when his dad qualified for the Games in 2011 and won the 55-59 age division as a Master. Just two years later, his brother ZA competed as an individual and finished 10th. “I just wanted to follow suit with them,” Anderson says, “and kept it going.”
He qualified for the 2015 Games where he finished 13th overall making him the 13th Fittest Man on Earth. After nearly a year of training since that competition, Anderson trains 6-8 hours a day plus swim workouts.
This July, Alex and his brother Jacob will make history. The brothers will be the first siblings to compete in the Games in the same year. “It’s great; honestly, I’ve been competing with Jacob for the last two years,” Anderson says, “it’ll be no different, it’ll be fun.”
Think about Carson, California, home of the CrossFit Games and Anderson says he is counting down until the events. “It’s where it all happens. That’s like the World Series of CrossFit, the mecca of CrossFit,” Anderson says, “that’s where athletes are born.”
Taylor Layman, manager of CrossFit Ktown, is proud of Anderson and says members at the gym are not intimidated by him. Laymon also says he’s proud of Anderson’s hard work.
“Making it to back to back Games is huge,” Layman says, “I don’t know if we have a real good sports analogy to compare it to.”
Anderson is sponsored by Redline apparel, Kill Cliff, Pure Strength equipment, XWerks supplements, and Nike shoes.
If you would like more information about CrossFit Ktown follow the gym on Instagram @cfktown or Alex Anderson @alexanderson29.
After two exciting, busy years as a student at the University of Tennessee, it was the spring semester of junior year when Alexandra Higgins had a routine pap smear, but the results she faced were anything but routine.
Alex Higgins had uterine cancer.
The summer of her junior year, Higgins faced two rounds of chemotherapy. An attempted tracheotomy was unsuccessful, therefore; she would undergo radiation every day for two months plus chemotherapy once a week.
The following spring a scan showed the cancer had returned, but it was localized which allowed doctors to perform a hysterectomy.
“I look at life so differently now,” Higgings says, “I take every experience and try to live to the fullest.”
Twenty-two year old Higgins is back in school at UT where she is an ambassador and orientation leader. The orientation leaders honor one student with the Alex Higgins Award presented by Chancellor Jimmy Cheek.
Higgins says she has been cancer free since November.
Throughout the year, the Tennessee football team volunteers in various ways with different projects and events to give back to the community. The Vol For Life program allows the student-athletes to make children’s hospital visits, serve meals, participate in Special Olympics events, and work closely with the Habitat for Humanity organization.
This June, the team will help construct a home for a family of seven in the Knoxville area. Antone Davis, VFL program coordinator, says that it’s important to teach the new players that volunteering is part of playing football at UT.
“Not only are we giving back we’re hands on in the job site helping build an actual home,” Davis says, “that’s very gratifying.”
Ndayiziga Jafari is not sitting on the sidelines watching others construct the walls and windows that soon will be his home.
“I have to do a wonderful job because this is my home,” Jafari says, “this is my future home so I have to make sure all is perfect.”
Jafari, his wife and their five children will soon have a brand new home, built from the ground up, that they know began with many people who wanted to help. The family has lived in Knoxville for seven years and Jafari encourages people to serve and continue to give back to the community.
“Keep serving people because it is a good thing to do,” Jafari says.
Habitat for Humanity program director Phil Watson has been part of building numerous homes in east Tennessee. He says working with the Vol football players makes for special days.
“Today we’ve got mostly freshmen or red shirt freshmen so it’s good to see the new boys come in and start to be coached up on giving back to the community,” Watson says, “and that’s what this VFL program does.”
Several UT football student-athletes volunteered to help on a hot Saturday morning because they know it’s the right thing to do. Logan Fetzner, a redshirt junior wide receiver, is helping with his first Habitat home and says it’s a great program.
“We love coming out here and helping the community,” Fetzner says. “You get to help people who really need it and you meet awesome people out here and work with teammates so it’s a bonding experience.”
The home is scheduled to be dedicated July 25, 2016 at noon.
Video courtesy of WVLT.
The Veterans Affairs office in Maryville hosts the 52nd United Veterans of Blount County Memorial Day program Saturday. Many veterans, families and community leaders gathered on the lawn of the Blount Co. Courthouse to salute those who lost their lives in combat.
Vietnam Veteran Pat Henry says it is emotional to hear the names of fallen soldiers being read aloud because he remembers the trying days of his own service.
“I can’t put into words for those people who are friends of mine, great friends of mine, I served in service with,” Henry says.
Key note speaker, Clayton Narveson, is a World War II Marine veteran who takes pride in speaking on behalf of his fellow servicemen and women. He also uses his experience and stories to educate school children as well as business and civic groups.
“170 presentations plus a few others. I like kids,” Narveson says. “A rededication to the thinking and we should not ever forget it.”
The program concluded with a ground breaking ceremony for a restored monument that will go on to honor those fallen soldiers. The monument that stands now has deteriorated throughout the years due to weather and age.
Nathan Weinbaum is the Director at the Department of Veterans Services says it is an honor to help others remember their loved ones and veterans.
“It’s time to give those that were killed in action here in Blount County a first class memorial,” Weinbaum says. “We need to pay our respects to those who gave us our freedom.”
Video courtesy of WVLT.
Each spring, the University of Tennessee’s Partners in Sports organization hosts a reception where scholarships are awarded to student members and a guest speaker shares advice for aspiring sport managers.
This year, there were two guest speakers, 2016 Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Missy Kane and 2004 Olympic Pole Vault Gold Medalist Tim Mack. Both shared a bit of their journey to become a collegiate athlete including the journey of hardships, determination and mentors who kept encouraging the process.
Missy Kane is a UT graduate of the sport management program where she is a former Lady Vol runner who went on to qualify for the 1984 Olympic Games in the 1,500 meters. She won a bronze medal in the 1,500 meters at the 1983 Pan American Games. Kane is now a health promotions coordinator for Covenant Health.
Tim Mack attended Malone College and transferred to the University of Tennessee where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He is an olympic pole vault gold medalist and record holder. Mack is now a pole vault coach and trainer.
“It was great to come back and see some of my old teachers and some of my old role models,” Mack said, “hopefully I can be one of those to these guys and girls.” His advice to the students pursuing jobs and careers in sports is to have determination and relentless will.
I had the privilege of presenting the coveted Buck Jones Service Award to two recipients, Jackson Martin and Sam Gilliam.
The No. 7 seed Tennessee Lady Vols began their run for an SEC championship title Thursday, March 3 in the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. In the second round, the Lady Vols faced No. 10 seed Arkansas and beat the Razorbacks 68-51.
Tennessee advanced to the quarterfinals where they met No. 2 seed Texas A&M. Diamond DeSheilds’ 21 points and Bashaara Graves’ 19 points helped the Lady Vols defeat the Aggies 70-60 on Friday.
Saturday in the semifinals, the Lady Vols ended their run for the conference title when No. 3 seed Mississippi State came out on top with a final of 58-48.
There was more than just basketball action for the Local 8 sports team while in Jacksonville. We found some of the most exciting celebrations, pep rallies, and fan pre-game get togethers.
One group of dedicated Lady Vol fans meet each year at the SEC Women’s Basketball Tournament and they call themselves the “VIP Peeps!”
It’s a “girl’s trip” of three generations of ladies who travel to see the SEC Basketball Tournament each year. Plus these ladies travel in style!
Video courtesy of WVLT-TV.
Here is a collection of “Saturday Selfies” during the Tennessee football season. The Local 8 sports team snapped selfies on gamedays at the stadiums, fields, and the station. Enjoy this glance back at our team snapshots!
Sara Mitchell 