Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs' Weekly Update
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- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs tells us about the week that was for June 14, 2020 - June 19, 2020.
It’s Friday. Time for another weekly update.
High school graduations concluded this week. With the ceremony at Farragut High School this evening, Superintendent Bob Thomas and I will have attended all 18 graduations. Congratulations to the graduating seniors and their families. And a big thank you to Knox County Schools for all their hard work in pulling all of this together. All the ceremonies were extremely well done and something I’m sure the graduates will remember forever.
Big news this week from the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The U.S. Department of Energy award a $20 million grant to the new Oak Ridge Institute at the University of Tennessee to train the next generation of American scientists and engineers. According to Senator Lamar Alexander, “The Oak Ridge Institute will be a pipeline for a new supply of American-trained scientists and engineers, which our country sorely needs in this competitive world. It will also combine the resources and experience of the nation’s largest science and energy laboratory and a major research university.”
And it’s happening right here in East Tennessee.
Speaking of institutes of higher learning, I am proud to kickoff a new scholarship program at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology Knoxville by donating $5,000 to the school. The money will be used to help a child of Knox County government employee who attends TCAT-Knoxville to pay fees, or buy books or tools.
I’m pleased that the Knox County Board of Health has decided to adopt the state’s COVID-19 reopening guidelines. By lining up with the state, we can eliminate the confusion that has occurred as a result of adjacent counties doing things differently than Knox County is, and free up our health department to focus more on day-to-day operations and serving the public.
Because of COVID-19, a number of worthy projects have been put on the back burner. One of them is the Beaver Creek clean-up. Eventually, we hope to clear Beaver Creek’s entire 38 miles from Clayton Park in the Halls area all the way to Melton Hill Lake in Hardin Valley. This would give us one of the premiere water trails in the Southeast. For now, thanks to Parks and Rec and the Beaver Creek Kayak Club, we are making sure that the 2.2 mile stretch from Powell High School to Clinton Highway is clear for the annual Beaver Creek Flotilla.
Read City USA is at 414,546 hours accumulated on our journey to read 500,000 hours as a community and circle the globe 20 times in 2020. Don’t forget to join us by going to ReadCityUSA.com, download the Bean stack Tracker app, and begin logging your reading hours.
Today is Juneteenth, commemorating June 19, 1865, the day when Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free and that was two-and-a-half years after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. To recognize this important date in our country’s history, I am issuing this proclamation to publicly recognize June 19, 2020 as Juneteenth Observation Day here in Knox County.
Since it was placed in the state capital in 1978, the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest has been a source of controversy and division. As I tweeted this week, here in Tennessee, we believe in economic opportunity and personal liberty for all people. As the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, Forrest symbolizes the opposite of those values. While Forrest appears to have had a change of heart later in his life, as Governor Lee recently said, symbols matter. Forrest, and especially what he symbolizes, should not have a place of distinction in our capital.
I believe the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest should be moved to a museum and replaced with someone who symbolizes the values Tennesseans hold dear. In my opinion, that’s Dolly Parton, but there are plenty of worthy, deserving Tennesseans.
Finally, County Commission will be holding a special meeting next Wednesday to consider the proposed budget for fiscal year 2020-21. That will be at 6:30pm in the Large Assembly Room. You can also watch on CTV.
Finally, congratulations to coach duggs for bringing home another national title to Rocky Top by beating the Miami Hurricanes in the BCS championship. Well done coach.
Until next Friday, I hope everyone has a great week.
I'm literally jealous of Knoxville for having such an active mayor.
Love you Kane ❤️💕
Kane is gonna chokeslam those budget cuts!!!!
KANE FOR PRESIDENT 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Wow , You AMAZING People work really hard and Having an Active Mayor! Stay Safe from Covid 19! :D
You too have a Great weekend! Congratulations Coach! :3
The big red mayor
Plz Come To WWE
Please come wwe
Biggest fan sir
Plz return back to wwe plz plz
1st