Weather permitting the SMAS, Smokey-Mountain-Astronomical-Society will be having a Meteor Party Thursday night August 12.
They encourage youngsters of all ages to look up and enjoy these fire flies of the sky.
SMAS meets at an overlook on the foothills parkway. Any of the overlooks will be fine, but to find them go one over look farther south from the parking lot by the observing tower. This is about 12 miles from the eastern entrance to the parkway.
Members and visitors who have to work in the morning will probably leave by 10:00PM but the meteors typical get better as the night progresses.

For comfortable viewing bring a lawn chair a blanket bug spray and snacks. There are no public restroom facilities on the parkway so plan ahead. To view meteors recline and look up towards the sky. Companionship for conversation helps. The Perseid are call such because they seam to be swarming out of the sky from a point in the constellation Perseus which will rise later in the evening in the east.
Bring binoculars and enjoy the crescent moon which will be in the west not far from Venus, Saturn, Mars and even Mercury. All should be visible in the west just after sun set.

Read more about the Smokey Mountain Astronomical Society observing activities at their web site: www.smokymtnastro.org
There you can find a map to the parking lot in which they meet.

Remember safety first. If the weather is bad, especially lightning and thunder storming it is not a good idea to go up on the mountain. If it is overcast there is no point in going.

Hello everyone -

I’m hosting a Constituent Coffee for District 4 on Thursday of this week in order to get your ideas and input into the budget situation. Go to http://pittsreeves.blogspot.com to get to my blog post about it. Hope you’ll come.

And thanks!

~Wendy

Wendy Pitts Reeves
Blount County Commissioner
District 4, Seat C

H.K Edgerton is an African American Confederate Activist who came to national attention when he walked thousands of miles across the country carrying a large Confederate Battle Flag. As the president of Southern Heritage 411, he is a dedicated historian who has worked tirelessly to illuminate the truth regarding black roles in the history of the South, exposing the myths of Yankee history and setting the history straight regarding blacks and whites in the South.

He is speaking Thursday, April 29, 2010, at the Blount County Library in the Dorthy Herron Room, at 7 pm. before the Blount County Civil War Roundtable. The BCCWRT meets the last Thursday of each month at the library. (The mission of the Blount County Civil War Round Table is to educate, with regard to the history & heritage of the Civil War by living history and guest speaker programs; collective efforts with other historical groups; identifying and preserving, civil war sites; understanding the dynamics of strong regional and local concerns; and recognizing the many contributions of minority and ethnic groups.) for more information: Teresa Cutshaw 865-556-0315.

The SMAS April Star Party is tonight. We use the Clear Sky Clock to predict viewing conditions and it is showing great conditions for tonights Unicoi Crest Star Party. http://cleardarksky.com/c/ChrkNF1TNkey.html


Directions to Unicoi Crest at: http://www.smokymtnastro.org/cherohala.htm
If you want help finding the place, some of us will be meeting and eating people at the Maryville Back Yard Burger.

Back Yard Burgers
1762 W Broadway Ave, Maryville - (865) 983-1009

Arrive and eat at 6:30 PM. Depart for Unicoi at 7:00. This will give us an 8:30 arrival on the mountain.

The great globular cluster Omega Centauri will be at maximum elevation at 0:47 AM March 11. It is a wonder to see.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Centauri You will never forget the view of this object. You will get home late.

This should be a great night but dress for increasing cold. Bring a snack, hot chocolate or coffee to ward off the cold.


From the Weather Underground Here are sun rise and set figures:

April 10, 2010 Rise: Set:
Actual Time 7:09 AM EDT 8:05 PM EDT
Civil Twilight 6:43 AM EDT 8:31 PM EDT
Nautical Twilight 6:12 AM EDT 9:02 PM EDT
Astronomical Twilight 5:41 AM EDT 9:34 PM EDT

Forrest Erickson

The County debt has doubled to nearly one quarter BILLION dollars since 2003. Blount County now has the highest debt per person in East Tennessee. A $46,000,000 balloon payment on the debt must be made next year. And County General Fund spending is growing at 2.5 times the rate of inflation.

Jim Folts, candidate for District 7 Commissioner, is making a presentation at the Greenback Community Center, on Tuesday, March 23, at 7:00 pm. In his presentation he will show why the May 4 primary will be a very important election, if we are to prevent County taxes from soaring. See this link for details. Learn more about Jim’s campaign at this link.

Jim will also be speaking with the Carpenters Middle PTSO at 6:30 pm on Tuesday, March 9 at 6:30 pm in the school cafeteria.

Joe Hultquist of East Tennessee Quality Growth to address CAPPE Annual Meeting on Feb. 22
Public Welcome

Joe Hultquist will be the featured guest speaker at the 2010 Annual Meeting of CAPPE (Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension, Inc.). The meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 22, from 6:30-8:30pm in the Sharon Lawson Room at the Blount County Library.
“For several years we have designed our Annual Meeting as a community education event, featuring speakers who are knowledgeable about transportation issues relevant to our region,” said Nina Gregg of CAPPE’s Board of Directors. “We saw a need for education and civil discussion about transportation issues and decided to devote a portion of each year’s Annual Meeting to fulfilling this need.”

“This year we are pleased to welcome Joe Hultquist, Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth (ETQG) as our featured speaker,” Gregg said.

Mr. Hultquist, who was born and raised in Blount County, will be speaking about the future of transit in the greater Knoxville area, including the upcoming Regional Corridor and Opportunity Area Study; options for transit between the airport and Knoxville; the role of independent advocacy groups; and ETQG’s perspective on transit as a component of quality growth in the region.

Mr. Hultquist is currently serving as Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth, a new organization with representation from 16 counties of middle East Tennessee. ETQG’s mission is to “create a vision for quality growth through dialogue, research, and education,” and to “promote and facilitate implementation of this vision through regional cooperation and local action.”

Previous speakers at CAPPE Annual Meetings have included Rees Shearer from RailSolution, Cindy McGinnis from Knox Area Transit (KAT), Jeff Welch from the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Bill Dunlap from the Blount County Highway Department.

The public is invited to come hear Mr. Hultquist’s presentation, which will begin at 7pm. Refreshments will be served at 6:30pm. CAPPE’s annual business meeting will follow the speaker.

For more information, call Nina Gregg, CAPPE Communication Committee Chair at 977 7399.

CAPPE’s Eighth Annual ChiliFest, which is both a contest and a tasting opportunity, is set for Saturday, February 6 from 4-7pm at Stovall Family Life Center beside First Church of the Nazarene, 1608 E. Broadway, Maryville.

The event begins at 4pm, with tasting and judging continuing until the winners are announced at 6:30pm. In addition to the different chilis and a variety of beverages, tortillas and quesadillas will be available along with a bake sale of delicious home-made treats. Everyone will be eligible to win door prizes.

Several contestants from area businesses will challenge previous winners who are defending their titles. Judges will select the winning chefs in three categories: beef, other meats and vegetarian chili. The general public will vote for the People’s Choice winner. Four $50 prizes will be awarded.

To enter the contest, submit an entry form and the $20 entry fee by February 2. Each contestant is asked to bring a minimum of four quarts of warm prepared chili in a crockpot, and to provide a ladle and someone to serve.

Entry forms and advance tickets are available at Southland Books (601 East Broadway) and Waste Not, Want Not (1505 East Broadway).

Suggested donation for admission is $5 in advance and $6 at the door (children under 10 admitted free). Admission includes tastes of entries and one bowl of chili and one vote for the People’s Choice winner.

For more information, call Mike Cook, CAPPE President 984 9003 or Susan Keller 982 4267.

Interfaith Candlelight Vigil for Health Care Reform
Sunday, January 3rd at 5:00 p.m. at New Providence Presbyterian Church in Maryville.
This event is an opportunity for people of faith in Blount County to come together to prayerfully bear witness to problems in our health care system and affirm their commitment to care for the sick and work together toward an inclusive community of wellness. Prayers, Scripture readings and personal stories from people of many denominations and faith communities will be included, and the service will close with a candlelight walk.

New Providence Presbyterian Church

703 West Broadway Avenue, Maryville TN 37801

The candlelight vigil is sponsored by the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College, Tennessee Health Care Campaign and Blount County Ecumenical Action Council. The program has been planned by the same collaborative group that presented the September 1, 2009 discussion on health care reform. This group will sponsor an educational forum on health care legislation on January 26th, 6:30 pm at the Blount County Library.

For more information, contact Billy Newton at the Center for Strong Communities, 865-273-8894.

Tonight at the McClung Museum is a free AIA lecture.

7:30 PM Thursday Oct. 29. Judith Barringer, University of Edinburgh, “Olympia Before the Temple of Zeus.” AIA Lecturer.

After the lecture there is even some free food.

I will be there and hope to see others.

Forrest (stuck in the past) Erickson

P.S.

Tuesday Nov. 24. Gregory S. Baker, UT Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences,

“Recent Applications of Near-Surface Geophysical Imaging in Archaeology.”