The all-new Clinton Farmers Market held its first session of the season last Saturday at the Anderson County Fairgrounds, and organizer Matthew Garafolo said he was pleased with the initial turnout of vendors and customers. There were artisan goods, baked goods, eggs, beef, lamb, crafts, and some limited produce available, as well as some food trucks on hand for the event, which took place under partly sunny skies with cool breezes. Garafolo said the next market session had not been determined yet, but that he planned to return to the fairgrounds location sometime in June. For now, the group is looking at monthly markets rather than the weekly ones the previous market had. With its organizers, new location and new day and time, the new Clinton Farmers Market aims to succeed where the previous version failed, Garafolo said.
Read MoreDon and Donna Raines, owners of Burrville Antiques at 355 Market St. in downtown Clinton, last week were presented a Knox Heritage award for their restoration of the historic building housing their business. Constructed in 1909, the two-story building was originally the home of Wender’s Dry Goods, said Don Raines, who bought the structure with his wife to move their business into from its previous location across the street at 360 Market. “The Wenders family lived upstairs and raised seven children in this building,” Raines told The Courier News. “We bought it in 2007 and renovated it, and moved our business from where it had been across the street since 2000,” he said. Knox Heritage, based in Knoxville, describes itself on its website (knoxheritage.org) as “a community of preservationists focused on advocacy, education, investment, and engagement.”
Read MoreThe Anderson County Budget Committee will have a public hearing for the county’s upcoming budget on Thursday June 5. It will be from 4 until 5 p.m. in Room 312 of the Anderson County Courthouse in Clinton. The proposed budget will be $77,776,647 with an estimated deficit of $358,555. It will be a no tax increase budget for the fifth year in a row, Anderson County Finance Director Robert Holbrook told Anderson County Commission May 19. However, since the county is reappraising property values this year, some people’s taxes may increase if their property ends up reappraised to have higher value. The proposed spending is lower than the original budget for this year which was $78,367,570 or as amended $80,540,784. Budget cuts amounted to $2,015,000 or almost 3%, much of it related to issues with state funding for the school system. There would, if it passes be a 3% pay raise for all certified staff and a .60 per hour raise for all classified staff in the county government. Documents attached to that May 19 meeting agenda give additional details.
Read MoreA block party that drew big crowds to downtown Clinton last Friday and Saturday helped usher in the city’s newest restaurant, Hamock’s, in the extensively renovated former Real Dry Cleaners building at 425 Eagle Bend Road. Owners Jason and Danielle Hamock kicked off the event with a celebration and ribbon-cutting beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, during which they gave credit to Jason Hamock’s parents for the inspiration to open their own dining establishment. The Anderson County Chamber of Commerce was on hand to facilitate the ribbon-cutting. The event included live entertainment on both days in the parking lot in front of the restaurant, which is just across the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks from the city’s historic train depot. Jason and Danielle are the son and daughter-in-law of Darlene Hamock, who for years operated the now-closed Hamock’s Perkadeli restaurant and deli in Clinton.
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