American Legion Post 172 in Clinton conducted a retirement ceremony for American flags ceremony. The ceremony was conducted according to procedures of the U.S. Flag Code (Section 176), with dignity and respect. As members of Post 172 placed a worn or faded flag in a fire, Post Commander Leon Jaquet read the name of a Post 172 member who passed in the previous year. Jaquet is pictured reading names while Post Chaplain Fred O’Neal salutes a flag he had just placed in the fire. The U. S. Flag Code says worn and faded flags must be burned until they are ashes.
Wendy Sokolowski talks to senior citizens about the warning signs of elder abuse. - Crystal Huskey
Officers with local law enforcement agencies spoke at the Clinton Senior Center last week to educate senior citizens about the warning signs of elder abuse. The event was in coordination with World Elder Abuse Awareness Day on June 15.
Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Community Relations Director Greg McBroom told those who came to learn that if anyone has any concerns, reach out to him directly.
“We’re here to help and if we can ever do anything to help you, reach out,” he said.
One of the things discussed was scams. McBroom said he frequently speaks at the senior center to discuss what scams to watch out for and reiterated information about IRS and jury duty scams.
“The IRS isn’t calling anybody,” he explained. “They’ll send a certified letter.”
He said one scam that’s currently making the rounds is people calling elderly citizens and claiming to be their grandchild or nephew. They will claim to either be in jail or in need of money, and will request that money be wired to them.
He and other officers present recommended that everyone create a password with family members, so that if they are called, the person on the other end can say the password and confirm their identity.
The Clinton Chapter 2461 AARP met in April at the Clin- ton Community Center with Cherie Phillips as the guest speaker. Shown is the Board members with Carolyn Martin, president, presenting a check for $200 to the Anderson County Senior Center.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank, District Attorney General Dave Clark, and Sheriff Russell Barker all understand the importance of looking out for our senior citizens and helping them live safe, dignified lives.
Together, Frank, Clark and Barker have issued a joint proclamation marking this Saturday (June 15) as Elder Abuse Awareness Day in Anderson County, joining our law enforcement community and other service providers in protecting the well-being of our vulnerable adults and senior citizens.
Approximately 1 in 10 older Americans, age 60 and older, have experienced some form of elder abuse in their lives.
And, with older Americans accounting for approximately 15.2 percent of this country’s population, more and more senior citizens could be subjected to some form of elder abuse, which consists of any of the following: physical, sexual or emotional abuse; confinement; passive neglect; willful deprivation; and financial exploitation.
“Our senior citizens have a lot to offer our communities and our families, enriching all our lives with their diverse life experiences. They deserve our support and protection. I’m honored to join with DA Clark and Sheriff Barker in raising awareness for this important issue,” Mayor Frank said.
In addition to the joint proclamation, Anderson County is recognizing Elder Abuse Awareness Day throughout the weekend by lighting the exterior of the Courthouse overnight, Friday through Sunday, in the color purple in recognition of support for our vulnerable adults and senior citizens.
If you suspect abuse in an older adult’s life, you can report it to local law enforcement or file a complaint with the State of Tennessee division of adult protective services at reportadultabuse.dhs.tn.gov or call 1-888-277-8366.
Seth Haverkamp poses with a new painting that also incorporates magical realism, like the one that won the international portrait award. - Crystal Huskey
Norris resident Seth Haverkamp won the grand prize at this year’s Portrait Society of America International Portrait Competition.
More than 3,000 artists submitted their work to the competition, and only 24 were presented at the annual awards ceremony in Atlanta.
Haverkamp has been drawing for as long as he remembers but recalls a specific moment in fifth grade when he became known as an artist.
“Instead of a science project, I drew a bunch of birds of prey,” he said.
He added in some text about ornithology so it would pass as “science-y.”
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever been interested in,” he said. “I remember being four and being in my room, always drawing.”
He said he was a bit of a loner — as much as someone with 11 brothers and sisters can be. His father, Keith Haverkamp, was a pastor, and the family moved around a lot. Art became his solace.
The most challenging move was his junior year, when they moved from upstate New York to West Virginia.
“It was a new high school, a new state,” he said. “And I wasn’t your typical West Virginian. If there is such a thing.”
The family moved again his senior year, this time to Norris.
Greg Marlow plays with New Harvest, a Campbell County band that has opened for Diamond Rio, The Charlie Daniel Band and others. - Crystal Huskey
What has music meant to LaFollette resident Greg Marlow?
“It’s been a lot of different things,” he said. “It’s been a friend. At times, it’s been a curse. More than anything, it’s been medicine. Literally, medicine, some of the best.”
He’s been a part of the band New Harvest for more than 30 years, along with Steve Bruce, who is his pastor at Faithway Assembly of God, his brother Warren Marlow, and Robert Powell, who has been with them since 1992.
The band also serves as the worship team at Faithway, a church that was condemned last week due to the massive flooding in Campbell County.
“Our church was the hardest hit in all of it,” Marlow said.
The waters reached 8-feet in the sanctuary and stayed there for nearly eight hours.
“It destroyed everything,” he said. “All our sound equipment, we stored it there. We lost everything. The amps, speakers, microphones, new digital board we had just bought. Cables, you name it. Stands. It destroyed everything. Gone.”
The church didn’t have any flood insurance because it wasn’t in a flood plain. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency called it the 500-year flood.
For the foreseeable future, the congregation will meet at the old post office building in LaFollette, which currently serves as Postmark LaFollette’s headquarters.
Nathan Kibler, left, was recently recognized for his work with undocumented immigrants. He and his wife Briane, right, often volunteer their time in the community. Here they are pictured with their daughter Emerson at St. Francis Episcopal Church in Norris.
Nathan Kibler, an attorney with Knoxville’s Baker Donelson law firm, received recognition for his pro bono work on immigration cases.
Kibler lives in Norris with his wife Briane and daughter Emerson.
He represents immigrants with cases pending before the Board of Immigration Appeals. The cases have set precedents, reunited families, and saved lives, according to a press release issued by Kibler’s former Atlanta-based law firm Alston & Baird.
In one case in particular, Kibler worked for four years to ensure justice was served for an immigrant family. Alson & Baird called the case “a cornerstone of that court’s jurisprudence relating to the Convention Against Torture.”
Kibler’s primary focus at Baker Donelson is corporate finance and securities. Donating his time and expertise to immigration cases is his way of giving back. He and Briane have volunteered and poured their time into their community for years. Kibler’s father was a minister who did mission work, reached out, built homes and served his community, according to Briane Kibler.
“That was his dad’s example,” she said.
The couple attends St. Francis Episcopal in Norris, where they regularly volunteer with roadside clean-up and baskets for refugee families. Kibler volunteers with Bridge Refugee Services frequently as well, despite a heavy work load at the law firm.
“It’s a faith-based reason,” Nathan Kibler said. “We want to follow what Jesus said when he said, ‘I was a stranger and you welcomed me in.’ We try to live that out in our lives.”
EXAR Elba 8292 won grand champion owned female at the 2019 Tennessee Angus Association Junior Preview Show, June 8 in Lebanon, Tenn. Alyssa Meier, Clinton, owns the July 2018 daughter of PVF Insight 0129. She first won intermediate champion. Emily Schilling, North Platte, Neb., evaluated the 82 entries. - Alex Tolbert, American Angus Association.
