Board taps Stephenson Realty to auction current campus
by Ben Pounds
Clinton auctioneer Bear Stephenson speaks during the October 2025 dedication ceremony for the new Anderson County Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Clinton. Stephenson has been chosen by the Anderson County Board of Education to hold the auction to sell the current Claxton Elementary School property. - G. Chambers Williams III
The Anderson County Board of Education has chosen Stephenson Realty & Auction to auction the current Claxton Elementary School property.
The board selected the company from a list of three firms at its Thursday, Aug. 13, meeting.
The other two applicants were JD’s Realty & Auction and Powell Auction & Realty.
Board member Don Bell made the motion, and board member Dail Cantrell seconded it.
David Miller recused himself from the vote. All other board members voted in favor.
Anderson County Schools hopes to sell the property at 2218 Clinton Highway for at least $4 million to help pay for the new Claxton Elementary School, which is under construction nearby at 105 Fellowship Lane.
These four incumbents are running for Norris City Council in the Nov. 3 municipal election, along with newcomer Zach Cross. These four are, from left, Alex Munro, Charles P. “Chuck” Nicholson, Travis Honeycutt and Bill Grieve. They are shown here at the August Norris council meeting. - G. Chambers Williams III
As of Tuesday morning, five candidates – including four of the incumbents – had qualified to run for the five open seats on the Norris City Council that will be decided in the Nov. 3 municipal election, according to the Anderson County Election Commission.
There’s still time for more candidates to file, but just barely. The filing deadline is at noon on Thursday (Aug. 20) at the Anderson County Election Commission office in Clinton.
On the ballot so far are Councilmen Bill Grieve and Charles P. “Chuck” Nicholson, who are the only previously elected candidates to file, along with Councilmen Travis Honeycutt and Alex Munro, recent appointments to the board, and newcomer Zach Cross.
Conspicuously absent from the race is Mayor Chris Mitchell, who has chosen not to run for re-election this year after serving nearly 18 years on the council – all of them as mayor.
Mitchell said in early July that he “will not be entering into City Council Election process this cycle.”
In a narrow vote, the Anderson County Commission voted against creating an executive director to oversee the Anderson County library system’s directors, including for Clinton Public Library. - Ben Pounds
The Anderson County Commission approved the county budget Monday night with no tax increase after narrowly voting to remove funding for a proposed library executive director.
The final amended budget passed with only two commissioners voting against it.
Before approving the budget, commissioners voted 9-7 to eliminate a proposed part-time executive director position that would have overseen directors of the Clinton, Briceville, Norris and Rocky Top public libraries.
The commission returned the $45,000 budgeted for the position to funding for other part-time library employees.
Commissioner Bob Smallridge made the motion to approve the overall budget as amended, and Commissioner Robert McKamey seconded it.
As of Tuesday morning, Rocky Top Mayor Kerry Templin was the only candidate to qualify to run for mayor in the Nov. 3 municipal election, in which he will be seeking a second four-year term.
Two incumbent council members, Jeff Gilliam and Joe Tackett, are also running unopposed so far to win the two council seats that are on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Qualifying deadline is noon Thursday (Aug. 20), but no one else had even picked up a petition to try to qualify for either the mayor or council races.
In Rocky Top, the mayor and council members serve four-year terms, with two of the four council positions up for election every two years.
The extension of Sawmill Road under construction in Norris is shown here on Monday (Aug. 17) at its termination point where it empties onto Norris Freeway/U.S. 441 behind Covenant Life Church. The roadbed has now been cut through from the Norris Industrial Park area. - G. Chambers Williams III
Work to build an extension of Sawmill Road from Pine Road to Norris Freeway (U.S. 441) remains on schedule, with completion still scheduled for November, City Manager Bailey Whited told the Norris City Council during its August meeting.
Earth moving and grading began May 15 to cut the road through trees and rolling hills for its quarter-mile length, and the planned route has now nearly reached Norris Freeway.
It has no drivable surface, though -- just rough gravel and dirt.
Whaley Construction, LLC, of Sevierville was the winning bidder on the project, with a total cost of just over $4.42 million. All of the construction is being paid for by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
