LOCAL NEWS

Local students to meet with Nobel Laureates
Two University of Tennessee students are in Germany attending this week’s 56th Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students.
Rachel Lynch, a doctoral student in UT-ORNL’s Graduate School of Genome Sciences and Technology, and Scott Borella, a graduate student in chemistry, are among the 60 young researchers representing the United States at the meeting with the Nobel Laureates. More than 350 other international students are at the meeting.The primary purpose of the meeting is to allow participants—most of whom are students—to benefit from interaction with the Nobel Prize winners.The Laureates will lecture on chemistry-related topics in the mornings and participate in small group discussions with the students in the afternoons and some evenings.

Haslam hosted Sen. Alexander at luncheon
Mayor Bill Haslam hosted a conversation with Senator Lamar Alexander this week with topics that touched on issues around the world and in our own backyard. Alexander opined that the Knoxville area has three distinct strengths: a high-technology environment created by the presence of the University of Tennessee, the Department of Energy facilities in Oak Ridge, and TVA; natural beauty; and an Appalachian culture “which is something to be proud of.” Its weaknesses are those things that threaten those strengths, including a lag in state funding for education largely due to sums being directed toward Medicaid, as well as pressures on the environment such as urban sprawl, air pollution and cellular towers. The luncheon was attended by about 600 local elected officials and business and community leaders, with the cost paid for by sponsors.

Sevier Public Library System closed for the Fourth
The Sevier County Public Library System which includes the Main Library and Genealogy Annex on Court Avenue, the Seymour Branch and the Kodak Branch Libraries will be closed for the Independence Day Holiday, Tuesday, July 4th. The Library System will reopen Wednesday, July 5th at regularly scheduled hours. For further information, please call 453-3532.

U.S. Senate debate in Knoxville tomorrow
The University of Tennessee’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy is partnering with WATE-TV to host a televised debate among the major Republican candidates for U.S. Senate.
The hour-long debate will take place in the University Center Auditorium at 7 p.m. on June 29.
Candidates Ed Bryant, Bob Corker and Van Hilleary have agreed to participate.
WATE-TV anchor Gene Patterson will moderate the debate. Panelists will be WATE-TV anchor Lori Tucker, WNOX-FM radio host Hallerin Hilton Hill and Metro Pulse Senior Editor Barry Henderson.
The debate is open to the public, and the audience will get the chance to question the candidates.
The election will fill the seat now held by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who is not seeking re-election.