LOCAL NEWS

Sevierville extends City Hall hours Beginning Wednesday, February 1, 2006, Sevierville City Hall will be open from 8:00AM – 5:00PM Monday – Friday. The current hours of operation are 8:30AM – 4:30PM.  At the recent annual Board of Mayor and Aldermen retreat, the board requested that City staff look into opening earlier and closing later each day, to allow customers increased access to City Hall. The board and City staff discussed the idea and decided to establish the longer hours effective February 1.  “We feel that the additional 30 minutes at the beginning and end of each day will improve our customer service levels,” said City Administrator Doug Bishop.  Polar Bear Plunge on Thursday Pigeon Forge’s third annual “Groundhog Day Polar Bear Plunge” will take place on Thursday at the Pigeon Forge Community Center. According to event organizer, Roseann Stelzman, all proceeds from the event will go to the United Way of Sevier County (UWSC). “The event raised $5,000 over the past two years,” said Stelzman, who’s the Aquatics Manager for Pigeon Forge Parks and Recreation. Anyone who wants to participate in the plunge may pick up a registration form from the community center. If any businesses are interested in becoming a sponsor or participant, they should contact Roseann Stelzman or Tom Hollick at 865-429-7373, or by email at rstelzman@cityofpigeonforge.com. Registration for the event begins at 4:30 p.m. with the plunge beginning at 5:30 p.m. There will be games, hot chocolate and cider. According to the UWSC’s website, 100 percent of donations received go directly back to into the community with no deduction for overhead, touching over 50 percent of Sevier residents. County Science Fair today Pigeon Forge Middle School will be hosting a science fair for Sevier County Schools today, beginning at 11 a.m. The judging for the fair will take place between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. An awards ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. Winners of the county-wide science fair will go on to compete in the Southern Appalachian Science Fair which has been scheduled for April 2 through April 6 at the Thompson-Boling Arena, in Knoxville. Deadline for primary elections nearing The deadline for those wishing to run in the up-coming Republican and Democratic primaries this spring is quickly approaching. At last count, 112 potential candidates have picked up paperwork to participate in the elections. At that time, 38 government offices will be up for grabs in a race which will feature the first-ever Democratic Primary for the county. “Every eight years it so happens that almost all county positions come available” with the exception of a few positions, according to Sevier County Administrator of Elections, Liz Nichols. Each candidate is required to have in all necessary paperwork, including petition signatures from at least 25 voters that are registered within their particular district. The deadline for the paperwork is Thursday, Feb. 16 at noon. The primaries will take place on May 2.