It is important to play fair

The City of Sevierville is progressing. They are going to be building an Event Center off of Hwy 66, using what is called by local residents, “the bridge to nowhere.” In order for the Event Center to be properly accessed, work will be performed on area roads, namely Gists Creek Road and Old Knoxville Highway. Bridges will be widened, Old Knoxville Highway will increase from two to four lanes. This will take time. Approximately three-quarters of a mile of Gists Creek Road to Old Knoxville Highway will be closed and a section of the Old Knoxville Highway will be closed. This will mean inconvenience. It may mean a total of six months of inconvenience. That is the price we all pay for progress. It’s a part of life. A woman is inconvenienced by pregnancy, but she sure does like the end result. The end result will be more revenue for Sevierville, which will mean our kids have better schools, more jobs, and better city facilities and services. One thing that actually irked me is that the Sevierville authorities have been accused of taking this inconvenience lightly. I don’t get irked easily. My parents taught me that truth is important, our publisher, Joe Karl has reinforced that by his words and actions. He says that truth is absolutely imperative for credibility, especially since we are the newspaper, and as such, recording history of and for the area. I, personally have sat through hours of discussions at Sevierville Planning Commission meetings. At these meetings, citizens who have been chosen to represent the people of Sevierville, go back and forth about how the local population will be affected by road work. They talk about being fair. These are not perfect men, but as a new resident to the area, I have been impressed by their obvious concern for everyone, not just rich or important people. I am not alone. Mike Wilds, proprietor of Destination Marketing and Facility Planning based in Maryville, is an independent consultant to the City of Sevierville in the Event Center project. Wilds has worked with many cities and good people throughout the southeast. He said, and I quote, “In every City of Sevierville meeting that I have been in, whether it was the Board of Mayors and Aldermen or the Public Building Authority Board, I have never seen such a successful, yet humble, service-minded, dedicated group of men. It was only after much debate and great reluctance that the powers to be decided to temporarily close the roads. There was no other practical alternative. With big equipment moving massive amounts of dirt on that small two lane road, it became a safety issue, and plus it will save the tax payers money. I am distressed that anyone would intentionally lay blame and ridicule on an assembly of professionals doing their jobs, that have the confidence of the public.” Sevierville, your city officials ARE good men. They care about you behind closed doors. They want to do the right thing. Credit should be given when it is deserved, and these people deserve it.