Johnson City, TN

Good morning all, and welcome to the middle of the week. This exercise tests everyday things that we see in the world. How well do you pay attention. I thought it was fairly east while I was doing it. To my surprize, I scored a lowly 15 out of 25. Good Luck!

http://www.oldjoeblack.0nyx.com/thinktst.htm

It's a great time to be a dog in Johnson City. Legion Street Pool hosted it's annual Dog Swim event Tuesday. The dogs basicly take over the pool for two days. (it continues today) The cost is $7.00 per dog and all the proceeds go to the Willow Springs Dog Park. What a terrific way to raise money for our furry friends. The pictures are pretty neat. The dogs are having a blast. I think I'll take Max over there later.

By a vote of 4-1, the Johnson City Commissioners approved a motion to move forward in the process of bringing an on-campus stadium to the grouds of Science Hill High School. (Please see previous blog)

$5million has been budgeted for this project in this fiscal year.

The next step is going to be, what do we do with the current Memorial Stadium and its site. Recently a citizen group, 'Committee of Preservation and responsible Spending', submitted an application to have the stadium recognized historically on the state and national level.

In my opinion, this is a great move forward for Johnson City.

Established in the mid 1930's, Memorial Stadium was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It was originally operated independently as "Roosevelt Memorial Stadium." The stadium came under the jurisdiction of the Parks and Recreation Department in 1961 and consists of a 6-acre football stadium used primarily for Science Hill High School home football games. Amenities include a lighted football field, concession area, restrooms, spectator seating, and 1/4 mile track. Memorial Park, adjacent to the stadium, is a 1/2 acre special use park located on Main Street.

As a tribute to Steve Spurrier the playing field was named in his honor on March 12, 1997.

Johnson City has a dilemma on its hands. The problem is, the stadium sits 3 miles away from the high school that calls it home. There is money ear marked in the budget for the stadium. The question is, do they take that money and restore the old stadium, or do they build a new stadium at the high school. The amount needed is approximately the same.

City council met last night. That was quite the meeting. The city is split half and half. There was one gentleman that came to the lecturn with an old pony tail that belonged to a cheerleader 50 years ago. His point, memories. The other sides argument is location. The students have to be bussed across town for home football games. Believe it or not, the students are divided as well.

The vote comes tomorrow night. I'll keep you posted!

Okay, this may not excite all of you out there, but for the teen-agers, parents of teen-agers and supporting communities, this is an incredible time of year. It is so much fun to see the excitment and team spirit running through a town for our high schools. Friday afternoon, you stop into the bank or dry cleaner... the question you hear is, "are you going to the game tonight?" Team colors are worn and the local businesses are proud to hang flags. Our team, Science Hill Hilltoppers, are 1 and 1 for the season so far. Both home games have been sell outs and the band rocks at halftime. The band is equally impressive in our community. Just as many band fans attend the games as football fans. Pre-game, Half time and post game, the parents are in the stands cheering away. I just want to say, "go team" to all the high school teams across the country. And parents, enjoy this time, it is fleeting. I've included a band photo from Friday's game!