April Knox County Schools Bus Driver Awards

Wednesday, April 19th the Knox County Schools Bus Driver Safety Awards were held at Ted Russell Ford, 8551 Kingston Pike.

Did you know...
1. There are approximately 375 Knox County School bus drivers
2. They drive 20,000 miles A DAY! That's like driving from Knoxville to Los Angeles and then BACK to Knoxville - FIVE TIMES...in ONE day. And all in rush hour.
3. There are a lot of drivers that do it right each and every day.

These drivers have been graded with high standards by the Knox County School system, the contractors, the Sheriff's Department and by school staff.

 

 Commissioner Thomas begins the ceremony.

 

New School Superintendent Bob Thomas addresses the crowd.

(From left to right) Driver Thomas Tinnerman, Ted Russell owner Andy White, driver Frances Kirpatrick, driver Rita Ramps, driver Juanita Thomas, Knox County Superintendent Bob Thomas, WIVIK the Frog, Knox County Commissioner Bob Thomas)

The five drivers that were honored this month were:

·         Frances Kilpatrick - drives bus for Northshore

·         Rita Ramps - drives bus for Farragut

·         Douglas Romig - drives bus for Carter

·         Juanita Thomas - drives bus for Cedar Bluff

·         Thomas Tinnerman - drives a bus for Farragut

The awards are sponsored by Ted Russell Ford and WIVK 107.7. They each received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Knox County Schools, a $100 check from Ted Russell Ford and a prize package from WIVK. Congratulations drivers and job well done!

There are many great school bus drivers in Knox County and this is one small way we can show them our appreciation. If you have any questions please contact Commissioner Bob Thomas.

Should you or any Knox County resident need assistance from Knox County government, please contact me at:
Bob.Thomas@KnoxCounty.org or 865-309-4364
Seat 10 At-Large Commissioner of Knox County Commission
Chairman, Knox County Cable TV Committee
Chairman, Knox County Disability Committee
Knox County Development Corp Board
Knox County Pension & Retirement Committee
Knox County Parks & Recreation Board
Metro Drug Coalition Board
Dogwood Arts Festival Board
Young-Williams Animal Center Board
American Cancer Society Board
Arts & Culture Alliance Board
Community Television Board
Thompson-Boling Arena Use Committee

April Update

Here is the April Update for Knox County!

***Our campaign for Knox County Mayor website is up and running! Have you seen it? Check it out at BobThomas.com. This month we are starting our meetings in communities. We may be coming to your neighborhood. A list of some of the places I will speaking are below.  IS BELOW

***On Monday, May 8th I will be the speaker at the west Knox Republican Club. They meet at the Red Lobster on Kingston Pike. Dinner at 6, meeting strats at 7.

***On Tuesday, April 18th I will be the guest speaker at the Halls High School Academic Banquet. This event honors juniors and seniors with a 3.5 or higher GPA and inducts new members into the National Honor Society. The event will be in the Dogwood Room at the Expo Center.

***On Wednesday April 19th I will be the guest speaker at the Beaden High School Future Leaders of America. This group encourages young students to plan to be leaders of the future.

***On Friday  April 21st I will be the speaker at the Kiwanis Club of Knoxville's Annual Pancake Breakfast. It begins at 7am at the Foundry on the Worlds Fair site. 

***The April Ed and Bob NIGHT OUT in Knox County will be on Thursday, April 20th 5-7p at Chandler's Deli, 3101 East Magnolia in East Knoxville. We invite all Knox County citizens to stop by and talk with us about their concerns and try their world famous ribs!

More details here:https://www.facebook.com/events/291322611281709/

***The March Ed and Bob NIGHT OUT in Knox County was at Sam and Andy's in Ft. City. It was another great turnout!

Commissioners Bob Thomas, Ed Brantley and Charlie Busler

 

***Join me for the Five Points Up East Knoxville Clean-Up on Saturday April 29th from 9a to noon. Meet at the Eternal Life Harvest Center Plaza to gather supplies like litter-pickers, gloves, garbage bags and safety vests. Then return to the plaza at noon for a free lunch.

***The Knox County School Bus Driver Awards for April will be Wednesday, April 19th at Ted Russell Ford. We will once again honor five drivers that do it right everyday for our children.

***The Knox County Republican Club Lincoln Day Dinner will be Friday, April 21st, 7pm at Rothchilds on Kingston Pike. Guest speaker will be Senator Roy Blunt.

***The Knoxville Opera's 16th annual Rossini International Street Fair will be Saturday, April 22nd from 10a to 9p on Gay Street in downtown Knoxville.

***There will be a reception for the new Knox County Superintendent Bob Thomas (the other Bob Thomas) on Thursday, May 4th at 5pm at the Standard on Jackson Ave. 

***The Emerald Youth Prayer Breakfast will be at 7am Friday, May 5th at the Expo Center.

***The Knoxville Chamber Pinnacle Awards will be Friday, May 12th, 6pm at the Knoxville Convention Center.

***Easter Sunday is April 16th. I wish everyone a happy Easter and I hope to see you at church!

***Mother's Day is Sunday, May 14th! 

In Commission news...

On Monday, April 17th at 5:00pm, the Knox County Commission will hold its monthly workshop in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.

On Monday, April 24th at 1:30pm, the Knox County Pension and Retirement Board will meet on the 6th floor of the City County Building in the Commission Conference Room. I am on that board and will be present. The Beer Board will meet at 4:00pm. The regular Commission meeting will begin at 5pm followed by Zoning at 7pm. Beer Board, Commission and Zoning will all take place in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.

The Commission agenda has approximately 62 items. This month the bulk of the items are from  the School Board and Engineering. There are 15 items from the School Board and 7 from Engineering. School resolutions are merely a formality as they pass whether we vote for them or not. In zoning, there are 4 issues this month. Some resolutions that stand out are:

1. A resolution honoring long-time Knox County official Steve Hall

2. Approving a donation of $223,000 from Randy and Jenny Boyd for renovations to the South-Doyle High School Library.

3. Approving an Employment contract for Superintendent Bob Thomas.

4. Approving a construction contract of over $1M for bridge repairs at Bells Campground Road, Pedigo Road and Wayland Road.

5. Approving a construction contract of $291,647 for a new overhead bridge at Ball Camp Pike.

6. Approving of the acceptance of grants for over $14M for the Health Department.

Should you or any Knox County resident need assistance from Knox County government, please contact me at:

Bob.Thomas@KnoxCounty.org or 865-309-4364

Seat 10 At-Large Commissioner of Knox County Commission

Chairman, Knox County Cable TV Committee

Chairman, Knox County Disability Committee
Knox County Development Corp Board
Knox County Pension & Retirement Committee
Knox County Parks & Recreation Board
Metro Drug Coalition Board
Dogwood Arts Festival Board
Young-Williams Animal Center Board
American Cancer Society Board
Arts & Culture Alliance Board
Community Television Board
Thompson-Boling Arena Use Committee

March Update

Here is the March Update for Knox County!

***Our campaign for Knox County Mayor moves along! Thanks to our new supporters and donors. I have been speaking at a lot of local neighborhood organizations and love the questions I am getting about Knox County government. Our new website has just been launched...check it out today at the NEW domain BobThomas.com!

***The March Ed and Bob NIGHT OUT in Knox County will be on Thursday, March 23rd, 5-7p at Sam and Andy's in Ft. City. We invite all Knox County citizens to stop by and talk with us about their concerns and try one of their incredible burgers! More details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/623492111179317/

***The February Ed and Bob NIGHT OUT in Knox County was at Kay's Ice Cream on Chapman Highway. It was a great turnout! We spoke non-stop to the people of South Knoxville about their concerns. 

 

 

 

***The Knox County School Bus Driver Awards for February were held on the 22nd at Ted Russell Ford. Many people were on hand to see us honor five deserving drivers. See all the pictures and details here:http://bobthomas.com/2017/03/05/february-knox-county-schools-bus-driver-safety-awards/

***I was the MC once again for Doc Rock. Doc Roc is a fundraising effort for local non-profit medical charities featuring bands made up mostly of local doctors.

***The annual O'Connor Senior Center Pancake Breakfast was packed with fun. I was assigned cooking duties, so I flipped a lot of pancakes.

***The Historical Society sponsored East Tennessee National History Day. I was a judge of some of the outstanding exhibits presented by students throughout East Tennessee. More details here: www.eastTNhistory.org

***The Knoxville Urban League annual meeting had a packed house at the Knoxville Convention Center. 

***I was a guest at the Fulton High School Community Partners Lunch. There are a LOT of great things going on at FHS!

In Commission news...

On Monday, March 20th at 5:00pm, the Knox County Commission will hold its monthly workshop in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.

On Monday, March 27th at 1:30pm, the Knox County Pension and Retirement Board will meet on the 6th floor of the City County Building in the Commission Conference Room. I am on that board and will be present. The Beer Board will meet at 4:00pm. The regular Commission meeting will begin at 5pm followed by Zoning at 7pm. Beer Board, Commission and Zoning will all take place in the Main Assembly Room of the City County Building.

The Commission agenda has approximately 60 items. This month the bulk of the items are from  the School Board and the Health Department. There are 18 items from the School Board and 9 from the Health Department. School resolutions are merely a formality as they pass whether we vote for them or not. In zoning, there are 6 issues this month. Some resolutions that stand out are:

1. A resolution honoring long-time Knox County official Steve Hall

2. Approving several donations for playground equipment

3. Accepting a grant of $50,000 for the prevention of adolescent pregnancy

4. Accepting Health Department funding of 452,912.90 for testing, prevention and linkage to care for Hep C, Hep B and HIV

5. Approval of an agreement between Knox County and LMU for LMU donating design and construction for new additions to Young-Williams Animal Center for university clinical year rotations

6. Authorizing the issuance of up to $99,000,000 in bonds to finance the capital improvements from the current budget.

Should you or any Knox County resident need assistance from Knox County government, please contact me at:

Bob.Thomas@KnoxCounty.org or 865-309-4364

Seat 10 At-Large Commissioner of Knox County Commission

Chairman, Knox County Cable TV Committee

Chairman, Knox County Disability Committee
Knox County Development Corp Board
Knox County Pension & Retirement Committee
Knox County Parks & Recreation Board
Metro Drug Coalition Board
Dogwood Arts Festival Board
Young-Williams Animal Center Board
American Cancer Society Board
Arts & Culture Alliance Board
Community Television Board
Thompson-Boling Arena Use Committee

February Knox County Schools Bus Driver Safety Awards

Wednesday, February 22nd the Knox County Schools Bus Driver Safety Awards were held at Ted Russell Ford, 8551 Kingston Pike.

Did you know...
1. There are approximately 375 Knox County School bus drivers
2. They drive 20,000 miles A DAY! That's like driving from Knoxville to Los Angeles and then BACK to Knoxville - FIVE TIMES...in ONE day. And all in rush hour.
3. There are a lot of drivers that do it right each and every day.

These drivers have been graded with high standards by the Knox County School system, the contractors, the Sheriff's Department and by school staff.

   The crowd gathers for the awards.

  The Knox County School Bus driver Safety Awards begin at Ted Russell Ford on Kingston Pike begin.

Commissioner Thomas addresses the crowd.

Knox County Schools Interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas and Commissioner Thomas greeting the honorees.

Interim Superintendent Thomas addresses the crowd.

Ted Russell owner Andy White addresses the crowd.

(From left to right) Driver "Junior" Cox, Ted Russell owner Andy White, driver Kathy Evans, driver Jennifer Hayes, driver Karla Mikels, driver Yvonne Tomlin, Knox County Interim Superintendent Buzz Thomas, WIVIK the Frog, Knox County Commissioner Bob Thomas

The drivers that were honored this month are:
1. Colonel "Junior" Cox, drives for Carter
2. Kathy Evans, drives for Carter
3. Jennifer Hayes, drives for Beumont Elementary
4. Karla Mikels, drives for Gap Creek & Doyle MS
5. Yvonne Tomlin, drives for Cedar Bluff


The awards are sponsored by Ted Russell Ford and WIVK 107.7. They each received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Knox County Schools, a $100 check from Andy White the owner of Ted Russell Ford and a prize package from WIVK. Congratulations drivers and job well done!

There are many great school bus drivers in Knox County and this is one small way we can show them our appreciation. If you have any questions please contact Commissioner Bob Thomas.

Should you or any Knox County resident need assistance from Knox County government, please contact me at:
Bob.Thomas@KnoxCounty.org or 865-309-4364
Seat 10 At-Large Commissioner of Knox County Commission
Chairman, Knox County Cable TV Committee
Chairman, Knox County Disability Committee
Knox County Development Corp Board
Knox County Pension & Retirement Committee
Knox County Parks & Recreation Board
Metro Drug Coalition Board
Dogwood Arts Festival Board
Young-Williams Animal Center Board
American Cancer Society Board
Arts & Culture Alliance Board
Community Television Board
Thompson-Boling Arena Use Committee