There were 24 people at June’s Meal & Meeting.


It was a short, but important agenda. 

  1. 1)Gloria encouraged all of us to thank Roe and Corker for their support of Alexander’s bill to increase wilderness designation in Cherokee National Park by 20,000 acres.  If you have a business, it means a lot to our reps in Nashville to receive letters with a business letterhead atop your comments.  It gives you more validity as a citizen, I guess...


  1. 2)Cindy has been passing the jar around for a great cause, the Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR).  Bob and Cindy had two  bear cups relocated from their Butler neighborhood recently and were impressed with the facility near Knoxville.  Because ABR accepts many of our local orphaned and hurt bears, Watauga Group and Watauga Watershed Alliance were happy to promise matching funds Cindy has already raised with her “bear jar.”  Check out this great volunteer driven group: http://www.appalachianbearrescue.org/


Webb has been working on a project for over a year involving “green” rental cabins.  He held everyone’s attention as he presented his idea which included a model of the solar cabin.  Tom, a certified green builder from Johnson City, was on hand to answer technical questions and to encourage us to pursue this great idea.  Without going into detail here, those interested in investing energy into a sustainable venture may contact Webb at gla4797@embarqmail.com.

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From Top Left:  Canopies were set up in case of rain.  Webb spent all day cooking pig.  Gloria and Lyn show off the postcards we signed and sent off to our state reps to thank them for the Wilderness Bill.

From Middle Left: Girls work harder than boys.  Gabby and Dovie.  Catherine’s broken ankle didn’t dampen her spirits.

From Bottom Left: Dovie.  Marty and Dovie show off the age range of the membership.  Kenneth McQueen, running for county mayor, gained many new supporters.

There were 21 at July’s Meal and Meeting.


The meeting side of the evening went very quickly.  Our focus as a group this summer has been largely devoted to a few things:


  1. 1.The Farmer’s Market.  This provides us with a venue to sell our garden goods and educate people about legislation and environmental issues concerning us in Johnson County.  Volunteers at our booth have been very sucessful in getting citizens to sign petitions in support of the Wilderness Bill.  This bill, when signed into law by our president, will create nearly 4500 acreas within Cherokee National Forest as wilderness.  This means, NO logging, NO roads, NO motorized ANYTHING.  A perfect protection to the watersheds. 


  1. 2.The Wilderness Bill.  Quietly championed by Lamar Alexander and worked hard by volunteers from TN WILD, this will increase wilderness designation by hundreds of acres within Johnson County.  Mayor Grayson, to his credit, signed on as an enthusiastic supporter. 


3. Tamara continues to strengthen Johnson County’s Food Security system by holding workshops on everything from canning to growing blueberries.  If you are not already on Tamara’s email list, contact me and I’ll gladly put you in touch.


4. Radford Quarries continues to be delinquent in honoring the terms of our negotiated agreement.  The upside to this?  Should they short us even one dollar of the agreed upon 20,000, we can legally delay their application to expand their quarry.