Downtown carbonite plant a bad idea

In response to the article about Rep. Shipley pushing for a carbonite plant, do we really want the first carbonite plant on Earth to be located in downtown Kingsport? Why would anyone in their right mind want to be a guinea pig for the manufacturing of such a new, uncharted product? It seems ridiculous that Rep. Shipley would even consider Kingsport for a plant that produces a product that is stripped of mercury and other harmful substances. Where will these byproducts go? Into our water? Into the already noxious air that we are forced to breathe downtown? We need another air pollutant in Kingsport like we need another hole.

Without proof that the process of manufacturing carbonite is safe for the environment, I don’t think we should be considering putting it so close to a populated area, let alone our beautiful downtown. Stick it out someplace away from people until we find out what the byproducts are going to do to us. I can just see the headlines in 10 or 20 years: “It seemed like a good idea at the time” or “What were we thinking?”

Patti Lawrence
Kingsport

Who Knew?

Who knew?

Eliminate ear mites. All it takes is a few drops of Wesson Corn Oil in

your cat's ear. Massage it in, then clean with a cotton ball. Repeat daily

for 3 days. The oil soothes the cat's skin, smothers the mites, and

accelerates healing.

Kills fleas instantly. Dawn Dishwashing Liquid does the trick. Add a few

drops to your dog's bath and shampoo the animal thoroughly. Rinse well to avoid skin irritations. Good-bye fleas.

Rainy day cure for dog odor: Next time your dog comes in from the rain, simply wipe down the animal with Bounce or any dryer sheet, instantly making your dog smell springtime fresh.

Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately-without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers?

Did you know that Colgate Toothpaste makes an excellent salve for burns?

Before you head to the drugstore for a high-priced inhaler filled with

mysterious chemicals, try chewing on a couple of curiously strong Altoids peppermints. They'll clear up your stuffed nose.

Achy muscles from a bout of the flu? Mix 1 tablespoon horseradish in 1 cup of olive oil. Let the mixture sit for 30 minutes, then apply it as a

massage oil for instant relief for aching muscles.

Sore throat? Just mix 1/4 cup of vinegar with 1/4 cup of honey and take 1 tablespoon six times a day. The vinegar kills the bacteria.

Cure urinary tract infections with Alka-Seltzer. Just dissolve two tablets

in a glass of water and drink it at the onset of the symptoms.

Alka-Seltzer begins eliminating urinary tract infections almost

instantly-even though the product was never been advertised for this use.

Honey remedy for skin blemishes...cover the blemish with a dab of honey and place a Band-Aid over it. Honey kills the bacteria, keeps the skin sterile, and speeds healing. Works overnight.

Listerine therapy for toenail fungus: Get rid of unsightly toenail fungus

by soaking your toes in Listerine Mouthwash. The powerful antiseptic

leaves your toenails looking healthy again.

Easy eyeglass protection...to prevent the screws in eyeglasses from

loosening, apply a small drop of Maybelline Crystal Clear Nail Polish to

the threads of the screws before tightening them.

Cleaning liquid that doubles as bug killer...if menacing bees, wasps,

hornets, or yellow jackets get in your home and you can't find the

insecticide, try a spray of Formula 409. Insects drop to the ground

instantly.

Smart splinter remover: Just pour a drop of Elmer's Glue-All over the

splinter, let dry, and peel the dried glue off the skin. The splinter

sticks to the dried glue.

Hunt's Tomato Paste boil cure...cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head. 

Balm for broken blisters...to disinfect a broken blister, dab on a few

drops of Listerine, a powerful antiseptic.

Vinegar to heal bruises...soak a cotton ball in white vinegar and apply it

to the bruise for 1 hour. The vinegar reduces the blueness and speeds up the healing process.

Quaker Oats for fast pain relief...it's not for breakfast any more! Mix 2

cups of Quaker Oats and 1 cup of water in a bowl and warm in the microwave for 1 minute, cool slightly, and apply the mixture to your hands for soothing relief from arthritis pain.

New Douglass School Spirit Online Store Grand Opening!

Time to show your school spirit.  Please check the column to the right.

We have now opened the official Douglass School Apparel and Souvenir Store.  It is an online store, and the majority of the profits go to your Douglass Alumni Association, the Sons and Daughters of Douglass, headquartered in our Riverview community in Kingsport.

We offer T-shirts, sweat shirts, hoodies, baseball caps, polo, golf shirts and other clothing for men, women, junior girls, boys and girls... to mugs, travel mugs, water bottles.. even stadium seats, blankets and scarves that you can show off at athletic events you attend.  EVEN PAJAMA PANTS.  Yes, pajama pants for women (I think men could wear them, too hehe!).

There is no limit to how much you can order, because each item is made when you order.  All orders are shipped to U.S. post office addresses, and there is a small shipping fee.  Expect your genuine Douglass School merchandise to arrive in 5 to 10 days.

We are working on including many items with our new official name: Sons and Daughters of Douglass.  Those items should be in the School Store by Wednesday, May 18th.   It's the ultimate way to show off your exclusive Douglass School spirit.

Order now, and strut your new items at the Reunion!

Black history programs were great

Thank you for the programs everyone had for Black History Month. My thanks to the gospel fest. I really enjoyed the praise dancers, solos, church choirs and of course the prayers. Also thanks to Xavier Hall, emcee. It was just an evening of laughter and praising the Lord. If you have not seen or heard the comedy of Mr. Hall, you are missing a lot of laughter.

This is the same young man that first brought over 500 people together for an evening of recognizing our people and the things they had accomplished.

Again Kingsport Arts, thank you for an evening’s enjoyment. This program was great.

Lillian Leeper
Church Hill

Thanks for support

I thank the following for their help and support for New Vision Youth MLK Unity Day supper and candlelight vigil events: KHRA, Edna Potts, Julie Douglass, Alvisia Blye-Vista, Joane Jones, Community Care Mary Beatty president of Riverview Association, Riverview Boys and Girls Club, Friends of Distinction: Martha Harper, Mary Jane Treece, Mary Ann Gullette, John Bradford, Shelia Releford, Tina Releford, Barbara Greene, Pam Swagerty, Tina Glover, Carolyn Goodwin, Marsha Patrick, Kandy Davis, Lisa Williamson, City of Kingsport Parks and Recreation Christy Leonard, James (Moore), Henry, Chasity Smiley, Tish Hayes, Pastor Geraldine Swagerty, Chuck Lollar, Dennis Lytle, New Vision Youth Kids and parents Veronica Camp, Ronald Mitchell, Wendy Himmelwright, WJHL, Kingsport Times-News, Jeannie Hodges, the Rev. Lawrence Myrick, Calvin Sneed, Erica Yoon, Stephanie McClellan, South Central Kingsport Weed-n-Seed, Soto family, Bobby Lane, Hope Six, Youth Build, and the community for coming together making these events a success.

Thanks to all and see you all next year.


Johnnie Mae Swagerty
Kingsport

Thanks, volunteers

Thanks to all the churches, volunteers, businesses, organizations, individuals, schools, youth and everyone for donations and volunteering time to the Kitchen of Hope. Your support and thoughtfulness is very appreciated.

I know all you volunteers have put in countless hours to the Kitchen of Hope, and I appreciate each of you for taking your time to support and help out. And I think all the people who come to the Kitchen of Hope to eat.

If it weren’t for the volunteers who help and the donations that come in, we could not make it. I didn’t want to name everyone because I know I would leave somebody’s name, organization or church out. But a gracious thanks to all volunteers and community donations.


Pastor Geraldine Swagerty
 Kingsport

Black History Month offers lessons for all of us

THIS EDITORIAL FROM THE EDITOR OF THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2011


Black history is a subject too interesting and vast to be confined to a single month, much less the shortest one. But brief as the month is, it does represent a chance to bear witness, if only in a small way, to the progress, richness and diversity of African-American achievement.

It was during the 1920s that Carter Woodson, a premier black historian, first put forward his idea of a Negro History Week. Woodson saw the celebration as a way to advance the idea of African history as a form of black cultural empowerment and emancipation.

In his view, the knowledge and dissemination of African history would, “besides building self-esteem among blacks, help eliminate prejudice among whites.”

He aimed, he wrote, both “to inculcate in the mind of the youth of African blood an appreciation of what their race has thought and felt and done” and to publicize the facts of the black among whites, so that “the Negro may enjoy a larger share of the privileges of democracy as a result of the recognition of his worth.”

In a speech at Hampton Institute in 1921, Woodson addressed the issue head on: “We have a wonderful history behind us,” he told his listeners. “(But) ... if you are unable to demonstrate to the world that you have this record, the world will say to you, ‘You are not worthy to enjoy the blessings of democracy or anything else.’ They will say to you, ‘Who are you, anyway? Your ancestors have never controlled empires or kingdoms and most of your race have contributed little or nothing to science and philosophy and mathematics.’

“So far as you know, they have not; but if you will read the history of Africa, the history of your ancestors’ people of whom you should feel proud, you will realize that they have a history that is worthwhile.

“They have traditions ... of which you can boast and upon which you can base a claim for a right to a share in the blessings of democracy.

“Let us, then, study ... this history ... with the understanding that we are not, after all, an inferior people. We are going back to that beautiful history and it is going to inspire us to greater achievements. It is not going to be long before we can sing the story to the outside world as to convince it of the value of our history ... and we are going to be recognized as men.”

Many decades have passed since Woodson spoke those words. But the pride and the passion in them are as fresh today as they were 90 years ago.

The week-long celebration Woodson first envisioned has become a month-long period for Americans of all races to reflect on the history and teachings of African-Americans whose contributions are still too little known and appreciated.

Along those lines, there is an African proverb that seems especially appropriate for this time of year: “Know your history,” it urges, “and you will always be wise.”

Good advice, that. Indeed the collective history of the African-American community contains invaluable lessons for us all.