The Knoxville News-Sentinel from Knoxville, Tennessee • 13

Th KnexviH News-Sentinel Sunday Morning March 7 1982 Blount Claims 'Best Route to Smokies' By WILLARD YARBROUGH by three craft a sidewheelrr paddlewheeler and motor-driven craft Dock owner Vera Henry said Chattanooga River Captain will operate the passenger boats two with 150 capacity and the third with space for 300 passengers The 22-mile water route one way will cost $850 with moorings to be on Fort Loudoun Lake in Knoxville between Henley Street and the LAN Railroad crossing The highway distance is only 127 miles and a shuttle bus service from Alcoa Highway (US 129) to Louisville may be offered The rivercraft will leave Louisville at 8 9 and 10 am and Knoxville at 7 8 and 9 pan The dock also will provide space for several boat-hotels for overnight guests and a fleet of yachts for lease also will be moored there Mrs Henry said Beautification and welcome signs will blossom along major Blount County highway entrances especially between Alcoa and the Knox County line to the north The US 129 four-lane median will be laced with crepe myrtle some shrubs already in place alongside the route And Bobbie Householder said an extension of Knoxville's Dogwood trails in April will be opened in the county centered on Alcoa residential areas This year with a Dogwood Trails official emblem Blount's srenir route will be called "Dogwood next year the real thing The fair-long crafts fair expected to be in a downtown Maryville building will seek exhibitors from Southern Appalachia for the continuous show and sale Law enforcement and medical agencies are correlating a medical emergency and rescue service The chamber's marketing division hopes to attract industrial expansion Executives lured here will learn of the County Industrial Board's 311-acre site for garden industry The tract acquired recently is on Highway 33 just inside Blount from Stock Creek embay -ment Technological buildings would house among others projected technical firms locating along Pellissippi Parkway Brochures also will include heavy industry sites at developed parks elsewhere To make certain Blount Coun-tians at all levels understand the leadership's plans for the World's Fair town hall meetings have been set here for March 19 and 23 with Blount Fair Chairman Bob Murphy presiding at the question-and-an-swer sessions Colorful Cars US Pavilion officials stand with the official cars of the pavilion with the $124 million pavilion looming in the background The electric vehicles in the foreground were provided to the pavilion by Jet Industries of Austin Tex The gasoline-powered car behind them was provided by General Motors Adorning the hood of the electric vehicles is the logo of the pavilion which is divided into five colored stripes to represent Photo by Mile Cary) Some Resort Employers Feel World's Fair May Cut Into Employee Pool various energy resources: Yellow for solar energy yellow-orange for wind and water ocher for wood ana fiber red-orange for fossil fuels and crimson for nuclear energy Standing with the cars are from left Allen Beach assistant commissioner general of the US Pavilion and pavilion staffers Shirley' Gray Patrick Thomas and Annelie Kuhn (Staff MARYVILLE Let the 19S2 World's Fair come Blount County is more than ready There are twin objectives: Hosting fair viators and luring visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by promoting Maryville as the "best route to the Great Smokies" Blount County is between both attractions and pragmatic citizen committees are hustling to entertain the most tourists in its almost 200 years of existence got everything to please guests proximity to the national park and the fair historic buildings theater recreational streams and lakes reasonable pricing and real That's the way Gary Marshall executive director for marketing of the Blount County Chamber of Commerce and the Smoky Mountain Visitors Bureau puts The visitors center building is a tourist attraction in itself The bureau is at the Thompson-Brown House a two-story structure built by pioneers in 1785 and the oldest log house in the county The building is on the Scenic Parkway (Highway 73) just southeast of the Maryville College campus The historic place boasts a budding museum of yesteryear free to visitors but a major lawn attraction is an American Elm wedge sawed from the giant tree felled by lightning in Trigonia community in 1978 It could be more than 600 years old In planning for the fair seemingly nothing has been overlooked: Housing transportation adequate parking beautification a six-month craft fair emergency medical services parks and playgrounds motel listings and brochures that list 34 historic sites a program to attract industrial plants and programs to orient school children and tourist-related employees about the fair New campgrounds and temporary housing are springing up Guest rates in private homes and public places generally are reasonable Motel rates vary the lowest detected being $29 per couple at a Townsend place Others are higher including the new Hilton at McGhee Tyson Airport Maryville College a Blount landmark will open some dormitory rooms to the public for three-day periods in June and July during student vacations Two persons in non air-conditioned rooms may stay three days and get free breakfasts for $105 The fates for the same accommodations in air-conditioned rooms will be $120 The only available dates due to summer programs and alumni needs are June 28-July 1 July 2-5 July 25 and July 5-8 Between 10 and 20 rooms remain The continuing education office at the college is in charge of reservations The visitors bureau won't accept reservations for supplementary housing but will refer requests to two firms that make them They are Expo-Depot Lodging Service and TSRA reservation agents Mass transit without rails is the transportation thrust from here to the fair Bus Lines will expand its regular Maryville-Knoxville schedule offering express buses that would pick up fair visitors at a main terminal and at some of the 20 parking areas elsewhere that can handle 600 private vehicles Fees at the scattered parking lots will run from $2 to $3 a day Vertiflite Air Service Inc says owner Bob Bailey expects to provide helicopter service from its base near the airport as well as from Morristown Oak Ridge Lenoir City Loudon Gatiinburg and Townsend The Knoxville pad will be within walking distance of the fair's North Gate Water transportation from Louisville Boat Dock will be available a will have about 1500 people show Nellie Thomas director of personnel for Silver Dollar City in Pigeon Forge said not having staffing problems at this point but we have been taking a more creative approach in our The theme park which employs 450 workers moved up its concentrated interview period by a month this 1 year Mrs Thomas said the park has not heard from all of the former workers to whom job offers have been extended Silver Dollar City expects applications throughout the season she said Terry Shane personnel manager for Gatiinburg Place said "We have found we have to be a lot more agressive in our hiring We are going out to get them instead of expecting them to come to She said she has been working with the UT staff in recruiting students majoring in food and lodging Sonny Thrower personnel director tor Magic World Pigeon Forge started his hiring at the end of February He said got only about a third of the applications we got last for 125 positions available He said jobs at the fair are "probably having some on the availability of workers Most of Magic World's employees live in South Knoxville or Sevier County he said Thrower termed the housing shortage for seasonal workers "There are almost zero places he said Others echoed his view Veta Wilson of the Pigeon Forge Tourism Department said "The housing situation is normally tight but the fair will make it harder this year for people to find "Housing is going to be the real said Pat Callan director of the Gatiinburg Chamber of Commerce Both the Pigeon Forge Tourism Department and the Gatiinburg Chamber keep files on available housing for seasonal workers and encourage potential landlords to notify them when rooms come open By JEANNINE McKAMEY GATLINBURG Many Gatlin -burg and Pigeon Forge employers appear optimistic that high unemployment and repeat local help will keep them supplied with seasonal labor this year despite the lure of jobs available at the World's Fair in Knoxville However some large attractions say they have been forced to be more aggressive in their hiring procedures and at least one said its number of applicants had dropped by two-thirds from last year Employers also fear that the fair win worsen the perennial problem of inadequate housing for seasonal workers Others say that while they are not worried about having enough available workers to begin the season in April they are concerned that an abundance of summer jobs could influence many employees to go elsewhere at the height of the season creating a crisis The Gatiinburg Sheraton hotel World's Fair BRIEFS Local Builder Recalls Puzzle Sale in 1933 WHILE SELLING SOUVENIRS at 1933 Fair local builder Bill Dawn 73 sold a mahog- any puzzle to Eleanor Roosevelt! Dawn was a student at Berea College when the famous First Lady purchased one of the six-piece puzzles for 50 cents A picture of Mrs Roosevelt with the -puzzle appeared in a Chicago newspaper the next day GROUNDBREAKING for the health' -pavilion at the 1982 Fair will be at 1 pirn which employs more than 200 seasonal workers plans to ward off wanderlust by offering what manager Kevin Foley called a "substantial to employees who stay with the motel for the duration of the fair Most of the sea-1 Bonal workers live in Sevier and Cocke Counties and commute to work Foley said This local labor pool provides the bulk of workers for the resort cities according to Chuck Bradley manager of the Gatiinburg substation of the Tennessee Department of Employment Security Bradley said his office has had "a flood of applicants" for seasonal jobs during the past two weeks Most applications were made by persons living within a 50-mile ra-- dius of Gatiinburg he said Many have lost their factory jobs because of layoffs Other applicants are high school and college students who live in the area Bradley said Out of about 2000 seasonal tions available in Gatiinburg -Pigeon Forge 90 percent are and pay wages ranging from $3J5 to $425 an hour about the same as the Fair Bradley said "Local -people who work at these kinds of jobs do not want to drive into Knoxville daily and face traffic and higher parking he said Doug Lawson owner of the Rocky Waters Motel and Jeff Lynn manager at the Gatiinburg Burger King agreed with Bradley Lynn said he is "getting a lot of applicants mostly from Sevier for his 50 to 75 positions Bill Ogle whose family owns Gatiinburg motels a restaurant and the new Water Park in Pigeon Forge said he has "had more applicants than ever before Recently I had 150 people apply for 15 positions in the He also predicted that when he interviews this month for the 150 jobs available at the water park "we Caribbean Hotels Plan Off-Season Sales School children are studying literature provided by foreign countries to decide which pavilions they will visit at the fair No historic tours for shrines are planned but visitors at the center will be given free maps that point out more than a score of the sites including ante-bellum mansions Musical Host To Lead Travel Tour Nm Yarti TUnat Nam Santa For many music lovers all over the country every day begins with a radio program that runs the gamut from bird songs to medieval and contemporary works as well as news that according to one admirer is delivered as if a butler were "carrying it in on a silvery The host is Robert Lurtsema whose "Morning Pro show a fixture on WGBH-FM in Boston for 1 1 years is also heard on a number of other public radio stations Now going to take his considerable knowledge of music along on a musical tour of England He will be the maestro and behind-the-scenes guide on a 16-day trip starting May 7 to music festivals in Brighton and Malvern that will give participants a concert sometimes two concerts every day reduce its current minimum winter rate for a double room from $82 to $40 A one-bedroom villa with modified American plan at Cove near Port Antonio Jamaica will drop from $180 to $120 In San Juan Puerto Rico the price of a seven-night package at the Caribe Hilton falls from $395 a person to $290 Many hotels will also be reducing their rates for snorkeling windsurfing and other water sports activities A list of hotel reductions and a calendar of events is available from the Caribbean Tourism Association 20 East 46th Street New York NY 10017 ONwYrfc Turn Nam Santa The winter season may be in foil swing in the Caribbean but the thoughts of resort operators are turning to their spring sale When the sun climbs higher in the North prices go down in the islands The "season of sweet is the label the Caribbean Tourism Association is giving this year to the period from April 15 through Dec 15 the off season To minimize the number of empty rooms in these months many hotels will cut their rates drastically A list of daily rates issued by the association gives examples The Windward Passage in St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands will Interstate Work Stays on Schedule Despite Weather on much of the unopened section Painting of stripes on the roadway sign erection and sodding of the grassy areas along the roadway also must be completed Sentelle said the rain causes problems with coordinating the work tit various construction companies He said the work is done in "steps The only section that will not be completed by next month is a section of 1-640 at Rutledge Pike That section will not be completed until next year The project calls for improvements on the bridge there as well as a new flyover bridge connecting 1-40 with 1-640 West Sentelle also expects the South Knoxville bridge to be completed by the end of this year The contract calls for it to be finished- in 1983 However it will be several years before the south end of the bridge is connected by a new road to Chapman Highway The north end of the bridge will connect with the Downtown Loop and Neyland Drive By JOHN STILES HilS All the recent rain may bring spring flowers but it is playing havoc with Interstate construction as the $250 million project comes down to the wire the opening of the 1982 Fair Lloyd Sentelle state Department of Transportation engineer however is confident the "whole will be open by April 1 "We had such great weather last year that we really got a lot said Sentelle "But it has rained pretty steady this year and that has slowed work The remaining major project is the flyover bridge from 1-275 South to 1-40 East Sentelle is confident it will be ready by April 1 but he does not see much chance of it opening earlier Sentelle said lighting is the last phase of the road projects to be done He said the company that has the contract for erecting the lights has until May 1 opening date of the fair to get the job finished He said guardrails are not yet installed.