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Grassy Fork gets water
The spigot was turned on Friday at Grassy Fork Elementary School signaling the completion of a more than $2 million project to get utility water to the eastern Cocke County community. Newport Utilities General Manager Glenn Ray said the waterline was 20 years in the making. The waterline was necessitated by a drought which meant many wells on the mountain went dry. Residents Ed and Diane Black were instrumental in that they brought the issue to Congressman Phil Roe, Republican of the First District during a campaign stop in 2009, and pushed to get involved in the needed funding. Eventually money came from two Appalachian Regional Commission grants, a Community Development Block Grant and $100,000 from the Niswonger Foundation, as well as a match from Newport Utilities. (Ray on waterline) Ray said water was turned on at the school on May 17, just before the school year ended. The project utilizes a 150,000 gallon storage tank, and the line has 17 road crossings and 20 creek crossings. Congressman Roe said it was important to get water to the small school which has 96 students. (Roe on waterline)"It's the heart of the community and if you let the school get gone the community will wither and die. It's a great school the top five percent in the state, you should take great pride in that," Roe told the gathering. He thanked Scott Niswonger for the $100,000 contribution to the project,"so it's a private/local/state/federal project. Everybody kicked in and that is the way government should work for people." The congressman pointed out that an eight inch waterline, also increases the value of the properties in the community. State Representative Jeremy Faison pointed out that water is important because "it brings life to the land." Faison on waterline He pointed to all the people who had a hand in the project over the man years "but no one person gets the glory it's the kids who will have a fresh source of life." The waterline also provides water for the Grassy Fork Volunteer Fire Department. The crowd also heard from Cocke County Mayor Crystal Ottinger who expressed her appreciation to her predecessors, Harold Cates, Iliff McMahan and Vaughn Moore who were instrumental in boosting the waterline. Terry Brobowski, Executive Director of East Tennessee Development District, School Director Manney Moore and Grassy Fork Principal Dr.Judy Webb also addressed the group before they all shared in water from the waterline.
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