Displaying items by tag: hellbender press

Opposition still stands against Dry Hollow housing proposal on Knox commish agenda

KNOXVILLE — Compass reported that Knox County Commission voted 8-3 Monday night to approve a new housing development in South Knox County, “despite fierce opposition from surrounding residents.

“Local residents haven’t stopped a development, but they forced some changes,” Compass reported.

“But the conditions imposed by Commission limit the subdivision in the Dry Hollow area to 180 homes on the flattest, most developable part of the property — down from 255 that the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission had approved.”

KNOXVILLE — Hellbender Press took home two awards from the 2021 Golden Press Card contest sponsored by the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists.

Hellbender Press was recognized with two first-place awards for East Tennessee digital journalism: The Hal DeSelm Papers and Requiem for the Lord God Bird. 

The Hal DeSelm story chronicled his decades-long effort to document terrestrial biomes in all but one Tennessee county, and subsequent work by the University of Tennessee to craft his datasets into an accessible database.

The other award was for reporting on the extinction of the ivory-billed woodpecker relying heavily on the work of Ijams Nature Center naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales.

Judging was conducted by the SPJ chapter in Cincinnati.

“We are incredibly grateful to our editorial board, readers and others who helped with this great win,” said Hellbender Press editor Thomas Fraser. “Our stories are only as good as the sources.”

Hellbender Press (Est. 1998) is ready to fight

We’ve got our sea legs after a maiden year-long digital voyage. Thanks to those who saw us through and made our latest digital endeavor a success.

Hellbender Press has a long way to go, and we hope y’all help push us along. Expect more news and features and an enhanced website moving forward.

The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia plans a main news dump every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but will update the site daily as possible, and when breaking news requires it.

Also stay tuned for regional environmental news on our social media at Facebook and Twitter.

We are working on an RSS/newsletter feature so you can digest the newest news bits at your leisure.

Big plans, but we need your help. Donations and grants to Hellbender Press are tax-deductible via Foundation for Global Sustainability, and we would love to feature your science, environment or natural history journalism, from the Cumberland Plateau to Chilhowee Mountain and Cataloochee. Hit us up via email at Hellbender Press if you want a platform for your work to advance science, truth, social justice and environmental conservation and preservation. Also hit us up with story ideas or news tips.

Please consider riding for the Hellbender brand as best you can.

Meanwhile...

Thanks to all who graciously shared their talents to get us under way, including everybody on the editorial board.

Here are the most-viewed stories since we went live in February 2021. It’s just a raw numbers rundown. It’s not weighted for social media vagaries, and many of the stories likely had more views than recorded.

It’s still a solid approximation of what you liked best. We appreciate you.

Charles Henry Turner

The University of Tennessee One Health Initiative will host an impressive array of climate-related discussions, presentations and museum tours Wednesday, Nov. 3, at the UT Student Union on Cumberland Avenue in Knoxville. A virtual option is also available for the day-long event, which is affiliated with the 6th Annual World One Health Day.

The day will feature a “One Health and Climate Change” expert panel discussion, which is set for noon and includes perspectives ranging from the UT Institute of Agriculture to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

A kayak outing and trash cleanup along the Tennessee River and its tributaries are also planned, as is a tour of UT Gardens, and the herbarium. McClung Museum at Circle Park will offer up its freshwater mussel collection for closer inspection and host a tour examining archaeology findings related to the indigenous inhabitants of Tennessee.

Check out University of Tennessee One Health Day for a full schedule and more information.

Hellbender Press: The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia is a digital environmental news service with a focus on the Southern Appalachian bioregion. It aggregates relevant stories from across the news media space and provides original news, features and commentary.

Espousing the “Think Globally, Act Locally” ethos of FGS, Hellbender Press promotes the conservation and study of the environment and protections for air, water, climate, natural areas, and other resources that are critical to human health and a robust, resilient economy.

The Hellbender also champions civil and human rights, especially in matters of environmental justice, equity of access to natural resources and the right to a clean environment.

Hellbender Press is a self-organizing project of the Foundation for Global Sustainability’s Living Sustainably Program. All donations made for Hellbender Press to FGS are tax-deductible. We offer a free environmental news and information site, but grants and charitable contributions are encouraged and needed to support our work. Much of the content is provided on a volunteer basis by individuals and organizations that share a common cause.

Hellbender Press encourages the submission of original and relevant articles and photography for consideration to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more details on the history and objectives of Hellbender Press, watch the interview of Thomas Fraser in Knoxille Community Media’s “Serving Knoxville” series.