Dr. Keith Cottrell has left his post as principal at Northshore Elementary School to become the associate director of the Grow Your Own Center at the University of Tennessee.

And no, Grow Your Own has nothing to do with products to eat, smoke or drink. It’s a buzzword for a solution to a teacher shortage created when the trained professional teachers have been demoralized and run off by the education intelligentsia (weirdly aligned with political know-nothings) that now bring us Grow Your Own.

Meanwhile, back at Northshore, the new, interim principal is Gary Critselous, a veteran educator with Knox County Schools.

Gary Critselous

Critselous joined KCS in 1984 as teacher and coach at Carter High School, where he taught for 13 years. He began his career in administration in 1997 as an assistant principal at Whittle Springs Middle School. In 1999, he served as the interim principal of Holston Middle School, and in June 2000, he was named assistant principal of Karns Middle School. He was the principal of Powell Middle School from 2007-14, when he retired.

While at Powell, he was named middle school principal of the year for the state of Tennessee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Tennessee, and a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from Lincoln Memorial University.

The man who cracked the Teapot Dome

Jack McElroy and his gift

Jack McElroy, retired editor at the Knoxville News Sentinel, got a parking meter for Christmas. It only takes pennies and nickels. And yes, there’s a story.

Jack says his wife, Deb, found the meter to mark the completion of his biography of Carl Magee, inventor of the meter and founder of The Albuquerque Tribune. University of New Mexico Press is set to publish the book next year, in time for 100th anniversary of Magee breaking the Teapot Dome Scandal, McElroy said.

Working title is Citizen Carl, The Editor Who Cracked Teapot Dome, Shot a Judge and Invented the Parking Meter.

Cagle Terrace, a Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation property for elderly and disabled residents, has a new wellness center through a partnership with Matter Health. The center provides convenient access to physical and mental health and lifestyle support for residents of the complex. The 274-unit housing complex lies between Sutherland Avenue and Papermill Road in the Marble City area. Read more here.

The Babb family of West Knoxville celebrated a most Merry Christmas. Pictured are Will, Elizabeth, Ned, Virginia and Helen. (We’re guessing on the twins.) Virginia Babb served one term on the Knox County school board, opting not to seek reelection when the races were made partisan.

Got info to share? Email to news@knoxtntoday.com.