Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, it’s the greening of SoKno!

Actually, it’s the second annual Keep Knoxville Beautiful South Knoxville Cleanup, but it is on St. Paddy’s Day, Saturday, March 17, a perfect day to think green.

KKB representatives have been reaching out to South Knox businesses and neighborhood groups to encourage them to join the cleanup. Sarah Carman spoke at the South-Doyle and Colonial Village neighborhood association meetings this week.

KKB is seeking individuals, groups, businesses – anyone who lives, works, worships or plays in SoKno – to participate. Group leaders will meet at 9 a.m. at Sam Duff Memorial Park, 4060 Chapman Highway, to collect supplies such as gloves, safety vests, pickers and garbage bags to take back to their teams. People who aren’t part of a group should report to Duff Park, where they can help tackle the surrounding streets.

Last year’s SoKno pickup collected 12,000 pounds of trash and covered 13.5 miles, Carman said.

Community groups participating include Wildlife Habitats of South Woodlawn, Boy Scout Troop 255, BSA Troop 36, South Doyle Neighborhood Association, South Haven Neighborhood Association, Colonial Village Neighborhood Association, Island Home Park and Old Sevier Community Group. Snacks and beverages will be provided, and there will be a free lunch at noon at Duff Park provided by the Knox County Health Department and Jason’s Deli.

Volunteers will receive a Y-shirt provided by Smoke-Free Knoxville.

Anyone with questions may contact Carman at sarah@keepknoxvillebeautiful.org or 865-521-6957. To register, visit keepknoxvillebeautiful.org and go to the events page.

Traffic calming

The Knox County Department of Engineering and Public Works will hold a public meeting on traffic calming in the Deanbrook subdivision. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 20, at Mount Olive Baptist Church, 2500 Maryville Pike.

The affected area includes Deanbrook and Spring Creek roads between Woodson Drive and Belt Road.

For questions, call John Sexton, staff engineer, at 865-215-5860.

SOUP is on the way

Knoxville SOUP makes its 2018 debut on Tuesday, April 17, at Dara’s Garden, 2637 Maryville Pike. The doors will open at 6 p.m., with the program starting at 6:30.

Knoxville SOUP is a crowd-funding opportunity in real life. Attendees are asked for a donation of $5 (or more) when they arrive. Up to four groups or individuals present descriptions of projects they’re doing or planning, and attendees vote on their favorite. The project with the most votes wins the take from the door.

While attendees ponder their vote, they get to dine on a delicious meal of soup, salad, bread and dessert. Rothchild will cater the April 17 event.

During dinner, winners of raffle items will be announced. Alan Williams of WVLT, Channel 8, will be the moderator.

Ask the Commissioner

County Commissioner Carson Dailey’s monthly “Ask the Commissioner” meeting will be at Gap Creek Market, 2138 Kimberlin Heights Road, on Tuesday, March 27. Dailey will be on hand to share updates with SoKno residents and answer any questions from 5-7 p.m.