The Tennessee Valley Authority plans to remove all of the playground equipment, one of the picnic shelters, and a bridge at the Claxton park, but not the second picnic shelter, the Community Center or the baseball fields. - Ben Pounds
The Tennessee Valley Authority closed the Kids Palace Playground to the public on Monday, Dec. 1, despite a request from the Anderson County Commission to keep it open for now.
Scott Brooks with TVA media relations said in an email that the utility plans to remove the playground equipment from the park at 1121 Edgemoor Road soon.
A map he shared showed TVA also planned to get rid of a small wooden picnic shelter and a bridge at the site.
The metal pavilion, picnic tables and flagpole, along with a porta-potty and trash barrels, will remain.
Brooks said TVA will not maintain the porta-potty and trash barrels.
The Claxton Community Center, baseball fields and other amenities on the site will stay, and people may continue to use them, he said.
Brooks said the closure and demolition of the playground were in keeping with the Anderson County Commission’s vote last year to end its lease agreement for the site with TVA.
He also noted some county leaders had said the playground was “at the end of its useful life.”
Concerns about the playground included coal ash from the nearby Bull Run Fossil Plant, which is now closed, and the equipment’s safety.
Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank and the county’s Conservation Board are seeking suggestions from the community on preferred enhancements and services for a new Claxton community park.
The survey can be found online at the county government’s webpage at andersoncountytn.gov/claxton-community-park-relocation-survey/.
That link will be open for responses until Jan. 31.
At the Oct. 6 meeting of the Conservation Board, members voted to endorse a plan to relocate the Claxton Community Park to the new Claxton Elementary School property.
While the relocation is still early in the planning stages, county officials are working on required shared-use agreements, as well as seeking input on park enhancements that might be preferred by the community.
Norris Mayor Chris Mitchell, left, presides over the special called meeting of the City Council on Monday night during which Assistant City Manager Bailey Whited, right, was promoted to city manager effective Jan. 1. - G. Chambers Williams III
The Norris City Council voted unanimously Monday night to promote Assistant City Manager Bailey Whited to the position of city manager, effective Jan. 1 or when the position comes open.
Whited, who has been the assistant since early 2023, will replace City Manager Charles “Adam” Ledford, who handed council members a letter of resignation on Sept. 8, effective Jan. 2.
During a special called session following the monthly Planning Commission meeting, the council voted 4-0 to give the job to Whited. There are only four members on the council now, pending replacement of Will Grinder, who resigned from the council in October.
Grinder’s replacement, who would fill out the remainder of his term (through November 2026), is expected to be chosen by the City Council during its regular December meeting next Monday night.
The assistant city manager’s position was created by the council on Ledford’s recommendation in November 2022, just over a month after Ledford took over as city manager.
But during its Sept. 8 council meeting, the council voted to accept Ledford’s resignation, and in the same motion, eliminated the assistant’s position as of Jan. 1.
City considers population-based rules for allowing retail shops
by Ben Pounds
Clinton wants to set a maximum number on how many vape shops would be allowed to operate within the city limits. - G. Chambers Williams III
The Clinton City Council has taken the first step toward regulating the number of vape shops in the city.
Council member Wendy Maness made a motion Nov. 24 to direct city staff to draft an ordinance that would limit vape shop density.
Council member David Queener seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Mayor Scott Burton was absent.
City Manager Roger Houck said the proposal will go to the Planning Commission first, likely in January.
“I have counted the vape stores down Charles Seivers,” Maness said. “There’s six within a mile, and that’s a lot.” She said several Clinton residents have told her they would prefer to see fewer such shops.
Clinton High School is moving forward with plans to add a new field house at Dragon Stadium.
Athletic Director Josh Reid outlined the need for the project during the Nov. 14 City Council meeting.
City Manager Roger Houck noted that any renovations to the stadium require council approval.
Council member Rob Herrell made the motion to approve the new field house, and the measure passed unanimously after a second by member Wendy Maness.
Reid said the project will be funded by Anderson County Schools and private donors, not through the city of Clinton.
He told council members that the current setup — where home and visiting teams share the same locker room area — creates safety and logistical concerns, particularly during inclement weather.
“In the world of social media and what we’re working with now, it’s dangerous having 100 kids trying to pour through that for just various reasons,” he said.
“You take all the animosity and all the testosterone and fervor of a Friday night, and it’s hard to control. It’s very, very hard to control.”
Under the plan, the new field house would house the Dragons, while the existing facility would be used for visiting teams, officials and other sports programs.
Stanley Fox Jr. stands in front of the used-car dealership he recently opened in the former Domino’s Pizza location on North Charles G. Seivers Boulevard.
Clinton has a Fox family-owned car business again, with the recent opening of The Fox Motor Company used-car dealership at 850 N. Charles G. Seivers Blvd., next to Jiffy Lube.
The owner is Stanley Fox Jr., whose grandfather opened the first Fox Motor Company in Clinton in April 1944.
Fox opened the small used-car business on Oct. 1 in a building that had been vacant for 13 years, but previously housed a Domino’s Pizza store.
He was sales manager at Clinton’s Fox Toyota until the family sold that business to an out-of-state investor in March 2021. His father, Stanley Fox Sr., and his father’s brother, Ronnie Fox, and sister, Becky Fox Grubb, owned the Toyota dealership, and the family previously also operated a Chevrolet dealership in Clinton.
The 2025 Clinton Christmas Parade will step off at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6, with longtime community leader and noted auctioneer William “Bear” Stephenson serving as grand marshal.
Floats and participants will begin lining up at 4 p.m. The parade will travel down Market Street before continuing along Main Street — the primary viewing area this year because of construction that will prevent spectators from gathering on Market Street. The procession will end at Main and South Hicks streets.
