Author Archive for: naomi

Gary L. Grametbauer, age 75, of Kingston, TN, died January 29, 2020, after a short illness. Gary was born in Canton, Ohio, and was a graduate of Hoover High School and the University of Akron. He was employed for more than 30 years at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, where he was a manager in instrumentation engineering.

The state of Tennessee continues to move forward with the acquisition of over 6,600 acres of land in Cumberland County adjacent to Interstate 40. The purchase effort, largely through TennGreen requires over $6 million before the tract can be secured.
Acquisition of the land provides a crucial link and closes an huge gap in the 300 mile corridor of the Cumberland Trail between Daddys Creek and Ozone Falls State Natural Area. When complete, the CT will gain 45 miles of trail with one gap of less than two miles.

A critical gap in the Cumberland Trail may be eliminated in the near future. Efforts are underway to acquire a  4,500 acre tract of land on the north side of the Crab Orchard Gap in Cumberland County known as the Lone Star property.  Acquisition will allow the trail to be routed up and over a mountain ridge and emerge close to Ozone Falls SNA.

Sam H. Powell, 86, of Signal Mountain, devoted his whole life to building hiking trails, conservation and improvement of the environment, died on February 8, 2019. Sam was a founding member of the Cumberland Trail, which runs from Signal Mountain 300 miles across the state to Cumberland Gap. This trail continues to grow with additional parts that spin off to connect various parks. In addition, he was chairman of the Cumberland Trail Conference, and was a founding member and longtime director of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust.