©2009 NPT FILE PHOTO

Johnny Ball appears in a family photo with his mother, Geneva Ball,
sometime in the 1970s. This was a group photo made by the Plain Talk
and I cropped the photo that was submitted by Doris Ball, Johnny's widow.

By this Thursday, October arrives on the crest of a mini-heat wave that broke during the weekend in our hometown, but Tommy Bible at the gas utility tells me that the low temperatures will be in the 50s come early Oct. The high on Sept. 30 is expected to be about 70 degrees in Newport.

I want to finish our chat about Jody Ball, who leaves October 11, for Kenya, Africa, on a mission trip. The Newportian will be there for 3 months, spreading God's word through his testimony of hope and survival, and volunteering at local orphanages, schools, and hospices. His church is sponsoring the mission, but he originally had to raise $5,000, and has made a big dent in this. I told him and his mother that the Plain Talk would get the word out about the mission and need for the support of his hometown. You may contact Jody Ball at 404-935-8050, 1227 Lyndale Drive, Atlanta, GA 30316. Mail your donations to: Ormewood Park Presbyterian Church, 1071 Delaware Avenue, SE, Atlanta, Georgia 30316. If you would like to talk with him, you can at: jodyizaball@gmail.com or (404)935-8050. By the way, concerning the photo of a young Johnny Ball at the Plain Talk about 1970 with Mrs. Horace Burnett and a third woman that I could not identify. Duay O'Neil said it was Mrs. W.B. Stokely, Mrs. Burnett's mother.

Besides the paving being ripped up and replaced on Broadway during the past weeks, did you also notice the changes taking place at the former Condry Vision Centers? It is located between the building that houses the Beauty Center and Goddard Real Estate. I stopped by last week and saw Ashley Stokely doing stucco work to create an artificial stone finish. He works for Adam Allen's stucco business. Dr. Condry died a couple of years ago and the property recently sold to Carson Wright, who runs Wright Swimming Pool & Spa company. He and wife, Lora, have been running the business from an East Broadway Shopping Center site. The new location is more visible and a larger area to let him do some new things. Many years ago the facility, which is a six-sided building, was a National Bank branch and served other businesses before being used by Dr. Condry for about 10 years. It has a large basement which Carson will remodel for offices. The first floor will serve as his retail store for pool supplies. I saw a lot of bamboo poles in the grass in front of the building. He plans to use the bamboo during the remodeling. One plan is to place a large above-ground pool with decking in the front grassy area. Although Carson is a specialist for in-ground pools he sells other types and spas too. I also learned that he is an experienced Scuba diver and uses his skills to repair pools by diving into them and looking for leaks. When he is not selling and building pools, he maintains them, especially before winter and in the spring. The new location should be open by the end of Sept.

Fog hung over Newport after 10 a.m. on a mid-Sept. Tuesday as mornings turned a bit cooler and the town dissolved into the mist as I drove into what used to be Buddy's Barbecue on the hill across from Lowe's. You've seen the new sign on the restaurant advertising Blue Smoke Barbecue & Grill so I wanted to see what is going on. Several workers including Newport Utilities folks were busy inside. A fellow who is one of the new operators and connected to Milano's Italian Restaurant off West Broadway said the plan is to open the new restaurant later in Sept. You will hear more about this soon. Another business I visited that morning was at the three-way where I had noticed an accumulation of used vehicles, including a large white hearse. Danny Hall and David Parton were standing outside when I drove up to see what is going on. You will recognize Parton as a Cocke County deputy who began work around 1998. Perhaps you know Danny too. His aunt, Janice Sexton, helps run the county jail. So, it makes sense that the used car lot is D&D and it is not a new business. Danny said they opened about two years ago on a lot just past Mike's Appliances below the Blue Room. They needed more visibility and so moved to the intersection of highways 25/70 and 25E. I'll return to chat with them more.

Fall arrived last Tuesday afternoon but not with much fall weather. The temperature in the mid 80s was high and the day humid, unlike falls days from decades ago. I strolled by to see Carroll Kyker at Newport Dry Goods. About every year at this time he is ready to roll out a lot of special buys and bargains for fall. The conveyor belt was carrying box after box from a truck into the store. Carroll said he had returned from New York City where he had found a ton of clothing at prices you will not find anywhere. Among the deals soon to be advertised in the Plain Talk will be men's pants, Dillard's brands that retail for $60-70 but to be sold at Dry Goods for about $12.99 and an equally great reduction on women's blazers.

In plain talk, everyone has a mission in life, accomplishing it is quite a different thing.