The Newport Plain Talk

Snow piled into the county before Christmas toppling trees and power lines leaving many of you in our hometown without power, but later restored and getting you ready for the last week of 2009.

Ron Fugate, Newport Utilities manager, told me at Kiwanis Club on Tuesday about the trying times restoring power to Black and Bull mountain areas. Not everyone was frazzled. One older mountain woman who had been without power told NU not to hurry, the next day would be fine.

Wind proved to be an equally vicious adversary on Christmas Eve. If you drove about Christmas morning to your friends and family you may have had to drive around downed trees. My neighbor Lloyd Bryant was awakened by a utility pole fire about 1 a.m. Sat. Wind was whipping the fire and the electric line was arcing but it posed no danger to structures. Hollis Allen of Lowe English was not so happy with his present. A mighty gust blew apart his tool shed allowing boards and tin to smack into his John Deere tractors. We spent the day cleaning up roof tin and timbers.

You recall that we left off last Sunday visiting Rocky Top Grafix and Jeff Cody at Northport talking about his former C&C Graphics business near the Pigeon River in Newport and the move he made. And I made a few errors last week, which I correct here. Jeff's Dad, Tommy, retired from Wood Products, not Wall Tube. Also Jeff's Aunt Freda passed away in the summer of 2000 after a fight with cancer. Jeff's uncle Jimmy Blazer, who is Jeff's Mom's brother, was Doodle Weems' manger at Save-Way.

I suppose he just outgrew the river location and saw a chance to buy the Volunteer Rental business off North Street and Blazer at the last traffic light before leaving Newport traveling north. Ricky and Jamie Watts plus Jim Shelly had the business at the time. That was about 2000 when Jeff moved into the 3,500 square foot facility, which includes a garage. This was to come in handy. If you've seen county sheriff's cruisers or Newport patrol cars chances are Jeff did the decals and reflective green safety striping. Over the years some of the sign and design techniques have remained unchanged but the digital information age has really changed other aspects. For example, most folks have digital cameras and phone cameras that can easily capture photos. These can be carried to Rocky Top Grafix and used in a number of ways whether as a license plate design or jewelry.

Popular items during the holidays are stars and ornaments carrying loved one's photos permanently affixed. He started doing these about 1995, and has improved the quality. School youth like dog tags with school emblems, key chains with athlete's photos, jewelry and other items. Some of these cost as a little as $5. Jewelry with tiny photos and designs include lapel pins, earrings, and charm bracelets. Jeff learned the business by trying methods and teaching himself using the popular computer design tool, Corel.

Silk screen technique probably has been around hundreds if not thousands of years. Jeff demonstrated the eight-panel device that looks like a windmill on its side. Each panel is used to imprint a certain part of the design in a specific color. Most of the time it is used to do art/design on T-shirts but there was a pile of black sweat outfits with purple Edgemont Panther logos. He or Missy can do one T-shirt or hundreds. Five hundred is a large order, and during a year they can produce thousands at prices ranging from $6 to $12 depending on design and number of colors used.

Jeff held up a Jingle Bell Run T-shirt he prepared for Newport Health and Rehabilitation's annual 5K run and fundraiser for Relay for Life. Computer design, photo emulsions, various silk screens and plastisol ink produce sharp colorful images. I was surprised how quickly the ink is pushed by hand squeegee through the screen onto the shirt. This takes a lot of craftsmanship and handwork. Then in the front room where assistant Mark Buckner works, Jeff showed more modern devices. I recognized a large Epson printer like we used one time for tabloid size page proofs. But Jeff's printer is a dye sublimation printer. The printer's thin film-like material with photo or designs can be heat transferred onto almost any surface. He had examples of mugs, plaques, aluminum, glass, and hardboard done by this method. Mark was using a plotter to imprint vinyl sheet. You may know him as the son of Ruble and Violet Buckner of Ruble's Barbershop fame. Rocky Top Grafix also can do signs up to 42-inches wide on an HP printer. If you buy signs of this size, you pay by the square foot.

Sign size is only limited by the length and width of where you want to place or hang them. There was a three-by-twenty-foot vinyl banner that was placed on the cable crossing East Broadway between the Plain Talk and Lynn Allen's. I think Tim Grooms of Motel 6 had something to do with the sign to help direct tourist traffic detoured by the I-40 slide to businesses hurt by the near-vacant I-40. Jeff and Missy have done a lot of signage to boost local benefits such as Relay for Life, March of Dimes or the street festivals.

About three years ago, Jeff got into the trophy business and his first order was 500 trophies to be used for a car show. He got hooked up with NOPI Motor sports and did trophies for many national shows. Another thing you will see at the shop and find out about Jeff is his keen sense of humor. Above the counter are three signs related to the infamous cockfighting raids in the county that brought in federal agents. Some FBI agents thought these items were unique; Jeff sold more than a dozen. He produced a T-shirt with the cockfighting "priceless" theme and has sold these to folks as far away as California. A photo of the famous T-shirt appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel. Eventually, more than 1,000 were sold even Gov. Phil Bredesen got one, said Jeff.

Let me tell you a little more about Missy, whose family name is Farmer from a town not far northeast of Abington, Virginia-Marion. They met at West End Baptist Church and Got married Dec. 20, 2008. Jeff and Missy live in Carson Springs at a home formerly owned by the Dollar family. She has two children by a prior marriage: Mallory, a junior at CCHS, and Andrew. Likewise, Jeff has a son by his first marriage. Chuck Cody, born in 1986, teaches at Gallatin High School. I asked how a Virginia girl ended up in Newport, and she explained that she and her former husband moved here many years ago.

At 46, Jeff is the oldest member of the Rocky Top Grafix team and the youngest is Bella, four. She is a smart but tiny rat terrier that has been known to scoot her empty water bowl to Jeff or Missy for them to fill it. I saw Mallory at the shop but don't know if she has an interest in art and design. Missy has learned many of the print techniques and in addition does accounting and customer service. It's a good match, they argue at work and leave it there, said Jeff.

With many businesses shrinking and hurting because of the recently-ended recession, the Codys' business faired well. People always like sports and recreation and a lot of trophies, uniforms, and signs go to this interest area. Signs as part of marketing and advertising are basic and always in demand. It also doesn't hurt that the upcoming 2010 elections will bring a lot of new sign and button business because of candidates.

In plain talk the end of the year brings things we expect and other changes as unexpected as the turning of the weather.

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