Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, in February of 2016, I spoke on this floor in tribute to Dean Stone shortly after he retired from his…
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Utah for yielding me this time.
Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, in February of 2016, I spoke on this floor in tribute to Dean Stone shortly after he retired from his full-time position as editor of The Daily Times newspaper in Maryville, Tennessee.
Dean Stone worked for The Daily Times for an astounding 67 years, serving as sports editor; managing editor; and then starting in 1988, until 2016, as the top editor.
He was always very proud that he gave our great Senator Lamar Alexander one of his first jobs when Senator Alexander was in high school in Maryville.
Dean Stone was the standard of journalistic fairness and integrity in my district and a towering figure in east Tennessee.
Unfortunately, he was unable to enjoy a long retirement, as he passed away several months later at the age of 92.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of a bill that I have introduced to name a very unique 800-foot-long bridge on the Foothills Parkway in his honor.
This bill is a fitting tribute to Dean Stone because his story and that of the Foothills Parkway will be forever linked in history.
First authorized by Congress in 1944, the Foothills Parkway was intended to be the Tennessee companion to the Blue Ridge Parkway, which was built to link the Great Smoky Mountains National Park with the Shenandoah National Park.
Construction on the Foothills Parkway did not begin, however, until 1960; and in the early decades, a few detached sections of the highway were completed.
Despite this progress in the early years, construction of the 16-mile stretch between Walland and Wears Valley, Tennessee, became plagued with problems. A 1.5 mile section in the middle of this segment, which eventually became known as the ``Missing Link,'' featured rugged terrain that was extremely difficult to build upon.
Construction was further complicated by the discovery of minerals in the soil that could cause damage to the environment.
Despite these complications, my staff and I worked hard to keep the project alive. In my early years in Congress, we obtained a $3 million appropriation to resurface and maintain existing sections of this parkway.
I was pleased that I was able to include $8.6 million in the Federal highway legislation, T-21, which was signed into law in 1998, and then the 2005 highway bill contained another $7.5 billion to continue this project.
In 2016, the Department of Transportation awarded $10 million toward the completion of the parkway, and the State of Tennessee committed to providing an additional $15 million match to fund the final paving of this project. During these years, Dean Stone was a key ally in this process. It was then that the histories of the parkway and Dean Stone became permanently linked.
Dean Stone didn't just write in support of the Foothills Parkway. As chairman of the Great Smoky Mountains Park Commission and as president of the Foothills Parkway Association, Dean worked hard to convince people of the need to complete the missing link. Within the next year, the missing link will be no more, and that section of the parkway will finally be open to the public. Dean Stone was probably the indispensable man in getting this section of the road completed.
The Daily Times has stated that one main task remains. What is still needed, according to The Daily Times, is ``proper acknowledgment of the Blount Countian who persisted over the years in encouraging, insisting, cajoling, and convincing the powers that be the `missing link' could be, should be, and would be connected.''
My bill, H.R. 3469, would name the longest bridge in the missing link section of the Foothills Parkway as the Dean Stone Bridge. This particular bridge is an 800-foot engineering marvel similar to the famous Linn Cove Viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway. New technological advances have allowed the construction of a bridge that floats around the edge of the mountain rather than tearing into it.
There is no doubt that the elegant curves of this bridge will be the iconic feature of the Foothills Parkway. Naming it after Dean Stone is a fitting tribute for all that he did for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and for this region. In fact, it is fair to say that no one individual did more for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park over the years--through many, many years--in promoting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in many different ways.
I have a beautiful photograph that Dean Stone took of the Cades Cove area of the Smoky Mountains in my office here in Washington even today. My only regret is that Dean Stone did not live long enough to see the completion of the missing link, but I take heart in knowing that soon millions of people will be able to benefit from the fruits of his labors as they drive over the Dean Stone Bridge and see the glories of the Great Smoky Mountains.
