A man convicted of three separate armed robberies was sentenced to 16 years in a state prison on Wednesday in Carter County Criminal Court.

James Tennessee Vance, 21, had been found guilty by a Carter County jury last year for two armed robberies of the Quick Stop Market in Elizabethton on Thanksgiving week in 2009. He had also been found guilty of a Johnson City robbery which took place during the same time period.

Judge Robert Cupp sentenced him to two consecutive terms of eight years for two of the robberies, which adds to a 16-year prison sentence. He was sentenced to another eight years for a third robbery, but it will run concurrently, or at the same time, as the other two sentences.

For more information on the case see a full report in Thursday’s Elizabethton STAR.

As part of its Volunteer Blue Program, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Tennessee presented a $10,000 check to Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park in Elizabethton on Wednesday afternoon.

In a 2 p.m. ceremony at the park’s Visitors Center, Blue Cross/Blue Shield representative Ron Trammel, manager of health promotion and education for the insurance company, presented the $10,000 check to Park Manager Jennifer Bauer.

For the full story, see Thursday’s print edition of the Elizabethton STAR and starhq.com.

A circuit court judge said Tuesday that “somebody has the right to sue” in the “tree-cutting” case filed by the Carter at Main LLC against the Carter County government.

Judge Thomas Seeley made the statement yesterday during a hearing in which the county had sought to have the case dismissed. Rather than making a decision in the case, Seeley granted the Carter at Main a 30-day extension.

During the hearing, Earl Hendry was introduced as a new attorney for the Carter at Main. Seeley permitted Hendry to join the plaintiff’s counsel, which includes John B. McKinnon.

Hendry asked Seeley if he could have 30 days to go over the facts. “There’s all kinds of motions going back and forth and I really would like to have time to go into it,” Hendry said.

Hendry said he had recently been contacted regarding the case and has agreed to assist Linda Whitehead, who owns the Carter at Main property.

In granting the 30-day extension, Judge Seeley said the Carter at Main has the right to amend its complaint. He questioned who should be the plaintiff in the complaint, the Carter at Main or Whitehead.

In addition, Seeley said he does not know whether the case involves trespassing or inverse condemnation. The term inverse condemnation is used when the government takes private property but fails to pay proper compensation, which is required by the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“But in candor, somebody has the right to sue in this case,” Seeley said.

The Carter at Main filed the original complaint on May 24, 2011 and is seeking $50,000 from the county. The complaint claims that in June of 2010, the county “wrongfully, unlawfully and without condemnation,” went on the Carter at Main property and “cut, cleared and destroyed” most of the trees, shrubs, hedges and undergrowth without permission from Whitehead.

As a result of the incident, Whitehead said her business has been harmed by the loss of privacy, beauty and increased noise from the courthouse.

Attorney Jeffrey M. Ward, representing Carter County, filed a motion for dismissal on Dec. 29 on the grounds that the Carter at Main had been administratively dissolved since 2008; therefore the county believes it has no legal right to file a lawsuit.

The Carter at Main responded admitting that it had been dissolved, but stated it had the right to collect a debt, including the allegations in the complaint against Carter County.

McKinnon explained his response to the judge during the hearing. In his written response, filed last week, McKinnon stated, “The Tennessee Limited Liability Company Act of 1994 allows the continued existence of the LLC for the purpose of that business necessary to wind up its business and affairs.”

In other words, Carter at Main claims that even though it is no longer in business it has the right to collect damages from the county because of state statute which allows a dissolved LLC to collect “all known debts…”

It was noted yesterday that the Carter at Main LLC was the legal owner of the E. Elk Avenue property at the time it claims the county cut the trees on the property line.

Mapes Piano String Company of Elizabethton is celebrating its 100th anniversary, having been established in 1912 in New York City. The company opened the Elizabethton wire plant in 1950, and moved the entire operation here from New York in 1972.

Pictured are employees of the plant (Photo by Brandon Hicks).

Row 1- Jean Parlier, Elsa Benitez, Martha Crain, Sandra Carroll, Jackie Goodwin, Kathy Cloyd, Judith Morton, Jean Lydick, Charlene Kane, Debbie Sams and Tammy Fair.

Row 2- Ysebilia Hurt, Joeaphnie Estra, Lois Hicks, Regina Harris, Teresa Privette, Terri Perez, Nancy Bennett and Larry Blankenship.

Row 3)-Bill Schaff, Frank Schaff, Howard Grindstaff, Bob Schaff, Joe Butler, Jerry Pierce, James Glover, Bill May, Eric Wright, Bobby Bowling, Dan Fragle, Bobby Blevins, Larry Folkner, Lonnie Hall, Mike Peters, Jeremy Pierce and Mark Schaff.

Row 4- Harmon Glover, Charlie Glover, Martin Pierce, Wendell Williams, Joey Nave, Roger Grindstaff, Glenn Grindstaff, Dean Grindstaff, Jeff Grindstaff, Charlie Harris, Don Shaffer, Jack Kyte, James Nave. Lynn Pierce, Lester Williams, Brian Pierce, Carl Moore and Paul Nelson.

Row 5- Scott Hardin, Charlie Jones, Randy Wilson, Dennis Cornett and Randy McKeehan.

Row 6- Greg Williams, Nat Watson, George Millard, Jesse Patrick Marceleno, Steven Wilson, Jason Shipley, Steve Cannon, Bert Carden, Tim Caren, Kenneth Perry, Bud Carden, Heath Baker, Jerry White, Adam Taylor, Andy Wilson, Tim Lowe, Bryon Yontz and Mickey Rambo.

Row 7- Jeff Graybeal, John Calhoun, Tony Hughes, Keith Peters, Jamie Mann, Elmer Rehart, Bill Baertels, Bob Harris, Charlie Slagle, Charlie Clawson, Mark Roach, Bucky Harris, Mickey Lash and Brian Arnold.

Row 8- Dwayne Williams, Westley Williams, Odell Oliver, Steve Oliver, Verl Kaylor, Landon Grindstaff, Billy Stout, Cliff Kyte, Rondall Waldrop, Jeff Honeycutt, John Russell, Brandon Jaynes, Michael Akers, Steven Cornett and Jimmy Shell.

An early morning explosion on Tuesday at the Elizabethton Municipal Garage has left one man in serious condition.

Photo by Brandon Hicks

Members of the Elizabethton Fire Department, Elizabethton Police Department, Carter County Rescue Squad and Carter County Emergency Management Agency were called to 729 S. Sycamore Street in Elizabethton around 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Fire Chief Barry Carrier said a man was cutting a 55-gallon barrel drum when an explosion occurred. The explosion caused the man to suffer head injuries. He was taken by ambulance to the Johnson City Medical Center.

More than an hour after the explosion, a second individual was taken to a local hospital. Carrier said the man had been knocked down, but had no physical injuries. He was complaining of a headache and was taken to the emergency room to be checked, Carrier said.

Later in the day, officials at Mountain States Health Alliance said Bobby Lilly, who was cutting the barrel, was in serious condition at the Medical Center. Officials could not describe his injuries.

Carrier said he had called investigators from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), along with bomb and arson investigators from the state’s division of fire prevention.

The explosion caused slight damage to the garage’s roof and a light fixture. Carrier said only a portion of the garage had been affected, so employees had access to the remaining section of the structure.

“They have a pretty good safety record,” Carrier said regarding the city garage. The supervisor at the garage is on a local safety board.

Mapes Piano String Company, one of Elizabethton’s oldest and most stable industries, is like a polished diamond. It truly stands out from the crowd in the production of musical strings.

Photo by Doug Thompson - This aerial photo shows the four city blocks on which Mapes Piano String Company’s manufacturing buildings are located. The picture is made looking south from Broad Street. Pictured at left is the East section, which includes the old East Tennesse Chair Factory. In the center is the office and manufacturing complex, and on D Street is the South section, which includes the old Winn-Dixie store and Jellico Grocery complex. At right (long blue building) is the old Paty complex, which is part of the Mapes company.

Although Mapes’ 200,000-square-foot complex covers four city blocks, only two street signs — Wire Mill Road and Mapes Drive — denote its industrial site in downtown Elizabethton. That’s all right with company president Bill Schaff, who explained, “We know our customers and our customers know who and where we are.”

Mapes, which is currently marking its 100th anniversary, got its start in 1912 with Steven Mapes, a prominent piano string manufacturer in New York City. Six years later the company was purchased by John Adam Schaff, great-grandfather of the present Mapes owners. During its 100 years the company has upheld a tradition of quality. It’s a tradition that has been passed down through five generations of family and is being carried forward by present family members Bill Schaff, his two brothers, Frank and Bob, and Bill’s three children, Mark, Regina and Stephanie.

Although musical component wire can be bought anywhere in the world, Schaff takes pride in producing an American-made product. “We get calls almost every week wanting us to out source our operation or move it completely to somewhere like Mexico, Indonesia or some other place overseas, but we intend to stay right here in Elizabethton and employ local people. Our employees have a good work ethic, are loyal and have an accumulative 2,000 plus years of experience.”

Pictured is the original Mapes Piano String building located on Pine Street. The company, which was founded in 1912, opened an Elizabethton plant in 1950.

When the Mapes company began production, most American pianos were being built in New York, the center of the entertainment industry. However, when George William Schaff Jr. took the helm of the Mapes company, he decided to build a better source of piano core wire that wasn’t available on the market at that time. The Mapes Company was one of the first wire companies to produce piano string wire with a special heat treating process. Gold wire has become “the” gold standard in piano strings. Steinway, the noted world standard maker of pianos, uses piano string wire produced by Mapes.

World War II had a great effect on the company’s production. Due to a shortage of materials, Mapes piano strings for a time were wound with aluminum instead of copper. It was also during World War II at the height of the conflict that the company converted its plant to the production of strand and splice aircraft cable.

William George Schaff Jr. took over the company business in the early 1950s and decided to move the operation out of New York City. He and his uncle, Joe Miller, were driving around Northeast Tennessee looking for a possible relocation site where they could be nearer to major customers. They also wanted to relocate in an area which offered the lowest electric rates in the nation. They almost chose Mountain City, but the railroad in Elizabethton was the deciding factor.

The Elizabethton operation began in 1950 in a building on Pine Street. The first employee was a worker from a local roofing company, who was on top of the Pine Street building repairing the roof. Schaff gave him a job on the spot.

Mrs. Jane Schaff, mother of the present-day owners, Bill, Bob and Frank Schaff, for many years was active in the Mapes Piano String Company, working along side her husband and sons.

While sourcing wire-drawing equipment from Europe and high quality rods from Sweden, Schaff began the task of training its Tennessee workforce in a largely unfamiliar discipline. The workers learned quickly and well, and by the mid-1950s, the company was producing piano strings from the nation’s finest wire. The company became so well known for its strings that in 1972, the New York operation was closed and merged with the Elizabethton plant.

A few years later Mapes began using the Elizabethton factory’s improved production capacity to manufacture high-carbon steel wire for mechanical spring makers. These spring makers are used in automotive, home construction, and music industries. They are also used by defense industries in grenade pins, machine guns, mortars, and missile guidance systems. Mapes mechanical spring wire has even been used in space shuttles and lunar modules! Spring wire manufacture has grown to represent over 50 percent of Mapes’ total sales.

Not only does Mapes produce piano strings and piano wire, but it is also a manufacturers of guitar strings. Its guitar string wire is sold to virtually all companies which make guitars. In the 1960s the company began producing core wire for guitar, mandolin and banjo strings. In 1992 the company upped its guitar string ante, becoming a major player in the production of guitar wrap wire.

The company produces a variety of guitar string types including round and hexagonal guitar core wire in both tin-coated and its signature International Gold brand as well as guitar wrap wire in varieties including nickel-plated steel, stainless steel, phosphor bronze, 80/20 brass, pure nickel and silver-plated copper. Mapes works closely with many of the manufacturers to establish unique specs and nuances not only in the makeup of their music wire, but in the way their strings are wound and produced.

Making the “musical” wire is a very complex business, requiring both machinery and strong, steady human hands. “Many of our employees have been doing this for years. They are very skilled at what they do,” said Bill.

At the Mapes wire mill, three furnaces are used to heat treat copper and steel rods. In some cases temperatures exceeding 1,900 degrees Fahrenheit are required. Once tempered, the rods are transported to precision drawing machines where each rod may be drawn up to 30 times to achieve the prescribed dimensions and structural characteristics. The process begins with 5/16-inch steel and copper rods, of which the precise controlled chemical makeup is produced exclusively for Mapes.

Newly produced wire is tested for ductility, tensile strength uniformity and chemical composition. One computer system tests wire at a rate of up to 4,000 samples a minute, analyzing and comparing production line stock with company and client specifications.

Throughout the four generations of Schaff family string makers, Mapes has seen a great deal of change with respect to the manufacturing of strings. Through modern technology they have been able to upgrade their string winding equipment to be better and more efficient.

The art of making piano strings is a craft of skilled laborers. “We have machines that will make loops and cut strings to length and do all that for us automatically and they’re good, but some of it is a handcraft and we want to keep it that way. We make the loops by hand and wind the copper by hand,” Bill explained. Each piano string is wound by a craftsman, usually with over 20 years of experience.

“Quality” sets Mapes apart from it competitors. Everyone at Mapes is quality oriented. Apprentices are trained by veterans who have worked at the company up to 45 years. In some cases, today’s apprentices are the children or even grandchildren of the veterans training them. “It is about being able to make an outstanding product. We make all of our own wire, and we control all of our processes here. Our workforce is invaluable. From the men who run the furnaces and wind the wire, there is an understanding, expertise and passion that have been passed down through the years. As one man retires, another, often a relative or a friend, takes his place,” Bill said. The company presently has over 125 employees.

Mapes’ century in business has resulted in the development of unique capabilities that translate into unparalleled customer service. For example, the company has the ability to warehouse client orders facilitating piano makers’ just-in-time manufacturing needs. In addition, the Mapes Piano String Repair Department is one of the only facilities in the world capable of creating custom piano strings for virtually any piano made over the past 200 years.

The Mapes Piano String Company makes wire for some of the world’s finest pianos.

An integral part of the more recent history of Mapes has been Mrs. Jane Schaff. Until recently, Mrs. Schaff had worked first, alongside her husband and then her three sons, Bill, Bob and Frank, in the business. Now 97 years old, Mrs. Schaff, impaired by a stroke, resides in a nursing home. She had remained active in the company well into her nineties. The next generation poised to continue the quality of Mapes includes Regina Schaff Harris, corporate secretary; Stephanie S. Schaff, treasurer, and production manager Mark T. Schaff.

In an article in the February issue of “The Music Trades” recognizing Mapes’ 100 years in business, Bill stated, “The hallmark of Mapes’ past success as well as its prospects for the future are 100 years of knowledge, craftsmanship, and love wire — a never ending quest to make ‘strings that ring’ just a little truer and brighter every single year.”

“Liberty! The Saga of Sycamore Shoals,” Tennessee’s Official Outdoor Drama, will host 34th year of performances in the Fort Watauga amphitheater at Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area the last three weekends in July

That alone is a great reason to celebrate, but there is more — 2012 also marks the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the Tennessee State Park system, making this year especially exciting!

“Liberty!” will be performed Thursday through Saturday, July 12 – 14; 19 – 21; and 26 – 28. Each show begins at 7:30 p.m.

Audition for speaking parts will be held on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 5 p.m. in the theater of Sycamore Shoals State Park. When you arrive, you will be given a short section of last year’s script to read for your audition, so you won’t need to worry about preparing something in advance.

Sign-ups will also be taken for cast members interested in participating in non-speaking roles. If you do not have the appropriate clothing, Sycamore Shoals will loan it to you for the month of July!

“Liberty!” shares the incredible stories of the events that took place at Sycamore Shoals, during the late 18th century, as settlers began moving into this area and beginning new lives. Throughout the intriguing scenes in the drama, our guests have the opportunity to not only discover events of historic importance, but also experience the traditions of the times.

JOHNSON CITY — East Tennessee State University’s George L. Carter Railroad Museum will hold its February Heritage Day on Saturday, Feb. 25, when the museum will present “Mixed Train Daily: Short Lines and Industrial Railroading.”

The event recognizes the small- and medium-sized rail operations that reached into the corners of America for commerce or for a specific industry. A “mixed train” combined freight and passenger service in a single unit, usually on a daily basis or at least on a regular schedule. The advent of better roads and personal automobile ownership after World War II brought an end to many such trains.

Geoff Stunkard, the coordinator of the museum’s Heritage Days program, notes, “Many people feel a sense of local pride in short line railroads, since they were considered ‘our train.’ We hope to give visitors an impression of the way these railroads operated.

In addition to a representation of mixed operations on the museum’s 24×44 HO scale layout, there will be demonstrations of the unique logging steam engines sometimes called upon when tracks had severe curvature or gradients. A photo display will show the Buffalo Creek & Gauley, a West Virginia-based steam logging and mining operation that ran until 1963.

The Carter Railroad Museum is open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. The museum can be identified by a flashing railroad crossing signal over the back entrance to the Campus Center Building. Visitors should enter ETSU’s campus from State of Franklin Road onto John Robert Bell Drive and turn left onto Ross Drive.

The museum includes a children’s activity room, a growing research library, a National Railway Historical Society chapter, docent opportunities and an oral history archive being established as part of the museum’s programs. Information can be found online at http://johnsonsdepot.com/glcarter/cartermuseum.htm.

The Mountain Empire Model Railroaders (MEMRR) club works in conjunction with the museum to demonstrate and maintain the model layouts, museum exhibits and other projects. Visit www.memrr.org to learn more about the group.

Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site in Johnson City will hold its 10th annual Making Maple Syrup Day from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25.

If you have ever wondered how maple syrup gets from the tree to your table, this is your chance for enlightenment. Come to Tipton-Haynes to learn about the history, lore and method of making maple syrup. The sap will be extracted from the many maple trees that are located on the grounds of the site by volunteer Oscar Wagner. After collecting the sap, he will boil down the sap over a wood fired furnace until it becomes rich maple syrup. Did you know that it takes 10 gallons of sap to make a quart of syrup?

Bring the whole family and help Oscar with the gathering and boiling of the sap. If you would like to join or renew your membership for 2012, Tipton-Haynes will be holding a free pancake breakfast from 8:30 until 10 a.m. Breakfast for non-members is $4 for adults and $2 for 12 and under. Donations to support this program would be appreciated.

Tipton-Haynes State Historic Site is located in South Johnson City at 2620 South Roan St. For additional information, call 926-3631.

GATLINBURG (AP) — The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is looking for roving informational volunteers.

People willing to walk the River Trail, Mountain Farm Museum and the fields along Newfound Gap Road in the Oconaluftee section of the park on the North Carolina side would be asked to volunteer for one four-hour or eight-hour shift per week. They would answer visitor questions about park history and natural features.

Volunteers are also needed for the Clingman’s Dome visitor contact station, working the information desk and roving the short trail to the observation tower.

There are also volunteer posts available for the Oconaluftee Visitor Center near Cherokee.

The opportunities run spring through fall and attendance at training sessions is required.

Information is available from volunteer coordinator Florie Takaki, at (828) 497-1906.