Oasis in the Inner City

Herb Greenlee, Executive Director. Photo: Urban News

Staff Reports

Carver Park is located at the corner of Watauga and Market Streets in Johnson City, Tennessee. The Urban News recently had a chance to sit down and talk to the director of Carver Park, Herb Greenlee, a fit-looking, self-assured gentleman. As Mr. Greenlee offered a tour of the complex, his pride made apparent why he is its director. The facility’s mission is to promote self-reliance and a greater sense of community.

The 17-1/2-acre park is the site for the 16,000 sq. ft.-building, constructed after the original building flooded in 2003. It contains a Medical Tech library room connected to Quinlan Medical School; there visitors can enter symptoms online and receive a diagnosis from the doctors at the school.

The building also houses a kitchen, fitness center, computer lab, arts
and crafts room, game room, trophy room, and administrative offices.
The centerpiece, an absolutely beautiful gymnasium, is bathed in blue
and gold, the colors of the old Langston High School.

February events
at Carver Park

Saturday, February 13 – Black History Month Program, 6 to 8 p.m.
Saturday, February 20 – JCAC-USA Boxing at 6 p.m.
“Homework Helpers” After-school tutoring, Monday-Thursday, 3 to 5:30 p.m.
Computer Lab (by age groups),
Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Eastern Tennessee State University’s “Color My World” in the Health Library, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Members of the community enjoy the amenities of the Carver Park Community Center.
Photo: Urban News