News - Friday, January 23, 2015

Chancellor Pam Fleenor installs attorney Paul Hatcher of Duncan, Hatcher, Hixson & Fleenor as the 2015 president of the Chattanooga Bar Association during the Bar’s annual meeting Wednesday at Read House.

Hatcher hit the ground running, announcing several initiatives on which he and the Board will be working.

For six years, the commercial division of Keller Williams Realty on Manufacturers Boulevard coexisted with the residential group. They shared office space, used the same fax machine, and drank the same coffee. The residential side of the business was always growing, though, and in time, needed more elbow room. That meant two things: the commercial agents needed to buy their own coffeemaker and find a new place to do business.

In its ongoing effort to solidify Chattanooga as an ideal city for startup companies, the Enterprise Center this week announced the establishment of the Chattanooga Innovation District. Chattanooga’s will be the first innovation district established in a mid-sized city.

Cabela’s is now accepting online applications for approximately 140 full-time, part-time, and seasonal positions at its new Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., store.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for people who love the outdoors to work in the outdoor industry,” said Ellis Yarrell, general manager of the new store. “There are a variety of positions available, so we encourage everyone to get online and find an opportunity that interests them.”

On Jan. 15, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee celebrated the 225th birthday of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Tennessee by holding a reception in the Knoxville headquarters office. Early history of the office dates back to 1790.

On the morning of Nov. 26, 2014 (the day before Thanksgiving), fire raced through the home at 220 Houser Street. The three children living there - Rebecca, 10; Haley, 9; and Mark, 8 - escaped with minor injuries. Tragically, both of their parents, Candy and Randall Lockhart, did not get out. Despite heroic efforts by Chattanooga firefighters to remove them from the burning structure, both parents succumbed to severe injuries.

I enjoyed a double windfall Monday in the Levison Towers. Martin Luther King Day meant no mail and no court appearances. I had a trial scheduled this week that settled at the end of last week, which means there’s nothing on the calendar for today except trial preparation, and I’m not preparing. For my clients, the best part of settling is that their case is over and the uncertainty is resolved. For me, it’s the windfall of free time – pure and simple.

The Chattanooga Public Library is now offering qualified candidates the opportunity to earn an accredited high school diploma and credentialed career certificate through Career Online High School. This pilot program will allow adult learners to finish high school online while also receiving additional career training.

As you’ve no doubt noticed, your trips to the gas station have been a lot more pleasant these past several months. There’s not much doubt that low oil prices have been welcome to you as a driver. But when oil is cheap, is that good for you as an investor? 

The Company Lab (CO.LAB) is now seeking applications for its Spring 2015 Accelerator. The program, which surrounds high growth potential startups with mentors and resources to grow, will take place from Jan. 30 to April 30.

The deadline for submissions is Jan. 25. Candidates will be accepted into the program on a rolling basis. Prospective participants can apply for the accelerator at colab.co.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has unanimously upheld the murder conviction and life sentence of a man who shot his wife at a gas station in Chattanooga in 1994.

In March 1994, Edward Kendrick shot and killed his estranged wife, Lisa Kendrick, at the gas station where she worked. He fled the scene, threw the rifle out the car window, and was later arrested at the Chattanooga airport. A Chattanooga jury convicted him of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The Tennessee Supreme Court this week ruled that a successor judge who takes over a case from the judge that presided over the trial, may act as the “13th juror” in a case. In its ruling, the Court created a rebuttable presumption, which means that it is assumed the judge can act as a 13th juror unless evidence is presented that contradicts that assumption.

Harold Crye, president of Crye-Leike, congratulates Realtor Jack Webb for being the company’s top Chattanooga area producer in 2014.

Webb operates out of Crye-Leike’s downtown Chattanooga office. Webb also received the 2015 Circle of Excellence Award, given to individuals within the company who have obtained the highest level of professional development.

It has been another recovery year in 2014 but not the same as 2013. With a broad pattern of rising prices and a stable to improving inventory, the market has shifted from being drastically undersupplied to approaching equilibrium. Price gains are still positive but less robust than last year.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area recently elected retired manufacturing executive Don McDowell and nonprofit veteran Dave Worland to its board of directors.

McDowell worked for over 30 years at Philip Morris Companies. A significant portion of his career was in Asia and Europe, where he progressed from managing factory construction projects to managing overall manufacturing operations in a number of different countries. Prior to retiring from Phillip Morris in 2010, McDowell was the general Manager of the company’s Holland Division. McDowell earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and Master of Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech. He is a licensed professional engineer.

When Larry Skelf, owner of Stuff It Upholstery, received a call from someone claiming to be with the FYI Network show “Tiny House Nation,” he treated it like a prank call from yet another telemarketer. He says he almost missed a rare opportunity.

green|spaces this week announced the launch of Empower Chattanooga, a new strategy to save energy. The first phase of this program will be implemented in Highland Park, East Chattanooga, and East Lake, which were selected with the help of partner organizations analyzing a range of metrics including energy use.

The Chattanooga Housing Authority this week announced it will open its Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list for the first time since 2010 in an effort to provide access to affordable housing to very low-income families, individuals with disabilities and elderly residents of Hamilton County.

As the credits rolled at the end of “American Sniper,” no one in the packed theater in which I was sitting budged. Director Clint Eastwood used that portion of the film to show pictures of the real Chris Kyle and video of his funeral. I’m sure we were all feeling the same thing: to get up and leave would be disrespectful of the man who saved the lives of many American soldiers.

A Chattanooga butcher has proven he’s a cut above the competition. After competing against 13 butchers in Gatlinburg recently, Jason Allen advanced to the quarter-finals of a National Meat Cutting Challenge, presented by A.1.

Jason will compete in late February in Orlando. If he wins, he’ll advance to the semi-finals round.

I’m fortunate to count Lee Martin, assistant director of Vanderbilt University’s English Language Center, as a weekly reader. Most recently, he writes about my having written, in a recent column, “No different than watching reruns on regular TV, right?

On Saturday, Feb. 7, from 2 to 6 p.m. Mellow Mushroom Chattanooga and Dodge City Ski will transform downtown Chattanooga from Aquarium Way to 3rd Street into a winter wonderland for the third installment of their annual event known as Chattanooga Rail Jam.

Well, with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day gone for another year, (or at least 10 more months), most of the partying is over. Except for a few holidays, Easter and July 4th, the heavy duty stuff is gone for a while. However, if you find yourself still longing for a reason to have yet another party, I’ve found a solution to your problem. Have a food party! Did you know there’s a food honored just about every day of the year? The answer to your dilemma is to celebrate the day based on the national food holiday.

One of the things (well, two) I enjoy on Facebook are “Remembering Little Rock” and “Remembering North Little Rock.” But the other day, I was in one of my un-electronic moods, and found myself looking through an old oak trunk of mom’s in which she kept mementos – not all of them, but some of them. Mom was a keeper, almost an organized hoarder, you might say, until her last few years, when organization was more difficult.

It was just 50 years ago this week that I was born in Great Falls, Mont. I was born early in the morning hours in the middle of a blizzard. My recollection of the event is vague and can mostly be attributed to stories I’ve heard over the years. This has been a tough birthday for me. It’s a birthday I’ve felt for at least two years, which is to say I’ve thought of myself as one half century old for that long. I have many friends who I went to high school with that have already hit this milestone and seem to be dealing with it much better than I.

During my days of “full employment,” I thought once I retired, stress would be something I’d only feel during selecting a different choice on the buffet at the pizza place. I’ve found that to not be the case, as I’ve now become a granddaddy once again. Waiting at the hospital for another little Read boy to make his appearance does put stress on my older way of viewing things.

In a previous article I mentioned I had the privilege to renovate a client’s bathroom last year that was stuck in an ‘80s time-warp. I was more than ecstatic when I was asked to do this project even though I knew it would be extensive because of the work involved. I found out, however, it was much more work than I could of ever imagined.

Saturday, January 23, 1915

The County High School board at its first meeting of the year accepted the resignation of A.W. Shofner, who was serving as Farm Demonstrator in Hamilton County.

Sponsors chosen for the Chattanooga Tigers vs. Nashville Ramblers game at the Armory tonight are Misses Maude and Josephine Whiteside and Katherine Henderson for the Tigers, and Misses Nell Blink and Frances Sholar for the Ramblers. Tiger team is composed of McCollum, Cornelius, Mahoney, Gambill, Brockhouse, and King.

Saturday, January 23, 2015

At a meeting of the board of directors of Chattanooga Goodwill Industries, J.P. Brown, Jr., assumed the presidency for 1965. Maj. Richard C. Andrews is executive director.

Sunday, Jan. 24

Echkerd’s Drugs has announced a radical remodeling program for their new location, 710-712 Market Street, which they will occupy in April. Harry L. Weddle, general manager, said the new location will contain some 24,000 square feet of floor space, four times the space of their present location at 732 Market St.

1. The 12th Amendment of the Constitution was implemented after the election of 1800. Why? Jefferson and Burr had the same number of electoral votes as President; Adams and Jefferson had the same number of electoral votes as President; Burr, Jefferson, and Adams had the same number of electoral votes for President; Everyone turned down the vice presidency.

Fill in the blanks in the quote using the following words:

matter, become, silent, day 

begin, end, things, lives

“Our _____ _____ to _____ the _____ we _____ _____ about the _____ that _____”

Pancake Breakfast

Saturday, Jan. 24

The Humane Educational Society will host a pancake breakfast at Taconooga on Saturday, Jan. 24. The deliciousness begins at 7 a.m. for early birds and goes until 10 a.m. for sleepy heads. Make advance reservations by calling (423) 624-5302 ext. 222 or emailing hesdevelopment@comcast.net. Walk-ins and to go orders will be welcome.