News - Friday, January 24, 2014

A few short years ago, Eliza Epps thought attorneys were boring, and had no desire to be one. Now she’s an associate at Olsen Law Firm, which counsels clients on immigration matters. The degree to which Epps enjoys her work would be even more surprising to her younger self: Despite her teenage reservations, she loves it.

The Tennessee Bar Association has named Charles W. “Buz” Dooley of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan the Harris Gilbert Pro Bono Volunteer of the Year. The Award recognizes significant pro bono work by a private attorney.

Dooley was nominated by Charles McDaniel, pro bono director for Legal Aid of East Tennessee’s Southern Region. In submitting the nomination, McDaniel wrote, “Buz Dooley is exponentially the most active pro bono attorney in Chattanooga, both in terms of time donated and clients served.” Dooley volunteers every Wednesday morning, meeting with clients, offering advice, and often contacting other attorneys, enlisting their expertise to further assist LAET clients.  He serves almost 200 clients a year, “an unmatched level of dedication to pro bono,” according to McDaniel.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam last week announced legislation to reduce the growing problem of methamphetamine production in Tennessee. The goal of the Tennessee Anti-Meth Production (TAMP) Act is to limit access to pseudoephedrine or ephedrine products to those who are using it illegally while not overburdening law-abiding Tennesseans who need temporary cold and sinus relief.

The other day, I was sitting around talking to an old friend. The topic of conversation jumped around for a while, and then my friend got a serious look on his face. He paused for a moment and then said, “I have a theory.” He began to explain it to me. It went something like this:

The American Lung Association in Tennessee is asking the community to nominate outstanding young women in the area for the 2014 Young Women of Distinction award.

The Young Woman of Distinction is a high school senior who sets herself apart as an individual outstanding in leadership, academics, and character. She serves the Chattanooga area with honor, integrity, enthusiasm, generosity, compassion, a willingness to take risks and a personal dedication to goal achievement.

Have you ever wanted to learn more about how the Chattanooga Police Department works?  To learn more about what the men and women, who patrol and protect our city, do on a daily basis?  If so, now’s your chance.  The Chattanooga Police Department’s Office of Community Outreach is once again holding its Citizens’ Police Academy beginning March 6, 2014.  This is an eight week course that gives citizens a glimpse into how the local police department does its job.  Instructors from the department teach each class one night a week, covering a variety of topics including narcotics, homicide investigation, patrol, and the SWAT team. To sign up for the Chattanooga Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy, contact Sgt. Wayne Jefferson at 643-5090 or email him at jefferson_wa@chattanooga.gov. Forty seats are available for the next class. Applications must be returned to the office of community outreach no later than Tuesday, Feb. 25.

It’s three a.m. in the morning, and groggy with sleep, you get up from bed, grab your pillow, and clumsily make your way to the spare bedroom or couch. Sound familiar?

Unfortunately, for millions of people, this is a nightly routine. Why? You share a bedroom with a snorer. Many jokes are made about snoring; however, having to sleep beside a snorer is no laughing matter! 

I had a fender bender late last year. So, I sentenced myself to attend one of the six-hour defensive driving classes that I make teenagers go to as part of first-offender probation. I’m a traffic judge, you know.

I saunter into the classroom on a cold January morning. I wait in line with my hat pulled over my forehead. The guy at the desk takes my check and asks, “What court sentenced you?”

American Bar Association President James Silkenat sent letters to leaders of the House and Senate committees with tax oversight to warn that proposed changes to allowed accounting methods would overburden many law firms and other types of professional service businesses throughout the country.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, but what to do when presenting two readings of it in January after days of bone-chilling freezes? Re-title it “A Midwinter Night’s Dream,” of course.

It was 2 a.m. Thursday morning, and I was wide awake. Give me a break.

I finally got up at 3. KM followed about ten minutes later, after the fire was lit. I made the coffee, and said hello to the ants next to the pot. The early morning was bright as I gathered some firewood, with the high clouds lit by the full moon. 

“Salty Dog.” “Salt Pork.” “Take it with a grain of salt.” “Salt of the earth.” “Have something hung up and salted.” “Salt and Peppa...” (Okay, ignore the last one.)

Salt has always been an important staple in life. It’s more than just a seasoning for our food. This past Sunday, our pastor referred to salt in his sermon. In Matthew 5:13, the Bible says, “We are the salt of the earth.” As he pointed out in his sermon, why salt? I’ll come back to this question later.

Crye-Leike on Tuesday, January 21 at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club kicked off 2014 with its annual business meeting and awards presentation for the Greater Chattanooga area. Crye-Leike Co-founder and CEO Harold Crye was in attendance. Crye-Leike in 2013 reached $5.2 billion in sales, which was 16 percent higher than 2012 sales figures. The company’s sales volume increased by $700 million last year. Pictured: Harold Crye with the Dixon Team, which is based out of the company’s Ooltewah office. The Dixon team, headed by Wendy Dixon, was the company’s top producing team in the Greater Chattanooga area, with $20,509,923 in sales. From L-R: Deana Luedtke, Stephanie Arnold, Crye, Wendy Dixon, and Herby Dixon. More photos on pages 23 and 24. (David Laprad)

In 2011, the first of some 78 million baby boomers began retirement. By the year 2031, the last year of the boomer generation will reach their full retirement age (67). Many will consider moving to a less costly, low-tax state in an effort to reduce their living expenses. However, more than half of those on the verge of retirement – 55 to 64 year olds – are still carrying mortgage debt, and some households will carry it into retirement for many years to come. How will this affect their lifetime wealth?

1. Which of these is NOT a scale for measuring earthquakes? Anatolia Rift Scale; Richter Scale; Mercalli Intensity Scale; Rossi-Forel scale.

2. What is the name for a minor quake that occurs before the main earthquake? Foreshock; pre-shock; aftershock; tremor.

Networking is building relationships, getting the word out about what you do, and looking for ways to contribute to others. In the process, you’ll create a pool of contacts from which you can draw clients, referrals, resources, ideas, and information.

There’s a goof in “Devil’s Due” so obvious, I can’t believe the writer and two directors didn’t realize what they’d done. I have to think they were trying to see if they could slip it past audiences. Bear with me as I work my way to it.

Saturday, January 24

Leopold Chambliss was host of a dinner party Friday night at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sam Chambliss. His guests were Misses Mary Bertha Allison, Josephine Turner, Martha Davenport, and Dorothy Trotter, and Messrs. Leslie Rawlings, Robert Jones, Alex Steward, Arch Willingham, and Robert Purse.

Saturday, January 25

Already, 22 have made tentative reservations to make the trip to New York area Feb. 2-6 to seek new industries for Chattanooga, Seth W. Sizer, trip chairman, announced. Warren J. Hardy, general chairman of the Industrial Committee of 100 of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, is the sponsor of the trip.