News - Friday, October 11, 2013

Ryan Hoss wanted to play professional baseball. But a phone call ended that dream. So he became a lawyer instead.

Hoss grew up in East Brainerd and attended McCallie, where he played baseball and football until he graduated in 1993. He continued to play baseball in college at Denison University in Ohio, where he double majored in history and creative writing.

The Chattanooga Fire Department Monday held its annual Fire Prevention Week ceremonies at the Fire Training Center and at the Fireman’s Fountain. Fire Chief Lamar Flint and Fire Marshal Beau Matlock kicked off the observance, which marked a series of public education events at area schools to teach children about fire safety. Rick Carlson with the Chattanooga Hamilton Place Rotary Club announced that Captain Dean Rogers and Senior Firefighter Kyle Duggan are this year’s Firefighters of the Year. Both men were involved in the deadly house blaze at 2014 Rawlings Street on April 1, 2013. Captain Rogers and Senior Firefighter Duggan forced their way into the burning home, and despite extreme risk to their own safety, searched for and found two children. One of the children died from injuries sustained in the fire, but the other survived, thanks to the efforts of these two firefighters. Pictured: At the Firefighter’s Memorial Fountain, located next to the county courthouse, Fire Marshal Beau Matlock and Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke led a ceremony recognizing firefighters who have passed away over the past year. During this brief ceremony, the fire department’s honor guard placed a wreath at the Firefighter’s Memorial. Michael Whinery provided bagpipe music. (Photo by Bruce Garner)

The Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute (CWLI) will welcome three time Emmy Award winner Connie Chung as the keynote speaker for IMPACT, CWLI’s 9th annual leadership dinner. This event will take place on Thursday, February 27, 2014, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

It may be nothing more than a sign of my advancing age, but I have spent a lot of time over the last three months thinking that I needed a new chair at home. I have thought about going shopping for such a chair many times but have never once done more than look at advertisements in the Sunday paper. I don’t know if I have been too busy, too lazy, or unsure of what kind of chair I wanted.

How do you handle your anger? Bottle it up? Explode like a ticking time bomb?

Heavy traffic, bad drivers, unsolicited phone calls, tight schedules, automated phone menus, crowds – on a typical day, it seems to pile up! Even if you never step out of your home, you’re exposed!

"You can call me Mess.” That’s what I envision the subject of this column saying in 13 years. When, as a teenager, he’ll consider part of his job description to be frustrating his parents. But I’m ahead of myself.

In a certain state a few weeks back, a mom and dad went to court in a dispute over their newborn baby’s name. His last name. The father wanted the child to have the mother’s last name, and vice versa – not! 

Chattanooga State Community College’s Office of International Community Outreach hosted Chattanooga’s 14th annual Culture Fest Sunday at the First Tennessee Pavilion. More than 10,000 people attended the showcase of local international communities. Featured activities and entertainment included live performances from local cultural groups, a Parade of Nations, a multicultural fashion show, a dance contest, and an exhibition of culturally-themed art.

We were about to take our nightly neighborhood walk, which I thought I would have gotten out of after mowing the yard. Too much of anything, even exercise, can’t be good. 

Used to, with my old, now deceased, John Deere, mowing the front and back took all of an hour and 15 minutes – and even longer in those later months when old JD died on me every few minutes. I took him into the shop, and Dave, the mower mechanic, called me soon after with condolences. “It helps to put oil in them,” Dave said.

Although there is a band called Smashing Pumpkins, that’s not what this week’s article is about. I’m thinking more along the lines of decorating to have an awesome looking pumpkin door display. A smashing display of autumn!

The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors used the last GCAR Information Gathering (GIG) of 2013 to debut its new online resources and attend to annual business, including announcing the board members for 2014.

Mark Blazek, president of the association, opened the meeting with good financial news: GCAR’s expenses in 2013 were down compared to 2012 while net operating income was up.

Homemade chili and perfect fall weather were on the menu for the joint meeting of the Chattanooga Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors and local Home Builder’s Association, held Wednesday, Oct. 9 at the Home Builder’s Association. Minutes were approved, announcements were made, sponsors were thanked, and Debbie Reeves, director of business development at the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, updated guests on changes in the organization’s services. The WCR also elected its officers for 2014: Elaine Boyd Osby, president; Kim Bass, president-elect; Brenda Pargeon, vice-president of membership; Caryl Ann Sykes, secretary; and Ronda Van Billard, treasurer. Pictured: WCR member Karen Flores goads a guest into upping her bid during the bottle auction, a WCR fundraiser. The next WCR luncheon meeting will be held Wednesday, November 13 at 11:30 at the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Mayor Andy Berkle will be speaking. (David Laprad)

Showing now at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX Theater, Rocky Mountain Express transports audiences back to the golden age of railroading. The 2D movie fills the six-story screen with some of Canada’s most stunning scenery as The Empress, a steam locomotive built in 1930, chugs to life on a romantic excursion across a continent.

Who said it?

Great (and maybe some not so great) quotes. Try your hand at matching the quote to the “quoter.”

1. Which great three-time American world heavyweight champion boxer, who also won a boxing gold medal at the 1960 Olympics, said, “There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people?” Mike Tyson; Sylvester Stallone; George Foreman; Muhammad Ali.

First of all, that is not the question. 

It’s become painfully obvious to me that customer service in general has taken a back seat to an implied sense of efficiency. This could quickly become a public forum for your testimonies. Think about it: How many times have you left an interaction only to say “Did that just happen?” 

I will try to write about “Gravity” without using hyperbole. It won’t be easy. Days after seeing the movie, the experience still overwhelms me when I think about it.

I had never seen anything like it. Many of the movies I have watched contained images that dazzled my eyes, but they didn’t transport me to another time or place. As much as I loved those films, I didn’t feel like I was doing anything other than watching a movie.