News - Friday, October 2, 2015

On Friday, Sept. 25, attorney Tom Greenholtz took the oath to become a Criminal Court Judge for the 11th judicial district, which serves Hamilton County. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam appointed Greenholtz of Ooltewah earlier last month. Judge Greenholtz, 42, replaces Judge Rebecca Stern, who retired June 1.

Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR) President Travis Close had only good things to say during the organization’s 2015 annual meeting, held Thursday, Sept. 24 at GCAR.

Close’s biggest announcement prompted vigorous applause from the several dozen members attending the meeting: Current leadership at GCAR has made it possible to pay off the debt on the association’s current facility, enabling the organization to enter the new year debt free. Close delivered the news via a YouTube video that pictured him holding the golden shovel used to break ground on the association’s current facility on Oct. 25, 2006.

Wine Over Water

The 21st Annual Wine Over Water will take place Saturday, Oct. 3. Hosted by Cornerstones, the event will incorporate hundreds of wines as well as local food and music. The event weekend will start with the Best Cellars wine tasting event on Friday, Oct. 2 at 5:30 p.m. at the Chattanoogan Hotel. Wine Over Water will follow on Saturday, with the gates opening at 3:30 and wine tastings starting at 5 p.m. on the Walnut Street Bridge. The event will feature food from local restaurants, more than 300 wines from nearly 100 wineries, and local music. Ticket information can be found at www.wineoverwater.org.

Linda Hershey was shocked to read the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) had made her a Fellow of the Academy of Professional Reporters. She even nearly deleted the email informing her of the honor.

“I had it for three or four days before I read it,” she says. “I didn’t know what it was.”

As attorneys across Tennessee have volunteered more and more hours of pro bono service, the lawyers of the Chattanooga Bar Association (CBA) have set the bar for their colleagues across the state. Charlie McDaniel, Pro Bono Project director for Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET)’s 10-county Southern Region, says he’s been proud to watch the local bar keep pace. “Chattanooga lawyers have always been viewed as state-wide trendsetters for pro bono,” he wrote in an email to the Hamilton County Herald.

The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Access to Justice Commission has released its annual report showing that attorneys in Tennessee have increased the number of hours of free and reduced-rate legal services they are providing to those in need.

The report shows that the number of hours of pro bono service volunteered by attorneys in Tennessee went up by nearly 3,000 hours in the last reporting year.

In many parts of the country, it’s harvest season. As a consumer, you will certainly be affected by the labors of farmers — and their particular skill set can also teach you a lot in your role as investor. 

Here are a few suggestions for putting farmers’ behaviors to work for you:

Maria Chavez and Maria Ferino share more than the same first name; they also share the same work address: 6024 Shallowford Road, the home of RE/MAX Properties.

Chavez joined RE/MAX Properties this month as its newest affiliate broker. She brings 35 years of real estate experience to the office. Ferino joins Chavez as her licensed assistant. She has over 30 years of experience in human resources, and speaks both English and Spanish.

In the real estate industry, we often say :Location, location, location.” Once you’ve found that perfect spot and settle down, another phrase that’s equally important is, “Maintain, maintain, maintain.” Fall is a great time to address issues before they become a costly repair. The National Association of Realtors suggests ten things to tackle around the home each fall. We’ll start with the first five and follow-up next week with the remaining suggestions.

Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE) has just completed their first tiny home – a 532 square foot, energy efficient dwelling in the Ridgedale neighborhood.

The development of the tiny home is driven by public interest in smaller homes and the need for affordable housing in Chattanooga. The home is a market-driven approach to meet the city’s affordable housing need as no government funds are being used in its development.

Conventional wisdom may say that spring is the best time to put your house on the market, but there are advantages to selling in the fall, too. In fact, with fewer homes on the market, your home may get even more attention from potential home buyers this time of year.

The first “Maze Runner” film nailed the title. There was a maze, and there was running. The “Maze Runner” sequel, not so much. There’s no maze, although there is a lot of running. In fact, the characters in the movie do little else. They run, and run, and run, until it seems there’s nowhere else to run, and then they run some more. I kept hoping they’d stop so I could catch my breath.

The River City Company Board of Directors has welcomed five new members for the 2015-2016 fiscal year. Those additions include Dr. Carol Berz of the Chattanooga City Council, Andrew Kean of Alderman Holdings, Adam Kinsey of the Chattanooga Choo Choo, Virginia Anne Sharber of the Hunter Museum of American Art, and Sabrena Smedley of the Hamilton County Commission.

The city’s first protected bike lane is being constructed on Broad Street between Martin Luther King Boulevard and Aquarium Way.

The project is the result of extensive planning and community visioning first initiated by hundreds of community participants in the Center City planning process in 2013.

Last week, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke joined top library and Hamilton County Department of Education officials to give kindergartners at Harrison Elementary their first public library card.

In 2011, following the expiration of a sales tax agreement between Chattanooga and Hamilton County, the City of Chattanooga took over funding of the Public Library system, and county residents were charged to use the library. But last year, the Berke Administration allocated funding to ensure free access to all public school students who reside in Hamilton County. Since last fall, when the initiative was launched, over 24,000 students have been issued a free library card.

This past Saturday afternoon we went to lunch with several family members. As you can guess, we had so much fun. There was plenty of ribbing, joking, and laughing during the few hours we spent together.

We went to eat at a place that is very popular and has been around a long time, but that I had never tried – Buffalo Wild Wings. It’s quite a fun place, especially if you like sports because there were more TV’s hanging around than Best Buy has on their showroom floor! Well, maybe not that many, but a lot!

^“We are here on Earth to do good to others. What the others are here for, I don’t know.” ~ W.H. Auden

I was back at UAMS last week visiting a friend, who is going to be fine, thank goodness. As I tried to find his room I thought of mom, who had spent many days at this hospital during the last year of her life, and I remembered one time in particular.

For the guy who said, “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over,” … it’s over. Yogi Berra – catcher, coach, manager, and quip-coining character extraordinaire – died Sept. 22 of natural causes. He was 90 years old.

Saturday, Oct. 2, 1965

O.E. Bacon, East Brainerd pharmacist, took his oath of office Friday as Hamilton County’s new trustee and immediately began accepting payments on the 1965 property tax.

Sunday, Oct. 3

James W. Douthat, veteran newsman and trade association executive, will deliver the principal address at the annual meeting of the Chattanooga Manufacturer’s Association Tuesday, Oct. 12, at Read House, James B. Roginson, first vice-president of the association, announced.

Saturday, Oct. 2, 1915

Mrs. D.P. Montague and Miss Genevieve Montague are leaving for Honolulu to visit Col. and Mrs. Richard Kimball.

The noted motion picture drama “Birth of a Nation,” a Griffith production, is booked to appear at the Bijou Theater for five presentations.

My palms have been itching to tackle a new project for quite some time now. My life has been full of soccer, homework, room mom, chorus, dance, etc., and no time left for completing projects that have been on my to-do list for many months.

This weekend we had the oh-so-rare night alone without the kiddos, and my wonderful husband agreed to help me retrieve pallets from his work so that I could mark at least one project off my list.