News - Friday, November 14, 2014

Attorney Lee Davis likes to say he’s practicing law in the wrong century. The previous home of Davis & Hoss, his firm with attorney Bryan Hoss, was built in 1885. Now he and his partner in law have moved into a stately converted house built closer to this century, but just by a hair: 850 Fort Wood Street was constructed in 1914.

The Edrington team is a package deal. You don’t get one of them when you list or buy a house with them, you get all of them. It’s a family thing.

There’s George Edrington, the husband and dad amongst the bunch, who spent years in automobile sales. He didn’t just sell cars, either, he earned his education in sales and management by attending the prestigious NADA Dealer Academy, and throughout his career in the industry worked his way up from salesman, to general manager, to corporate. “I didn’t just sell cars,” he says, “I learned the psychology behind selling them.”

Everyone views the world differently. This past weekend, the weather was clear and sunny, albeit a bit brisk. To me, it was an extraordinary November. To others I passed on the street, however, it was the first “bad” day of the season. The difference of opinion did not end there. This morning, I headed into court, prepared for Monday morning motion mayhem. When I reached the correct floor, I spotted my opposing counsel over at the window, eyes pointed upward with a strange look on his face.

It is the time of year when we in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving. It is a time when we’re supposed to count our blessings and recognize how good we have it and how lucky we are. It is also the beginning of the “Holidays.” For some people, the “Holidays” is the loneliest and most unhappy time of the year. Ironically, at what most consider the happiest time of the year, many suffer incredible sadness.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam last week announced he has issued Executive Order No. 41 establishing the Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments, a group of 11 members that will recommend candidates to fill vacancies for Tennessee trial and appellate courts.

Americans are pretty generous — in fact, 83 percent of us donated money to charitable organizations last year, according to a Gallup survey. And now that we’re entering the holiday season, charitable giving well may be on your mind. Your key motivation for making charitable gifts, of course, is to help those organizations whose work is meaningful to you. However, by supporting these groups, you can also make life less “taxing” for yourself.

U.S. News and World Report and Best Lawyers have joined forces to rank law firms across the U.S. Three Chattanooga firms have announced top rankings in the 2015 edition of the annual report, titled Best Law Firms.

The rankings are presented in tiers both nationally and either by metropolitan area or by state. The report showcases more than 12,000 law firms ranked nationally in one or more of 74 legal practice areas, and in metropolitan or state rankings in one or more of 120 major legal practice areas.

The Chattanooga Women’s Leadership Institute (CWLI) will welcome one of CableWorld’s “most influential women in cable,” Susan Packard, as the keynote speaker for Impact, CWLI’s 10th annual Leadership Dinner. This event will take place Tuesday, March 3, 2015, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center.

From Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Lee: “The voters have now spoken on Amendment 2, and I am very pleased we will have clarity and certainty in how appellate court judges are selected in Tennessee.

"Tennesseans have made it clear they want an independent, diverse, and qualified judiciary held accountable to the citizens it serves. I thank the voters, as well as Governor Haslam, Governor Bredesen, and others across the state for their bipartisan leadership.

Rotary Club of Chattanooga Hamilton Place presented 192 coats for needy children to six local elementary schools last week, announced Rem Cooper, director of the community services committee.

Stan Russell, club president, said the “Coats for Kidz” project is part of the club’s annual Rotary Kidz initiative to help needy children in this area. 

Chattanooga Presents has partnered with Volkswagen Chattanooga to offer Chattanooga’s first riverfront ice skating rink, Ice on the Landing. A new holiday attraction, the ice rink will be located under the open sky in the waterfront setting on the Chattanooga Green.

Chattanooga’s bike share system has reached a major milestone. During a recent commute to work and school, Bike Chattanooga reached its 100,000th trip since the program launched on July 23, 2012.

Annual members and visitors have traveled 416,850 miles, burned 17.9 million calories, and saved 288 million pounds of CO2 while commuting to work, riding to lunch, and enjoying bike rides using the Bike Chattanooga Bicycle Transit System.

Attorney Virginia Love and Judge Jeffrey Hollingsworth are the newest members of Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET)’s Pro Bono Hall of Fame. The legal aid organization inducted the two esteemed members of the Chattanooga Bar into the Hall of Fame during a reception held at its offices Thursday, Oct. 23. Justice Holly Kirby was the keynote speaker during her first visit to Chattanooga as a member of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

When older adults need to relocate from their home to an assisted living community or retirement campus, they are often confronted with a variety of challenges neither they nor their loved ones are prepared to address. Greg Humble of Crye-Leike Realtors and Bill Tobin of Caring Transitions of Greater Chattanooga are working together to offer solutions to the problems encountered when seniors in the region move to a new home.

Do you dream of hosting the perfect family Thanksgiving celebration? Is it your fantasy to throw a New Year’s party all of your friends remember? If you’re currently house hunting, these are things you should let a Realtors know.

Realtors work every day to help their clients find the ideal house that feels like home. If to you, home is where you invite your friends and family to celebrate the holidays, then your Realtors will help find you the perfect home in which to make those memories.

Here’s some disturbing news ... I’ve heard it before, and ignored it, but now I’m hearing it so much, I figure something about it must be true. 

I’m a diet soda junkie. I drink the “Zero” drink like it’s going out of style. I think, lately, my dear husband has been counting because he keeps checking me about my caffeine intake. I always have a comeback. (Don’t all of us wives?) Mine is that caffeine is one of the leading drugs for migraine headaches, which I have. 

Cecil Owens, my faithful chimney sweep for the past three decades, had been by the house the previous Saturday. “Wow, you burned a lot of wood again last year, didn’t you?” 

“I always do Cecil,” I replied.

If films were judged purely on ambition, “Interstellar” would be the best movie of the year. It’s filmmaking on a grand scale, and not just visually; in an age in which empty spectacle has replaced good storytelling, it dares to be about something. 

Maybe I’m just getting old – there’s certainly no debate on that subject – but I feel like we skipped a month between October and December with the election taking up a small part of November.

As I was hiding the leftover portion of Halloween candy on the first of November, my neighbor across the road was putting up Christmas lights and a tree. I was still getting toilet paper out of the front maples to save for an emergency, but the neighborhood was already heating up hot cider, putting Frosty on the roof, and burning my retinas out with super bright lights in their bushes that are suppose to use less energy – or so says GE.

Ten years ago this month, as I was immersing myself into the nuances of cruciverbalism – the art of writing crosswords – these lines came to me: 

“If you don’t come across, I’m gonna be down./ Your love to me is a mystery and the clues are all around.” (I know, that’s songwriting, not puzzle-writing, but stay with me on this.)

Ironman has selected Chattanooga to host the 26th race in the Ironman 70.3 U.S. Series with Sunbelt Bakery as the title sponsor. The inaugural Sunbelt Bakery Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga triathlon will take place on Sunday, May 17, 2015.

“After the phenomenal success of Little Debbie Ironman Chattanooga, we are extremely excited to add an Ironman 70.3 race, providing another opportunity for athletes to race and take in the beauty of this area,” said Andrew Messick, chief executive officer of Ironman. “Chattanooga proved to be an incredible host this past September, and we look forward to expanding our relationship with this great community.”

The Southern Lit Alliance is pleased to announce the 18th biennial Celebration of Southern Literature will take place April 16-18, 2015 in the Tivoli Theatre in downtown Chattanooga.

The Southern Lit Alliance, formerly known as the Arts & Education Council, began the Celebration of Southern Literature in 1981. It is a keynote event for the organization, which brings other literary events, including readings, book signings, and workshops with authors to Chattanooga throughout the year.

Steps 2 Hope hosted an official launch party last week to kick-off its next major project: Jason’s New Journey.

The event, which was open to the public, was held at the Colonnade Center in Ringgold on Thursday. US101’s Ken and Daniel hosted the launch, which gave the North Georgia and Chattanooga communities a chance to learn more about Steps 2 Hope and their plans to build Sgt. Jason Smith a new home.

Glen Falls Trail closed

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is advising that the Glen Falls Trail, located on Lookout Mountain, is closed and will remain closed until further notice. The trail is adjacent to the recent mud slide that closed Ochs Highway on Oct. 14. Visitors are asked not to park in the pull off on Ochs Highway at the trail head until the mudslide hazard area can be repaired.

´Tis the season for the holidays that make me warm on the inside! It is very ironic that I love fall and winter so much, but I despise being cold. I love everything about this time of the year from the clothing, the crisp clean air, the food (of course), and the décor. 

I know Veteran’s Day has come and gone this year, but I still want to express my gratitude to all of those who serve to protect our land and our freedoms. You have a special place in my heart. So, in remembrance of those who are no longer with us, and in honor of our veterans who are still fighting the fight, below is a quiz about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, also known as “Tomb of the Unknowns.” Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

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

up, artist, grow, problem

staying, artist, you, every, up

“_____ child is an _____, the _____ is _____ an ______ when _____ _____ _____”

Saturday, November 14, 1914

The situation of the diphtheria epidemic is becoming serious. A conference will be held to decide what’s best to do. Normal Park School seems to be the hardest hit, as over half of the pupils are under quarantine.

Saturday, November 14, 1964

David Haigh Dawson, vice president, director, and member of the executive committee of the Du Pont Co., will be principal speaker at the 88^th annual dinner meeting of the Greater Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce Thursday, Jan. 14 in the Hotel Patten, it was announced Saturday by Carter Parham, Chamber president, and J.R. McGuff, activities committee chairman.