News - Friday, November 7, 2014

A journey the Honorable Jackie Bolton began in 1978 with a commute from Chattanooga to Nashville to attend her first night class at law school culminated Monday, Oct. 27 with the unveiling of her portrait at the Hamilton County Courthouse. Bolton, who sat on the circuit court bench for over 15 years and previously served as juvenile court judge, chose not to seek re-election this year.

Mavis Threat was never interested in the careers that typically attract young people. When her friends would say they wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer, she’d say, “I want to join the Army!” Growing up in Junction City, Kan., near Ft. Riley Army Base, she was drawn to military service.

The Young Lawyers Division (YLD) of the Chattanooga Bar Association (CBA) on Thursday, Oct. 23 at Clyde’s On Main held a fundraiser to benefit local Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) volunteers.

CASA is a community-based program that recruits, trains, and supports citizen volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in courtrooms. CASA volunteers perform home and school visits, gather records, and do background checks and more to allow a magistrate to make a more informed decision.

FirstBank partnered with Jaguar/Land Rover/Porsche of Chattanooga and Vine & Barrel in hosting an Oktoberfest party on Thursday, Oct. 23 at the dealership.

The festivities included a beer tasting catered by Lee Towery and the most luxurious automobile eye-candy to be found under one roof: a Porsche, a Land Rover, and a Jaguar.

Chattanooga-based Yerbey Realty is now part of the national Weichert franchise network. Lacey Yerbey Williams will continue to lead the firm, now known as Weichert, Realtors - Yerbey Realty, an independently owned and operated member of Weichert Real Estate Affiliates.

This column was originally published April 11, 2014.

The numbers are in, and Millennials take the top spot as the largest group of recent home buyers in the U.S. According to the 2014 National Association of REALTORS Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study, which evaluates the generational differences of recent home buyers and sellers, Millennials (those age 33 and younger) comprised 31 percent of recent home purchases.

For more photos, pick up a copy of the Hamilton County Herald.

Imagine you’re at the scene of a fiery car accident at night to shoot video for a local news station. You’ve arrived before emergency services – and ahead of your competition – giving you carte blanche to shoot whatever you want. The only other people there are the man possibly responsible for the wreck and the dead body lying in the shadows of an overturned vehicle.

I knew I wasn’t going to die, but if I didn’t see sunlight and breathe fresh air soon, I was going to panic anyway. Swallowed up in darkness as I crawled through a smoke-filled room, I took a relaxing breath and concentrated on the task at hand: saving an eight-year-old boy from a burning building.

All investors probably wish they had gotten in on the “ground floor” of Apple or Microsoft or any other big success story. And, in fact, you can indeed “be there from the beginning” by taking part in a company’s initial public offering (IPO). However, the ground floor of many IPOs may be shakier than you’d think — and might not provide you with the solid footing you need to invest wisely.

^“But is it __?” This clue is used in dozens of crossword puzzles. The answer is ART. At Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, tucked away in the Northwest Arkansas hills, the question’s answer is “You’d better believe it!” My heart sings to know that Crystal Bridges, open now since Nov. 11, 2011, is a major world player in its field.

One of the main accessories of any lawyer is a briefcase. It’s right up there with bags under the eyes and crippling student loan debt. Personally, I think they should hand them out at graduation, along with a gift certificate for a monthly massage. Those knots in the shoulders from long hours at the computer don’t work themselves out naturally. Trust me on that.

The world is a pretty messed up place. The only reason you got up today and did not have a war zone in your front yard is the men and women in uniform that have stood watch over the country and the rest of the world for over 200 years. It’s this time of year that we specifically take time to thank those that have served our country in the past. Make sure you thank one today.

November is here – already. Like the month of October, it brings many fun and interesting things. First of all, it brings Daylight Savings Time in parts of the South, so now I’m wide awake at four in the morning. Which means by 9 o’clock at night, I’m on my last leg. It takes me a good two months to get that worked out right.

^“Let’s watch a scary movie,” KM said to me on All Hallow’s Eve eve.

‘Great,” I answered back, and began my Apple TV search, which always drives her crazy. It’s understandable, as I spend much more time searching for movies than actually watching them. 

The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga honored Chattanooga State Community College, Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, and U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier at the 2014 Equal Opportunity Day Breakfast and Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam was the keynote speaker.

Southern Adventist University rural Collegedale campus recently grew as approximately 250 acres on the school’s eastern boundary were donated by a local family through a land trust. Similarly, a private landowner is allowing Southern to manage an additional adjoining tract, meaning a total of 400 acres will be newly available for public recreation beginning in 2016.

Supplies of O negative blood are severely low in our community, says Blood Assurance, which is restricting shipments of O negative type blood to hospitals in the region until the supply rebounds. O negative blood donors are asked to donate as soon as they are eligible to give.

It’s amazing these days the number of people who don’t have common sense, or what my grandfather called “walking around sense.” I know, I’ve written about this subject before, but lately, it seems I find more people unable to walk around without running over their brain. We’re raising the academic scores every day for college entrance exams, and I see children who make me very proud of our younger generation, due to their abilities to accomplish so much in our schools, but we are starting to run into problems when it comes to the amount of common sense being absorbed by the citizenry of this country. Just watch how congress has been acting lately, along with the current elections, and you can see my point.

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.

I have been staying at home with my three children for around eight years now, and although it is such a blessing, my father always worked many jobs on top of his career to bring in extra money, so I guess it’s embedded in me to do the same. One of the jobs I do on the side and have been doing for quite a few years is cleaning houses. I am one of those very rare people who love to clean. I love that feeling of instant gratification from cleaning that says, “Look what I did.” 

This column was originally published on Nov. 8, 2013.

The Bible is read and studied by millions of Christians, and is believed to be the inspired words of the Holy Spirit. In the following quiz are several stories most will know by heart. See how many you know. First, here are a few fun facts:

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

rules, art, do, works, rules, make, works, art

“_____ of _____ make _____; _____ _____ not _____ _____ of _____.”

~Claude Debussy

Answer in next week’s paper. 

Answer to last week’s quote.

“The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”

Saturday, November 7, 1914

Mrs. H. Clay Evans and Mrs. H.S. Chamberlain will leave Sunday for Knoxville, where they are delegates to the annual state meeting of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Chattanooga homes are being thrown open for entertainment of the Suffragist delegates to the Southern States Women’s Suffrage Conference, which convenes Tuesday. Miss Ernestine Noa is chairman for the meeting.

Saturday, November 7, 1964

The state board of education Friday directed that the state’s new technical institute at Chattanooga be opened in the fall of 1965 even if it is necessary to rent temporary quarters. Commissioner Howard Warf said the Moccasin Bend building will be only partially completed by the fall of next year, but that some portions of it may be used.