News - Friday, November 9, 2012

Second Lieutenant Barry Abbott’s feet had barely touched the ground in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia when someone handed him live ammunition. Minutes later, he was running to take cover from a Scud attack.

Welcome to Operation Desert Storm.

“That was a shock,” Abbott says, looking through the lens of time to just over 20 years ago. He leafs through a stack of photos that have been in storage for nearly that long, remembering his time serving with the U.S. Army Reserves.

Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority is now responsible for enforcing parking regulations in downtown Chattanooga. This is a move by the city away from traditional police service technicians to a new program by CARTA known as Chattanooga Parking Authority.

U.S. News & World Report and “Best Lawyers” have named two Chattanooga-based law firms in their 2013 “Best Law Firms” rankings, which provide a comprehensive view of the U.S. legal profession. The publications named Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel a leading law firm in 11 practice areas. Miller & Martin earned 16 Tier 1 rankings.

Chattanooga attorney David Higney is listed as one of the leading environmental law counselors by “The International Who’s Who of Environmental Lawyers 2012.” In 2011, Higney was the only attorney not located in Nashville and one of only four environmental attorneys in Tennessee to be honored. Again in 2012, of the four Tennessee lawyers selected, Higney is the only Tennessee environmental attorney selected outside of Nashville.

Miller & Martin last week announced Jennifer Terry as its newest associate to the firm. Terry joins the firm as an associate in the Labor & Employment Department in its Chattanooga office.

“It’s a privilege to have Jennifer join our growing team of Labor & Employment attorneys. Her proven ability demonstrated through her academic success aligns with Miller & Martin’s dedication to providing outstanding client service,” said John Bode, chair of the firm’s Labor & Employment department.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the building that houses the Tennessee Supreme Court, original handwritten versions of the three state constitutions will be on display for the public for the first time.

The display is part of a weeklong celebration of the building and includes the opening of the Tennessee Judiciary Museum in a portion of the courthouse’s library at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, December 5. Also, as part of the celebration, there will be a Judicial Family Reunion of all employees who have worked in the building that afternoon. The museum will be open to the public with the original constitutions on display December 6 through 8 and December 10.

Was King David’s reign a myth? The poet king is at the center of Israel’s ancient biblical history, but many have questioned if he and his kingdom actually existed. 

After years of work at Khirbet Qeiyafa, Southern Adventist University’s Institute of Archaeology is proud to answer these questions. “The Battle Over King David: Excavating the Fortress of Elah” opens November 7 at the Lynn H. Wood Archaeological Museum on the school’s campus in Collegedale.

Have you ever looked at the night sky and let your mind drift through the stars? As you stared at the countless specks of light, did you wonder how many there were? Did you think about the planets that might be circling them and whether or not some of them might harbor life?

Nationally-recognized real estate developer Joe Minicozzi last week presented an economic development analysis of the region that says local governments get more return for their money when they put the tax revenue potential of land in the city center at the forefront of their urban planning decisions. The perspective is contrary to conventional wisdom that big-box retailers bring big tax revenue and challenges economic developers in communities across southeast Tennessee to look at the value-per-acre return on their “Main Street” investments.

Vanessa Kimbrough watches from her front porch as a crew of workers lays a carpet of moist, green fescue on her property. The crew leader plops a square patch of the sod on the ground, nudges it into place with his boot, and looks up at Kimbrough.

A public meeting to discuss the rehabilitation of the two-lane Wilcox tunnel will be held Thursday, November 15 at Eastdale Community Center, located at 1312 Moss Drive. City officials will discuss the history of the project, present the alternatives for improvements, discuss environmental studies centered on the geology of the tunnel and answer questions.

Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine last week named Chattanooga the “Best Outdoor City” in its “Best Outdoor Town” Facebook poll. The poll collected 85,000 votes from magazine readers located throughout the Blue Ridge mountain region of the U.S. Representatives from the City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department’s Outdoor Chattanooga division, the Crash Pad Chattanooga and Roots Rated.com are quoted in the article, which focuses on the area’s accessible outdoor amenities and relaxed, urban lifestyle. Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine is a free publication that targets outdoor enthusiasts in communities along the Appalachian Mountain chain, which stretches from Washington D.C. to Atlanta, Ga. The magazine publishes online and through a monthly print distribution of 110,000. To learn more, visit www.blueridgeoutdoors.com. (Photo by Dianne Blankenbaker)

You can’t miss the giant French bulldog grinning at passersby from his station in front of the Choo Choo Dog Camp at 25 West 20th Street. But this big boy has never had an official name. So Dog Camp founder and owner Liz Fortanier decided to have a contest to name him, with all of the proceeds benefiting DoGood Chattanooga, Wally’s Friends and the Humane Society.

Chattanooga firefighters braved chilly temperatures and gusty winds last week to practice their high-angle rescue skills. The specially trained members of the departments Urban Search and Rescue team set up shop on top of a limestone silo at the Buzzi Unicem USA cement plant on Suck Creek Road. In this exercise, a plant worker on top of the silo falls and is seriously injured. It’s up to the CFD USAR team to safely lower him to the ground. Senior Firefighter Justin Vice stood in for the mock victim. The firefighters methodically secured Firefighter Vice in the Stokes basket and carefully lifted him over the rail. From there, it was 120 feet to the ground. A few minutes later, firefighters on the ground received the victim and got him out of the Stokes basket. Battalion Chief Phil Hyman said the exercise was a huge success and thanked the Buzzi Unicem cement plant for agreeing to participate in the exercise. “It’s great training for our USAR personnel,” said Hyman, “and it’s great safety training for all the workers at the cement plant. Hopefully, we’ll never have to do this for real.” (Photo provided)

Memorial Health Care System Foundation last week announced plans for the Buz Standefer Lung Center at Memorial. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, which include emphysema and asthma, are the fifth leading cause of death in Tennessee, and all counties in our region currently exceed national rates for mortality caused by these conditions. The Buz Standefer Lung Center will treat the current health issues related to lung disease while educating and screening the community.

Back when I was boxing, my coach gave me some good advice: Fight as hard as you can in the ring, and then leave the fight there when it’s over. That same lesson was helpful to me as a young lawyer. In the same way that left over anger from a boxing match serves you no purpose, holding grudges left over from adversarial events in a court room does no one any good. Once the case is over and you’ve left the court room, you have to let it go.

Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.” Thus wrote Mary Schmich in her Chicago Tribune column, June 1, 1997.

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!

It was hot that July Saturday when I topped the rise of the highway. The dash indicator said 105. But that wasn’t the temperature outside; it was how fast we were going. I saw the familiar sight of Little Rock’s skyline, with its few tall buildings. Then I saw the state trooper.

Not long ago, “Dr. Oz,” a program that airs weekday afternoons on ABC, did an episode titled, “Five Secrets Your Supermarket Doesn’t Want You to Know.” It got my attention. I’ve been grocery shopping for “many-plus” years and wanted to know what I’ve been missing!

With the presidential election finally behind us and the winner declared, your memory of the candidates’ campaigns and the election process is probably still clear. But how much do you know about the presidential elections of the distant past? Take our quiz to find out!

Back in the day, I spent a lot of time at arcades playing video games. “Galaga,” “Ms. Pac Man” and the original “Star Wars,” in which you piloted an X-Wing down a wireframe 3D trench in an attempt to blow up the Death Star, were my favorites. I’d spend hours in those dark, neon-lit temples trying to beat my high score.

During the early phase of business development or re-engineering, your brainpower and sweat equity should go into the design and creation of your business model and business systems – not into micromanaging. Spend time developing systems and performance standards early on so that you can lead later on. Design an entire business template. Define and organize the work to be done rather than micromanage your employees. The more you systematize your business, the less everyone will rely on you for day-to-day questions and assistance. You will minimize those nagging “got-a-minute” interruptions from your employees. Also, the system you develop takes your place so you can step out of the trenches and function as CEO. Replace yourself with the system!

Saturday, November 10

Attorney Robert Summitt, past state commander of the American Legion, was the principal speaker at the Veterans Day ceremony on Patten Parkway Saturday. Robert C. Lahiere, general chairman of the Veterans Day observance, presided. Commander Charles K. Peacock of Post 14 read a proclamation.

Saturday, November 9

The city was stunned by the finding of the body of William W. Williams at the tomb of J.W. Johnson in Forrest Hills. A brother of G. Victor Williams, he was only 21, a graduate of Chattanooga High School, and a popular young man. He had been in serious ill health and had just returned from the west.

Saturday, November 10

Crabtree Farm’s Fall Fair

Crabtree Farm’s Fall Fair will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at the farm, located at 1000 East 30th Street. The family friendly event will feature fun-on-the-farm activities such as tractor rides, competition for prizes, scarecrow stuffing, a photo booth corn hole and horseshoes, tours and live bluegrass music. The event will also feature a raffle with items from local artisans and businesses. Guests are encouraged to bring their own food to fry in local lard or pick up a brat from The Missing Link. Hot mulled cider and cold beer also will be on sale. For more information, call 423-493-9155, extension 13.