News - Friday, December 23, 2016

Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher says there are no gang-infested neighborhoods in the city. In fact, the very suggestion that any part of town is crawling with criminals makes him bristle.

“Even in the worst areas of this city, only four-tenths of one percent of the population is causing problems,” he says. “As a Chattanooga police officer, the idea that we have gang-infested neighborhoods offends me because 99.6 percent of the people in any given neighborhood are not perpetrating violence.”

“Work together, compromise and give everyone a chance to explain their idea.”

That was the advice given by a third grade student at Bess T. Shepherd Elementary School when asked for tips on how to be a good leader.

This student was one of many impressive third, fourth and fifth graders taking part in the school’s Leadership Academy.

Bipartisanship forms the backbone of state Rep. Karen Camper’s legislative philosophy.

The Memphis Democrat from Whitehaven recently received the honor as one of the 2016 Elected Women of Excellence, an award established by the National Foundation for Women Legislators to recognize hard work and legislative efforts.

Baker Donelson been named to Fortune’s first-ever list of the best workplaces for parents.

Baker Donelson is ranked 43rd on Fortune’s 50 Best Workplaces for Parents, which is based on anonymous employee feedback as well as the benefits provided to mothers and fathers.

Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation v. Gerry Shavers

Case number: E2015-02005-SC-R3-WC

Authoring judge: Judge Kristi M. Davis

Originating Judge: Judge Jeffrey Hollingsworth

Date filed: Friday, Dec. 16, 2016

Gerry Shavers (“Employee”) worked for Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation d/b/a BurnerSystems International, Inc. (“Employer”), as a senior manufacturing engineer. In 2008, he developed symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. His claim was accepted as compensable. He continued to work at the same job until August 2009, when he was terminated for violation of company policy. The primary issue at trial was whether his award of permanent disability benefits was subject to the one and one-half times impairment cap set out in Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-241(d)(1)(A) (2008). Finding that the cap applied because Employee was terminated for misconduct, the trial court awarded permanent partial disability benefits of 46.5% to the body as a whole. Judgment was entered in accordance with the trial court’s findings, and Employee has appealed. The appeal has been referred to the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel for a hearing and a report of findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 51. We affirm the judgment.

Effective the first of the year, Allan Ramsaur, long-time executive director of the Tennessee Bar Association (TBA), will begin stepping back from day-to-day responsibilities for administration of the association. He will assist in the search for and retention of a new executive director for the association and will transition into the role of emeritus director.

Volunteers placed over 8,000 holiday wreaths to honor and remember our nation’s veterans at the Chattanooga National Cemetery last week.

“This year, we had the most wreaths we’ve ever received, as well as the most volunteers,” said cemetery director Michael Henshaw. “These wreath-laying ceremonies help us continue the mission of maintaining national cemeteries as national shrines, sacred to the honor and memory of those interred or memorialized here. It’s a great way for the community to come together to pay our respects during the holiday season.”

The last remaining parcel of undeveloped property in Stone Fort Industrial Park, originally developed by Stone Fort Land Co., is being developed by Kelkid. Kelkid’s owners, Wes and Alan Kelley, are constructing a 10,000 square foot industrial building at 4334 North Creek Road.

The Downtown Public Library will serve as Chattanooga’s showcase project for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge (BBC).

As a showcase project, the library will highlight specific ways to achieve sustainability goals and serve as an example to other organizations and cities across the country that want to achieve similar sustainability goals.

Thomas H. Ozburn, chief executive officer of TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center, an HCA facility in Nashville, has been named CEO of HCA’s five-hospital Parkridge Health System in Chattanooga, effective Feb. 1.

As CEO of Parkridge Health, Ozburn will also serve as CEO of Parkridge Medical Center and be responsible for operations at Parkridge West Hospital, Parkridge East Hospital, Parkridge Valley Adult & Senior Campus and Parkridge Valley Child & Adolescent Campus.

In the spirit of the holiday season, Joshua Dobbs is the gift that keeps on giving.

Despite all the disappointments of 2016 for Tennessee football, it would be a mistake not to appreciate Dobbs for what he is: a scholar, an athlete, a leader, a role model and a winner.

The annual migration of hundreds of thousands of Sandhill Cranes from the Upper Midwest to Florida each winter is a sight the Audubon Society describes as “among the greatest wildlife spectacles on the continent.”

In Tennessee, the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge is a stopping off point for the largest winter flock of Sandhill Cranes in the Southeast outside of Florida. For birding enthusiasts, it’s hard to beat the views of this magnificent gathering during a cruise around the island aboard the Tennessee Aquarium’s River Gorge Explorer.

Sheriff Jim Hammond was the guest speaker at the annual combined meeting of the Chattanooga Hamilton Place Rotary Club and the Brainerd Kiwanis Club. Hammond spoke about several challenges facing his department, including the need for a new jail and an outdoor range. During his talk, he said housing an inmate is not cheap. “Imagine what could be done if we could apply those dollars to our schools,” he said.

“Rogue One” is not your father’s “Star Wars.” There’s no opening crawl, and no Jedi Knights or Skywalkers musing about who’s related to whom.

It is also not a “Star Wars” made with children in mind. I suppose someone will miss the Ewoks or (shudder) Jar Jar Binks, but I didn’t.

We’re just about ready to open the door to 2017, so you might be thinking about some New Year’s resolutions. What’s on your list this year? More visits to the gym? Learning a new language? All worthy ambitions, of course, but why not also include some financial resolutions?

Time flies when you’re having fun! As I reflect on 2016, I’m in awe at how much the association’s volunteer leaders took on and accomplished in such a short amount of time.

In April, we held the first of a biennial fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity called Tee Up & Wine Down for Habitat.

Your home’s fireplace can provide a cozy gathering spot for your family during the cold months ahead in the Chattanooga region, but it’s important to follow a few guidelines to ensure everyone remains safe.

Wood burning fireplaces

To maintain your fireplace, use a chimney cleaning professional at least once every five years (two years if you use it frequently). If you’re in a newer home with a fresh air vent to supply the fireplace with combustion air, open it and the damper before you start a fire. Then remember to close both when you’re not using the fireplace so warm air will not escape in the winter and cool air will not escape in the summer.

Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor emeritus of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, likes to write about Franz Kafka (1883-1924) and the word coined for his name, Kafkaesque.

A Greenberg column recently pointed out that Kafka “grew up in a Jewish middle-class minority within a German-speaking minority within a Czech minority within an Austro-Hungarian empire that was already a fading minority within a world full of collapsing empires ….”

Volkswagen Chattanooga is beginning production of the Volkswagen Atlas. This marks the start of the process of building inventory for market introduction of the Atlas in 2017.

“I’m proud of the hard work the Chattanooga team has put in to bring the Atlas to series production,” says Christian Koch, president and CEO of Volkswagen Chattanooga. “The challenge of integrating a new vehicle line while simultaneously completing a major expansion of our facility was daunting, but our team stepped up to the task.’’