News - Friday, March 2, 2018

From the age of 16, Evelyn Harris knew she was called to be a minister. Her mother, Laura Trent, was a Methodist pastor, and so were members of the three previous generations.

“It’s kind of the family business,” says Harris, 39, pastor at St. Luke United Methodist Church in Hixson. “But I didn’t want to do it. I saw the sacrifices that she made and the challenges of being a clergywoman, the sexism and gender discrimination that she faced. And I thought, ‘Why would I ever want to do that?’”

It’s not often Tennessee’s Republican legislative leaders have to endorse a congressional candidate against a vacillating opponent. But the General Assembly’s GOP must have been worried about losing to a Democrat as they consolidated forces behind U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn in an effort to maintain a hold on the U.S. Senate seat Bob Corker might or might not be vacating.

When state Rep. Steve McDaniel was a youngster he often read the historical marker at the intersection of Highway 22 and Wildersville Road detailing Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s first West Tennessee raid in the Battle of Parker’s Crossroads.

As a civil litigation attorney with Gearhiser, Peters, Elliot & Cannon, Sam Elliott likes digging into the finer points of a case to uncover little known but important facts. In the same way, he enjoys delving into the recesses of local Civil War history to shine a light on the Tennesseans who inhabit its unexplored passages.

Bolstered by House Speaker Beth Harwell’s tie-breaking vote, Rep. Jeremy Faison’s medical marijuana legislation took an important step Tuesday in the General Assembly.

Harwell, a Davidson County Republican running for governor, cast the deciding vote in a 4-3 decision to move the bill out of the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee. It will be heard next by the full Criminal Justice Committee.

Denise Schenk is the latest Realtor to join the growing team at Better Homes and Gardens Signature Brokers in Ooltewah.

Schenk is a lifelong resident of Chattanooga and graduate of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She has been married for 22 years and is the mother of two teenage boys.

My favorite meme is a text exchange that goes like this:

Person 1: “I’m having a cookout. You should come.”

Person 2: “Love to! I’m a vegetarian, though. Can I bring veggie burgers? Will the grill have a non-meat side? And will there be vegetarian baked beans?”

Lena is standing at the edge of the Shimmer, an ever-expanding region of land encased by a translucent bubble. Consisting of swirling pastel colors, the outside of the anomaly looks almost inviting. But only one thing entering the Shimmer has come out: Lena’s husband. Or an odd approximation of him.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Greater Chattanooga Realtors take pride in walking clients through the home buying and selling processes, but it’s our community partnerships that round out the true definition of what it means to be a Realtor. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area and the Snack Pack Ministry has given Realtors an avenue to better our community and the lives in it.

It’s a brand-new year, which means it is time for the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga’s 52nd annual Tri-State Home Show. This three-day event, which is one of the largest of its kind in the Southeast, will be held March 2-4 at the Chattanooga Convention and Trade Center.

On March 8, we observe International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is “Press for Progress,” and events around the world will celebrate women’s advancements in the political, social and cultural arenas. But right here in the United States, women still face barriers to their financial progress. If you’re a woman, you need to recognize these challenges – and respond to them.

Repaving work begins March 5 on a one-mile stretch of ML King Boulevard between Georgia and Central Avenues. The project, which will cost between $800,000 and $900,000, will occur in four phases and is expected to take 45 days to complete.

The repaving will include a redesign of the street that will transition the number of vehicle lanes from two in each direction to one in each direction, with a center turn lane and dedicated bike lanes on either side.

The Tennessee Historical Commission and Tennessee Wars Commission has awarded nearly $47,500 in grant funding to preserve nearly four acres of Civil War battlefield land in Hamilton County through the Tennessee Civil War Sites Preservation Fund.

The commissions awarded the applicant, the Civil War Preservation Trust, funds to preserve land associated with the 1863 Battle of Wauhatchie in Chattanooga.

Volunteers are a big part of what makes Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area successful. On Saturday, February 24, the volunteers were actually co-workers of future Habitat homeowner and City of Chattanooga employee Sidney McDonald.

Mayor Andy Berke and a dozen City of Chattanooga employees devoted their Saturday to placing the final touches on a home built for one of their own. McDonald has been employed with Chattanooga for the past three years. He is best known as City Hall’s official greeter.

The Hamilton County Water & Wastewater Treatment Authority has opened a walk-in payment center at 1250 Market Street, Suite 1008.

The center allows customers to pay with cash, check or money order.

Open Monday-Friday, the Quick Pay Center’s hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

Author John Scales will sign copies of his new book, “The Battles and Campaigns of General Nathan Bedford Forrest: 1861-1865” on Saturday, March 10 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. at Chickamauga Chattanooga National Military Park, 3370 Lafayette Road.

Laura Faucette Knight, financial advisor and certified financial planner in Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management office in Chattanooga, has been named to the firm’s Pacesetter’s Club, a global recognition program for financial advisors who demonstrate high professional standards and offer exceptional client service within their first five years.