News - Friday, April 6, 2012

Each day, immigration attorney Terrence Olsen moves mountains for his clients. Whether he’s providing pro bono services to an agency that brings refugees into the country, or removing the international barriers that separate a husband and wife, or helping a foreign entity set up operations in the U.S., he’s simply doing his job. But as he takes phone calls, sends emails and attends meetings, he’s also moving his own mountain.

Ron Harr, president- and CEO-elect of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, has been here for many of the city’s big moments. He was here in 1969, when broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite called Chattanooga “the dirtiest city in America.” He was here in 1992, when the world’s largest fresh water aquarium opened its doors. And he was here in 2008, when Volkswagen announced it would be coming to the city.

Saturday, April 7

Some 68,600 automobiles and trucks were registered in Hamilton County during the 31-day licensing period, which ended March 31, County Clerk David M. Ramsey reported.

The University of Chattanooga has received a grant of $13,630 from the National Science Foundation, Dr. LeRoy A. Martin, president of UC, announced Thursday.

April 5

A Legacy of Strong Women

In a return visit to the Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga City Councilwoman Carol Berz at 6 p.m. will speak about Randolph Rogers’ “Ruth Gleaning” in a discussion of the legacy of women and their strength historically and today. Free to all in the community.

Meatloaf once sang, “I want you / I need you / But there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you. / Now don’t be sad / ‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad.” Although it was an honest sentiment, the object of his half-baked affection probably didn’t receive it that well. But as I sat in Poppy’s Smokehouse on Signal Mountain chewing on a rib, his lyrics came to mind.

In celebration of Rock City’s 80th anniversary, several barns this spring are getting a fresh coat of paint. In the last month, Jim Byers, son of Rock City’s original barn painter, Clark Byers, and Don Parris repainted two barns.

Jim and his father painted many of the 900 barns that read “See Rock City.” Jim started working with his dad at the age of 14 in 1954, and has traveled from Milwaukee to Miami and everywhere in between. “I’ve enjoyed every barn I’ve painted,” says Jim. “I can’t pinpoint just one.”

Richard Goodloe of RL Catering won the grand prize at Gourmet Guys for his chicken corn chowder, as well as first place in the soups, stews and chili division. He won first place for his chicken salad in the side division, too. Pictured (L to R) are judges Patrick Emanuel and Rachel Savage; winners Richard Goodloe and his mother, Barbara Allen; and judges Meghan Scanlon Roach and Jonathan Emanuel. Not pictured: Warren Barnett, judge. Gourmet Guys is a food-tasting gala pitting dozens of chefs against each other in an amateur event. Attendees are able to taste all kinds of appetizers, soups, sides, salads, entrees and desserts, and vote for their favorite chefs. Three Chattanooga Rotary Clubs teamed up to sponsor the 2012 Gourmet Guys Food Tasting Gala on March 24. Proceeds from the event will be used to support initiatives for needy children locally and internationally. (Photo provided)

In March, the youth soccer players of Chattanooga Sports Ministries, a local organization that seeks to transform the lives of at-risk youth through athletic engagement, competed in the first game of CSM’s spring soccer season, which will run through May 19.

There are more than a few roadblocks to overcome when closing a real estate deal, so agents are generally willing to do whatever they can to avoid potential bumps. At the GCAR GIG last month, Wells Eady, owner of Eady Appraisal Services, presented a list of ten things Realtors can do to optimize the appraisal process. Here’s the list along with additional thoughts about certain items:

Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, who represents the 3rd District of Tennessee, traveled to Chattanooga Wednesday to attend the monthly meeting of the Women’s Council of Realtors. Fleischmann was the guest speaker at the event, held on the Delta Queen. He spoke about what he’s doing in Washington to promote the interests of the real estate industry and discussed legislation that, if passed, could have a positive bearing on Realtors. He closed by saying, “We’ve got to protect real estate and the American Dream, which is to own a home.  You’re important to that process, and your profession needs to be protected. Thank you for your hard work.” (Photo by David Laprad)

It had been nearly a decade since I had stepped onto the grounds of what had been my home course during the last five years of the 20th century. Fred and I had played a lot of golf there together and I had been eagerly anticipating a return.

We’d reserved a 9:45 tee time and Fred said they would probably pair us with another twosome, because it was another busy Saturday morning. Not good, I thought, remembering other pairings we had endured there in the past. 

At each place I’ve landed over the years I usually introduce myself as someone who loves hot and spicy food, college football, and almost all things south. I reserve the “H” word for only a couple of things.

Being raised in Alabama and having spent more than half of my life in Arkansas, I’m sorry, but I loathe winter. That’s why you won’t hear me complain when it’s 94 and everyone needs an extra layer of antiperspirant. I always consider the other extreme and enjoy soaking up the sun.

Spring has sprung. That means that, in case you have not noticed, spring is in full force and summer is heading towards us like an out of control freight train. The predictions that I have heard for the summer are pretty simple: HOT! That will only be good for the bugs that survived the mild winter. It will allow them to grow much larger and make the biggest possible mark on my windshield when they sacrifice themselves. That bug remnant will, of course, be right in my line of sight. Complaints aside, I always prefer warm weather over cold and wet.

Quite a few years ago, when I was a young lawyer, an elder statesmen in my firm and I were burning the midnight oil on a hot summer’s eve, putting a brief in final form. He remarked to me how such newfangled inventions as central air conditioning and the photocopy machine had made the practice of law more exhausting. Before central air, he noted, no lawyer would spend hours in his or her office writing hundred page briefs because it would either be too hot or the wind from the open windows would scatter the pages with each passing breeze. When “carbon paper” was used rather than copy machines, it wasn’t as easy to make copies of zillion page masterpieces, and before there was “word processing”, correcting a page meant having to start the whole page over.

The moment “Wrath of the Titans” ended, it evaporated from my consciousness like a forgotten dream. One minute, I was watching the movie, and doing my best to care, and the next, it was over and I was leaving. For the price of a ticket these days, you want something that stays with you for a while.

When I entered law school in 1975, national and state bar associations pretty much prohibited attorneys from engaging in [whisper] advertising. Self-promotion by legal professionals – even in the Yellow Pages – is a product of the late 20th century. When the Supreme Court ruled in 1977 that the advertising ban for barristers was unconstitutional, it was big news!

School is almost out, and so that means vacation travel for many families. Here is a short quiz, hopefully to help you gain a little knowledge of the hiGHway and interstate system, and put you on the right road!

1. True or false: With numbering themes used for interstates and highways, which numbers travel east-west and which travel north-south? Even numbers (I-4, I-8, I-10, etc.) travel east-west, and odd numbers travel north-south (I-5, I-15, I-17, I-19, etc.).

When my dad’s mother turned 102 (no typo there), I made a trip to Colorado to pack-up her few belongings and move her to Arkansas, where she would be closer to me. My father had since passed away, along with most of his other siblings. She was living in an assisted-living residence, but had started falling quite a bit. In Colorado, the law requires that if a resident falls a certain amount of times within a month – on a monthly basis – they are to be moved to a nursing home.

In years past, you could drive down local roads and see signs that would denote dangerous curves, as well as intersections, ahead. Those signs would give you a forewarning that if you did not heed their placement, you could be heading for a lot of trouble, along with possible hurt to you and your property. Of course, a lot of us believed those warnings were put out for someone else not having the driving experience we have, and not having the putter-upper of those signs tell us “I told you so” at some time or the other.

The path to failure is trying to please everyone you come into contact with. I believe that I was not put on this earth to help everyone buy and sell. I can’t help everyone, and I don’t want to. Too many agents believe that they are forced to work with anyone who shows up. By excluding people, you will create better and more loyal clients.

Cancers of every type abound in today’s society, and as we move farther away from homemade meals using homegrown fruits, vegetables and fresh meats to fast foods, sodas, and pre-prepared and pre-packaged meals, the chances of developing life-changing and sometimes fatal diseases increase, despite advances in medicine.

Over the last several weeks, Hullco Exteriors has donated windows and doors that would retail for nearly $50,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area’s ReStore.

“We’re grateful for Hullco’s support,” says Jason Hjelseth, ReStore Manager. “By partnering with us, businesses like Hullco help us make quality materials available to anyone who needs them while generating funds to support Habitat’s work.”