News - Friday, July 29, 2016

Kara West has a remarkably calm demeanor given the amount of work on her plate. As the Chapter 13 trustee for the Southern Division of the Eastern District of Tennessee, she’s responsible for handling approximately 11,000 cases. The previous week’s docket alone was 80 pages long, and contained about 300 cases.

Chancellor Jeff Atherton began his duties as host of Legal Aid of Southeast Tennessee’s Pro Bono Night 2016 with three words he said strike terror into the hearts of trial judges everywhere – pro se litigants. Legal Aid (LAET) then spent the evening of July 21 honoring individuals who have worked to ensure those who need legal representation and access to justice have it, regardless of their ability to pay for it. The event took place at Bessie Smith Hall, and included live music, hors d’oeuvres, and a silent auction fundraiser.

It is a great honor to be named the Bruce C. Bailey Volunteer Lawyer of the Year. When I heard I was to receive this award, I took a good look at these two frames listing the previous recipients. I read the quote from Mr. Bailey in the first frame about the role of volunteers in equal access to justice, and the one in the second from Learned Hand admonishing us that we cannot keep our democracy if we ration justice. As I thought about those words, I realized that being a volunteer lawyer has changed me. It has changed my outlook on the law and what it means to me to be a lawyer.

Judge Clarence Shattuck has become accustomed to the bench during his 34 years as a Hamilton County General Sessions Court. But as a Senior Olympian basketball player, the judge prefers to get off the bench and onto the court. Recently, Judge Shattuck won the individual three-point shooting contest and placed second in the Hot Shot competition at the Tennessee State Senior Olympics, held in Franklin, Tenn.

You’re ready to make an investment in real estate, or you have property to sell. With approximately 1,600 Realtors in the Greater Chattanooga market, how do you pick one that’s right for you? Even if you’re armed with recommendations from family, friends, or coworkers, we recommend interviewing Realtors to ensure they can best serve your unique real estate needs. To aide in the interview process, Realtor Magazine Online suggests asking these questions when interviewing potential Realtors:

In my last column, I spoke about contextualism and the importance of a home blending with its environment. This week, I’m going to discuss character.

What’s the character of your home? Does it reflect your values, tastes, and financial standing? When you pay attention to the exterior details surrounding the trim, windows, doors, and roof slope, the outward appearance can begin to reflect the character of your home, and should be a preview of the interior style.

With the economy and housing market still recovering in Chattanooga and surrounding areas, some potential first-time home buyers may be hesitant to invest in a new home. Yet there are several reasons why now is a great time for millennials and other first-time home buyers to start building their American Dream.

When Gene Roddenberry created “Star Trek” 50 years ago, he had a grand vision of the future. Not the future of the franchise – he was creating just a television show – but the future in which his series was set. He imagined a time when man had overcome his proclivity for violence and divisiveness and set out to explore the universe. “Look at what we could accomplish if we refocused our efforts as a species,” he was saying. But as creative and far-seeing as Roddenberry was, he couldn’t have foreseen what “Star Trek” has become.

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke met with more than a dozen area landlords last week to discuss ways they can work together to end veteran homelessness and provide stable housing for the men and women who have served our country. With 11 homeless veterans in Chattanooga ready to move into a home today, the need for new landlords is greater than ever, the mayor said.

Medal of Honor Museum

The public is invited to attend a meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre to give feedback on the construction of the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center at Coolidge Park. Officials with the Heritage Center are seeking to lease a portion of the park from the City of Chattanooga and Hamilton County in order to build a two-story museum. The center is currently housed at Northgate Mall in Hixson. Heritage Center officials have asked to lease 6,800 square feet next to the cul-de-sac at the end of Tremont Street in Coolidge Park. The agreement, if approved, would be a lease of $1 for 99 years. The Heritage Center says the site would honor Charles H. Coolidge as a Medal of Honor recipient and act as a memorial to the Medal of Honor. The public is encouraged to attend the meeting to give feedback on the Heritage Center’s request. For more information, visit connect.chattanooga.gov/medalofhonor.

If you’re a small-business owner, you think a lot about today. Is your cash flow sufficient … today? Are your products and services competitive … today? Are you confident in your marketing and advertising efforts … today? And because you are so focused on today, you may be neglecting a key aspect of tomorrow – your retirement. Specifically, do you have a good retirement plan for yourself? 

Saturday, July 30, 1966

According to Eugene Martin, general chairman of the Brainerd Kiwanis Club Barbecue, more than 10,000 people flocked to the Brainerd Community Center for its 20th annual Kiwanis Barbecue Friday and Saturday to buy the 14,000 pounds of barbecue offered for sale in their fund-raising project for youth work.

Saturday, July 29, 1916

Mr. and Mrs. Glen M. Whiteside announced the engagement and approaching marriage of their daughter, Miss Irene Louise Whiteside, to Mr. Sam E. Connelly. The marriage will take place in the early fall.

This past month, our church had two picnics, both of which were perfect! The weather was perfect, the food was perfect, and the fellowship was perfect!

To the first one, I carried a cornbread salad; to the second one, I didn’t have to take anything. Hubby and I just went and enjoyed the fun!

The bus arrived at Nuremberg’s Neues Museum. That would be in Germany. A group disembarked. Among them was a 91-year-old woman, whose name has not been released at this time. For purposes of this column, we shall call her Frau K.