News - Friday, September 16, 2016

When it comes to education in Hamilton County, there’s good news and there’s bad news, according to County Commissioner Sabrena Turner-Smedley. The bad news is this: Hamilton County’s students are scoring low on the ACT; its third and fourth graders are reading below their grade level; and its workforce needs to be better prepared for the jobs that are coming. The good news is this: if everyone works together, Hamilton County can turn these things around.

Russell Fowler, director of litigation and advocacy at Legal Aid of East Tennessee (LAET), has received the 2016 B. Riney Green Access to Justice Award. The award is given annually by the Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services (TALS), and recognizes attorneys whose efforts promote inter-program cooperation or otherwise strengthen the provision of civil legal aid in Tennessee.

Judge Sherry Paty was introduced as the new president of the Tennessee Municipal Judges’ Conference during the group’s annual meeting in August.

Judge Paty serves as Chattanooga Municipal court judge. She is a lifelong resident of Chattanooga, and has held the office of City Court Judge since 2004.

William G. Colvin has been selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2017 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for Litigation – Construction. 

Best Lawyers lists are compiled by conducting peer-review surveys in which tens of thousands of leading lawyers confidentially evaluate their professional peers.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has issued several orders soliciting comments to proposed rule changes.

Topics include the licensing of attorneys, the rules of professional conduct, the disqualification or recusal of a judge, filing and disposition of motions and appeal, and pro hac vice in proceedings before Tennessee agencies and courts by lawyers not licensed to practice law in Tennessee.

Chattanooga area residents are being targeted by phone calls regarding failure to report for jury duty from a person claiming to be from the U.S. Marshal Service. The scam involves an individual contacting the victim, telling him or her that he or she has missed federal jury duty, and demanding the victim pay a fine to avoid being arrested.

It’s Open Enrollment Season, so if you work for a medium- or large-sized company, you will need to make some choices regarding your employee benefits — and these choices can have a big impact on your financial situation. 

On Monday, Sept. 5, the auction and real estate firm added a 31,000 square foot warehouse and two-acre secured yard to its operation. The facility, located at 3114 Freeman St. in Chattanooga, will be the new warehouse and transportation center for the Chattanooga-based company. It will nearly triple the available warehouse space and allow the company to more easily accept large transport vehicles for shipping and receiving.

Closed sales began to cool for much of the country last month, and conventional wisdom indicates that year-over-year declines are going to be present for the remainder of the year, given the low inventory situation in most markets, including Greater Chattanooga. Demand is certainly present and has created competitive situations that have kept prices up. Rental prices are also up, which may lure more toward homeownership.

Joan Rose of Ooltewah has become affiliated with Coldwell Banker Pryor Realty. As a Realtor and affiliate broker, Rose will specialize in residential real estate.

“I’ve always loved real estate, and in particular, buying and moving into a new home,” Rose said. “The excitement of taking a house and making it a home has always been special to me. I can remember our last two moves – being so excited that I’m up before dawn bubbling with anticipation.”

Kate McDaniel of Chattanooga has become affiliated with Crye­-Leike’s East Brainerd branch office.

As a Realtor and affiliate broker, McDaniel serves the real estate needs of buyers and sellers in and around Hamilton County. She specializes in residential real estate, including helping first-time homebuyers and those relocating to the Chattanooga area.

The challenge of finding affordable homes isn’t exclusive to metropolitan areas. The desire to own a quality home is just as strong among those who live in smaller cities like Chattanooga and the more rural counties that surround it.

Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was the right man for the job. As US Airways Flight 1549 descended toward the broad waters of the Hudson River, he did what was necessary to save the 155 passengers and crewmembers on his plane.

Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise (CNE) has broken ground on Mai Bell, a 49-unit apartment complex in Highland Park named after beloved Chattanoogan Mai Bell Hurley.

The three-story apartment building on the corner of Bailey Avenue and South Hawthorne Street in Highland Park will bring $4.7 million of investment into the neighborhood while creating affordable and work force housing, CNA said in a press release. Rents on 11 of the 49 units will start as low as $481 per month for a one bedroom, $652 for a two bedroom, and $868 for a three bedroom.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga invites the Chattanooga community to view the exhibit “Psalms beyond Boundaries” at the Jewish Cultural Center, located at 5461 N. Terrace Rd. 

The exhibit pairs artists from the Southern United States, including three from Chattanooga, with artists from the Hadera region in Israel, all of which used the “Book of Psalms” as the content for their art works.

Voter registration drives

A taskforce comprised of community leaders and pastors are teaming up to launch GOVoteCHA. Through this nonpartisan effort, organizers will host voter registration rallies throughout the Greater Chattanooga Area to educate residents about the importance of civic participation and to encourage them to register to vote.

Saturday, Sept. 17, 1966

City Traffic Engineer Ralph G. Lewis, Jr., has resigned to become traffic engineer for the Nashville-Davidson County metropolitan government effective Oct. 1. The new post will pay Mr. Lewis about $15,000 a year, some $3,000 more than he was making here.

Saturday, Sept. 16, 1916

Mr. and Mrs. W.Z. Reynolds are making extensive improvements on their home on Cameron Hill.

Miss Mary Steward entertained at her home on Battery Place in honor of Miss Katherine Kaufman, a bride of this fall. Miss Steward was assisted by Mesdames Homer Gogdell, F.F. Hooper, E.A. Wheatley, C.S. Steward, and Miss Catherine Signiago.

United Airlines last week launched its inaugural nonstop flights to Newark Liberty International Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport from Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport.

Airline and airport officials welcomed United Airlines to Chattanooga with a ribbon cutting celebration alongside the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce, Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke, and other elected officials.

State Rep. Ron Travis is perplexed.

On one hand, the Republican from Dayton is concerned with escalating premiums for Tennesseans participating in the insurance marketplace, worried costs are increasing to the point people simply can’t afford health insurance.

A federal grant will soon allow the Chattanooga Fire Department to hire additional firefighters. The Department of Homeland Security recently notified the department that it has approved an application for $1,840,356 from its Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant fund. The money will allow the department to increase staffing on its squads and dedicate more resources to its Quick Response Vehicles (QRV).

Tennessee football returns to normalcy this week, if you call a noon EDT kickoff normal.

The Vols survived a Thursday night scare in the season opener against Appalachian State in Neyland Stadium. Then they roared from behind last Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway and beat Virginia Tech 45-24 in the Pilot Flying J. Battle at Bristol before a college football record crowd of 156,990.

There are many common words and phrases in which back is an integral part. And many of them have significant application in the autumn of the year.

Welcome back is a common greeting from schools, churches and other facilities. Interestingly, though, this phrase doesn’t really have dictionary support as a stand-alone. I would define it in two ways, if I were a lexicographer:

“Monster Fish: In Search of the Last River Giants,” a National Geographic exhibition, will open Saturday, Oct. 1 in the River Place building, located in Aquarium Plaza and the former site of the Chattanooga History Center.