News - Friday, September 25, 2015

You’re never going to amount to anything. You’re going to drop out of high school. You’re going to live on welfare.

These words, spoken to Amanda Jelks when she became pregnant at the age of 14, could have broken her spirit and condemned her to a life of indigence. But instead of allowing what others said to discourage her, she turned their words into the motivation she needed to build a better tomorrow for herself and the life growing inside of her.

Chattanooga Broker Randy Durham (Keller Williams Downtown) was inducted as the 2016 president of the Tennessee Association of Realtors last week at the organization’s annual convention in Memphis.

In the role, Durham will oversee the activities of the 22,000 member association, which will include implementing its 36-page strategic plan, which he half-jokingly calls his job description for the next year.

Gospel on Glass

The second annual Gospel on Glass will take place Sunday, Sept. 27 from 3-6 p.m. on the green space at the corner of Wheeler and Glass.The event is free and family friendly. Food vendors will be on site. Glass Street’s Trish Rutledge will emcee. Performers will include Larry Hurston and Genuine, gospel rapper Marcus Price, Pastor Jo and Team Judah, Tiffany Coleman, Orchard Knob Baptist Church Male Chorus, Hawkinsville Mass Choir, poet Antoine Boynkin, Trent Williams and Renewed, Eula Gipson, Virtuous Church Praise Team, Jarvis Menifee and Peculiar Praise, Marcellus Barnes and VOT, Darius Ware and IPMC, Pastor Corey Prather and High Praize, G3, and New Covenant Singers. For more information, contact Teal Thibaud at teal@glasshousecollective.org or (423) 402-0565.

The law firm of Tidwell, Izell and Richardson announces its formation and new office location in Suite 1550 of the SunTrust Bank building in downtown Chattanooga.

Partners W. Gerald “Jerry” Tidwell and W. Adam Izell are now formally associated with attorney Michael E. Richardson. Joining the firm is retired Circuit Court Judge Jackie Schulten Bolton, who is serving of counsel. Two new associates, Todd A. Davis and Bart Mathews, are also affiliated with the firm.

Miller & Martin last month welcomed Miller Center to Chattanooga, its founding city, to discuss the topic of American manufacturing’s future in a program entitled “Made in America...Again.”

The event, held at the Hunter Museum of American Art, featured a discussion of the Miller Center report from the Millstein Commission on six ideas to accelerate the innovative capacity of America’s manufacturing SMEs. Moderated by Mark Berger, attorney at Miller & Martin, the panel was comprised of a group of the commission’s members, including: Jeff Chidester, director of policy programs at Miller Center; Bernie Carlson, Ph.D., chair of engineering at the University of Virginia; and Jennifer Clark, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Public Policy, and director of the Center for Urban Innovation at Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has an aggressive agenda for the next year with the goals of improving the service the judiciary provides to attorneys and adapting to better meet the needs of litigants.

Chief Justice Sharon Lee outlined plans for the next year while speaking at the Knoxville Bar Association’s Supreme Court Dinner, an annual event that honors the Court and the justices’ work.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam last week appointed Tom Greenholtz of Ooltewah as Criminal Court Judge for the 11th Judicial District, which serves Hamilton County.

Greenholtz, 42, replaces Judge Rebecca Stern, who retired June 1 this year.

Greenholtz is a shareholder with the law firm Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel, where he has worked since 2006. He was with Shumacker Witt Gaither & Whitaker from 2004-2006 and Summers & Wyatt from 2002-2004. His practice areas have included: criminal defense; civil and criminal appeals; municipal and government law; business, commercial, and banking advice and litigation; labor and employment law; and antitrust compliance.

If you work for a fairly sizable company, you may be entering your open enrollment season, when you can add or adjust your employer-sponsored benefits. While you probably should review all your benefits, you may want to pay special attention to your life insurance to determine if you and your family are adequately protected. 

PARK(ing) Day returned Friday, Sept. 18 to Chattanooga, allowing local organizations and individuals to turn downtown parking spaces into miniature parks.

The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of the urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out! 

Travis Close of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Realty Center in Signal Mountain last week was elected 2016 Division 3 vice president for the Tennessee Association of Realtors (TAR) at the statewide association’s annual fall convention in Memphis.

The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, conducted a flyover of the city of Chattanooga Wednesday, Sept. 16.

The Blue Angels flew the squadron’s six-jet F/A-18 Hornet Delta Formation over Ross’ Landing at 4:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Sept. 12, 13 Avondale residents became the founding members of Avondale Block Leaders, a group of residents who are volunteering to keep their neighbors informed and involved in neighborhood and city-wide activities. These individuals will also serve as the liaison between the residents and the Avondale Neighborhood Association.

While the official Realtor Safety Month ends Sept. 30, safety is an ongoing concern for Realtors. We take necessary precautions daily not only for our personal safety, but also for the safety of our clients. A listed property is an invitation to allow strangers into your home. Buyers encounter strangers when visiting listed properties. To help protect our clients against crime, the National Association of Realtors suggest these ways sellers can protect themselves.

When “Everest” was over, I wanted to go outside, stand on level ground, and take a deep breath. I needed to feel something solid under my feet and fill my lungs with oxygen. I’m rarely so immersed in a film I have to remind myself it’s only a movie, but “Everest” broke through my normal defenses and affected me on a physical level.

An abundance of bluegrass entertainment will be showcased Friday, Oct. 2 and Saturday, Oct. 3, during the ninth annual 3 Sisters Music Festival, hosted by Fletcher Bright Realty. Held at Ross’ Landing, the free event will feature the top names in contemporary and traditional bluegrass.

Nothing. That’s what I’ve got today. It happens.

For a couple of years now, there’s been some connection between the I Swear Crossword and this column in any given week. So, having nothing today is actually appropriate, as I am running a puzzle without a theme. There’s a cutting-edge, in-the-news 15-letter phrase across the center of the puzzle. And a half-dozen or so other lively phrases. But no theme.

All of the cooking shows on TV are incredible. To name just a few: “The Chew,” Hell’s Kitchen,” “Chopped,” “Kitchen Nightmares” (I’ve had more than my share of these), “Cupcake Wars,” “Unwrapped,” “Cutthroat Kitchen,” “The Next Food Star,” “Food Detectives” (that name has me puzzled), “Throwdown with Bobby Flay,” and, last but not least (nor anywhere near the end of the list), “Two Fat Ladies.” (What in tarnation?)

Skimming the last few issues of The Week, hoping for a laugh or two, I read where pasta sales have dropped six percent worldwide in the last six years. This is because we are eating fewer carbs, like in that Caveman Jurassic Park Diet that KM tried to get me to try. I was on board until she told me it was leafy plants and lean protein, and not a large buttered popcorn and a Coke.

A little over a month ago we enrolled two of our children into the public school system. There are many pros and cons to both public schools and homeschooling, but as a mother I think one of the biggest cons of the public school system is the sickness. 

Saturday, Sept. 25, 1965

The property on the east side of the 1200 block of Broad Street has been leased by Amos & Andy Buick Co., which will occupy the site after a complete modernization program is carried out, Amos Trotter, president of the auto firm, announced Friday.

Saturday, Sept. 25, 1915

A picnic party was held at Rock City on Lookout Mountain Friday evening. Those enjoying the affair were Mary Belle Thomas, Dorothea Lynde, Katherine Betts, Mary Anderson Everett, Margaret Daniels, Mary Thankful Everett, Clifford Betts, Ed Saunders, Ed McMillin, Clarence McCollum, Dr. Gerhard, and Mr. Lewis.