News - Friday, September 28, 2012

Mahatma Gandhi led India to independence through nonviolence. Last week, his grandson, Dr. Arun Gandhi, taught the people of Chattanooga to embrace Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence. During the five-day event, Dr. Gandhi presented the keynote address at the 2012 Connecting the Dots Summit, an annual affair exploring arts and social issues. Co-sponsors included Allied Arts of Greater Chattanooga, United Way of Greater Chattanooga and the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture. The moderators incorporated mediation and conflict resolution training presented by the Chattanooga Bar Association and facilitated by Executive Director Lynda Minks Hood, Gang Task Force Director Boyd Patterson and City Councilwoman Carol Berz. Pictured above are (back row, L-R) Dan Bowers, president, Allied Arts; Hood; and Rodney Van Valkenburg, director of grants and initiatives, Allied Arts; and (bottom row, L-R) Dr. Gandhi, Missy Crutchfield, administrator, EAC; and Eva Dillard, chief executive and president, United Way of Greater Chattanooga. More pictures on page 2. (David Laprad)

National legal journalist Mark Curriden has covered a lot of great trial lawyers over the years, including many from Tennessee. Jerry Summers, Leroy Phillips and Conrad Finnell are just a few of the locals he has profiled.

Curriden says these men are part of a generation of lawyers with great stories to tell. With the number of trials in the U.S. seemingly approaching zero, and with fewer and fewer trial lawyers taking their place, they also are a disappearing breed.

Thursday, Oct. 4-Thursday, Oct. 18

 Fireside at Greenway Farm

Outdoor Chattanooga is hosting family nights by the campfire at Greenway Farm every Thursday through October 18. Bring camp chairs and marshmallows, and enjoy family music and entertainment from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Outdoor Chattanooga has dubbed September 27 “Lodge Cast Iron Pot Luck” night. Bring a Dutch oven, skillet, cornbread baker or griddle and something to share. Before the program, bring the family to the farm for canoeing on North Chickamauga Creek. From 6 to 7 p.m., OC will have canoes, paddles and lifejackets at the farm’s south launch for people to use on the creek. All equipment and staff supervision will be provided. Life jackets are sized for adults and kids ages 5 and older. Children younger than age 5 should have their own life jackets. To learn more, email terri@outdoorchattanooga.com or call OC at 423-643-6888.

With fall comes a sense of nostalgia. It also brings a renewed sense of optimism. I don’t know if it’s the cleaner, less humid air; I don’t know if it’s the increasing signs of hot days leaving; maybe it’s the hope that the boys of summer will still be batting the ball around the diamond in the autumn, or maybe even it’s an instinctual remembrance of fall harvests of old. This fall’s arrival seems even more heartening than those of the past. Maybe it’s because the economy is showing some minor signs of life, or perhaps it’s just relief after the hottest July in U.S. history. Of course, autumn is always a harbinger of change – the interim between summer and winter – and this year change is personal.

In The Matter Of Abigail F.K.

Appeal from the Hamilton County Juvenile Court

Case Number: E2012-00016-COA-R3-JV

Authoring Judge: Judge Holly M. Kirby

Originating Judge: Judge Suzanne Bailey

Date Filed: Friday, September 14, 2012

Social media is a great way to connect with people. Some people use it to connect with old friends; others use it to find a date. Social media has even been used to start uprisings around the world. Social media can be either good or bad, but one thing is for sure: Social media is here for the foreseeable future, and we ignore it at our peril.

An abundance of bluegrass entertainment will be showcased Friday, October 5 and Saturday, October 6 during the sixth annual 3 Sisters Music Festival, hosted by Fletcher Bright Company and produced by Chattanooga Presents. Held at Ross’s Landing, the free event will feature the top names in contemporary and traditional bluegrass.

Re: The column in which I quoted lawyers’ courtroom and deposition questions and statements. Ron Curlin of Memphis writes, “Without question, this is the most hilarious column you’ve ever done. It has brightened my day tremendously! As far as I’m concerned, you have set a precedent with this one, and I fully expect to see more ‘Did They Really Say That?’ columns chosen from the attorney’s side of the proceedings. Thank you for making my day. Keep up the excellent work.”

The term bacteria was devised in the 19th century by the German botanist Ferdinand Cohn, who based it on the Greek word “bakterion,” meaning a small rod or staff. In 1853, Cohn categorized bacteria as one of three types of microorganisms: bacteria (short rods), bacilli (longer rods) and spirilla (spiral forms). The term “bacteria” was preceded in the 17th century by the microscopic animalcules described by Antony van Leeuwenhoek.

If you’re going to name your restaurant after the food you plan on serving, then you need to make sure your product stands head and shoulders above the rest. For example, if you’re going to open a Red Lobster, then you had better serve some of the best lobster around. The same goes for any food.

(Stage left to one day last winter)

Kathy sat beside me as I drove, seemingly content to sing along with the tunes on the radio.

Her contentment wasn’t contagious, though, and after finally enduring all I could of the snails pace traffic and becoming almost physically ill from the unceasing view of the dirty red Chevy van I had been drafting forever in the fast lane, I made my best Sterling Martin move, gunning the Honda’s powerful four cylinders up to 12 mph and darting across the two lanes to the first exit. I was now on the road less traveled.

Hubby and I have been visiting the Windy City of Chicago for the last few days, and it held up to its name quite well! It was windy and just a bit on the cool side, but the sun was out the entire time, so it was nice. The coolness gave me an excuse to go to Macy’s and get a new jacket!

The most recent GCAR GIG was the platform for an announcement about a welcome addition to the MLS: an appraiser database. Wells Eady of Eady Appraisal Services said the upcoming feature will place accurate appraisal data in the hands on Realtors, enabling them to serve their clients even better.

The Greater Chattanooga Remodelers Council is sponsoring Remodelers Day at Warehouse Row on Thursday, October 4 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Greater Chattanooga Remodelers Council is part of the Home Builders Association of Greater Chattanooga. The Remodelers Council specializes in home remodeling. 

Historically, Hamilton County has been the fifth largest county for tourism expenditures in the state. Numbers released September 20 by the Travel Industry of America show that Hamilton County is now the fourth largest in the state, with an $893.3 million economic impact. That is a 10.3 percent increase over 2010. This money is spent by tourists at hotels, attractions and restaurants and funds 8,500 full-time jobs in the tourism industry.

One of the things on my bucket list is to visit America’s National Parks. America has so many little known facts surrounding the states I’ll be exploring. See how many of these you know.

1. In Weston, Mass., stands a tower honoring the first European colonists of North America; however, they are not the Puritans or the Pilgrims. Who were these intrepid seafarers? Romans; Etruscans; Greeks; Vikings.

Fill in the blanks to the quote with the following words:

God, obliged, same, sense, intellect, use,

endowed, forego, intended, feel

“I do not _____ _____ to believe that the _____ _____ who has _____ us with _____, reason, and _____ has _____ us to _____ their _____.”

As a mere child, which seems like a long time ago, I was always told to clean my plate and eat all of my vegetables so I would grow up to be big and strong. In the fifth grade, I weighed 60 pounds soaking wet while holding a very wet washcloth. The greatest thing to me at that time was to someday be big and strong. However, the only thing that really seemed to happen was for me to end up being primarily big. I guess I took the advice of cleaning my plate too seriously, and I don’t have anyone to blame but myself.

Have you ever wondered what being a police officer would be like? Every day, cops suit up knowing they could be getting dressed for the last time and then go out and place their lives on the line. One minute, they’re cutting up with their partner, and the next, they’re entering a strange house and wrestling a gun away from a drug-crazed addict. Even something as innocuous as stopping a driver who committed a traffic violation could turn into a life or death situation.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

“All of the significant battles are waged within the self,” said author and psychotherapist Sheldon Kopp (1929 – 1999).