Friday, September 5:
The modernization underway at Volunteer Army Ammunition Plant at Tyner is expected to result in about a 98 per cent reduction in the air and water pollution from the plant, Col. Deryl A. Sisson, commander of the facility reported. A recently released Defense Department report from Washington indicated the new process will save taxpayers $26 million annually.
Almost $30 million in health care benefits was provided for Tennessee subscribers of Blue Cross-Blue Shield in the first six months of 1969, John R. Hill, Blue Cross-Blue Shield president announced. The total benefits paid by the Chattanooga-based organization were over $61 million during the period, including funds dispersed under government health care programs for which Blue Cross-Blue Shield is fiscal intermediary.
Saturday, September 6:
The City of Chattanooga filed suit in Chancery Court Friday asking the court to nullify East Ridge’s hasty annexation of a 65-acre tract of land and declare the law which authorized file annexation unconstitutional. Chancellor M. B. Finkelstein issued an order later which directed the East Ridge City Commission to appear at 9:30 a.m. September 12 to show cause why it should not be enjoined from enforcing the annexation ordinance adopted in a special “midnight” meeting of the Commission one minute past midnight Friday.
Ridgeside (Shepherd Hills,) the tiny city within the city of Chattanooga, has more than trebled its property tax rate recently, jumping from 30 cents per $100 assessed valuation to $1. Each of the 200 taxpayers of Ridgeside must now pay $4.05 per $100 of assessed valuation with Hamilton County claiming $3.05 of that. The new rate is expected to produce a total of $79,380 on a total value of $1,960,000. The county will receive $59,780 of this revenue.
Sunday, September 7:
The Medical School Plaque, an award commemorating the 20th anniversary of Israel’s first medical school, will be presented to A. Mose Siskin and Garrison Siskin Sept 30 by the Chattanooga Chapter of Hadassah. The award is in honor of the Siskin brothers’ humanitarian work and their activities in rehabilitation. The Medical School of Hadassah Hebrew University was founded in 1949 under sponsorship of Hadassah which has long been active in health care projects for Israel.
The retirement of Dixie L. Conger, vice president in charge of securities at American National Bank and Trust Co., was announced Saturday by officials of the American National. Mr. Conger has been with the bank for 26 years.
Charles S. Faris, first vice president of Chattanooga Board of Realtors, has been nominated as 1970 president of the board. Other nominees are Paul W. Shepherd Jr., first vice president; Jack Ireland, second vice president; George McGhee III, secretary and Hugh Siniard, treasurer. Nominated for directorships were James R. Chamberlin, Jr. and William A. Clift, Election will be held October 8 at the Read House and installation will take place at the annual banquet in December. The new officers will take office on January 4.
Monday, September 8:
The membership of First Centenary United Methodist Church approved the general design of a proposed $2 million new church plant Sunday and authorized the architect to proceed with working drawings. W.B. Riley, chairman of the special church plans steering committee, and Dr. Ralph Mohney, senior pastor, said the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of the general design.
Former Chattanooga Mayor Ralph Kelley, speaking at the Sunday evening program at S. Luke’s United Methodist Church, declared area-wide problems such as sewage treatment are a no-man’s land of buck-passing and feuding among Hamilton County’s local governments. Mr. Kelly resigned as mayor last year to become a referee in federal bankruptcy court.
The Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga will begin its 19th annual travel and adventure film series October 27 with “Japanese Summer” presented by Phil Walker. There will be seven films in the series and each will be held at Memorial Auditorium at 8 p.m. Tickets for the series are $6, $7, and $9, all seats reserved for the entire series. Profits will be used for the Kiwanis projects including Boys Club, Key Clubs, Opportunity House for Girls and other youth projects.
Tuesday, September 9:
The Tennessee Higher Education Commission approved an engineering science program leading to a B.S. degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in action taken Monday.
The next step in the highly controversial Neighborhood Development Program is up to the Chattanooga Housing Authority board of commissioners, Billy C. Cooper, executive director of the CHA said Monday. If the CHA Board authorizes the filing of an application then it will go to the City Commission. If the Commission adopts a resolution of approval, then it will move on to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for approval or rejection in Washington.
Wednesday, September 10:
Scott L. Probasco, Jr. speaking as a Chattanooga citizen and a member of the Tennessee Commission on Higher Education, said Tuesday that the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will suffer a crippling setback if the proposed Neighborhood Development program (urban renewal) is not approved. A large number of citizens, attending and speaking at a public hearing Friday opposed the project.
William R. Senter, Jr., president and headmaster of the Senter School, presented a statement to the City Commission Tuesday requesting reconsideration of the Neighborhood Development Program and declared that almost without exception the people of the affected zones and elsewhere in the city feel that the Urban Renewal Program in its present form is “too much, too soon and unnecessary”.
The town of Collegedale plans to annex 83.6 acres and add 35 families to its population, it was disclosed Monday at a meeting of the city-county regional planning commission. There will be a public hearing on the proposed annexation on September 29 at 7:30, “probably at the auditorium of Southern Missionary College,” Mayor Fred Fuller of Collegedale said. Collegedale was incorporated in November 1968 and has a population of 2,600 and includes about 3,000 acres of land.
Thursday, September 11:
The City Commission’s negotiating team has reached an agreement with Southern Coach Lines to provide substantially the same service now being offered for the next ten months within the Chattanooga city limits for $63,000. Other municipalities served by the bus company plan to consult with company officials and reach agreements similar to Chattanooga’s for service to their areas. Chattanooga’s agreement is subject to formal approval of the City Commission and to the company negotiating a satisfactory contract with the bus drivers’ union whose contract expired September 1.
Fifteen new faculty members will be taking over duties at Chattanooga State Technical Institute at the start of the fall quarter, Director Edward Sessions announced. This represents a substantial increase in student enrollment and expanded courses calling for more instructors at the Institute.