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Hamilton County Board of education honors Matthews

By: Kelli Gauthier
(Contact)

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School Board Meeting

A single red rose with baby’s breath and a bow marked the place where Debra Matthews used to sit on the Hamilton County Board of Education.

Superintendent Jim Scales and the board honored the late Ms. Matthews, who died last month, at Thursday’s meeting.

“Debra had that way of getting from us what she needed, and for someone with her physical limitations, she could get a lot of information from you,” Dr. Scales said with a chuckle. “She’d call and ask you for information, and if it wasn’t quite what she was looking for, you’d hear that little sound, ‘Hmm,’ which meant you were supposed to get more.”

As he presented a plaque to Ms. Matthews’ son La’Del and brother, Sherman, Dr. Scales called her a warrior for education.

“She poured her heart and soul into making sure we had good educational programs and facilities for the students of Hamilton County,” he said. “Thank you for sharing her with us.”

School board member Jeffrey Wilson also told the board about the work he had done to get the auditorium at Orchard Knob Elementary School named the Debra L. Matthews Auditorium.

Orchard Knob opened this year in a brand-new building in District 4, which Ms. Matthews represented.

“There is no better way to honor Debra than with something that is indeed permanent,” Mr. Wilson said. “Truly, if there’s a person who is worthy of having something named after her, it’s Debra.”

In other news, the school board also voted unanimously to give Kenny Smith another year as chairman of the school board. Board member Chester Bankston was voted in as vice chairman.

The board honored high-scoring JROTC battalions at six high schools, including Soddy-Daisy High, whose cadet inspection by U.S. Army officials earned them the highest marks ever — 595.2 points out of a possible 600 — received by nearly 300 high schools in a six-state region.

Cadets at Ooltewah High School scored 595.1.

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