How about Hart as Tennessee AD?
I probably am putting the cart before the horse as I speculate about the new vacancy as University of Tennessee athletic director.
Our own UTC Athletic Director Rick Hart would be an excellent choice.
Now whether Hart would even have an interest in that position, I do not know.
Yes, it would be a great loss to UTC, but a great acquisition at UT. Hart is destined to eventually become a Division I athletic director, so why not now at UT?
There will be a lot of interest in that vacancy from a lot of retreads and questionable persons to be sure. What is needed is a young, successful, energetic person such as Hart.
So if the UT board members should read this - look no further!
BARNEY ROTH JR.
Signal mayor OK'd resurfacing
In March, I met with Signal Mountain Mayor Bill Lusk to discuss improved reliable access on U.S. 127 to the town of Signal Mountain. The history of slides here presents potential road closures hindering access to the community and greatly impacting the economy.
In the meeting, we agreed that the Tennessee Department of Transportation would resurface the existing roadway, which had not been resurfaced in 15 years and required immediate attention. Failure to maintain the pavement would lead to serious deterioration, costing the state more to repair.
Additionally, we agreed to study long-term solutions by exploring alternate routes providing reliable access. Building an alternate roadway would be a lengthy and costly endeavor. At the request of Signal Mountain and Transportation Planning Organization officials, TDOT will conduct a study of U.S. 127 exploring alternate roadways.
Last Friday, I spoke with Mayor Lusk reconfirming he still agreed with our decision to resurface the roadway, offering him the option to cancel the project if he thought it was a "waste of money." He opposed that option and asked TDOT to proceed with resurfacing, which began Monday. The contractor will work six days a week, keeping one lane of traffic open where possible, with completion set for Aug. 1.
COMMISSIONER JOHN SCHROER, TDOT
Killebrew, stadium revive memories
When I was a kid, my parents took me to Engel Stadium to see the Lookouts play. What I remember about the game was Harmon Killebrew hitting the ball over the Krystal sign in left field.
Several years later, Coach Buck Johnson took our eighth-grade Knothole team to Engel Stadium to play. When I went into the dugout, I was full of memories of Killebrew and the other great players who had been there.
I was so pumped up the first time I came to bat, standing where Killebrew had stood. When I got a single to right field, one would have thought I had hit the Krystal sign.
Thanks for the article by Ray Deering, May 18, about Harmon Killebrew.
DONAVAN PENNEY, Soddy-Daisy
Shelter deserves to keep funding
The recent expiration of the tax agreement between Chattanooga and Hamilton County leaves many vital services in jeopardy
There are many good reasons that Chambliss Shelter and Children's Home comprise an organization that Chattanooga cannot afford to lose. In addition to serving as a residential home, Chambliss provides drop-in care for the children of many parents who work night shifts, cannot afford regular day care, or who, for other reasons, can't find safe and appropriate care for their children while they work.
In many cases, the people who utilize these crucial services would be otherwise unable to hold a job, since there would be no one with whom to leave their children. These hard-working people would have to resort to welfare, thereby costing the city much more than it currently pays to help fund the shelter.
Please contact your City Council representatives and urge them to pick up the slack left by the lapse of the tax agreement.
The well-being of many children and the attempts of honest families to support themselves, as opposed to living on our dime, hang in the balance.
ROBIN McMAHON, Ooltewah
Liberals want to control lives
Democrats are expert politicians.
While Obama is taking $500 billion away from Medicare (yes he is!), they are able to convince many poor people it's the Republicans who are out to destroy it.
If the government controls health care, liberals know that is the way to gain complete control over every facet of our lives. Liberals don't really care about the people; they just want to control them.
Have you ever known a liberal who didn't think they were smarter than most others? They really believe only they know how our lives should be lived.
I want the freedom to live my own life - not through liberal control.
CLINTON GRANT, Rossville, Ga.
Alternative energy hurts less land
The Free Press editorial (June 5) lamenting the "land hog" status of giant solar and wind projects chose to cherry pick to understate the land hog status of coal, oil, nukes and gas or "CONG."
Coal alone has impacted 8.4 million acres nationally, 1.4 million in the central Appalachians, from mining. Add on to that footprint the millions of acres impacted by acid rain, ozone damage, poisoned streams and 2,500 miles or so of streams killed by mountain- top removals.
The millions of acres of land impacted by oil is quite obvious to anyone familiar with the Gulf oil spills and oil wars. Natural gas fracking, tar sands, and forests-to-energy scams will permanently impact many more tens to hundreds of millions of acres.
According to Sourcewatch, solar thermal energy requires about 16.4 percent less land than coal, and wind power requires about 96.3 percent less land than coal, to produce a given amount of electricity over a 60-year period. The solar energy footprint would be reduced to near zero if rooftop solar was applied to existing homes and businesses.
The transition to alternative energy is inevitable. The sooner done, the less land damaged.
DENNY HALDEMAN, Soddy-Daisy