'Police Chief Dodd is asset to Chattanooga' and more letters to the editors

Police Chief Dodd is asset to Chattanooga

One of the mayor's stated priorities is improved public safety. He has an excellent chief of police in place to accomplish that objective.

Chief Bobby Dodd is almost unique among CPD chiefs in that he has spent considerable time being an effective, street-level police officer and criminal investigator. Many chiefs in the past have had very narrow career tracks and limited hands-on police experience. But Chief Dodd knows how to prevent and solve crimes because he has been engaged in authentic, hands-on, effective law enforcement for many years.

Admittedly, being a good street-level cop doesn't ensure success as a police administrator. However, Chief Dodd has a wealth of effective experience in administrative assignments and has achieved each of his promotions through legitimate, rigorous promotional testing. He also has the leadership instincts, intelligence, political tact and concern for the community to be an effective administrator and public official.

Chief Dodd also understands a long-neglected element of police administration: morale matters. Excellent police leaders know how to combine sound discipline among the members of the force, while firing up those same members to work harder.

"Duty" gives 100 percent effort; "leadership" gets 110 percent. Chief Dodd knows how to provide true leadership.

KENNETH D. PHILLIPS, Chattanooga Police (retired)


Self checkouts part of Walmart's scheme

I was in the Signal Mountain Walmart and the first thing I noticed on the way in was the several new self-checkout machines.

What in the world is going on with the owners of the Walmart chain (Walton family)?

Do they expect us to believe for one second that by customers doing the job for which they should be paying their employees to do will lower costs? What a farce. Any savings gained from self checkout would go directly back to the Walton family. Each Walton family member already is worth over $1 billion.

Good Lord, how much more money do they need?

The way to nip this in the bud is to: 1) Skip the self checkout completely, 2) Take your cart to a regular line, 3) When that checkout line has about 10 carts in it suggest to the person behind you to start another line (even if there is no checkout person in that line), 4) After five or six unopened lines have several people in them and no Walmart employees to open those lines then proceed to do No. 5, which is everyone in those unopened lines just leave their full carts there and walk out.

CHARLIE BENSON

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