The most memorable quotes in the Times Free Press for Sept. 15-20:

"I don't know if there are five votes there to do this, but I would welcome a discussion about limiting the money we got to spend."

-- Hamilton County Commission Chairman Fred Skillern on the $100,000-a-year allotment in discretionary money commissioners have to spend

"Your problems don't go away just because you lose the weight. Every day we live our life like an alcoholic who has to live in a bar."

-- Rebecca Nielsen, a participant on ABC's "Extreme Weight Loss" reality TV show, talking to employees of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee on the challenges of keeping off the pounds

"This is the South, and that's the way it should be."

-- Sale Creek High School coach Ron Cox on prayer before football games

"I don't do this at my house. And if you do it at your house, you're going to go broke. It's just crazy to take one-time money for recurring expenses."

-- Hamilton County Board of Education member Rhonda Thurman on her opposition to administrators taking $1.1 million from reserves to pay for salary increases for teachers

"This is something that's going to raise the morale of all the teachers. We haven't felt appreciated. And we deserve this."

-- East Lake Elementary School teacher Pam Thompson on the teacher pay raises