Organists guild offers free class
The Chattanooga Chapter of the American Guild of Organists will host a meeting Monday for church and synagogue organists, choral directors and clergy to learn about certification programs for church musicians.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, at the corner of McCallie Avenue and Douglas Street.
This introductory class is especially formatted for musicians who want to serve their churches but whose formal training may be in another field.
For information or to register, visit www.agochattanooga.org or call Muriel J. Phillips at 423-243-4467.
Nature Center adds cranes
The Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center at Reflection Riding has added two sandhill cranes to its conservation efforts, according to a news release.
Since the early 1990s, a recovering population of Eastern sandhill cranes stops at the Hiwassee Refuge near Birchwood, Tenn., during migration flights to and from wintering grounds in Georgia and Florida.
"The refuge is the best place to see the wild sandhill cranes during their migration, but the Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center will soon be the best place to view sandhill cranes up close and year-round," Tish Gailmard, wildlife curator at the center, said in the news release.
The Chattanooga Arboretum and Nature Center is building a permanent enclosure for the cranes. Donations are welcome.
Race to Top funds 'unsused'
Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman says time is running out for schools to use federal Race to the Top funds.
Huffman told Gov. Bill Haslam some systems haven't spent their share of the money, which must be used or returned by 2014, according to WPLM Radio.
Huffman said with 18 months to go, school systems say they plan to use the funds, but pressure builds each quarter that it isn't spent.