The most memorable quotes in the Chattanooga Times Free Press for Dec. 13-18:
"It's time we ask, 'Where are our priorities?'"
- Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith, on the need to ensure graduating students are prepared for postsecondary training needed for the modern workforce
"We're a small, Christian liberal arts school in Southeast Tennessee. Schools like Juilliard and Berklee (College of Music) aren't in the mix. It's crazy for a school like Lee to be so prominent in these national competitions."
- Lee University admissions director Darren Echols on Lee students' success on reality TV shows like "American Idol" and "The Voice."
"It really felt like the heavens opened up, like I walked in a room full of Vicks VapoRub and I was just opened up."
- "John," a Hamilton County Jail inmate, talking about his first childhood baptism before his recent rebaptism at the jail
"I changed my name tag to 'Hello my name is Exit 20' because I didn't care that he didn't know what my name was - I cared that he knew what the need was."
- State Rep. Kevin Brooks, R-Cleveland, at the ribbon-cutting for the rebuilt Interstate 75 exit, recalling his introduction to Transportation Commissioner John Schroer
"To my mind, there is no doubt the Chattanooga shooter was inspired and motivated by foreign terrorist organization propaganda."
- FBI Director James Comey, on what motivated Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez to shoot and kill five military members in July. The declaration clears the way for the five to be awarded the Purple Heart.
"If the commission's pay is raised it needs to be discussed here in public instead of hiding behind the raises we give the employees."
- County Commissioner Randy Fairbanks, on why commission salaries should be severed from other employee pay
The most popular items from the Times Free Press website for Dec. 13-18. Go to www.timesfreepress.com to see what you missed.
Top stories:
1. Lee's Jordan Smith makes "Voice" history on iTunes
2. Small college, big name: Lee University getting national recognition as a TV talent factory
3. Jordan Smith wins "The Voice" in emotional finale
4. Mom, two kids victims of home invasion in Chattanooga
5. Video of Javario Eagle shooting spreads on Web
6. Riverbend reveals latest acts added to 2016 lineup
7. Cooper: Chattanooga has a choice on shooting
8. Signal Mountain man arrested on statutory rape, child neglect charges
9. Police: 11-year-old Franklin County girl fatally shot by classmate
10. Smith unseats Adele from top of iTunes chart following "Voice" performance
Top videos:
1. Teacher accused of raping students at her home
2. Chattanooga police shoot and kill man they say endangered a child
3. Dan Kennedy interviews Jordan Smith before "Voice" performance