City does not donate to PBS
Funding for WTCI-PBS comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the state of Tennessee, individual donors and corporate sponsorships. I strongly believe that additional funding would translate into more educational services from WTCI.
Here are the facts regarding city funding. WTCI-PBS provides video services that allow Chattanooga citizens to see the weekly City Council meetings. This is a professional service that is offered at a 20 percent discounted rate of $85,000 per year. This amount is based on the station's normal business costs associated with such productions.
Earlier this year, WTCI-PBS submitted a $250,000 proposal to city leaders to develop a second free channel for viewers. This proposal was not funded.
WTCI-PBS content engages local residents, educates, and inspires lifetime learning. We offer free national programming, local programs and services for families, teachers and businesses. WTCI-PBS received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent charity evaluator. Chattanooga does not fund WTCI-PBS with a donation. The city pays for a service.
I am proud of the hard work done by the small, but dedicated staff at WTCI-PBS. They make this community a better place to live, and they deserve all of our support.
BILL ROBINSON, Board Chairman, WTCI-PBS
Area women praying for Israel
There is a group of Christian women in Chattanooga who meet once a month to pray for Israel and all the Jews we are privileged to know. We feel that God himself has put it in our hearts to love Israel. We almost feel chosen! We know we have been blessed by a promise God gave Abraham 2126 B.C. written down in the book of Genesis, chapter 12, verses 2 and 3: "And I will make of thee great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
What greater blessing than the promise of eternal life told to us in a book given to mankind through the Jews? For Christians what greater gift than a savior, a Jew, whose mother was a descendant of King David?
RACHEL DECOSIMO, Signal Mountain
Another take on Bible Wisdom
On Thursday Nov. 29, Bible Wisdom printed a favorite verse of mine, Phillipians 4:6. Here it is in the New Living Translation. "Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done." Done regularly, this will develop a personal relationship that will continue to grow year after year.
MERILYN HALL, Lookout Mountain, Ga.