Fowler, not lawsuit, prone to hysteria
According to the article by Andy Sher in the Times Free Press Nov. 11 edition, Amendment 1 advocate David Fowler described the lawsuit challenging the approval of Amendment 1 in the Nov. 4 election as being "born more from hysteria than logic." I think Fowler's comment demonstrates that it is he, not the plaintiffs and their attorney, who has a "psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitability and disturbances of the mind" and "behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable emotional excess." (Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary.) The lawsuit plaintiffs may not be successful, but the arguments they present are not emotional. Fowler, on the other hand, customarily appeals to emotions rather than logic.
DONALD STRICKLAND, Signal Mountain
Gangs can't just be prayed away
I noticed an interesting pattern when I was doing research for the Chattanooga Comprehensive Gang Assessment in 2012. As part of the research, I read several years of newspaper stories related to gangs in the area. The pattern I saw was this - a series of murders or one particularly egregious violent incident would create community outrage. This would be followed by prayer vigils and short-term solutions that were ultimately abandoned. Some, it seems, would like to return to that pattern. The problem is that gangs have become generational in some of our communities, and it may take a generation to eradicate it. It is a problem that we cannot pray away, unless that prayer is accompanied by the long-term, evidence-based approach represented by Mayor Berke's Violence Reduction Initiative.
DR. RICK MATHIS, Soddy-Daisy
Storey's legacy should live on
Everyone who attends or has attended the Riverbend Festival owes a debt of gratitude to the visionary and redoubtable Bruce Storey. In the early years, a great, multi-talented and diverse board worked as fund raisers, advocates, office volunteers and administrative aides to help develop, nurture and promote the festival. I was fortunate to be a part of that group, functioning as marketing and publicity chairman. Bruce perceived Riverbend as a vehicle to bring our city together, expanding on the original concept of the Riverbend founders. A variety of music was offered; the intention was to expose the jazz lover to classical music, the classical fan to bluegrass, the bluegrass fan to gospel and so on. Sports fans could participate in the triathlon, the Riverbend Fun Run and watch boats race on the river. I believe Riverbend and the preceding Five Nights in Chattanooga were the catalysts for Chattanooga's current renaissance. Bruce helped create this. Rest in peace, dear Bruce, as you enter into the greatest festival ever. When the fireworks rise above the Tennessee this summer, I will see you in every twinkling light.
SALLY DURAND, Signal Mountain