Lookout Wild festival saluted
Kudos to the organizers and volunteers of the Lookout Wild Film Festival that took place in Chattanooga, Jan. 28-31.
Sellout crowds filled Memorial Auditorium's second-floor theater, and attendees were treated to amazing independent films that not only featured extreme athletes and nature enthusiasts but also many beautiful locations around the world. To name a few: Norway, Chile, China, Africa, Alaska and many other states within the U.S.
The quality of the films chosen from all over the world, the opportunity to listen to and ask questions of many of the filmmakers, the exposure to local outdoor/recreation-related companies who set up tables with helpful information, and the energetic buzz of the attendees in the halls during intermission breaks were all evident and indicative of the overwhelming success of this endeavor.
If you missed it this year, we strongly encourage you to make a point of attending in the years to come. You'll be delighted with its efficiency, quality and content.
Jeanne and Dennis Brice, Hixson
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Don't buy out Smith contract
It was sad to see an incident similar to Ooltewah High School's alleged rape case in last Sunday's edition of your paper but it was refreshing to see that under similar circumstances a school system in Oklahoma was acting in a professional and common-sense manner which would inspire confidence in their administrators and school board members. Too bad that didn't happen here in Hamilton County.
The Board of Education has voted to negotiate a buyout of Superintendent Rick Smith's contract. Are these members crazy?
This is the guy who allowed the coach and team to play four more games after the alleged attack, who exonerated the adults early on, who waited at least 20 days before speaking publicly about this issue (plus Hamilton County has had three years of below-average test scores under his leadership).
I have no doubt he may be a good person but school board members should not reward Mr. Smith by buying out his contract.
Larry Hill, Soddy-Daisy
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Work still needed to fight HIV spread
We have made great strides in the eradication of HIV, but we still have a long way to go. The African-American community has a large need for our assistance.
In 2014, 44 percent (19,540) of estimated new HIV diagnoses in the United States were among African-Americans, who compromise 12 percent of the U.S. population. At the end of 2012, as estimated 496,500 African-Americans were living with HIV, representing 41 percent of all Americans living with HIV; sadly about 14 percent do not know they are infected.
Stigma plays a large part in the spike of infection rates among our African-American brothers and sisters. We are also dealing with many other factors, including poverty, culture, education and religion.
The heart of America's HIV epidemic is in the South, where resources and money are limited. We need to get churches more involved. We need more advocacy from our community leaders.
The only way that we can end this epidemic is by testing. The current tests are easy and accessible. Knowing one's HIV status enables people to take better care of themselves and prevent further spread of the disease.
Mark Grantham
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Be like Europe: Regulate guns
I find it pathetically amusing so many cities - Chattanooga included - look to other American cities for something to copy in their desire to become safer from gun-toting thugs.
Chattanooga's Violence Reduction Initiative has failed, just as many U.S. cities' efforts to curb violence have been flops. In a country with unlimited rights guaranteed its citizens, it's not difficult to determine how so many people - mostly innocents - are shot: Guns here are more accessible than jobs, money, drugs or education!
In the past 10 years, my wife and I have gone on three weeklong bike tours in Europe (Italy, Hungary and Austria). It was indeed an education for us to be around such different cultures.
One thing really stood out: the near absence of gun violence. Second Amendment advocates and the NRA will not like to know the way they are able to do this is through gun regulation.
Politicians truly interested in curbing violence would find no better model to emulate than some European countries. An airline ticket and a week of motels overseas studying how they can do this would be a small price to pay for some real advice that works. Anyone listening?
Tom Baker, Hixson
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Candidates, just the facts, please
Why can't the candidates, Republican and Democrats, stop attacking one another and tell us what they are going to do to fix this country?
I, for one, am darn tired of them attacking one another and saying nothing positive. I don't even watch the debates anymore.
Give us some facts.
Billy Martin, Cleveland, Tenn.
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Chronic poor need dependable money
It was a nice gesture the city made to the hungry in Chattanooga - 250 food vouchers. I think your heart was in the right place, but what happens to them next month and the month after?
This is not a seasonal problem. You see, being poor is not normally a temporary thing. It is not something that happens to "other" people; it can happen to anybody.
Lose a job, have a serious illness and be unable to work. Have your child return home with their children or leave their kids with you.
I volunteer at Metropolitan Ministries, and we see the people who need help every month - not just once in a while.
Please, Mr. Mayor, this is a chronic problem, and it needs more than a Band-Aid. The nonprofits around here are doing everything they can, but it costs money.
Please, can't you organize some of the people and companies who make money here, the city and the county, and provide more than 250 food vouchers? These citizens need dependable, monthly assistance.
Jackie Kisting
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Academics deserves equal coverage
The coverage your newspaper affords outstanding athletes is commendable, especially as it concerns local athletes who receive scholarships; however, shouldn't academic scholarships be afforded equal coverage?
While it is a good and honorable thing to cover any conspicuous achievements of our younger generation, isn't the coverage given to athletic scholarships grossly disproportional to those who have earned similar, if not superior, recognition for their academic achievements?
While almost an entire sports section is devoted to the football scholarships every year in your newspaper, I don't find any such recognition for those true students who earn academic scholarships. Why not? After all, theirs are truly scholarships and not "athleticships," as are the sports-related scholarships given to high school athletes.
Perhaps if our society began placing academic achievements on a level equal to that of athletics, then our young people might begin to value education over athletics as a way to better their lives and our society as a whole.
After all, how many athletes will ever make a living playing sports?
Paul Henry Dietrich, Cleveland, Tenn.
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How to tell left from the right
If you ever wondered what side of the fence you sit on, this is a great test:
If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.
If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.
If a conservative is down and out, he thinks how to better his situation. If liberal is down and out, he demands the government take care of him.
If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand those they don't like be shut down.
If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and Jesus silenced.
If a conservative decides he needs health care, he shops for it or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands the rest of us pay for his.
James Webb, Hixson