Lawmakers should drop school heist bill
As a resident of Signal Mountain, I oppose Senate Bill 1755, the "Schoolhouse Heist" bill.
This bill would take school buildings away from counties, and from the county taxpayers who paid for them, and give them to municipalities that form separate school systems.
Locally, should Signal Mountain form its own school district, this bill would allow the town to take the school buildings on the mountain and leave Hamilton County with the bill - more than $17 million dollars in bond debt.
More broadly, SB 1755 would discourage Hamilton County and counties across the state from investing in school capital projects in any municipality for fear that the municipalities might steal the buildings in the future.
This bill is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Education Committee later this week. Contact members of this committee and your local legislators and urge them to stop the "Schoolhouse Heist."
Jennifer Terry, Signal Mountain
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Abandoned home causes heartburn
I certainly hope the house on East Freedom Circle in Ooltewah had insurance or the neighbors will have to put up with what my neighbors have to on Twin Oaks Drive.
A house caught fire on Thanksgiving 2016 and was abandoned. The county can't find the owner so it just sits there.
Imagine having to see that every day, not to mention that if any nearby neighbor wanted to sell their house, forget it. Who wants to move in next to a burned-out house?
I just can't believe that nothing can be done.
Lauren Pieniaszek, Ooltewah
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Afraid to attend church? Reconsider
Because there have been stabbings and shootings at some church services, some people refuse to attend church services because they fear for their life.
There have been stabbings and shootings other places, as well as people injured or killed by cars which were driven into people who were walking on sidewalks or walkways on bridges. A few years ago, a CARTA bus was shot at. No one was hurt or hit.
Who could forget July 15, 2015, when the recruiting center at Lee Highway was shot up? A Marine was shot and wounded, treated at a hospital and released. Also, a police officer was wounded. Four Marines and a sailor were murdered at the Marine and Navy Center near the Riverpark.
But, although some people will keep going to the places where there has been violence, they refuse to attend church service. They claim it is too dangerous.
Christians, what if you died worshiping Jesus, who died so you can have everlasting life?
Jennifer Bradford
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Lawmakers who shun gun reforms must go
History will show that in the face of mounting deaths from semi-automatics, Tennessee's state and national legislators did nothing. We ask for reasonable gun control and they accuse us of wanting to repeal the Second Amendment.
They take money from the gun lobby and claim to not be influenced. Yet they mouth NRA phrases like "banning assault rifles is unconstitutional" and "gun legislation won't work." They feign helplessness to do anything to protect our school children and communities.
Our elected leaders are working hard to create the illusion that they care for the people's welfare. But we see through it. With each mass shooting their corruption becomes more and more indefensible and plain to see.
As the brave students in Parkland, Fla., have shown, NRA-backed legislators pretend to wear the mantle of the people's champion, while in fact they have no clothes. They stand naked in their fraud, exposed as shameful cowards unwilling to stand up to the NRA or give up the cash it pays them to do their bidding.
As Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, so have our legislators betrayed the people. Their crime is immense. They must go.
Tom May, Ooltewah