Local and Region News from TimesFreePress.com | http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local After viewing the endless sands of Iraqi desert for a year, 1st Lt. Matthew Roberts immediately noticed the green grass when he got home. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/Chattanooga-591st-comes-home/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:02:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/Chattanooga-591st-comes-home/ It was the longest snake of wiggling and giggling middle school students the world had every seen. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/Chattanooga-teen-campers-aim-at-guinness-records/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:01:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/Chattanooga-teen-campers-aim-at-guinness-records/ A 43-year relationship at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is breaking up. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/bluecross-eliminating-118-jobs-in-august/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:01:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/bluecross-eliminating-118-jobs-in-august/ One member of the city's Transportation Board suggested that the panel may examine ways to tighten restrictions on who can drive a taxi. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/tighter-Chattanooga-eyed-on-taxi-licenses/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:01:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/tighter-Chattanooga-eyed-on-taxi-licenses/ Last week, Julio Chamorro enjoyed a morning game of soccer at McCallie School's sports camp, continuing a family tradition that goes back more than 50 years. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/family-tradition/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/family-tradition/ Chattanooga and Hamilton County government offices are closed today in observance of the July Fourth holiday. City and county offices will reopen Monday. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/offices-closed-today/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/offices-closed-today/ A Hamilton County Board of Education member is calling for the immediate termination of a Signal Mountain Middle-High School teacher after he failed to report his June indictment on theft and drug charges. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/signal-teacher-indicted-on-theft-drug-charges/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/signal-teacher-indicted-on-theft-drug-charges/ U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., ranked 15th in a list of possible 2012 Republican presidential contenders, released Tuesday by the Boston Phoenix newspaper. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/corker-pops-up-15th-on-gop-presidential/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/corker-pops-up-15th-on-gop-presidential/ Tennessee is starting a tree- and flower-planting program at state welcome centers along the interstates to memorialize loved ones and to beautify the state. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/alternative-to-roadside-memorials/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/alternative-to-roadside-memorials/ Towns around the tri-state area will mark today with parades, car shows and classical music, not to mention pool parties, barbecues and a fireman's muster. Almost all of today's events feature a fireworks finale. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/fun-on-the-fourth-all-over-the-region/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/fun-on-the-fourth-all-over-the-region/ JASPER, Tenn. -- New flood maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are drawing protest in Jasper from people who say they're wrong and they're going to force people into insurance trouble. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/jasper-fights-fema-flood-maps/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/jasper-fights-fema-flood-maps/ When things go terribly wrong on a college campus -- a gunman opens fire in a classroom, an embittered professor files a lawsuit or a student gathering turns raucous -- administrators often are left scratching their heads. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/colleges-need-to-be-prepared-report-finds/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/colleges-need-to-be-prepared-report-finds/ DUNLAP, Tenn. -- Animal control problems in Sequatchie County have spawned a joint effort to study solutions. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/dunlap-sequatchie-study-animal-control/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/dunlap-sequatchie-study-animal-control/ Chattanooga Housing Authority officials plan to decrease public housing residents' utility allowance and charge a $20 fee to residents who have air conditioning. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/Chattanooga-public-housing-utility-costs-rise/ Sat, 4 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/04/Chattanooga-public-housing-utility-costs-rise/ Members of the 591st Transportation Detachment Division for the U.S. Army Reserves returned to Chattanooga today after spending a year in Iraq. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/chattanooga-soldiers-return-cheering-family-friend/ Fri, 3 Jul 2009 03:49:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/chattanooga-soldiers-return-cheering-family-friend/ A Chattanooga woman's work with a North Georgia company to document and preserve a Marion County coal mining ghost town has won recognition from the Tennessee Historical Commission. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/preservation-prize/ Fri, 3 Jul 2009 02:28:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/preservation-prize/ Signal Mountain Middle/High School teacher Wes Greene will appear in court on Monday to answer charges of selling prescription drugs fraudulently obtained by his fiancee Jacqueline Newman, who worked at Walgreens as a pharmacy technician, according to court records. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/signal-mountain-teacher-wife-face-theft-drug-charg/ Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:21:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/signal-mountain-teacher-wife-face-theft-drug-charg/ East Lake Courts residents who witnessed the death of a 15-year-old shot Wednesday by a Chattanooga Housing Authority officer are calling the shooting "cold-blooded murder." http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/Chattanooga-1-shooting-2-accounts/ Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:02:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/Chattanooga-1-shooting-2-accounts/ Roads throughout the area may have fewer drivers this holiday weekend, but law enforcement and the AAA say there are still plenty of dangers. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/travel-numbers-down-police-presence-up/ Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:01:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/travel-numbers-down-police-presence-up/ Hoping to create jobs, boost local economies and reduce diesel emissions, federal environmental regulators last week awarded $2 million in stimulus money to the Tennessee Department of Transportation to reduce idling emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/epa-awards-2-million-to-slow-diesel-truck/ Fri, 3 Jul 2009 12:01:00 EST http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/jul/03/epa-awards-2-million-to-slow-diesel-truck/