Chief search can start, stop in Chattanooga
I agree 100 percent with the recent letter about Chattanooga’s hiring of a new police chief. I am tired of police chiefs coming to Chattanooga to stay only a few years and then move on. Chattanooga has not had a chief truly committed to the city since Gene Roberts. We need another one.
I believe David Roddy should be that one. He has come up through the ranks, he knows the city and its communities, and has already made a commitment to Chattanooga. It would take a chief from no- tellin’-where weeks or months to learn what Mr. Roddy already knows. He is a proven professional, no-nonsense officer who I believe will still be here in five, maybe 10 or more years. Chattanooga needs that kind of stability in leadership.
The letter writer is right: we don’t need a search committee; we already have our next police chief: It is David Roddy.
Johnny Parks
Ringgold, Ga.
Cardiac patient laments rehab unit closing
Memorial Hospital has effectively displaced about 500 patients by closing its cardiac rehab facility in Hixson. A meeting was held last week at the Hixson hospital and included 80 unhappy patients who only recently were told of the closing. Administrators from downtown Memorial said their reason was to rent the space to another department already at the hospital. The cardiac patients and spouses who use the facility pay for the opportunity, either out-of-pocket or through insurance.
The patients were advised to attend the downtown rehab facility, but most balked at having to add 20 miles to their commute.
Most patients are opting out of going downtown. At a time in their lives when they need more structured activity, the hospital is taking it away. Old folks aren’t interested in joining another fitness center in Hixson, nor driving extra miles to a huge hospital with parking problems.
Tom Baker
Hixson
Country, not party, should come first
The headline “Before the ax, Comey was pushing the investigation” answers the question. FBI Director Jim Comey, a model of integrity and independence, was going full-speed ahead to follow the facts wherever they led. President Trump probably finally realized he couldn’t control Comey so he just fired him.
Last Thursday, Andrew McCabe, the acting director of the FBI, testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee and squashed all the lies that Trump and White House staff had thrown out about Comey. After the hearing, even Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, committee chairman, called Comey “one of the most ethical, upright, and straightforward FBI agents he had ever known.”
On the day after the firing, Trump complied with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s request and met in the Oval Office with the Russian ambassador and the Russian foreign minister.
Even if the FBI investigation goes forward and recommends that someone be prosecuted, only an independent prosecutor authorized by Congress (whom Trump cannot fire), can guarantee that justice is done. I hope our senators and congressman will put country above party and preserve our freedoms, our democracy.
Horace Barker
Hixson