Chattanooga City Council members raising their “hands”

Going on three weeks now, two Chattanooga City Council members have been using homemade wooden hands during committee meetings to get noticed and ask questions.

Councilwoman Deborah Scott used a large pink wooden hand, while Councilman Jack Benson uses a white hand with red fingernails and polka dots. The cutouts lie flat until a council member flips them upright to attract attention.

Mayor Ron Littlefield noticed them last week while talking to the council about the capital budget.

“Where did this hand come from?” he asked, laughing. “When I was on the council, we were a little more serious.”

“You’re talking to the back of the hand,” Council Chairwoman Pam Ladd replied.

The hands showed up after a complaint a month ago by Councilman Russell Gilbert about too many council members talking at once during meetings. Members immediately agreed they would raise their hands and wait to be called on.

The very next week, Scott showed up with her big pink hand. During the meeting, Benson kept using hers, so she made him one as well.

JFK Club to hear from labor council

Sean Paul Kimball, president of the Chattanooga Area Labor Council, will speak to the JFK Club at noon Monday on the topic of jobs with livable wages.

The meeting will be at Blue Orleans Seafood Restaurant, northwest corner of Main and Market streets. The JFK Club is an arm of the Hamilton County Democratic Party.

Those interested should RSVP to JFKClub@comcast.net.

There will be a buffet luncheon, and vegetarian dishes are available on request. The cost is $11.

Democratic women’s leader to speak at meeting

Jennie Carter, East Tennessee vice president of the Tennessee Federation of Democratic Women, will be the guest speaker at the Greater Democratic Women’s Club at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The meeting will be held at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Hall. The IBEW hall is at 3922 Volunteer Drive, Suite 9.

A “greens and beans” dinner to celebrate the summer harvest will be served.

All are invited to the event.

Feeling the heat

At the end of Wednesday’s Hamilton County Commission meeting, Commissioner Greg Beck reminded area coaches to consider the searing heat as students return to practice.

County Mayor Jim Coppinger gave a nod to Beck’s announcement, joking, “I wish back when I was playing you’d called that to my coaches’ attention.”