Workers and volunteers with Steps2Hope work on landscaping for Army Spc. Andrew Smith and his wife, Tori.A heartwarming gift
Kudos to Mark Wilson and 1,100 volunteers working with Wilson’s nonprofit Steps2Hope for their amazing one-week build of a new home for Andrew and Tori Smith.
A specialist in the U.S. Army, Smith lost both his legs below the knee in March 2012 after stepping on an improvised explosive device during his first foot patrol in Afghanistan. On Independence Day, the Smiths got the keys to their new 3,000-square-foot Apison home.
Wilson, a local businessman and Smith family friend, launched Steps2Hope and took on the Smith home as its first project.
Good work, Mayor
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke has really stepped up for residents of Patten Towers who spent a month in hotel rooms after an electrical fire in the basement of the historic former Patten Hotel. The fire put a spotlight on troubles at the now Section 8 apartment house that serves mainly disabled and elderly residents.
Tower repairs at last have passed muster with city code inspectors and the fire department, but they aren’t enough for Berke, who has told lieutenants that the building’s residents deserve a better life.