The most memorable quotes in the Chattanooga Times Free Press for Sept. 13-18:
“If they shut Huntsville down, that affects 22 counties in North Alabama. We’re going to have to take a body all the way to Montgomery.”
– DeKalb County, Ala., Sheriff on a a state budget battle that may close the forensics lab in Huntsville
“I’m against imposing the gas tax. I think it’s a last resort, and they can count me as a ‘no’ vote.”
– House Majority Leader Gerald McCormick, R-Chattanooga, on paying for state transportation needs
“At the end of the day, we’re not going to pull anything out of the air that’s going to magically produce free roads for us.”
– Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who is working to build support for a new source of highway funding
“It’s a direct pathway into a high-paying job and career. You walk across the [graduation] stage on Saturday and show up to work on Monday, and then get a big paycheck the next week.”
– David Cowan, director of career and technical education for Hamilton County Schools, on the Mechatronics program that teaches students to program and operate robots for industry
“The (Chattanooga) renaissance has failed to resonate in the inner city. We have a beautiful city on a hill and the base is all rotten.”
– Chattanooga City Councilman Larry Grohn on a new report denoting pervasive poverty and lack of opportunity in parts of the city
“We have way too many victims and way too many of their crimes go unsolved. And we need to acknowledge that. We are not going to solve every crime, but we need to support every victim.”
– Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher on a plan to use grant money to hire social workers who will work with police to improve support for crime victims