Collins’ reporting helped city improve
Upon the recent news of the passing of J.B. Collins, I cannot let this occasion go by without an acknowledgement of his role in improving the environment of Chattanooga.
Thank you, Chattanooga Times Free Press, for remembering J.B. Collins was a stalwart of news coverage of some of the great characters and rich stories of Chattanooga’s history. One of those great stories is Chattanooga’s environmental progress in the latter half of the last century in overcoming our status as the most polluted city in America to become the first city in the United States to achieve the ozone (smog) federal air quality standards.
J.B. Collins was right there with the Chattanooga News-Free Press to report on Chattanooga’s environmental challenges and progress. He was instrumental, along with Springer Gipson and Pat Wilcox of the Chattanooga Times, in covering the environmental beat and keeping the public informed.
J.B. wrote many significant articles about important events in our great city and surrounding communities, but his contribution to educating the public about our environment is one of the significant accomplishments of the long-term legacy of James Bennett Collins.