Fire attorney, commissioners
I am appalled that the Hamilton County Commission, as supposed guardians and chief stewards of the taxes we pay, should ignore the fact that our county attorney would have "work protected by attorney client privilege" on his county- owned computer.
His client during working hours and work on that computer belongs to the county, and neither Rheubin Taylor nor the commissioners seem to understand that. What Mr. Taylor does on his personal time is his business, but he and the commission obviously don't see any conflict with using our tax dollars to let an employee supplement their income by engaging in private work during the hours we pay them for.
I suggest we fire the attorney and the commissioners if they cannot understand an ethical role they are to play for the taxpayers.
Ben Dady
Soddy-Daisy
Equity must be priority in rezoning decisions
I recently finished reading in your paper that a school is being built to help solve overcapacity issues at Apison Elementary (98.8%), East Brainerd Elementary (106%) and Westview Elementary (112%). I can't deny that this new school is needed. However, why isn't more attention being directed at solving overcapacity at The Howard School, which is sitting at 180%?
The school superintendent dismissed busing Howard students to Brainerd High School (58% capacity) as involving "extremely long bus rides." Since the two schools are only seven miles apart, I sense some other concern at play here. Could some East Ridge High School students be shifted to Brainerd High School and Howard students in the East Lake area shifted to East Ridge High School? How could Dalewood Middle School, also under capacity, be used?
Unfortunately I have many questions and can provide no answers. On its face, however, this seeming lack of attention to the Howard School's more extreme overcrowding appears to be inequity in action. I hope the school board will be directing more energy and money toward helping the Howard students in the near future.
Cindy Dees
Cleveland, Tenn.
Correct facts but misleading
In "Hold Onto Your Wallet" by William Chittenden on the Nov. 13 Perspective section front, the facts are correct but the message is misleading. First, Chittenden states inflation is created ... "by an increase in demand." That is correct. But demand does not spontaneously increase. Recent demand increases were caused by Trump and Biden dumping $5.5 trillion or 24% of GDP on consumers in less than a year. Statistics show that dump pushed the annualized inflation rate up from 1.8% to 8.3% beginning in March 2021. Now, the Federal Reserve must slowly and painfully compensate by raising interest rates and stalling GDP growth.
Second, Chittenden said inflation is created by higher production costs. That is correct. But production costs do not spontaneously increase, either. Increases are caused by rising wages, driven by inflation, and rising material costs, driven by supply shortages.
Chittenden makes a fair point that Republicans cannot reverse history, but he ignores the fact that Democrats created the problem and cannot reverse history either.
Chittenden's conclusion is true: We can only "hope that the fed's rate hikes work." He ignores both Democratic policy that created and promotes inflation and Republican policy that inhibits inflation. Chittenden is factually correct and grossly misleading about who caused and how to correct inflation.
Robert Phillips
Signal Mountain
An open letter to Georgia voters
Once again, you have the opportunity to move our nation in the right direction by electing Herschel Walker as your next senator.
His opponent, Rev. Rafael Warnock, is a socialist Democrat who voted with Biden on all of the president's devastating legislation.
Warnock does not represent true American values. He hates what we stand for here in the South.
Please elect Herschel Walker.
Derrel Silvey
Appreciates work Kemp has done
Since Brian Kemp was elected governor of Georgia in 2018, he has been the brunt of many derogatory terms, which I won't grace here with a response. But in spite of this, or maybe because of it, he has done an excellent job of managing the state and ensuring that it has a booming, prosperous economy.
But the legislature has done its part too in giving the state a balanced tax structure. If you look at the five states that border us (Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Alabama), North Carolina and Alabama have higher sales and income taxes; Tennessee has no income tax, but the sales tax can be 10%; Florida has high property taxes and makes billions off tourists; and South Carolina has low taxes overall, but it isn't able to do as much for its citizens as the other states. What is the end result of this? A rapidly growing, healthy state and one that is consistently rated as a good place to do business.
Keep up the good work, Brian. You shouldn't change a thing.
Charles Hyder
Dalton, Ga.
No religion history courses -- period!
I agree with a Nov. 1 Chattanooga Times editorial that a review of the Bible in Schools policy of the Department of Education is long overdue. I do not believe there should be any religion whatsoever taught in our public schools under the guise of history or literature.
The money being wasted on religious courses should more wisely be spent on the teaching of Darwin's evolutionary process. Religion cannot explain how we have evolved from a single cell to have 37.2 trillion cells in our bodies today. It is not the Holy Spirit we should celebrate; it is the human spirit.
I also agree with the Oct. 31 Chattanooga Free Press editorial page commentary recommendation that schools should be teaching courses in honesty, truthfulness, compassion and social responsibility. I understand that the school board's review committee wants to include individuals with different faith backgrounds. I agree to serve. Ben Conner, give me a call.
Erskine Mabee
Police officer's help impressed bystander
On Oct. 14, 2022, while sitting outside the Starbucks on Hamilton Place Boulevard, an elderly lady drove into the parking lot with a flat tire on her vehicle.
I thought she was calling a friend to pick her up.
Within two minutes a Chattanooga police car pulled in and the officer began changing her tire. He was professional, efficient and polite.
Just as he finished, he received a dispatch of a fight in progress.
He advised the woman to go straight to the nearest tire service center to get her vehicle checked for road worthiness and apologized for leaving so quickly.
What a fine example of this city's public servants.
I hope the police brass realize that most citizens only come face to face with their line officers probably only once or twice in their lives, so every positive citizen/police contact is more valuable than most people realize.
I was impressed, and I was a police officer in metro Atlanta for 15 years. Good job!
Mary Baier