People who had a way with words in the news last week:
“Their heroic deeds went unacknowledged for over a century. But time did not erase their valor.”
— President Joe Biden on awarding posthumous Medals of Honor to two Civil War veterans, Pvt. Philip G. Shadrach and Pvt. George D. Wilson, whose remains are buried in Chattanooga, honoring their role in a legendary covert mission in North Georgia.
“My daddy will want to take us fishing up there. He says, ‘You can catch 30 fish in an hour up in heaven.'”
— Alvin Ridley, who was acquitted of murdering his wife in a high-profile trial a quarter century ago, to his friend and attorney, McCracken Poston, shortly before Ridley’s death.
“I’m from Northeast Ohio, and up there, no one knows anything about hellbender salamanders. I moved to Virginia, and some people knew about hellbender salamanders. I moved to East Tennessee, and so many people know.”
— Will Ternes, herpetology keeper at the Chattanooga Zoo, while discussing the zoo’s efforts to preserve the hellbender salamander.
“Teachers are heroes, and schools are the bedrock, the foundation of a strong community. If we don’t have that, we’re lost. Ultimately, that’s why I’m doing this, because I’m the type of person who says, ‘I see a problem. I see a need, and I’m a worker.’ I step in, and I do what I can to make it better.”
— Tammy Barnes, Democratic candidate for the District 1 (Soddy-Daisy area) seat on the Hamilton County school board.
“Hamilton County Schools is a big, big business. I’ve got the business experience. I’ve got the financial experience. I’ve got good common sense. … I’ve got patience, and I can look at things and analyze those things without making a rash decision.”
— Steve Slater, Republican candidate for the District 1 (Soddy-Daisy area) seat on the Hamilton County school board.
“We have just beat this horse until its bloody, black and blue and dead. No disrespect to my colleague — or any of my colleagues — but this is a restriction that impedes on property owners’ rights.”
— Hamilton County Commissioner Joe Graham, R-Lookout Valley, on a fellow commissioner’s proposal that would place new restrictions on short-term vacation rentals.
“It’s equally pretty. Less smoke and less gases and less particulate matter. In the end, it’s better for health purposes. We want to be more environmentally friendly, and so I think that will be a good option for us to move that direction.”
— Claudia Gillman-Acuña, air monitoring manager at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Air Pollution Control Bureau, on why the city should look for alternatives to fireworks celebrations, such as 2023’s Fourth of July laser light show.
“I had one lady at my prior appointment who was not too sure about having a woman (pastor). She never said anything about it until later on. And she was like, ‘You know, I wasn’t sure about you. I wasn’t sure about having a woman. I didn’t know how this would go.’ But she’s like, ‘Now that we’ve had a female, I would rather have a woman than a man.'”
— Elizabeth Hamilton, who recently became the first female senior pastor in the history of Red Bank United Methodist Church, laughing and telling a story while answering a question about trying to win over people who would prefer a male pastor.
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