People who had a way with words in the news last week:
“This outcome reflects what happens when a community shows up. Neighbors, families, outdoor enthusiasts, historians and everyday park users spoke clearly and consistently … Their voices matter.”
— Save Enterprise South Nature Park cofounder Melissa Ray, speaking after Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp canceled county plans to carve out 500 acres of the nature park for industrial use.
“I think they put too many eggs in the electric vehicle basket in both in Europe and in the U.S.”
— Karl Brauer, executive analyst for iSeeCars.com, on Volkswagen’s decline in sales.
“When you create, there has to be something in the air. I came to Chattanooga, and I said, ‘This is the right air.'”
— Grammy-winning music producer Rodney Jerkins, who is interested in plans to build a music and movie studio at the old Hamilton County jail building downtown.
“When the railroad pulled out, it probably didn’t help things … This would be a shot in the arm for a lot of those communities, bringing people back.”
— Ellis Smith, Chattanooga’s director of intergovernmental affairs, speaking about the city’s goal to get a passenger rail line and how it could help rural areas.
“Those are damn good, livable wages.”
— Arch Willingham, president of T.U. Parks Construction and lead for the Tivoli Theatre restoration, on the rise in pay for construction managers and estimators after the pandemic.
“I want you to consider the joy, relief, and HOPE that my testimony is going to give to this city … This is the perfect REDEMPTION & VINDICATION story to bless the masses.”
— Ricky Lee Taylor Jr., who was sentenced to 30 months in prison for defrauding a pandemic-era employment assistance program, in a letter to Judge Charles E. Atchley Jr. before Taylor’s sentencing.
“There were no Band-Aids, no paper towels. Cheeseburgers didn’t even exist. None of these things existed in 1876. UTC didn’t exist, Erlanger didn’t exist, neither did Baylor or McCallie, but we did.”
— George Valadie, superintendent of Catholic schools within the Diocese of Knoxville, speaking at the 150th anniversary celebration for Notre Dame High School.
“If it’s illegal to be homeless, they’re going to end up putting us in jail anyway, and a lot of us don’t have nobody to bond us out or nothing. So what do we do?”
— Donna Simpson after she was evicted from an encampment off Hooker Road.
“Now we have the opportunity to regain momentum all over again. It puts Chattanooga front and center stage.”
— Donna Harrison, vice president of engagement and impact for the Chattanooga Tourism Co., talking about United Airlines renewing nonstop flights from Chattanooga to Newark, New Jersey.
“It’s hard for me to believe that the other side of the table is committed if they’re not willing to meet with me in person.”
— Dr. Andrew Hill, a radiologist at Erlanger, on UnitedHealthcare not agreeing to meet with the practice to negotiate reimbursement rates.
“It shows you everything that happened. The video that’s not showed is everything else that happened.”
— Defense attorney Alex Shoaf on video evidence during a probable cause hearing for the teenager accused in the November Hamilton Place mall shooting.
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