People who had a way with words in the news last week:
“We hope people change their mindset about animals. They’re a part of your family, a part of your household and not just some ornament that sits around until you get tired of it.”
– John Pless, Catoosa County communications director, on abandoned animals and the county’s animal shelter being at capacity.
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“I don’t know how to say this, they suck.”
– Dayton Chamber of Commerce attorney Chelse Reed on the chamber’s three-page bylaws that allowed a violation to turn into a 2 1/2-hour-long, drama-filled meeting.
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“We weren’t expecting the turnout that we had. Honestly, we were so nervous that we hardly slept the night before. We were just running on excitement and fumes.”
– Co-owner Julie Vann on the opening of Sully’s Crepe Co.
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“Proof, like a shadow, might be subject to more than one honest interpretation.”
– Public defender Chad Wilson during closing arguments for the trial of Jamal Adams, who was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with a February 2023 shooting.
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“This is just where we are in this country. He’s done nothing to positively contribute to the community and can get $20,000. That says everything about how a certain portion of our community feels.”
– Chattanooga activist Marie Mott after Jack Peterson, a now-fired part-time Incline Railway conductor, started a fundraiser after he made remarks criticized online as xenophobic.
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“We’re not dumb. I live in our community. I have concerns about massive, giga-sized data centers. That’s not what we are.”
– Jordan Suggs, cofounder of BridgTRK, about the small data center the company plans to build in Rossville on a 4-acre pot of land.
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“I perceive a lot of reluctance on the board to move forward on this. Today, passing this resolution, I could see how it could be perceived as premature.”
– Hamilton County Commissioner David Sharpe, D-Red Bank, on a property tax freeze proposal that was delayed last week.
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“Having competing groups issuing potentially conflicting directives creates uncertainty that is not in the best interest of airport operations, employees, airlines or the traveling public.”
– John Konvalinka, attorney for the locally appointed board of the Chattanooga Airport, on the appointment by the state of a separate board using separate legal authority.
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“The names keep changing. The membership keeps changing. The managers keep changing. I think there is clarity there, but there’s probably a lot more documents that have to come with that before we know exactly who we’re dealing with.”
– Melody Shekari, a member of the Chattanooga Industrial Development Board, expressing frustration with the development group for The Bend, a project on the Tennessee River west of downtown Chattanooga.
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I just think it’s important to secure this land while you can for families, youth sports. You can’t undo it if somebody else, a developer, wanted to buy it. We went and took it from them.”
– Hamilton County Commissioner Lee Helton, R-East Brainerd, on the purchase of land in Apison for a new park.
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“The more you get, the more you spend.”
– Resident Paul Lee requesting the Catoosa County school board reconsider its proposed budget rather than raise property taxes.
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“How we give people power is by giving them education and giving them opportunities.”
– Deniece Thomas, Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development commissioner, on the new quantum education curriculum that will be piloted in Hamilton County Schools beginning this fall.
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Did you see a quotation we should highlight? Send an email to news@timesfreepress.com with QuoteWorthy in the subject line.