The project screen started coming down Tuesday during the start of the Public Works Committee meeting as City Council Chairman Manny Rico sat under it.
"Manny, get out of the way," said Dan Johnson, chief of staff for Mayor Ron Littlefield. "It's Public Works."
Rico quickly moved out of the way as the projection came down.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DARK PANTS
During a discussion about Principals Month at Thursday's Hamilton County Board of Education meeting, Chairman Everett Fairchild admitted to some hoarding tendencies.
One of the things the former high school principal can't seem to part with is a poster bearing a pithy aphorism that used to hang in his office.
"'Being a principal here is like wetting your pants in a dark suit - it gives you a nice warm feeling, but nobody seems to notice,'" Fairchild recited, laughing.
As the meeting crowd stopped chortling, Gary Waters, the school system's assistant superintendent for auxiliary services, got up to speak.
"Mr. Fairchild, that is a hard act to follow, but you will notice, I'm wearing dark pants."
PACHYDERM MEETS
Hamilton County's Pachyderm Club meets every Monday at noon at the DoubleTree hotel in downtown Chattanooga, and it's a who's who of local Republicans.
On Oct. 11, Sessions Court Judge Bob Moon talked about holding parents accountable for the conduct of their children. On Monday, club members will hear from the Pachyderm Boys and Girls State candidates.
U.S. CHAMBER ENDORSES FLEISCHMANN
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Republican 3rd Congressional District candidate Chuck Fleischmann, the campaign announced in a press release Thursday. During the primary, the chamber endorsed his chief rival, Robin Smith.
"In their letter of support for Mr. Fleischmann, the Chamber of Commerce said they believe his election 'will help produce sustained economic growth and help create more jobs,'" the campaign press release said.
Fourth and inches is no par for the course
As the election campaign enters the final days, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Haslam urged his supporters last week to finish strong by citing an example from a golfing match in Chattanooga this summer between Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn.
When Corker putted the ball to within a foot of the hole, he bent down, picked up the ball and assumed the other players would concede the shot to him. But the always competitive Manning grabbed Corker by the arm and demanded he take the shot.
"In the game I play, they make you go for it on fourth down and inches," Manning quipped.
Haslam said he feels confident he will win the Nov. 2 gubernatorial election, "but after campaigning for the past 650 days, we can't concede any shot."
Fleischmann, Wolfe differ on jobs agenda
Chuck Fleischmann and John Wolfe are both Chattanooga attorneys seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.
But the two congressional candidates argued for differing approaches last week to revive the U.S. job market.
In a weeklong series of meetings with businesses across the 3rd District, Fleischmann, the Republican, said he is "a strong believer in the free enterprise system" and wants to give businesses more regulatory freedom and lower taxes to create more growth and jobs. Fleischmann wants all of the Bush tax breaks extended beyond this year.
Wolfe, a Democrat, said he wants to help workers, not just businesses. He said he doesn't want to extend the Bush tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans next year to help limit the government's deficit by $700 billion over the next decade.
"Republicans consistently complain about the federal budget deficit, but it seems they don't have a problem contributing to it," Wolfe said.
Wolfe also said he favors pressuring banks that benefited from the bailout to extend more credit to individuals and businesses, and he would support the end of the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba.
PARK A "WORK IN PROGRESS"
On Tuesday, the Hamilton County mayor's office sent an e-mail at the request of the county Parks and Recreation Department, asking local media outlets to tell people that work on the Enterprise South Nature Park "remains in progress."
"Construction on the new visitor's center is nearing completion," the e-mail said. "We are planning an opening event upon completion of the visitor's center. At that time the public will be invited to enjoy the walking, hiking and bicycling trails. As soon as we have an official date for the park's opening we will notify you immediately."
Staff writers Dan Whisenhunt, Cliff Hightower and Kelli Gauthier contributed to this report. Dan Whisenhunt can be contacted at dwhisenhunt@timesfreepress.com. Cliff Hightower can be contacted at 4230757-6480 or chightower@timesfreepress.com. Kelli Gauthier can be contacted at 423-757-6249 or kgauthier@timesfreepress.com.