Greeson: School system questionable calls, breaking down future Olympic options, obits and stars

School bus tile
School bus tile

Thursday was not the best day for the folks in charge of the Hamilton County school system.

First we learned that spending $40,000 for a bus consultant apparently is like throwing a quarter in a wishing well.

photo Jay Greeson

You lose the money, you hope for something to happen, you wonder if anyone would notice if you reached in and pulled back the coin and in the end nothing happened. The pitiful result of a $40,000 expenditure - sorry, guys, only two companies bid to take on your school bus service - feels like other wasteful decisions coming from Bonny Oaks.

Then, the decision-makers decide to close school because of the rain.

Stop. This is not about that decision. We know that in a county with diverse terrain, safety must rule the day. And I'm never going to be the "In my day, we had class outside - in a Speedo - until January" or whatever tall tale our dads loved to spin.

My complaint is not about decision but rather the timing of it. We received the call from Hamilton County a few minutes before 11:30 Thursday night, and that makes it tough to figure out the work/child care shuffle for the next morning.

And it's not like we were hit with an overnight blizzard, either. It's been raining for so long Paul Barys is starting to line up animals two-by-two behind the WRCB studios.

The call was fine; the time of the call should have been about six hours sooner. But hey, at least we didn't have to pay a consultant $40,000 to make that call, right? Right?!?!?!

How many points is the worm worth?

We are not that far from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Of course there will be some new sports/events added. Surfing, climbing and skateboarding will debut, and others like chess, squash and billiards just missed the cut.

(Man, we're here for billiards being a part of the Olympics coverage umbrella. Let's go to the feel-good story with Bob Costas about how Fast Eddie Smith worked his way through grade school with a switch blade, a pool cue and a quick left hook.)

As for the next cycle, there is growing support for break-dancing to be included among the competitions in the 2024 Games in Paris. I wish I was making that up.

Yes, break-dancing. The head-spinning, back-contorting dance craze from the 1980s could be a gold medal event in five years.

For what it's worth, break-dancing was part of the 2018 Youth Olympics, and the gold medalist was some Russian fellow who goes by the name Bumblebee. I wish I was making that up.

Obit observation

Last week we shared the comical side obituaries can provide to those celebrating the end of life.

Today, we visit a full life, but one that ended too soon.

Jeremiah Hartley's obit appeared this week. He died on Jan. 1. He was buried on Friday in the Chattanooga National Cemetery.

It was a short life - he would have been 35 next month - but it was a full one. He was a manager at Blockbuster Video (kids, ask your parents), Looie the Lookout, a Marine who trained at Quantico. He also served several tours in the Middle East as a captain in the Corps, got his degree and his MBA from UTC.

He worked corporate jobs at TVA and in Charlotte, N.C., before buying a farm in Clover, S.C., where he raised a slew of animals. He rescued dogs.

Sadly, Jeremiah died five days before his only son, Jamison, was born.

Saturday stars

There always seems to be a stigma surrounding Silverdale Detention Facility, be it the inmates or the management.

Well, thanks to the heads-up from a regular reader, let's tip our cap - or better yet, our beanie - to the female inmates who knitted red beanie caps for newborns at Erlanger East.

The donations were made recently by part of the Silverdale leadership team of Rhonda Gonzales, Nikole Kanavos, Helen Moon and Garet Kraft.

Job well-knitted, gang.

Until next week.

Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.

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