OK, we have a slew of stuff to get to this morning.
We'll start in Ooltewah, and we tip our visor to a recent court ruling throwing out the hollow and borderline-insulting lawsuit brought by former Ooltewah High teachers Jesse Nayadley and Andre "Tank" Montgomery and former administrator Jim Jarvis.
Jay GreesonThat they attempted to play the victim card after details about the horrific Owls boys' basketball team trip to Gatlinburg were fully documented is beyond belief.
Those dudes - who mismanaged almost every aspect before, during and after the awful incident - crying foul and claiming to be the victims is almost offensive.
Eye-catchers
A couple of quotes and headlines that caught my eye earlier this week:
First, Hollywood A-lister Jordan Peele, who has produced some monster blockbusters in the last 18 months, said he won't cast white actors.
OK. Here is, according to "The Hollywood Reporter," Peele's quote: "I don't see myself casting a white dude as the lead in my movie. Not that I don't like white dudes, but I've seen that movie."
Dude's making monster hits, but here's betting if Ben Affleck offered a similar view, there might be a bit of a backlash, no?
The second one came from the Savannah, Georgia area, as a Wednesday meeting at a church to unite the black community behind a single candidate for mayor posted signs that read "Black Press Only!"
What?
Obit Observations
Many thanks to a caller this week who pointed me toward the obit of Claude Donald McClure Sr., who died earlier this month and was buried in Chattanooga National Cemetery.
A Google check turned up a New York Times article in 1964 that detailed the struggles and suffering of four P.O.W.s - including Mr. McClure - from the Vietnam War.
According to the story, Specialist McClure, who got married 10 days before being sent to war, was less than a week from coming back home when he was captured on the night of Nov. 23/24, 1963.
The article was written by a Moscow-based journalist who was allowed to talk to the prisoners, who were still being held by the Vietcong, and get messages back home.
On his treatment by his captors, McClure told the reporter: "They treat us real well - that's the main thing. No rough stuff at all."
On his message to his new bride, McClure told the reporter: "Hope to be home some time."
He came home, he made a home, and now he has returned home.
Thank you for your service, Specialist McClure.
Saturday stars
To Hamilton County commissioners and supporters of local attorney Gerald Webb, the next General Sessions Court judge.
Well done.
Sure, there were a bevy of qualified candidates trying to pick up the heavy gavel and legacy Judge Clarence Shattuck left behind.
But Webb's history of integrity makes him not only an excellent choice, but the right one.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6343.