Tierra Hayes

Frustration from parents over online education came to a head at the Hamilton County Board of Education meeting Thursday night, but the board left any decision about going back into classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic to the discretion of Superintendent Bryan Johnson.

Five years in, education collaboration Chattanooga 2.0 has pulled in scores of industry leaders, parents, administrators and community members alike to accomplish one main objective - to find equitable solutions to support local students from cradle to career.

During Blue Ridge, Georgia, police Chief Johnny Scearce's three-month stint at CHI Memorial Hospital due to COVID-19 he had his 60th birthday, underwent countless medical interventions and won his contested election bid.

In an effort to "make sure that our leaders are held accountable," freshman Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has already set her personal day-one priority for the upcoming administration — introducing articles of impeachment against President-elect Joe Biden once he takes office.

As the newly seated Walker County Board of Commissioners embarks on a new trajectory for the county, one of its major priorities will be continuing the process of ridding the county of millions of dollars in debt accumulated over the years.

With 24 items on the agenda, the last Walker County Sole Commissioner meeting saw a slew of approvals ahead of the new year and the installation of a new five-member board of commissioners.

The annual appeal for the Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund had one of its most successful years ever in 2020, with donations near $80,000 — nearly doubling a typical campaign year.

A Chattanooga-area partnership has submitted suggestions to the Georgia Department of Transportation asking the state to consider north Georgia in plans for new commercial vehicle-only lanes slated for I-75.

For Family Promise coordinated entry case manager Kathleen Wright, the stories of all of the families who come seeking assistance will always be with her.

Expressing a need can be difficult in hard times, especially when there is an existing communication barrier.

After a record-setting year of 38 miles of road repaved in 2020, Walker County is planning to expand efforts for 2021 and repave 52 miles in the unincorporated areas of the county.

Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Bryan Johnson has been named as one of four national finalists for 2021 National Superintendent of the Year, according to a news release from the school system.

"Bring the heat," a new post on Walker County Schools' Purposity app profile reads. "You can help a family keep warm with a space heater."

When the Hamilton County school district's coronavirus reopening plan rolled out in August, using information on community spread to assign students to fully remote, hybrid and fully in-person instruction, there was very little historical data for guidance, school system Superintendent Bryan Johnson said.

According to United Way of Rhea Director Christine Ralph, while people come to United Way in search of Neediest Cases funding, they many times leave with a one-time donation and supplementary resources to keep them going.

Catoosa County has begun initial steps to create greater opportunity for new industrial operations to move to the area.

A recently approved multipurpose development will be coming to Walker County in the near future, bringing with it retail locations, green spaces and hundreds of new homes just off of Happy Valley Road.

For Rhea County, Tennessee, resident Charles Hancock Jr., the Times Free Press Neediest Cases Fund was a light during a difficult point in his life.

Catoosa and Walker counties will continue their partnership to provide each other with automatic dispatches for fires close to county lines.

The Catoosa County Board of Education voted on Nov. 3 to approve various new Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax projects after receiving feedback from hundreds of constituents.