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News - Friday, December 11, 2009

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Hundreds honor the life and career of Judge R. Thomas Stinnett
No mysterious couple with reality show aspirations crashed the retirement celebration last week of the Honorable Judge R. Thomas Stinnett, but the gathering at the Chattanooga Golf & Country Club was still as memorable as they come. With his wife Libby seated beside him at the head table, the 65-year-old bankruptcy judge grinned like a schoolboy throughout an evening of anecdotes, movie spoofs and fearless vocal performances. From beginning to end, the event was a true celebration of the life and career of an esteemed gentleman who’s made a difference in countless lives.

Successful lawyer, mom balances practice with family time
For two years Valerie Epstein, attorney at Berke, Berke & Berke, carried a pager and was on call 24/7. But she didn’t particularly care for getting called out of bed in the middle of the night, so began considering an exit from the medical profession.

Read all about it...
Tennessee cedar tree fragrance helps make Christmas
If there is anything that brings back Christmas memories for me, it is the smell of freshly cut evergreens around this time of the year, especially the smell of a freshly cut Tennessee cedar tree. I was walking through one of our home building supply store’s garden area the other day and they had fresh cut Christmas trees all stacked up in a line for shoppers to take home for this year’s Christmas celebration. I took a stroll down “memory lane” as I walked among the spruce, firs and pines all laying there waiting for a family to take them home. Didn’t smell or see any Tennessee cedars, but it did smell good all the same. This modern-day method of acquiring a Christmas tree has come a long way from going out in the back lot thicket and chopping down a cedar tree and dragging it to the house.

Case Digests - Tennessee court of appeals syllabus
Donna Bellomy vs. Autozone, Inc.
Hamilton County - This discrimination lawsuit was filed by Donna Bellomy (“Plaintiff”) against her former employer, AutoZone, Inc. (“Defendant”). Plaintiff claimed Defendant failed to promote her because she was a female and that Defendant otherwise created a hostile environment for female employees. Plaintiff also brought various tort claims, including claims based on negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The trial court granted Defendant’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed all of Plaintiff’s claims. Plaintiff appeals. We affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment with respect to the various tort claims brought by Plaintiff. However, we conclude that there are genuine issues of material fact with respect to Plaintiff’s Tennessee Human Rights Act claims. We vacate the grant of summary judgment on Plaintiff’s Tennessee Human Rights Act claims and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this Opinion.

Are We There Yet?
To humbug or not to humbug
Well, it is December 11 and we are already well into another season of joy, goodwill, and peace on earth, which seems to have begun months ago. Thanksgiving is only a distant memory. At my house, we actually had pumpkins underneath the Christmas stockings for a while. In fact, I have been listening to the ox and lamb keeping time so much that I’m craving hay.

I Swear...
Saved by the bell
In the middle of the 1960-61 school year, the 10 year-old found himself at an elementary school in a New Town.
His dad had been transferred by his company from the Old City office and had been promoted to Branch Manager.
So, on one of his first days in school, he was getting to know James, the kid who sat next to him in Miss Lackey’s fourth grade class.

Weekly Indulgence
This is one of the happiest and saddest days of my life. I understand that sounds quite dramatic, even for me, but I’m at a crossroads in my life and it’s a bit overwhelming. Today is my last day here at the Herald. Monday morning, I will be en route to Johnson City, where I will soon begin classes in the Masters of Professional Communication at East Tennessee State University.

Snack lovers nationwide giving chocolaty thumbs up to the Little Debbie Cupcake
You’re at the grocery store. You know better than to shop for food when you’re hungry, but you needed to pick up a few things for dinner on your way home from work, so you had no choice. As you wheel your cart past the end of the cookie aisle and make a turn, Little Debbie catches your eye, her rosy cheeks gracing boxes of Honey Buns, Nutty Bars and Oatmeal Creme Pies. Your stomach growls, and as you fight the urge to grab a few cartons, you see something new: chocolate cupcakes.

Catering for the holidays can reduce stress, impress party guests
When it comes to house parties during the holidays, there are two kinds: stressful and non-stressful.
In the first scenario, the host is involved in every facet of the event. From inviting guests, to planning the menu, to buying the food, to decorating the venue, to choosing the dinnerware, to cooking the cuisine, to welcoming visitors, it’s a hands-on, stress-filled affair.

CAR holds annual Installation Luncheon, swears in its new officers
The Chattanooga Association of Realtors held its annual Installation Luncheon at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club recently. The organization bid farewell to its 2009 officers and swore in the newly elected officers for the upcoming year.
Outgoing President Nickie Schwartzkopf greeted the members and called the meeting to order. Bobby Colvin gave the invocation and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Soddy Daisy Choir to perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC
The Soddy Daisy High School Chamber Choir will be traveling to New York City in April to perform at Carnegie Hall.
“I’m really excited to go,” said senior Tim Bodenbender. “I’m working my hands to the bone trying to get there.”
Choir Director, Cathy May, said that she received the invitation to perform at Carnegie sometime last March or April. There are two ways that a student group gets the chance to perform at the famous hall. “You can be invited by reputation or you can do an audition process and we were invited by reputation,” May said. The SDHS Choir has performed many major works; major works are those with more than one song within it. “As we would got to competitions, the people heard about what we were working on and that’s how we go invited.” The choir also boasts receiving all ones at the JB Lyle Choral Festival last year. According to May, a one is the superior score for a choral performance.

Real Estate Facts
If you can hear the whispers below the din of panic, you know that the recent financial and housing collapses have actually created some amazing opportunities for smart investors. Low interest rates and depressed property values have combined in an environment favorable for long-term gains.

Kay's Cooking Corner
As I was putting my roast in the slow cooker this morning, I dropped a few bay leaves in along with the mixture. They didn’t seem like they would add much flavor, all dried-up and stuff, but I put them in anyway cause that is what you do.
This prompted me to check out their freshness and shelf-stability, which of course led me to a lot of other information about Bay Leaves that I may have read somewhere before but don’t remember. So decided to share the more interesting things with all of you. Below is some of that information, some folklore, yet some of it true.

The Critic's Corner
Looking back over the last few issues of this newspaper, I’m beginning to think I should rename this column “The Grumpy Critic.”
I haven’t liked many of the movies I’ve seen lately. While there are promising new releases in theaters, such as “Blind Side,” the limited amount of time and space I have prohibit me from reviewing every new film, so I pick and choose based on random criteria. I selected “Precious” over “Old Dogs” and “Ninja Assassins” for this week’s column because I was hoping it’d be as good as other critics claim. On Rotten Tomatoes, 91 percent of the reviewers the Web site tracks gave it thumbs up, including the inventor of the thumb, Roger Ebert.