News - Friday, March 16, 2012

David Kesler has been an attorney for nearly 40 years.  In that time, he’s developed good judgment in terms of how to deal with people both verbally and through the written word, learned to recognize ethical issues to which he was not sensitive as a new attorney, and acquired the ability to say “No” to a client who comes to him with a matter he’d be ill-advised to handle.

A statewide coalition covering all 95 Tennessee counties and representing the state’s athletic, health care, law enforcement, education and legislative communities joined staff members from the Tennessee Chapter of Children’s Advocacy Centers last week to launch One with Courage, a statewide child sexual abuse awareness campaign. One with Courage, which will ask Tennesseans to put aside discomfort and have the courage to learn about and openly discuss child sexual abuse, was kicked off in the Old Supreme Court Chambers of the Tennessee State Capitol building.

Blood Assurance is accepting applications for the Crystal Green Memorial Scholarship. Applications must be postmarked by March 31. The application process includes creating a marketing plan for a blood drive. Twelve students will each be awarded a one-time one thousand five hundred dollar scholarship, made possible through the Blood Assurance Foundation.

The Public Forum on Obamacare, sponsored by the Disciplinary Council on Judicial Studies, will be held March 21 at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 5-7 p.m.  The meeting will take place in the Chattanooga Room in the University Center.

March 16

Gain “A Sense of Place”

The Jewish Cultural Center is hosting an exhibition of paintings, photographs and prints titled “A Sense of Place” at its gallery at 5461 North Terrace Road. The gallery will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday, March 17

The state committee of the Tennessee Committee on Political Education voted unanimously Saturday to recommend Mayor Olgiati to the state convention April 14 in Nashville for endorsement in the governor’s race.

The election of Jack Anderson as president of the newly formed Quiltex Corporation of Rossville was announced Saturday by Glenn H. Plumlee, president of Roxbury Southern Mills, who served as president during the organization period of Quiltex. Space has been leased in the former Peerless plant, equipment purchased and operations of the new company have begun.

A federal grand jury in Chattanooga, Tenn., returned a 52 count indictment on February 29, 2012, against Jackie L. McConnell, 60, of Collierville, Tenn., Jeff Dockery, 54, of Collierville, Tenn., John Mays, 50, of Collierville, Tenn., and Joseph R. Abernathy, 30, of Olive Branch, Miss., for conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act and Substantive Horse Protection Act violations. No trial date has been set.

Tom Guilfoil was the driving force in the law firm that first hired me. He once told me that when a new client walked into his office, the first thing he wanted the client to think to himself was “Boy, this is going to cost me a lot of money”.

The recent damage done by tornadoes in Chattanooga and surrounding counties brings out the best in people as strangers reach out to help others in need. Unfortunately, a crisis also brings out contractors who take advantage of victims.

The Better Business Bureau is warning local residents affected by the recent storms to beware of storm chasers and out-of-town contractors soliciting business.

I have one rule of thumb when it comes to food: If I can’t pronounce it, then I don’t eat it. There are plenty of food choices I can wrap my tongue around, and when I’ve stepped outside of my comfort zone, I’ve left a lot of food on my plate. So it was with slight trepidation that I set a course for The Acropolis Grill, which for 17 years has offered Chattanooga a taste of the Mediterranean.

Specialty retailer Golfsmith has swung into Chattanooga just in time for golf season. The 15,750 square foot Golfsmith facility allows golfers to try out equipment inside one of the indoor, high-tech hitting simulators or on the indoor putting green. Golfsmith is located outside the mall across from Abuelo’s. Golfsmith is a 43-year-old specialty retailer of golf and tennis equipment, apparel and accessories. Golfsmith offers branded merchandise as well as proprietary products, clubmaking components and pre-owned clubs. Visit www.golfsmith.com for more details.  (Photo by David Laprad)

A couple that’s in the market for a home walks into a house that’s piqued their interest. In the living room, they see the pictures of someone’s grandma and grandpa on the fireplace mantel instead of the beautiful stonework on the fireplace itself. Moving through the dining room, they’re unable to envision their table and chairs in the space because the homeowners are using it as a home office. And their tour through the kitchen is quick, as they can’t see past the half-dozen appliances on the countertops, the children’s drawings on the refrigerator, or the doodads on the windowsill above the sink.

The first tickets available for the 6th annual St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway were sold on March 6, 2012 at the U.S.-101 Heart Strings for Hope Concert presented by The Miller Family Foundation at the Tivoli Theater.  Tickets may now be reserved at Ashley Furniture HomeStore, Gigi’s Cupcakes and Regions Bank locations or by calling 1-800-750-6962.

Recently, a close friend of mine was diagnosed with Diabetes Type II. Over 17 million Americans have diabetes, and each day, approximately 2,200 new individuals are diagnosed. After my friend was diagnosed, I realized my knowledge of diabetes was lacking.  Below is a simple test on the subject – how much do you know?

Sometimes you just have to sigh and shake your head over some of those we share this planet with. For instance you would hope someone, like a judge for instance, would have enough wisdom to refrain from hitting the SEND button for an email containing a racist joke about the President of the United States.

The other day, I was somewhere in a parking lot waiting for someone, and found myself walking on a curb that ran along the grass. I followed the curb as it twisted around the parking lot and never fell off. There was a point where there was a break in the curb and I hopped to the other side and landed without any problem. I acknowledge that none of this is very impressive, but it made me wonder if I could do the same thing if the curb was 20 feet off the ground and falling off would be bad. No way. I believe the fear of falling would make it almost impossible to replicate what I did on a similar course far above the ground.

If the clue were “hardly licit,” my first answer would be ILLEGAL. But what if the clue were, as it was in the Thursday Times puzzle a few weeks ago, “One caught by border patrol”? Would you think of ILLEGAL? If not, as it crept into the grid while you solved the crossers, would you be offended?

1. Of the following colors, which is NOT found on an original Starbursts package? Red; Orange; Yellow; Green; Pink.

2. What college did Abraham Lincoln attend? Harvard; Yale; William & Mary; none of the above.

3. True or False: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee, and Ed White were killed when the Saturn IB rocket exploded on the launch pad.

This article originally ran in the Daily Record on June 15, 2010. There is so much controversy about eggs. Should you eat them? Should you not eat them? Maybe just eat the egg whites? What is the most nutritional way to eat eggs? Eggs, once considered a cholesterol-culprit, have somewhat been redeemed in recent years as researchers learn more about how certain foods work in our bodies systems. They have re-evaluated the egg and just how nutritious they are for us.

Instead of writing a review of “John Carter,” I’m tempted to compile a clip-n-carry guide to the names of its alien characters, races and locations. If you’re planning to see the movie, a manual would be more helpful to you than my assessment. I went in unprepared, and I spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out whether I was looking at a Thern, a Thark, or a Thoat, who Sab Than and Matai Shang were, which of the human tribes were the Zondangans, and so on. Even Mars is called “Barsoom.”

It was a beautiful Tennessee early spring afternoon when I pulled into the long gravel driveway of Uncle Sid and Aunt Sadie’s farm. The hills behind their house this time of year are starting to show signs that full-blown spring is on its way. In fact, the new growth has even arrived earlier this year. Maples are turning maroon in color with red buds on their limbs getting ready to bloom and other trees are starting to show signs of pastel greens, as they too are ready to come back to life once again.