News - Friday, May 20, 2011

The Ray family tree is laden with seven generations of fruitful attorney ancestry. Now, two generations have combined at Harry B. Ray and Associates, PLLC: Harry B. Ray and his son, Scott Ray.

In the seven generations of attorneys the Ray family has produced, this is the first time a father and son duo has teamed up to go into practice together. Talking to Harry B. Ray about his son’s first day at the firm, it’s obvious to see he is excited about their partnership and what type of fruit will develop from this endeavor on Scott’s branch of the family tree.

Most every Chattanoogan who is over the age of 35 and listens to the radio knows who Tommy Jett is. He’s been a pillar of the community with 50 years of on-air radio experience to his name, and with that, the right to say straight up how he feels about the changes in the business, and changes in his own life that have brought him to where he is today.

Monday, May 22

County Court Clerk David M. Ramsey was preparing extra counter facilities Monday for the biennial issuance of state driver’s licenses here between June 1 and July 1. Chattanooga’s three banks will assist again this year in the renewal of some 100,000 driver’s licenses.

Sir David Fornsworth Smith (his parents actually named him “Sir David,” it was not a royal title) was known as a great lawyer. Thus it came as no surprise that, after he was appointed to the bench, he was also a stellar judge.

Similarly, it was also not unexpected that, when he retired from his judgeship after 11 years of impeccable service, he also excelled at mediating private disputes. What was surprising was Fornsworth Smith’s abrupt cessation of his mediation practice and retreat into virtual seclusion. It happened on a relatively nice day, just last month.

After spending time recently in a meeting of the Tennessee House Agriculture Committee as they discussed things I consider important to me, as well as for the good of farming in our great state, when the meeting adjourned, I took the opportunity to venture further up the halls of our state’s capitol building. Each day there is always something new going on, and this certain day was one of those days when the legislative halls were busy with activity.

When I was a little boy, I remember my Aunt Sis and Uncle Waymond losing their home as tornadoes ripped through Xenia, Ohio.

Tornadoes for me with that exception were something I saw on television news or in movies, but they were not something that I had a firsthand experience with.

Freda Michelle Humbard Miller v. Steven Dwayne Miller.

Knox County – This case stems from the divorce of Freda Michelle Humbard Miller (“Wife”) and Steven Dwayne Miller (“Husband”). The Trial Court, among other things, granted the parties a divorce, designated Wife the primary residential parent, and awarded Wife child support and alimony. Husband appeals, raising a number of issues. We hold that the Trial Court erred in setting child support without entering supporting worksheets in the record as required. We further hold that the Trial Court did not err as to the other issues. We vacate, in part, and, affirm, in part, and remand for the Trial Court to set child support utilizing the worksheets as required.  Authoring Judge: Judge D. Michael Swiney Originating Judge: Judge Ben W. Hooper II

It was a good week for weather lovers. Low humidity and sunny days with highs in the upper 60s and low 70s; the way May ought to be. May is also the month when we have the most office birthdays here at The Daily Record, of which I am one. And there seems to be a lot of other people I know with May birthdays. Maybe it’s because it is named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. 

The column/puzzle experiment is over. The heal-the-knee experiment is on.

Starting in January, every column has had some content that would make the I Swear Crossword easier to solve. That is, there has been a tie-in between the two items. For 20 weeks.

Peace, love and hot wings have come to town with the first new restaurant of the Jefferson’s Restaurant chain. Specializing in wings, burgers and oysters, Jefferson’s is a spacious haunt located outside of the UTC campus, allowing for those students of age to knock back a brew, sports fans to catch the draft on the multiple screens above their table, and families to enjoy a meal and free balloons for their children.

Officially speaking, I’m not a mother, but I have been known to play one during family affairs.

My sister in law (SIL) gave birth to the most precious little boy about a year and a half ago. I call him ‘Baby J’ and I love him to pieces. I also have a special bond with him because I was one of the first people to see him when he was born.

You had some little visitors this morning at breakfast, and they weren’t exactly welcome. To begin with, they had terrible manners. They weren’t polite enough to ring the doorbell before they barged in and they didn’t even wait for you to sit down before they started eating. So, because you never invited them to breakfast in the first place, you either gently ushered them out the door or you killed them.

This Brainbuster originally ran in The Daily Record on  January 9, 2009.

1.  Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving backward?

Sharing is a fundamental concept that most children learn early on, but getting back to this basic concept as an adult can be useful and emotionally rewarding as well. The concept of sharing is a big principle around one of the newest Leadership Chattanooga group projects: The Chattanooga Tool Barn.

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s the Navy Leap Frogs!

People living in Chattanooga can look forward to seeing the world famous Leap Frogs descend on their city as part of Navy Week, taking place June 11 to 19. The parachute jumps will be a part of a larger event that encompasses dive team presentations, a Riverbend performance by Freedom (the Navy’s official band in the mid-south) and an air combat simulator.

Fidel Fonseca is sitting at a picnic table at the Chattanooga Rescue Mission, listening to his fiancé, Kim White, explain how a man who’s a full time Realtor, a real estate investor, a director of the Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors, a volunteer at La Paz, the chairman of the cultural diversity committee at Keller Williams Downtown and a member of the agent leadership council at his office has the time to help at the Mission during Red Day.

One of the most jolting changes in life is the transition from high school to college.

High school is safe and regimented. Students wake up at their regular time, go to the same classes every day, return home, do their homework, go to sleep, and then do it all again the next day. Most high school students have little to no financial responsibility, and because they’re told what to do and when to do it, they’re not required to make many decisions.

Real estate transactions are increasingly complex these days, especially in relation to short sales and constantly changing mortgage lending rules.  Setting a fair price today is also particularly challenging, as markets correct themselves amid fluctuating factors.

Memorial Day has always held a special place in my heart since I have uncles on both my mom’s and dad’s side of the family that served in different wars, and now we have a son who serves in the Arkansas Army National Guard. He has deployed twice to Iraq, and presently is away for a few months in training for his Afghanistan deployment, which is coming up soon. This makes us even more thankful and appreciative of the soldiers and veterans who have so heroically fought for our country and its freedoms. During your celebrations this coming Memorial Day, don’t forget those who served or are now serving – they deserve our respect and praise.

“Something Borrowed” is going to be hard to review, as it didn’t provide me with much ammunition for shooting it down, nor does it have any qualities worth praising, save one. It just exists for two hours and then fades to black. To keep from falling asleep, I focused on how much its stars resemble a young Sally Field and a younger Tom Cruise.