Happenings
 
 
 
General Events....Allied Arts Events
Hamilton County Schools .... Sheriff Tim Gobble..... J. Michael Leonard
Dalton Roberts ..... Other Local Online Calendars ..... ChattanoogaFun Events
 
 

 

Events.

 

A Short History of Chattanooga

The Chattanooga History Center will present A Short History of Chattanooga at 7:00pm on Tuesday, June 1st. The series will be held at the History Center’s interim location at 615 Lindsay Street, Suite 100, and will feature its Executive Director and Historian, Dr. Daryl Black, as instructor. There is no charge for the program, but space is limited, and pre-registration is required. The deadline is May 7th. Call 423-265-3247, extension 10, to register.

This mini-course will explore the many fascinating layers of Chattanooga’s dramatic and colorful history, and will include some of its quirkier stories. It will also feature artifacts from the History Center’s collection, some of which are under consideration for use in the new exhibits at the Center’s new home.

 

Harrison Ruritan Club Car Show Benefits Community

Sunday, May 30, 2010 at the Chattanooga Riverpark

The Harrison Ruritan Club will hold its 5th annual Open Car Show Sunday May 30, 2010 at the Riverpark off Amnicola Highway here in Chattanooga. Over 100 trophies will be awarded for "Top 5" in 20 classes of cars, trucks and motorcycles. There will be 7 "Best of" trophy categories and a "Best of Show". There are separate classes for Corvettes, Mustangs and VWs.
Admission is free for spectators. To enter a vehicle(s) check-in the morning of the show and register for $25 per vehicle. Registrants will receive a Goodie Bag and Collectable Dash Plate. Registration is from 8am-Noon. Judging begins at Noon. Trophies awarded at 3pm.
Everyone is encouraged to picnic with their family and friends. The Ruritan Club will have a variety of hot-off-the-grill and fresh-made foods and drinks available.

We will have a church service at 11am held by Rev Billy Denham. Rev Denham will also entertain the audience with his Chet Atkins style of guitar playing. The Scenic City Quartet will perform.

Proceeds benefit a variety of Ruritan Club projects such as college scholarships for graduating high-school seniors, awards to local elementary & middle school students based on good character, donations to schools, recreation leagues and Friends of Harrison Bay State Park. As well as sponsorship of youth to Freedoms Foundation, assistance to the Chattanooga Food Bank, donations to the local fire department and assistance to the needy and community citizens experiencing difficulty.
For more information contact: Jim Holcomb 423-413-6140 or email: JHOLC19593@aol.com

 

2010 Thunder On The Rock Music Festival & Bike Rally

There’s a rumble in Monteagle, Tennessee. Bikes & people of every kind are winding their way to the 2010 THUNDER ON THE ROCK MUSIC FESTIVAL & BIKE RALLY [THOR] this Memorial Day Weekend, May 28, 29, & 30! This year is packed full of entertainment and rally favorites JACKYL, BLACKFOOT, COLT FORD, GENEVA, BIG ENGINE, and a slew of the Southeast’s Finest Bands.

Now ad some spice to your music with Hot Thunderettes, Vendors, Crazy Games, Bike Show & Games, Wet T-Shirt Contests, Burn-Out Contests, Craziest Campsite Contest, Body Painting by Gary Stroud, Oil Wrestling, Thunder Goddess Contest & a Lot of FUN!

Get ready for the rally on May 22, at the THOR Kick Off Party & Poker Run at AJ’s Bar & Grill, Lebanon, TN. Live Music, Vendors, Bike Show, Budweiser, & Hot Thunderettes! Poker Run 1st Place Prize – THOR VIP PASS [$350 Value!].

THOR tickets ON SALE NOW. Go to ThunderOnTheRockOnline.com for the Ticket Locations or buy online. SAVE $20 when you buy your ticket now. Advance ticket price is $40 for the entire weekend or $60 at the gate.

Follow us on our facebook fan page and sign up for our email newsletter, for chances to Win THOR Swag and more! See ya at Thunder on the Rock!

www.ThunderOnTheRockOnline.com 423-290-2166

 

World-famous Glenn Miller Orchestra Comes to the Chattanooga Choo Choo for 2nd Annual Pops Concert

The Glenn Miller Orchestra will return with their famous songs and big band sounds to the Chattanooga Choo Choo on Saturday, May 29, 2010. They performed here for the Choo Choo’s Centennial celebration party in 2009. This is an event you don’t want to miss!

The Chattanooga Choo Choo offers two exciting overnight packages to go along with the concert – “In the Mood” and “Moonlight Serenade.” Both packages include two night’s accommodations, two souvenir tickets to the concert and more. Packages start at $359 and can be purchased by calling 1-800-TRACK29 or online at www.choochoo.com.

The Glenn Miller Orchestra has been on the road long and more continuously than any other Big Band, traveling over 100,000 miles each year and playing nearly 300 concerts. The entire Glenn Miller repertoire now exceeds 1,700 compositions, which keeps the band popular with young and old alike.

The Chattanooga Choo Choo is located on 24 acres in the heart of downtown Chattanooga, Tenn. The hotel features 363 rooms in three buildings and on authentic train cars. The complex boats five unique restaurants and seven retail shops, a fascinating Model Railroad Museum, and an authentic New Orleans Trolley. Dozens more downtown dining, shopping, and attraction options are within walking distance or via a short ride on the free, electric shuttle system.

We hope to welcome you aboard on May 29, 2010!

For more information on a Chattanooga vacation, visit www.chattanoogafun.com.

 

Tennessee State Harley Owners Group Rally 2010

The Historical Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel will host the Annual Tennessee State H.O.G. Rally from June 2-5, 2010. The rally will be jam-packed with live music, parades, skill-riding events and more.

The Official Kickoff Party will be held on
Wednesday, June 2 at Thunder Creek Harley Davidson on Lee Highway. The party will feature live entertainment, lots of great food and cold beverages. For more information visit www.thundercreekharley.com or call 423-892-4888.

On
Thursday, June 3, there will be a special "Take Me to the River" Pier Party along the redeveloped downtown riverfront. A special welcome to National H.O.G. Members will be given by Miss Tennessee, Stefanie Wittler, and local Chattanooga officials including City Mayor Ron Littlefield.

The 2010 Tennessee Rally is bringing back some of the most popular events including local riding excursion, motorcycle shows and advanced-rider competitions. Chattanooga, being a motorcycle friendly city, plays into The Tennessee State H.O.G. Rally’s underlying theme, "Ride all Day and Party into the Night." Guaranteed to keep the party going, entertainment will be provided by the high-energy "Party Nation" and "The Beaters," just to mention a few.

 

Moo-Velous Moofest Returning To The Friendly City

Athens, Tennessee to host festival that’s fun for the whole family

ATHENS, Tenn. (May 24, 2010) – Good news, fans of family-friendly festivals. National MooFest, the festival that celebrates the dairy industry, is not only returning to Athens, Tennessee again this year, it’s also expanding to two full days, June 5 and 6. ---- More

 

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum Plans WWII / D-Day Remembrance

The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum (TVRM) announces a special World War II flashback entitled From Rail Line to the Front Line: Remembering D-Day to be held on Saturday, June 5th at TVRM’s Grand Junction Station. Harkening back to a time when our nation’s railroads stepped up to meet the immense challenge of moving volumes of men and machines across the country, TVRM’s vintage railway equipment, which will be operating throughout the day, fits right in with the WWII era. Additionally, many special activities are planned such as period reenactors giving lifestyle demonstrations, an armed encampment with field kitchen, military vehicle and equipment displays, and veterans reflecting on the “greatest generation.” As a special educational effort, Louis Varnell from the Southeast Veterans Museum will be bringing the “Battle Bus” which is a rolling museum of photographs, uniforms, replica guns, and other items that bring the war alive. All activities and displays will help present remembrances of the invasion of Normandy, commonly referred to as D-Day, on June 4, 1944, to move WWII toward a close. ---- More

 

History Center Presents Its 11th Nicely Tour

The Chattanooga History Center will present its eleventh Nicely walking tour, Market Street, based on a section of Maury Nicely’s Chattanooga Walking Tour and Historic Guide, at 7:00pm on Tuesday, June 22nd. The History Center’s Executive Director and Curator, Dr. Daryl Black will serve as tour guide. Participants will meet Dr. Black on Sixth Street at the Regions Bank Plaza. The fee is $3 per person. Pre-registration is required, and the deadline is June 21st. Call 423-265-3247, extension 10, to register.

This tour covers Market Street from Sixth Street to Ross’ Landing (a previous tour, Market Center, covered the street from Sixth to MLK,Jr. Blvd.). Though this section of Market did not develop with tall, impressive buildings, as did the section further south, lots of very interesting things happened there, including a labor strike, theatrical performances, newspaper publishing, tavern brawls, and the Bee Hive Store fire, which took the lives of two firemen later memorialized by the Firemen’s Fountain at Fountain Square.

 

4th Annual Chattanooga Dragon Boat Festival

Teams are getting a jump start now, registering for an annual event that always makes a splash.

Registration for the 4th Annual Chattanooga Dragon Boat Festival, benefiting T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital Foundation, is officially open. The event will be Saturday, July 24, 2010 at the TVA Park at Chickamauga Dam. Register online at www.chatt.racedragonboats.com. Top prizes will be awarded, but the real winners are the children treated at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital. Last year, paddlers from 49 teams raised more than $93K in pledges for the organization.

The most fun, unique cultural event featuring adrenaline-pumping action, dragon boat racing grows in popularity, and this year USDBF Club Crew National Championships will be held in conjunction with the Chattanooga Dragon Boat Festival, featuring three days of competitive racing. National Club Crews will race 200, 500 and 1000 meters from July 23-25. Festival and Nationals teams will race 200 meters on Saturday, July 24. Festival teams will look to capture the Grand Champion title. National Championship division winners will take a piece of a $10,000 purse, and be qualified for World Club Crew Championships in Hong Kong in 2012. Festival teams may also choose to race in National Championship heats against club crews from across the country.

Get on the Boat! Local and club crew teams rave about the excitement, friendly competition and community spirit surrounding the sport. Teams of 20 paddlers, a drummer and provided steerer race in authentic 41-foot long Chinese dragon boats. Teams decorate their tents, wear their dragon apparel and cheer throughout this is their day and they enjoy it to the fullest extent! All ages, skill levels and physiques can participate, making it the ultimate team building sport, requiring synchronicity and finesse, more than power to win. Bring your best!

Each festival team will get two on-water practices prior to the event and compete in at least two heats on race day on Saturday, July 24, 2010. Teams race in qualifying heats for the title of Grand Champion. More information is online at racedragonboats.com, or call 778-4688.

 

RiverRocks 2010 Festival Coming To Chattanooga in October

Supporting Conservation Through Ten Days of Outdoor Action

An exciting new festival is coming to Chattanooga designed to celebrate, and support, the area’s natural assets. RiverRocks, scheduled for October 1 through 10, 2010, will be ten days of play with a purpose. “Chattanooga is one of the top destinations for outdoor recreation,” said event founder Mike McGauley. “RiverRocks will be one of the nation’s premiere outdoor festival, showcasing our natural resources and the activities they inspire with a mix of outdoor action, entertainment and family-friendly activities.” ---- MORE


 

Allied Arts

Special Events

The Chattanooga History Center's A Short History of Chattanooga program continues Tuesday, May 25th and June 1st at 7:00 p.m. Call (423) 265-3247 ext. 10 for more information.

The Dayton Strawberry Festival continues through Saturday, May 22 in Dayton, TN with a strawberry parade and a strawberry pageant, among other activities. For more information, visit
www.tnstrawberryfestival.com.

The 5th Annual Log Cabin Days Fine Arts & Crafts Show, featuring music, storytellers, an antique tractor and quilt display, a period costume contest, among other activities, will be held Saturday - Sunday, May 22 - 23 in Pikeville, TN. For more information, www.logcabindays.org.

The Southside will host its second annual "Last Fridays on Main" Art Walk on Friday, May 28 from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. Last Fridays on Main will continue every last Friday of each month from May until
November. Visit http://lastfridaysonmain.blogspot.com for more information.

Visual Art & Film

"Transformation 6: Contemporary Works in Glass," an exhibit featuring the work of 24 glass artists who are finalists and winners of the Raphael Founder's Prize, will be introduced Thursday, May 20 at 6:00 p.m. at the Hunter Museum of American Art. Visit www.huntermuseum.org for more information.

AVA will host an eBay & Etsy Workshop on Saturday, May 29 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. for artists looking to learn how to promote and sell their artwork or other creative products through web-based marketplaces. Visit www.avarts.org to register.

The Tennessee Watercolor Society 32nd Exhibition opening reception will be held Saturday, May 22 from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m. at Chattanooga State Community College. For more information, contact Helen Burton at (423) 478-5262 or helenburtongraphics@gmail.com.

Artist Daniel Liam Gill will present a painting demonstration at the Asher Love Studio + Gallery on Sunday, May 23 from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m., after which the artwork will be auctioned to the show attendees. More information may be found by visiting http://asherlovegallery.blogspot.com or calling (423) 822-0289.

The Jewish Federation's Third Annual Chattanooga Jewish Film Series begins Wednesday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Jewish Cultural Center with the showing of The Debt. For ticket information, contact Ann Treadwell at (423) 493-0270, ext. 13 or atreadwell@jewishchattanooga.com.

Theatre, Music & Dance

The CSO and the Chattanooga Theatre Centre present Hops & Opera III on Sunday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. in the Chattanooga Theatre Centre Main Lobby. International opera soprano Stella Zambalis will sing famous arias by Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Mozart, Bellini, Gershwin and more accompanied by pianist Jason Duroy. Tickets will be sold at the door. Visit www.chattanoogasymphony.org for more information.

Pig Farm opens Friday, May 28 at 8:00 p.m. and continues each weekend through Saturday, June 12 at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. Please call (423) 267-8534 or visit www.theatrecentre.com for more information.

Riverdance - The Farewell Tour will be presented at the Memorial Auditorium Thursday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. To purchase tickets, visit www.chattanoogaonstage.com or call (423) 642-TIXS.

OperaSouth debuts its Edible Opera dinner series at the Chattanoogan Hotel's Broad Street Grille on Thursday, May 20 at 7:30 p.m. Call (423) 424-3700 to make reservations.

The Evening Shade Concert Series will be held each Friday in May at the Johnston Park in Cleveland, TN beginning at 6:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.shannonadgroup.com/mainstreet.

The Jordanaires will perform with Elvis Tribute Artist Ron Moore at the Choo Choo Centennial Theatre on Friday, May 21 at 7:15 p.m. in a concert benefiting the City of Chattanooga Department of Education, Arts & Culture's Unbroken youth initiative. Call (423) 702-8976 to purchase tickets.

Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga presents the award-winning play columbinus, examining the tragic events of the Columbine High School Massacre, Friday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, May 23 at 3:00
p.m. at the St. Andrews Center. For more information, visit www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com.

The Folk School of Chattanooga will host an Old Time Banjo Workshop and an Old Time Fiddle Workshop on Saturday, May 22 from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Workshop instructors Lynn "Chirps" Smith and Dave Landreth will perform at the Stone Cup Coffee House on Friday, May 21 from 7:00 - 10:00 p.m. For more information, visit
www.chattanoogafolk.com.

An eight-week session of Scene Study Classes conducted by Jamie Lawrence continues at the St. Andrews Center on Wednesdays from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Roses Taylor at (423) 280-4642.

A Reggae Festival, featuring local and regional musicians and Caribbean food, will take place Friday - Sunday, May 28 - 30 at Camp Reggae in the community of Isabella near Turtletown, TN. Visit
www.campreggae.net for more information.

Rock 'n Roll Hall of Famer Gregg Allman will perform at the First Tennessee Pavilion on Friday, May 28 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased by calling (423) 642-TIXS.

Writing, Literature & Poetry

The columbinus Poetry Project, featuring original poetry based on the play by local poet Laurie Perry Vaughen and featuring the cast of columbinus, will be presented Saturday, May 22 at 2:00 p.m. at the St. Andrews Center. Visit www.ensembletheatreofchattanooga.com for more information.

The Tennessee Valley Theatre will host a coffee shop-style poetry reading on Sunday, May 23 at 2:00 p.m. For more information, please call (423) 365-7529.

Reda Mansour, Consul General of Israel to the Southeastern United States, will read his poetry and talk about the images that inspire his poems during a dinner on Thursday, May 27 beginning at 6:00
p.m. at the Jewish Cultural Center. Contact Ann Treadwell at (423) 493-0270, ext. 13 or atreadwell@jewishchattanooga.com for more information.

Kindred Connections, a book club for teens and parents, will meet Saturday, May 29 at 2:30 p.m. at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Bicentennial Library downtown branch auditorium to discuss Restoring
Harmony by Joelle Anthony. Please call (423) 757-5310 for more information.

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Hamilton County Schools Events

Tuesday, June 8, Brown Academy, T4 – Teachers Teaching Teachers Technology. HCDE’s 5th technology conference. 20 sessions will be offered for teacher professional development including hands-on computer training. Session include Google toosl, Twitter, ELMO, Rubric generators, Electronic portfolios, Excel, Technology and differentiated instruction, podcasting, PowerPoint, writing, digital cameras. Contact: Preston Gonter, 209-8438

 

My Personal Journal

By Dalton Roberts

GOD HANGS OUT IN GARDENS

Sunday, May 23, 2010

The memory of creating a garden lingers with me like the smell of a clean, sweet woman. I wrote about it in October of 1997 in a letter to my dear friend, Cecll Null, the writer of the immortal classic “I’ve Forgot More Than You’ll Ever Know.” This Sunday Journal draws heavily on that letter.

Cece was the best songwriter I have ever known and probably the best autoharpist who ever lived. Most autoharpists strum. He picked it like it was a big guitar.

He was my faithful correspondent for 30 years. His notes shimmer throughout my journal notebooks like jewels of all kinds and colors.

I wrote to him, “My garden is about gone except for the winter things. Lots of lettuce,spinach and turnip greens. And the Cowhorn Peppers just keep coming in.

“Took down the okra plants yesterday. It was a little sad for me. I have sat at my writing window many months now looking at two long rows of okra blooms on tall plants weaving in Tennessee breezes. This is the first year in my life I have had the mindfulness to notice how pretty okra blossoms are.

“God hangs out around gardens. I can be stressed and walk out in the garden and I find instant peace. I know God is omnipresent but hanging out is a very special form of Omnipresence.

“The last years of my first marriage were difficult for me and I am sure for my wife. My Inner Wisdom knew a garden would help and it did.

“I could hardly wait to get home and get in the garden. I’d take my lawn chair down there and sit under a Weeping Willow. Now and then I’d get up and do something but God would say, ‘Get back over here and talk with me some more.’

“Sometimes I admit I woud cry. Yes, partly from sadness but also from the realness of the peace I was receiving.

“I may not be an expert gardener but I do know how to heal land. I took a piece of land with very little top soil, foot-spaded it over and over and worked in 27 truckloads of manure and a load of river sand.

“The man who owned the land I bought in ’95 used nitrates and pesticides in his garden. I knew when I stuck a spade in about a dozen places and couldn’t find a worm. Worms are God’s composters. And I learned that a handful of Lady Bugs is better in a garden than a ten gallons of poison.

“The instinct that makes us make babies is kin to the instinct that makes us make gardens. It’s Life’s desire to see things grow. Instead of screaming at people to repent, I think we’d create more spiritual people screaming, “Make gardens!”

“My garden partners were God, worms and a Hog Snake. Mr. Snake would come up several times a day and feast on aphids and assorted bugs. When he saw I liked him, he’d hang out with me for longer periods Maybe the original snake led Adam into sin but mine led me into a feeling of Oneness.

I pray you will create a garden, even if it is only 10’ square. You and God will have a wonderful time there.

This column originally appeared in the Chattanooga Times Free Press in 2003 and is reprinted at the request of Dr. Ray Brock.

 

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SEPARATION OF STUPID AND STATE

by J. Michael Leonard

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

A custodian in Danvers, Massachusetts barely escaped injury when he was sucked into a vacuum-type sausage-making machine. When asked to describe the accident, witnesses said they never sausage a thing. (I won’t apologize for that)

Also in Massachusetts, near Boston, a guy was arrested for trying to swap his three-month-old baby for a couple of 40-ounce beers. His wife became furious when she found out because she had already set up a deal to swap the baby for a carton of cigarettes, bada BING!

In 1789, George Washington checked out The Law of Nations, by Emer de Vattel, from the venerable New York Society Library and never returned it. The fine for a library book 221 years overdue is around $300,000. You think George is going to pay that? I don’t see how, man’s been dead over 200 years. Meanwhile, a copy of Brown Sugar: I Bet Your Mama Was A Tent Show Queen, checked out by Thomas Jefferson is still missing.

And I Quote: “Plug the damn hole.” ~ President Obama, finally stepping in and taking charge of the Gulf’s oil spill problem

Meanwhile you got all them engineers and oil executives going, “Of course! Why didn’t we think of that? It’s so obvious. Somebody go get one of those big oil spill plugs from the warehouse.”

They say a "bubble of methane" caused that BP oil rig to explode. Said a bubble of methane escaped from the well and expanded as it traveled up the drill column, bursting out the seals and finally exploding. Which gave me this weird déjà vu because that exactly describes the process every time ol’ Bud Leonard cracks a fart.

Hey, here's you a story. A father, son and grandson in England were all born on the same day. That must'a been some neat trick, huh? How is that even possible? What? What’s that you’re telling me? You say they were all born on the same day, but in different years? Ooooh. Well, that's different. That's not such a big deal. Now, if they’d all been born on the same day in the same year, then maybe we got ourselves a story. But as it is, forget I mentioned it

A leading expert in hearing and hearing loss now says that a side effect of Viagra and other such erectile enhancement drugs is a sudden loss of hearing. The question, then, is which organ is more important to the male collective ~ their ears or their winky-tink? To which the male collective resoundingly replies, "Hey? What'd y'say? Speak up there, sonny jim."

Is kind of ironic, though ... guy gets tanked on Viagra, hits on a cute chick at some singles’ bar and then can't even hear her when she says, "Sure, I’ll go home with you."

The journal Science reports that "maverick" biologist Graig Venter has created an artificial life form. God is dead. Long live God. Naw, you know what? I got news for that guy Venter and the rest of you, too ... there's all kinds of artificial life forms walking around out there and have been for years, and they weren't created in a lab. They were created in a public school.

But, you know ... maverick scientist mucking around with DNA, using research done by others to create synthetic forms of life that are impervious to antibodies ... naw, I don't see how anything could go wrong there.

Last week, the city of Los Angeles began a boycott of Arizona because of that racist Arizona law that Obama, Eric Holder and Janet Napolitano have criticized so harshly but none of them have read. Now the mayor of Columbus, Ohio has banned city workers from even traveling to Arizona. Wonder if he’s read the law? Everybody knows about the separation of church and state, but what we need more is a separation of stupid and state.

One of those pious bullies from Saudi Arabia’s virtue police tried to bully the wrong couple this week at a Saudi amusement park. The guy started giving a young unmarried couple grief for socializing, when the girl got mad and just purely beat the bloody snot out of him, sent him to the hospital. Wonder how that felt for the bully, being on the receiving end for a change? But the whole thing tells me that even Muslims are getting fed up with Muslim oppression. Last week, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was getting it from hecklers during one of his speeches. Crowd kept yelling out, “We are unemployed!” Sounds like a tea party, huh? But I'll tell you what all that is ... that's some of that ol' American spirit of independence popping up in the Middle East, that's what that is. And yeah, I guess that's George Bush's fault, too.

Of course, that Saudi girl will be whipped, jailed and possibly beheaded, but still.

(Out of My Mind is © J. Michael Leonard, a freelance writer/illustrator whose work has appeared in Playboy, National Lampoon, Argosy, Berkeley Barb, comic books, childrens books and numerous other publications. Email: jmichael@hometowncleveland.com. His political/humor column, "Out Of My Mind," has published weekly since 1996. It is archived at: http://hometowncleveland.com

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Bradley One In Service

“RACE TO THE TOP”

by Bradley County Sheriff Tim Gobble

Friday, April 2, 2010

Tennessee has made great advances improving the graduation rate for high school students. Last year, Tennessean.com reported that the state’s high school graduation rate increased by 11 percent between 2002 and 2006 ~ the biggest increase in the nation.

According to a report released by Baltimore University’s Everyone Graduates Center in March of 2009, the graduation rate in Tennessee during that four-year period of 2002-2006, went from 61 percent to 72 percent, while the national rate held steady around the 75 percent range. In 2008, Tennessee’s graduation rate hit 82.3 percent.

The Center offers no reason for the gain, but I think it is because our state legislators and educators were proactive when they needed to be and are now getting results. In 2003, the Tennessee Board of Education set a goal to achieve a 90 percent graduation rate in the state by the year 2014, and educators across the state seem to have gotten solidly behind the plan.

Of course, that’s the graduation rate. The dropout rate remains around 10 percent, perhaps a bit less. These figures, while not as negative as other areas around the country, can always stand to be improved.

I believe education to be crucial in curbing or preventing crime. High school dropouts are much more likely to be arrested and/or incarcerated than those who do graduate. Statistically, dropouts earn less, have fewer opportunities, pay fewer taxes, are more likely to collect welfare and are more likely to turn to a life of crime.

Recently, the U. S. Department of Education selected Tennessee to participate in a highly selective new program called “Race to the Top.” The program is designed to encourage innovation aimed at improving student performance and helping schools that are struggling to become successful and productive.

More than 40 states applied for the “Race to the Top” grant, but only Tennessee and Delaware were selected to participate in the first phase of the program. Tennessee officials have requested $500 million for the program, which concentrates on four main areas:

1. Adopting standards and assessments that will better prepare students for college and career fields.
2. Ensuring that classrooms are staffed with qualified teachers.
3. Reversing the performance of poorly performing schools.
4. Creating data-tracking systems to record performance.

This “Race to the Top” grant will provide funding and resources to improve our schools here in Bradley County even more. I believe money well-spent up front will pay great dividends in the end. The more young people who are encouraged to stay in school, excel and follow through with college and other vocational training, the fewer who will end up trapped in a destructive cycle of crime and violence.

It is always less expensive to educate and train young people than it is to process them through the criminal justice system. Wasted lives, lost lives and destroyed property are much more costly to society than the funds this program will use to improve our educational system.

Our legislators and educators have done a terrific job in promoting and funding education, and this new program promises to take Tennessee to even greater heights. That is good news, as our children and our future deserve no less than the best we can give them.

The Bradley County Sheriff's Office is located at 2290 Blythe Ave., SE, Cleveland 37311. You can call us at (423) 728-7300. If you would like to contact me personally, email: comments@bradleysheriff.com

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