Chattanooga Community Newsletter

Correspondent: Flo Conner for Streetmail.com

After last year’s big hoopla fiascoes, it was nice to sit down this to a quiet New Years’ eve dinner at home with no worries about checkpoints, maniac drivers or drunken revelers with fireworks. Here’s a toast that your holiday was as festive or quiet as you wanted. Now that we’re into the new year, it’s time to get back to the normal routine of life in Chattanooga -- and there’s no better source of entertainment than your local issue of Streetmail, with humble and new year baby, Flo Conner, as your hostess.

IN THIS EDITION: STREET.TALK and usher in the new year in STREET.SMART. STREET.NAMES tells tall tales while STREET.LIGHTS shows you that January has its own charms and fun activities. On to the new year!

If you’ve taken your life into your hands recently and driven on Hwy 153, you may notice the bulldozers clearing enough land to put in a major airport. The hundred or so acres is being cleared to put in the city’s second Super Dooper Extraordinarily Large Walmart. The superstore has already closed one Walmart in Soddy Daisy and may close the existing plain-old huge Walmart in Hixson.

Across town, Hamilton Place is exploding. A Target department store is the latest addition to the hundreds of national chain stores already competing for local dollars in the East Brainerd . I made the mistake of running last-minute errands on the Friday before Christmas and ran screaming from the area, sure I was going to be crushed in the mob.

But when I regained my sanity, I was able to quickly complete my errands at the local hardware store I often frequent and the locally-owned Greenlife grocery. The quiet was enough to convince me to stay away from the chains forever and keep my money as local as possible. But I wondered: Is the quiet a death knell for local businesses trying to compete with the big boys?

**Do you prefer shopping at the big chain stores over locally owned mom-and-pop stores?  Post your response at <survey link> and share your shopping stories. And if you’re willing, share with us your secret stores.

Last week, I lamented the loss of our downtown Chattanooga landmarks and old buildings. I asked if we needed to get rid of the old to make room for the new, and here’s what you told us:  DON HILL, from Walden, wrote, “Downtown was once full of dilapidated, formerly lovely buildings. The few left now barely scratch the surface of what once was. It seems if anybody (except Tom Johnson) starts one, it winds up like the old Loveman’s or Central Block buildings.”

Chattanoogan DOT GILREATH says, “It is sad to see our past decimated to $ marks. A recent visit to Louisville pointed out what a charming thing preservation can be.”
 

A few weeks ago, I asked if anyone else felt like neighbors were getting up in arms over pet problems. Faithful reader TOM M. tells us, “I am a responsible pet owner having a kennel as well as walking my dog on a leash when he's out. Other of my neighbors think that because they live in the county they don't have to obey any laws of even common sense about their pets. I politely remind them we're in the county not the country, keep your animal on your land! But please lets not take it out on the pets, as they are generally smarter than some of the owners. I am getting tired though of walking into land mines left by other peoples pets. What do you other people suggest?”

Let us know what advice you have for pet owners by sending me an email at  flo@floconner.com.

STREET.NAMES .  _______________________  

Eight-year-old JACQUELINE DIXON, granddaughter of JUNE DIXON of Hixson, recently landed a walk-on role in “Fiddler on the Roof” in her adopted hometown of Homasassa, Florida. Since she’s bent on becoming a pop star diva someday (she has the personality), I’m already planning my interview in VH1’s “Behind the Music”.

ROBERT WADDELL, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in wildlife management from the University of Georgia, has departed to Mongolia to serve as Peace Corps volunteer. He’s the son of MR. and MRS. DAVID WADDELL of Forth Oglethorpe.

NATALIE CAMP, a theater and English literature teacher at Sequatchie County High School, was recently named Teacher of the Year by Humanities Outreach in Tennessee. A UTC grad, Natalie has produced 22 full-length school plays while keeping her sanity together.

JOAN FRANKS was awarded the East Tennessee’s Historical Society’s Distinguished Service Award for her work in the restoration of Brown’s Ferry Tavern.

** NEW YEARS’ RESOLUTION NUMBER 1: If one of your resolutions this year is to be nicer to people, what better way to say “I love you” than to acknowledge them in public? And I can help!  Just drop me a short line at streetnames@chattanooga.streetmail.com and you can lick one resolution before January’s out.

STREET.SMART .  _______________________  

He got his rhythm and blues singing experience at the St. Elmo Missionary Baptist Church when he was just a kid, but this now-famous hip-hop singer is now known only by one name. He’s recorded several albums with that Puffy Combs rap character and a Christmas jingle for Coke. If you can name his name, I’ll usher you in as the winner.

** Send your answer, along with your name and shipping address, to streetsmart@chattanooga.streetmail.com . One winner chosen at random from the correct answers will win a  Streetmail gift from the grab bag of goodies.

Last week I asked what New Year’s resolution people had kept or broken the last year. Winner Debra Lin’s answer won her a Streetmail prize from the Santa’s leftover bag of goodies.

She writes: “Last year, in the midst of all the millennium hoop-la, I was 42 years old, single and alone on this once-in-a-lifetime event. I had been divorced for over 4 years and hadn't been dating much. I had even joined one of those internet dating services. It had introduced me to a gentleman from Chattanooga (I lived in Alabama), but we both acknowledged the distance between us seemed too far for more than friendship.

“We stayed in contact by email for about 6 months, we had much in common with our divorce and children. On New Year's Eve last year, I was feeling pretty low and began to re-evaluate my life. I realized that this man in Chattanooga was very caring and I decided that I was going to see if there could be anything between us. By email and on short notice, I asked him what his plans were for New Year's Eve and invited him to my church's New Year's celebration. He immediately responded that he was unable due to the Y2K concerns (he works for a utility company) and he had to stay available in case of an emergency. But he asked if I would like to do something New Year's Day.

“I resolved that night to look at this man with clearer eyes and not worry about the distance. Unknown to me at that time, he made the same resolution that night about me. We spent New Year's Day together at a state park in Alabama, then later went a friends' home to watch a bowl game with members of my church. That was the beginning of an incredible year. We were engaged on February 29th (I asked him since it was Leap Day and I sent him a proposal by computer since that's how we met!) and we married on June 24th in my church in Alabama.

“I moved up here and I've never been happier! Our children are happy for us, they actually think we are too sweet and mushy. This year for New Year's Eve, we are involved with some of the same activities as last year, but with a twist. We are going to the Citrus Bowl with some of the same people from my church in Alabama that we visited with last year.”

Wow. Love will find a way. Congratulations to Debra and Guy Lin on such a great love story.

STREET.LIGHTS  . _______________________   

GRACE PERIOD: You have about one month before those credit card bills start rolling in from Christmas. What better way to distract you than a ton of fun activities in Chattavegas in January?

s a t u r d a y . j a n u a r y  6

TEEN ART classes begin today at 10 a.m. at the Studio Arts and continue through March 21. Adult painting classes start today at 12:30 p.m. Fees for the 10-week course are $150 for kids and $200 for adults. Call artist/teacher Judith Mogul at 756-7689 for more information and a list of other classes.

SINGULARLY FUN: Join the Positive Christian Singles (age 35+) for a singles winter hike to Savage Gulf. Meet at First-Centenary United Methodist Church at 9:30 a.m. with your lunch for a moderate hike. Call 756-2021 for information and directions to the downtown church. And know that if Snow Bird even remotely smells snow, the hike, along with everything else in Chattanooga, will be cancelled.

MLK Celebration will take place at the Northwest Georgia Trade Center in Dalton, at 7 p.m. A $25 cover charge will buy you dinner and speaker William McCormick Jr. Call Mary Bonds for reservations at 706-275-8205.

m o n d a y . j a n u a r y  8

BEGINNING YOUTH JAZZ & TAP classes will begin at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre tonight through March 1. Classes are 4:15-5:15 p.m. and cost $65. If you take more than one class, you’ll get a discount. Call 267-8534 to register.

t u e s d a y . j a n u a r y  9

BEGINNING SWING AND LATIN DANCE classes for adults and teens begins tonight at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre through March 1, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Classes cost $65 per person or $120 per couple. Call 267-8534 to register.

IT’S THE BIBLE, SWEETIE: Five Precept Upon Precept Bible study courses will be offered at the national headquarters for Precept Ministries on Noah Reid Road in East Brainerd at 9 a.m. and other times beginning today. There’s no charge for the classes, and workbooks are available at the ministry’s bookstore. Call 892-6814 for more times.

w e d n e s d a y . j a n u a r y  10

TAP IF YOU HAVE RHYTHM:  Beginning tap classes for adults begin tonight through March 1 at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre, 5:15-6:15. Cost is $65 per person. Call the center at 267-8534 to register.

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