During last Thursday’s East Ridge City Council meeting, the council voted 3-1 for a resolution that would earmark all city and Hamilton County property tax money at the Jordan Crossing development to pay for improvements inside Camp Jordan Park. It was explained by the mayor and city manager that the resolution was merely to endorse […]

I wanted to talk to East Ridge Fire Chief Mike Williams about his experiences in flood-stricken Houston, but I thought I would give him time to rest and decompress. So, when I went to Corner Cafe for lunch and saw the city’s fire trucks and battalion commander’s vehicle and the familiar white SUV that Chief […]

I live a few doors up from the folks who had the fire at 6607 State Line Road. I would like to personally thank the firefighters of East Ridge for the quick response. Although the family pet didn’t make it, it was not from a lack of trying. I witnessed a couple of firefighters doing […]

This Thursday’s East Ridge City Council meeting just may determine the future direction of our city. At the July 27 council meeting, City Manager Scott Miller rolled out an ambitious plan to revitalize the central part of East Ridge with his vision of creating a new “Town Center.” The project would finally, finally address that […]

Last week I  talked with Daniel Wright, the young man at Jones Memorial United Methodist Church who leads the youth there. He was excited to share a couple projects that the church had going on. On Friday, the young folks took a bunch of non-perishable food items down to Prater Road where the people at […]

Citizens of East Ridge, During a recent Community Meeting there were a couple of statements made regarding my office that I feel compelled to correct. It was stated that I had an employee in the Hamilton County Criminal Court Clerk’s office that made an outrageous salary and only worked three days a week. That is […]

It has been an interesting week seeing the back and forth between Roy Exum and Tim Boyd regarding the upcoming idea of a $15 million expansion at Camp Jordan.  While everyone seemed to argue over how it should be done, no one seemed to ask if it should be done. To me it’s as simple as […]

For about three months, I have attended all the East Ridge City Council meetings. During these meetings, I get up and sign in for “My five minutes of fame” to ask the City Council questions or comments. My special interest is and always has been for the city to have the CARTA Care-A-Van service – […]

… divided we fall. Anyone paying attention to city council meetings for the last month and a half has witnessed first hand the power of that phrase.   A group of neighbors upset over the use of ATVs by a property owner and his 12- year-old grandson on a vacant tract of land culminated with […]

Firefighter’s, who are they? I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen below you burns. I wish you could comprehend a […]

Money. Gamblers want to risk it for chances of more. Savers want to keep it. The frugal are careful about giving it away. The lavish use it as a status symbol.  Our politics, our cities, our country, and even our world are carved up and deeply divided by money. In East Ridge there are two main […]

I have lived in East Ridge all my life and in the early years the elected officials did as they pleased without having to answer to anyone. It makes me happy to see people take a stand and DEMAND answers. We as citizens of East Ridge need to know what is happening. We have the […]

I’ve got some questions about the newly-created East Ridge Housing and Redevelopment Authority and I can’t get anyone to answer them. I’m not alone. Others are crying out for how this thing works and what it’s going to be used for, including Councilman Jacky Cagle. He can’t get any real answers either. He tried in […]

I was so pleased when I heard that East Ridge was creating an East Ridge Housing Authority (ERHA).  I thought that once and for all the city would use the authority to make all East Ridge property owners fix up their dilapidated property, run down junk cars, or even address “hoarders.” Boy, I could not […]