In 2015 city officials condemned the home stands at Raymond James Stadium at East Ridge High School. The Pioneer football team played a full season with the hulking ruin of prefabricated concrete stands as a symbol of lack of funding for sports facilities by the Hamilton County Department of Education. in 2017, after protracted negotiations […]

At Saturday’s “Meet the Mayor” event at Local Coffee, Mayor Brian Williams brought along a special guest … none other than Chris Dorsey, the city’s newly-hired City Manager. About a dozen interested citizens gathered to hear Mayor Williams hold forth on all the major projects the city is working on or has a stake in: […]

We can all think of at least one teacher who made a tremendous impact on our lives. We can all remember the lessons they taught us, and the decisions they helped guide us through. We can all recall how they pushed us to be the absolute best version of ourselves, even when we didn’t necessarily […]

It’s interesting what brings people together. When the City of East Ridge condemned the 50-year-old bleachers at Raymond James Stadium in 2015 and that old pile of concrete was razed, it galvanized a group of alumni to step in and build something. A nucleus of hard-charging grads got together and formed the East Ridge Alumni […]

I fear there are some challenging days ahead for our city. These challenges may try the patience of city leaders and those they lead. On Saturday, Camp Jordan Park hosted the Chattanooga Cruise-In. I’m told thousands of people gathered there for the giant event that brought car enthusiasts from all over the region. I’m also […]

I’ve grown weary of the way things are done in our city. Last week, J.R. Reed, the Chief of the East Ridge Police Department, was terminated after 28 years of service to our city. Reed had been on administrative leave while an investigation into charges of lack of leadership, mishandling money in the property and […]

Editor’s Note: The following is a response to a Facebook post on social media where those posting were criticizing East Ridge. It has been posted here as an editorial with the permission of the author. East Ridge is beginning to show signs of revitalizing and l believe we are making progress.  New businesses are opening […]

Although we are only a little more than a month into 2019, statistics from the Officer Down Memorial Page indicate that across the nation 15 police officers have already been killed in the line of duty.  One officer death is too many.  Fifteen is an outrage!    These same statistics indicate that in 2018 a total of […]

You gotta feel for Steve Paris. Paris lives in a beautiful house on an acre of land on Orlando Avenue, just off Bennett Road. His place, one of about 10 houses on the dead end street, is the nicest piece of property in the neighborhood. When a developer bought up the house across the way […]

Earlier this month East Ridge Mayor Brian Williams invited everyone to come to Local Coffee for an event called “Meet the Mayor.” About 30 folks showed up and talked about our city and what it’s gonna take to make East Ridge a better place to live. The discussion was lively, interesting, sometimes pointed and at […]

I’ve got to hand it to Brian Williams, the new Mayor of East Ridge, he’s a good listener. He said he was going to have a “meet the mayor” event where he would sit and talk with residents of East Ridge and take the temperature of the people he serves. By golly he did it. […]

Well, 2018 has come and gone and we are a week into the new year. You may or may not have set some goals for yourself for 2019. You know, goals that will either make you a better person or make you feel like you’ve actually accomplished something in the 365 days that God has […]

To the citizens of East Ridge, I am so honored to have your overwhelming support and confidence as your next Mayor. I want to thank everyone that voted for me as well as contributed and supported me throughout my campaign. I want to congratulate Jacky Cagle and Mike Chauncey on their wins for city council. I want to also […]

Lately, I am reminded of the critic.  I am reminded of the public servants who run for office, serve the citizens, and make decisions in the public arena.  I am reminded of the truth.  I am reminded of so many things lately that I simply remember this famous attribution of Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not […]

The election is Tuesday and will determine the future of not only East Ridge, but regional, state, and National government operations.  Not too long ago we saw the detrimental turn of societal outliers as they attacked the nomination process of our newest Supreme Court Justice, Brett Kavanaugh.  I remember the outrage of so many conservative […]