This has been a week of events and memories that are heart breaking: Remembrance of the September 11, 2001 horrific, brutal terrorist attacks on American soil that took so many innocent lives and changed our lives forever; Sept. 6-12, National Suicide Prevention Week, another sad, heart wrenching memory for many families that changed their lives forever. In […]
Gravitt Sets the Record Straight
For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Marc Gravitt. I serve as Vice Mayor of East Ridge, a position that I am honored with and I take very serious. For those that know me, you know I speak my mind. I have absolutely reached my limit on comments made by people […]
Rental Inspection Ordinance Sorely Needed
Unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably well aware and have very strong feelings about what took place on Wednesday evening at Superior Creek Lodge. Just in case your unaware or one of those few who get there “facts” from social media I will give you a short recap. On Tuesday […]
DeGlopper: Make “The Jewel” New Home of High School Sports
I grew up in a very small town. Very small, tiny, little town. Not even a town technically it was a village. In the village of Hopkins, Michigan we had approximately one. One gas station, one bowling alley (all 4 magnificent lanes), one ice cream parlor, one grocery store, one place to rent moves, one […]
OPINION: Crumbling Stadium is Opportunity to Come Together
Early last Saturday morning I went to Raymond James Stadium to see what all the excitement was about at the facility where the Pioneers play football. On the short drive over I recalled some of the great times I had in that stadium back in the mid 1970s. There were the football games, of course, […]
Duct Tape and Bailing Wire
When I was a kid I would on occasion watch “The Red Green Show,” a Canadian comedy show that aired in the Untied States on PBS. The show was a sketch comedy show featuring the title character Red Green. Red was a handyman who found that often the key solution to fixing most things around […]
What Story Will East Ridge’s ‘Narrative’ Tell?
In a news story last week, City Treasurer Thad Jablonski was interviewed about a class he attended that focused on marketing East Ridge to new businesses. During the interview Jablonski spoke of the importance of the city telling its own story to corporate decision makers convincing them that East Ridge is the right place for […]
The Road to Ringgold …
What’s in a name? Four hundred years have passed since those words were famously attributed to Juliet in her plea to Romeo, but the question is timeless. And you don’t have to be William Shakespeare in order to divine an answer. The question is one we all must consider from time to time. Be it […]
Simple Fix for City’s Wrecker Ordinance
At Thursday night’s East Ridge City Council meeting, Councilman Larry Sewell stated that the council needs to look at the wrecker ordinance again now that the TBI investigation is done. The TBI investigation into the alleged forging of the wrecker ordinance took more than six months. The results of the investigation were forwarded to the […]
Let’s Cut the Red Tape
At the City Council meeting on Thursday night, Walmart Neighborhood Market was granted a beer variance. It appeared from how quickly this was moved onto the agenda (it skipped the agenda session completely) that the developer was completely unaware of East Ridge’s beer ordinance. It was revealed in the course of the meeting that our […]
To Fee or Not To Fee… ?
“Orange folder, orange folder, orange folder… Why are there no orange folders?” I thought to myself this morning while walking up and down the isles of Walmart looking to check off one of the more reclusive items on the school supply list. “Why can’t I use blue? The list specifically says one solid green, […]
Things Moving Fast in ER
Things have been moving fast in our fair city over the last month. I’ve been waiting for my head to stop spinning so I could, perhaps, put some of this in perspective. _ City Manager Andrew Hyatt hopped on I-75 and took a job in Neptune Beach, Fla. We wish him well. The Council puts […]
Part-Time City Manager and Fire Chief
In an incredible 3- 2 vote on Thursday night the City Council, in a charge led by Councilman Denny Manning and Councilman Jacky Cagle, decided that the city only need a part-time Fire Chief and part-time City Manager. The discussion as laid out by Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt was that the city needed to find […]
I Am Free! I Am An American
With the tragic murders of five military heroes and the injury of others on July 16, 2015, much sadness and disbelief has been brought to our city, our state, our country and the world. Families of military personnel have to give up loved ones on a daily basis. What makes this different? These brave servants […]
Council Reschedules Meeting to Take Field Trip
Usually on Thursdays East Ridge News Online files a news story detailing what happened at the City Council meeting. This week, however, the council has decided to reschedule its meeting to July 16 because the entire council _ with the exception of Vice-Mayor Marc Gravitt who has business in Nashville _ has loaded up and […]