WASHINGTON DC _ The American Conservative Union Foundation (ACU) awarded Tennessee State Rep. Marc Gravitt earlier this week with the “Award for Conservative Excellence” for his commitment to upholding conservative principles during the 2015 General Assembly. Rep. Gravitt achieved a 92% rating on the 2015 ACU scorecard. The ceremony was held at the Tennessee State Capitol’s Legislative Library and featured remarks […]
Lambert on Extended Stays: ‘We’ve Got a New Day’
At Thursday night’s East Ridge City Council meeting some citizens wanted to be critical of measures the council had made, while some members of the council wanted to be critical of measures the Interim City Manager had not. During the “communications from citizens” portion of the meeting, former Vice Mayor Jim Bethune led the charge […]
Council Agenda Set
The East Ridge City Council will meet Thursday, March 31 at City Hall with a light agenda. Among the items the board will consider is a discussion of the City Manager applications. The council had agreed to have a member of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service review the 70 applications received and give a ranking, […]
Council Says Yes to New Hire, No to Grant
East Ridge city fathers said yes on a new hire and no on a grant. During its regular meeting on Thursday night, the City Council moved to create an additional position in its short-staffed Codes Enforcement Department and agreed to decline a $100,000 state parks and recreation grant earmarked for tennis and basketball courts. For […]
Agenda Set for Thursday Council Meeting
The East Ridge City Council will meet Thursday at City Hall on Tombras Avenue and once again consider hiring at least one person in the city’s Codes Enforcement Department. The council has wrangled with the issue for more than a month. The reassignment of a longtime codes employee due to a disciplinary measure has left […]
Greenholtz, Haynes Prevail in Election
More than 75,000 Hamilton County voters, including those in East Ridge, went to the polls in large numbers Tuesday despite periodic bad weather. Voters returned Tom Greenholtz to his position on the bench as Criminal Court Judge Div. II. Greenholtz tallied 19,944 votes to challenger Mike Little’s 12,985 in the Republican Primary. There was no […]
Polling Locations Refresher
Tuesday is election day in East Ridge, across Tennessee and in many southern states. Here are a set of maps to help you Identify what area you live in and then subsequently where your polling place is located. East Ridge 1 (a&b)- East Ridge City Hall ‐ (Gym) 1517 Tombras Ave. East Ridge, TN 37412 East Ridge […]
Burglary Victim Unloads on ERPD Leadership
In a City Council meeting that was short on agenda items was anything but on drama. Jim Winters, a former detective with the East Ridge Police Department, blamed the current leadership of the ERPD for bungling its “investigation” into the burglary of his truck at his Ten Oaks Drive home last week. During the “communications […]
City Struggles with Staffing, Park Grant
The East Ridge City Council continued to struggle with two issues _ staffing in the city’s codes enforcement department and a state grant for parks and recreation _ at its regular meeting Thursday night at City Hall. A discussion of hiring a codes enforcement officer, which had been tabled from the previous meeting, resulted in […]
Bass Pro Manager Introduced at Council Meeting
City officials gave a warm welcome to the man who will be in charge of the new Bass Pro Shops when it opens later this year as the centerpiece of economic development in the city. During Thursday’s City Council Meeting, Mayor Brent Lambert presented Jarron Ritchie with a gift basket of locally produced products and […]
Gravitt Recognized by Assessing Officers Group
Nashville _ Representative Marc Gravitt has been awarded the Legislator of the Year Award for the 109th General Assembly by the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers. Will Denami, Executive Director of the Tennessee Association of Assessing Officers, presented the award to Representative Gravitt on behalf of the statewide association. “I have had the privilege to […]
Council Passes Sign Ordinance on First Reading
The East Ridge City Council passed on first reading a new sign ordinance that may regulate LED signs during its first meeting of 2016, Thursday at City Hall. Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt, who had tabled the measure from its Nov. 12 meeting, initially wanted to leave the ordinance tabled. But, after a quick sidebar discussion […]
Council Amends Beer Ordinance
The East Ridge City Council amended the city’s beer ordinance Thursday night during its last regularly scheduled meeting of 2015. On second reading, the council adopted a change that would strike a provision that residences could not be within 250 feet of where beer is sold. In recent months several businesses along the commercial corridor […]
Council Passes Moratorium on Billboards
The East Ridge City Council met in a special “called” meeting Monday morning to discuss/take action on the city’s sign ordinance. The final outcome in the more than two-hour meeting, was Vice Mayor Marc Gravitt making a motion to place a moratorium on “billboards” within the city. After much fine-tuning on the official motion, the […]
City Joins Other Municipalities in Hiring Consultant
East Ridge will partner with Collegedale and other Hamilton County municipalities in hiring a consultant to fight against a potential bill in the Tennessee General Assembly which could cost cities a portion of state shared tax revenues. In Thursday’s City Council meeting, the board voted unanimously to chip in $20,000 a year for possibly two […]