COVID Vaccines and Testing offered at Red Bank Community Fair on February 24
First 100 people vaccinated or boosted will receive $25 VISA gift Card
WHAT: UnifiEd is partnering with Red Bank High School and LifeSpring Community Health to host a vaccination event at the Red Bank Community Fair on Thursday, February from 5 pm – 7 pm at Red Bank High School. UnifiEd will provide $25 to the first 100 people (children and adults) who get the COVID vaccine or booster.
Those who are fully vaccinated will not be excluded from the rewards. Anyone who has been fully vaccinated will have an opportunity to enter a $250 drawing. Proof of vaccination will be required. The medical staff at LifeSpring Community Health will not only administer the COVID vaccines, they will also offer free rapid COVID testing.
In addition to offering COVID vaccines and testing, the Red Bank Community Fair will include nearly 100 colleges/educational institutions, social services agencies and businesses that offer an array of service and resources to the community residents.
WHO: Area residents and representatives from colleges/educational institutions, social services agencies and businesses
WHEN: Thursday, February 24
5 pm – 7 pm
WHERE: Red Bank High School
640 Morrison Springs Road
Red Bank, TN 37415
Nashville to Host Summer Summit of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials
NASHVILLE, TN — The Summer Summit of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials will be held in Nashville on July 21-25, hosting hundreds of local elected officials from around the country. Metro Nashville Council Member Sharon Hurt is serving as the 2021-2022 President of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials.
“Nashville is honored to host local elected officials from around the country, and we look forward to sharing our diverse offerings and rich history,” Mayor John Cooper said. “We are proud of our four Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Nashville’s role as a hub for Black business and healthcare, and Music City’s roots in Black music and culture.”
This year is the first time that Nashville has played host to the group, which falls under the umbrella of the National League of Cities. The National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials represents the interests of African American municipal officials and provides a forum to share ideas, best practices and develop leadership experiences. The group will meet at the Grand Hyatt in Nashville Yards.
“As the newly elected president of the National League of Cities National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials, it is my honor to bring national leaders from across the country to experience the soul of the south, with our rich heritage of music, entertainment, the fight for civil rights and equality,” Hurt said. “We as local elected officials, are strongly positioned to solve critical issues facing our communities such as equity, economic development, inclusion, access to healthcare and education as we build on the legacy of our predecessors.”
“The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp looks forward to the arrival of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials to Music City in July,” said Marie Sueing, NCVC Chief Diversity Officer. “It is our desire and goal as a destination to be welcoming to all who visit our city. We are intentional about attracting multicultural meetings, conventions and leisure travelers to learn about and enjoy the rich cultural history, music and amazing institutions that call Nashville home. We believe Music City provides the perfect stage for these leaders to conduct the business of addressing issues relevant to Black and African American communities. We are proud to support the conference to ensure a successful and memorable experience in Nashville.”
Chattanooga Police Department warns of deadly fentanyl
By Camm Ashford
Chattanooga Police Department Narcotics investigators have issued a public safety warning after a recent uptick of overdose deaths that they suspect are related to fentanyl.
A synthetic opioid that is often laced in heroin, fentanyl is a potent pain relief drug that is commonly manufactured and sold illegally.
Since Feb. 1, Chattanooga has seen 10 overdose deaths in what is a part of the nationwide opioid crisis.
“If you have a friend or loved one who is struggling with this, please be mindful of the current environment for opioid users,” Chattanooga Police Department officials said in a statement. “It appears to be particularly dangerous for them right now.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deaths in Black communities are largely caused by fentanyl.
CDC research shows that while overdose death rates have increased in every major demographic group in recent years, no group has seen a bigger increase than Black men. As a result, Black men have overtaken White men and are now on par with American Indian or Alaska Native men as the demographic groups most likely to die from overdoses.
Since 2015, the death rate among Black men has more than tripled–rising 213%–while rates among men in every other major racial or ethnic group have increased at a slower pace. The death rate among White men, for example, rose 69% between 2015 and 2020.
Death rates have risen sharply among women, too, especially Black women. The overdose fatality rate among Black women rose 144% between 2015 and 2020, far outpacing the percentage increases among women in every other racial or ethnic group during the same period.
Additionally, while overdose deaths of all races in the U.S. were on the rise long before the outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, such fatalities have accelerated during the pandemic, the CDC has noted.
Nationwide, the monthly number of drug overdose deaths had never exceeded 6,500 before March 2020. However, between March and December 2020, there were more than 7,100 such deaths each month–including nearly 9,400 in May 2020 alone.
Experts have pointed to several possible reasons for the increase in overdose deaths, including less access to treatment and a rise in mental health problems associated with the pandemic.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga Announce 2022 Teen Leadership Awards & Scholarships
CHATTANOOGA –The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga announced on February 10th, 2022 The Club’s 2021 Teen Leadership & Scholarship awards. A’Shawn Johnson, a senior at Tyner Academy High School, received the Club’s highest award, the David Fussell Outstanding Leadership Award which includes a $2,500 scholarship. “A’Shawn is being recognized for her personal character, integrity, and service to others. She embodies all of these things and so much more.” stated LaTonya Lyons, the Club Board Chair. A’Shawn has been attending the club for 13 years and will be pursuing a degree in education at Tennessee State University in the fall.
The Club is also pleased to announce that Kamari Woods, a senior at Howard, received the Bright Futures Award that includes a $1,000 scholarship. The Bright Futures Award is given to a high school senior who is an emerging leader. Kamari will be pursuing a career in engineering after finishing his high school studies.
The Rising Star Award, which includes a $1,000 scholarship, recognizes the student who regularly participates in Club programming, helps others, and has the ability to accomplish much. This year’s Rising Star Award winner is Kaliyah McCullough, a senior at Howard High School.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Chattanooga provides teens with outcome-driven club experience consisting of targeted programming and high-yield activities. In 2021, teen membership exceeded 550 youth that primarily attended either Brainerd, East Ridge, Howard or Tyner high schools. Our mission is to enable young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible, and caring citizens
Dr. Michael Danquah researching ways to make food safer for the public
By Camm Ashford
Dr. Michael Danquah and a team from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga are researching methods that give instantaneous results on whether contaminants are present in food products.
The No. 1 goal is to make food safer for the public, but new testing methods also will save money for companies in the food-processing business, preventing expensive recalls on their products, Dr. Danquah said.
“This is actually going to fill a gap in the industrial operation and make the industry a better, more robust, more rapid, real-time way of assessing pathogens,” he noted.
Checking for impurities such as E. coli–which is one of the most common contaminants found in food–is required for companies in the food-processing business.
To make sure everything is in good shape, samples are taken routinely from production lines, then sent for testing at in-house labs or ones outside the plant. Currently, even with in-house labs, results can take a week. Time may stretch even longer for commercial labs.
The UTC team recently received a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for research which will run for three years.
Dr. Danquah hopes the food-processing industries will be interested in his team’s findings.
“The beauty of having the industry involved is they can also help us to test the technology as we develop it,” he explained.
Dr. Danquah, associate dean in the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science, is among the top 2 percent of research scientists in the world.
He uses biomolecular engineering principles to develop, among others–emerging biopharmaceuticals, methods for delivering drugs to their specific targets without alerting the body’s defense mechanisms, biofuels and systems that help clean up environmental pollution.
Dr. Danquah’s research findings have resulted in more than 300 peer-reviewed journal articles, scholarly book chapters, conference proceedings and presentations, and technical reports. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
One of Dr. Danquah’s goals is to advance cutting-edge bioengineering research at UTC. Working with others, the research can address the health care challenges of the 21st century, he said.
EPB Fiber Optics notifies subscribers of TV rate increase
Chattanooga, TN (Feb. 18, 2022) – As TV content providers continue to drive up rates, the cost of subscriptions from TV distributors is going up across the nation including here in Chattanooga. While passing along price increases it cannot absorb, EPB Fiber Optics also announced its continuing commitment to helping customers find their best TV value whether that means switching to the latest EPB Fi TV without set top boxes, subscribing to TV streaming services or a combination of both.
Effective April 1, the price of EPB Fi TV packages will increase by $2 for Bronze Channels, $4 for Silver Channels and $5 for Gold Channels. This is an average increase of 2.9% per customer. The increase does not impact pricing for any other services. Unlike some providers, the price for EPB Fi-Speed Internet remains the same—without increases since EPB launched the service in 2009. Pricing also remains the same for premium channels, equipment rentals and Fi Phone. Bundle discounts for taking two or more fiber optic services still apply. As always, EPB pricing is simple by design with no contracts, hidden fees, data limits or speed throttling.
“Like traditional TV providers and some of the streaming services that have recently announced price increases, we’ve seen charges from TV content providers skyrocket each year for more than a decade,” said David Wade, EPB President & CEO. “As in previous years, we’re reducing the impact for our customers as much as possible by ensuring that this increase is just enough to cover the additional costs we must pass along. We’re also standing by to help customers find their best TV value with several options to help them save.”
EPB is offering multiple ways to help customers minimize or avoid the impact of TV rate increases.
Many EPB TV customers can eliminate monthly set top box rental fees while keeping their same channels by switching to the latest EPB Fi TV which offers advanced features like Restart, Replay, On Demand and Unlimited DVR. The latest EPB Fi TV service works with popular streaming devices like Amazon Fire Stick and Apple TV that many customers already own. This service gives customers the flexibility to watch live television and recordings on TVs, tablets or smart phones anytime, anywhere.
EPB customers can also find substantial savings by using EPB MyBundle, a free service that helps them cut the cord and find the content they love using TV streaming services which give people more control and flexibility to subscribe to TV content they want and stop paying for unwanted channels.
Since launching EPB MyBundle, which allows customers to comparison shop streaming services and find their best value, EPB has helped many customers save hundreds of dollars per year—some save more than $1,000 annually.
Customers interested in learning more about how EPB can help them find the content they want at the best value are invited to contact EPB’s local, award-winning, anytime customer service at (423) 648-1372 or http://epb.com/mybundle.
IRVIN to be Guest Speaker for Black History at Greater Tucker
Tenesha Irvin will be the guest speaker for Black History on Sunday, February 27th, at Greater Tucker Missionary Baptist Church. The service starts at 10:45 am.
The public is welcome to attend. COVID -19 Protocol will be followed.
Greater Tucker Missionary Baptist Church is located at 1115 North Moore Road, Chattanooga TN 37411. Gary L. Hathaway, Senior Pastor
We’re there with you!
In developing this narrative, some may call me a shameless “cherry picker” or something else not so nice. But a “writer opportunist” is the moniker I’ll plead guilty to.
You see I recently came across a gut wrenching “Open Letter to LGBTQ Kids” by Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Leonard Pitts. It addresses the so-called – now brace yourself – “Don’t Say Gay” bill moving through the legislature in Florida.
Huh, “don’t say gay” – are you kidding me? I mean is this “Don’t ask, don’t tell” 2.0, the U. S. policy on military service by gay people instituted during the Clinton administration?
Now to cheery pick the words of Mr. Pitts, “As you’ve likely heard, the governor has thrown his weight behind the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill now advancing through the state Legislature. It says a teacher may not “encourage” discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.
President Biden blasted what he called a “hateful” bill. “I have your back,” he said. This note is just to say that I do, too. I can only imagine how isolating and lonely it must feel, in the awkwardness of your adolescent years, to have a governor declare your sexual identity so abnormal it can’t be discussed in school — just when you may need to talk about it the most.”
Okay, stop right there.
I hope that what you just read rattles your sense of fairness. It did mine, so much so that to make a larger point, I direct your attention to other examples of isolation and loneliness.
First, and although they occurred during earlier times, the Pitts column conjured up recollections of the isolation and loneliness experienced by folks who risked their lives in the struggle for civil rights in the 50’s and 60’s. They were the brave ones who participated in marches, sit-ins and often being spat on, called hateful names, and pummeled with Billy clubs. Imagine the isolation and loneliness felt by hunched down Freedom Riders while their Greyhound buses were being set afire by mobs outside Birmingham.
Fast forward. Not long after the terrorist attacks remembered as “9/11,” I joined a “march against hate” in downtown Dallas, Texas organized by the Muslim community. Now since my skin color was as dark as many of my fellow marchers that day, I managed to blend in without fanfare.
Thinking back, I will never forget that march, particularly the beefy, heavily armed policemen who kept a wary eye on us from the sidewalks. Nor will I forget the uneasiness on the part of we marchers who endured hateful gestures and nasty epithets from drivers by.
Later that week I visited a local mosque and was shocked by the busted doors, broken windows and hateful words spattered in spray paint on the building. Think about isolation and loneliness while down on your knees in prayer, wary about the potential of a brick or Molotov cocktail crashing through a bay window.
Back to Pitts.
“I’m sorry the world is like this, but it is. So I need you to take care of one another. Maintain the courage to be your authentic, individual selves. Find the community that values and validates those selves, that accepts you as you are. The good news is you’ll find most of the rest of us there with you. As for those who aren’t, well, you need to recognize that there are some people whose approval you’re not supposed to have or want, whose rejection you should wear as a badge of honor. In other words, you will raise your voices and make haters hear you. That’s your only option when people try to impose silence upon you: Speak louder.
In the end, I’ll echo Pitts by saying in my “open letter” to the LGBTQ kids in Florida, and to all marginalized people for that matter, this nutty “don’t say gay” legislation is just another sad sign of the times. Yours is on a growing list of “don’t say this,” “don’t say that” and book banning zaniness that’s sweeping what was once a sane nation.
However, know that there are more good people in this world than bad, and most of them are there with you.
Isolation and loneliness aside, they’re there with you.