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Chattanooga Update - July 11, 2013

149 views · Published 11 July 2013 · 5:07 · Indexed 8 November 2026

Channel: chattanooga times free press · 2013 · News & Politics

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Mahindra is starting a new $4 million dollar tractor plant in Chattanooga.

The company plans to start by cranking out 5,000 tractors a year and eventually double that number.

Mahindra says the plant will create 55 new jobs.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has rounded up and killed about 100 geese at Chattanooga State Community College.

The USDA says school officials asked them to remove the Canada geese about two weeks ago. They said the birds were all over campus and out of control.

Chattanooga State President Jim Catanzaro said geese would run in front of cars. And they left behind up to 100 pounds of goose poop every day. School officials say that was creating a health hazard and made it too hard to keep the campus clean.
Catanzaro said HE was told the USDA would take the geese to a preserve in West Tennessee.
But that's not what happened.
Now, Chattanooga State officials say they tried to a few other methods to drive the birds away, but those solutions just didn't work.
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Erlanger's former interim CEO, Charlesetta Woodard-Thompson, is now out of work.
She didn't retire, she didn't resign, she wasn't fired — but she's no longer employed by the hospital.
Woodard-Thompson has been on a leave of absence since new CEO Kevin Spiegel took the helm in April.
Erlanger confirmed her last day with the hospital was June 23. A job listing for someone to take her place was posted the same week.
And Woodard-Thompson says that after 21 years at Erlanger, she was surprised to get a notice that her employment was terminated.
She says she didn't have plans to retire, but now there's not much choice.
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Until recently, those who ran afoul of the law in Chattooga County could call on Uncle Wiggy for help.

Uncle Wiggy dot com. For about $25 dollars a year, a lawbreaker could ask questions on the website, which also offered a pamphlet called "Uncle Wiggy's Secret Guide to Dealing with the Police."

It turns out the site was launched in March by Summerville police detective Josh Brock and county sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Reece.
But now the website's been shut down. The business cost the officers their jobs, closed state court for a day and spurred conflict about alleged ethics violations.
It's unclear whether anyone actually bought a membership on the website or what sort of advice the officers were giving.
Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader says there's no proof the officers were giving any special treatment to those who signed up, and now that both officers have resigned, he says he won't be investigating the matter any further.
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A Chattanooga man is one of two men killed after they fell 250 feet from a cellphone tower in North Dakota.

42-year-old Namon Smith was adding structural supports to the tower when the accident happened.
Authorities say one man fell and struck the other man, causing him to fall too. Both workers were reportedly wearing safety harnesses at the time.
Now OSHA is investigating the deaths, and the reason why the safety equipment failed to work.
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A new study says raising taxes on cigarettes will make the biggest difference in getting people to stop smoking.
Tennessee currently has the 39th highest state tax on cigarettes in the country. And both Tennessee and Georgia's governors say they're against increasing those taxes any more.
Still, a recent poll found that 67 percent of voters favor a $1 increase in tobacco tax rates.
And the American Cancer Society says that would save Tennessee about $50 million dollars in health care costs in five years.
And for those who don't kick the habit, the state would get more money in tax revenue -- about $282 million dollars more each year.
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A 23-year-old Chattanooga man claims to have the world's largest tie collection.

Alex Bennett figures he owns about 60,000 ties, half of which take up an entire room in his house.

Bennett says he's collected ties for 20 years now, and has worn a different one every single day since he was in the sixth grade.
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And turning to weather, the good news is that the rain should stop for a while after today.

Until then most of the Chattanooga area will likely see another inch or two fall. But a lot of damage has already been done.

Take a look at this video sent to us just a few hours ago of flash flooding in downtown South Pittsburg.

Several roads across Marion County were completely flooded. And the storms were even more powerful in middle Tennessee, where power lines and trees closed roads, and roofs were torn off several buildings, including a hotel in Franklin.

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