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Chattanooga Today, March 8, 2013

129 views · Published 8 March 2013 · 5:00 · Indexed 24 October 2026

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

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Just six votes separate two candidates in the District 9 city council race, and now the question is, will there be a runoff?
Former City Councilman Yusuf Hakeem and incumbent Peter Murphy are head to head in the race.
Murphy says the election should go to a runoff. Hakeem says he's prepared to move forward either in a runoff or in court.
Write-in votes for the race show five names and two check marks. The Hamilton County Election Commission has voted to look further at those ballots and make a decision on Wednesday.
If the write-in ballots are thrown out, Hakeem wins. If there's a run-off election, it would be held April 9th.
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While doubts linger in the district 9 race, there's no question that Mayor-elect Andy Berke is preparing for his new job.
Berke has announced a 13-person transition team with two leaders: local attorneys Wade Hinton and Travis McDonough. 
Berke says the 13-person team is diverse and a sign of what his administration is going to look like.
The team will help name staff for Berke's administration, and gather input from the public on big issues.
The City Charter says the mayor must fill six positions in 60 days including police and fire chiefs, a finance officer, and the court clerk and city attorney.
Public meetings will be held across the city so people can tell the new administration what they want.
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Next up, students at a local middle school are receiving death threats on a social website called Instagram.
An anonymous user posted these messages and dozens of photos of students on an account called "the hit list"
Soddy-Daisy police are investigating the threats. While they haven't identified who is behind the account, one message suggests that the sender is enrolled at the school.
Yesterday Officers seized computers and cellphones they say are connected to the case. Detectives are working with Instagram and Internet service providers to try to pinpoint where the messages came from.
Officers have been assigned to each school in Soddy-Daisy since the school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, but more officers were called in to provide extra protection at soddy daisy middle on Thursday.
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Next up, 24 Hixson High School students and teachers toured the White House yesterday, two days before tours there are suspended indefinitely.
The 11th-grade Wildcats submitted their Social Security numbers for Secret Service background checks months ago.
But now the White House says tours are canceled until further notice because of the sweeping budget cuts known as the sequester.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has already told three groups they won't be able to tour the White House next week. Nearly 500 local residents asked Chattanooga's congressman for tours in March.
It's not entirely clear how money will be saved by eliminating the White House tours, though most of the cost is for security alone.
The Secret Service says it takes about 37 officers to secure visits, but they won't be laying anyone off. 
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And finally, National Guard troops have returned to Chattanooga after a yearlong deployment to the Middle East.
Families and friends waited more than three hours for a bus carrying nearly 50 soldiers to arrive. Take a look:
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And weather today will be sunny with a high near 59. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low around 33.

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