Scenic Roots

Chords for a cause: the WoodSongs Dalton concerts are back. “Much Ado About Nothing” at Dalton’s Artistic Civic Theatre. MLK Day here at UTC; A sandhill crane safari at Reflection Riding. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Residents at Morning Pointe. (Morning Pointe Senior Living) More than twenty-five years ago, two health care entrepreneurs - Greg Vital and Franklin Farrow - founded what is now Morning Pointe Senior Living. Today, the company provides assisted living, personal care and Alzheimer’s memory care at 37 locations in five states - Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee - including here in Ch...

A design rendering from Reimagining Broad Street. (River City Company) For Broad Street in downtown Chattanooga, the shape of what’s to come is starting to take shape. Last week, an urban design firm heard from community members on the future of Broad Street - from the Tennessee Aquarium to Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard - at a reimagining workshop at the Aquarium. Victor Dover is town planner...

Glimpses of the future for Broad Street in Chattanooga. A co-founder of Morning Pointe looks back - and ahead. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly (City of Chattanooga / Facebook) The other day, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly stopped by our studios here at WUTC for our monthly conversation - recorded on Friday.

(SoundCorps) Each month, SoundCorps - the music nonprofit here in Chattanooga - showcases five locally-produced songs in “SoundBites,” which supports our own musicians. Stratton Tingle - executive director of SoundCorps - shares the latest SoundBites with us.

Tamara Steward (City of Chattanooga) Tamara Steward is chief equity officer for the City of Chattanooga - appointed last year by Mayor Tim Kelly as the first person to serve in that role. She visited our studios here at WUTC ahead of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday - and this year’s MLK Day of Service and Donation Drive. The event is a collaboration between the City of Chattanooga’s...

Tamara Steward, City of Chattanooga Chief Equity Officer. Stratton Tingle of SoundCorps with the latest “SoundBites.” These voices – and more – on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Lookout Mountain Conservancy On Old Wauhatchie Pike here in Chattanooga, you’ll find boulders. This weekend, you’ll find people climbing them at the Wauhatchie BoulderFest - open to all in the community - on Saturday starting at 7 AM. Robyn Carlton is president and CEO of the Lookout Mountain Conservancy. Daniel Dunn is Southeast regional manager with Access Fund.

A student podcaster. (National Podcast Project) A few years ago in Northwest Georgia, Amanda Triplett - a teacher at Dalton Junior High - started a podcasting program for her students. As the program became popular, it spread to other schools in Dalton and Whitfield County to become “Speak Up Whitfield,” gaining national attention. Now, the program widens its reach into the community, it’s setting...

A podcasting project born in Dalton aims nationwide. Time to climb at this year’s Wauhatchie Boulderfest. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

From “Facing Goliath,” one of the titles at this year’s Lookout Wild Film Festival. (Lookout Wild Film Festival) For wild places and the people they inspire, the Lookout Wild Film Festival is calling. This year’s festival of outdoor adventure and conservation films from around the world runs Thursday through Sunday at the Walker Theatre here in Chattanooga. Andy Johns is the festival’s director.

Andrew Meador (Andrew Meador) We begin with one of the voices from the recent TEDxChattanooga. The latest series of talks by community speakers - independently organized under the TED program’s global initiative of “ideas worth spreading” - took place in November at Common House in downtown Chattanooga. Here’s Andrew Meador - on “Birds and Biomimicry.”

TEDxChattanooga: Andrew Meador on Birds and Biomimicry. This year’s Lookout Wild Film Festival at the Walker Theatre. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

MLK Mural in downtown Chattanooga. (MLK Neighborhood Association of Chattanooga / Facebook) Next Monday is the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. Here in Chattanooga, a multi-day celebration of the civil rights leader and his legacy is now under way for its 53rd year. Eric Atkins is co-chair of the Unity Group of Chattanooga.

(Arts Capacity) From inside prison walls, a story of transformation from darkness to light. “Waters Rising: A Cardboard Opera” was produced in collaboration with prisoners at Walker State Faith and Character Based Prison in Northwest Georgia and the Hunter Museum of American Art here in Chattanooga. Prisoners shared their words, musical ideas and feedback - all crafted by composer Tim Hinck and li...

Kathy Leamon, RN, works at Parkridge North ER in November 2022. Parkridge Health owns and operates Hamilton County's first freestanding ED and plans to open two new freestanding EDs in the next two years. (Olivia Ross / Chattanooga Times Free Press) Chattanooga and Hamilton County serve as a regional hub for health care. Now, what are known as freestanding emergency departments - freestanding ER’s...

The area boom in freestanding emergency departments. “Waters Rising,” a mini-opera from inside prison walls. A celebration on the way to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(Theo Crazzolara / Creative Commons) Inventanooga is an annual showcase for students to pitch an invention and business plan that addresses a real world problem. The most recent competition was held last month, presented by STEM School Chattanooga and the Gary W. Rollins College of Business here at UTC. Tom Lyons is the Clarence E. Harris Chair of Excellence in Entrepreneurship - and a professor o...

Battle Academy in Southside Chattanooga. (waymarking.com) Integrating the arts into early learning involves a collaborative choreography among educators. Kelly Shimel is the fine arts coordinator for Hamilton County Schools, where she works with schools, teachers and community partners to support and advocate for fine arts initiatives and programming. Jesse Goins is the principal of Battle Academy...

Aerial view of Montague Park. (A.D. Engineering) For more than a century, Montague Park in Southside Chattanooga has been home to many things: a city landfill, a recreation center and a sculpture garden. Now, an urban design and landscape planning process will reimagine the park, to revitalize the space for this century. Chattanooga Design Studio is guiding the process in partnership with the city...

Charting the future by design for Chattanooga’s Montague Park. Integrating the arts into early learning at Battle Academy. At Inventanooga, real world problems meet student solutions. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

(seriousbri / Creative Commons) Songwriters Stage is a showcase for the creative spirit of Chattanooga’s music makers. This year’s competition series begins Friday starting at 7 PM at Gate 11 Distillery in the Chattanooga Choo Choo. Mark Anderson of Chattown Stages presents Songwriters Stage.

(River City Company) In the heart of Chattanooga, Broad Street links the downtown with the Riverfront. “Reimagining Broad Street” is a planning process to redevelop the corridor as a - quote - “premier public street.” River City Company - along with the City of Chattanooga and Chattanooga Design Studio - have been soliciting community input. The next step: what is known as a “charette,” a week-lon...

EPB’s quantum network. (EPB) The future in computing is quantum - and that future will unfold here in Chattanooga. Near the end of last year, EPB - the city’s public utility and a trailblazer in high-speed internet - announced the first commercial quantum network in this country, aimed at researchers and entrepreneurs. What is quantum computing - and what will it mean for Chattanooga and beyond in...