Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, TN) articles from August 2000

Chattanooga Times/Free Press (Chattanooga, TN) archives from August 2000

Chattanooga, Tenn., Bakery Union Workers Go on Strike.
August 31, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 31--The normal aroma of fresh bread baking at the Earthgrains plant on East Fourth Street in Chattanooga was not in the air on Wednesday. Production remained at a standstill after nearly 100 unionized...

Memphis, Tenn.-Based Banking Firm Opens Branch Office in Wal-Mart.
August 31, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 31--The falling prices Wal-Mart shoppers hear about have begun to include consumer loan rates and mortgage finance costs. National Bank of Commerce is following the "Wal-Mart way" into Chattanooga's banking...

Water Firm's Parent Company Will Not Put Call Center in Chattanooga, Tenn.
August 31, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 31--Chattanooga may be a victim of its own economic success. The parent company of the Tennessee-American Water Co., has decided against locating a nationwide call center in Chattanooga, in part, because...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Bread Bakers Join National Strike.
August 30, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 30--Nearly 100 people who bake Colonial bread in Chattanooga have joined in a regional strike against the nation's second biggest bread baker, creating the biggest work stoppage in the Chattanooga area in more...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Based Carpet Company Focuses on Product.
August 30, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 30--After nine acquisitions in the past seven years, the Dixie Group is turning its focus inward to improve its carpet making performance. The Chattanooga-based company, which transformed itself from a yarn...

Survey Finds Chattanooga, Tenn., Job Market Will be on the Rise.
August 29, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 29--Chattanooga's job market should continue to heat up even as temperatures begin to fall. A closely watched employer survey released Monday found nearly half of the employers sampled in the Chattanooga...

Oil Company Wants to Sell Its Chattanooga, Tenn., Service Stations.
August 29, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 29--Conoco wants to sell more than just gasoline in Chattanooga. The nation's 5th biggest oil company is negotiating to sell its 28 service stations in metropolitan Chattanooga. The Conoco name and...

New Chattanooga, Tenn., Minor League Ballpark Scores a Hit in First Season.
August 28, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 28--BellSouth Park's opening created what downtown merchants near the stadium say they expected this summer: a steady, but not huge, stream of visitors to Chattanooga's riverfront. "I think we expected about...

Knoxville, Tenn.-Based Family Clothier Plans to Open 30 Stores in Next Year.
August 27, 2000... Byline: Chris Shackleford Aug. 27--Goody's, the Knoxville-based family clothing retailer, is on the fast track. The retailer plans to open 30 stores this year, including two in Chattanooga and one in Fort Oglethorpe, said Bob...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Area Health Care Facility Exceeds Expectations.
August 26, 2000... Byline: Chris Shackleford Aug. 26--Erlanger Soddy-Daisy, the 19,000-square-foot health care facility that officially opened Aug. 1, is already exceeding expectations, according to its officials. "We're averaging more than 100...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Based Company Sells Deodorant Subsidiary.
August 25, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 25--Just two years after buying Ban deodorant, Chattem Inc. has decided not to stick with the nation's leading roll-on antiperspirant. Chattem announced Thursday it will sell its Ban brand to The Andrew...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Unemployment Level Remains Low.
August 25, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 25--Convergys Inc., Chattanooga's biggest call center, is putting out an urgent call of its own -- via telephone, newspaper and even billboards. Like most growing businesses, Convergys is struggling to hire...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Technical School Helps Displaced Workers.
August 25, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 25--Some area workers who've recently lost their jobs are discovering that a Chattanooga tech school is both a safety net and launching pad. Nearly 400 people were recently left unemployed and, in some...

Some Georgians Oppose Tennessee Valley Authority's Planned Power Line.
August 24, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 24--DALTON, Ga.--The Tennessee Valley Authority is preparing to add more power to North Georgia. But some of those along the route chosen for a new 32-mile, high-voltage transmission line complain that they...

Marketers Spell Out Plan for Chattanooga, Tenn., Trade Center.
August 24, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 24--Marketing officials for Chattanooga's Trade Center laid out a plan Wednesday to attract more meetings and triple the annual economic impact of the soon-to-expanded convention complex. "Chattanooga has been...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Based Insurer Adding Unit for Cancer-Related Claims.
August 23, 2000... Aug. 23--UnumProvident Corp. is adding a unit to its customer care center to provide more specialized service to people with cancer-related disability claims. The unit, to be based in Chattanooga, will be staffed by nurse case managers,...

College Student Nets a Winner with Online Investment Website.
August 23, 2000... Byline: Chris Shackleford Aug. 23--The first day Al Chapman Jr. launched his Web site, CoolWall-Street.com, 600 people found their way to the online investment club. And that was with no advance publicity or marketing, the college...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Based Trucking Firm Buys Some Assets of Texas-Based Con-Way.
August 23, 2000... Aug. 23--Covenant Transport Inc. has purchased certain assets of Con-Way Truckload Services Inc., a Fort Worth, Tex.-based trucking company which generated $80 million in revenue last year. The Chattanooga-based trucking company announced...

Insurance Company Hopes to Move Offices in Chattanooga, Tenn.
August 22, 2000... Byline: Beverly A. Carroll Aug. 22--UnumProvident wants the city to close portions of Walnut and East Fifth streets around its corporate headquarters -- a move that may ultimately lead to another office building for the insurer and more...

Arkansas Publishers Merge Newspaper Operations.
August 22, 2000... Aug. 22--WEHCO Media Inc. and Community Publishers Inc. have announced a new venture to combine their newspaper publishing operations in Benton and Washington counties in Arkansas. The combined operations will include the Northwest...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Buys Power Distribution Headquarters.
August 22, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 22--The trade association for TVA's power distributors is giving up its home of the past 16 years to make room for the planned expansion of the downtown Trade Center. The city of Chattanooga has agreed to...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Begins Shuttle Service from Airport to Hotels.
August 22, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 22--A new shuttle service between Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport and six downtown hotels is scheduled to start next month. First Class Airport Shuttle will run a 15-passenger van between the hotels and the...

Tennessee Energy Company Aims to Convert Stadium to Solar Power Plant.
August 22, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 22--Finley Stadium may not have generated the football power or fan excitement that its backers originally expected. But the football stadium could soon begin producing another source of power. TVA...

Family-Owned Furniture Company Opens Store in Dayton, Tenn.
August 19, 2000... Byline: Chris Shackleford Aug. 19--Greer's, the family-owned furniture store based in Loudon, Tenn., has opened a new store -- its fourth -- in Dayton. Bo Carey, president of the 110-year-old company, and a great-grandson of the...

Philadelphia-Based Health System Scales Back Plans for Chattanooga, Tenn.
August 19, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 19--When Cigna Healthcare bought the then struggling HealthSource Inc. in 1997, the company immediately scrapped plans for a $30 million office complex in East Brainerd and prepared to cut $75 million in...

No Signs of Business Investment Decline in Tennessee.
August 18, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 18--Higher interest rates and gas prices may be curbing consumer spending. But Tennessee's top industrial recruiter still expects another record year of business investment in the Volunteer State. "The...

Five Buses Unveiled for Chattanooga, Tenn., Welfare-to-Work Transit Program.
August 18, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 18--A new fleet of five "Neighborhood" buses will roll into various Chattanooga neighborhoods in September to help welfare recipients get to work or school. The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation...

Electricity Usage Peaks with Record Heat in Chattanooga, Tenn.
August 18, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 18--Chattanoogans sweltered through the hottest day of the year Thursday. But most kept their cool inside where air conditioners battled the 103-degree heat index by using a record amount of TVA-generated...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Area Dealerships Swamped with Tire Orders.
August 18, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 18--The mad rush to replace faulty 15-inch Firestone tires remains, for the most part, mad. Area dealerships are overwhelmed, trying to calm the nerves of concerned owners of Explorers and other Ford light...

United Way Agency in Chattanooga, Tenn., Looking for New Headquarters.
August 18, 2000... Byline: Beverly A. Carroll Aug. 18--There are so many hands helping the United Way Agency that the charitable association has outgrown its North Chattanooga home. The agency is looking south for a new headquarters, and the Central...

International Firm to Buy Food Service Distributor for $1.57 Billion.
August 17, 2000... Aug. 17--Royal Ahold, the international food provider which owns Bi-Lo supermarkets and Golden Gallon in Chattanooga, agreed Wednesday to buy one of the South's largest foodservice distributors to restaurants. Through its U.S....

Chattanooga, Tenn., Shop Owner Sells, Shows Retro Motorcycles.
August 17, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 17--Two of the world's most popular lines of retro motorcycles with sidecars have hit the streets of Chattanooga with a vengeance. Tom Cass, the owner of Cyclerama at 3411 Hixson Pike since 1971, has been...

Wal-Mart, Other Retailers Accommodate Parents Shopping for School Supplies.
August 17, 2000... Byline: Chris Shackleford Aug. 17--At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the temperature was already nearing 90 degrees and the parking lot at the Wal-Mart Superstore on Gunbarrel Road across from Hamilton Place was full. Christmas in August?...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Based Brewery Chain to Open Restaurant, Brewpub in Miami.
August 16, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 16--This weekend in Miami, the Chattanooga-based Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group will open its second restaurant in as many weeks and one of four new brewpubs this year. It's a rather heady growth...

Trenton, Ga.-Based Bank to Open New Office in Lookout Mountain.
August 15, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 15--Citizens Bank and Trust, an independent bank with headquarters in Trenton, Ga., is branching out with a new office in Lookout Mountain, Ga. The new 3,000-square-foot branch will offer commercial banking...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Officials Pursue Development Near Shopping Mall.
August 15, 2000... Byline: Beverly A. Carroll Aug. 15--Planning commissioners Monday recommended more commercial development south of Hamilton Place Mall. But they deferred a proposed zoning plan that would allow more development north of the mall and...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Based Vending Machine Company Suspends Operations.
August 15, 2000... Byline: Duane W. Gang Aug. 15--Cavalier Corp., Chattanooga's oldest manufacturer, has temporarily shut down, clouding the future for most of the company's 100 employees. The vending machine manufacturer notified workers last Friday...

Hixson, Tenn., Man Opens Waste Disposal Business to Fight Rate Increases.
August 15, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 15--When Don Godsey learned this spring that he would have to pay up to 35 percent more to have the garbage hauled from his Hixson business, he didn't complain for long. Instead of fighting the rate...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Made Buses to Aid Fluidity of Democratic Convention.
August 12, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 12--Seven Chattanooga-made electric buses will help transport National Democratic Convention delegates between Los Angeles hotels and the Staples Center meeting site next week. "The city has got tremendous air...

Collegedale, Tenn.-Based Snack Food Firm Irked by Campaign's Parody of Logo.
August 12, 2000... Byline: John Commins Aug. 12--NASHVILLE, Tenn.--U.S. Sen. Spence Abraham, R-Mich., apparently is ignoring the request of Collegedale-based McKee Foods and will not shut down a Web site that parodies the Little Debbie trademark to...

Little Debbie Snack Cake Brand Celebrates 40th Anniversary.
August 12, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 12--After 40 years, Little Debbie is anything but little today. The snack cake brand that O.D. McKee named after his then 3-year-old granddaughter has matured into America's top-selling snack cake. Under...

Two Carpet Manufacturers Agree to Pay $41 Million in Antitrust Lawsuit.
August 12, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 12--The nation's two biggest carpet manufacturers have ended a five-year antitrust battle by agreeing to pay $41 million to carpet wholesalers who claim they were forced to pay artificially high prices fixed by...

East Brainerd, Tenn., Auto Dealer Offers Land Rovers.
August 12, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 12--An off-road track designed to show prospective Land Rover buyers the vehicle's versatility sits in the lot of the city's newest dealership. Each person who takes a test drive also negotiates the up-and-down...

Employees Hope Rossville, Ga., Yarn Maker Comes Back from Slump.
August 12, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 12--Rachel Yarbrough has had her share of disappointments during her 70-plus years of life. She lived through World War II and locally, she saw how families struggled when Burlington Industries closed its...

New Restaurant to Open in Chattanooga, Tenn.
August 11, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 11--When Kelly Pehrson and Kip Lundgren looked around Chattanooga to start a new restaurant, they eyed downtown along with suburban sites on Highway 58 and in Northgate. The two finally settled on the 700 block...

Longtime Chattanooga, Tenn.-Area Child-Care Provider Retires.
August 10, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 10--Twenty years ago, Marjorie Millirons opened her home to operate a child care center for youngsters in her community. With tender care, she offered a safe and comfortable environment for children ages 6...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Area Carpet Yarn Maker Believes Production Will Resume.
August 9, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 9--The president of Rossville Yarn Inc. remains optimistic conditions will improve so production may soon resume at Rossville's biggest business. Last week, the carpet yarn manufacturer idled more than 150...

Cigna Healthcare May Add About 300 Jobs in Chattanooga, Tenn.
August 9, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 9--Chattanooga's biggest health insurers are helping insure a healthy job market for local workers. Cigna Healthcare, which has boosted its Chattanooga staff by more than 50 percent over the past two years,...

Vehicle Maker to Buy Bankrupt Chattanooga, Tenn.-Area Van Company's Plant.
August 9, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 9--Choo Choo Customs may be running out of steam, but another vehicle maker hopes to pick up speed by buying the company's Ooltewah plant later this month. The bankruptcy of Choo Choo Customs, a 25-year-old...

Chattanooga, Tenn.-Based Transport Firm One of Five in New Logistics Alliance.
August 7, 2000... Aug. 7--A trucking alliance has turned to Ariba and IBM to help put them on the Internet superhighway. Transplace.com, a new Internet-based global logistics alliance formed by Chattanooga's Covenant Transport, U.S. Xpress and four other...

Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.-Based Recycling Firm Expands Plant for New Services.
August 7, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 7--A&B Recycling Inc. in Fort Oglethorpe is admittedly not a high-tech business. Its business is that of a recycler. But the operation is able to point to high tech as the foundation for much of its growth....

Cutbacks in Medicare Program Affects Chattanooga, Tenn.-Area Hospital.
August 5, 2000... Byline: Chris Shackleford Aug. 5--More than 3,000 employees of Memorial Hospital are feeling the pinch from this year's cutbacks in the federal Medicare program. Medicare changes this year cut the profits for Memorial Hospital and...

Former Tennessee Official to Head Prison Management, Operation Firm.
August 5, 2000... Aug. 5--NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Former Tennessee Finance Commissioner John Ferguson was appointed Friday to head Prison Realty Trust Inc. and Corrections Corp. of America (CCA). Mr. Ferguson, a former Germantown banker who previously oversaw...

Former Head of Chattanooga, Tenn., Health Center to Join TennCare Plan.
August 4, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 4--The former head of the Alton Park/Dodson Avenue Health Center in Chattanooga has been tapped to help lead the state's second biggest TennCare plan. Albert M. Head, who resigned last summer as executive...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Family Starts Full-Service Wedding Chapel.
August 4, 2000... Byline: Beverly A. Carroll Aug. 4--Many of the people who buy marriage licenses in Hamilton County each year leave the area for the actual nuptials. That has led a Chattanooga family to launch a new business locally to keep some of...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Store Owners Hope New Law Prevents Gas Stealing.
August 3, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 3--Mickey Parsons says a Mr. Zip convenience store in downtown Chattanooga is losing $40 to $50 a day due to gas-and-dashers -- people who pump but don't pay. He and other store operators hope the problem will...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Brokerage Firm to Change Name after PaineWebber Merger.
August 2, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 2--The name of one of Chattanooga's biggest brokerage firms will change on Aug. 12 when J.C. Bradford & Co. completes its merger with PaineWebber. But the advice from the company's financial advisors...

Calhoun, Ga.-Based Carpet Maker to Get New Chief.
August 2, 2000... Aug. 2--Jeffrey Lorberbaum, the 46-year-old former president of Aladdin Mills, has been tapped to head the nation's second biggest carpet manufacturer. Mohawk Industries, the Calhoun, Ga.-based carpet maker, announced Tuesday that...

Economic Developer Resigns From Chattanooga, Tenn., Chamber of Commerce.
August 2, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 2--After just 18 months, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce's top economic developer has left the business group. Walter Sprouse, who was the Chamber's vice president for economic development, resigned...

Supermarket Shuts Down Last Two Chattanooga, Tenn., Stores.
August 2, 2000... Byline: Dave Flessner Aug. 2--Robert and Brenda Smith have shopped at Albertson's supermarket and its predecessor FoodMax for nearly a decade. But on Wednesday, the Hixson couple loaded up their shopping cart at the Highway 153...

Tennessee Wins Top Award for Economic Development.
August 2, 2000... Byline: Mike Pare Aug. 2--Tennessee's record job-creation results in 1999, marked by $6 billion in capital investment, has spurred a business magazine to name the state tops in the South. "The state is on an aggressive, seemingly...

Reston, Va.-Based Firm to Offer New Wireless Communications Service.
August 2, 2000... Byline: Kevin Lusk Aug. 2--Chattanooga's "wireless war" just got more competitive. NexTel Communications, based in Reston, Va., is introducing a new "four-in-one wireless communication tool" that officials hope will help them snare...

Chattanooga, Tenn., Hospital to Treat Area Veterans through Pilot Program.
August 1, 2000... Byline: Judy Walton Aug. 1--Area military veterans who depend on Chattanooga's VA Outpatient Clinic may receive some Veterans Affairs health care through Erlanger Medical Center beginning Sept. 1. The partnership will improve the...

Ringgold, Ga., Couple Modifies Older Cars to Owner Specifications.
August 1, 2000... Byline: Jamie Hancock Aug. 1--RINGGOLD, Ga.--For years, Ronnie Black and his wife Janet and brother-in-law Johnny Smith saw their love for old clunkers grow after they began attending car shows. From there, they invested several...