I hope Rev. Jackson takes up a couple of issues no local leader will discuss.

First, if the mayor and city council annex all these outlying areas, minority representation will be further diluted. There is no good reason to annex an area like Ooltewah unless it is to decrease the minority percentage in the city. No way does anybody really think of Ooltewah as part of Chattanooga. The other areas are just as white, and almost as far away. Someone needs to stop this madness before minorites have no voice at all.

Second, what is being done to integrate the new school on Signal Mountain? I understand it is over 97% white. If this is true, then there needs to be a change to allow for diversity. It would not be difficult to bus Signal residents to inner-city areas and vice-versa.

Tavarius Jefferson

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Regarding Signal Mountain Middle High School - all schools in Hamilton County have a majority/minority transfer. The way I understand this is that they are paired up.

I asked at the office at Signal Mountain and was told that Howard is our corresponding school. That means that any student at Howard High School, who wants to, can attend Signal Mountain High School under that transfer rule, and vice versa.

I don't know if Howard Middle School is partnered with Signal Mountain Middle. However, I do know that, around four years ago, Dalewood and East Lake Middle School were paired with Signal Mountain Middle.

Macel Holloway
Signal Mountain

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Not the same ole minority/majority song yet again. This has gotten so old. The city of Chattanooga is not annexing surrounding property for the purpose of “decreasing the minority percentage” in the city. The annexation of additional property is only one way the city has of increasing revenue so they can continue to provide all these “free” services that we currently enjoy.

And so what if Signal Mountain is 97% white, would you want your kids bussed 20-30 miles to attend school just to meet a “number” quota when they have a good school within two blocks of them? That doesn’t even begin to make sense. But if a city kid or Red Bank kid or Hixson kid wants to go to Signal Mountain High School by all means, sign them up there. But let them get there on their own and don’t expect a bus to make the trip on and off the mountain twice a day just for one kid’s convenience.

Susan Bailey
Hixson

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"There is no good reason to annex an area like Ooltewah unless it is to decrease the minority percentage in the city." You have got to be kidding me. I see Jesse's never-ending message of, "Turn everything into a race issue" is already starting to rub off, not 24 hours after he visited our city.

So Signal Mountain HS is 97% white, so what? If you want that to change, then go out and convince more minorities to reside within the Signal Mountain School zones. No one is forcing them to live elswhere.

Ms./Mrs. Susan Bailey, thank you for saving me a whole bunch of typing. You said everything I was thinking as I read Mr. Jefferson's article.

I would also like to add that, while I disagree with many things Robert T. Nash says on his radio show, I would like to say "Kudos" to him for pointing out, on air, Jesse's irrelevancy.

Dallas Cole, Chattanooga
Dallas-Cole@hotmail.com