This letter is to recommend that the Hamilton County Department of Education name the new elementary school in East Ridge the Curtis D. Adams Elementary.

Never has one of our citizens deserved this honor more, not only for his strong and dedicated support for our schools and education, but for his support and tireless efforts for the city of East Ridge.

Commissioner Adams' tracks are all over our city - new schools, new playgrounds, new sign for the high school, new tractor for the high school, a new pavilion next to City Hall, money for Camp Jordan, money for soccer fields. I could go on and on with this list, but I think the most important is his time helping our citizens. His door is always open and he returns all telephone calls.

Let’s honor Commissioner Adams, a real public servant.

Buster Raymer
East Ridge

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Let’s not name the new East Ridge elementary school after Adams. The way I see it he was doing his job all these years. His legacy is knowing in his mind he did a good job, not his name on a building. He already has his name on a building at the East Ridge High School. Enough is enough. The guy is no god; don’t worship him as such.

Let’s name the new school East Ridge Elementary. If Adams really cares about the tradition of East Ridge and this long-standing elementary school, he will not allow the school to be named after him. Let’s see what kind of person Adams really is.

If Kenny or anyone running for office out of East Ridge or the county wants my vote the next election, they won’t allow this school to be named for Adams. You guys got your bigger school; East Ridge city gets McBrien. Give the citizens one thing: East Ridge Elementary by the name we are accustomed to.

Danny Brookshire

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In response to renaming the new school in East Ridge for Curtis Adams I have one statement. "NO"...Reasons are to numerous to put in this space.

Richard Elrod

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The only thing that needs to be named for Curtis Adams is the police car that followed him everywhere for two days on my tax dollar.

Nathan Frazier

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East Ridge Elementary School should never be named anything except East Ridge Elementary School. The thought of it being named for Curtis Adams is the single dumbest thing I have ever heard.

But yet, it does not surprise me. Anyone who knows ole Curtis knows he is always behind wanting something named for him. That is just a fact. Yep, East Ridge High School's new music building bears his name. Let's see, the new marquee in front of the high school - you guessed it has his name on it. Of course, he has a plaque at the playground.

See, he works behind the scenes to try and make sure he gets his name on anything he works on for the city. Is this not what he is elected to do? Is this not his job? Is his paycheck not enough?

It would not surprise me or anyone else if this was not already a done deal. Surely the school board has more sense than to do this to our city.

Curtis Adams has done good things, but he has brought more bad press to our city than anyone else could imagine. At times it has been terribly embarrassing.

If Curtis really does not want this, he can stop it. How about it Curtis?

Matt Conner

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I am appalled at some of the responses regarding the naming of East Ridge School for Curtis Adams.

For Danny Brookshire, would you call your statement blackmail?

For Matt Conner, No, Curtis has not had the most embarrassing press. East Ridge always manages to have that, and still does. Our current leaders have been very involved in bad press.

It really doesn't matter to me what they call the school. My thoughts are McBrien should be incorporated into the name since they merged both schools.

The truth is Curtis Adams has always had East Ridge at heart, and has done very much for East Ridge.

We can do without the blackmail and misquotes. If you do not like him, just state the facts.

E.A. Genter
genter1134@aol.com

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As a lifetime citizen of East Ridge, I don't think the new school should be named after Curtis Adams. He already has enough stuff with his name on it - the money he has spent out here is our taxpayers' money.

We really need to keep the original name East Ridge Elementary. It is a long-standing institution and educated numerous children.

If the school administration were to consider changing the name, it definitely should be Fred Pruett/East Ridge Elementary to honor the greatest public servant who ever lived in East Ridge.

Myra J. Rosser
East Ridge

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East Ridge Elementary should not, by no means whatsoever, be re-named after Curtis Adams. Not only is that an insult to that wonderful school, but it would forever destroy the trifecta of the East Ridge Pioneers history - East Ridge Elementary, East Ridge Middle and East Ridge High.

With that said, Curtis Adams has done nothing for East Ridge as a community, so why should he be honored by having an elementary school named after him?

I agree with Mr. Elrod...the reasons for not naming the school after Curtis Adams are way too numerous to begin to list here. If this is, in fact, a "done deal" as Mr. Conner mentioned, I say a petition be started to veto this decision.

Kathy Burke

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East Ridge is renown for its Pioneer spirit. Let's name the new school Pioneer Elementary in honor of all of the cooperative efforts of everyone involved with it.

John Tilley
Rossville

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Why would we name a school after Curtis Adams? This lifetime politician is part of the history of politicians that have tainted and embarrassed East Ridge at every turn.

Let's Kiffinize him and name the sewage treatment facility in honor of him, as that fits him much better than a school. Better yet, let's erect a monument on the river downtown where the city of Chattanooga dumped the waste into the river and call it the Curtis Adams spill site, since often times what comes out of his mouth is equivalent to what was recently discharged into our river.

As far as the school, it should not be named after any one person. It should represent the entire city, and be named to show its representation. Now, if Curtis wants to submit a healthy donation, the school could consider naming a urinal or toilet after him. Hmmm....the more I think about it, Whitson, Steele, Card, and Sewell should have toilets named after them as well. This could then be used as a graphic learning tool to teach young minds how wasteful and overall inept politicians are in East Ridge. In the case of Card, it could be a reminder of how he stuck the people of East Ridge with the WWTA. With the others, how flushing our money down the drain for idiotic ideas such as a new entryway symbolizes wasteful spending.

While at it, they can name a urinal after Greg Ezell, as he capitalizes on his position with Energize East Ridge to "weasel" into the political spectrum.

W.G. Stoner
East Ridge

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Name it whatever you like. What does that matter? A hundred years from now, if there is still a school in East Ridge, will anyone know who Curtis Adams was anymore than they will know who I was?

A real legacy does not come from how many things you get named after yourself.

Seriously, how many local politicians from a 100 or 75 or 50 years ago can you name off the top of your head?

By the way, I'm not seeing anything in Danny Brookshire's comments that would constitute "blackmail." Expecting campaign promises for a vote? Challenging Commissioner Adams to withdraw his name from consideration?

Michael Lyons
Hixson