Spring at Lookout Mountain School is busy. Grades three through five have just completed Benchmark testing. This is the final one before TCaps later this spring. These tests provide baseline data throughout the year that helps to guide teachers on how to work with the student. Commissioner of Education Karen Leavengood said that the data focused on each student shows where the individual may need help and how to follow through to provide specific help. Spring is also a time for special activities such as Grandparents and Special Friends Day later in March. The students will welcome their guests to the school, take them on a tour, sit in on classrooms, and see performances by the students.
The biggest fundraiser of the year “Rock Out for Lookout”, this year’s version of Night out for Lookout,” is scheduled for April 4. Event chairs Hannon Doody and Meredith Kinney have been curating auction items, with all funds raised going to directly support LMS. Each year there is a special project that money from this event focuses on. This year the beneficiary will be the field at the back of the school and some of the surrounding green spaces. A team from the school is working with Commissioner of Parks and Playgrounds Joe Hailey and the recreation department to make this space more usable for both the students at LMS and for the community. This field currently has drainage issues and is in general disrepair. The renovations may also include adding lights. And it is also hoped that having another field will reduce some of the heavy use of the one at The Commons to keep that grass in good shape.
Spring break begins next week. When Principal Emily Haney returns, she will be filling a few vacant positions for next year due to retirements and moves. And Mary Avans will be working to implement the interactive space aimed at furthering science lessons at the school. This program will be funded with a $50,000 grant for an E-lab from VW in partnership with the Public Ed Foundation.
The city’s Parks and Recreation department is getting ready for baseball season with sign ups soon beginning. Work is being done on the dugouts and the roof is being lowered on the press box at Senter Field to convert the building to use for storage. The same was done with the former press box at Johnson Field last year and it is now being used as the Mountain Munchery. Commissioner Joe Hailey said the ropes have come down on the outfield at Johnson Field and with rest, the grass that had been overused has now recovered. In addition to the sports fields, Commissioner Hailey is beginning to work on various other parks around town that have not been maintained.
This is the time of the year that people begin to clean up their yards from winter and the public works department is busy removing the brush piles that are created. The department has a set route and will not stray from it, said Mayor Walker Jones who was standing in for Public Works Commissioner William Valadez. He said residents should not call the department because they will come back around on schedule. Commercial contractors have become a problem, said the mayor, because they are supposed to remove the brush they clear and not leave it for public works to pick up. But this spring some contractors are leaving huge piles of debris in the road. That creates traffic hazards when cars drive in the other lane to avoid the brush. And yard debris should not be put in front of a drain, but on the downside of them to prevent it from washing into and stopping up the drains and should never cover fire hydrants. Property owners are responsible for making sure their contractors know the Lookout Mountain, Tn. laws and follow them.
Carter Parham, a resident and landscaper, is helping spruce up the parks. He has been cleaning up the park area across the street from The Commons by removing underbrush and dead trees. It is one of the parks that the city will be landscaping with new trees and flowers this year. He is also advising about the importance of drainage plans in town and along Scenic and Ochs Highways. One property owner is clearing a large lot on Watauga Lane and the brush that has been created has already blocked a drain which causes water to run downhill, resulting in problems on the baseball field. Blocking drains also fills the ditches and drains with debris and mud, covers the roads with mud and undermines the stability of the pavement. The ditches and little creeks on the mountain all matter, he said. The same water from the top of the mountain eventually finds its way to Scenic and Ochs Highways where it does the same things.
Although the highways coming up the mountain do not belong to the city of Lookout Mountain, residents are affected daily by issues caused by water. Scenic Highway and Ochs Highway from the Ochs Extension up to Fleetwood Drive are owned by the city of Chattanooga which is responsible for their maintenance. When Chattanooga’s non-emergency number-311 is called, there often is no response and when there is, fallen trees are only partially removed and much of what is left causes the problems, said Mr. Parham. The obstructions on the curvy roads create traffic dangers when cars travel in the wrong lane to avoid the brush and trees that wash into the roads could become spears if a vehicle veers off the road said Mr. Parham. He said that he has called the city yet nothing is really being done by Chattanooga.
With spring comes more people and children out walking and riding bikes and scooters, said Police Commissioner Jim Bentley. He said residents for the most part are abiding by the speed limits, but with the upcoming increased activity, he wants everyone to be aware and slow down. The police will be running radar around town as a reminder.
And with spring break will come visitors to the mountain. The commissioners want to clean up the space around the dumpster that is across from the Incline where burned materials are being put. Other people have been using the dumpsters, but Carta, who owns the Incline, is responsible for keeping that area clean so there will be discussions with them about maintenance.
The amendment to the city’s sign ordinance passed on second and final reading. Among other requirements, a resident must get a permit to put up a sign and no sign can remain up longer than 60 days, including political signs. Advertising signs are prohibited, a resident cannot have but one sign up on their property at a time and all signs must be set back 10 feet from the right-of-way.