NEXT WEEK____________________________________________
Monday, May 19 - noon
Cellar Restaurant, Downtown
Topic: A Look at Chattanooga's New Downtown
Development Plan - Jack Benson, City Commissioner, District
4
Jack Benson, one of the newest members of the City Commission,
will describe to us the city's latest downtown revitalization plan. He says the
plan addresses residents' desires for residential housing, expanded shuttle
service, parking facilities, green spaces, retail stores, pedestrian safety,
entertainment, and development incentives.
Jack is new to politics. Before running for city commissioner,
he would often attend the commission meetings only to become increasingly
frustrated and disgruntled. He says that when he felt there needed to be a
change in the city commission to make it more responsive to the residents, he
decided to become a commissioner himself. In addition to giving us an update on
the New Downtown, Jack plans to tell us how his career and prevailing
circumstances enabled him to go into public service and how his outlook and
personal life have been affected by the move.
Invocation will be led by John Thornburgh
Menu: Beef Bourguignon, Waldorf Salad, Sweet Potato
Casserole, Crowder Peas,
Cherry Cobbler
Cherry Cobbler
OUR PREVIOUS
MEETING_________________________________
This report is contributed by Judy Driggans
Fred Carr, Assistant Superintendent for
Technology and Support Services for Hamilton County Schools, began his
presentation on "Technologies To Enhance Learning" with some statistics about
Hamilton County Schools in order to put his school system into
perspective. In their budget, health insurance costs $2 million per
month. While their computer network began as the first wireless school
network in the state with repeaters on the mountains and using the county's 800
MHz radio band (at no monthly charge), 75 percent of the schools are now
connected by T1 lines. The remaining 25 percent are using partial T1 and
dual or triple ISDN lines. The reason for the change was the county's
wireless system became crowded. Cross talk on that frequency was causing
slow network response because of the increased need to retry and resend.
The communication lines are paid for through e-rate dollars collected and given
to the state through your telephone bill as the "Federal Universal Service
Charge."
New telephones systems with 12 to 16 outside lines and an intercom function have been installed in every school. A telephone is now located in every classroom. This has improved communication between teachers and parents during illness of a child. It has also reduced telephone system costs.
This report is contributed by Judy Driggans
Fred Carr, Assistant Superintendent for
Technology and Support Services for Hamilton County Schools, began his
presentation on "Technologies To Enhance Learning" with some statistics about
Hamilton County Schools in order to put his school system into
perspective. In their budget, health insurance costs $2 million per
month. While their computer network began as the first wireless school
network in the state with repeaters on the mountains and using the county's 800
MHz radio band (at no monthly charge), 75 percent of the schools are now
connected by T1 lines. The remaining 25 percent are using partial T1 and
dual or triple ISDN lines. The reason for the change was the county's
wireless system became crowded. Cross talk on that frequency was causing
slow network response because of the increased need to retry and resend.
The communication lines are paid for through e-rate dollars collected and given
to the state through your telephone bill as the "Federal Universal Service
Charge."New telephones systems with 12 to 16 outside lines and an intercom function have been installed in every school. A telephone is now located in every classroom. This has improved communication between teachers and parents during illness of a child. It has also reduced telephone system costs.
They have purchased LCD monitors that cost a little more, but they don't give off as much heat and add to the school's air conditioning load. They don't have enough funding to cycle the MacIntosh and Dell computers every 4 years to keep the most current systems available in the classroom. Hamilton County Schools have some technicians on staff to repair personal computers, and they also train students to repair them.
Mr. Carr showed us their website at www.hcde.org. A database of information about each school is accessible by the public through the internet. They also have some career selection information on their web site to help students. There is an intranet with additional information available to teachers and staff.
Mr. Carr has worked at the Hamilton County Schools for 28 years. He answered many questions ranging from the number of guidance counselors per school and the age of certain text books to how the students are rating in reading, writing, and math at specific schools and by socio-economic class.
Fred Carr asnwering questions after the meeting
FUTURE MONDAY
MEETINGS_____________________________________
May 26: Memorial Day - NO MEETING
June 2: The New Economy Institute - Helping Local Industries Produce High-tech Products- Dr. Greg Sedrick
June 9: Design of the Trade Center Renovations -Combining Energy Efficiency with Ambiance - Ray Boaz, Derthick, Henley & Wilkerson
June 16: Not confirmed
June 23: Valuable Lessons Learned in Environmental Management - Warren Behlau, Tennessee Valley Authority
June 30: Tour of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Training Facility - Jan Griffin
July 7: To be confirmed -Speaker from NASA's Marshal Space Flight Center.
July 14: Supercomputers - Their Design and Application at ORNL- Thomas Zacharia, Director of ORNL's Computational Science Laboratory
June 2: The New Economy Institute - Helping Local Industries Produce High-tech Products- Dr. Greg Sedrick
June 9: Design of the Trade Center Renovations -Combining Energy Efficiency with Ambiance - Ray Boaz, Derthick, Henley & Wilkerson
June 16: Not confirmed
June 23: Valuable Lessons Learned in Environmental Management - Warren Behlau, Tennessee Valley Authority
June 30: Tour of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Training Facility - Jan Griffin
July 7: To be confirmed -Speaker from NASA's Marshal Space Flight Center.
July 14: Supercomputers - Their Design and Application at ORNL- Thomas Zacharia, Director of ORNL's Computational Science Laboratory
WHERE WE
MEET_______________________________________
Unless we note otherwise, all of our presentation meetings are held at the Cellar Restaurant in the Tallan Building, Union Square, Downtown Chattanooga from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Out meeting room and luncheon service are open by 11:30 a.m. Lunch buffet is $10.00 per person (inclusive). No reservation is required. Free parking is available in the Days Inn Motel (on Carter Street and MLK Blvd.) courtesy of the Days Inn management. When you park there, be sure to place a note on your dashboard indicating you are attending the Engineers Club meeting.
Unless we note otherwise, all of our presentation meetings are held at the Cellar Restaurant in the Tallan Building, Union Square, Downtown Chattanooga from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. Out meeting room and luncheon service are open by 11:30 a.m. Lunch buffet is $10.00 per person (inclusive). No reservation is required. Free parking is available in the Days Inn Motel (on Carter Street and MLK Blvd.) courtesy of the Days Inn management. When you park there, be sure to place a note on your dashboard indicating you are attending the Engineers Club meeting.
QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS?
______________________________
If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please call Judy Driggans at 423-751-7616 or email her at jdriggans@comcast.net. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site: www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org. Brad Baucom will return as program chairperson in several weeks.
If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please call Judy Driggans at 423-751-7616 or email her at jdriggans@comcast.net. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site: www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org. Brad Baucom will return as program chairperson in several weeks.