What does it take to turn a felon into a philanthropist? To inspire a prisoner to become a productive member of society? To generate in a hardening heart a spirit of generosity and concern for others? In the case of Reginald Dwayne Betts, the answer was a book.
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Betts, who goes by Dwayne, was an honor student in the gifted program of a high school in District Heights, Maryland, a predominantly Black school and community with its accompanying problems. He looked like one who might make it, who might break the cycle. But in 30 minutes, he destroyed everything he’d achieved. In 30 minutes, he threw it all away.  

One night, this gifted, hardworking kid spontaneously decided to join a buddy in a carjacking. He’d never before touched a gun, but he had one that night. He waved it in the face of a man sleeping in his car, stole his wallet and his car, and found himself handcuffed in the back of a police car before lunch the next day. Within three months, he’d been tried and convicted as an adult and sentenced to nine years in prison. He was 16 years old.

The story could have ended there and nearly did. This 16-year-old kid went from a bare cell in a juvenile facility into the general population in an adult prison. He moved through it all without comprehending it. He’d never been in trouble before. When he asked for information or help, he was either ignored or threatened. He tried politeness, passivity, even resorted to begging, then realized these made him even more vulnerable. Not surprisingly, he turned to what he knew, what he’d seen around him all his life. Violence, as a cover for fear, as a means of power, as the way to make others fear you. He fought back, mouthed off, behaved like the punk he was believed to be and racked up time in solitary confinement, on and off, that totaled 14 months. 

Solitary is about deprivation. It’s designed to weaken resistance, to force compliance and conformity by denying individuals human contact, simple pleasures, and adequate food, hygiene, and sleep. Prolonged isolation takes a physical toll, but even more insidious is the mental and psychological damage it can do. It could have been the end for this vulnerable young kid. It turned out to be his salvation.

Both bright and better educated than the average teenage felon, Betts felt the deprivation early. He’d been a good student and missed having books like he’d had at home or access to a library. He was bored, angry, and afraid. Somehow, the prisoners in solitary had devised a way to slide books across the concrete floor to one another, though they might not know what would be sent or who would send it. One day Betts yelled out, “Yo, send me a book” and under his cell door slid a copy of “The Black Poets.” It transformed his life. “I rediscovered a sense of freedom the system had tried to beat out of me, because of a book,” Betts said later. “I realized a poem can give somebody a whole world of hope [and] I decided to become a poet … After reading that book, I dedicated myself to helping other prisoners, and people outside of prison, discover the freedom blueprint that poetry, literature, and other arts can provide.” 

It wasn’t an idle comment. “I didn’t think poetry would pay any bills,” Betts said, so his mother scraped together money and he took writing courses to learn to write in every form, like Chattanooga-born Ishmael Reed, whom he revers. He submitted his original poems to literary journals and collected a pile of rejection letters. “Poet Lore,” America’s oldest poetry journal, finally recognized his talent and published his first poem entitled “A Different Route.”  It wouldn’t be his last.

Fast forward to 2005. At age 24, Betts walked out of prison and walked into community college (where he became part of the Honor’s Academy) and his first job at a bookstore, where he met his wife, Terese. He became manager and founded a book club for boys called YoungMenRead. He earned a full scholarship to attend Howard University, which rejected him when he acknowledged being a felon. The University of Maryland, however, regardless of his record, recognized his merit and awarded him a full scholarship. He interned at Atlantic magazine, taught poetry in Washington, D.C. and writing courses at Emerson College. His first book, “A Question of Freedom, A Memoir of Learning, Survival, and Coming of Age in Prison,” was published in 2010.

Betts also spoke at schools, organizations, and community groups all over the area about juvenile justice reform, and became national spokesman for the Campaign for Youth Justice. He was appointed by the president in 2012 to the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. By 2016, he had graduated from Yale Law School and began helping other prisoners obtain release. 

In the years that followed, in addition to working as a lawyer, Betts won a number of awards and fellowships from several prestigious institutions (New York Times, Harvard, Emerson, Guggenheim), and the two most recent catapulted his dedication to helping other prisoners “discover the freedom blueprint” from a promise to a reality.  

Betts had started the Million Book Project with the support of the Yale Law School Justice Collaboratory. In 2020, the Mellon Foundation, an organization “committed to expanding and increasing resources for higher institutions in carceral environments,” awarded a grant of more than 5,000,000 dollars to develop this project, and Betts launched Freedom Reads, a non-profit initiative intended to bring a 500-book curated library (a variety of quality, award-winning books representing diverse cultures and ethnicities) to prisons and juvenile detention centers in every state in the country. 

Prison libraries generally have limited hours and require permission to use. By contrast, Betts envisions books in every housing unit where inmates can freely access them. On the heels of the Mellon Grant came a MacArthur Fellowship (aka the Genius Grant) in 2021,“an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential” which comes with $625,000 award. The money was important, but the publicity the grants have brought Betts and Freedom Reads is even more significant.

The libraries are a set of two to six freestanding bookshelves, accessible from both sides, handcrafted from cherry, walnut, and maple to bring beauty into a grim and dismal place. Forty-four inches high, they’re designed both practically and symbolically; they allow the guards an open sightline and they curve like a wave as a visual reminder of Martin Luther King’s belief that the “arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Their purpose is to provide a chance for prisoners to imagine new possibilities for their lives.  

According to the Freedom Reads website, as of 2022, there were nearly 2,000,000 people in prison and juvenile detention centers. The goal of placing libraries in every housing unit is a massive one. But their progress is impressive. Since 2021, they’ve shipped 20 tons of books: 107,144 to prisons in 49 states, as well as 11,376 to juvenile centers in 39 states. Increasing media attention and public support is helping the program to grow.

While managing the project as CEO, Betts continues to write; to date he has published nine books and dozens of articles. “Writing and reading changed my vision of the world,” he said, exactly what he hopes others will find through Freedom Reads. The grant awards he’s received have given the project a good start. Like all nonprofits, public involvement is needed too. Countless articles are available online about Betts and Freedom Reads. Their website is freedomreads.org.

Reginald Dwayne Betts could be called “the exception.” He would disagree. He knows he could have been swallowed up in the system and become an angry, demoralized, hopeless person like so many (if not most) others do. In a prison atmosphere, it’s easy to give up. A better future is hard to imagine and difficult to believe in. Betts found hope in printed words, words he “carved into a kind of freedom.” They freed him from the despair and violence around him. They freed him from fear. They gave him the power to envision another way. “Freedom,” he believes, “begins with a book.”

by Carol Lannon

On August 21, 20 Lookout Mountain and Hamilton County residents departed in the wee hours by bus for the Tennessee General Assembly Special Session in Nashville. Our group leaders, Lookout residents Margy Oehmig, Isabel McCall, Natalie Jackson and Sissy Tarumianz, conceived the trip, and Isabel handled the logistics.
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Neighbors For Gun Violence Prevention began with a chance meeting in the grocery aisle between Sue Wright and Isabel McCall after the March Nashville Covenant School massacre. We are 70 plus members, and growing. Isabel describes the group: 

“We are a nonpartisan group of neighbors who have come together to support safer gun laws for Tennessee. We participate by meeting, brainstorming solutions, sharing information, calling and writing legislators, attending legislative sessions, and voting for state senators and representatives who are committed to making Tennessee a safer place for children, and all its citizens. We are motivated by the data that states: Firearms are the leading killer of children and teens in the U.S. We are committed to meaningful action to prevent gun violence.”

The coalition includes Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters, educators, small business owners, parents, and grandparents. Some, like me, come from a long line of hunters and gun owners. Our goals are to effect common sense firearm legislation in Tennessee to keep guns out of the hands of persons who should not possess them, and ensure education, safe handling and storage of firearms to protect our families. For most of us, it was our first visit to the Capitol, and first time addressing an issue with our legislators.

Upon arrival in Nashville, we participated in an Interfaith prayer event at the Capitol Plaza, followed by group prayers and singing linked arm to arm, encircling the Capitol building, a humbling and powerful moment of reflection and unity with folks from all walks of life. Then, we walked to the Cordell Hull Legislative Building, where our legislators have their offices and hold their committee meetings. 

Over the course of the day, we met with three Representatives: the Hon. Patsy Hazlewood, Greg Vital, and Yusuf Hakeem. Unfortunately, Sen. Gardenhire, who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was unable to meet with us, but we stopped by his office, leaving letters explaining our position, and had cordial, though brief, encounters in the halls with our senator over the course of our time in Nashville. 

We also attended an informational session and roundtable at Belcourt Theater, sponsored by Voices for a Safer Tennessee. Voices is a nonpartisan gun sense organization made up of Covenant parents and grandparents, their pastor, medical professionals, business and music industry leaders, and other concerned Nashvillians who are working to create common sense laws improving the safety and security in our schools, churches, and communities statewide, including former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist MD, and his spouse, Tracy Frist. 

Now, for a few statistics:

The two big drivers of firearm suicides, gun violence, and accidental firearms injuries and deaths are access and opportunity.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports in 2021, 48,830 people were killed by a firearm in our country. Fifty-four percent of those deaths were suicides, and 43 percent were homicides. Overall suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in 2021, and more than half of suicides involved a firearm. For those age 75 and above, 94 percent of gun deaths were suicides. The CDC available data for 2022 suggests suicides are more common in the U.S. than at any time since the dawn of World War II, in 1941. Gun sales have increased, placing more firearms in more residences. 

Sadly, the great state of Tennessee is No. 1 in the nation for gun thefts in the U.S., mostly handguns stolen from vehicles. Two Tennessee cities rank highest in the country for gun thefts from vehicles: Memphis is No. 1, and Chattanooga is No. 2. Jackson and Nashville are in the top 15 nationwide. Many of you may have read about the police shooting in Chattanooga last month. The shooter, a felon, shot the CPD officer with a handgun that was stolen in Chattanooga last year.

According to The Tennessean, in 2021, 926 gun-related deaths occurred in kids 17 years old and younger in Tennessee, about 20 percent higher than the national rate. Between 2017 and 2021, the childhood homicide rate in Tennessee increased by 18.9 percent. 

Overall, 76 percent of female and 56 percent of male murders were perpetrated by someone they knew (Bureau of Justice Statistics, selected findings, 2009). In the U.S., every day, about three women are killed by their partner or spouse (Sanctuary for Families, March 2023).

What are the answers? Neighbors For Gun Violence Prevention believes in common sense safety: secure gun storage, NEVER in your unattended vehicle, unless in a lock box; trigger locks to prevent access and opportunity by kids and others without permission; gun education and safety; and importantly, a temporary emergency mental health legislation so law enforcement, families, and the courts can act quickly to secure guns from those who should not be handling weapons.

After I waved goodbye to my fellow Neighbors members, I stayed on in Nashville until Thursday evening to lobby for sensible gun laws/ownership and watch firsthand the proceedings of the Special Session. About 130 proposed bills were in the offing. 

I roomed nearby with Ann Butterfield Hawkins, currently of Memphis, but formerly of Chattanooga and a GPS alumnus. Randomly, Ann and I were paired up by a mutual contact, resulting in an ad hoc reunion with several Neighbors members. Ann is a lovely person, and was a great roommate. 

Each day, as I entered and exited the Cordell Hull Complex and Capitol, I thanked the Tennessee Highway Patrol members who were called to duty for the Special Session. Their presence ensured the security and the protection of all.

Here is a recap of the four bills that were passed during the Special Session and will go to Governor Lee for his signature; all of these bills were drafted at the governor’s request.

No.nHB7012/SB7085
TN DPS Will provide firearm trigger locks free of charge to Tennessee residents upon request (DPS has a surplus purchased in the past). Requires Tennessee-department approved handgun safety course regarding safe storage. Exempts retail sales of gun safes/gun safety devices from sales tax, beginning November 1, 2023.

SB7086
Shortens deadline for county clerks from 30 days to 72 hours to notify TBI of release of a person who was involuntarily committed due to a mental health crisis. The designation of clear must provide the person’s residence of record for follow-up visit/wellness check by law enforcement. 

SB7088
Mandates TBI to create an annual update report to the General Assembly of human trafficking incidents in the state, both labor and sex trafficking by December 1 to ensure review for further action/proposals/funding mechanisms by the legislative body.

Funding/appropriations for the above three bills passed.

Some of What Did NOT Pass
Any Extreme Risk to Gun Violence Protective Order legislation to allow the temporary removal of firearms from a person by state court order from a person who they believe may present a danger to others or themselves. After a set time, the guns are returned to the person, unless another court hearing extends the period of confiscation. 

Twenty-four states have such laws on the books.

Funds/monies for increased mental health treatment and a grant program for tuition reimbursement for persons who received an advanced mental health degree, with a commitment to practice in Tennessee for five years after state reimbursement. Currently, Tennessee has a severe lack of mental health professionals to meet the needs of our communities. Another proposed bill would have expanded Tennessee Medicaid services for mental health treatment.

HB7064: Arming teachers and staff, or retired law enforcement and military with and enhanced handgun to carry in public schools, in K-12 classrooms, and school events, including field trips, athletic meets and games, and school board meetings. This proposal was defeated in the House Civil Justice Committee by bipartisan vote. 

In the future, Neighbors For Gun Violence Prevention will continue to meet regularly, featuring guest speakers/legislators at our meetings. We will brainstorm, listen, reach out to others, including urban and rural voters, and educate ourselves to act and advocate for common sense gun safety and gun violence reduction across Tennessee. We hope you will join us. As Mr. Rogers would say, “Please, won’t you be my Neighbor?”

by April Cook

The Chattanooga Ball Association is pleased to announce that Queen Sarah Jane Overley and King James (Jim) Reynolds reigned over the 88th Annual Chattanooga Ball at the Chattanooga Trade and Convention Center.

Queen Sarah Jane, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jordan Tyler Overley of Chattanooga, is a graduate of the Class of 2019 from Boyd Buchanan School. While at Boyd Buchanan, Sarah Jane was a member of the National Honor Society, National Society of High School Scholars, chorus, a varsity cheerleader, and performed in spring musical theater. She was twice chosen as an UCA All-American cheerleader. She volunteered with Girls Inc. throughout high school. Sarah Jane graduated May 2023, cum laude, from Lipscomb University with a double major in elementary education and special education plus an ELL endorsement. She received a Lipscomb academic scholarship, the Tennessee Hope Scholarship, and NCSA Head of School Grant. Sarah Jane was a member of Delta Omega Social Club as well as a peer mentor for Lipscomb’s IDEAL program, tutoring adult students with learning disabilities. This August she started the master’s program in special education in the high incidence track at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University. She was offered the U.S. Department of Education BASE Project Scholarship.

King Jim, a graduate of Notre Dame High School, grew up in Chattanooga. He graduated from the University of Tennessee with honors in 1981. After graduation, he moved to Atlanta to begin his career in the banking business before returning home to Chattanooga in 1986. Upon his return, he started his wealth management career with JC Bradford and Co, a large regional brokerage firm based in Nashville. Jim was named partner within five years while he simultaneously served as the office sales manager. In 2000, Paine Webber absorbed JC Bradford and shortly thereafter, UBS, the largest wealth management firm in the world, purchased Paine Webber. Two years later, Jim partnered with Ricky Park to form the Reynolds and Park Wealth Management Group. Together, they have created one of the largest wealth management practices in Tennessee. Throughout his entire career, Jim has earned various designations that have been held only by a select group of financial advisors. Jim married Susan Curtis in 1987, and together they have four boys. He devotes his free time to tutoring and mentoring children through the YMCA Y-CAP program and golfing on the weekends.
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Ladies of the Court were: Allison Elizabeth Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Karick Martin Brown; Emrick Wheland Garrett, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Carter Garrett Sr.; Sydney Grace Morris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Howell Morris Jr.; Mary Adella Youmans, daughter of Ms. Brittain Bussart and Mr. and Mrs. Frank Garland Youmans.

In our culture, age is often seen as the enemy. However, quite often stagnation, fear of trying new things and loneliness are equal, if not greater, adversaries. Aging is often accompanied with loss, the constant forgetting of where one put the keys, less contact with friends, and a fear that one might turn into the loathsome crotchety great aunt that people shun. Similarly, it can lead to less independence, frailty and, heavens forbid, shuffling with a cane. While many welcome retirement, they also fear boredom.

Painting as a group alleviates many unpleasant aspects of aging. People work together, get lost in their art, and troubles subside. In a welcoming, non-judgmental group, beginning and experienced painters have a chance to find their unique selves. A safe space appeals to their hopes instead of fears. Mistakes and experimentation are welcomed: They bring on laughter and encouragement instead of embarrassment.

Over 30 years ago, two Signal Mountain women, Jo Schoolfield and Martha Williams, now in their ’80s, started  MAGI (the Mountain Art Guild) as  a small painting group in a church basement. Over time, the group size grew but the initiators stayed. When their children  grew up and moved away, these artists met every Thursday despite arthritic hands, hearing aids and canes. The weekly connection has led to optimism, friendship, a known routine and familiarity. If cell phones are left by the refrigerator, everyone understands. If someone has cataract surgery, the group empathizes.

With consistency of over three decades, the group now paints at the Bachman Community Center cafeteria. Bachman ceaselessly welcomies these folks, who arrive with bag lunches and tote paints, easels and canvases. And, MAGI expresses deep appreciation to Kim Rackel  and Mary McEhlamey.

In many ways, MAGI is magic. The group’s art exhibit this fall at the Exum Gallery of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church celebrates this magic of longevity, creativity and support.  Artists who cannot make it to the gallery will have their works delivered.

What is special about this exhibit?

Alas, you will not be confronted with challenging phallic sculptures, disturbing war scenes, frames with sputnik patterns or political propaganda. Instead, you might view landscapes that remind you of summertime at the beach, beautiful watercolors that revere nature and soothing works you might want as a calming piece over a mantle or some hand built ceramics. You might see the work of someone who was once your teacher or who watched your children at preschool.

The exhibit offers time to appreciate the works of older people who are not in downtown galleries and who haven’t the energy to attend all day shows. Many of the artists are signature members of watercolor societies, and many are award winners.  It is well worth a visit to the Exum Gallery, which is free to all, has easy parking in the back and is open to all.

by Robin Howe

This November, Veterinary Care and Specialty Group (VCSG) will open its new 28,000 square-foot cancer care treatment center on South Broad Street. 

Inside will be a linear accelerator, the important machine that delivers external beam radiation therapy.

But it’s not just any linear accelerator. VCSG’s model - called Edge - is built by Varian and will be the newest model around - for both humans and pets. 

For Jesse McKay, a Signal Mountain resident and Erlanger’s chief medical physicist, this is stunning, shout-from-the-mountaintop news. 

“It provides access to care that pet owners don’t have,” he said. “Not anywhere close.”
For the rest of us non-vets, McKay uses an analogy for emphasis. 

“It’s like the VW plant announcing production of the only electric car here in Chattanooga,” he said. “It’s unique to the country. It’s surprising a town of a quarter-million would have something like this.”

VCSG’s linear accelerator offers stereotactic targeted and conformal rapid arc radiation to the tumor; the more advanced the linear accelerator, the more precise delivery of radiation. 

In plain language: The Edge linear accelerator can conform 360 degrees to any body size or shape while delivering super-precise radiation, which McKay describes as “intricacies finer than half a centimeter or quarter of a centimeter.”

This allows for precise treatment of tumors, especially those located in vulnerable positions - a spinal cord or the brain, for example. Nearby healthy tissue is left unaffected. 

This means shorter treatments.

And less anesthesia. 

“It will be the newest machine for pets and humans in Chattanooga,” he said. “The type of radiation this machine produces is exactly what I would want if I had cancer.”

When shopping for linear accelerators, VCSG reached out to McKay for advice. Most vet hospitals purchase used linear accelerators, but, as the technology advances so quickly, the devices become outdated. McKay offers another analogy.

“Kind of like cell phones. Those 10 years old are practically obsolete,” he said. 

So when VCSG decided to purchase the newest model available, McKay was giddily stunned. 
Then, VCSG made another big announcement: Dr. Jason Strasberg is coming. 

Strasberg, who will move here after completing his radiation oncology residency at N.C. State University, will lead the cancer care center. 

Strasberg is one of very few veterinary medicine doctors who have completed specialized training in radiation oncology. Currently, fewer than 40 doctors in the nation are actively pursuing training in radiation oncology, and even fewer are in private practice. 

This places him in a rare field within the world of veterinary medicine. 

And Strasberg loves it. 

“It’s a pretty unique opportunity to talk to owners who come in pretty distraught. Their pet has cancer,” he said. “But I’m able to talk to them and walk them through the prognosis and generally, this gives them a better outcome than what they were expecting. To provide that is a unique thing and brings me joy. It happens almost on a daily basis.”

VCSG, already one of the largest private hospitals in the Southeast, began construction on its new center in the fall of 2022. 

“We wanted to serve our community in ways we know are needed,” said VCSG co-owner and founder Claudia Pullen. “Pets get cancer, the same as humans. We offer the same treatment, the same hope, the same healing.”

For more information on VCSG’s new cancer care center, visit www.VCSGvets.com. 
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by David Cook
David Cook, former columnist, is a freelance writer and can be reached at [email protected]. ​

It is no secret that Chattanooga has experienced tremendous population growth in the past few years. If you are new to the area, it can be both exciting and overwhelming to figure out what there is to do for fun. If you are a native or longtime Chattanoogan, on the other hand, it can be easy to overlook some great activities just because they are “touristy.”

But what’s wrong with being a tourist in your own town? Here is a selection of options that every kind of tourist - or new or established local - will enjoy in and around our beautiful city. No googling “what is there to do in Chattanooga” required!

Retro Day
Like a little kitsch? Don’t miss the Rock City Fairyland Caverns. Round out your day with a photo-op at the brand-new Little Debbie Park in Collegedale. (Yes, that Little Debbie. What child or adult doesn’t want their picture taken with a person-sized Cosmic Brownie?)

For the Adventurer/Nature-lover
Raccoon Mountain Caverns: Take a 45-minute guided walking tour through the caverns (wear good shoes for traction), or belly-crawl through openings the size of a microwave on one of the multi-hour expeditions.
Enterprise South: Visit this free park with miles of shady trails. If you’re lucky, one or more of the old ammunition bunkers will be open when you go (check out the echo!).
Chattanooga Classics: The icons of Chattanooga to tourists, like Ruby Falls and the Aquarium, are well known for a reason. Have you seen them all?

Free!
Check out the River Gallery Sculpture Garden in the Bluff View Art District, along with the outdoor sculptures at the Hunter Museum. (Kids love the one that looks like French fries!)
Beat the heat at the Coolidge Park splash pad.

Seasonal
U-Pick Farms are popular in the summertime. Check out Creekside Flower Farm in Chickamauga if picking a mason jar full of hyper-fresh blooms is your idea of a good time.
Watersports rentals are extra appealing on hot days. Why not rent a paddleboard and check out McClellan Island?

Eclectic Shopping
The North Shore has a diverse collection of shops catering to art-lovers, fashionistas, and everyone in-between. It is a good place to grab CHA (or ’Nooga, if you prefer) gear, too.
If your tastes skew vintage, check out Dirty Janes, The Refindery, and Local Dive Retail.

Sweet Treats
Clumpies is a classic for ice cream and milkshakes. Flavors vary, but don’t miss the key lime pie ice cream if you see it.
Pie R Square, a little off the tourist’s beaten path, is worth it for the best pie around. Caution: This little bakery’s treats may become an addiction.

Rainy Day
No tourist likes a rainy day, but luckily Chattanooga provides options for those, as well. For the feline fans, Naughty Cat Café is a must-do (reservations required).
High Point Climbing gym on Broad Street is especially popular with families, as they offer day passes and have a massive KidZone.
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Now, get ready to have all the fun of a tourist, then go home to sleep in your own bed. It turns out that living in a tourist town can be the best of both worlds! Which activity will you try first?

by Ginger Gibson