Siskin and UTC Partner to Save Little Miss Mag

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- A few weeks ago, the Siskin Institute announced they were going to close their two early learning centers, leaving dozens of families without childcare. However, their fortunes have since changed. On August 3, Siskin announced Early Miss Mag Early Learning Center and the Carter Street early learning center would both be closing. Siskin President and CEO Derek…

Ten Organizations Award with Teaching Garden Grants

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- 10 organizations across Hamilton County have received a thousand dollar grant from the Hamilton County Health Department. This is a part of the Step One Program as they awarded their annual Teaching Garden Grants. The grants go towards creating community gardens that are used not only to grow food for their community but for teaching sustainability and…

TECH BYTE: Is Your Child ‘Phone Ready?’

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — It’s not unusual anymore to see an elementary-age student with a cell phone. But how do you know when they’re ready for one? AT&T’s Laurie Starcher says parents need to factor in their child’s maturity level. “It does seem that it’s getting younger and younger,” Starcher said. “And I think it’s really based off of, you know,…

Mocs Win SoCon Opener Over Mercer 3-2 With Olympico Goal in Final Minute

(gomocs.com) CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Chattanooga women’s soccer team scored a pair of goals in the final five minutes to snare a 3-2 win over Mercer Thursday night at Finley Stadium in the Southern Conference opener for both teams. Caroline Richvalsky headed in the equalizer with 4:33 remaining in the game to make it 2-2. Hannah Opie took a pass…

Smokies Eliminate Lookouts From Playoffs With 5-1 Victory

(lookouts.com) Chattanooga Lookouts dropped game two of the Southern League North Division Championship Series to end their season. The team finished the year with a record of 70-67. After a quick 1-2-3 inning by Sam Benschoter, the Smokies offense clicked into gear. In the second inning, two straight walks put two runners on for Kevin Alcantara who launched a three-run…

Cleveland’s Lauren Hurst a Dangerous Two Sport Athlete

Cleveland, TN-(WDEF-TV) Cleveland High School junior Lauren Hurst puts the dual, in dual-threat athlete. She’s the reigning Gatorade state player of the year in volleyball. And she’s got D-one college basketball offers from schools such as Virginia Tech and Tennessee. News 12’s Brian Armstrong catches up with one of the top female athletes in the Tennessee Valley. Said head volleyball…

CARTA Approves Downtown Parking Rate Increase

A parking meter along Rossville Avenue on the Chattanooga Southside. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- If you plan to go downtown starting in a couple of weeks, you may want to start bringing some extra change. CARTA’s Board of Directors voted on their first downtown street parking rate increase since 2015. Downtown street meters will now charge $1.50 per hour. This is…

Tennessee High School Seniors able to Apply to Colleges for Free

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Tennessee high school seniors in the process of applying for college have an opportunity to save money this week. College applications at the majority of Tennessee schools both public and private have waived their application fees. Some schools such as UT-Knoxville, Vanderbilt, and UTC all have waived their fees through tomorrow, while some schools have their…

Hamilton County Coalition hosts recovery event at Miller Park

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Hamilton County Coalition hosted their first annual Recovery Happens Together event Wednesday morning at Miller Park. Local organizations gathered to celebrate people who are in recovery.  “We are celebrating our partners, those people that are in recovery, our clients and we are just showing them that recovery is a great thing to be into,” said…

Driving Our Economy Forward: The Gathering of Angels

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The best ideas in business need backing before they can *ever* make it to market. For more than 25 years, The Gathering of Angels has been helping young entrepreneurial companies plant the seeds of success. They recently moved their headquarters from Atlanta to Chattanooga. Tarby Bryant explains, “It’s called the Chattanooga Gathering of Angels, and this…

Homeless Coalition says they need donations

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Homelessness has been an ongoing issue in our community and point of discussion. Jon Berestecky, the Development Director of The Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition, offered perspective on the current homelessness situation. Berestecky says that as of last count, the Homeless Coalition counts over 1,100 homeless individuals in the Chattanooga area. He says this is defined by…

County Commission debates hiring practices

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Hamilton County Commission had a lengthy debate on hiring practices at their weekly commission meeting. The debate was spurred by a resolution confirming the appointment of Michael Kirk by Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp to the director of the county’s Property Management Department. That position was just recently created. Commission Chairman Jeff Eversole wanted to…

Raising awareness around rail crossings

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – This week, September 17-23, marks National Rail Safety Week.  Every three hours, a car collides with a train at a railroad crossing. More than 60% of these collisions occur at crossings equipped with lights or gates. The Georgia Department of Transportation is asking drivers to exercise enhanced caution at these crossings by looking both ways before…

Secretary Hargett promotes Voter Registration Day in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Secretary of State Tre Hargett was in Chattanooga Tuesday morning to promote “Your Vote Matters” on national Voter Registration Day.  Secretary Hargett spoke on why it’s so important for those in our community to vote.  Local officials were in attendance at the Chamber of Commerce to help support voter registration.  They say every vote counts in…

Video shows high school band director shocked with stun gun, arrested after refusing to stop music

Video courtesy to CBS News BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Police body camera video shows an Alabama high school band director being shocked with a stun gun and arrested by officers in front of screaming students, in a chaotic scuffle that broke out after he refused to immediately stop the band as it played in the bleachers following a football game….

Mocs Expect Tough Test Against Samford

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Easy wins are rare in college football. Mocs got one last weekend against the Citadel. But they know nothing will be easy this week, as they travel to Samford. When you win a game 48-3 like the Mocs did over Citadel, life is good. Said head coach Rusty Wright:”I thought the biggest thing coming out of Saturday was we…

Lee Visits Chattanooga to talk Economy, State Parks

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee walking a trail at Booker T. Washington State Park. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee was in the Scenic City today and made two stops. One stop he made was at the Booker T. Washington State Park. That park is 85 years old and was initially created as a segregated park for Chattanooga’s African-American community….

More Friends React to Sudden Passing of Kevin West

Kevin West, Chattanooga Police Department CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)-  More close friends of the late Kevin West are reacting to his sudden passing Monday. West died after suffering a medical emergency Monday morning. One of his close friends was Captain Mickey McCamish. Captain McCamish shared the bond of being a Naval captain with West, who served as a Naval Captain in…

Mom to Mom – Button Rewards

Today on Mom to Mom, we are making a button behavior jar. I don’t know about your kids, but my kids are always constantly changing and the way we punish them and reward them changes with every age. So, we like to find different ways to kind of get them involved and excited about earning things that they like in…