ERPD Community Meeting Set for June 17 Has Been Postponed

This from Chief Stan Allen: Due to the State of Tennessee Governor’s Executive Order #38 which pertains to COVID-19 guidelines, in particular item 6d, the East Ridge Community and Senior Center cannot yet open for meetings and activities. After review of the Executive Order by City Manager Chris Dorsey, the Community Meeting for the East Ridge Police Department must be postponed until a later date. The health and safety of our citizens is very important to the City of East Ridge and the Police Department.

The East Ridge Police Department has rescheduled the Community Meeting originally set for earlier this year for Wednesday, June 17.

According to a press release from the department, the meeting will be from 6 to 8 p.m. at the East Ridge Community Center next to City Hall on Tombras Avenue. All residents and business owners are invited to attend.

The meeting will be set up to allow for social distancing and attendees are encouraged, but not required, to wear a mask.

“There have been a lot of changes at the police department since the beginning of the year, and this is a chance for us to get to know you better as well as a chance for you to get to know us better,” Chief Stan Allen said in the release.

“We will introduce some planned upcoming initiatives and we would welcome your input as to where you would like to see us improve. Our mission is to create a safer East Ridge for our citizens and visitors by reducing crime, preserving the peace, and protecting lives and property. We will be asking for your ideas on how we get there together.”

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.