From The Banner- The longtime local businessman and government leader was remembered Saturday during a memorial service filled with music, laughs and
From The Banner- The longtime local businessman and government leader was remembered Saturday during a memorial service filled with music, laughs and tears. Ledford’s most notable legacy is serving the people of Bradley County’s Fifth District as their representative to both the County Court and County Commission for 42 years. His passing last Monday kept family, friends and former colleagues swapping Ledford stories all the way through his funeral. It was Mayor Tom Rowland who spoke of how “Squire” Ledford mattered to his community. “He mattered to all of us,” Rowland said. “He mattered to our government leaders. He mattered to our emergency responders. And, you mattered to him.” The mayor also spoke of how he mattered to his family and his church. Our ownSteve Hartline spoke , as he recalled how Ledford would call him “Little Ward,” a play off the name of former Tennessee sports broadcaster John Ward. “We would have some great, great times in the back of the Town Squire and it would normally include Bill critiquing my football play-by-play,” Hartline said. He recalled Ledford’s time on WCLE’s sports radio programs as a prognosticator. “His favorite line during the show when it came time to pick a winner was, ‘This team is really good. But, I’m going to pick the other team,’” Hartline said. After the service, the cortege made its way up North Lee Highway and passed under a U.S. Flag salute which was stationed by the Bradley County Fire-Rescue and Cleveland Fire Departments. Ledford was laid to rest in the Cedar Point Baptist Church Cemetery. Report- Funeral arrangements have been announced for Brian Gallaher,The Celebration of Life Service will be conducted at Westmore Church of God today, at 2 p.m. In honor of the Gallaher family, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office and the Cleveland Police Department will escort the funeral procession from Westmore Church of God, to Hillcrest Memorial Gardens,The procession will stop in front of Ocoee Middle School in honor of Brian, his family and friends. Officials are estimating the funeral procession will leave Westmore Church of God around 3:30 p.m. and proceed east on 25th Street to Ocoee Street and south on Ocoee Street until the destination at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Officials said, “We encourage community participation and support for this family. Please feel free to show your support by lining the streets along the procession route.” Channel 3 reports- Chattanooga police responded to 1020 I-75 North Bound for a single vehicle crash around 1:30 Sunday morning. Officials say for some unknown reason the vehicle traveling North bound on I-75 struck the concrete barrier, causing it to roll over. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced deceased on the scene. Traffic investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash. Police have not released the identity of the victim. They say their investigation is ongoing and more information will be released when it becomes available. The Cleveland Daily Banner- Numbers released by the Tennessee Highway Patrol show an increasing number of auto accidents in Bradley County along Interstate 75. The statistics show accidents that were investigated by the THP between mile makers 19 and 21 within the county borders. On the Bradley County stretch of the interstate, between September 2011 and July 2013, there were 28 crashes, including two fatal crashes, with one serious or incapacitating injury and three non-incapacitating injuries. On that same roadway stretch, from August 2013 to the present, there have been 43 crashes. THP Deputy Communications Director Dalya Qualls stated that she could not speak to an exact cause for the increase “because the frequency of crashes in a particular area can be affected by a number of variables that change with time such as traffic, weather, construction, roadway geometry, etc.” These are numbers to keep in mind as AAA projects 41.9 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this Independence Day, the most since 2007. The Independence Day holiday travel runs from Wednesday, July 1 to Sunday, July 5. Of that number, an estimated 753,335 Tennesseans will hit the road over the July Fourth weekend. “The freedom of summer means families can take extended vacations and, historically, that makes Independence Day the busiest summer travel holiday,” said Joy Dixon, Tennessee director of travel, for the AAA Auto Club Group. “This is the largest number of Independence Day travelers since the great recession,” added Dixon. It is also advisable that if possible, to try leaving earlier or later to avoid heavy traffic and have roadside contact information for roadside assistance on hand, in the event of being involved in or witnessing an accident. Today is Day 1 of Braggin’ Rights 2015 for winners and runners-up in 173 categories in the fourth annual Reader’s Choice “Best of Bradley County” contest. We are very proud of Steve and Bridget for being number 1 &2 in the radio personality in our area. From The Banner- Christmas came in June this year for approximately 50 young people in the community thanks to the generosity of employees at Proctor & Gamble-Duracell. The company’s outreach program, which began in 2011 when employees reached out to help the many Bradley County victims of the tornadoes which touched down in East Bradley County, has once again reached out to local residents. This year the employees sponsored free bicycles, helmets and locks for youngster from the United Way’s Y-Cap Program, the Cleveland Boys & Girls Clubs, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Andor Program and the YMCA.
