JOHN COFFELTEditor

In a spirit of cooperation, General Sessions Judge Robert Carter and the attorney who challenged him for that seat in the 2022 election have teamed up to form a plan to beautify the courthouse lawn.

Carter and attorney Eric Burch approached a receptive Capital Outlay Committee at the Sept. 7 meeting.

“This courthouse lawn is a historic place,” Burch said. “The lawn and landscaping there is a mismatch. There’s no rhyme or reason to it.”

Burch said on the campaign trail that he would, if elected, seek to improve the look of the courthouse.

“When I started practicing law in Manchester in 1998, the square was just a couple of lawyers’ offices, Peoples Bank and Toliver’s Pawn. It was kind run down. Not anymore. There’s something going on that square virtually every week.”

Carter added, “There was a time the courthouse was the best looking building on the square.”

Burch suggested removing some of the smaller evergreens, installing an irrigation system but leaving the large shade trees alone.

Burch estimated the total cost to come in somewhere from $30,000-50,000. The pair has yet only received informal bids for the project.

Carter said that courts run more smoothly in places that esthetically carry the stately dignity of a courthouse.

“The courthouse is in good shape and it looks good,” Carter said. “I’m one of those people who thing that people when they are in court they need to feel like they’re in court. When people are in federal court in Chattanooga, with those big high ceilings, they tend to tell the truth.”

He called the project a worthwhile investment.

Compared to the Justice Center, “we have this much more historic and visually appealing resource. And we can do something for a pretty modest investment,” he said.

The Capital Outlay Committee was agreeable to the concept of improving the courthouse grounds, but it formally asked the two to return with a visual representation of what the project would look like once complete.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.