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The Ongoing Highway 11/64 Mattress Controversy
Written by Louis LeeOctober 1, 2009 – 9:00 am
There it sets ... waiting to be picked up.
It started out that morning show host Dale Deason spotted a mattress discarded along the side of Highway 11/64 on his way to work from “Hooterville.”
He suggested on-air that someone with public works might want to pick it up.
After several days it was still there, and it became a “Cause Celebre” for the Bradley County resident.
The mattress is technically in the city limits of Chattanooga, so Dale called 311, but no one answered.
Yesterday (Tuesday) Dale announced that crews had mowed AROUND the mattress, rather than moving it off the side of the road. We’ll keep you up to date on the growing controversy.
WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Dale called the 311 service this morning (Wednesday) and talked with Liz. She was very helpful and said that the City of Chattanooga was “on the job.”
We’ll let you know tomorrow if the mattress gets picked up.
THURSDAY 9:00 a.m. UPDATE: An employee with Public Works called Dale this morning and asked for directions to the mattress. Apparently they tried to find it yesterday, but didn’t go far enough down Lee Highway. Seems they can’t find a big, white queen-sized mattress only three inches from the edge of the road.
Dale put them on the right track … we’ll check tomorrow to see if it’s been moved.
THURSDAY 10:30 a.m. UPDATE: Success! Dale called to let us know that the mattress is now gone from the side of the road. He also expressed a deep feeling of loss. I think he was going home to his mattress to take a nap.
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17 Comments »
…and that’s what’s wrong with this country. I can just imagine a townful of people saying “It’s not my problem.”
fascinating…
Wow… really? Discarded furniture is serious business!
I’ll have to sleep on this one and get back to you!
I assume the FBI has been called in to take over this investigation??
Keep America beautiful or you are a terrorist. This happens everywhere. I can date the picture of my house on Google Earth because I remember when the box springs were laying by the road for six months.
Let it be known that the FBI has been informed and have begun a full fledged investigation and a congressional committee is being formed to discuss various solutions
My friend said it had money in it. Thought I might stop by and check it out.
The real question here that no one has addressed is; Did anyone remove the tag?
I live west of Chicago and used to commute thru several western suburbs to O’Hare,.One rather hot summer day I passed the carcass of a large road kill dog in the area of Schaumburg, a well to do suburb. It was on median strip right next to the flower beds the town had put in to beautify the neighborhood. This was before I had a cell phone, so I didn’t call about it, assuming some town cop would spot it and take the necessary action. I was wrong. That carcass laid there for 3 more days bloating in the sun. What can be said about ” not my job:?
Well maybe the reporter needs to drive past the offending layabout mattress, and see if the TAG has been removed.
You know the TAG, it’s the one that say’s “DO NOT REMOVE THIS TAG UNDER PENALTY OF LAW”.
Since this mattress was subject to the U.S.C. as applicable to items subject to regulations of the I.C.C., being transported by common carriers over interstate highways, it is probably a case for the F.B.I., just put in a collect call to Old J.Edgar Hisself at the local federal building…that might get ya some sort of response.
I’ll be out warming up the black helicopter.
Would have never taken so long in a college town. That’s some prime dorm furniture right there!
Cool story bro
Thank God I do not live in the south. In between cousins marrying and tractor pulls, I guess they couldn’t find the time
Here in Orange County, California if we have some discards we don’t want, we leave them on the front lawn overnight. Most of the time it gets beamed up in the wee hours of the morning. Some examples of high demand discards: Broken (we placed a “Does Not Work” sign on it) old style 5 foot rear projection big screen TV, 8 place dining table (without legs), yes we discarded one, broken washing machine with sign) and last, one of the first items to go, double bed replete with mattress and box springs! Of course, Orange County is UFO-friendly, undocumented of course, which may account for the warp speed disappearance. Perhaps Tennessee citizens need to leave their discards on the front lawn like we do! Certainly would unclutter the hiways and byways!
So new and exciting when people say “cool story bro” and “that’s so new and fresh”. Geesh you are not imaginative at all.
TO the topic at hand, maybe the murder of the sheets and covers can now be laid to rest.
But we’re willing to let 8 acres of abandoned Home Base real estate fester for a decade. Can some DJ please start placing a gripe about derilect corporate big-box real estate?
By the way, this mattress story was very entertaining. Thanks!
-G