On June 22, 2026, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) installed stop signs at the intersection of Tazewell Pike (SR 131), Ailor Gap (SR 144), and Corryton Road, Additional warning signals have been located on the Knoxville side of Tazewell Pike to warn traffic headed toward Luttrell of the new stop signs. Plainview Mayor Lynn Beeler has requested additional safety warnings of rumple strips, arrows, and stop signs painted on the roadways.

Building on a legislative initiative in 2024, which united all 95 Tennessee counties in prayer, members of both the Tennessee State House and Senate passed a House Joint Resolution. The resolution makes the month of July an unprecedented, annual call to join in prayer, fasting, and repentance.

Representatives from the Union County Rescue Squad addressed the regular meeting of the Union County Commission on Monday, June 22, 2026, and asked for the same amount of contribution that the fire departments were receiving in the budget for 2026-2027 (FY 27). Dennis Nicely spoke while Brad Harrell distributed a report on the Squad's finances and needs. According to Nicely, the squad has not been able to have the bass tournament fundraiser and tools and equipment need to be upgraded or replaced.

This article has nothing to do with cooking pinto beans. By the way, I love them fixed in an iron skillet. Instead, it’s about how a game that used pinto beans changed the way I approached life.

A new study suggests that aquatic therapy for individuals with chronic low back pain can do more than strengthen the muscles around the spine. It can also have a beneficial impact on the negative psychological factors that are often associated with the disabling disease.

The study used a randomized controlled trial involving two groups of chronic low back pain patients. It found that participants who took part in aquatic therapy reported improvements in pain-related fear and sleep disturbance compared to those who followed standard care programs.

The Union County Board of Education will meet in Special Session on Monday, June 29, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in the Large Courtroom at the Union County Courthouse. The only item on the agenda will be to Approve/Disapprove Budget Amendments and Transfers.

The Union County Board of Education will conduct a workshop on Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in the Library of the Old Horace Maynard Middle School.

A Meet the Candidates event is scheduled at the Sharps Chapel Community Center on Thursday June 25th at 7:00 pm.

Adjutant Norman Gillen (U.S. Navy) opened the meeting by welcoming all the Veterans attending. As a member of the Tri-County Honor Guard, Norman reminded folks that all Veterans, by law, are entitled to burial rights, a marker, and a place in any Veterans' cemetery. The goal of the Honor Guard is not only to honor the Veteran who passed but to also honor and comfort the family. Veterans are buried with full military honors, three rifle volleys, and the playing of Taps. The flag that had been draped across the coffin is then folded and presented to the next of kin.

Farmers’ markets provide direct, face-to-face transactions between local agricultural producers and consumers. They provide a designated space for farmers to sell fresh, seasonal food directly to the public, cutting out middlemen to benefit both the local economy and the community.

Confession time: I am not good at math. I use it, it’s great, we went to the Moon with it, yada yada. But I don’t think well mathematically and strive to understand it. But I was amazed to discover that trees use mathematics to arrange their leaves on a twig to optimize their collection of sunlight for the photosynthesis thing. Leonardo da Vinci picked up on this long ago. The “impress your friends” word of the day is phyllotaxis: the arrangement of leaves on a stem in relation to each other.