The Union County Board of Education addressed two change orders for the new middle school during its meeting in February. The Lewis Group and Merit Construction requested an extension to the contract completion due to the snowy and rainy January weather, combined with the tremendous amount of time spent on removing rock and addressing voids and a cave at the site. The board agreed to an extension but commented that hopefully construction would not be extended for the full 30-day request.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, in cooperation with Union County Solid Waste Authority, will host a household hazardous waste collection on Saturday, March 22, at the Wolf Road Convenience Center at 295 Wolfe Road from 8 a.m. to noon. Household chemicals, cleaners and automotive products will be accepted.
Household hazardous waste is defined as corrosive, flammable, toxic or reactive materials used in your home, car or truck, or garden and lawn that is unwanted/unusable.

Plainview Board of Aldermen continued to discuss the wording of Ordinance 165 at their February meeting. At a workshop held the prior week, Alderman Rebecca Lock agreed to ask the planner, Jordan Rockwell, to formulate an amended Ordinance 165 that would further limit the number of single wide mobile homes and establish a minimum number of acres for each placement. Ordinance 165 contains language to allow multiple dwellings without subdividing on large tracts of land in the AR-1 zone only.

At the February meeting, the Union County Commission voted to revisit the issue of the position of constable in Union County. At the January meeting, the commission had voted to abolish the position. However, after a representative of the East Tennessee Constables Association and other community members addressed the commission and requested that a dialogue of expectations be opened between the constables and the commission, Commissioner Eddie Simpson asked that the issue be put on the March agenda for first reading and ample discussion. The motion was approved 13 for and 3 against.

Our 6th grade students at Horace Maynard Middle School are competing in the annual Science Fair. The top six winners will be judged on February 27 by Clinch-Powell Education Cooperative. The two school-wide winners will each receive $150 and advance to the 12th Annual Regional Science Fair at LMU on March 7, where they'll compete against 6th graders from six counties.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

When I was a kid in the 1970s, seeing a deer was a rare thing, so much so that when I did see one it was like I was witnessing wilderness— ‘feeling wildness’ as I call it. These days, deer populations are so high that I see them almost daily on the farm, so that special feeling has faded into commonplace. But it still comes out when I see, or more likely, hear, owls. I get chill bumps every time, and it’s a very satisfying feeling.

Country Connections by James and Ellen Perry

Sitting here at my desk and remembering our five-inch snow. Then our deep freeze that happened on January 10 with the deep freeze lasting for the following week. It was a beautiful and very frigid February of 2025. It started with a bang as the temps for the second week of February was more like early April. Mother nature can be harsh or very pleasant. Depends on her mood.

The price of a dozen eggs reached a record high in January 2025, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This followed a significant price increase in 2024, when the average cost of a dozen Grade A large eggs rose by 37 percent. In January 2025 alone, egg prices jumped by $1.28 per dozen, reaching $7.09 per dozen—an all-time high (Trading Economics, 2025). The USDA projects that egg prices will rise an additional 20.3 percent in 2025.

The Church of the Ignorant Brethren
I’ve written about a lot of controversial topics from the Bible, but this one really takes the cake! I am amazed at how ignorant we Christians can be concerning the word of God. I’m not alone!

One of my favorite genres of literature is the short story. The greatest short stories to me are those which I want to read over and over again, and of which I never tire.

When I was a student in Kenneth Venable’s junior English class at Horace Maynard High School, he assigned us Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.” The story is about a doctor who supposedly had water from the Fountain of Youth. He invited some of his friends to partake of the water to study its effects on them.