One of my all-time favorite pastors is the Rev. Joe McCoy. He was my pastor at the First Baptist Church of Maynardville for eight years. I was an undergraduate college student when he first became my pastor, and an elementary teacher at Luttrell Elementary when he was called to other ministry.
I remember many of the illustrations Preacher Joe included in his sermons. He once talked of a situation in which the family of a deceased individual were not “church people”. In such circumstances, the funeral home would contact the local pastor to bring the eulogy at the funeral.

A lot of my trips into the wild come with the obligatory ritual of pulling off seeds stuck to my clothes. This is especially true in the fall and winter, when the seeds are mature and easily dislodged from their mother plant. Most of these hitchhiking seeds use the Velcro method of grabbing hair or clothing. They use small barbs or hooks that adhere to whatever brushes against them. The inventor of Velcro did in fact got the idea from these sticky plants. Grabbing onto animals (and humans) is how these innovative plants get their seeds dispersed far and wide. Here is a description of several seeds you are most likely to find stuck to your socks.

“The magnitude of my mission and the ticking clock of time.” That was a statement that I read recently and it literally rocked my world. I was painfully reminded that my time on this planet is limited and there is still much to be accomplished. Goals for my family, objectives for our church, and then my own personal ambitions. Husband, dad, pastor, leader, coach, family member and friend are a few, but not all of the titles that I have. Wearing multiple hats is not always easy and often presses me to the point that I feel as if I am not wearing any of them as well as I would like to.

Just a mile from Plainview at 8802 Tazewell Pike is some of the finest Mexican food around these parts. Gummer Santos “Gumer” has opened Tacolandia 2 in Corryton in the old Sunrise Market Building. Boasting a full Mexican menu, appetizers, nachos, salads, burritos, quesadillas, tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, chimichangas, and chicken specials are all available. Tacolandia 2 satisfies the family with a kid's menu of Mexican and American meals for $5.99. Complete adult meals or combos range from $8.50 to $13.00.

Adults with a history of low back pain went nearly twice as long without a recurrence of their back pain if they walked regularly, a world-first study has found.

About 800 million people worldwide suffer from low back pain. It is a leading cause of disability and reduced quality of life. Repeated episodes of low back pain are also very common, with seven in 10 people who recover from an episode going on to have a recurrence within a year.

Did you ever make up your own imaginary worlds when you were a kid? I did quite often, but then I discovered a way around that and it drove my mom and Mamaw Jo crazy.
It started one cold winter day when I was especially bored. I couldn’t go outside and there was nothing inside that I wanted to do. There wasn’t even anything good to watch on TV. By the way, at that time there were only three TV stations, but we could only get two. Anyway, I was sitting on my parents rocking chair. It was very well padded, so it was thick and comfy. In desperation, I had the idea to sit upside down on it. Immediately I spun myself around and draped my legs over the back of it. Then I leaned back and let my head dangle off of the seat so my hair touched the floor.

By Fred and Jo Gibson

Several times a year I go to cemeteries in Chuck Swan State Forest (Central Peninsula in Union County). I’m there mostly to check the conditions of the cemeteries. While there I read some gravestones. One caught my attention. As Bonnie Heiskell Peters has said, “Cemeteries are museums without walls.”

By Veronica Fox

The Union County Museum is the recipient of a uniform worn by James Elbert Miller during the Spanish-American War. This article dives into the story of one such uniform’s journey from battlefield to museum display, examining its donation, restoration and place in our museum.

A Brief History Review

Still sitting in my bedroom at my small desk looking out at a lowering sky with a squall line approaching from the northwest and strong winds with lots of rain heading our way. As most folks I have developed a case of winter doldrums. We’ve had so far a cold winter and even a two-inch snow the morning of December 11th. A kid on my school bus ask how I liked the snow and I replied,” I love the kind of snow we experienced yesterday; It snowed two-inches early morning and melted by afternoon.” Kind of like being visited by relatives.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Union County TCAT (Tennessee College of Applied Technology) and the Walters State Community College (WSCC) occurred on the Union County High school campus on December 4. The construction fulfills a dream of a multitude of Union County citizens and officials.