The Union County Patriots Football team played a great fifth game against Northview Academy Friday, September 25. Although they did not come out with a win, they definitely did not leave without having taken away something from this experience.

With Senior Night against Sullivan South coming up, the football team is hoping to come away with a win. In preparation for the next game they are treating it like any other game, with the singular focus of winning, and this upcoming game can change the rest of the season for the better.

A new study confirms that rocker bottom shoes help strengthen back muscles, improving the spine’s curvature and thus reducing low back pain.

Researchers in sports physiotherapy have confirmed, in a new study of their research work into back pain, that unstable shoes improve the strength of back muscles by forcing them to maintain balance and stability when walking. This muscular strengthening contributes to reducing low-intensity chronic low back pain, which can be disabling for those who suffer it.

When most folks consider a wildflower season, spring is usually what comes to mind, and rightfully so based on the sheer number of species that bloom then. But autumn also offers an impressive burst of color when some wildflowers make one last push to propagate before the killing frosts. Asters are particularly easy to find blooming now, especially yellow ones.

With Christmas less than three months away and Covid-19-20-21 (who really knows) going as strong as ever, it’s anyone’s guess how the holiday will play out this year for shoppers.

According to sources on the internet, normal holiday shopping between November and December increases approximately 13 percent year over year. In May of 2020, with Corona surging and quarantine/lock-down/shelter-in-place raging, online shopping increased in popularity by 77 percent in a single month, a surge that generally takes four to six years over each twelve month period.

I don’t think it’s a southern thing as much as it is a rural thing.

When I was growing up, having conversations while being parked in the middle of the road wasn’t that uncommon. We didn’t have cell phones yet, so if you saw somebody you knew, you put your vehicle in park and you visited for a spell.

The people who happened to drive upon them, knew what was going on. Usually they would stop and wait for the exchange to end. I’m sure they had done the same themselves many times.

I have lived my entire life in Union County, save for almost four years when I was an undergraduate student at Lincoln Memorial University.

“You've got to get out more if looking through the phone book is fun.” That's what my daughter, Anne, said to me a while ago. You know, she might be right.

Well, maybe not. I was looking through the menus from restaurants in an old phone book. The selections were a bit different than what is offered now. I looked in vain for my favorite, “Liver and Onions.”

Read through the ingredients of this tasty recipe. Then ask yourself, "How can such a simple recipe taste any good?" Try it and you will see. It's a keeper; cheap to make, too.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer Interpreter, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

On October First be sure to look to the east at sunset and behold the most famous of all full moons, the Harvest Moon. Its nostalgia goes back to the days before electricity, when it was used as a night light by farmers to work longer in the fields to get the fall crops in, hence the name. But the Harvest Moon stands out for other reasons as well.

Mission Statement: “Union County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office strives to promote a high standard in the Judicial System as we provide courteous and efficient service to the citizens of Union County, judges, attorneys, law enforcement agencies and all the people having business with the Courts.”