The Union County 4-H Public Speaking Contest allows youths to highlight their exceptional presentation abilities in a supportive environment. Youth learn from professionals as well as their fellow 4-H members.
On February 6th, 2024, 4-H member grades 4-8 gathered at Horace Maynard Middle School for the annual County Public Speaking contest.

Part of the basis of Southern Gospel were traditional postbellum shape note singing schools. At that time, shape note singing was most popular among rural singers. According to James Goff, Jr in his book “Close Harmony: History of Southern Gospel”, itinerant singing school instructors organized shape singing local, regional, and even national singing conventions and local quartets sung the latest gospel hymns.

Managing the stress in your life — and most of us have it to one degree or another — is essential to keeping a healthy lifestyle.

Stress comes from many directions and makes itself known in a variety of ways. It might show up as a headache, tight muscles, nausea or back pain. It’s generally caused by outside factors, some obvious, like fretting over financial problems, and others not so much, maybe even planning for a joyous occasion like an impending wedding.

The oddest things seem to happen to me. Most of them are funny or weird, but there
was one that was downright creepy.
I used to work in an office that had a tall copier. Actually, it was a scanner, copier, and
printer. Every day, I used it many times and in all three capacities. While I was waiting on it to finish the job, I would often look out the back door since it wasn’t far from the copier.

I once received an email from a friend which said, “No true Southern boy would ever say, “Here’s an episode of Hee Haw that we haven’t seen.” I’m sure that’s true, though a truly Southern boy would have said, “. . . that we ain’t seen.”
I noted that bluegrass banjo player and cast member of Hee Haw Roni Stoneman passed away this past Thursday, February 22, 2024.

We made this dish often in the 1950’s. We had just come out of WWII with all the shortages that occur during wartime. It was time to try something new, like pizza or chop suey. In Dutch oven, brown meat in hot oil. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt. Drain off excess oil. Place meat in 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Combine sprouts onion, green pepper and rice. Add to pan. Gradually add milk and soy sauce to soup, stirring until smooth.

Back in the day planting balled trees or trees grown in buckets was pretty straightforward: Dig a hole wider and deeper than the root ball, mix peat moss or other soil amendment with the soil and plant the tree. But some research has resulted in more stringent guidelines for urban trees. The new recommendations assure that roots have a chance to grow into the surrounding soil and produce healthy branches, foliage, and roots. Here’s an overview.

It stands up on a hill behind the high school and overlooking Wilson Park. Many have seen it from a distance, but not too many people stop by. In different parts of the US, some of the walls honoring and remembering Veterans are made of black granite or marble. The concrete Union County Veterans Wall was first painted black to represent the bleakness, the abyss some veterans feel when returning to civilian life and there is a touch of red along the top to represent the blood that was shed during conflicts.

Military Veterans! You are invited to join Post Commander Darrell White and other Union County veterans at High Noon on Monday March 4 at the American Legion Hall on Veterans Rd. An Italian experience is planned with homemade Lasagna, bread, salad and dessert. Meals will be served on the first floor. There is no charge for this meal. For those who would like to attend, the monthly meeting of the American Legion New Liberty Post will be held after the luncheon at 1:00 upstairs in the building.

Walking may be, pound for pound, the most accessible, beneficial and inexpensive form of exercise available. The American Chiropractic Association recommends it as a way to stay fit.