About 50 former students, friends and family gathered at Plainview Community Center on November 25 to reminisce about their education and fellowship at Plainview Elementary School, which operated from 1932 to 1970.

The Union County School Board approved the 2024-2025 calendar at its November meeting. Most of the calendar was very similar to past years.
However, the addition of six early release days sparked some discussion. The early release days would close school at 1 p.m. rather than 3:15. Carolyn Murr, a Maynardville teacher and president of UCEA, voiced a concern for parents including teachers who would need to find additional daycare during the work day.

This will be the third year for First Baptist Church’s drive-thru nativity: “A Christmas Journey.”. The idea of a drive-thru nativity began in 2020 during the pandemic. In previous years the church had always presented a Christmas play and went caroling in the community.

Once again, 4-H members in each elementary school are collecting pop top tabs for their community service project and the first full jugs have been turned in.
All tabs will be donated to our local Ronald McDonald House for recycling.

A call to action on lower back pain remedies has been issued by prominent international researchers in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet. Recommendations include:

• Coordinated international leadership to drive transformational change across health and social services and occupational settings to stop fragmented and outdated models of care

• Development of evidence-based medical responses to low back pain emphasizing the concept of ‘positive health’ — the ability to adapt and self-manage in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges

Who doesn’t love a good surprise?
Actually, I get more fun and joy out of surprising others with gifts or doing something special for them. But there was one Christmas where I accidentally ruined a surprise for my daddy.
When I was nine years old, my mom went back to work part time at the Halls Rexall Drug Store. That Christmas she had a little more money to spend on presents, so she wanted to buy something special for Daddy since he worked long hard hours.

This recipe had a big surprise hidden in it: cooked chopped chicken. If there is not enough turkey for supper, extend it by using this recipe. The flavor will still be there and your family will never suspect you tricked them. Combine all ingredients. Spoon into buttered 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Bake at 400 F. for 30 minutes or until center is set. Serves 4.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Being “green” is becoming a lifestyle these days, so as the holidays approach you may be pondering over which is better for the environment, a real tree or an artificial one. It's a personal choice, but here are some facts to consider.

Since our Thanksgiving writing contest was such a success, we have decided to offer another writing contest for Christmas and/or New Year’s resolutions.

As with our Thanksgiving contest, we are asking for your favorite memory, worst memory, strangest happening, or most heartwarming story for printing in our last publication before Christmas.

The Union County Retired Teachers Association invites anyone who supports public education for all to an informative lecture by Dr. Derek Black on December 7, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. at Clinton High School’s Little Theater. The lecture is described as outlining “the vital importance of public education to American democracy and history that public education and democracy share” and is open to the public. Dr. Derek Black is a former student of retired Clinton HS English teacher Dewayne Emert, President-Elect of the Tennessee Retired Teachers Association.who taught English at CHS for 39 years.

There are a few things I didn’t inherit from my momma. One is height. I am short where as she is slightly taller than average. Another is decorating skills. She is amazing at decorating for the holidays. Me, not so much, but she did teach me how to decorate a Christmas Tree. Let’s just say the process isn’t as easy as it sounds.
If you use a real tree, it starts in picking the right one at the Christmas tree lot. For us,
we didn’t just go in and select one after a few minutes. Never ever did we pick the first tree

Here is another way to fix leftover turkey from that Thursday bird. Toss stuffing mix with turkey or chicken broth, beaten eggs and half of mushroom soup. Top with cooked turkey or chicken. Combine remaining undiluted soup with milk, pimiento and parsley. Pour over all. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 F. for 55 to 60 minutes or until set. Makes 8 generous servings.

A HUGE thanks to all those who entered our Thanksgiving Writing Contest! Congratulations to our First Place writer, Stephen Lyn Bales!
Stephen has won a $50 Visa gift card!
Stephen grew up in Gatlinburg. He's a local naturalist and nature writer and has written three books "Natural Histories," Ghost Birds," and "Ephemeral by Nature" all published by the University of Tennessee Press.
Read his story below:

When the air feels crisp and a gentle wind lifts the colorful leaves from their branches before they swiftly swirl to the ground, my heart swells with memories of the women in my life who made the holidays special.
Their tender voices and the smell of my favorite dishes they’d prepare resonate through my mind. For a moment, with my eyes closed, those memories feel like the present.

Union County citizens recognize the work and sacrifice of the over 3800 veterans living in this county. These vets have served in World War II, Vietnam, in the Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan wars as well as served stateside and in support positions. Right now, their first and foremost calling is to support any honorable discharged veteran. Christmas is one of their busy times as they shop for food to fill large boxes for about 40 vets. Every year, they put on a Christmas party for kids who may not have much of a Christmas providing food and presents for all.

Turkey has one big problem. There is often too much of it, whether it's the turkey breast or the whole bird. Thankfully, there are a number of ways to use leftover turk. I don't think noodles every saw anything they didn't like. They certainly like turkey. This recipe is a bit different.

When I was a child, my dad worked for a while for the school system in maintenance. I remember he bought a cabinet model stereo and a wringer washing machine from Shoffner’s Furniture and Appliance. He had Irby Monroe make a stand for the small stereo to sit on so that I couldn’t reach inside and mess with the mechanics while those 33 1/3 RPM records were played. The joke was on Dad—I stood in a chair and watched the records spin on the turntable. I loved to listen to that stereo.

Leftover ham doesn't freeze well. So what do you do with it? Make this loaf. In mixing bowl, combine ground ham and pork. In a medium bowl with electric mixer, combine eggs, bread crumbs and milk. Mix well. With into meat with hands. Place a greased 8 by 4 inch loaf pan, forming dome with hands. Top with pineapple slices and maraschino cherries. Bake in preheated 300 F. oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, basting with pineapple juice. Slice and serve with pieces of pineapple and cherries. Serves 6.

Big Ridge State Park needs your opinion on its new Strategic Master Plan. So what is a Strategic master Plan and why should you voice your opinion? The main reason is the plan will drive the changes that occur in the park for the next 10 years and some changes will effect the park for many more years after that. Submit your comments online at https://www.tn.gov/environment/parks-conservation/ppp/form.html.

Many of you may have met Beverly Berry, the area coordinator for Quilts of Valor at the UC Heritage Festival. Beverly collected donations to purchase material to sew the Quilts of Valor. The mission of the Quilts of Valor is to cover service members and veterans with healing quilts of valor. Quilts are of a specific size with a label of authenticity and the awarding of the quilt is recorded.

The Union County Commission met with the Union County School Board during the Board's regular October workshop to have an opportunity to ask questions regarding the new middle school. Specifically, commissioners wanted to know if the middle school sports fields are included in the current plan and if the timeline for completing the sports fields would cause a lapse in availability if the jail is constructed on the current middle school football field. The first concern was put to rest before the architects even arrived.

There is still a lack of high-certainty evidence on the effectiveness and safety of commonly used painkillers (analgesics) for short bouts of low back pain, finds an analysis of the evidence published by The BMJ.

As the Thanksgiving season approaches, many families and children are giving thanks for all their blessings and sharing those blessing with children in need by packing shoeboxes with Operation Christmas Child.

Sandra Kay (White) Nunley attended the University of Tennessee from 1966 to 1972. She graduated in June 1972 with a B. S. She received her professional certification in September 1972. She returned to UT in the summer of 1974 through 1975 for additional coursework, receiving credit for 45 hours.
From 1974 through 1981 Sandra worked for the Douglas-Cherokee and Mountain Valley EOA Headstart programs in Sevier, Claiborne, Campbell and Union counties.