Director Jimmy Carter offered the Union County Board of Education a balanced budget with no tax increase at the regular April meeting.
The budget meets Governor Lee’s request of a $40,000 beginning salary for teachers and building the current salary bonus into the overall certified employee pay scale.

You may have heard that due to the pandemic, the TN Health Department has canceled its annual rabies clinics this year.
Thunder Road Veterinary Services office manager Heather Patterson is happy to share that they are hosting low-cost rabies and other crucial vaccinations for your pets Wednesday, May 7, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Rabies shots are only $5, and other vaccines are available at discounted rates.
The groomer, Mitzi, will do quick nail trims, or you may schedule grooming services by calling the office.

Create a DIY sit/stand station. The popularity of standing desks has increased significantly over the past several years. You can create your own standing desk at home by simply working at a raised kitchen counter, for example, but be sure that the height of the counter does not cause you to bend your elbows too much. You should be able to comfortably reach your keyboard with elbows bent at about a 90-degree angle.

Perhaps I should have entitled this article “What’s Wrong with Christianity?”
The answer to both questions are not synonymous, but they are related.
Plus questioning what is wrong with Christianity is too subjective, as evidenced by the various Christian denominations found throughout the world. Denominations, including religious sects, are greatly influenced by personal feelings or opinions.

The bluegrass style of music was born out of rural Appalachia. Folks around the hills and hollers would gather and have fellowship bringing with them their stringed instruments.
These traditions are still carried on in these parts today. Many of these bluegrass pickers went on to influence country music like Roy Acuff from Maynardville. Roy was a fiddle player and singer that became one of the founders of the Grand Ole Opry.

If you were hoping to get to the Union County High School in time for purchasing flowers and garden plants, you may have started a bit late. Horace Maynard FFA secretary Josh Brantley says 2021 has been a fantastic selling season.

While crazy, odd things do happen to me, some of them are quite incredible and beneficial.
For instance, I had an amazing thing happen during a softball game when I was twelve years old. I was playing second base and there was a runner on first. The batter hit the ball to the outfield.

I like pork sausage as you can tell by the number of recipes I have that include it. Just making patties and frying them can make a rock-like nugget if you get them too brown.
This recipe is nice and tender. The extra time it takes to mix it up is worth it. I like to get my hands in there to do that. I understand that not everyone is inclined. Mix them any way you want. They will be delicious.

By: Steve Roark
Volunteer Interpreter, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Our forefathers paid a lot more attention to natural events than we do now. They had no radio, TV, or newspaper to provide weather trends, so they looked to nature to tell them when to plant beans or when to strip hickory bark for chair bottoms. They didn’t know it but they were practicing phenology: the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate, plant, and animal life.

Most people in the room gasped. Some even laughed. As for me, I felt sorry for the guy.

I was around ten years old as I sit in the crowded doctor’s office with my mom. In walks this young man with a red gash on the end of his nose. Of course, those sitting around him asked what happened. With a red face, he told about jerking back on his fishing rod, which caused the now bait-less hook to hurtle toward him. Before he realized what was happening, it had dug into the end of his nose. Since the hook was a little rusty and had dried worm guts on it, he needed to get a Tetanus shot.

Kangaroos are not native to Union county, Tennessee. It is usually too big of a hop from Australia to this neck of the woods. I have never seen a live one. The zoos of my childhood didn't stray much from the lion, tiger and monkey varieties. No Kangaroos.

Bars are the easiest cookies to make. This one looks fancy but is easy to make. I like peanut butter and hope you do, too.

Young Life is a Christian ministry that reaches out to middle school, high school, and college students in the United States and in countries around the world. Locally, Young Life ministers to students at Union County High School, Claiborne High School, and on campus at LMU.
Katies Collins is the Area Director serving Union and Claiborne County.

More work-at-home suggestions to reduce stress on the body:

Use a keyboard tray and pull it out over your lap. If you use a laptop, use it as a screen only, placing it at eye level with a stand or a stack of books. Get a remote keyboard to use with your laptop computer. To avoid neck pain, keep your screen at eye level whether you use a laptop or monitor. Put books underneath your monitor to raise it or use a stand, if necessary.

Ask a stupid question and you get a stupid answer, or so the old saying goes. It would seem logical that the Hundred Years’ War lasted 100 years, but actually it lasted 116 years. All of us are not Vulcans, and logic doesn’t always work, Mr. Spock.
A question with a less obvious answer might be: What kind of horse did Joe Cartwright ride on Bonanza? The correct answer: a pinto!

This recipe is simple. It's mostly just sweet potatoes and bananas. You do have to cook the sweet potatoes first. That's okay. That gives you time to find your deep 2 quart casserole dish and assemble the remaining ingredients. Canned orange juice is okay, too. There's not much to the recipe, just takes a few minutes to prepare.

Last year on March 1st I was so happy to share the exciting news of the Union County Opry with our readers! I concluded the article with the news that I had a copy of their schedule on my refrigerator and was looking forward to catching some of their shows, inviting you to join me. Then the Coronavirus hit. Our world seemed to stop spinning as the pandemic raged on. I confess that it was an unreasonably long time before I could bear to remove that show lineup, well into the Fall, long after any hope was gone.

The following Luttrell Elementary School students achieved the honor roll.

A Honor Roll
1st Grade: Blake Hall, Jaxon Hall, Colton Surrett, Liam Bussell, McKynna Huling, Adrianna Leonard, and Keaton Mathis
2nd Grade: Ava Chamberlain, Ava Hoskins, Meyah Meza, Kinsley Ownes, Davey Reed, Marlee Weaver, Bree Williams, Presley Wyrick, Landon Whiteaker, Briley Cantrell, Jake Beeler, Olivia Harris, Cheyenne Heath, Jace Naglitch, and Emmie Jo Nirmaier

The Red Devils hosted Clinton and blasted four home runs against them. Ty Edds found his swing and led the way with two home runs. Tucker Flannigan and Brandon Reed also joined the festivities, both going deep. Flannigan, Harlen Hunley, Edds and Reed all had multiple hits. Reed and Flannigan led the Devils with 3 hits out of 3 at bats each. Ty Edds started on the rubber for the Red Devils throwing four innings and gave up zero hits and zero earned runs. The Red Devils' win over Clinton secured 1st place in the conference with a record of 8-0 in the conference and 9-2 overall. The Red Devils play Rutledge Friday, 16th at 5:00 for their 8th grade night.

I grew up as a valley girl. An East Tennessee valley girl, which is the best kind.
By now, most of you probably know I was raised on my maternal Papaw’s farm. It’s located in a valley with ridgelines that run along the southern and western sides with Bull Run Creek flowing through it. On the other sides, the ridgelines are a little further away. It makes for quite the view. And it made for quite the excitement at times, especially with the weather.

If you like Honey-Mustard Sauce on your chicken, you'll like this. No mustard needed here, just enjoy the buttery honey flavor. Sometimes I forget how good chicken tastes when sweetened. But if you've never tried that flavor, you are in for a treat.

Richard Phillips is well known to the residents of Plainview, where he serves as vice mayor and alderman. What is not as well known is that when he is not working for the city and his constituents, he spends his spare time with his favorite hobby: woodcarving.

The impact of COVID-19 on learning, especially in elementary reading and math, continues to be a concern for Union County as well as our state and nation. To mitigate some of the pandemic's impact on learning, Dr. Jimmy Carter announced at the March Union County Board of Education meeting that summer school will be from June 1 through June 25 with a maximum class size of eighth students per teacher.

Local agriculture partners collaborated and hosted the annual National Ag Day Farmer Appreciation Breakfast on March 23. Farmers and producers from across Union County were invited to celebrate their hard work and dedication in honor of the nationally recognized day.
The farmers received a complimentary breakfast and a bag full of promotional items in recognition of their efforts throughout the year to preserve our county's farmlands and rich agricultural history.