Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil, having long sides extend 2 inches over sides of pan. Spray with cooking spray. Sift dry cake mix, if lumpy. In mixing bowl, combine cake mix, Cool Whip and egg. Beat with mixer until well blended. Batter will be stiff. Add white chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. Mix well. Spread in prepared pan. Bake at 350 F. for about 25 minutes in preheated oven or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan, use foil handles to lift brownies from pan before cutting into bars. Makes 24 bars.

Join Ranger Holly Frerichs for an overnight experience in the backcountry of Norris Dam State Park on April 12-13. This is a beginner-friendly workshop for women where we will learn best practices for overnight camping and some survival tactics. The hike to the campsite is four moderate miles in and the same route back out. This workshop is open to women and girls 15 and older. Minors must have an adult or guardian present on the trip.

We will meet at 1 p.m. to check off the gear list and pack up everyone's bags, then hit the trail.

Looking for a fun and creative way to spend your winter mornings? Sign up for our Winter Painting Class, where you’ll learn to paint a beautiful piece while supporting a great cause! We will be painting a cow!

📅 Dates: Wednesday, February 12th & February 26th
⏰ Time: 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
📍 Location: Union County Extension Office
💰 Cost: $40 (includes supplies) – $10 will go toward our FCE as a fundraiser!

🔹 Must attend both sessions
🔹 No experience needed
🔹 Limited to 10 participants – sign up soon! Call 865-992-8038 to reserve your spot!

I once received an email that stated that the winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid. I’m sure that anyone who has ever seen Niagara Falls in person and witnessed the sheer force of the millions of gallons of water that flow per minute would find this amazing!

By Steve Roark
Volunteer Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

Eastern White pine is a very handsome tree widely used for landscaping, windbreaks, and visual barriers. It can be hard to find in natural stands here locally, and most of what you see has been planted. There is also a species west of the Mississippi called western white pine.

A new scientific review of 148 studies enrolling over 4.3 million adult chronic pain patients treated with prescription opioid painkillers has found that nearly one in ten patients experiences opioid dependence or opioid use disorder and nearly one in three shows symptoms of dependence and opioid use disorder. The researchers divided the 148 studies into four general categories, depending on how the studies defined problematic opioid use.

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to ask for help, but you really, really didn’t want to?

This recently happened to me. It was on the Tuesday after the last snow. That is my day to watch my little grandson, Maverick. The picture with this article is of him. Anyway, when I pulled into my daughter’s driveway, I immediately knew there was going to be a problem. The only place I saw that was clear from ice and snow was in front of her kennel. I knew I couldn’t park there because customers would be using that spot to drop off and pick up their dogs. So, I had no choice but to park in the grass still covered with snow.

When you think of Girl Scouts, delicious cookies often come to mind. However, for our girls, the focus extends beyond cookies. They are dedicated to reaching their full potential by trying new things, forming lasting friendships, helping others and the community, engaging in fun activities, and building a sisterhood within their troop. These principles were established by Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, who started the very first troop over 100 years ago in 1912. This gathering ignited and unlocked many potentials for young girls across America.

Several Union County students were recognized by the UC Board of Education for their outstanding performance in competitions covering academics and the arts at the Tennessee BETA Club Convention. These students may now compete at the National BETA Club Convention in Florida in June. During the workshop, Lily Rouse performed a dance that she choreographed, and Luke Goforth sang and played a ukelele during the meeting. Several displayed items they had entered in the competition including drawings, sculpture and photographs.

The Board of Education recognized students across Union County who achieved perfect scores on the Collaborative Assessments Solutions for Educators (CASE), This assessment is used by Union County educators to determine the rigor and strengh of instruction with regards to the state TCAP test. The assessment mirrors the TCAP and helps to project the TCAP results.