How can a poinsettia be unhappy, you say? Let me tell you this sorry tale. It began Easter 2018 when I donated two Easter lilies for the altar at church. They were returned to me after the holiday. That is the usual procedure.
I sat the lilies, still with blooms, on a bookcase below a southern exposure window in my office at the back of my house. I watered them from time to time during that summer. By fall, the leaves had fallen and the stalk was dead. I stopped watering them, but they remained at the window. I cut off their stalks.

My church celebrated the beginning of Advent December 1st by carrying out the “hanging of the green” tradition of decorating the church sanctuary for the Christmas season. Our pastor explained the meaning of the Advent tradition, which was good because while I had heard of it, I didn’t really know what it about. I’m all about old traditions, and so it sparked my own research on the subject, which I thought I would share.

Christmas can be such a magical time of the year, even under adversity….

There was a Christmas when I wondered if we’d be able to give our young children Christmas presents. I had begun working for the McMinn County School system a few months earlier and we were still recovering from six months of unemployment.

How fast are you traveling right now?

Hopefully, your answer is something like “zero” or “I’m not moving at all” unless you are reading this as a passenger in a car, plane or bus. Whatever your answer is, I can say with a reasonable amount of assurance that you are wrong. Some of you may be way ahead of me here, but my guess is that most of you never give this subject much thought. I’m about to change all of that. I’m sorry–and you’re welcome.

Forgotten roots, abandoned family, lost love and three Christmas tragedies all made Chloe Coleman who she is today. When forced to choose, will she stay with the life it took ten years to build, or put aside the memories of a devastating past to become the person she is called to be in the present?

Theatrics and performing arts will soon take the stage in Maynardville. A local Union County native, Michael Bailey, brings his passion of the arts along with years of experience to the county with the introduction of Thunder Road Theatre.
Bailey, age 22, has many theater productions under his belt with several major fundraisers, such as last year’s T1D: Zombie Edition at Wilson Park for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He began in theater as early as elementary school and it soon became something he loved dearly.

Each year, the Union County Business & Professional Association chooses a man and a woman to serve as ambassador to promote cooperation among the business and professionals for the benefit of the citizens. These individuals exemplify the spirit of community service and use their knowledge and expertise to make Union County a better place to live, work, play and pray. The UCBPA Man & Woman of 2019 are Gary England and Melanie Dykes.

At the November Union County Commission meeting, Vice Mayor Gary England presided since Mayor Bailey was chaperoning his son's school trip to the BETA Convention.
The October minutes and one notary were approved.
Gary England referenced the Mayor's Report and requested that commissioners review the printed report and contact Mayor Bailey with any questions they may have.
Sheriff Breeding reported 748 calls, eight wrecks with injury, 30 wrecks with no injury, 136 booked, 146 released and 89 as the current jail population for the month of October.

Pet owners in and around the Paulette community now have a veterinarian next door. Located just up the road from Paulette Elementary School and only eight minutes from Halls, Thunder Road Veterinary Services, LLC celebrated their grand opening last month during a ribbon cutting and open house with family and friends. There were free prizes, raffles, discounted merchandise, facility tours of the new veterinarian clinic and a food truck.

Milan Baptist Church wants children in need around the world to receive a gift this Christmas season and to experience the love and hope that we find in Jesus Christ.
For the seventh year, Milan Baptist Church has partnered with the Samaritan’s Purse project, Operation Christmas Child, to make a difference in the lives of children affected by war, disease, disaster, poverty and famine. The annual project takes empty shoeboxes and turns them into gifts filled with fun toys, school supplies, and hygiene items that will be delivered to children in need around the world.