What comes to mind when you hear the word stim? Most think of the stem of a plant or Stem (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) classes in schools. One of the words that is commonly associated with autism is stim or stimming. Stimming is clinically described as a self-stimulatory behavior and is characterized by repetitive motions, sounds and/or other behaviors.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
Sitting on my porch listening to “Analog” by Brennen Leigh. Brennen is a songwriter, singer and excellent guitar player. She is a breath of fresh air in country music. Brennen left Austin, Texas, for Nashville and I hope Nashville doesn’t ruin her. Brennen released a tribute album to Lefty Frizzell and it’s a great album. Brennen has lots of her songs on the internet. Here are some of her songs, “Same Dream,” “In Texas in a Band,” and “Carole With an E.” Check her out. Brennen is also a 5-ft.-10-in. beauty.

I often looked for the largest turkey i could afford, just so i would have leftover turkey. I don't do that any more with just Anne and me at home. Here is another recipe from my past you might like.

By Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
With Thanksgiving approaching thoughts turn to the first English colonial settlement in America. If you remember your history lessons, the first attempts to colonize the New World were the Roanoke Colony in 1587 and the Jamestown Colony in 1607. The Roanoke Colony disappeared without a trace and has been the subject of much speculation ever since.

This past Sunday my Pastor used John 6:60 for his sermon text. That particular passage reads as follows: “Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?”

His thought was basically “Jesus had a lot of followers while everything seemed to be going well. However, once Jesus began to talk about spiritual matters, and the hardships that would soon come upon himself and his followers, many of them left and walked no more with Jesus. (John 6:66)

It’s sometimes unavoidable that we have to lift a heavy or cumbersome object. Using some basic precautions, you can minimize the likelihood of pulling a muscle or otherwise injuring yourself in the process of lifting.

My passion for stories comes from my mother reading to me every night before I went to sleep. I don’t think she realized at the time just how much they impacted me.

Plainview Planning Commission and Board of Aldermen continued discussion of auxiliary dwelling units at the regular October meeting but took no action. Jordan Rockwell, City Planner, offered two ordinances but neither received action. Rockwell will revise the suggested ordinances based on the discussion. The Board of Aldermen decided to drop the request for MTAS to develop a noise ordinance for Plainview. In a housekeeping motion, Plainview changed a resolution number that was out of sequence.

A new addition to the 20th Union County Heritage Festival was the Youth Talent Show performed at Woods Heritage Music Theater and hosted by Jim Woods. Four talented musicians entertained and displayed their knowledge of several instruments. Thirteen-year-old Levi Fritts played his own arrangement of John Williams music from a variety of movies. Williams wrote the score for Jaws, Star wars, and Jurassic Park. Levi played a medley of six scores on the keyboard.

The Union County Heritage Festival vendors displayed a multitude of crafts and ingenuity at the event last month.

The Rocky Top Award went to Johnnie B. Blooms for the depiction of the theme “Remembering Grandpa.” The flower business is located on land owned by Mary Flatford's grandfather and she displayed a timeline with pictures of her grandfather showing how the land and her grandfather had changed over time.