By: Steve Roark
Volunteer, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park

You may not be familiar with Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea), but I know you’ve seen it. It’s the earliest native tree to bloom in the woods (late March to early April) and is very striking on a hillside forest still barren and brown from winter. There is another unfortunate early blooming white flower produced by Bradford pears that are being spread by birds and is a bad invasive plant that competes with native trees.

This is the banana cream pie i used to make for the Wednesday night suppers at Revival Vision Church of God. It is quick and easy to stir up.

State and local leaders came together on March 16 to congratulate the first graduating class of the Fiber Optic Boot Camp in Union County to be certified as fiber optics technicians in fiber optic installation.
The course was made possible through the Governor's Investment in Vocational Education, better known as the GIVE Grant.
Director of Schools Dr. Jimmy Carter welcomed everyone and noted that for over four years, Union County Public Schools has been working to make sure that career and technical programs are offered that will help ensure jobs for our graduates.

On March 20, the Union County Historical Society had a full house with guest speaker Arthur M. Bohanan. He is an internationally award-winning patented inventor, researcher, lecturer and writer, a Certified Latent Print Examiner, a certified FEMA Mass Fatality Course Instructor and a certified police instructor with 55 years in study and practical application of forensics in thousands of violent crime scenes.

The Union County Commission brought the dream of a new middle school one step closer to reality at its March meeting.
Commissioners approved the Union County Board of Education (BOE) contract with Lewis Group, the architectural firm that will design the school on a motion by Commissioner Jessee and a second by Commissioner Keck.

The Union County Board of Education will partner with East Tennessee Children's Hospital to offer telehealth with parent permission for routine minor illnesses. The service will be available at Luttrell Elementary, Paulette Elementary, Horace Maynard Middle School and Union County Pre-K.
The partnership was approved with Brad Griffey in charge of the meeting on March 10, due to the absence of chair Coppock and vice-chair Gibbs. Dr. Jimmy Carter, director of schools, chaired the workshop.

Russell Biven, who was the face of Channel 10's “Live at Five” for 20 years, will be the speaker at the Union County Business & Professional Prayer Breakfast on Good Friday, April 15.
First Baptist of Maynardville is the venue for the hot breakfast catered by Tindell's Farmhouse Bakery and beverages provided by Ridge and Valley Coffee House. The invocation and breakfast begin at 8:10 with the program at 8:45. The Cox Sisters will sing before and after the keynote. “Faith and Positivity” is the theme.

The Plainview Planning Commission and the Board of Aldermen considered several business items at their March meeting. The City of Plainview Planning Commission will change its subdivision regulations for roads to require a 2-inch asphalt binder instead of the stated 2.5 inch asphalt binder.
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing before their meeting at 6:30 p.m. on April 12 to hear public comments regarding the proposal. The commission agreed to consider the change upon the recommendation of the codes enforcement officer and the city planner.

This past month each of 19 of our very own Union County 4-H members became the owners of 20 newly-hatched chicks.
These 4-H members are participating in Union County’s longest-running project group, Chick Chain, which dates back to the days of former agents Bill Morgan and Harold Julian.
This year, 4-H members had a choice of Black Sex Linked or Golden Comet chicks, which they will raise over the next few months into egg-laying hens. While these chicks sure are cute when they hatch, our 4-H kids will soon find out that this project is about much more than that.

As Erin Wilkerson sat across from Mike Williams in his Nashville office, she felt as if she had a voice as a leader of tomorrow. Little did she know that the experiences she had in 4-H, such as this one, would make her a leader of the next generation
She (now Erin Webb) is the leader of a Bioresource Science and Engineering Group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and resides in Luttrell, Tennessee, with her husband and two sons. Webb was a Union County Delegate at the Tennessee 4-H State Congress in 1992.