By Steve Roark
Volunteer Interpreter, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.
Confession time: I am not good at math. I use it, it’s great, we went to the moon with it, yada yada.
I don’t think well mathematically and must strive to understand it. But I was amazed to discover that trees use mathematics to arrange their leaves on a twig to optimize their collection of sunlight for the photosynthesis thing.
Leonardo da Vinci picked up on this long ago. The “impress your friends” word of the day is phyllotaxis: the arrangement of leaves on a stem in relation to each other.

Ruth Suckow was an early- to mid-twentieth century American writer. She is worth a Google search and a Wikipedia read. One of Ms. Suckow’s short stories, “A Start in Life,” was published in school literature texts during the latter half of the twentieth century.
“A Start in Life” recalls an episode of a poor country girl named Daisy who was “hired out” to work for a well-to-do family that lived a respectable distance from her home. This is both her first time away from home and her introduction to the world of work.

Who doesn't like Tacos or Taco Salad? Try this recipe. If salt is a problem for you, you can limit the salt. These tacos get their flavor from the chili powder and the cumin. If you don't have any taco shells on hand, make your own. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you. It goes together easily.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
1936 was a good year and a bad year. The depression was still raging. The Nazis were being emboldened by the pacifist actions of both Britain and the United States, although the United States had ramped up air and army support against the Japanese military and their savagery in China and Burma. There was peace in the United States and Roosevelt’s programs were improving poverty in most of the U.S. But war clouds swirled.

If you’re ever looking for produce and fresh vegetable plants, meats, honey, flowers, and yummy baked goods, the Union County Farmers Market is the place to go. Not only will you get a good price for local, wholesome goods, but you get the unique chance to meet the producers too! You can speak with them and learn firsthand how best to prepare or store the goods you are purchasing. And no worries about second-hand items or repackaged things, everything you find at the Union County Farmers Market is first-rate and has been picked or prepared that day, or the day before.

Whether an elected official or appointed official, there are hundreds of people serving Maynardville and its neighboring communities within Union County in local, county, and state government offices every day. Some carry familiar titles (thanks to fictional TV characters and highly publicized local elections), such as City Commissioner, Mayor, or County Sheriff. There are dozens of other titles, not as commonly known but no less vital, that are given to people who are as dedicated to our communities as high-profile positions.

State Rep. Dennis Powers, R- Jacksboro, today announced a $221,516 emergency broadband grant would be awarded to Campbell County through the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund allotment from the federal government.

The grant is part of $61 million in emergency broadband package for 62 projects announced by Gov. Bill Lee last week and distributed by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (ECD) to improve access to broadband internet across the state.

Baby boomers have become increasingly active as they age. One thing to keep in mind is that
when you are 50, you may injure your body more easily than when you were 20. Joints,
tissues and muscles may not be as flexible as they used to be. So as boomers age, they should
take extra steps to protect themselves from injuries when exercising. A little extra stretching
before and after exercise, for example, goes a long way.

Here are some tips to help boomers prevent exercise-related injuries:

When I ask kids why trees are important their number one answer is that they produce oxygen. Plant leaves are solar collectors that take sun energy to produce food through the miracle of photosynthesis, a complex chemical process where carbon dioxide and water are converted to a glucose sugar. This sugar is used for food energy or converted to a starch called cellulose for building the plant’s body (stem, limbs, etc.). In trees we call this wood, something we use a lot of.

How many of us old-timers remember the television theme song to Cheers—“sometimes you want to go, where everybody knows your name”? Sometimes we are the exact opposite—we want to go where no one knows anything about us.

I received an email today that gave me pause for thought. Some people worry about being in the “in” crowd. That is usually a place I do not crave, as the admission price is sometimes greater than I wish to pay. According to the thoughts expressed in the email, I may have tried, possibly even succeeded, more often that I thought.