Randi McNutt, the owner of Cutting Crew Family Haircare, was shut down the last week of March due to Covid-19.
As of May 11, the shop is reopened, but things are a far cry from normal.
“We are wearing masks and our customers are too,” said McNutt.
Cutting Crew employs five staff members in the Maynardville shop and also has a salon in Blaine. McNutt says even with extended salon hours they are booked a week out.

Driving down the road you may enjoy seeing pasture and hay fields full of lovely yellow flowers, which are buttercups. While I agree they create an attractive scene, they are a wolf in sheep’s clothing in that they are toxic if eaten by livestock and compete with the grass for nutrients, sun and other resources.

Have you ever taken a day trip that gave you quite the unexpected surprise? We did years ago. Most people probably wouldn’t have appreciated our experience the way I did, but I have a quirky way of enjoying things.

Our trip started out innocently enough. We were traveling to Tim’s family reunion in Churchill, which is located in the northeast corner of the state. Some of the roads had been reworked since our last visit, so we were following another relative.

No, this is not a soup. It is a delicious baked mess of beans. Yes, sour and cream does get along well with baked beans.

State Rep. Dennis Powers, R-Jacksboro, and State Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, today announced the funding has been approved for the final phase of construction of State Route 33 connecting Union and Knox counties.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has completed the right-of-way phase of the development for State Route 33 (Maynardville Highway). This 5.2 mile project will adjoin the portion of State Route 33 in Union County to the Knox County line and State Route 144. The proposed project includes widening the highway from two lanes to five.

Recently, the CDC recommended wearing masks in public. Many people have regained confidence to enter super markets and other stores as result of wearing masks and gloves. However, gloves and masks, though important, should not be solely relied upon for protection. Homemade masks are not as effective as other masks like a type called N95s, and they are not always put on and taken off correctly. When wearing your mask, make sure it completely covers your mouth and nose. Make sure that you are still social distancing and only going out when necessary, even with a mask.

We all enjoy the thrill of seeing large wild animals such as a deer or bear, but imagine the adrenaline buzz if you could have seen some of the extinct animals that fossil records indicate once roamed our area not so long ago.

This is not about people outgrowing their clothes or undergarments. This is about my Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle. She and my daughter Sara share a trait I don’t have: a green thumb.

Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle could grow any flower or plant. If she planted it, it grew. As far back as I can remember, she had flowers growing next to the carport. I think they were azaleas. They were lush and in many colors. She also had a flower garden out in the front yard. That’s the one where I always loved to dig up bugs and other icky stuff. She didn’t mind as long as I didn’t dig up one of her flowers.

The problem with the French names for some very good dishes is that they sound so fancy and difficult that you are afraid to try them. Don't let the name scare you. A quiche is nothing more than an egg and onion pie. This one is fancied up with chicken livers. Try it.

When was the last time you had a haircut, color, perm, manicure, etc.? People have started saying we’re all in the same boat. Maybe we’re all in the same state of grayness.

By the time this article is published, Janet Holloway will have reopened her salon, bringing into play a whole new set of challenges to running a business.

Like many companies in Union County and beyond, Janet’s Hair Salon closed its doors March 27th thanks to the state’s mandatory shut down due to Covid-19.

“You’re so nice,” my friend Susan told me.

I shook my head and laughed. “No, I just have a Southern momma.”

My Southern momma began my training as soon as I learned how to talk and was able to communicate with others. It’s an old family tradition. My momma received most of her training from Mamaw Girdle/Myrtle.

Unfortunately for my momma, I didn’t take to my training as well as she did hers. I don’t know who was more frustrated: me or my momma.

Have you ever done the Dragon? You haven't? Well, you are in for a treat, or a treatment; whatever. Let me tell you the story of my daughter Anne's sister-in-law, Jackie. She came down to visit last summer. She has a brother over on the North Carolina side of the Smokies. Jackie has never been near the Smokies before. She needed directions on how to get to her brother.

Have you noticed those tiny frankfurters in the case near the hot dogs? How do you fix them? Why prepare them at all? That's easy. They are used as an appetizer, but need a sauce to spice up their flavor. This is a good one to try.

On March 13, 2020, Union County High student Dawson Epperson signed a basketball scholarship with Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, Tennessee (TWU). Dawson talked to several schools before making the decision to sign with TWU. TWU is a member of the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Dawson is undecided of his major at this time.

By Alyshia Victoria
4-H is a youth development organization where students are taught life skills and decision-making to live better lives, meet goals and become community leaders. As we are all adapting to rapid change and impact in our community, 4-H students are truly stepping up to meet challenges because of what they have learned from the program.
Gracie Tindell, a sixth grade 4-H student who is a part of the Smoky Mountain 4-H Club here in Union County, is one of those students.

In the final article for home tomato gardening, we will discuss fertilization, common challenges and harvest. The 2019 tomato season was my favorite because my daughter discovered the joy of planting, patiently growing, harvesting and consuming my favorite vegetable. The joy on her face when she picked and ate her first tomato filled my heart. I hope you will find the same satisfaction as the 2020 growing season approaches.
Nutrient management and fertilization

Country Connections
By James and Ellen Perry
While talking with David Farmer, who partnered with Dr. Bob Wyrick and me on an international radio show called Country Connections, David told me Carl Smith was his inspiration to become a country entertainer and songwriter.
During 1946 and 1947 when David was four or five years old, he and his mother would walk two miles down a dirt road from their home in Powell Valley to Highway 63 and catch a Greyhound bus at 7 a.m. to the LaFollette, Tennessee, Greyhound bus station.

(Kennedy, 1994) Okinawa had immense advantages with its deep harbor, airfields and could be a staging place for the eventual attack on Japan itself only 350 miles away. It could be a harborage for crippled B-17s returning from Tokyo. But first it had to be taken from the heavily entrenched Japanese. (Morison, 1965) General MacArthur came up with the idea of leap frogging the most fortified islands and letting them “die on the vine”

By Beth Bergeron
Union County Farmers Market is excited about our upcoming tenth market season. While the market may look a little different at opening on Saturday, May 9, the vision is still clear: Providing the opportunity for you to shop for fresh, locally grown, healthy farm products while supporting your community has always been part of that vision—but it is much more than that.

You taught me to wash my face
And how to use the potty.
You made me eat up all my peas
And wiped my nose when snotty.

You taught me to say thank you
Because politeness is the way.
Now that I'm grown and on my own
Would you watch the kids today?

By: Steve Roark
Volunteer: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Beautiful spring mornings are often accented with the distant sound of woodpecker drumming. During this time of year, the males use drumming on trees and even metal roofs to announce their territory and attract a mate.

The first time we visited Pigeon Forge back in the late ’80s, there was a small carnival style amusement park against a hill on one side of the road and tons of tourist shops on both sides. Dollywood was fairly new and many motels were still Mom and Pop establishments as were most of the restaurants. There were a couple of outlet malls, but there was no Titanic attraction, no Wonderworks, or Dixie Stampede, Splash Country or Hollywood Wax Museum, etc.

A few years ago, I wrote a novel called “Motes.”
The title of the book comes from the term used to describe particles of dust. Each particle is called a “mote.” There are alien creatures in the story from ten light-years away who are smaller than a dust mote. A human boy in the story mistakes one of them for an actual speck of dust and traps it in a peanut butter jar. You might be amazed at the story that develops from that.

Q: How is a chiropractic adjustment performed?

A: Chiropractic adjustment or manipulation is a manual procedure that utilizes the highly refined skills developed during the doctor of chiropractic’s intensive years of chiropractic education. The chiropractic physician typically uses his or her hands—or an instrument— to manipulate the joints of the body, particularly the spine, in order to restore or enhance joint function. This often helps resolve joint inflammation and reduces the patient’s pain. Chiropractic manipulation is a highly controlled procedure that rarely causes discomfort. The chiropractor adapts the procedure to meet the specific needs of each patient. Patients often note positive changes in their symptoms immediately following treatment.