"Reprinted with permission of GwinnettForum."

By Elliott Brack,
Editor and publisher, GwinnettForum

MARCH 17, 2026 | About 25 members of Frank Sharp’s high school class in Maynardville, Tenn., gathered Saturday at a restaurant like they do every six months. Some would learn of the death of their classmate, while all recalled memories of him.

“Is that a tornado?” As a child, I would ask this whenever I saw a whirlwind out on Papaw’s farm. It was fascinating to watch hay spin around up high in the air. For some reason, I had it stuck in my mind that all swirling winds were tornadoes. I even thought this as an adult.

Easter Sunday, April 5, 2026, at 2:00 is the perfect time to have the kiddos at Wilson Park to hunt for Easter Eggs! This annual event is free.

The Hunt will be divided into three age groups, each with its own hunting area. The breakdown will be: 1–3 year olds, 4–6 year olds, and 7-10 year olds. A total of 238 plastic eggs will be filled with candy and divided into each age group area. And each group will also have 4 Golden Eggs with REAL money inside! That’s a total of 250 eggs for the Hunt.

For too long, many of our veterans have been overlooked or forgotten. We all benefit from the freedoms protected and preserved by those who served in our armed forces. They gave selflessly of their time, knowledge, and strength, and now it is our turn to honor and support them and their families.

The March American Legion Veterans breakfast was sponsored by the UCHS Navy Junior ROTC. The speaker was Master Chief Jacob Streufert, the Senior Naval Science Instructor (SNSI) at the school. A Senior Naval Science Instructor (SNSI) is a retired Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard commissioned officer certified by the Naval Service Training Command to lead a high school NJROTC unit. The SNSI is vital for building a, "strong foundation of citizenship within America's future leaders," by maintaining high standards of military bearing and teaching cadets personal responsibility.

After a long bleak winter, it is wonderful to see wildflowers in the spring, foretelling of warmer weather and the return of color to the forest. The earliest wildflowers bloom, such as Hepatica, Trout-lily, Bloodroot, Spring-beauty, Toothwort, Mayapple, and Trillium, are called "ephemerals", meaning "lives for a day". They all bloom for a very short period when it's still cool weather. And because they are strictly insect pollinated this could be a problem, since insect activity is minimal in the early spring. Enter our hero: the Bumblebee.

Many people dread Monday mornings. Monday is the beginning of the work week for many, after at least a partial weekend rest from the duties of the previous week.
This past Monday began in the early hours of the morning at my house with a terrific and frightening wind and rain storm. The storm was all the more interesting as it occurred after a few days of warm, unseasonably early spring weather. The storm not only made Monday more challenging, it also ushered in an unpleasant cold spell.

My mom isn’t the only wolf lady that I know. Recently I had the pleasure of meeting another one: Manuela.

Some patients are not good candidates for some types of chiropractic care treatments. For example, if you have cauda equina syndrome (a condition in which you lose control of your bowel/bladder with an accompanying intervertebral disc injury), then you will need immediate medical care as this is something that cannot be treated by your chiropractor.

In addition, if your chiropractor finds that you have advanced loss of strength, sensation, reflexes, and other unusual neurological findings, then he or she will refer you to a spine surgeon.

Even with a cold front on the way, we are still so excited to see signs of Spring popping up at Norris Dam State Park! This year we have a multitude of fun events planned to get rid of the cabin fever.
You can register for these events at our website, https://tnstateparks.com/parks/events/norris-dam/#/?park=norris-dam