After a string of strong storms and heavy rain across Middle Tennessee, the weather couldn't have been better to kick off the week-long 4-H State Horse Show held in June at the National Walking Horse Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville, Tennessee.
Collette Russell traveled with her coaches, Leila and Sam Hilliard of Bull Run Ranch and Jeffery Oaks of Knoxville, and two horses, Darling and Dixie, to represent Union County 4-H at the big event.

Union County 4-H was pleased to partner again this year with Tractor Supply for their annual Clover Sale, which helps youth raise money to pay for a week at summer camp at the Clyde Austin 4-H Center in Greeneville, Tennessee.

Free event provides educational sessions, activities for all ages
JACKSON, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture is hosting their highly anticipated Summer Celebration on Thursday, July 13, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center.
This event is free to attend and open to the public.

Celebration scheduled for September 18
COLUMBIA, Tenn. – The Center for Profitable Agriculture (CPA) will commemorate 25 years of service to Tennessee farmers with a fall celebration event in Columbia, Tennessee.
A partnership between the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation, the CPA has worked hard for the past 25 years to help farmers analyze and develop value-added agriculture enterprises.

Paulette Beta Club members have secured their place in the National Competition.
For the past few months, National Beta members from Paulette have been working hard to prepare their entries for the National Beta Convention.
The club originally competed and received awards during the state convention held in November. Their victories at the state level provided an opportunity to compete at the national level.

Two 4-H teams from Union County participated in the 2023 Eastern Region Clover Bowl that was held at the Alumni Memorial Building at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
One 4th grade team from Maynardville Elementary School and one 5th grade team from Big Ridge Elementary School earned their spots in the tournament-style competition by putting in hours of studying on topics relating to 4-H, the State of Tennessee, Agriculture, and Family and Consumer Sciences to become the top competitors within their individual 4-H clubs.

Country Connections By James and Ellen Perry
It’s late March of 1962 and spring is breaking in upper East Tennessee. We have had a late snow in March of this year, but here in Union County our last snow has melted and grass is greening up.
Flowers are popping out, fishing in Norris Lake is great and life here is good.

By Robert Wyrick
Nothing is colder than a winter’s night from childhood and this was one of those nights from long ago that remains frozen in time and space. I couldn’t have been over four, for the old man’s tombstone reads nineteen thirty-eight and that would have me about that age. I was rolled in a blanket and draped over my father’s shoulder. Both arms held me tight as he walked at a brisk pace across the field toward a flickering light in the distance.

The church at Corinth had a lot of problems! The Christian Bible doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is a prime example of the blunt truth, often detailed in the pages of the Bible.

I have a relative who married on April Fool’s Day. As a result of COVID, the wedding reception was held several months later on Friday the 13th. I thought, “What brave souls.”
I also thought, “From the way some people’s marriages have turned out, these dates would have been perfect omens of what was to come!”
A politician once said, “I believe love is the answer, but you should own a gun, just in case.”
The politician wasn’t talking about marriage, but you have, Dear Reader, heard of a “shotgun wedding.”
Did you ever hear of a “shotgun divorce”?