I pass a house almost every day of my life. It is a rather nice brick structure, but I’ve noticed for some time it appears to need a roof.
Last week I noticed shingles and roofing materials in the yard. Today, workers are on site to replace the roof.
I remember the last time that house was roofed. The house originally belonged to a prominent Union County businessman. His son told me that another prominent Union Countian, Clifford Stiner, built the house. I’d say it was constructed in the late 1940s or early 1950s.

A research team set out to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness compared to cognitive behavioral therapy as treatments for chronic opioid-treated low back pain and their long-term effects. CBT is considered the standard psychotherapy for chronic pain, but its long-term benefits haven’t been well studied. To date, only 17 studies have evaluated mindfulness for chronic low-back pain and three studies have compared mindfulness and CBT.

Do you know somebody who has been struck by lightning? I’m not talking about being close to a strike. I’m referring to a bolt of lightning actually touching them. Most people don’t, but I know someone who experienced this.

The next regular workshop and meeting of the Union County Board of Education will be on Thursday, August 14, 2025 at Union County High School. The workshop will begin at 6:00 p.m. with the meeting immediately to follow.

As Union County farmers know, summer is a critical time for managing pastures—and one persistent challenge is the spread of broomsedge. Broomsedge is a true grass, not a sedge. Broomsedge is also sometimes called “sage grass” but it falls short of the mark as a forage grass. Cattle will eat it but for only a short period in the spring when the new leaves first emerge and there is nothing better available. Once the perennial, clump-forming, three-foot-tall, erect growing stems emerge in early summer broomsedge is not desirable for grazing.

Congratulate me! I crossed a great divide this week. I’ve achieved another “Big O”! I turned sixty!
In the past, I have dreaded certain “ages”. Believe it or not, I was depressed when I turned twenty. Life was great, right on target, but the teenage years were no more. Looking back, my teenage years weren’t for the most part that great, though I will say they ended better than they began.

KNOXVILLE, TN — Families, farmers, and friends are warmly invited to an evening of food, fun, and fellowship at the much-anticipated Annual Picnic & Auction, hosted by the Knox-Union Cattlemens Association on Saturday, August 2, 2025. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit 4-H programs in Knox and Union Counties, helping to cultivate the next generation of agricultural leaders.

CROSSVILLE, TN — Garden enthusiasts from across Tennessee are invited to dig into a day of horticultural inspiration at the Fall Gardeners’ Festival, hosted by the UT Plateau AgResearch and Education Center on Tuesday, August 26, 2025.

Held at 320 Experiment Station Road, the event kicks off with registration at 8 a.m. CDT, followed by a full day of presentations from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public, with no preregistration required—though attendees are encouraged to sign up in advance at tiny.utk.edu/FGF2025.

Homelessness is a complex issue with a variety of interconnected causes and a challenge for any community. Trying to help the homeless folks in a small county setting with few resources is a difficult (some say impossible) challenge. There are many points and counterpoints, many more than I had considered. The primary drivers of homelessness are a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment, often exacerbated by mental health issues, substance abuse and domestic violence. Lack of access to healthcare and support services also plays a significant role.

Behavioral interventions were associated with reduced pain and daily opioid use and improved function and quality of life for up to 12 months among adults with opioid-treated chronic low back pain, according to a new randomized clinical trial.