The Union County Health Council meets the third Thursday of each month at noon at Cherokee Health Systems, and meetings are open to the public. Last year the Health Council worked with the Health Department to complete a health assessment to determine the needs in our county.

You will never meet a more loyal and loving lady than Joy Richardson Corum. She grew up in the Norwood community in Knoxville, but has deep roots and strong connections to Union County. She is the oldest of three children, having a brother four years younger and a sister nine years younger. The family lived in the same little loving home nestled into the all-American neighborhood from the time she was five until she married.

Could you give a speech on an important topic affecting society today with only three minutes to prepare? In early January, that is exactly what Kaleb Hanna, a Union Count 4-H member, did when he gave an impromptu speech at the 4-H Western National Roundup in Denver, Colorado.

From small acorns, large oak trees grow, and so did a Union County gospel group. This group started jamming about 1978, so said one of the founding members to me. They included Jerry Cole, Sr., Bill Turner, Neal Walker, and Dannie Peters.
Then they became known as Union Grass, a bluegrass and bluegrass gospel band. Union Grass started entertaining at bluegrass festivals, local churches and pie suppers. They always closed with a bluegrass gospel song or a gospel song by Hank Williams.

Your back is a complicated structure of bones, joints, ligaments and muscles. You can sprain ligaments, strain muscles, rupture disks, and irritate joints, all of which can lead to back pain. While sports injuries or accidents can cause back pain, sometimes the simplest of movements—for example, picking up a pencil from the floor—can have painful results. In addition, arthritis, poor posture, obesity, and psychological stress can cause or complicate back pain.

For the fifth year in a row, the Sharps Chapel chapter of the Tennessee Association of Family and Community Education (FCE) has kept their tradition of an annual book donation to the Sharps Chapel Elementary School library. The club held its annual Christmas luncheon this year at The Winery at Seven Springs Farm. They each shared the books they picked, commenting that it was so much fun to shop for the books. Nine members attended the luncheon. More than 20 books were donated.

A tradition since 2014, the Dewey Decimals book club at Sunset Bay made their 6th annual book donation to the Sharps Chapel Elementary School library at their annual Christmas brunch at the Sunset Bay clubhouse. They gathered around the fire to see what treasures were donated this year. This is the highlight of the year for many of the members, who share with others in the group why they picked the books they did—often because of memories from their childhood. This year, over 30 books were donated. The club has donated thousands of dollars worth of books to the library over the years.

Congratulations to these students on their outstanding accomplishments!
Perfect Attendance:
Pre-K: Caiden Blankenship, Hayden Cooke, McKenna Tharp, Nathaniel Tharp, Keela Kiser, Brooklyn Canada, Beau Lawson, Zayla Stair
Kindergarten: Adrianna Leonard, Brooklyn Mingie, Camden Murray Peyton Chandler, McKynna Huling, Keaton Mathis, Colton Surrett, Emerie Tolliver
1st Grade: Jake Beeler, Briley Cantrell, Hailee Hensley, Hunter McBee, Kinsley Owens,Mason Adkins, Braden Coaker, Jace Naglitch, Marlee Weaver, Alexis Bullen, Delylah Rohrbach ,Wyatt Williams

I like bananas. I like banana bread. Well, not all banana breads. Most sort of taste like bananas and get hard as a rock after a few days. I found one that stays soft for a week. Of course, I keep it in the fridge, not out on the counter.
Banana bread is a luxury I learned about after World War ll. Growing up, my mother only had that old Detroit Times Cookbook with an assortment of so-so recipes. They were collected from subscribers to the newspaper. You might think they sent in their best recipes. If they did, they were third-rate cooks. Some were downright awful.

Not too long ago, I wrote an article about meeting a celebrity at a sports and memorabilia show in Cleveland, Ohio. It was not my first time at something like this.
My first visit to a sci-fi, collector’s, and/or comic convention—or “con”—was at SaltCon in Utah. I went there twice and met some very interesting people. I have also been to MegaCon in Orlando a couple of times as well. Still, my favorite was AdventureCon, which was held in Knoxville.