All Union County teachers will see an increase in their pay this school year. The Union County Board of Education approved a revised teacher salary scale at its meeting on January 11.
Missy Brown, finance director, explained that the additional increase is necessary to put the salary schedule on track to meet the $50,000 state mandated beginning salary in 2028. She further noted that the additional funding will come from the state TISA Growth monies and the pay increases do keep us competitive with surrounding counties.

The Union County Budget Committee considered several items on January 29, 2024. The recent snow.caused the regular meeting to be rescheduled and held prior to the Union County Commission Meeting. The committee approved the purchase of ankle monitors for work release inmates to comply with a new state law at a cost of approximately $10,000. The committee took no action on the sheriff's proposal to spend $97,000 for a new camera system. Discussion centered around the cost and the fact that the request was not in the current budget nor did the sheriff have surplus money to fund the system.

Commissioner Sidney Jessee, Jr., who is chairman of the Union County Jail Committee, spoke to Union County Business & Professional Association at its January meeting on the locations for the new jail and the pros and cons of each location. Locating the jail on the existing middle school football field would possibly cost less.
But citizens have voiced that commission should not take away the field, especially before the new middle school field is available. Also, using the football field would still require prisoners to be transported to the courtroom for trial.

The City of Plainview Board of Aldermen discussed how to clear the roads of snow and ice at its December and January meetings. Becky Munsey made the request during a public forum.
Vice Mayor Richard Phillips chaired the meeting on January 9, and reported that negotiations were ongoing to contract with Luttrell City to brine or clear the Plainview Roads. Phillips is also exploring other methods to address the issue of snow and ice.

Leadership Union County is seeking people who want to learn more about Union County or want to get involved in the many organizations that strive to improve the quality of life in Union County. LUC is currently enrolling participants in the Class of 2024.

The Plainview Police Department will have better radio communication this year. Plainview Maintenance Department installed a new antenna at the Plainview City Hall last Tuesday, January 30, 2024. According to Vice Mayor Richard Phillips, the antenna was a planned upgrade included in the current city budget.

Several non-pharmacological therapies — including spinal manipulation, therapeutic exercise, and relaxation techniques — are typically offered by chiropractors, and are recommended as first-line or adjunctive therapy for spinal pain. The utilization of chiropractic care has been reported to be associated with reduced risk of adverse drug events in adults with spinal pain. Large scale observational studies have found that chiropractic care is associated with decreased use of opioids.

By James and Ellen Perry
It was a cold cloudy morning February 3, 1959. The best I can remember it was on Wednesday morning, and my brothers and I were at home. Our mom was at home cleaning the house, as she had been laid off for a short period from her job at Knox Porcelain Plant. I had our Philco radio tuned to WIVK in Knoxville.

We were arriving near the end of Part 1 of our Great Adventure, our Crawl Across America Trek. There were very few horse motels between Pontoon Beach, Ill., and Union County, Tenn.
And it was way too much of a drive to try to make it in just one day. We did need to try to break it down into two days on the road.
We chose a horse farm in Lexington for our final night on the road, based on the fact that it wasn’t as far off our route as all the others seemed to be.

Have you ever tried to help somebody and instead you caused a problem? I did that years ago, but I came up with a brilliant idea to solve it.
My mom and I have always been there for each other. One Saturday, I cleaned her house so she could catch up on some much-needed yard work. At this time, I was in my mid-twenties. Anyway, I was trying to maneuver the vacuum from the hallway and into the bathroom. I gave the broom a jerk, which caused ...