Area News

By J. Dale Beaty Thursday at 1 p.m. at the Extension office I have scheduled a pesticide certification class for area farmers. This class will qualify you to receive your Private Applicators Certification card from the state Department of Agriculture. Farmers need this card to purchase restricted use pesticides for their farm operations. All pesticides…

A book on Confederate soldiers was recently donated to the Magness Community House and Library. ‘Our Confederate Ancestors,’ focuses on soldiers buried in Cumberland, Putnam, Van Buren, White, Warren and other counties. The book is a four-year project of the Captain Sally Tompkins #2123, United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter to honor the 200th birthday…

Who are the great songwriters in America today? Not the most popular. Not the richest. Simply the greats. Ask any student of the form and Janis Ian will be counted among them. Janis’s most successful single was ‘At Seventeen,’ released in 1975, a bittersweet commentary on adolescent cruelty and teenage angst. ‘At Seventeen’ received acclaim…

From classic Greek literature to the urban beat of modern poetry, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center will complement classroom learning next year with a culturally diverse mix of music, theatre, comedy and dance for young people. Highlights of the upcoming annual season of TPAC Education’s “Humanities Outreach in Tennessee” (HOT) include the Fisk Jubilee Singers,…

By Margo Howard Dear Margo: I am a 26-year-old woman in a loving relationship with my fiance. There have been a lot of changes in my life recently, what with graduating college and looking forward to dental school in June. And, we just found out I am pregnant. To further complicate things, I have had…

By Margaret Hobbs Award-winning cook John Goforth retrieves what’s left of his Strawberry Crumb Pie, following the judging in the dessert contest. Goforth not only cooks, but grows an abundance of vegetables and plants to sell at the market. Strawberries, the sweet fruit cultivated simply with taste in mind. Locally, the growing season has been…

Pocono Raceway is not for sale. Rose Mattioli told The Associated Press on Tuesday that her family has no plans to sell the NASCAR track, which currently has two Sprint Cup races. ‘It never was available; it never will be available,’ said Mattioli, who owns the track with her husband, Joseph. ‘My husband has stated…

A jog around the racetrack was all trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. needed to see before declaring Big Brown back ‘ and maybe better than before. ‘He looks like an absolute picture,’ a delighted Dutrow said Tuesday morning after his Triple Crown hopeful resumed training while continuing to heal from a slight crack on the inside…

Editor’s note: Butler Smith died in December after being struck by a vehicle while in his wheelchair. This article was written by Lisa Smartt about his military service in connection with Veteran’s Day, but it applies to military service in general. William Butler Smith was going to war. It wasn’t by choice. But it wasn’t…

By Lisa Hobbs City elected officials received their first look at the proposed 2008/2009 budget. The budget is considered to have ‘no frills’ and is without a tax increase and no donations to non-profit organizations. The future could hold some lean times for city government and city employees. According to the proposed budget, on June…