By Mike Steely John Murrell died a young man but in his brief lifetime he had ventured across Tennessee and Kentucky and raised a lot of fear, murdered a few folks, stolen from many others, and left his stamp on our history and legends. Murrell was born about 1806, some say in Virginia and some […]
By Joe Rector I’m fascinated by business pitches on television. Some of them, such as E Trade or Aflac, are funny. Others like Northern toilet paper or Viagra are nothing short of inappropriate. One thing is for sure: none of them paint life as it really exists. One particular subject confounds me. It’s the commercial […]
By Steve Hunley Despite some claims to the contrary, there are some things the Tennessee General Assembly needs to fix. Our superintendent of schools has loudly proclaimed his support for the evaluation system of teachers, which was enacted in Nashville. Frankly, Dr. Jim McIntyre’s support for the new evaluation system is less because he thinks […]
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Domestic violence occurs across all segments of our society, regardless of race, education, income or sexual orientation. Whether you are aware of it or not, you likely have neighbors who are or have been victims of domestic violence. My hope is that you will take something from this […]
Gibbs High junior to run at Pomona in NHRA finals By Steve Williams California, Here I Come! That’s the feeling around Dylan Kiser’s family these days. Kiser’s outstanding career as a junior drag racer ended quietly in the National Hot Rod Association Division 2 Bracket Finals October 3-6 in Atlanta, but before that weekend was […]
By Ray Hill The name Gore conjures in Tennessee thoughts of former Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., but his father was a very successful politician in an age when it was a more respectable profession and the rough and tumble of Tennessee politics was hard fought. Albert Gore, Sr. represented Tennessee in Congress for thirty-two […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson October in Knoxville is wonderful– or as they say in Italian, “bellissimo.” About the time you get sick of one season, another comes along. I went out the other day and I felt it. The cooler, dryer weather made me know “Fall is in the air.” I’ve been on five continents […]
By Alex Norman There are few athletes from East Tennessee that have accomplished as much in their professional careers as Tyson Clabo, a 2000 graduate of Farragut High School. But because his trade is a rather anonymous one, on the offensive line in the National Football League, his achievements have gone unnoticed to many. “East […]
By Steve Williams It’s halftime of the 2013 University of Tennessee football season and the Vols are 3-3. That’s no big surprise. But UT easily could be 5-1 right now and 2-0 in Southeastern Conference. On the other hand, they could be 2-4 overall. Let’s look back. Tennessee began the Butch Jones era against Austin […]
By Mike Steely Seems Jimmy Carter can’t get much respect, doesn’t it? Although the peanut farmer and nuclear scientist from Georgia is one of the presidents of our nation to get a street named for him in our fair city, the street is only a couple of blocks long and, with the construction there, the […]
The opinions expressed by Focus columnists and those providing comments are theirs alone, and may not reflect the opinions of The Knoxville Focus or any employee thereof.