By Rosie Moore Did you ever get a chain letter? I did many years ago. I would read them out of curiosity then throw them away. The way my life was going as far as luck was concerned, no way was a letter going to change it! There are two types of chain letters. A […]
By Joe Rector Yes, I know that the world is filled with rules. We have plenty of guidelines that tell us what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Many folks rebel when demands become too much or too harsh. I get that, but what I don’t understand is why so […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson It was a momentous day for my friends and their entire family. Their son came home from war. He’s a naval aviator like my father seventy years ago, and had been deployed in the Persian Gulf for the last seven months. Our servicemen are exceptional people and they give me hope […]
By Alex Norman He’s become the main man on the Tennessee defense. Darrin Kirkland Jr. collected 66 tackles as a true freshman in 2015… and he’s just getting started. “Coming into year two I have more confidence and my teammates have more confidence in me so that’s the biggest thing from year 1-2,” said […]
By Ray Hill Unlike many Southern states, Oklahoma did not continuously reelect incumbent United States senators, yet John William Elmer Thomas was one of the longest serving senators from the Sooner State. When he first entered the U.S. Senate, Elmer Thomas could have come straight from central casting; tall, prematurely white haired, with a classic […]
By Dan Andrews andrewsd@knoxfocus.com As Chief Rausch handed the Explorer of the Year award to Hayden Marshall on April 22, 2016, he smiled, which was significant because it was the first time he had smiled in days. Before the awards ceremony an impromptu press conference outside the dining hall had taken place with media pressing […]
By Sally Absher Cinco de Mayo Carnival at West View Elementary School West View Elementary School will host a Cinco de Mayo Carnival on Friday, May 6th from 4:30-7:00 p.m. to raise funds for the school. There will be games, a dunking booth, Safety City, and fun activities for the whole family, along with traditional […]
By Sally Absher “Hallelujah!! The entire state of Tennessee Opts Out” reads the headline of the 4/28/2016 Momma Bears blog (mommabears.org). Oh the rich irony! Parents were told they couldn’t opt their kids out, but now if you have a student in grades 3-8, they are all opted out! After repeated glitches, delays, and failure […]
By Sally Absher Last week’s Focus article “Fool me twice, shame on me” about Tennessee’s new K-12 educational standards mentions Dr. Sandra Stotsky and Dr. James Milgram, leading experts in K-12 English/Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics standards, respectively. Stotsky wrote the ELA standards for Massachusetts which were #1 in the nation. Milgram rewrote the terrible […]
By Sally Absher sallyabsher@knoxfocus.com Last Thursday the Disparities in Educational Outcomes (DEO) Task Force shared its draft recommendations and gathered additional community input and feedback. The Task Force is comprised of business, community and faith-based members. The group was formed in November 2014, in response to a complaint filed with the U.S. Dept. of Education […]
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