By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com What started at a BBQ competition a few years ago has blossomed into a thriving home business for Knoxville resident Jacob Lubbers. Full Boar BBQ started in 2013 in Lubbers’ home state of Indiana after he and his friends entered a BBQ competition they had been going to for […]
By Ray Hill To get to Congress, Carroll Reece had to defeat an entrenched incumbent, who had served for a decade. After taking the oath of office on March 4, 1921, Carroll Reece became one of the most enduring political figures in Tennessee’s political history. Reece remains to this day one of the longest serving […]
By Steve Williams Berean Christian School didn’t come out on top in the team scoring, but it had a historical day to remember in athletics. The TSSAA Division I Class A school in East Knoxville played its first-ever boys’ and girls’ tennis matches against Concord Christian School Tuesday (March 23) at Tyson Park. Concord Christian […]
By Steve Williams Jeremy Parrott will remember his 2020-21 basketball team with fond memories. Some of his juniors and seniors were young players on Parrott’s 2018-19 team that gave Bearden its first-ever boys’ state championship, beating Memphis East in the Class AAA title game and ending its stranglehold on the gold basketball. “I will remember […]
Norwood residents oppose large Merchant Dr. development By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com For years developers have been trying to build homes and businesses along Merchant Drive in west Norwood. The residential community was saddened and frustrated to lose a recent Knoxville-Knox County Planning zoning request for apartments and duplexes along the narrow and very […]
Nonprofit promotes business, gives back By Bill Howard Late in 2019, Charlie Pratt and Blake Foote, financial advisers for Modern Woodmen of America, came up with an idea: why not start a nonprofit that would not only promote business activity in Fountain City, but also give back to the community? More than a year later, […]
Bearden players battle inside against Cane Ridge in the TSSAA state tournament. The Bulldogs rallied down the stretch but came up short in a 50-47 loss in the quarterfinals. Photo by John Williams.
By Steve Williams Bearden High’s boys basketball team set a goal this season to set a school record for fewest points allowed by its opponents. Head Coach Jeremy Parrott also considered his Bulldogs the defending state champions after his 2019 team won the school’s first-ever state title and there was not a state tourney in […]
By Ray Hill Carroll Reece, thirty years old and a veteran of the First World War, had defeated Congressman Sam R. Sells for the right to carry the Republican Party banner in the general election of 1920. Sells had not taken his defeat lightly and had tried to challenge the election results without success. 1920 […]
By Ken Lay When the Central High School boys soccer team opens its season today at Seymour, it will mark the first time that the Bobcats have been on the pitch for a match since March 12, 2020. Central coach Chris Quinn remembers that day vividly. The afternoon began at Dan Y. Boring Stadium with […]
Senior Breanna Bumgardner prepares to take off on the bases as Gibbs opened its season last week with a District 3-AA win over visiting Pigeon Forge. Photo by James Spears.
By Steve Williams Opening Day 2021 was a runaway for perennial softball power Gibbs High. The Lady Eagles rolled past visiting Pigeon Forge 35-0 in a District 3-AA game that was mercifully stopped after 2½ innings of play. As for the bright spots, Carol Mitchell, beginning her 28th season as head coach, said that was […]