By Sarah Baker bakers@knoxfocus.com Many of you probably saw a block buster movie a few years ago called The Blind Side starring Sandra Bullock. The movie tells the true story of Michael Oher, a traumatized kid who goes on to become a first round NFL draft pick with the help of Leigh Anne Tuohy and […]
By Sharon Frankenberg, Attorney at Law “Commitment” is the common term used to describe the group of procedures for detaining or admitting someone who is mentally ill in Tennessee. There are four basic procedures and they are covered in Tennessee Code, Title 33. In summary, these procedures are as follows: Voluntary Admission. A person may […]
“To go against conscience is neither right nor safe.” Martin Luther By Dr. Jim Ferguson Perhaps it’s a bit late to talk about Independence Day, but I wanted everyone to know that Knoxville Tennessee was named the most patriotic city in the United States according to a recent USA Today poll. I realize most polls […]
By Steve Hunley There are times when silence is not golden and this is one of them. For those people who still read the Knoxville News-Sentinel, you may have noticed the same story about polling and State Senator Stacey Campfield being repeated over and over again. The Sentinel has done its best to infer somehow […]
By Ray Hill The administration of Governor Prentice Cooper, unlike that of his predecessor Gordon Browning, had been relatively quiet. Cooper and Browning were as different in temperament as they were in appearance. Gordon Browning was a big, bluff man with a shock of hair swept back from his forehead with a tendency to being […]
By Ray Hill By the fall of 1937, E. H. Crump, leader of the Shelby County political machine, was openly fighting Governor Gordon Browning. After having supported Browning for governor in 1936, Senator Kenneth D. McKellar’s prediction that Crump could not trust Browning had proved to be true. Following a meeting in the Memphis Boss’s […]
By Dr. Jim Ferguson A song by Kathy Mattea resonates with me this week because I’m “home alone.” Mattea described the lifelong relationship of Claire and Edwin, whose byline was, “Where’ve you been? I’m just not myself when you’re away.” This September Becky and I will have been married thirty-eight years, more than half our […]
By Alex Norman On a beautiful late spring weekend, around 125 kids showed up at Grace Christian Academy for the Eric Berry D1 Iron Sharpens Iron Football Camp. For Berry, a former Tennessee Vols All-American, camps like this one are a look into the future for when his National Football League playing days are done. […]
By Rosie Moore When I was eight years old a classmate of mine talked me into going to Woolworth’s 5 & 10 cent store “just to look around.” We came to the comic book section and she quickly stuck a thick book in a purse she had. Then she told me to get one too. […]
By Joe Rector joerector@comcast.net I’ve tried to write this piece a couple of times but found it almost impossible. The key is to put it on paper without sounding preachy or religiously stilted. So, here goes another attempt. The main characters in books, TV, and movies are increasingly expressing their doubts or disbeliefs in a […]
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