School System Must Begin to Prepare Now By Steve Hunley Bob Thomas, superintendent of the Knox County School system, was recently interviewed by another media outlet and stated plainly, “We weren’t prepared” for the coronavirus. Nobody was, nor could they be. As I...
By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Next Step Initiative was founded by two sisters, Addie Arbach and Rebecca Parr, who believed that through compassion, hope and love, they could have an impact on the lives of those living with issues of generational...
By Ray Hill Senator Luke Lea was so unpopular with his fellow Democrats, the party machinery moved up the election for the Democratic nomination to November of 1915, a full year in advance of the regular general election in 1916. For the first and only time, the...
By Ken Lay The coronavirus pandemic forced Braden Gaston to take a bit of a leap of faith. And that has landed him on the track team at Tennessee Wesleyan University. Gaston, a senior at Central High School, signed his National Letter of Intent to run hurdles and...
By Steve Williams Phil Garner grew up in the small town of Rutledge in Grainger County and with the high school there not having a football program in the mid-1960s; his dad moved the family to Knoxville to improve his son’s chances of earning a college...
Rep. Tim Burchett tours 2nd District fire stations with Girl Scout cookies By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com Congressman Tim Burchett was a busy guy Friday visiting several fire stations in his district and delivering 21 cases of Girl Scout...
By Mike Steely Senior Writer steelym@knoxfocus.com He was Santa during the holidays and is wife, Kathy, was Mrs. Claus. He was ideal for the part with his long white hair and beard. Last week David Keck fell going down the stairs of his house and was rushed to...
By Mike Steely We have been asked to keep our distance, wear our masks, and basically stay at home for safety these days. But there are some places we can drive to without encountering other people or endangering ourselves or others. A family day outing to nearby...
By Ray Hill Malcolm Rice Patterson, the “gamecock” of Tennessee politics, had left the governor’s mansion in 1911 as a hugely controversial figure and bitterly hated by many inside his own party. To make matters worse, a combine of “fusionists,” Democrats opposed to...
By Ken Lay Knoxville Catholic High School has a new basketball coach. The school announced on Tuesday that it has hired Travis Mains and he’s eager to get to work with the Lady Irish. “I thought this was an excellent opportunity,” said Mains, who previously coached at...
Since 1982, Smoky Mountain...
By Steve Williams Karns is...
Click here to view this...
More than 20 volunteers...
By Adam Sullivan It’s not...
Rosie Moore celebrated her...