by design | Mar 8, 2026 | Columnist, Hill, Ray Hill's Archives, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Ray Hill Most of history is unknown, and it is always fun for me to dust off certain tales and people and share those stories. Largely forgotten today, James Graves Scrugham lived an interesting and productive life. At various times, he was an engineer, a...
by design | Mar 2, 2026 | Columnist, Nagi
By Mark Nagi Regular readers of my columns understand that I am a big fan of good old-fashioned sports hate. Not real-world hate, which has cost millions if not billions of lives over the centuries, but hate about a player, a team, or even a group representing...
by design | Mar 2, 2026 | Columnist, Mattingly
By Tom Mattingly Writing assignments often appear as if by magic. That’s been the case in my writing career over the years. You’ll likely recognize many, if not all, of the names mentioned in this column. One memorable contest came in November 1971, when a...
by design | Mar 2, 2026 | Columnist, Pratt
By Justin Pratt, Clear Springs Baptist Church Senior Pastor A master carpenter once said that when you study a finished table, you are not just looking at wood, you are looking at every hand that shaped it. They selected the timber, planed it smooth, and...
by design | Mar 2, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector The Knoxville Focus weekly newspaper is where I had the first opportunity to publish any kind of work. I am forever grateful to Steve Hunley, Charmin Foth and Marianne Dedmon for the support they have offered over my tenure with The Focus. Most of...
by design | Mar 2, 2026 | Columnist, Steely
A Day Away By Mike Steely There’s an online survey asking for public input on the transition of Kingston’s Fort Southwest Point to a state park. The historic fort was built before statehood and is the only pre-Civil War fort to be reconstructed on its original...
