by design | Feb 9, 2026 | Columnist, Nagi
By Mark Nagi When you talk about HS football in East Tennessee, the name George Quarles often comes to mind. One of the most successful coaches in the state, Quarles won 94% of his games during his 18 years as the head coach at Maryville. The Rebels also won 11...
by design | Feb 9, 2026 | Columnist, Mattingly
By Tom Mattingly It wasn’t too long ago, in the late 1980s, actually, that Alabama and Auburn were squabbling over the venue of the “Iron Bowl.” Finally, Auburn drew a line in the sand. Auburn would play its “home games” in Auburn, a seemingly reasonable...
by design | Feb 9, 2026 | Columnist, Pratt
By Justin Pratt, Clear Springs Baptist Church Senior Pastor Imagine walking through a quiet, empty city at night. Put yourself there. The streets are familiar, but every shadow seems to move. Every distant sound, a car door slamming, a dog barking that doesn’t...
by design | Feb 9, 2026 | Columnist, Rector
By Joe Rector I’m snuggly tucked into my porch office. Since the room has no HVAC vent, the tiny heater I use is working overtime to keep the cold away. The Grammy Awards are playing on the television in the family room, but I have no interest in watching even...
by design | Feb 9, 2026 | Columnist, Ferguson
“Sometimes the best explanation of the otherwise inexplicable is evil.” James V. Ferguson, MD, FACP By Dr. Jim Ferguson Harold Ford Jr. still claims membership in the Democratic Party, even though that train has long since left the station. That entity no...
by design | Feb 9, 2026 | Columnist, Duncan
By John J. Duncan Jr. The Democrats and the national media they control got in a big uproar when President Trump said a few days ago that he wanted Republicans to “nationalize the elections,” obviously referring to the upcoming midterm races. The president’s...
by design | Feb 9, 2026 | The Daily Focus
~ from the Knox County Regional Forensic Center KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— Last year, a new synthetic opioid hit East Tennessee and between late October and through December, it appeared in nine overdose deaths. As of mid-January, the same designer drug was linked to seven...
by design | Feb 9, 2026 | Public Notice
EAST TENNESSEE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION NEW RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION PROJECT ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS East Tennessee Housing Development Corporation is soliciting bids from qualified general contractors for the construction of one (1) single-family dwelling under...
by design | Feb 8, 2026 | Archived Editions, Archives, Stories In This Week's Focus:
School board splits on charter school waiver By Pete Gawda The Thursday, February 5 meeting of the Knox County Board of Education was fairly routine, but the called meeting held before the regular meeting seemed to generate more interest. The purpose of the called...
by design | Feb 8, 2026 | Columnist, Hunley, Stories In This Week's Focus:
By Steve Hunley Trump Giveth And Indya Taketh Away Last week, a friend of mine told me he was expecting the biggest tax refund he had ever seen. No big businessman, he would be considered a man of modest means and said he was surprised, as it was almost twice the...
