Congress has an opportunity to pass legislation that benefits all local citizens, businesses and even protects our democracy. The Local Journalism Sustainability Act, LJSA for short, should be included as part of any upcoming reconciliation bill that Congress is considering. The LJSA is a well-thought-out bill that would provide needed support to local news organizations, including local newspapers, to ensure their viability as they continue to make progress toward a digital future. more

Occasionally a story will come across my desk that I find interesting and file away for safe keeping. The story of Ray Melchiorre came through from Bethel University’s Sport Information Department a few weeks ago, naturally it was a Monday and there was no time to read it. This weekend, while I was attempting to find a muse for this week’s article I came across the story again in my email. I found it to be a pretty good read and I would like to share it with our readers this week. more

The year 1966 was year of change in the United States. In Vietnam, U.S. planes began bombing Hanoi and Haiphong. Bob Dylan released his Blonde on Blonde LP. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness is founded in New York City. John Lennon declared the Beatles “more popular than Jesus.” Walt Disney dies while producing The Jungle Book and How the Grinch Stole Christmas is shown for the first time on CBS. more

People ask me from time to time why I don’t add pictures to my stories. I think there is a twofold answer here. First of all, we didn’t have any money. Those Kodak Brownie cameras were expensive. And it you wanted a Polaroid Land model J66 with the Electric Eye it would cost you even more. We didn’t have anything to take a picture with! more

Sunday’s baseball championship game was an honor to watch in person. The Banner Staff is extremely proud of your accomplishments this season. As I stood next to the dugout the entire game, your sportsmanship and loyalty to your teammates made me along with your fans and fellow alums proud. more

Dr. Joseph Warren died on Breed’s Hill June 17, 1775. He was 34 years old. He left four children he had been raising alone since his wife’s passing two years earlier. He graduated from Harvard, was well established in Boston and was the second President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, having succeeded John Hancock. more

Last week, I started the trek through the 1970 archive book. As I went deeper and deeper, it was amazing to see so many faces that helped make McKenzie great. more

My first wife has left me….again. This time for a whole week! She was thoughtful enough to leave a pan of her world famous lasagna. She also cooked a passel of hamburgers so all I’ve got to do is heat them in the microwave. more

Ask Rusty — Will My Husband’s Benefits Continue After He Dies? more

This week’s installment is a quick visual glance at the 1970 archive book. more

Our high school auditorium was old even before I got there. It actually creaked at times. It was “big and wide” with a smell and a feel that was unique, yet comfortable. And it was oh, so versatile. more

Last week, as Weakley County and the City of Dresden celebrated the Iris Festival, my mind was drawn to the stories and successes of Ned Ray McWherter. Born the son of a sharecropper, McWherter was a prosperous businessman, Speaker of the House for the Tennessee Legislature and a two-term governor. more

I think I could have been a great fisherman. I can read a nautical map. I still have the needed hand/eye coordination. I have a “light touch” when the occasion calls for it and I have worked on my patience over the years. That can be critical when you are “waiting out” those northern pike! I believe, with just a little practice, I could “set the hook” on a rainbow trout, largemouth bass, walleye... more

With the onset of the Civil War and Tennessee’s secession, a group of pro-Union leaders in East Tennessee, which had rejected secession, petitioned Harris to allow the region to break away from the state and remain with the Union. Harris rejected this and sent troops under Felix K. Zollicoffer into East Tennessee. In the gubernatorial election later that year, William H. Polk, brother of former President James K. Polk, ran against Harris on a pro-Union ticket but was defeated 75,300 to 43,495. more

I tell you near ’bout every week that McKenzie, Tennessee, is the best place on earth to “be from.” Without a doubt. Without hesitation. And without reservation. Of course, I don’t do it with very good sentence structure. Or proper English. more

As this weekly series is now well into its third year, I have decided to expand the topics from just Carroll County and broaden the spectrum to included Tennessee history. There are a few ideas in the works for a more definitive path, but for now, rest assured the articles will still be based on Tennessee history and localized when possible. more

When we were “younger, so much younger than today” we didn’t think nothing about Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. It was just a term in a high school science book. When he started using words like cosmological and astrophysical, we just shook our heads and broke out a copy of Mad Magazine. more