Beating around the bush podcast (Time for a break)
October 12, 2026
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Opinion
330 articles
Flagged
October 10, 2026
The TSSAA has been facing a shortage of officials across all sports for several years. The shortage is the result of several factors, and one of the biggest is fan behavior.
Guys talking football podcast with Coach Swenson (break time)
October 8, 2026
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Episode 208 Beating around the Bush Podcast (cruising)
October 6, 2026
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Behind the Precision of High School Marching Band
October 6, 2026
Friday night football gets most of the attention on Friday nights. Undoubtedly, the young men - and occasionally women, spend many hours practicing and watching films to improve their skills. But this editorial is about another Friday night group, marching bands. High school marching bands require incredible discipline, skill, and athleticism. Those six or seven seamless minutes on the field reflect months of intense physical endurance, precise movement, and musical excellence.
Hunker Down with Kes: He Got Me Into The Game
October 6, 2026
I was not going to our high school class reunion this year. I saw, spoke to, hugged, and told most everybody in town a Leon Colbert story last year. I figured I’d worn out my welcome. And it is a 577-mile journey. One way. Then Coach Camp called.
Editor's View: Priorities
October 6, 2026
An ambulance is a lifeline. It is a resource stocked with lifesaving tools that are not normally carried by first-on-scene emergency responders. Those tools are very expensive, but often critical to providing lifesaving care.
More Than a Game
October 2, 2026
When I am rooting for my favorite team, depending on what sport I am attending or watching at the time, I have a huge desire to see the score be in favor of the team that I am passionate about at the time.
Guys talking football with Russell Bush and Eric Swenson podcast
October 1, 2026
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Letter to the Editor: Get in the Game!
September 29, 2026
Too many people are sitting on the sidelines of their own communities, watching life happen as if it is a sport for which they didn’t sign up. Sometimes we shrug and say “not my circus, not my monkey”. Apathy is weakening our communities & getting involved matters more than ever.
Hunker Down With Kes: When Laughter Abounded On Every Side
September 29, 2026
We laughed a lot growing up. I’m not sure why. Some days weren’t so easy. Dad always had us doing something. Mostly in the yard. Or cutting firewood. Or staking out tomatoes. I think he planted those mimosa trees just so we’d have something to chop down years later.
Editor's Sidelines: Who Said You Can Never Go Home Again
September 28, 2026
Thomas Wolfe wrote, “You can never go home again.” That wasn’t true Friday afternoon. With the diligent work of the McKenzie High Alumni Association, homecoming has become a big deal. I roamed around the reunion area Friday evening before the game, and something rose in me. It was a sense of comfort. Like I was among friends.
Beating Around the Bush: Time to Celebrate or Not
September 26, 2026
I have always been a firm believer that when something great happens, it's okay to celebrate, and each of us has our way of doing that. I remember standing on the sidelines in Chattanooga last December when the clock ticked zero and secured the Huntingdon Mustangs their second…
Hunker Down with Kes: Talk About A Great Way to Kill Time
September 22, 2026
People often ask how I got into the clock business. Well, it is a way too-long-story to even begin to tell. And I have never, one time, ever, in my whole life considered it a business. A love story, maybe. But there is nothing commercial about it.
The Wit and Wisdom of David Johnson: My Grace-filled Christmas
September 22, 2026
December 2010. I felt lost and unsure which way to turn. For the first time since I was fourteen years old, I didn’t have a job. Up until then I hadn’t realized what a significant role working played into my self-identity.
Beating Around the Bush: It’s Classified
September 22, 2026
The new numbers that reclassify high school football teams across the state of Tennessee were released last week, and I believe the TSSAA has been reading my column. A couple of years back, I wrote a column that was titled, “Is the TSSAA killing the Huntingdon-McKenzie rivalry?”
Hunker Down with Kes: News Not As Good As Doc Proclaimed
September 15, 2026
Here is a story that tickles me, and saddens me a bit at the same time. If you are a mature reader, you may relate to it more than you care to admit… It started with a bad hip. Mine, of course. I spent the summer recuperating from replacement surgery. Thankfully, it all went well. I am doing great and walking around pain free. My three-month checkup was this past week.
Beating Around the Bush: Indoor Practice
September 15, 2026
One of the greatest things to happen at Huntingdon High School over the last several years is the growing number of sports student-athletes can compete in. With the growing number of sports also comes issues that are unavoidable.
Hunker Down with Kes: Come Watch the Parade with Me
September 8, 2026
For some, it might be the long-gone City Café. Or the Polar Bar. Or Freemen’s Menswear. Or maybe you remember buying some chocolate-covered peanuts at the Ben Franklin 5 & 10 Cent Store. Or a spiral notebook for going back to school from the Golden Rule. Or shopping for a Christmas toy in the basement of J. A. Abernathy’s Hardware…
Hunker Down with Kes: ‘Hello Again’ Was All She Said…
September 1, 2026
But she would say it each week with the most genuine smile I have ever witnessed. I couldn’t think of anything to say. She was a rising country music star. I was just hanging around backstage because Mr. Bud Wendell, the manager of the world-famous Grand Ole Opry, had taken a liking to me.
