The Barber of Sevier

A tribute to the man who reminded me that we’re all just people doing our best—and the one who’s kept me looking fresh for decades Conley Sims, born in 1908, opened a barber shop on Bruce Street in downtown Sevierville almost 100 years
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Knoxville’s Best Idea

The birth of our treasured sanctuary During the next calendar year, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, far and away the nation’s most visited of the “crown jewels,” will celebrate its 90th birthday. Most of us take for granted our
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The Call

The State of Tennessee was in crisis. On Tuesday, January 16, 1979, the news media reported that the outgoing Governor, Democrat Ray Blanton, had the day before commuted the sentence of a convicted double murderer by the name of Roger
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Gideon and the Law

Each era finds an improvement in law for the benefit of mankind. —Clarence Gideon The Book of Judges in the Old Testament tells the story of Gideon, who was chosen by God to free the people of Israel—some 1,200 years before the
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It Happens Every Spring

They’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they’d dipped themselves in magic waters. —Terrence Mann Baseball, beginning in 1876, remains to many asour national pastime. In the words of Babe Ruth, “Baseball was, is, and always will
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Taking Its Toll

Could new road options save the unending congestion in our beloved Sevier County? Over the years, many travelers have gladly paid for the privilege of driving the toll road to Disney World in Florida. Ditto on travels through the
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Remnants of a Scoundrel

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair. —Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities The 1960s, so long ago, left lasting impressions for those in this country who stood
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The Great Experiment

The Volstead Act brought with it a host of unintended consequences, causing leaders to question whether they made the right choice. There is Murphy’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong,” and then there is its first cousin,
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Injustice in Tennessee

After all these Years, the Vols Deserve a Heisman Trophy Winner Jurisprudence is simply a means to an end. Justice is what we want, and that applies to college sports. Because it is September, and, in the words of the late Bobby Denton,
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