Tower operator led to crash discovery

Ferd Colvin began his career with the U.S. Forest Service in 1928 on the Tellico Ranger District of the Cherokee National Forest, located in eastern Tennessee. Colvin served as the lookout in the Hemlock Fire Tower near Eagle Gap until near his death on Dec. 26, 1945.

Lessons to be learned from ‘down under’

Everyone has had a moment in time from childhood when we did wrong and had to face the music and pay the piper.  When I was a kid in elementary school, we were having afternoon snacks and my classmate said something I didn’t like.

The pursuit of happiness – and citizenship

* Part 2 in a 3-part series Our founders understood the pursuit of happiness as the quest for the good life – not self-indulgent search for instant satisfaction.

AdventHealth continues long tradition

Jesus was a healer. Healing the illnesses of men, women and children were born out of His compassion for people. He did not want people to suffer unnecessarily.  These signs opened the hearts and minds of people when they realized that they too could be healed in body and mind by God’s mercy.

5-year check-up, according to AI

Five years and 30 pounds ago, a sprightly 30-year-old sat nervously as his supervisor conducted a budget meeting with the staff of The Graham Star. Introductions were made and … my boss left me to it.

Links laid well before Skyway

Robbinsville and Tellico Plains were connected in other ways long before the Cherohala Skyway was constructed.  In fact, they were connected by a narrow gravel road that ran through the mountains from Stratton Meadows (also called John Meadows) on the North Carolina/Tennessee state line.

‘Pursuit of happiness’ has deep roots

* 1st in a 3-part series What is the unalienable right of “the pursuit of happiness,” from the Declaration of Independence? The vast majority of Americans seem to assume that happiness flows from the accumulation of things, money or some other source of short-term pleasure.

‘Deference’ seems to have shifted

Let’s talk about Chevron!  No, it’s not a gas station – but a court case that will directly affect your life likely for decades: Chevron USA Inc. vs. Natural Resources Defense Counsel Inc.  In recent years, I tried to warn anyone who will listen how dangerous this Supreme Court is and why.

Treat one another with ‘lovingkindness’

One of King David’s well known Psalms is chapter 51. It begins, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness.”  It was Miles Coverdale’s translation of the Hebrew word chesed – or hesed as lovingkindness that the King James version used.

Fetching the mail

In the summer months, Momma would send me to fetch the mail at the mouth of Jutts Creek.  I loved this chore, because it afforded me the opportunity to visit with neighbors, friends and relatives. There was always the chance for a good laugh or a mindful conversation.