While most Americans celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, the Museum of Appalachia marks the occasion with an old-fashioned “anvil shoot”. Every 4th of July, the museum uses gunpowder to launch a 200-pound anvil hundreds of feet into the air. Anvil shoots were once a common way for pioneers to commemorate holidays, elections, and other special occasions. While the tradition ... (click for more)

Having just emerged from a voluntary closure of nearly 100 days, the Tennessee Aquarium received the welcome news that it has been nominated as one of the nation’s best aquariums in USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice awards. The 20 facilities named as finalists in the annual awards were selected by a panel of zoological and tourism experts for being “ the best in North America ... (click for more)

Coronavirus cases in Tennessee rose by 1,291, bringing the total to 51,431, state health officials said on Sunday. Of the total, 30,254 have recovered. There were nine more deaths in the state, bringing the total to 646. Officials said 11 more have been hospitalized - up to 2,871. Tennessee is approaching 900,000 on its testing program. Hamilton County has had 53 ... (click for more)

Sheriff Jim Hammond said Sunday afternoon he has no intention of stepping down, despite a letter from 38 preachers asking him to do so. The sheriff said he would not discuss individual cases of alleged racism and abuse on the part of his deputies, saying those cases are going through the courts. He said he has offered to meet with the pastors and other groups for a discussion ... (click for more)

Churches are classified for tax purposes as 501(c)(3) organizations. This means contributions to them are generally tax deductible and they pay no property taxes on their real estate facilities. In return for this there are certain restrictions they must follow, the most important being: "Specifically, 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from engaging in excessive political ... (click for more)

Due to my strong belief that ‘country comes before self,’ this rare issue of The Sunday Funnies is necessary because of Independence Day, but this week The Saturday Funnies will again appear. Our long-term readers know that the weekly funnies come from the emails that are shared during the week, thus the disclaimer But do 4th of July jokes get stale by the 5th? A crafty teacher ... (click for more)