Should the mayor take a stand on climate accord?

Protecting the final resting places of the dead

Rest in peace should mean exactly that. People who vandalize graves or steal items from cemeteries should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Catching them in the act, however, is the difficult part.

A dangerous one-lane tunnel

We desperately need some type of signal light at the tunnel on Fair Ridge Road and Brandonwood Drive. You cannot see oncoming traffic until you get into the entrance. This is a dangerous one-lane tunnel.

Trump and the GOP say the darndest things on health care

Last week’s unveiling of the Senate version of health care reform saw President Trump giving thumbs up to the legislation while noting the plan will need some tweaking. Nonetheless, he promised the final version would be “very good.” That’s our president — a master of summing up the minute details.

Conservatives have good reason to dislike Trump

A comic on “The Late Show “offered a brilliant metaphor for the president, “a horse loose in a hospital,” and I’ve no doubt anti-Trump conservatives concur. As long as he is relatively unhobbled by Congressional oversight, there‘s not much limit to the damage he could do.

Bone Marrow transplants can help to save lives

The National Marrow Donor Program says there are more than 35,000 children and adults in the United States who develop a life-threatening disease each year that can only be cured with a bone marrow and blood cell transplant. Officials at Vanderbilt University's Bone Marrow Program in Nashville say bone marrow transplants are used to treat acute and chronic leukemias, Hodgkin's disease and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, multiple myeloma and aplastic anemia.

Animal abuse registry helps prevent sad stories

Animal welfare officials do have one tool to help them identify people with a history of animal cruelty. Tennessee legislators passed a law in 2015 to post the names of convicted animal abusers on an online registry, similar to the state’s existing registry of sexual offenders.

Why is the city manager wearing a new hat?

The Johnson City Commission has decided it wants to hire a third assistant city manager so the City Manager Pete Peterson can be relieved of the day-to-day operation of the city and it’s 25 departmental heads. Huh? I thought that was the city manager’s job description.

20,000 Tennessee children need advocates 'to be for the child'

Court Appointed Special Advocates is on a statewide campaign to triple the number of trained volunteers assisting abused and neglected children in Tennessee courts.

Public transit is a vital service for our region

Public transportation is a key component in economic development. Companies often look to communities with viable public transportation networks as potential sites for relocation. And it is a vital service in terms of helping people move off public assistance programs.

Keep the fluoride in Jonesborough's water

As one of the 13,000 citizens who pay for fluoridated public drinking water in Jonesborough and Washington County, and as the daughter of a highly-educated and renowned local dentist, who endorsed fluoridation and witnessed its benefits for public health care, I want to keep our fluoride.

Professional baseball play returns to Johnson City

The Appy League has become an important institution in Johnson City and in the other nine cities of the league. It is truly a reminder of what baseball really should be about.

Charter schools should be judged on results

So why charter schools? Because results count. Publicly-run schools have had well over a century to make their case, and while many succeed, far too many fail, particularly those that serve the poorest communities. The model is flawed, and only true believers who refuse to believe their lying eyes fail to see it.

Who will stand up for the people of Gray?

want county commissioners who will stand up for our agricultural community and who won’t sell us out for tax dollars We need commissioners who will keep our little town of Gray like the Mayberry that it is.

Is an Overmountain Victory Trail a good idea for the region?

Local officials are working to build a walking and biking trail that retraces the steps that patriots from Southwest Virginia took more than 237 years on their way to one of the most pivotal battles of the American Revolution.

The trail would mark the route taken by men from Southwest Virginia in September 1780 from Abingdon, Virginia, to muster at Sycamore Shoals in Tennessee.