Sixth-grade student Otto Harden helps take care of golden retriever Annie, who spends much of her time at Clinton Middle School. Harden is one of many students at the school who love to spend time with Annie, a therapy dog. - Ben Pounds
As Annie, a 110-pound golden retriever, walked through the halls of Clinton Middle School, students and staff greeted her with smiles, kind words and petting.
Jennifer Huckaby, Annie’s owner and the school’s guidance counselor, led her on a leash while Annie’s ambassador and caretaker, sixth-grade student Otto Harden, joined them.
Usually, Annie stays in Huckaby’s counseling room or in the shared lounge-style Behavior Break Room, where teachers enjoy spending time with her.
But on this day, it was time for Annie’s photo shoot, even though she is already a star at CMS.
Annie serves as a therapy dog for CMS, and Huckaby said she helps break the ice with students.
“For our students who are too upset to talk, Annie has been their quiet support and their gentle listener,” Huckaby said.
She said Annie also offers students moral support and companionship when they feel sad, alone or insecure.
Some of antique tractors are shown on display here during last year’s Smoky Mountain Antique Tractor and Engine Show in front of Anderson County High School. - G. Chambers Williams III
Antique farm tractors, engines, classic cars and even some semi-trucks will be on display in front of Anderson County High School on Friday and Saturday, June 12-13, during the 44th-annual Smoky Mountain Antique Engine and Tractor Show.
The tractors will be the highlight of the event, which will run from 8 a.m. until dusk on Friday (June 12) and from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday.
They will include various vintages from manufacturers such as Case, Allis-Chalmers, John Deere, Farmall, Ford and Oliver.
Admission and parking for the event are free.
Held the second weekend in June every year, the show is the biggest event of the year for the Clinton-based Smoky Mountain Antique Engine and Tractor Association.
The Manhattan Project National Historical Park in Oak Ridge will offer monthly fishing education programs, “Let’s Go Fishing,” in June, July, August and September.
The new offerings, made possible through a grant from the National Park Foundation, aim to promote fishing as an educational, safe and enjoyable outdoor recreational activity for youth ages 12 and younger while connecting them with the park and local waterways, according to a news release.
During each program, youth will work with park rangers and volunteers to learn the basics of fishing, from knot-tying to stewardship of the river. The activities, along with hands-on fishing, will earn participants a Junior Ranger angler badge.
Each participant will receive a fishing pole and basic tackle to use during the program. At the conclusion of the program, participants may keep their Junior Ranger angler badge and fishing equipment.
Runners take part in the annual charity Renaissance Run in Norris on Saturday morning, May 9. The event is held to benefit the Norris Area Community Foundation, which donates to various organizations. - G. Chambers Williams III
The Appalachian Arts Craft Center is planning a special community luncheon on Friday, Aug. 28, celebrating creativity, storytelling and Appalachian culture at the Oak Ridge Conference Center.
Featuring comedian and actor Andi Tillman, the event will offer an afternoon of connection and storytelling in support of Appalachian Arts programs.
More details will be announced soon, but organizers said the luncheon will be designed to fit within a lunch hour. Organizers also said attendees will not want to miss the event.
This is a scene from the 2025 July 4 observance at the Museum of Appalachia in Norris, celebrating American history. - Submitted
The Museum of Appalachia has been given two ‘Tennessee America 250’ grants totaling $29,500 awarded two Tennessee America 250 grants from the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.
Located in Norris, the museum said it plans to use the money for Independence Day programming and preservation of its historic Cantilever Barn.
“These grants will support expanded educational programming and the preservation of one of the museum’s most iconic historic structures,” the museum said in an announcement of the awards.
A $9,500 grant will allow the museum to expand its annual Independence Day anvil shoot celebration from a one-day event into a two-day celebration, incorporating new educational programming, historical interpretation, and hands-on experiences for visitors of all ages.
Audrey Enger, right, shows off her horse Molly during the FFA Spring Festival event last Saturday at the Anderson County Career and Technical Center in Clinton. - G. Chambers Williams III
As a wrap-up to its annual spring plant sale at its greenhouses next to the Anderson County Career and Technical Center, the Anderson County Future Farmers of America chapter held its spring festival on Saturday.
In the area between the greenhouses and the career center — which sits along Charles G. Seivers Boulevard next to Anderson County High School — FFA members offered a variety of activities for festival visitors, including food, animals to see and pet, bounce houses, craft-making, face painting and more.
The plant sale and festival are held each spring to raise money for the FFA chapter’s agriculture programs.
This Saturday, May 16, the Little Ponderosa Zoo and Rescue will celebrate the 18th birthday of Siberian tiger Gunther, who is a favorite of visitors to the zoo.
Birthday activities will begin at 10 a.m. at the zoo, at 629 Granite Road in the Dutch Valley community near Clinton, and Gunther will be let into his outside enclosure at 11 a.m. to be able to greet the guests to his party.
All senior citizens (65-plus) will be admitted free to the zoo on this day.
The zoo held a party for Gunther’s 17th birthday last year, and the big cat seemed to know something special was going on. When he was let out into his yard, he immediately spotted some of the party decorations and new toys.
As they did last year, the staff will urge Gunther’s fans to join in the singing of “Happy Birthday.”
Gunther arrived as a rescue at the zoo as a very young cub.
The zoo will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The Clinton Community Center began accepting registrations for summer swim lessons beginning May 1. Lessons will be available for beginner swimmers ages 4 to 17. Registration form and payment are required to secure a position. Lessons will begin on June 2, 2026. Space is limited. For questions, contact Jonathan Leninsky at jleninsky@clintontn.net or 865-259-1164.
Betty Davis Shorter, a longtime Anderson County resident, will celebrate her 100th birthday May 16.
She graduated from Norris High School, now Norris Middle School, in May 1943. She attended Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate and graduated from business college in Boone, North Carolina.
Shorter worked at Stone & Webster, the Manhattan Engineer District and for more than 30 years at the Department of Energy in Oak Ridge before retiring.
She married the late William C. “Bill” Shorter in 1946.
She is the mother of three daughters: Diane Skeens and her husband, Steve, of Andersonville; the late Linda McKamey and her husband, Robert, of Clinton; and Teresa McBee and her late husband, Dan, of Norris.
She has six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.
Shorter has been a member of Bethel Baptist Church in Clinton for more than 90 years. She enjoys spending time with her family and church family.
Oak Ridge Senior Center will host a program focused on the sensory enjoyment of herbs during the monthly meeting of the Low Vision Resource Group on Monday, May 18.
Guest presenters from the Arissa Garden Club of Oak Ridge will discuss herbs known for their taste, texture and aroma.
Cathy Waitinas and other club members will explain how herbs can be used in cooking and for healing purposes.
Attendees will have the opportunity to experience herbs through touch, smell and taste during the interactive presentation.
Erin’s Meadow Herb Farm also will offer herbs for purchase at a discount for meeting attendees.
The meeting will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Oak Ridge Senior Center.
Refreshments, including herb-themed items, will be served.
