Za’Lea Hampton and Akeelah Pullen: Bonds built on trust and teamwork
FAYETTEVILLE HIGH School’s Class of 2025 turned their tassels this spring, but for Za’Lea Hampton and Akeelah Pullen, the milestone marked a new beginning, not an end. They graduated with cheer...
Letter From the Editor
THE SCENT of warm butter-covered popcorn and the huge roar of the crowd… does anything bring you back faster than a Friday night under the stadium lights? For me, it’s a flood of memories: the...
Linda Pettie: Still growing at 77
WHEN LINDA Pettie retired in 2014 and moved to Lincoln County, her property held the seeds of a lifelong dream. The vision had been with her since childhood, fertilized by a mother’s green thumb and...
Don Counts: One man, many memories
LIFE TODAY is often captured with a cellphone — snapped, posted, and stored in the Cloud. We scroll through headlines, hobbies, and celebrity news, intending to pass a few minutes. Instead, we often...
Stephen Bryan: Unity wins with heart
THEY STEPPED onto the court believing, not in an easy win or in being the favored team; they believed in each other, in what they’d built, and in what they’d become. When the Unity boys basketball...
Olivia Honey: A legacy of quiet light
THE GYM fell quiet for a split second — just long enough for Olivia Honey’s three-point shot to arc toward the basket. It was the kind of moment you dream about but also carry on your shoulders....
Junior’s Walk: Hope marches through Lincoln County
ON MAY 7, the community gathered at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds for the 21st Annual Blue Ribbon Walk. This powerful tradition raises awareness for child abuse prevention and provides critical...
Letter From the Editor
IF YOU’VE ever seen a fighter jet cut across the sky, you know what powerful looks like. You know what freedom sounds like. That roar overhead reminds us that we live in a country where people put...
Darion George: Casting memories that last
ON A June Saturday morning, the Stone Bridge Park ducks are a sideshow, not the main attraction. Children crowd the banks, poles in hand — some steady, some wobbling — as adults crouch nearby to...
Stuart Rudy: No veteran stands alone
SUNDAY NIGHTS used to be quiet. Now, they’re alive with voices — sometimes joking, sometimes heavy, always present. Veterans from the 278th G Troop of the Tennessee Army National Guard gather on...
Deb Schroeder: Still answering the call
THE PHONE rang, but Deb Schroeder barely glanced up. Another call. Another message to take. She sat behind the reception desk at the University of Michigan, watching the clock and wondering if this...
Sam Smiley: From patrols to purpose
DEPUTY SAM Smiley stood at the front of the fifth-grade classroom, feeling the weight of expectant eyes. As he asked the students to name responsibilities at home or school, some answered eagerly,...
Anita Ashworth: Honoring Lincoln County’s fallen
ANITA ASHWORTH pulled open the door to the Warrior Exhibit. Outside, traffic circled the square, everyday life in motion — its freedom preserved by those remembered within these walls. Time slowed...
Slawburger Festival: A recipe for joy
THE SLAWBURGER Festival is an annual event that brings the community together in celebration of the town’s signature dish: the mustard-based, slaw-topped burger. First introduced in 2015, the...
Tiffany and Liam Calvert: Community in motion
TIFFANY AND Liam Calvert are the owners of Magic Athletics. They have been anchored in the community for years and began their business at the old cotton mill. It was a space they quickly outgrew...
Fabulous Fifties Show: 38 years of giving back
THE FABULOUS Fifties Show completed its 38th season in March with nine performances held at Lincoln Central Academy in Fayetteville. The show blends nostalgic entertainment with local impact,...
Letter From the Editor
A FAMILY LOADS up their navy blue Jeep in Tennessee and takes a cross-country road trip. It’ll take several days to get to the Sequoia National Park in California. There may be hours when the Jeep...
Blake Copple: A vision for service
A LINE OF children shifts forward, the faint shuffle of feet echoing in the school hallway. Blake Copple steadies the vision screening device inside a room nearby, preparing for the next student....
Maggie English: Ready for her moment
THE COUNTDOWN echoed through Maggie English’s headset. Five. She adjusted her grip on the camera, her fingers steady despite the adrenaline rush. Four. The production truck crackled with final...
Susan Beck: Ensuring that Laura Grace Beck continues to touch lives
THE ROOM was all too familiar: chairs that pulled out for sleeping, fold-up cots, and vinyl-covered couches piled with last night’s pillows. In the corner, half-open suitcases and overnight bags...
Gary Damron, Barbara Damron Stovall, Anna Damron, and Brenda Damron Hutto: Stewards of a family’s soil
WHILE THE fields no longer stretch unbroken to the horizon, what remains is rooted deep. The land carries the weight of generations — hands that cleared the first fields, feet that walked familiar...
Letter From the Editor
WHEN YOU choose a locally owned business over a national chain, you’re not just spending your money, you’re planting it. And the roots of that investment reach deep. Every dollar counts, and it...
Gay Dempsey: Banking on community
ON CHRISTMAS Eve in 1960, Charles Gleghorn stepped behind the teller’s counter at Lincoln County Bank for the first time. He slid open a heavy wooden cash drawer, its metal dividers clinking against...
Dan Holt: Small-town grocer, big-time impact
HOLT’S IGA may bear Dan Holt’s name, but this hometown grocer’s greatest success is carried on the shoulders of his team. Holt never set out to own a grocery store. In October 2016, he bought a...
Mike and Jeff Bradford: Fixing what big stores can’t
FROM THE corner of your eye, Mt. Washmore looms — laundry stalled by a dead washing machine. The big box store’s helpline? Forty-five minutes on hold, promising you’re “next.” It hasn’t always been...
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