Sullivan County | featured news

COLONIAL HEIGHTS — Northeast Tennessee lawmakers donned aprons to feed hungry Kingsport Chamber members and then dished out their major takeaways from the last legislative session during the chamber's 14th annual legislative barbecue at Domtar Cabin on Thursday night.
"What a way to be served by those elected to serve," said Lori Arnold, chair of the Kingsport Chamber Foundation.
Following the feast, here's what the lawmakers had to say:
State Sen. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol
"I thank God my dog Nash can't run for office because if he did, he would win.

GATE CITY, VA - Joseph (Joe) Lawrence Rusek, 82, of Gate City VA passed away on July 21, 2019 in Richmond VA surrounded in love with his family.
A celebration of life will be held on Sunday, August 11 at Gate City Funeral Home from 1:00 – 4:00 pm with a service 4:30.
In lieu of flowers, donations are requested for the Operation BBQ Relief in Joe’s name (www.operationbbqrelief.org), Mountain Empire Community College Peggy Rusek Memorial Scholarship (www.meccfoundation.org), or to the Circle Center Adult Day Services (www.circlecenterva.org) in memory of Joe.
 

SURGOINSVILLE - Linda Lawson Winegar, age 69 of Surgoinsville, passed away, Tuesday, August 6, 2019 at Ballad Health Holston Valley Medical Center following a brief illness. 
Visitation hours will be 12:00 Noon to 3:00 P.M., Saturday, August 10, 2019 at Broome Funeral Home, Rogersville.
Funeral service will be conducted 3:00 P.M., Saturday, August 10, 2019 in the funeral home chapel with Rev. Steve Holt and Rev. George Winegar officiating.   Burial will follow in Hawkins County Memorial Gardens with Rev. Tecky Hicks officiating.

Naomi McConnell Lane, 97, passed away peacefully at Steadman Hills Assisted Living on August 3, 2019.
The family will receive friends on Sunday, August 11, 2019, from 12:00 am 1:00 p.m. at Gate City United Church.  Naomi’s funeral service will immediately follow.
In lieu of flowers, Naomi asked that donations be made to Gate City United Methodist Church.
Gate City Funeral Home is honored to be serving the family of Naomi McConnell Lane.

ROGERSVILLE - Betty S. Bailey, age 80 of Rogersville, passed away, Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at Church Hill Health Care & Rehab.
Visitation hours will be 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M., Sunday, August 11, 2019 at Broome Funeral Home, Rogersville.
Funeral service will be conducted 3:00 P.M., Sunday, August 11, 2019 in the funeral home chapel with Dr. J. Gregory Lawson officiating. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.
Online condolences may be made at www.broomefuneralhome.com 
Broome Funeral Home, Rogersville is honored to serve the Bailey family.

SURGOINSVILLE - Jessie “Earlean” Barton 72 of Surgoinsville, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Wednesday, August 7, 2019.
The family will receive friends from 11am to 1pm on Saturday, August 10, 2019 at Carter-Trent Funeral Home in Church Hill. A funeral service will follow with Evangelist Pat Hammond officiating. Music will be provided by Amanda Dykes.
A graveside service will follow at Hawkins County Memorial Gardens with family and friends serving as pallbearers.

NORTON — Shayne Fields spends his days this summer between planning ways to expand the city’s recreational trail network and actually building those trails.
As Norton’s trails coordinator, Fields is responsible for expanding and maintaining the city’s system of more than nine miles of trails ranging from Legion Park and the Flag Rock Recreation Area up to the city reservoir.
Fields said the current city trail map shows 9.1 miles of hiking and biking trails, but that will be growing this year.

KINGSPORT — The big hitters are coming back to town.
A year after hosting an ultra successful World Long Drive event, Cattails at MeadowView Golf Course will again be the site of the Tennessee Big Shots benefiting Niswonger Children’s Hospital. Preliminary rounds are set for Saturday and Sunday with the televised quarterfinals, semifinals and finals being held Monday.
Monday’s action will be on Golf Channel for the second year in a row. The telecast runs from 6-8 p.m.

BRISTOL, Va. — Brett Baty is living the dream, and Thursday night the $3.9 million bonus baby delivered big like a Texan would, pushing the Kingsport Mets to a 4-3 victory over Bristol in the first game of an Appalachian League doubleheader at DeVault Stadium.
In the second game, the Pirates evened the count with a 10-2 runaway win.
A powerful 6-foot-3, 210-pound third baseman who was the No. 12 overall pick in June’s amateur draft, Baty grounded a one-out single up the middle in the top of the seventh inning of the opener to plate Sebastian Espino and break a 3-3 tie.

KINGSPORT — For the last 10 years, Jason Salley has dreamed of traveling across the world, taking only the necessities and immersing himself fully in other cultures.
Now, that dream is about to become a reality.
In just a few days, Salley will embark on a six-month solo trip to seven countries across the globe. Throughout his trip, Salley will share updates on his blog and with the Times News, including photos and interesting facts from his experiences.
“There are so many people that have really taken an interest in this, and it makes me incredibly happy,” Salley said.