TRAGEDY HITS HOME

   Linda Davis, the mother of Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, awoke Wednesday morning with a feeling she couldn't shake.

Davis's death 'a sad deal'

   Many of Jefferson Donald Davis's friends heard the news Wednesday about the U.S. soldiers who died under friendly fire in Afghanistan. But none of them really believed it would be someone they knew.

2nd Place UT/TPA Best Personal Column
AP Contest

'Somebody has to do it'

   When my daughter, Rebekah, sucked in her last breath at the age of 19 days, I mourned for the child I would never know.

2nd Place Non-Deadline Reporting Story
AP Contest

Vietnam: Over but not forgotten

   War is hell and there are atrocities on both sides.
   Last Tuesday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch group called for an "urgent, thorough and independent inquiry" into recent disclosures by...

Good morning, Vietnam! Notes from the field

   Capt. Robert Snowden, now of Florida, was about 30 years old when he joined Lima 3/5 in Vietnam. He was flown by chopper from Phu Bai to An Hoa and from there to a landing zone and his march began.

Honorable Mention Non-Deadline Reporting Story - AP Contest

'Bridge Kids' dare to be different despite public reaction
  
   Throughout history there have been those that have marched to a different drummer. Einstein, Mozart, Van Gogh, and more recently, Elvis, Andy Warhol, Madonna, Ozzy Osborne ... All have left their marks on history.

'Bridge Kids' actions, not attire prompts extra police patrol

   Elizabethton Police Department put on extra patrol at Covered Bridge Park around the Fourth of July in response to increased complaints of vandalism and antisocial behavior at the park.