To the Editor:

These days it seems just about everything we do must be scheduled ahead of time and logged on a calendar of some kind, electronic or otherwise. I hope you’ll take this opportunity to tap, click, type, write or make an old-school mental note, and add Taste of Wilson County to your calendar of choice for Thursday, Oct. 18. Oktoberfest weekend at Wilson Bank & Trust kicks off that evening with a Taste event that you will not want to miss.

Hosted by Wilson Bank & Trust, Performance Food Group and the Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce, Taste of Wilson County was originally organized to promote local restaurants and caterers while giving back to local education through the Chamber’s education fund. 

Today the event has grown into much more than that. It’s an annual occasion for everyone to become a foodie, sampling some of the county’s best food while enjoying a night out with family and friends. The Taste marketplace also gives you a place to shop, paint and socialize while cleansing your palate for the next bite. To top it off (so to speak), this year’s event also features a grill-off among local celebrities and chefs, and our VIP section comes with a personal chef and a little extra pampering for those who enjoy the royal treatment.

 Tennessee homeowners are already reaping substantial benefits under the National Mortgage Settlement, according to a preliminary report released this week by settlement monitor Joe Smith.

Compiling data received from all five mortgage servicers who are party to the settlement, the report shows that Tennessee homeowners have received over $36 million in relief during the first quarter of the settlement from March 1, 2012 through June 30, 2012. The relief comes in the form of loan modifications, refinances and facilitated short sales.

The monitor’s report also shows that at the close of the quarterly period servicers were in the process of offering an additional $17-29 million in savings to Tennessee homeowners.

“Although this preliminary report represents a good start by these five servicers, there is still a lot more work to do,” said Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper. “Our office is committed to making sure that homeowners receive the benefits they are entitled to under the settlement.”

By GEORGE ROBERTSON, M.D.

The little town of Erwin, Tennessee seems to have little to offer. It lies in the heart of the Smoky Mountains just southeast of Johnson City. Its oblong layout is dictated by the surrounding peaks as it hugs the valley near the North Carolina state line. But the best thing about this remote small town is the scenic river flowing through it.

On Wednesday, Linda and I put on our personal flotation devices and helmets in preparation for the white water run on the Nolichucky River, a 9-mile stretch of whitewater just up river from Erwin. A 45-minute bus ride took us over the pass where the Appalachian Trail crosses the road and then into North Carolina where we would put our seven-person raft into the muddy water above a long stretch of whitewater in the eastern USA.

We practiced our strokes and Ben, our raft guide, shouted instructions loud enough to be heard over the churning roar of the river.

By SAM HATCHER

Labor Day weekend is a checkered flag signaling the end of summer.

And what an unusual summer it has been.

Drought and record heat in the early weeks followed by plentiful rain and cooler temperatures in the second half.

At one time, as I recall, we went through a stretch of eight days with daily high mercury readings topping the 100 degree mark.

By Tennessee Attorney General BOB COOPER

Some returning students may think that the new generation of synthetic drugs on the shelves of their local stores is perfectly safe and legal. But if they really believe that, it is a good thing they are going back to school. Recent changes in Tennessee and federal laws cover a broader range of synthetic drugs and impose increased penalties. Store owners who market these dangerous substances run the risk of seeing their store padlocked by local authorities.

Synthetic drugs burst onto the scene in Tennessee a couple of years ago under harmless-sounding names such as “bath salts” and “plant food.” The products were widely promoted as legal alternatives to ecstasy, cocaine and other controlled substances. At that time, the Office of the Attorney General and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture responded aggressively to get these products off the shelves. The General Assembly also took prompt action to outlaw the substances. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation cooperated with local law enforcement, district attorneys and my office to crack down on retailers and wholesalers under the new statutes.