From Post staff reports

Lebanon songwriter Curly Putman said Monday he was putting together for himself a personal CD of songs he had written for and were sung or recorded by country music legend George Jones, who died last week.

Off-hand, Putman first said he wasn't sure what that number was and he'd have to do some research but by yesterday he had determined that he had written and passed along at least some 15 songs to Jones.

First, of course, on that list, would have to be the all-time favorite, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," a song listed by many as the greatest country song ever written. Putman co-wrote the song with Bobby Braddock.

The song about a man who loved his wife until he drew his last breath was recorded by Jones in 1980. It was, as proclaimed by Jones and others, a needed positive in his long country music career. It literally revived his career he and others said. "He Stopped Loving Her Today" was Jones’ first number one hit at the time in more than six years.

As a result of recording the ballad, Jones earned the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Performer in 1980 and the Academy of Country Music awarded the song Single of the Year and Song of the Year. The song also became the Country Music Association's Song of the Year in both 1980 and 1981.

Jones, known to some as “the Possum,” was appreciative of the song and sent a letter to Putman which hangs in his den.

The letter reads: “There is no doubt that my favorite Curly Putman song has to be ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today.’ I will always be grateful to you and Bobby Braddock for adding the rendition for me after a year or more of my trying to record that song and thinking it needed that little something extra to make it complete. ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today’ was the song I always wished I would have written. It became a monster hit, won lots of awards and is my signature song. Thank you for that.”    

Putman, a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, once said, "I've always thought if you can cover love, hopeless situations, happiness and death you can touch people's souls! That makes for a great country song!" He certainly managed to cover all those topics in "He Stopped Loving Her Today."

While "He Stopped Loving Her Today" would have to be viewed as one of his most successful songs, Putman has had many more in his storied career. One of his most recorded songs and viewed as a country music standard still today is "Green, Green Grass of Home." Performers who have recorded "Green Grass" as Putman and others in the business like to call the song have included Porter Wagoner, Elvis Presley, Kenny Rogers, Johnny Darrell, Gram Parsons, Joan Baez, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Roberto Leal, Merle Haggard, Bobby Bare, Joe Tex, Nana Mouskouri, and Tom Jones.

Country singer/songwriter and longtime Wilson County resident Charlie Daniels said on The Marquee Blog at cnn.com, "Rest in peace George Jones. There will never be another one like you and we'll miss you a bunch buddy."

"I am so saddened by the news of George Jones's passing,” said country singer/songwriter and Mt. Juliet resident Tracy Lawrence. “He was a wonderful friend and I will always treasure the times we had together. My thoughts and prayers are with Nancy and the entire family. George left a tremendous mark on Country music and inspired us all. I will miss him. God Bless you George."

Mr. Jones’ funeral will take place on Thursday, May 2, at The Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, starting at 10 a.m. and will be open to the public.

"George would have wanted his fans and friends everywhere to be able to come and pay their respects along with his family," said Kirt Webster, Mr. Jones’ publicist.

"Thanks to George’s friends, fans, and loved ones for the outpouring of love at this terrible time," said Nancy Jones, his wife. "I love you all."

A private visitation for family, friends, and fellow performers will take place on Wednesday evening. 

“The Voice” of Country Music fell silent with the passing of the iconic legend in Nashville at the age of 81. Long recognized as country music’s most indescribable voice by not only the fans, but critics in all genres, the music world continues to mourn the loss  of its’ finest stylist, who was considered the greatest living country singer.

A member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1956, Mr. Jones achieved perhaps his greatest personal honor when he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1992.

More than 35 years ago, as noted in his discography, Mr. Jones recorded “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes?” a song that posed the question of whether music newcomers would come along that could possibly walk in the steps of the progenitors and giants of country music. In light of the loss of this legendary voice, the question has never seemed more poignant.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that contributions be made to the Grand Ole Opry trust fund at Opry Trust Fund, 2804 Opryland Drive, Nashville, TN 37214, or to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at http://store.countrymusichalloffame.com/categories/Donate/

By SABRINA GARRETT
The Wilson Post

Proud and somber was how one person described the mood of all who gathered at Nashville International Airport as the body of 1^st Lt. Joshua Hovies of Lebanon was returned Monday night from South Korea.

The plane carrying Hovies’ body landed shortly after 7 p.m., said Walter Long, family counselor at Wilson County Funeral Home and Memorial Park which is in charge of funeral arrangements for the lieutenant.

He noted that Hovies’ family arrived almost an hour earlier to meet the plane on the tarmac. A large number of friends also joined the family but waited in the cargo area.

“There were probably 40 or 50 cars in the procession,” Long said. “The Wilson County Sheriff’s Department met us at the airport and escorted us back to Lebanon, along with the Patriot Riders.” The Patriot Guard Riders are a group of motorcyclists who often attend and assist in funerals to honor U.S. Military personnel.

“Then the Lebanon Police joined us once we were back in Lebanon. The family was very composed – it was a proud moment because of him being a veteran,” Long added.

Hovies, 26, died Friday, April 19, in Gunsan, South Korea in an off-base swimming accident. He was assigned to Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, where he was training to apply to the Air Force’s elite Special Forces corps.

Hovies’ funeral, to be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, May 4, at First Baptist Church, Lebanon, will be conducted with full military honors, and he will receive a 21-gun salute.

Wilson County Board of Education is expected to consider whether to accept or allow the Tennessee Board of Regents to establish a technology center in the former Wilson County Vocational Cetner adjacent to the campus of the old Lebanon High School during the regular meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, May 6.

The issue has been discussed at several meetings in the past year or so with at least three board members indicating their support for it if certain matters were addressed.

By RUTH CORRELL
Wilson County Agricultural Extension Agent                                     

Garden impatiens (Impatiens walleriana) is one of the most popular bedding plants grown in American gardens. It flowers and grows well in shade. However, downy mildew, a new disease of garden impatiens, has made it more difficult to grow and enjoy this colorful annual. 

Downy mildew was first found on garden impatiens in U.S. landscapes in the Midwest and Northeast in 2011. To the chagrin of home gardeners and professional landscapers alike, by 2012 the disease was found on garden impatiens in all regions of Tennessee and every state east of the Mississippi River. This year the problem may be widespread.

Dr. Alan Windham, a University of Tennessee Extension plant pathologist, says that it pays to know the symptoms of downy mildew. Early symptoms include light green, curled leaves. Later, infected plants may drop all their leaves and stop flowering. Often, white fungal growth may be observed on the underside of leaves. 

Dr. Windham recommends that flower consumers be cautious. “When buying impatiens this year, look for healthy plants free of the fungus. If you lost your impatiens to downy mildew last year, you might consider planting an alternative bedding plant such as begonia, coleus, New Guinea impatiens or SunPatiens. 

Check out the UT Extension Soil, Plant and Pest Center on Facebook at:  https://www.facebook.com/SoilPlantPestCenter and for more information contact your local UT/TSU Extension Office.

Calculating Fertilizer Costs Made Easy

Have you ever had trouble calculating the cost of your fertilizer applications? Don’t worry. You are not alone.

University of Tennessee Extension reminds producers that a fertilizer cost calculator is available online for their use. The tool was developed by the UT Agricultural and Resource Economics Department and is an Excel-based calculator. It can evaluate the cost of applying varying levels of fertilizer and using various products. The calculator should be used as a tool (along with a soil test) to evaluate estimated costs per acre for fertilizer.

The only fields in the spreadsheet which can be changed are: 1. Price per ton for Urea, Ammonium Nitrate, DAP and Muriate of Potash, 2. Application rate per acre of (N,P2O5, and K2O) - example (60-30-30 or 60-0-30), 3. Application costs per acre ($/acre) - this may be a charge/acre to be truck spread, or a buggy rental fee prorated on a per acre basis.

For traditional standard blends of fertilizer (6-12-12 or 19-19-19) application rate would be adjusted by the number of pounds planned to apply per acre. Example: 200 pounds of 19-19-19 per acre would have the application rate of 38-38-38 and 300 pounds per acre would be an application rate of 57-57-57.

A current soil test will assist you in evaluating the feasibility of applying a standard blend of fertilizer.

To download the fertilizer cost calculating tool, visit the website: http://economics.ag.utk.edu/fertilizer.html

For more information about fertilizer rates and recommendations and soil tests, please contact your local county UT/TSU Extension office.

Cattle Market Trends

Slaughter cows $1 lower, $63.00-$83.00;  Slaughter bulls steady to $3 lower$82.00-$98.00;  Feeder steers $4 to $10 lower; 102.00-$180.00;  Feeder heifers $2 to $7 lower, $85.00-$163.00; Feeder Cattle Index - Wednesday’s index $134.86. Fed Cattle 5 area live price of $125.27 is down $1.96 and the dressed price is up $0.62 at $200.00 Cattle Receipts (# sales): This week: 7,180 (11) Week ago: 9,150 (11) Year ago: 7,800 (12). (UT Market Highlights)

Cattle Market Comments

As live cattle and feeder cattle prices flounder on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, so do cash markets for live cattle, feeder cattle, stockers and cull cattle. Markets continue struggling to gain traction as we head into the latter half of April which would have been difficult to project a month ago much less six months ago. Prices were considered weak last fall and winter due to drought issues and elevated feed costs. Though the cattle market continues to be hampered by these issues, the more prevalent issue is the slow start to spring and warmer weather. Many regions that were drought stricken in 2012 have received some precipitation the past few weeks, but they have yet to feel temperatures increase to a level to promote forage growth. A secondary concern is in relation to the planting season. Weather conditions have also kept many corn growers out of the field. If the current pattern persists then some corn producers may shift acreage to soybeans. This is not a major concern just yet, but corn plantings across the nation are lagging the averages. Many producers were hoping for an early spring and for temperatures to promote forage growth since the hay harvest of 2012 was short. However, Mother Nature is rubbing salt into the wound of many producers who were banking on utilizing early forage growth to shorten the hay feeding season. Such a situation requires producers to sell a few head, purchase more feed, do both, or do nothing. Not one of these options is appealing as cattle prices struggle and feed prices remain elevated. (Dr. Andrew Griffith, UT Extension)

Grain Market Trends

Report for week ending, 4/19. Soybean prices are mixed while corn, cotton, and wheat prices are down for the week. Corn: Weekly exports were within expectations. Corn planted as of April 14 was reported at 2 percent compared to 16 percent last year and the five year average of 7 percent. Speculation is that some corn ground will be switched to soybeans. Market price at the elevator, $6.54-$ 6.95. May futures closed at $6.52 bushel, down 6 ½ cents a bushel for the week.  Soybeans: Weekly exports were within expectations. Market price at the elevator, $13.93-$14.80.  May futures closed at $14.28 ¼ a bushel, up 15¼ cents a bushel for the week. Wheat:  Weekly exports were well above expectations China was a big buyer of new crop wheat at 30.9 million bushels. Crop condition ratings for winter wheat as of April 14 were 36 percent good to excellent. There is still a lot of uncertainty in this year’s wheat production.  Market price at the elevator, $7.08-$7.29. May futures closed at $7.09 a bushel, down 5 ¾ cents for the week. (Chuck Danehower, UT Extension)

By SABRINA GARRETT
The Wilson Post

Circle S Farms owner Donnie Steed said the cool spring temperatures have postponed their strawberry picking this season.