By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard LEWIS With early voting expected to pull in nearly half of the voters, candidates say the early voting surge has changed the way they must campaign.During the election in August, 37 percent of the people who voted took advantage of the early voting option during…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard ELIOTT Editor’s note: The following article is the third in a three-part series exploring the school system’s ESOL, or English to Speakers of Other Languages, program and how it affects both students and teachers.Without a common language, the process of teaching becomes infinitely more difficult.…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard PAGE Health officials have confirmed West Nile virus in at least three area birds and have suspended bird testing for the rest of the year.Warren County Health Department environmental specialist Donald Page said Tuesday that as of last week, two blue jays and one crow…

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.) TONY STEWART’S NO. 20 CAR It’s been 33 weeks and 33 strikeouts for racing fans hoping to win the Standard’s NASCAR Picks Contest.The bad news is no one has won the jackpot yet. On the flip side, that means the jackpot has become a…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Vickie Hall holds up a well-dressed skeleton in her positively spooky front yard. Vickie says her yard decorations always bring many comments and estimates hundreds of trick-or-treaters stopped by her home last year. (James Clark photo) An early curfew will be enforced within McMinnville city…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard HOWARD Plans for future expansion at Warren County Airport are fairly extensive, as improvements for 2010 and beyond include a proposed 1000-foot extension to the present runway which will cross what is now Highway 70 that runs adjacent to the airport.This section of Highway…

By Joan Ryan / Columnist October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Bulletin to organizers: We are aware. We know what the pink ribbon means. We know that breast cancer kills tens of thousands of women each year. You have done a wonderful job.Now it’s time to shift our energies from marketing to medicine.As lovely as…

By Mike Vinson / Columnist When debating particular issues, individuals are all too quick to cry out that the Constitution of the United States calls for a definitive “separation of church and state.” Truth of the matter is the Constitution does not literally include the words “separation of church and state” as such in one,…

By Duane Sherrill / Columnist Will McMinnville get legal liquor? Will the city pass a local option sales tax increase? Will the state get a lottery? Will the voters chose to increase fines for code violators?This year has an abundance of choices for the voters, not only in political races, but in referendum questions. These…

Our Viewpoint As we prepare for Halloween and get ready to trick or treat tomorrow night, the emphasis will be on family fun. While it’s important to enjoy Halloween, we can’t forget returning home safely is crucial to having a memorable night.That’s why the Standard encourages everyone to take part in Halloween activities, but to…