Our Viewpoint It’s great to see state Sen. Jerry Cooper working so diligently to try and produce a compromise between Blue Cross Blue Shield and HCA. That’s because something desperately needs to be done to get a contract agreement signed between these two health care giants as soon as possible.Based on Cooper’s letter, his solution…

The Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra will return to Cumberland County Playhouse Feb. 21 for a long-awaited performance. The orchestra was founded in 1935 by Bertha Walburn Clark. Since then, it has developed from a group of friends and students known as “The Walburn Clark Little Symphony” into a full symphonic ensemble.The symphony’s current maestro Kirk…

By James Clark/ Business Pulse Every once and a while you see something that makes you stop and think “What was that guy thinking?”That’s exactly what ran through my mind the other day when I took a turn by the car wash and began cruising up N. Chancery Street. The store in question was right…

By Janice M. Howard / Style Editor for the Southern Standard Haile snuggles with a gift teddy bear after being crowned winner of the 36th annual contest sponsored by Morrison Ruritan. (Janice M. Howard photos) Haile West Adams walked away with the title and crown as winner of the 2003 Little Miss Valentine Pageant. She…

Paid advertisement Alice Clayton was thrilled with her first trip to the Thrift Store and More.“It’s good clothes, clean clothes,” Alice said. “You don’t want to buy wadded up old stuff to put on a baby. This stuff is like new.”Store owners Steve Ray and Patti Davis say they’ve heard those words plenty of times…

Mary Ella Bates Smithson, Joene G. Bouldin, Woodrow Dorris, J. Frank Beck, June Elizabeth Papineau Curlee Mary Ella Bates Smithson, 85McMinnville resident Mary Ella Bates Smithson, 85, died Feb. 14 at Baptist DeKalb Hospital in Smithville after an extended illness.A homemaker and retired teacher’s assistant with the Warren County School System and a member of…

McMinnville-Warren County Emergency Management Agency and state officials are proclaiming today through Saturday as Severe Weather Awareness Week in Tennessee.Throughout the week, the National Weather Service, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and other groups will conduct educational activities and drills on certain days of the week to help people prevent injuries and deaths from tornadoes, damaging…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Those wondering what a drilling rig was doing on Main Street last week need to look no further than the downtown revitalization project.Preliminary work on Main Street has begun with core drilling occurring in the downtown area. About 12 core drillings were planned to help…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Warren County residents know how to respond to need.They proved it Friday, when only two hours into the American Red Cross Valentine’s Day blood drive, organizers had more than half the numbers they had hoped for. By the end of the day, a record turnout…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard STANLEY A pair of meth traffickers were sent to jail to await sentencing by Judge Bart Stanley after they failed surprise drug tests ordered while the defendants were in court.The defendants, Melinda Ross and Bryan Pease, were ordered to jail by Stanley recently, where they…