By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard MATHENEY A meth lab can be found on Capitol Hill this Tuesday as state Rep. Judd Matheny will lead a program to educate legislators on the growing meth problem.“Legislators need to see what members of local law enforcement are dealing with every day,” said Matheny,…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard The school board’s proposed 2003-2004 school calendar, which has already met with controversy from the teachers union, also risks alienating the black community because it does not include the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.“Personally, I think it’s a national holiday and should be observed…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard WILSON After almost four months of work by the Industrial Development Board, Morrison Tool & Fab owner Ron Wilson has decided to put a planned expansion into the former Findlay building on hold.Wilson noted it was not an easy decision to make, considering the…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale said it’s possible Warren County teachers could receive a pay raise of anywhere between $1,300 to $3,000 as a result of a court ruling to equalize the pay of state teachers.“All we’ve heard so far is rumors, though I…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard John Milligan describes how the deer jumped completely over the hood of his Dodge pickup which is close to four feet tall and six feet wide. “It didn’t leave a scratch on it,” Milligan said. Not usually home to wildlife, downtown McMinnville was visited by…

Damion Christopher Bouldin, 4McMinnville resident and Warren County native Damion Christopher Bouldin, 4, died March 4 by drowning.The son of Angela Bouldin and Phillip Haston of McMinnville, he is also survived by sisters, Lacey and Kassey Haston; maternal grandparents, James and Deborah Bouldin; maternal great-grandmother, Helen Smith; paternal grandparents, Connie and Jim Hatcher; paternal grandparents,…

By Jim Mullen / Columnist There are several car commercials running on television now that show people dancing in the front seat of their cars. As if this is the big reason you should buy a brand new $33,000 car. So you can get a $500 sound system. Good deal, huh? The commercials don’t say…

By George Plagenz / Columnist I used to envy the inspirational preachers I heard. While the rest of us were being laid low by our troubles, they had a ready solution for every difficulty.Not only that, they seemed to be saying that we should welcome our troubles. Without them, our lives would be intolerably dull.…

By James Clark / Columnist If only life could be as happy and carefree as a fortune cookie. Those cookies always seem to contain such uplifting messages of hope and promising things to come.As a guy who doesn’t shy away from the buffet table, I’m no stranger to fortune cookies. In fact I probably crack…

Our Viewpoint It was difficult not to be a little bit surprised by the verdict released by Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott earlier this week.Judge Scott declared 15-year-old Brandon Wiley was ready to be released from a juvenile institution on Monday and into the custody of his mother. The decision comes almost exactly three months…