By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard April Roberts is shown holding her newborn daughter while dad Travis looks on. Allison Nicole Roberts was born Wednesday, July 16 at River Park Hospital at 11 pounds 14 ounces. (Charles W. Johnson photo) Becoming a parent is one of the biggest events in…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — To teacher Harry McMackin, not even a change in state law can make an ‘A’ from one instructor equal the ‘A’ from a different one.McMackin, who has taught history at Hillsboro High School for almost three decades, says grading a student’s performance is the most…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard HOBBS Prominent nurseryman and longtime county commissioner Leslie Richard Hobbs passed away Saturday morning at River Park Hospital. He was 79.Hobbs was the founder of Warren County Nursery, Inc., starting the business in 1950 following his service in the U.S. Navy during World War II.His…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard The disappearance of the victim has caused problems in closing the case of a man who was wounded in a drive-by shooting July 4 at Skyline Apartments.According to McMinnville Police Investigator Mike Vann, the victim, Edgar David Hernandez, is nowhere to be found and sources…

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.) Terry Pennington still has a few day lilies blooming in his yard, but most of his varieties are on the way out for this year. He estimates he has 250 different types of day lilies. (James Clark photos) This is the time of year…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard McMinnville citizens will get a chance to have their collective voices heard in early September on another city-initiated local option sales tax referendum.According to Elections Administrator Donna Yates, the date of the election is Sept. 4, with early voting set for Aug. 15 through Aug.…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard MATHENY News was mixed for Warren County in the latest state-wide study of crime and law enforcement released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.The bad news: Warren County’s crime rate is higher than the state average. The good news: Almost no one in the state…

Thomas Harold Payne, 70McMinnville resident and Warren County native Thomas Harold Payne, 70, died unexpectedly July 16 at River Park Hospital.A retired Church of Christ minister after 35 years of service, a retired employee of DeZurik and a member of Bethany Church of Christ, he served his country in the U.S. Air Force during the…

By Joan Ryan / Columnist M’Liss Koopman had been a U.S. Air Force veterinarian for 11 years before she left in 2000 when her son was born. To build her retirement benefits, she signed onto the reserves two years ago.She researched reserve units for six months to find one with the lowest probability of overseas…

By George Plagenz / Columnist Summertime always makes me think of Ruth Lyman. Of course, I never called her Ruth. To me and the other young people at King’s Chapel in Boston, she was always Mrs. Lyman — or Granny.Many were the stimulating evenings spent at her house in Brookline, Mass., or in Northeast Harbor,…