By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard RIGSBY In the wake of the announced closing of Warren County’s Carrier plant, local officials and members of business and industry continue to work diligently to get a head start on dealing with the economic impact of the loss of the community’s largest employer.In…

With pagers and radios on their hips ready to respond if needed, members of the Morrison Volunteer Fire Department and First Responders gathered Monday night to honor one of their own, Mark Parker.Voted 2003 Fireman of the Year by his fellow volunteers, Parker is a long-time veteran of the department.In presenting the plaque, fire chief…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Tansey Talbert, right, is pictured with her best friend, Candice Brown. (Photo provided) Like most people her age, Tansey Talbert, 17, was looking forward to the rest of her life. A diligent student, she was studying to take the GED in April and was planning…

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON / Associated Press Writer TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Voters in 11 Southern states favor President Bush over Sen. John Kerry and they trust Republicans more on moral and cultural issues, according to a poll released Tuesday. But when it comes to the economy, Democrats might have an edge. The poll of 802…

Friday promises to be a festive occasion at the Standard office for customer appreciation day. But there likely won’t be too many appreciative thoughts trotting through the head of the newspaper employee who is forced to kiss a pig.For this year’s Pig Day celebration, the Standard is continuing its popular tradition of publishing a pig-filled…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard TORRES A long run from justice has ended for an alleged local cocaine trafficker after he was collared in California, nearly four years after he escaped from Warren County Jail.The suspect, Filberto Torres, 30, is in the custody of California authorities and faces unrelated criminal…

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard (McMinnville, Tenn.) WastAway owner Floyd Bouldin stands in front of about 50 tons of 6x6s made entirely from household garbage. The building materials are being stored at WastAway’s newest addition, the former Findlay building. (James Clark photo) The amazing process of turning household trash into building…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard TALBERT A teenage girl passed away in the hours following a Saturday evening crash on Short Mountain Road while the reported driver of the car continues to recover from his severe injuries.The girl, Tansey Kay Talbert, 17, passed away just after midnight Sunday morning at…

By BEN FELLER / AP Education Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The three-campus Capitol Hill Cluster School needed it all: paper, paint, ink cartridges, locker parts and those little metal glides to fix wobbly chairs. Who raised the money? Parents, mainly. Most of the $105,000 raised by the school’s PTA this school year is going for…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Representatives of a Canadian drug distribution company told lawmakers Tuesday they could save the state about $456 million a year on 61 of TennCare’s 100 most costly prescriptions. On one drug alone, cholesterol-lowering Zocor, CanaRx Services Inc. claims it could save Tennessee more than half…