A 49-person docket was heard Thursday by Judge Larry Ross in General Sessions Traffic Court.Included in court action:• Johnny Brady was bound over to the grand jury on charges of fifth-offense DUI and fourth-offense driving on a revoked license.• Allen Trial Morton was bound over to the grand jury on charges of DUI and possession…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Twenty people were sentenced last week by Judge Bart Stanley in Circuit Court.Included in court action:• Virginia Andrews was directed to serve 120 days of a four-year sentence, pay $2,000 and perform 25 hours public service work for manufacture of drugs.• Tommy Joe Basham was…

By MELISSA STOVER / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard If all the warm weather is giving you spring fever and you’re ready to get out and about, McMinnville Parks and Recreation Department’s new hiking club has an adventure waiting for you. The club has been an idea of Parks and Recreation employees for some…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard DAMRON If you’re interested in learning Spanish, but more than just the few phrases needed to get by in Cancun or to order at a Mexican restaurant, Warren County Community Education has the course for you.Offered for the sixth time, the program’s highly successful conversational…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Thursday will be the final day to cast early votes in the party primaries and county option sales tax referendum.According to Election Administrator Donna Yates, over 1,200 people had cast early votes as of Tuesday morning, which is an above average pace.“I’d say this is…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Unlike the Hope Scholarship, which a student must apply for and use directly out of high school, the Tennessee Education Lottery’s Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills Grant can be applied for and used by a person of any age — and at any time — in his…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard A consumer advisory has been issued regarding a bogus lottery scam which targets senior citizens.The advisory, put out by the Tennessee Regulatory Authority this week, warns of a telephone scam from a con artist who identifies himself as a customs officer from the state of…

By MARY DALRYMPLE / AP Tax Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Families in the rural South are more likely to earn low incomes than families in any other part of the nation, according to a study released Tuesday by the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy.In rural communities stretching from Maryland to Texas, 30…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Nearly three-fourths of Tennesseans surveyed in a recent statewide poll give Gov. Phil Bredesen high marks for his first year in office.The Democratic governor received an excellent to good rating by 72 percent and a fair to poor rating by 22 percent.‘He’s doing something right, and a lot of other governors in…