Beginning this fall, any Tennessee citizen aged 18 or older who wants to attend the Tennessee Technology Center at McMinnville is eligible for up to $1,250 from the Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills Grant funded by the new Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship program.Unlike the HOPE scholarships for high school graduates, the Wilder-Naifeh grants do not require a…

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard A 94,000-square-foot Lowe’s has given Cumberland Plaza shopping center new life. The home improvement mega store is set to open its doors to the public this Friday after about six months of demolition and construction work. (James Clark photo) The store is stocked and employees have…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Twenty people were sentenced last Wednesday by Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley.Included in circuit court action:• Angelo Terasi was ordered to serve 150 days of a three-year sentence and pay $2,150 plus costs for manufacture of drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia.• Brent Edward Boyd…

Dwayne Johnson “The Rock” greets fans after arriving in Selmer, Tenn., Tuesday, March 16, 2004. (AP Photo) SELMER (AP) — Professional wrestler turned actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson stopped by the old stomping grounds of legendary McNairy County Sheriff Buford Pusser and left a $5,000 check for the sheriff’s foundation before jetting off. What was…

NASHVILLE (AP) — More than half of adult Tennesseans have trouble reading well enough to understand a street map or to calculate postage, a new study on adult literacy shows. Fifty-three percent of the state’s adults are classified in the bottom two rungs of the five levels of literacy, according to the study released Monday…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Efforts to allow Tennessee school superintendents to be elected rather than appointed are over for the year. The House Education K-12 Subcommittee voted 6-4 Tuesday morning against a bill sponsored by Rep. Frank Buck that would have allowed county commissions to decide how to choose…

By Jim Mullen / Columnist Myron and Joanna have a weekend place near our farm. They bought an old farmhouse that they’ve completely renovated to look like — an old farmhouse. The new roof, the new electrical wiring, the new kitchen and the new bathrooms probably only cost them two or three times what they…

By Morton Kondracke / Columnist Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of the Christ” clearly is a cultural phenomenon as well as a box office blockbuster. But does it have political fallout? I think a bit, but in the end the right- and left-tilting effects probably balance out.Gibson’s graphically violent depiction of Christ’s arrest, torture and…

By Duane Sherrill / Columnist It’s at times like these I actually miss Bill Clinton. No, I wasn’t a big fan, nor did I ever vote for him, but at least you could count on Slick Willie to add a little spice to the election year.Whether it was him telling us he “didn’t inhale” or…

Our Viewpoint The idea of adding a 5 percent privilege tax to Bonnaroo tickets has never stood on firm ground.The move, initiated by the Coffee County Commission, is a blatant attempt to strip tourists of additional money during their trip to Tennessee. If ultimately passed by the General Assembly, it would set a dangerous precedent…