By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard WILSON Get your shovels and be ready to dig for the annual downtown beautification day set to take place tomorrow.The focus will be on the so-called “back doors” of Main Street businesses and the parking lots located between Main and Colville streets.That effort is significant…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard High school sophomore and crocheter Charles Anderson enjoys making his hand-made items, including the beanies and scarves seen here, for his fellow students. (Will Stewart photo) It may not be the most manly of hobbies for a teenage guy, but Charles Anderson, 16, doesn’t care.…

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard Titans cornerback Andre Dyson brought smiles to the faces of hundreds of Hickory Creek students during his visit to McMinnville yesterday as part of the seventh annual Titans Caravan. (James Clark photo) Cornerback Andre Dyson was the featured guest yesterday when the Titans Caravan rolled into…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard A teenage girl was bound with duct tape and raped on King’s Landing boat dock this week, according to police reports, leaving lawmen searching for her rapist who remains at large.The 16-year-old victim reported the rape to family members minutes after it occurred. Her alleged…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee had the second highest number of Powerball winners among the 27 states that participate in the multistate game, state lottery officials said Thursday. The Tennessee Lottery began selling Powerball tickets Monday. Players in Tennessee won an estimated $452,058 on 51,780 tickets in the first drawing Wednesday, including a $100,000 ticket sold…

JOHNSON CITY (AP) — A neurologist who police say hatched a plot to poison his former boss with ricin has a chance to get his medical license returned. The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners gave Johnson City physician Ray W. Mettetal Jr. a chance to practice again by meeting some conditions, including psychological treatment. Criminal…

SPRING HILL (AP) — A woman arrested on drug violations may face charges of child abuse after police found her 14-year-old son living in a shed behind her house. Police charged Cathy Vandygriff Bernala with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, possession of drug paraphernalia, drug possession and giving a drug to a minor.…

By NANCY ZUCKERBROD / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Bringing up baby while holding down a job was the subject of a hearing led by Sen. Lamar Alexander Thursday. Alexander, R-Tenn., and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., heard from advocates who want Congress to promote policies that would ease burdens faced by families, especially…

By ELIZABETH A. DAVIS / Associated Press Writer KNOXVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority issued layoff notices to 106 employees on Thursday and announced 550 employees have chosen to leave voluntarily. TVA also said it will eliminate 281 contractor positions in the coming months. The utility offered voluntary early retirement and buyout packages to…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Lt. Gov. John Wilder made “openly prejudiced and racially biased” remarks to Capitol visitors, according to a Carter County commissioner who wants a written apology besides the phone call he got Thursday. “During your introductory remarks you stated that ‘because of affirmative action favoring blacks,…