NASHVILLE (AP) — Officials at the state Department of Environment and Conservation celebrated Earth Day on Thursday by presenting Gov. Phil Bredesen with a copy of its new recreation plan. Last year, Bredesen ordered a 40-member advisory committee to oversee development of the plan, hoping to establish a “seamless system” to protect Tennessee’s natural resources…

By KARIN MILLER / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE (AP) — Gov. Phil Bredesen’s TennCare legislation began moving through the General Assembly on Thursday with unanimous approval by a Senate committee, even as doctors expressed concerns it might hurt them and their patients. The key stumbling block to the legislation was removed Wednesday evening when the…

By Cokie & Steven Roberts If you want to know why the legislative process in Washington is practically paralyzed, just look at what Rep. Pat Toomey is trying to do here in Pennsylvania. The three-term Republican lawmaker is challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in a primary next week on grounds that the incumbent lacks pure conservative…

By Joan Ryan The more I read about the steroid scandal spreading across the nation from the California nutrition and supplement company BALCO, the more difficulty I have working up a good fit of outrage. I find myself wondering if the time has come to ask ourselves the radical question: Should we consider making performance-enhancing…

By James Clark If you’re yearning for a little good-hearted aggravation, you won’t want to miss the Standard’s seventh annual Kite Day tomorrow morning.It’s a day when hundreds of children from around the county gather at Hickory Creek Elementary to watch in unison as their parents try – and fail – to fly kites.The one…

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McMinnville resident and DeKalb County native L.D. Walker, 78, died April 22 at St. Thomas Hospital.A retired mechanic with Caney Fork Electric for 38 years, he was the son of the late Louis and Martha Welch Walker; and was preceded in death by sisters, Elizabeth Walker and Anna Rosetta Hickerson; and brothers-in-law, Joe Boren and…

McMinnville resident and Jackson County native Jo Ethel Pedigo, 83, died April 22 at Baptist DeKalb Hospital after an extended illness.A nursing assistant with River Park Hospital and a member of the Church of Christ, she was the daughter of Joel Polson and Anna Lee Stafford; and was preceded in death by her husband, Alton…

Spencer resident and Van Buren County native Iva Nell Brymer, 61, died April 20 at her home after a one-year illness.A factory worker and a member of the Church of God of Prophecy, she was the daughter of the late James Clyde and Hallie Mae Hale Madewell.She is survived by her husband, Joseph Brymer; daughter…

McMinnville resident and Cannon County native Delter Lee Tenpenny, 96, died April 22 at NHC Healthcare after an extended illness.A farmer and a member of the Church of Christ, he was the son of Elisha and Mary Sparks Tenpenny; and was preceded in death by his wife, Myrtle Sissom on April 20.He is survived by…