By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard The busy spring road construction season is under way prompting the Department of Safety to urge motorists to be cautious in work zones.The Tennessee Highway Patrol will step up enforcement in work zones statewide, hoping to reduce both speeds and the number of work zone…

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard SNEED School board chairman David Sneed is one of two applicants in the running for a newly created administrative position at Warren County Schools central office.If selected, he will follow school system human resources director Roy Pierce as the second school board chairman in four…

VOKOUN NASHVILLE (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings are finding out that Predators goalie Tomas Vokoun doesn’t back down — on or off the ice. Vokoun almost single-handedly kept the regular season champs from sweeping this first-round series by stopping 41 shots in Sunday’s 3-1 victory, pulling Nashville within 2-1 with Game 4 in Nashville…

OAK RIDGE (AP) — The Tennessee Valley Authority is rethinking its land plan for the former Clinch River Breeder Reactor site, a 1,200-acre stretch that has unsuccessfully been marketed to big industry. TVA is considering reclassifying some of the land for uses such as conservation, recreation, wildlife management, forestry and residential development. Some of the…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — A graduate of the University of Tennessee has pledged $1 million to the school’s teacher education program. University President Joe Johnson planned to announce David T. Bailey’s contribution on Wednesday in a speech at the Tennessee Business Roundtable in Nashville. Bailey’s donation goes to the “Top Teachers in Tennessee” scholarship fund that…

By BECKY BOHRER / Associated Press Writer When Sean Morrissey scaled California’s 14,491-foot Mount Whitney for the first time a few years ago, he couldn’t wait to take in the view. A woman who made the climb at the same time couldn’t wait to dial her cell phone. “This one woman was making call after…

NASHVILLE (AP) — A leaky roof has created mold in the building that houses state legislative hearing rooms and many lawmakers’ offices. The stachybotrys chartarum mold doesn’t pose an imminent health hazard, state officials said. “Panic? No. Evacuation? No. Health risk? No. Sinus irritation, make you sneeze if you’re sensitive? Yes,” said Connie Frederick, director…

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / Associated Press Writer KNOXVILLE (AP) — Sixteen questions await the 10 candidates hoping to become the next president of the University of Tennessee. The queries range from “articulating a vision” for the university to fund-raising, from promoting unity within a five-campus system to describing the “role of a system president in…

By AMBER McDOWELL / Associated Press Writer BREDESEN NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee State University President James Hefner’s decision to take Super Bowl tickets from a vendor and then lie about how he obtained them showed a “serious lack of judgment,” Gov. Phil Bredesen said Monday night. The governor was responding to the results of a…

NASHVILLE (AP) — After much howling in the Legislature, senators decided Monday night that dogs can continue riding free in the backs of pickup trucks. They voted down a bill that would have created a misdemeanor offense, punishable with a $50 fine, for allowing a dog to ride unrestrained in the truck bed. Sponsors said…