By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard PRATER If approved by the county commission next month, the Warren County Highway Department will be purchasing a building presently owned by Rigsby Roofing in order to expand its storage and repair shop space.The purchase price of $150,000 will come from the highway department’s…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Officials are mulling the fate of the downtown Christmas tree after some local residents opposed the idea of taking it down. (Amy Satterwhite photo) Most times of the year, the downtown evergreen tree is your ordinary average spruce.In the weeks surrounding Christmas, however, it becomes…

Spencer resident and Van Buren County native Sarah Frances Clendenon Sullivan, 70, died Nov. 16 at her home.A retired factory worker and a member of Piney Church of Christ, she was the daughter of the late Lloyd and Eula Hitchcock Clendenon; and was preceded in death by sons, Michael Sullivan and Dewayne Sullivan; brothers, Milton…

McMinnville resident and Warren County native Rhea Bragg Boyd, 82, died unexpectedly Nov. 18 at her home.A homemaker and a member of Westwood Church of Christ, she was the daughter of Dixie Miller Bragg and Ruby Smith Bragg Slatton; and was preceded in death by husband, Henry Nelson Boyd; son, Henry Nelson Boyd Jr.; and…

TOBY KEITH (AP Photo) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Toby Keith didn’t have to go to Nashville to become a success in country music. Nashville came to Oklahoma.Keith has never strayed too far from his Sooner State roots, working long days in oil fields, playing semiprofessional football and raising race horses.From the spotlight of country music…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bill Frist’s plan to restructure management at the Tennessee Valley Authority may be included in a mammoth spending bill expected to pass Congress this week. The Senate majority leader is eyeing an omnibus spending measure that combines hundreds of billions of dollars in appropriations for his TVA amendment, aides said…

NASHVILLE (AP) — State Rep. Ben West said he owes nearly $1 million in back taxes, but he intends to repay “every cent” to the Internal Revenue Service. West, a Democrat from Hermitage and a member of the state House since 1984, hasn’t paid federal taxes in three years on two security companies he owns…

NASHVILLE (AP) — The son of Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas has surrendered his driver’s license because of two drunken driving charges in less than two months. Steve North, Dustin Serpas’ attorney, turned in Serpas’ license Thursday to General Sessions Judge Bill Higgins. Serpas, 26, did not appear in court. The proceeding was supposed to…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee’s unemployment rate remained at 5.1 percent in October, the state Labor Department reported Thursday. The unemployment rate for October although unchanged from September was a full percentage point below the October 2003 unemployment rate of 6.1 percent. The state’s unemployment figure for October was also below the national rate of 5.5…

MEMPHIS (AP) — A cafeteria food fight on “meat loaf day” led to the suspension of the entire eighth-grade class at a Memphis school. The students were suspended after refusing to clean up the mess they caused. “Given an opportunity first to apologize for their behavior and help with the cleanup, most of the class…