By WOODY BAIRD / Associated Press Writer JACKSON — A man opened fire Tuesday at a Tennessee Department of Transportation maintenance garage, killing his estranged wife and two others, and wounding two more people, authorities said. David Jordan, 40, of Jackson was arrested a short time later two miles from the garage and put up…

By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE — Tenncare advocates and enrollees say they’re pleased Gov. Phil Bredesen is preserving coverage for all children in the health care program, but say his announcement to eliminate 323,000 adults is disheartening and unnecessary. “I’m very scared about the future,” Courtney Jenkins, an organizer with…

By LUCAS L. JOHNSON II / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE — Many lawmakers say they regret Gov. Phil Bredesen’s decision to cut more than 320,000 adults from TennCare and reduce benefits for others but believe he had no other choice. “The advocates put him in a corner,” Rep. Jerome Cochran, R-Johnson City, said Tuesday. “He…

By INGRID CANTERBURY One thing leads to another. That’s what teachers at West Elementary in the multi-age classrooms are counting on again this year. Multi-age education is based on a philosophy that children learn at different rates. Children in multi-age classrooms are allowed to make continuous progress, necessitating a difference in curriculum, organization and instructional…

If you have a family member who is currently deployed overseas, the Southern Standard and WCPI want to help you send them a Valentine’s Day message.That’s why the two media outlets are teaming to offer a program called Valentine Greetings from the Heart. It will take place Saturday, Jan. 22 from 1 to 2:30 p.m.…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Warren County Sheriff’s Department deputies Bobby Pennington, left, and Alan Roberts are training for a 250-mile, fund-raising bike ride from Virginia to Washington, D.C. in honor of police officers killed in the line of duty. (Amy Satterwhite photo) As a bike patrol and school resource…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard Tom McConkey, left, and daughter Patricia, try out a bench made from recycled household waste while WastAway vice president Bob Brown looks on. The McConkeys will be marketing the WastAway system in Canada. (Charles W. Johnson photo) WastAway continues its march across the globe…

By JAMES CLARK / Editor for the Southern Standard BREDESEN More than 300,000 Tennesseans from Bristol to Memphis will find themselves without health insurance as a result of a TennCare overhaul announced Monday by Gov. Phil Bredesen.The lengthy process of notifying enrollees will begin as early as March and changes could begin taking effect as…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard ROBBINS Police say they have prime suspects in the theft of over $15,000 in Civil War memorabilia from Magness Library last week. The problem, however, is proving their case since the irreplaceable items can’t be located and no one saw them stolen.“We’re all saddened by…

McMinnville resident and Palmer native Odell Layman Childress, 73, died Jan. 10 at River Park Hospital after an extended illness. The retired owner of Childress Auto Salvage, she was the daughter of the late Warner and Annie Lance Layman; and was preceded in death by her husband, William A. Childress in 1992; son, Jodi Childress;…