NASHVILLE (AP) — Despite complaints over the lack of flu shots available this season, nearly half of Tennesseans were not vaccinated a year ago when vaccine was plentiful, many believing it wasn’t necessary or would make them sick, according to a recent study. A survey of more than 4,000 Tennesseans found 52 percent received the…

NASHVILLE (AP) — Fewer Tennesseans are signing up for welfare than was originally expected, potentially saving the state $13.8 million next year. State officials forecast that welfare rolls would reach 79,000 by next year. But a slowdown in the number of applicants prompted the state to reduce that prediction to 75,839, according to Families First,…

Photo provided Cumberland Lumber CEO Buzz Spivey does some winter water-skiing New Year’s day on Tims Ford Lake, on a trip with friends Mark Brown, Edwin Wilhite and members of their families. The temperature was around 65 degrees, but according to Brown, the water was pretty chilly, around the upper 40s.

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard KNOWLES A $1 million lawsuit is keeping Ben Lomand Telephone mum about what circumstances led to publishing the Families in Crisis address, the same mistake made by competitor Frontier last year.“We’ve been advised by our attorney to not talk about the issue given the pending…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard A 12-year-old underwent emergency surgery after he was accidentally shot in the stomach by his friend with a pellet gun New Year’s Eve.The victim, identified as a 12-year-old resident of the Bybee Branch area, was sent to Vanderbilt for surgery after the pellet reportedly pierced…

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Chancery Street was officially opened to downtown traffic yesterday around 4 p.m. after being closed more than four months. Motorists were slow to realize the road was once again open to traffic. (James Clark photo) Chancery Street and a portion of West Main Street were…

HOUSTON River Park Hospital is pleased to announce that Dr. Hugh Houston from Centennial Medical Center will speak to an obesity support group for people who have had surgery to fight obesity or for those who have thought of having the surgery. Everyday, one out of three people fight against obesity. Nearly 70 percent of…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard A 36-person docket was heard Tuesday by Judge Larry Ross in General Sessions Court.Included in court action: Brandon Thomas was bound over to the grand jury on charges of resisting arrest and possession of drugs. He is charged for his fight with lawmen as he…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard A local mother was given probation this week on child neglect charges after her 4-year-old son nearly burned down their house while she slept.The defendant, Angela Marie Jennings, 32, entered a no-contest plea to the charge of child neglect and was placed on probation for…

By DUNCAN MANSFIELD / Associated Press Writer OLIVER SPRINGS — With a “whoosh, whoosh, whoosh,” the graceful blades of 18 windmills at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s expanded wind farm are now producing enough clean power to be seen as more than just an eco-experiment. When it first opened atop Buffalo Mountain with three turbines in…