FRANKLIN (AP) — The state’s archaeologist is satisfied with a developer’s plans to preserve ancient Indian burial sites known as the Glass Mounds that date back to 200 A.D. State archaeologist Nick Fielder met with officials of Southern Land Co. this week after receiving a call from a concerned resident about the future of the…

DOVER (AP) — A teenager said he hated a school bus driver the 15-year-old boy is accused of shooting and killing last month in a recorded statement played in court. Jason Clinard, 14 at the time of the shooting March 2, told Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Agent Joe Craig that he shot Joyce Gregory six…

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A decision on whether a U.S. District Court can continue to prevent Tennessee from cutting 323,000 enrollees from the state’s expanded Medicaid program could come as early as this week, a federal appeals court said Friday. The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it recognized the…

Chief curator Dan Pomeroy of the Tennessee State Museum, looks at the first Tennessee state flag that flew over the state in Johnson City, May 22, 1905, on exhibit at the Museum in Nashville, Friday, April 8, 2005. (AP Photo/John Russell) NASHVILLE (AP) — While other Southern state flags have struggled with poor design or…

By Charles C. Haynes Like the very air we breathe, most Americans take religious freedom for granted — until, of course, someone starts to cut off our supply.That’s exactly what has happened over the past 15 years. With little outcry from the public, the U.S. Supreme Court has handed down rulings that many legal scholars…

By George Plagenz / Columnist Today it’s steroids. Thirty years ago it was the spitball. The man in the hot seat then was Gaylord Perry, a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians.Today its Jose Canseco, a former big league player, who is blowing the whistle on a string of other alleged users of the illegal steroids,…

By Thomas Vaughn / Columnist In case you missed it, perhaps due to information overload on the Pope, former Vietnam War activist Jane Fonda actually apologized, sort of, on “60 Minutes” Sunday night, for some of her near-treasonous conduct.To paraphrase her, she said she regretted posing astride a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun, clad in her…

By James Clark / Columnist Since Charlie was on vacation last week, he wasn’t here to write his widely popular “What’s the Word” column which appears in Sunday’s edition of the Standard.Charlie has a writing style which touches the hearts of men, women and children alike. It’s with that in mind, I thought it might…

Birth announcementsBABY GIRLJason and Alisa Rice announce the birth of their daughter, Kelsa Nichole Rice. She was born March 8 at River Park Hospital weighing 9 pounds, 6 ounces. Kelsa Nichole is welcomed by 3-year-old sister, Ivy. Her grandparents are Clifford and Amy Reynolds and Lash and Kathy Rice of Smithville. BABY BOYDenise and Jason…

By Janice M. Howard / Style Editor for the Southern Standard PIERCE Comedian Chonda Pierce, musician Stephanie McKenna and conference speakers “Out of Egypt” have been selected for featured presentations at the “Beauty for Ashes” Women’s Conference slated April 29 and 30 at Warren County Middle School. The event is planned as a benefit for…