Amy Satterwhite photo The Barren Fork River Dam at Pepper Branch Park proves to be a fun place to cool off on a beautiful Memorial Day weekend afternoon, as Zack Dolzonek showed Friday when visiting the dam with friends.

It’s Relay for Life time.This week, as decisions are finalized, more than 50 teams are gearing up to participate in the signature fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. Carole Cathcart and Doug Lott, co-chairs for the 2005 Warren County Relay for Life, have been meeting with other committee members since late 2004 in an…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Brian Caldwell and his children pose with one of the dogs that McMinnville officials have seized as a danger to the community. (Photo provided) McMinnville officials have seized a pair of dogs they deem a menace to the safety of the community, while the pet…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The pothole the economy hit in March apparently wasn’t very deep. Economic activity advanced at a solid 3.5 percent pace in the first quarter of the year, somewhat better than initially thought. The latest reading on gross domestic product, released by the Commerce Department on Thursday, raised hopes that there is enough…

Country rapper Cowboy Troy is shown in Nashville Thursday, May 12, 2005. He’s a double anomaly: not only is he black , he’s also a rapper. His first single, “I Play Chicken With The Train,” mixes fiddle and banjo with beats and rhymes. (AP Photo) NASHVILLE (AP) — Cowboy Troy gets that look a lot.…

By CHRISTY LEMIRE / AP Movie Critic In this undated photo provided by Paramount, actors Nelly, left, and Adam Sandler, right, are shown in a scene from “The Longest Yard.” (AP Photo/Tracy Bennett) It was easy to accept Burt Reynolds as cynical, disgraced former quarterback Paul Crewe in “The Longest Yard.” He had the look,…

NEW YORK (AP) — With nearly 30 million people watching the “American Idol” finale on Fox, broadcast television networks ended a season that gave everybody something to brag about — except NBC. CBS can again claim the status of the nation’s most popular network. Perhaps more significant financially, its viewership increased among young people. For…

By DAVID CRARY / AP National Writer Fresh out of high school in 1971, Alan Cook enlisted in the Army and served in Vietnam in the waning months before the U.S. pullout. He opposes America’s war in Iraq, yet is proud of his two sons — one serving there now, the other scheduled to go…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — University of Tennessee President John Petersen, preparing to recommend another tuition increase this summer, armed the UT Board of Trustees with graphs and charts on Thursday to explain the system’s financial crunch. The UT system, comprised of the flagship institution in Knoxville and campuses in Martin and Chattanooga, the Health Science Center…

KNOXVILLE (AP) — About two out of three freshmen at the University of Tennessee’s main campus made the grade this year and will be able to retain their state lottery scholarships, the university said Wednesday. Freshmen who received the $3,000 and $4,000 HOPE scholarships — and practically every instate freshman at UT-Knoxville qualified for one…