Charles W. Johnson photo Star-studded Jasmine Dillon goes to work on a cup of frozen dairy treat during the Ice Cream Eating contest in the 4-H Dairy Month celebration Saturday at Three Star Mall.

With the Standard’s annual Banana Day coming this Friday, Malcolm Dodson can’t get bananas off his mind, even on the basketball court. The newspaper will give away banana splits from 2 to 4 p.m. Warren County residents just love banana splits, especially when they’re free.That’s what the Southern Standard has determined as the newspaper prepares…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Reports of reckless drivers and an unusual sexual proposition were about the only incidents of note over the Bonnaroo weekend as lawmen maintained high visibility during the festival.“There was still a tremendous amount of traffic coming through this year,” said Sheriff Jackie Matheny. “Our goal…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard Gov. Phil Bredesen’s proposed TennCare changes will hit Warren County hard, according to figures from the governor’s office published earlier this year.Almost a third, 3,244 of the county’s 10,600 TennCare enrollees, will receive notification of disenrollment during this process. Notification began the week of…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard The zero hour is quickly approaching at the local Bridgestone plant as the rank and file votes this week on the latest contract offer, which, if refused, could lead to the first strike in the plant’s 15-year history.“The executive board (United Steel Workers 1155) has…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard A house with a breathtaking view nestled on the side of Baker Mountain was the scene of a horrific homicide as the bullet-riddled remains of a Van Buren County man were found behind his home Monday.The remains, unrecognizable at the scene and still being positively…

NEW YORK (AP) — You’ve got mail — and now it’s free along with music and video. America Online Inc. officials hope their new strategy will boost advertising revenues; many customers have dropped AOL amid the proliferation of Internet portals and free e-mail services. The company is making its content available to a wider audience…

WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman remembered a cousin who had died at the hands of a mob in Kentucky. Another recalled a teenager dragged from a relative’s home in Mississippi only to turn up dead in a river. James Cameron lived to recount his own brush with mob justice. In 1930 he and two others…

WASHINGTON (AP) — About 40 percent of Americans say they consider talk show host Bill O’Reilly a journalist — more than would define famed Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward the same way, according to a poll conducted this spring. O’Reilly is on the Fox News Channel, offering his often tart conservative opinions, while Woodward has…

ATLANTA (AP) — The United States has reached an AIDS milestone, but not the one the government intended. This was to be the year that federal health officials slashed the country’s annual rate of 40,000 new HIV infections in half. Instead, the government said Monday the infection rate has remained the same and that for…