GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Urban Meyer won several key games at Bowling Green and Utah, beating rivals, ranked teams and bowl opponents. None of those compare to this. Meyer’s spread offense gets its biggest test yet when No. 6 Florida (2-0) hosts fifth-ranked Tennessee (1-0) on Saturday night, a game that usually plays a pivotal…

By BETH RUCKER / Associated Press Writer NASHVILLE — Vanderbilt has beaten Wake Forest and Arkansas on the road. If the Commodores can beat Mississippi in their home opener, they will make a bit of history. Just not the usual brand for Vanderbilt football. A win on Saturday would mark a number of milestones for…

COOKEVILLE — Region 3-5A’s top-ranked team lived up to its reputation here Friday night, as Cookeville leapt out to a 38-0 halftime lead on their way to a 45-14 victory over the Pioneers. Twenty-eight second-quarter points, all of which came on passes from Cavalier quarterback Zac Hennigan, helped the (4-1) Cavs carry their more-than-comfortable advantage…

By DALE STUBBLEFIELD / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Alex Mullican of the Lady Pioneer soccer team uses her head to field the ball during Tuesday’s home matchup against White County. The Lady Pioneers ended an eight-game winless streak with their 1-0 victory. (Dale Stubblefield photo) Still looking for their first win of the…

The McMinnville Jaycees are helping to raise money to house over 120 Hurricane Katrina evacuees at Camp Discovery in Gainesboro, Tenn. This will include 60 to 80 mentally challenged individuals, as well as another 60 caretakers and family members who have been displaced from their hospital in New Orleans and are currently staying at Fall…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley heard an 11-person docket Wednesday. Included in circuit court action: Barry Craig Melton was ordered to serve 60 days of a two-year sentence and pay $900 plus costs for facilitating the manufacture of meth and possession of drugs. He is…

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard A father and son caught cruising around using morphine together were given probation this week.The defendants, Carl Dwight Blankenship, 51, and Carl Dwight Blankenship Jr., 25, both entered guilty pleas Tuesday before Judge Bart Stanley who was filling in during General Sessions Court. Regular sessions…

By AMY FOSTER / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard KIRBY After much discussion, McMinnville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to defer a vote on extending the EG&G contract Tuesday night until the next board meeting Sept. 27.The extension calls for an additional $45,000 for 60 additional days which calculates to three months of…

By AMY FOSTER / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Preacher Garland Robinson stands outside East End Church of Christ in McMinnville. Robinson became preacher there in 2003. (Amy Foster photo) After spending over 27 years out of state, Garland Robinson returned to Tennessee in 2003 to become preacher at East End Church of Christ.“We…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard Warren County has opened its arms, and its heart, to a number of families displaced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina. As evacuees moved into the area, some with little more than the clothes on their backs, local residents, churches, businesses and government agencies…