By Charlie Johnson Should we give our county commissioners a raise? George Smartt, the chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, thinks so, and will present a resolution to the full commission Monday night asking for what amounts to an increase of around $675 a year per commissioner. And while he has received a fair…

By James Clark Like member of Congress, county commissioners are some of the few people who have the ability to vote themselves a pay raise. But that power doesn?t come without possible consequences. Voters have the ability to knock elected officials out of office when they head to the polls in August. And people who…

Morton Kondracke Democrats can’t come up with a formal unified stance on Iraq, but it’s all too clear what most of the party’s leaders want: out. And soon. It would be a disaster for America if they prevailed. Iraq has finally installed a full government that is fighting to establish order against multiple homicidal enemies.…

From the editors of Consumer Reports Snapshot printers do one thing and one thing only: They print small photos. Yet they’re priced about the same as some full-sized inkjet printers and produce photos at comparable per-print costs. What’s more, the quality of their output ? while generally good ? can’t match that of the best…

James Clark The old Shoney?s restaurant has officially sold to Georgia resident Eun Kim, who plans to remodel the building. I always thought Rock, Paper, Scissors was a silly game of chance. And that is precisely why I?m not a champion. The Standard newsroom held its first Rock, Paper Scissors Tournament last week with sports…

Dave Ramsey Dave, We filed bankruptcy a couple of years ago, and it looks like we may be slipping back into trouble again. A big part of this is the situation with our 20-year-old son. My wife insists on helping him pay for a car and other things he financed against our wishes. She also…

Business Highlights from the Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Even in the afterlife, some celebrities remain big-time moneymakers. Elvis Presley, Albert Einstein, Kurt Cobain, Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe continue to earn enviable incomes from the grave, according to Forbes magazine. Presley, who died in 1977, raked in an estimated $52 million last year.…

CHATTANOOGA (AP) A garden center owner convicted of selling iodine used to make methamphetamine in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison by a judge who said he hopes the penalty shows such harmful greed has a high price. Joseph Swafford, 62, was escorted from the courtroom after declining to…

Baby Girl Billie and Michael Koon announce the birth of their daughter, Katie Allison Koon. She arrived May 12 weighing 8 pounds, 4 ounces. She is welcomed by big sisters, Toni Sullivan and Julian Sullivan. Her grandparents are Truman and Susie Bryant of Bone Cave and Robert and Carol Koon of Doyle. Baby Boy Caden…

By MARGARET HOBBS Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard YSI attendees, from left, Hunter Gudat, Cierra Holt, Kelsey Pepper and Joshua Sizemore do a tombstone rubbing in Riverside Ceremony. World travelers ? how would you like to travel around the world in just ten days? No, this is not to be confused with Jules Verne?s…