JACKSBORO, Tenn. (AP) BARTLEY A 14-year-old boy pleaded innocent Friday in the killing of a high school administrator and wounding of two others in November. Kenneth S. Bartley stood quietly with his head down during an arraignment in Campbell County Criminal Court. His attorney, Mike Hatmaker, told Judge Shayne Sexton that Bartley was pleading innocent…

MEMPHIS (AP) State lawmakers awaiting trial in the Tennessee Waltz bribery scandal began reviewing their defense tactics Friday ? while hoping to learn from a former colleague’s failures. Former Sen. Roscoe Dixon, the first of five indicted lawmakers to go to trial, relied heavily on an entrapment defense. Government agents, the Memphis Democrat argued, coerced…

Mike Vinson The first time I heard the term Southern rock was in the early ?70s when it was applied to music being played by the Allman Brothers Band (now a member of the Rock n? Roll Hall of Fame). According to a documentary titled ?Southern Rock Revolution,? this is how the Allman Brothers Band…

Guest Editorial By Charles C. Haynes Most Americans like the idea of “teaching about religion” in public schools – at least until educators start to take it seriously. Then the questions start: Will teachers be fair and objective? How will my faith be taught? What will be the impact on students? During the decades-long debate…

Nat Hentoff A longtime friend of mine is married to a doctor who also performs abortions. At the dinner table one recent evening, their 9-year-old son — having heard a word whose meaning he didn’t know — asked, “What is an abortion?” His mother, choosing her words carefully, described the procedure in simple terms. “But,”…

Thomas Vaughn He?s back!?After years of wandering in the wilderness of academia and entertainment, Al Gore seems to be everywhere in the media these days. Like the mythical phoenix, a bird resembling an eagle that lived for 500 years, then burned itself on a pyre, from whose ashes another phoenix arose, Mr. Gore is in…

Dave Ramsey Dear Dave, How did you save up the money for your current home? I?ve heard the story of how you lost it all and then rebuilt your life. It?s amazing, but it seems almost impossible to save up enough money for a house, especially if you?re married and have kids. ? Brian Dear…

James Clark Wholesale Tools & More owner Earnest Martin is preparing to move his business to the Bratcher?s Nursery building on Nashville Highway. The new location will put Wholesale Tools directly across from the airport. I?m back! After taking a week off to enjoy a vacation at Hilton Head beach I return to my familiar…

Business Roundup from the Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of laid off workers filing claims for unemployment plunged last week by the largest amount in eight months, but it might have been a statistical fluke. The Labor Department reported Thursday that 302,000 people filed for benefits last week, down 35,000 from the previous…

James Clark photo Natasha Elrod has opened a new hair salon at the old Tanner?s Market and is enjoying her heavily traveled location. Pictured are, front row, from left, Beth Bouldin and Elrod. Back row, Kelly Conner and Tim Tompkins.