By CHARLES W. JOHNSON News Editor for the Southern Standard McMinnville and Warren County have received level three Three-Star certification for the second year in a row. Those involved put together nine tables of documentation for Three-Star regional economic development specialists Rebecca Hargrove Smith and Karen Brown to evaluate. Pictured are, from left, Smith, Brown,…

Photo provided G.D. and Eva Nell Slaughter Bess observed their 50th wedding anniversary June 16 at a surprise party given by their children and grandchildren. The event was held at Irving College Baptist Church with friends and family extending best wishes to the couple.

By ROB NUNLEY Sports Editor for the Southern Standard WALKER As Major League Baseball reaches the halfway point of its 2006 campaign, Warren County?s own Jamie ?Cat? Walker finds himself in a bit of welcome ? if somewhat unfamiliar ? territory. Walker and his Detroit Tigers entered the All-star break with the best record in…

Rob Nunley Remember being 16 years old? If you were at all like me, you were thinking about cars, girls, cars with girls in them and girls in cars. You certainly weren?t thinking about your career, and you definitely weren?t thinking about trying to make the history books. But you, and I, aren?t Michelle Wie.…

Rob Nunley photo Jeff Bandy of First Assembly beats the play at first, despite a stretch and catch of a high throw by Covenant first baseman Randall Dunn during their tournament game Tuesday night at the Fairgrounds. After waiting out a long rain delay that made for some soupy field conditions, teams continued their tourney…

KNOXVILLE (AP) The University of Tennessee has awarded an $83.4 million, 10-year multimedia sports contract, including radio rights to all Volunteer football and basketball games and television rights to coaches? shows, to longtime partner Host Communications. The deal announced Thursday raises Tennessee?s athletic department annual guaranteed rights fees to $6.8 million, an increase of 168…

Joey Wray The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) has received numerous calls about its decision to euthanize a female black bear that injured an individual in Sevier County last Friday. Bob Nichols, Regional Manager wanted to advise the public concerning TWRA?s decision. ?The problem with this and most bear problems in Tennessee is people, or…

(AP) Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Wednesday night that he was told he was ?seconds, maybe a minute away from dying? immediately after his motorcycle accident last month. Roethlisberger, in his first interview since the June 12 accident, told ESPN?s ?SportsCenter? that he doesn?t remember much about the accident when he rammed his motorcycle…

Winning for Kids tourney A men?s and women?s softball tournament to raise money for Camp Heal-a-Heart will be played at the Warren County Fairgrounds Saturday, July 22. Teams in classes D and E will be competing, with a 0-2-4-6-8 home run limit. First- through third-place will be awarded in both tourneys, provided the women?s bracket…

NASCAR has made significant safety strides since the death of Dale Earnhardt, and many drivers credit recent innovations for an improved safety record. But after watching his drivers get wrecked at high-speed tracks three times this season, Roush Racing president Geoff Smith says drivers have been lulled into a false sense of security and are…