An 18-wheeler carrying lumber got stuck Friday around 12:45 p.m. on one of the red bollards on Main Street. The truck completely blocked access to Sparta Street and forced Main Street to temporarily be closed from Spring to Sparta streets while it was pulled off the bollard by a wrecker.

By LISA HOBBS The city of McMinnville officially has a city administrator and his name is David Rutherford. He will begin his duties Monday when he arrives to work his first full day. Officials OK?d the contract proposal offered to them Tuesday night. They were also informed that Rutherford passed his physical and drug test.…

Kalyn Robinson snuggles up close to Cody Cowans during a slow dance at Friday night?s Warren County High School prom. Both students are seniors. For more prom night snapshots, see Wednesday?s edition.

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON Gov. Phil Bredesen paid a visit to Warren County Thursday night to make remarks in celebration of Yorozu Automotive Tennessee?s 20th anniversary at a special company-sponsored dinner at McMinnville Country Club. Employees with 20 years of service were recognized. Prior to his speech, Bredesen pointed out the importance of supporting and…

By DUANE SHERRILL A jealous boyfriend who allegedly shot a man outside the Shell station on New Smithville Highway early this month has been charged with attempted second-degree murder. The suspect, Coy A. Yates, faces eight to 12 years in prison. His victim, Timothy L. Blakely, has recovered from his wound ? a single shot…

By DUANE SHERRILL MATHENY Fourteen people are behind bars while another 14 remain at large in the roundup for Operation Strikeout, an eight-month undercover operation targeting local drug traffickers. ?For some of these people, it will be a third strike,? said Sheriff Jackie Matheny of people caught in the drug sting. ?A lot of these…

By Chuck Shepherd On Jan. 31, several hundred Japanese husbands recognized the second annual Beloved Wives Day to upgrade Japanese men’s notorious, deeply ingrained indifference to their spouses. Among the husbands’ vows: be home from work by the unusually early hour of 8 p.m.; actually look into the missus’s eyes and say “thank you”; and…

MEMPHIS (AP) ? A once-influential state senator arrested in a statewide corruption scandal that led to an overhaul of Tennessee ethics laws was convicted of taking bribes Friday and will likely serve time in federal prison. Former Sen. John Ford, 64, was convicted of taking $55,000 in cash from what appeared to be a computer…

By Thomas Vaughn The latest showdown between Congress and President Bush on the war in Iraq is rapidly approaching ?High Noon.? Last Wednesday, the House passed legislation that would appropriate $124.2 billion to fund the war. However, the bill would require U.S. troop withdrawals to begin this Oct. 1 ? or even before if the…

By Morton Kondracke Instead of vetoing stem-cell legislation again, President Bush should revise his 2001 limits on the research — and demonstrate that he’s open to new scientific evidence. One of the chronic tendencies on both sides of the polarized, partisan divide in the nation’s capital is to put politics and ideology ahead of evidence.…