By JAMES CLARK McMinnville resident Courtney Martin took the Neutrogena challenge and it earned her an all-expense-paid trip to New York City. Martin?s video from the experience can currently be viewed on a Neutrogena Web site: www.onelessstress.com. ?It was all very fast paced,? said Martin of the One Less Stress Challenge. ?We had a camera…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON The County Commission passed an ethics policy Monday night with a vote of 22-1, with one member absent, thus giving the county ample time to present the policy to the state for its approval. Earlier this year, the state mandated an ethics policy had to be in place by June 30,…

By DUANE SHERRILL A 75-person docket was heard last Thursday by Judge Larry Ross in General Sessions Traffic Court. Included in traffic court action: ? Faustino Castillo was given a June 21 hearing date to answer to vehicular homicide charges stemming from a fatal wreck a week ago which claimed the life of Jewel Rickey…

By LISA HOBBS More woes for Westwood. Residents of that area once again converged on McMinnville City Hall. This time it wasn?t to stop the building of a bridge, but to stop the future building of apartments in the area. A proposed rezoning could allow building a 52-unit apartment complex on the corner of 6th…

By LISA HOBBS There?s no trick to this treat. Be on the lookout for unmasked trick-or-treaters this Friday and Saturday. Fun-loving ghouls and goblins will be five months early this year, but it won?t be to cure a sweet tooth. This weekend, Westwood Church of Christ?s youth group will be spooking throughout McMinnville to raise…

By DUANE SHERRILL Facing over a dozen years in prison if convicted for his alleged role in the home invasion and rape of a Martin Street woman, a local teen got a jump on serving his time by entering a guilty plea to an earlier burglary. The defendant, Heath Crisp, 19, entered a guilty plea…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON Though United Way of Warren County is going through some difficult times financially these days, with the loss of many of its major contributors, the organization is finding it can still count on its old friends, like Bridgestone Firestone, which is continuing its support for the long-standing charitable organization. In addition…

By DUANE SHERRILL Accused drive-by shooter Deonray Fisk leads the state of Tennessee by a score of 2-0 after he avoided a felony drug conviction, meaning he has sidestepped two convictions in as many months. Fisk, 27, is awaiting trial on attempted murder charges for opening fire in late 2005 on four men on Sparta…

By JAMES CLARK Two downtown streets were temporarily closed yesterday as filming for the movie ?Tenebrous? shifted from rural Warren County to Main Street. Yesterday?s production, which took place in and around Magness Library, leaned heavily on the relationship between the male and female leads. Actor Brad Thornton plays Denny White, a stranger in a…

By JAMES CLARK Two women have won a $93,000 gender discrimination lawsuit against the largest Taco Bell franchisee in the South that includes the restaurants in McMinnville and Sparta. The verdict came last week in federal court in Cookeville when a jury sided with current Warren County resident Katrina Hillis and Warren County native Diana…