By LISA HOBBS City administrator David Rutherford experienced his first full week of employment in McMinnville last week and attended his first city meetings in his new capacity Tuesday night. ?I?m just tickled to death to be here,? said Rutherford at the board meeting Tuesday right after being officially welcomed by Mayor Royce Davenport. ?I?m…

After receiving what he needs to be McMinnville?s city administrator, a hat and wand, David Rutherford will be on the lookout for rabbits while trying to turn the future outlook of McMinnville around. Pictured are Rutherford, left, and Police Chief Charlie Sewell. For story, see page 3-A.

By LISA HOBBS Pictured, from left, are Mary Smith, Marlene Campbell, Brenda Fults, Terry Hendrickson and Ronnie Haley. Life after losing your job probably sounds like a fairy tale when the tale begins: ?One day employed, the next day unemployed.? For five local displaced workers, a happy ending is worth a sad beginning. ?When life…

Five local soldiers with the Tullahoma National Guard departed yesterday morning for their mobilization site in Ft. Bragg, N.C. From there, they will be sent in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, although the transportation company?s ultimate destination is not being disclosed at this time. The Warren County soldiers who reportedly left yesterday are Specialist Samuel…

By DUANE SHERRILL Dozens of bags loaded with meth-making materials were found in the heart of downtown in a dump site almost within the shadow of the courthouse. ?This is about the biggest meth dump site I?ve ever seen,? said McMinnville Police Investigator Capt. Derwin Adcock. ?It?s not real unusual to see folks throw meth…

By DUANE SHERRILL Less than a month before he goes to trial on federal land fraud charges, state Sen. Jerry Cooper will be in a Murfreesboro courtroom this morning answering to charges he was driving drunk when he crashed his car on Interstate 24 earlier this year. Cooper, charged with first-offense DUI stemming from his…

Monterey resident, formerly of McMinnville, Rosalind Wideman Foster, 61, died May 6 at Standing Stone Care and Rehab Center in Monterey. A homemaker and a member of the Daughters of American Revolution, she was the daughter of the late Glenn and Rosalind Lane Antonie. She is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Michelle and Doug Jones…

Scottsville, Ky., resident and longtime McMinnville resident, Robert Morris Dinwiddie Sr., 72, died May 8 at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga after an extended illness. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Anna Mary Walsh Dinwiddie of McMinnville; children, Paula Ann Dinwiddie of Alexandria, Va., Mark James and wife Teresa Dinwiddie of McMinnville,…

McMinnville resident and Sacramento, Calif., native Richard Ivin Crouch, 49, was born Oct. 27, 1957 and died May 7 at Southern Hills Medical Center in Nashville following an extended illness. A florist and a member of the Baptist Church, he was the son of the late Willie Clifford and Eathel Inez St. John Crouch. He…

McMinnville resident and Bledsoe County native Willa Fay Goff, 63, was born Dec. 4, 1943 and died May 7 at her residence following a five-month illness. A retired employee of a shirt manufacturer and a member of New Hope Full Gospel Church, she was the daughter of the late J.L. and Verena Mae Walling Bickford.…