By LISA HOBBS Some of the wind has been taken out of city government sails when it comes to moving forward with phase two of the Downtown Economic Revitalization Project. According to city administrator David Rutherford, the city won’t be getting a $600,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) because it can’t meet the…

By JAMES CLARK Pool, air hockey and video games are among the many activities available at the Lighthouse. Crosley Smith, 8, and Jaren Watts, 6, shoot a game of pool. When Lighthouse Ministries founder Nathan Smith was told his Christian-based center for kids would have to leave its current location in the old Northgate Skate…

By JAMES CLARK The county commissioner who has long battled school board members over funding issues, including teacher raises, is now working for the school system. Fifth District Commissioner Michael Martin is working on a temporary contract that has him mowing grass at Warren County schools until the end of October. As a contract employee,…

Failure to file a new form required by the state as part of its new ethics legislation has landed Commissioner Gary Prater in trouble with the Tennessee State Ethics Commission. But the well-known local businessman, owner and operator of Prater’s BBQ in Morrison, says he has nothing to hide and the whole thing is just…

By LISA HOBBS The Santa Claus float traditionally brings an end to the annual Christmas parade. This is the Santa float from last year’s parade which turned at Regions Bank on Main Street. Leadership Warren announced a new route for the 2007 Christmas Parade, as well as its decision to step down as the oversight…

By JAMES CLARK Here’s an artist’s rendering of what Motlow College in McMinnville will look like when expansion work is complete. The driver’s license center in McMinnville is about to motor its way to a new location. To make way for a $3.94 million expansion to Motlow College, the driver’s license center will be moved…

By DUANE SHERRILL A local contractor faces felony charges, and a lawsuit, from a customer and former business partners who claim he has left them hanging after paying him tens of thousands of dollars. The defendant, Greg Wilson, is charged with two counts of felony theft over $10,000 and is free on bond awaiting his…

By Jim Mullen Sue is not a morning person. She’s not a noon person. Doesn’t really like the late afternoons much either. She tolerates the evening, and, as I get ready for bed, she is wide awake. “You go ahead, I’ve got some e-mail to catch up on, some laundry to do, I want to…

By Diana West Some years ago, when our teenagers were tots, my husband and I took them to a puppet version of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Or was that “The Three Bears and Goldilocks”? Turns out, we were seeing “the other side” of the old story. Here, Goldilocks was no wandering lass improbably meeting…

Letter To The Editor To the Editor: I am writing on behalf of Mary Winkler. I fully agree with the decision of the judge and jury regarding this situation. Mary Winkler has suffered enough and it’s time for her to reunite with her children by being given full custody of them. She is their mother.…