BY Charles Curtiss This was a busy week but it will get much busier within the next couple of weeks. Last year I compared the legislative process to a ride on a roller coaster. It is slow at first but once you get to the top and start down it gets pretty wild. This year…

Arnold Engineering Development Center’s economic impact in Middle Tennessee was more than $653 million during government fiscal year 2007. This is an increase of more than $54 million from fiscal year 2006. ‘I am gratified to see these numbers because they show the continuing positive influence Arnold is having in the local community,’ said Col.…

By DUANE SHERRILL A local man has been indicted on 20 criminal counts for stealing from a church. The defendant, Anthony Welch, was indicted recently on charges of theft and forgery for defrauding Sink Creek Missionary Baptist Church of $1,700 during a month-long spending spree at the rural church’s expense. The 20-count indictment charging 10…

By DUANE SHERRILL A man who broke into an impound yard to repossess his own vehicle will serve three weeks in jail for theft of services. The defendant, Robert Silvey, was ordered to serve 20 days of an 11-month, 29-day sentence by General Sessions Judge Larry Ross on the charge of theft of services, plus…

By Chuck Shepherd Joshua Hoge, a schizophrenic confined to Washington’s Western State Hospital, is claiming at least part of his late mother’s estate even though he’s the one who killed her in 1999. Washington law prevents profiting from the “unlawful” and “willful” taking of another’s life, but Hoge was found “not guilty by reason of…

By Lisa Hobbs A new Historic Zoning Manual will be presented to McMinnville’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen by the Historic Ad Hoc Committee. The manual will replace existing unenforceable historic guidelines with ones that are. The committee began its task five months ago after complaints were received regarding historic zoning, as well as other…

ROMNEY (AP) ‘ Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won the Nevada caucuses Saturday, powering past Sen. Barack Obama in a hard-fought race marred by late charges of dirty politics. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney coasted to an easy win in the Republican contest. The victory marked a second-straight campaign triumph for the former first lady, who…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON As part of the county’s Bicentennial Celebration, the Warren County Commission will be holding a special called meeting in the Fairfield Village courthouse at the Warren County A&L Fairgrounds on Friday, Feb. 1 to commemorate the first official commission meeting held in February of 1808. The meeting will begin at 6…

WASHINGTON (AP) ‘ The poor are the people most likely to spend a tax rebate, if they are handed one in an economic revival plan. Whether that happens depends on who prevails ‘ the White House or the Democrats who run Congress. Democrats want to make sure rebates get to more of the poor, including…

By Lisa Hobbs There are underlying benefits to higher education that some might not realize until graduation. For one MTSU graduate, the added benefit was the happiness and knowledge of being first. Longtime McMinnville resident Tara Mielnik became the first person to receive a PhD in public history from Middle Tennessee State University on Dec.…