Nearly all of the 355 jobs at Sanford's pencil factory here will be gone and the plant will be up for sale within a year, officials said Tuesday morning. "We're all devastated by this and our feelings go out to the employees and their families who will be affected by this," Marshall County Mayor Joe Boyd Liggett said... more

Pay and insurance were negotiated Monday by the Board of Education and the Marshall County Education Association, but no agreement was reached. The full school board will be updated on the progress of negotiations at their November meeting tomorrow night by Craig Michael, the team leader for the board... more

As Lewisburg's City Council is to consider changing the law on when restaurants must be open if they sell beer, another aspect of that law is challenged by one of the restaurant owners ensnared by the law on hours. "If you enforce one, you ought to enforce all of the laws," said Leonard Malone, the proprietor of Leonard's Outer Edge, a steak and burger restaurant on Legion Avenue that offers beer, food and entertainment on Friday and Saturday nights only... more

Appreciation and hope were at the crux of the message from the American Legion's featured speaker yesterday on the east steps of the Marshall County Courthouse where this community marks Veterans Day every year. "We appreciate the honor to veterans," said Thomas A. "Drew" Davidson who joined the U.S. Army during the Berlin Wall Crisis, "but we hope that the young people of our country still have the fire in their belly to defend our country."... more

A Marshall County Schools special education teacher has been placed on unpaid suspension following his arrest on a charge of simple possession of marijuana while on school property. One of the Marshall County High School lunchroom workers saw what appeared to be a partially smoked marijuana cigarette in Robert Jeffrey Cooper's hand and her observation was passed along to others at the school, according to a report filed by Sheriff's Deputy Travis Childers... more

After the Marshall County Planning Commission voted to make an unfavorable recommendation to the Coordinating Committee, the Town of Cornersville abandoned the attempt to make changes to its Urban Growth Boundary. "If you want to recommend unfavorable, I'll put the whole thing to bed," said town administrator Taylor Brandon at the end of the session. "I won't be upset in the least."... more

Marshall County voters cast their ballots like most other Tennesseans, favoring John McCain over Barack Obama, yet exit interviews with voters here indicated many anticipated the national results. Still, McCain's dominance here was less than his statewide percentages, according to unofficial results that face certification 10 days from today. Here it was McCain by just under 60 percent, while the senator from Arizona received about 61 percent of the votes in Tennessee... more

A Lewisburg woman was scheduled for an interview at U.S. Sen. Bob Corker's office in Nashville today because of her request for an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. So, it was a memorable day Tuesday when she cast her presidential ballot for one of the Academy's most famous graduates. However, the Naval Academy was not the first reason given by Margaret Nash on why she voted for Sen. John McCain over President-elect Barack Obama... more

By Clint Confehr Senior Staff Writer With a suggestion that it's a city election campaign issue next spring, the owners of two restaurants persuaded officials to find a way to change Lewisburg's beer law so they could stay in business without being forced to be open six days a week... more

The County Commission's Education Committee met again with the School Board and other interested parties for another freewheeling discussion on budgeting and finance. They were continuing a meeting that started last week in the Courthouse Annex with a discussion of centralized accounting. Last Tuesday, they met at the Central Office... more

The Erwin M. McQuiddy Post No. 39 of the American Legion in Lewisburg didn't have to go far to find an appropriate speaker for this year's Veterans Day Program on the east steps of the Marshall County Courthouse on Tuesday morning. Thomas A "Drew" Davidson, recipient of the Purple Heart and a respected practicing attorney in Middle Tennessee, has offices on Lewisburg's public square and his front door faces he Courthouse lawn made hallowed ground by monuments to comrades in arms who did not return.. ... more

Lewisburg's newest city council member was sworn in Friday during a short ceremony at City Hall. "It's an exciting time in city government when we have someone come in to give us new ideas and new perspectives," said Mayor Bob Phillips, welcoming Odie Whitehead Jr. who was appointed by the other councilors at their monthly meeting earlier last week... more

By Clint Confehr Senior Staff Writer Marshall County's Board of Public Utilities directors were confronted with a couple of routine matters during their regular meeting in October when they could not take action. Minutes of the September meeting of the board were not approved because doing so requires a majority of the members of the board and, with one absent and another who'd resigned, the remaining three members didn't unanimously vote to approve the minutes... more

Three of Marshall County's elementary schools are participating in a new federally-funded fresh fruits and vegetables program that runs through Sept. 30, 2009. Oak Grove, Westhills and Marshall Elementary are sharing almost $100,000 to be spent exclusively on fresh produce... more

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A school board in Florida has voted to keep the name of a Confederate general and early Ku Klux Klan leader at a majority black high school, despite opposition from a black board member who said the school's namesake was a "terrorist and racist."... more

The County Commission's education committee met with school board members and other interested parties for a discussion of centralized accounting last Thursday. "We're here to learn, as I've told Dr. Stan Curtis (Director of Schools) and Ann Tears (chairman of the school board)," said Larry McKnight, chairman of the committee... more

An attempt to obtain money in exchange for the return of a cell phone last week failed when a Lewisburg police officer intervened. Officer Amanda Newcomb was dispatched to the Wal-Mart Supercenter on North Ellington Parkway at about 9 p.m. in reference to a lost or stolen cell phone... more

One of the men who caused the creation of the Marshall County Board of Public Utilities has been a champion of consolidation and as he was leaving that panel recently, he reasserted that method of improving public service. "We need to look at the opportunities for cooperation between the utilities... to bring these organizations together to achieve the economy of scale we could have together," Joe Barry Brandon told the MCBPU during a special called meeting of the rural water service on Oct. 21... more

Lewisburg City Council has approved two programs for a couple of businesses so their costs will be lower and new jobs may be created. A loan of $550,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the state and city is being made for Autom Co. the Phoenix, Ariz.-based church supply business that's moving much of its operation here... more

A lot of Marshall County voters probably identified with other Tennesseans yesterday, voting for John McCain or Barack Obama to succeed George Bush as pollsters and pundits predicted the state would stay GOP-red while the nation was turning Democrat-blue... more