A number of city officials in a county south of Nashville decided several years ago that the trouble wasn't worth the benefit of having a take-home car from the municipality that could well-afford to permit inspectors, department chiefs and others to drive home in what private businessmen would call a company car... more

My best friend in Tennessee created a family tradition during the Christmas after her father died. She and her mother and brothers stayed up late on Christmas Eve to bake cookies and drink screwdrivers. They'd laugh as the cookies were decorated with more unique designs later into the evening. Some had more sugar than others. Some were not perfect stars or even really round... more

These may be the best of times or the worst of times, depending on your point of view. Let's decide for the fun of it. There's a point to this, but first consider a couple of stories that one of America's best jesters might call "Stupid Criminal Tricks."... more

We were flabbergasted at the audacity of a left turn by a motorist who then drove south on North Fifth Avenue by way of a right turn lane. You'd almost have to be there at what could be called Lewisburg's intersection of infamy if it didn't have such a hard-hitting name already. It's where Rock Crusher Road goes south to Ellington Parkway and faces North Fifth Avenue... more

I had the opportunity to visit Marshall Elementary School this week to take pictures of the children while they were eating lunch. I generally got a good impression: the kids proceeded through the line in an orderly fashion, took their seats without squabbling, and ate some good-looking food. The cafeteria is bright and cheerful, with a lovely mural of tiger cubs on the wall... more

Lewisburg's Water and Wastewater Department has a new employee since the now-former chairman of the city utilities board was hired to be the assistant superintendent in training, and he may be promoted next year when the superintendent begins his retirement... more

There was a circuit court judge during the 1980s somewhere else in South Central Tennessee who was what party officials called a "goood Democrat." This was so long ago that before he presided over big court cases, he was a county judge, a title that preceded county executive, an office name that was changed again to county mayor... more

A recurring comment heard since Sanford Corp. announced it's closing the pencil factory here is that it's been coming for some time. Temporary employment service workers were used because the business is seasonal and that was when school starts and parents were buying supplies, the company's spokesman told us... more

Now that the election is over and Americans have made an undoubtedly historic, if not correct, choice for president, it's time for the postgame show. If you've cared much about the election, you've probably heard two dozen post-mortems on the election. But I want to chime in, basically because I think presidential elections are some of the most fascinating competitions we have in this country... more

The complaint is back. "I'm not voting for a candidate as much as I'm voting against one." The complaint is also phrased like this: "I'm just voting for the lesser of the two evils." Then there was the woman who said she's voting, "but I'm holding my nose as I do it."... more

What I saw in the utility office lobby on Water Street is an American tragedy. A woman was quietly paying her bill to the Lewisburg Water and Wastewater Department in pennies. She was breaking them open from what appeared to be hand-rolled paper wraps, but maybe they were put together at a bank or one of those machines at the grocery... more

I almost gave Nixon influenza, but the Secret Service saved him. That's the way I remember an incident that helped shape my view of the military, public health and what might be worth retelling this week. Dad moved Mom and me to a house near the Bethesda Naval Hospital in 1954. As the son of a lieutenant colonel, I was eligible for medical services where presidents get annual physical exams... more

I was privileged to learn from the man who was the state emergency management director for Oklahoma before, during and after the federal building was bombed in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. Nearly a decade ago, Tom Feuerborn moved to a Tennessee city that still holds to its small town roots so he could be close to his grandchildren but he couldn't stop being a public servant. After a stint as a planning commissioner, he was an alderman. That's how I met Tom... more

With the price of gasoline bouncing around $4 a gallon again and high falootin' financiers dancing fast from Wall Street to Washington, D.C., now may be a good time to trot out some horse sense statistics, courtesy of the new administration at the Lewisburg Police Department... more

I have invited Tennesseans to send me e-mails or to write letters about how high gas prices are affecting their daily lives. I am hearing from a lot of them. Pat Taylor of Morristown, who is the director of the local Meals on Wheels program, tells me the drivers travel 1,100 miles a day to deliver meals, but food and gasoline prices could force many meal recipients into retirement homes if something is not done. ... more

I have invited Tennesseans to send me e-mails or to write letters about how high gas prices are affecting their daily lives. I am hearing from a lot of them. Pat Taylor of Morristown, who is the director of the local Meals on Wheels program, tells me the drivers travel 1,100 miles a day to deliver meals, but food and gasoline prices could force many meal recipients into retirement homes if something is not done. ... more

The councilors are coming! The councilors are coming! Lewisburg's City Council has apparently reached consensus on how to refer to themselves and it's an area of language that's been the subject of newsroom debate almost everywhere for decades. more

Editor's note: The following address was delivered by E. Ray Farley at American Legion Post No. 39's annual Memorial Day dinner. By E. Ray Farley Guest Columnist This day was set aside that we might, as a nation, remember those who served their country, and lost their lives. It is also a time to remember all others who served, but lived to tell the tale. I've a few disjointed reminiscences about the armed services... more

"When I grow up, I'm never going to lose my job." That sunny forecast came from my 4-year-old son Gideon. It reminds me of some of my own blissfully ignorant youthful notions. For instance, in the early '90s, John H. O'Neal, one of my co-workers in the data processing department at FaberCastell, offered the opinion, "We've got it made here and don't know it."... more

The Marshall County Extension Office will start immediately to accept soil test samples for the University of Tennessee Soil Testing Laboratory in Nashville. The cost for the basic test will be $6 per sample. The basic test will provide producers and homeowners with the soil pH, buffer value, phosphate, potassium, calcium, magnesium, calculated CEC, and base saturation. This the most common information needed for most crops, gardens and lawns... more