McMinnville resident and DeKalb County native Freda Overall Griffith Mullican, 81, died April 2 at her home after an extended illness.An employee of McMinnville Garment Company and B.J.’s Custom Quilting and a member of Bethel Hill Baptist Church, she was the daughter of the late William Henry and Ada Overall Griffith; and was preceded in…

Elsie Lucille Medlen, 96, of Creve Coeur since 1988, formerly of Cookeville April 3 where she made her home with her daughter.She was born on October 24, 1908 in DeKalb County, daughter of Ammon Wylie and Minnie Sherman Austin. She married John Riley “J.R.” Medlen on November 30, 1937 in Warren County. He preceded her…

Rock Island resident and Van Buren County native Cherful Hennessee, 74, died April 3 at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville after an extended illness.A nursery worker with Forest Nursery and later self-employed, he was the son of the late A.C. and Lillie Hillis Hennessee; and was preceded in death by brothers, Thurman, R.J., Rayburn, and…

Sparta resident and White County native Betty Jane Boles Woody, 56, died April 2 at White County Hospital.A homemaker, she was preceded in death by her father, Edward Boles; brothers, Thomas and Steven Boles; sister, Maggie Mae Boles; daughter, Ann Lowe; and son, Terry Low.She is survived by son, Jerry Wayne Lowe of Knoxville; daughter,…

Smartt resident and Warren County native Anthony Brian Henderson, 21, died April 4 at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga.An employee of Moore Lumber Sales and a member of Pioneer Community Baptist Church, he was preceded in death by maternal grandfather, Haskell Smith; and paternal grandmother, Allie Elizabeth Henderson.He is survived by his parents, Terry and…

TO THE EDITOR: Integrity. In the early part of the last century, Shoeless Joe Jackson and several of his teammates conspired for a sum of money to throw the 1919 World Series. For their part, these Chicago White Sox players were banned for life from baseball. Pleas for mercy, especially from Shoeless Joe, a potential…

TO THE EDITOR: Throughout the history of our nation, our men and women have always volunteered to defend our freedom and the freedom of other nations.Our servicemen and women have to endure many difficult situations, which, the rest of our citizens cannot fully appreciate (i.e., separation from parents, spouses and children). During the war, many…

By Joan Ryan / Columnist From my seat in SBC Park, Barry Bonds has always looked eight feet tall at home plate. When he steps into the batter’s box, even the wind and the seagulls seem to stop in their tracks.I have been trying to reconcile that image with the tired, defeated, bitter man on…

By Morton Kondracke / Columnist Events in the world are going President Bush’s way. So is the U.S. economy. Yet his approval ratings are going down. Why?The answer seems to be: (1) he’s not communicating well enough about the good things that are happening, (2) gasoline prices are soaring, dominating most people’s attitudes about the…

By Duane Sherrill / Columnist The newspaper used to be a leader when it came to April Fools jokes, a tradition which has been lost over the years for some reason.I can recall papers back 20 or 30 years ago in which April Fools jokes were placed on the front page, pulling the collective legs…