By Charles C. Haynes / Guest Editorial Yes, Virginia, there is a Christmas war ? or so the culture warriors would have us believe. It’s all about “happy holidays” vs. “Merry Christmas” ? the politically correct vs. the religiously correct.One side goes too far by renaming the Christmas trees, while the other side goes overboard…

Birth Announcements Baby GirlKellie and Michael Boyd of Rock Island announce the birth of their daughter, Katlyn Grace Boyd. She was born Nov. 7 at River Park Hospital and weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces. She is the first child for the couple.Her grandparents are David and Brenda Smith and Doyle and Lisa Boyd, all of…

NEW YORK Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? To contain the force of an exploding bomb, you need steel plate or concrete, and lots of it, right? Not according to a BlastGard International Inc., a startup in Clearwater, Fla., that makes a…

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Hundreds of union members picketed the White House Thursday but did not succeed in delivering a petition addressed to President Bush urging him to protect workers’ rights and pass labor-friendly legislation. The demonstration was the…

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? The number of people who have lost jobs from a string of devastating hurricanes rose to 599,700 last week as the effects of Katrina and Rita continued to be felt months after they slammed ashore.…

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? A severe flu pandemic would probably throw the U.S. economy into recession since people who are ill ? as well as those who are not infected and want to avoid the flu ? would stay…

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had fallen for two weeks, resumed their increases this week. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.32 percent this week, up from 6.26…

WASHINGTON Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ? Nearly one out of every six U.S. employees say they were discriminated at work in the last year, with women more than twice as likely as men to claim bias over hiring and pay, according…

MYERS McMinnville resident and Warren County native Jimmy F. Myers, 65, died Dec. 4 at his home after an extended illness.A licensed electrician and a member of Forest Park Baptist Church, he was the son of the late Fred and Julie Tanner Myers; and was preceded in death by sons, Barret Allen and Gary Thomas…

Campaign resident and Knoxville native Gene Austin Garrett, 78, died unexpectedly Dec. 1 at River Park Hospital.A retired heating and cooling contractor, he was the son of Harvey and Margaret French Garrett.He is survived by his wife, Alberta Garrett; daughter, Betty Jean Gossett of Lenior City; and sons, Sonny and Terry Garrett of Knoxville; stepdaughters,…