Davidson County resident Retha L. Hillis Davis, 90, died Aug. 25. She is survived by son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Judy Davis; daughters and sons-in-law, Betty and Bobby Veach, Mary and Gene Pelham, Johnnye and Kendal Pulley; brother, E.L. Hillis; 11 grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews. Services will be held at 1 p.m.…

Decatur, Ala., resident and Warren County native Floyd Ebon Pendleton, 90, was born July 15, 1916 and died Aug. 26 at Erwin Healthcare Center in Erwin following a brief illness. A retired maintenance supervisor with DuPont in Old Hickory, a United States Marine Corps veteran of WWII, and a member of City Road United Methodist…

Rock Island resident and Van Buren County native Edward (Shorty) Boyd, 81, was born Feb. 15, 1925 and died Aug. 24 at Raintree Manor Nursing Home following an extended illness. A retired plant supervisor with Avalon Dairies, a United States Army veteran of WWII and a member of White Hill Church of Christ, he was…

Woodbury resident and Cannon County native Edna Lewis, 82, died Aug. 25 at Woodbury Nursing Center after an extended illness. A homemaker and a member of the Church of Christ, she was the daughter of the late Vinson E. and Ollie Jones Lance and was preceded in death by son, Virgil Lewis; and grandson, Ricky…

Chuck Shepherd Inmate Donny Johnson, serving three life terms in solitary confinement at the Pelican Bay State Prison in California, was the beneficiary of a showing of his acclaimed paintings at a gallery in the Mexican tourist village of San Miguel de Allende, according to a July New York Times report. Because of Johnson’s isolation,…

NASHVILLE (AP) BREDESEN Gov. Phil Bredesen hasn?t been seen or heard from in public for nearly two weeks, but his staff says he?s recovering from an illness that sent him to the hospital. Bredesen expects to return to work this week after being treated for a flu-like illness for which doctors have not yet been…

Guest Editorial: By Frank Gibson I get calls regularly from citizens and reporters with open government questions, but this one threw me. The AP reporter wanted my reaction to statements an assistant state attorney general made at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Janet Kleinfelter, senior counsel in the AG’s office, had told NCSL attendees…

Charlie Johnson In light of recent developments in county government I?m going to deviate from my usual format a bit today. I?m going to address two words that are, or at least should be, of vital concern to everyone who reads this column. But before I give you those words, I?m going to give you…

Thomas Vaughn This month we marked the anniversary of the passing of Elvis Presley.?His death in 1977 stunned his legions of fans, in the USA and around the world.? Like most people I know, I remember vividly where I was when I heard that Elvis had died. I was stationed in Hawaii, a land and…