By DUANE SHERRILL A man was bound to the grand jury Tuesday on drug fraud charges after he allegedly tried to pass a forged prescription when his wife?s doctor failed to prescribe a dosage adequate to stop his wife?s pain. The defendant, Ronnie Carl Johnson, was bound to the grand jury following a short hearing…

Tech announces dean?s list Tennessee Tech University is pleased to announce the names of its students included on the dean?s list for the fall 2006 semester. Students earn the academic distinction by completing a full course load with a GPA of 3.1 or better on the university?s 4.0 scale. From McMinnville: April Nicole Barnes, Leslie…

William S. Flatt, 82, passed from this life Jan 22 in White County following an extended illness. He was a member of the Baptist Church and was a self-employed auto mechanic. He is survived by wife, Dorotha M. Simmons Flatt of Spencer, daughters, Carolyn King of Nashville, Wanda and husband, David Hill of Nashville, Ann…

Asheville, N.C., resident Mark Hamilton Haslam, 38, died unexpectedly in his sleep Dec. 22. The superintendent of Lasley Construction Company, he is survived by his wife, Kelly; daughter, Katie; son, Wynn; brother, John Bryan Haslam, father, John Battle Haslam, all of Asheville; best friend, Dewey Crawford; and many friends of Asheville and Monterey. He was…

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) ? The principal at Ware Shoals High School lied to deputies investigating the school?s cheerleading coach and was taken into custody at the school Monday, charged with obstruction of justice, police said. Jane Blackwell tried to hinder the investigation of cheerleading coach Jill Moore, who was arrested last week for providing beer…

ATLANTA (AP) ? After proclaiming his innocence from prison for nearly 22 years, a man who has been cleared of a rape conviction by DNA evidence took his final steps toward becoming a free man on Tuesday. Willie O. ?Pete? Williams has spent nearly half his life in a Georgia prison. He was convicted of…

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Bush, confronting a skeptical Congress and American public, struck back Tuesday at opponents of sending more troops to the war. He said ?America must not fail in Iraq? and insisted his plan offered the best chance of success. Facing a major political showdown over his strategy, Bush said in his State…

NASHVILLE (AP) ? Traffic fatalities in Tennessee have gone down slightly over the past two years following the passage of two important driver safety laws, according to preliminary statistics from 2006. The state lowered the minimum blood-alcohol content to 0.08 percent for drunken driving offenses in 2003 and a year later started allowing police officers…

By Donald Lambro Many, if not most, laws passed by Congress have had unintended, negative consequences, and raising the minimum wage has been one of them. Perhaps no other so-called economic reform has been studied more than the impact of the minimum wage on poor-to-low income, unskilled, undereducated, unemployed Americans. The preponderance of these studies…

By Kathryn Lopez Senator Barack Obama has said that too many fathers “engage in childish things. (They) are more concerned about what they want than what’s good for other people.” Sound familiar? Seems that the Illinois Democrat — who is today’s cultural and political phenomenon — has taken a cue from Saint Paul. Obama, as…