By CHARLES W. JOHNSON Sisters, and fellow Boyd Christian School alumni, Leann Hamblen Long, left, and Megan Hamblen look over some memorabilia at the local school?s first alumni reception Saturday afternoon. Boyd Christian School held its first alumni homecoming Saturday as graduates gathered to reminisce about their high school days. Former students were happy to…

Rock Island resident and Warren County native Michael Allen Hale, 37, was born April 6, 1969 and died suddenly Jan. 27. A logger and a member of the Baptist Church, he was the son of Bessie Elizabeth Simmons Hale of Rock Island and the late Martin Junior Hale. In addition to his mother, he is…

Jeanne Vaughn Smith, 62, of Nashville died Sunday, Jan. 28 at Morningside Assisted Living. She was born on Feb. 13, 1944 in McMinnville and was preceded in death by parents Beecher and Dorothy Jean Neal Vaughn and sister Alice Bond. Ms. Smith was a homemaker and attended the Methodist Church. Survivors include her sons and…

McMinnville resident and Greene County native Edward Ray Lowery Sr., 50, was born May 15, 1956 and died Jan. 27 at River Park Hospital following an extended illness. A self-employed carpenter and a member of the Baptist Tabernacle, he was the son of the late Otis Edward and Ollie Mae Mayham Lowery. He is survived…

Morrison native and Nashville resident Dr. James Norton Smoot Jr., 81, was born Jan. 3, 1926 and died Jan. 30. His passion in life was his family, his wife of 60 years and their seven children and eight grandchildren. He joined the Marines at the age of 17 and served his country in the Pacific…

McMinnville resident and Booneville, Miss., native Ailene Moore Scott, 84, was born Dec. 2, 1922 and died Jan. 29 at St. Joseph?s Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. A homemaker and a member of Liberty Cumberland Presbyterian Church, she was the daughter of the late Louis and Effie Harp Moore. She was married to Roy L. Scott…

WASHINGTON (AP) ? A Senate Republican on Tuesday directly challenged President Bush’s declaration that “I am the decision-maker” on issues of war. “I would suggest respectfully to the president that he is not the sole decider,” Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said during a hearing on Congress’ war powers amid an increasingly harsh debate over Iraq…

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Senate cleared the way for an increase in the minimum wage Tuesday, but only with business tax breaks that House Democrats want removed. Final Senate passage of the legislation is expected later this week, setting the stage for a round of difficult negotiations between House and Senate Democrats over how to…

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) ? A 44-year-old mother accused of forcing her two daughters into prostitution to feed her crack cocaine habit remained in jail Monday, along with three men charged with having sex with one of the teens. The mother, whose name has not been released by authorities to protect the daughters’ identities, was being…

GHENT, W.Va. (AP) ? A fuel tank exploded at a gas station near a ski resort Tuesday, shattering the building into a pile of debris and killing at least four people, authorities said. At least five other people were seriously hurt at the Flat Top Little General Store, where little remained except twisted metal and…