Mary Akers, 92, of McMinnville (Centertown community) died Tuesday, April 17 at River Park Hospital. Born on April 2, 1915 in Warren County, she was a homemaker and member of Bates Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Akers was preceded in death by parents Andrew and Janie Bynum Tanner; husband L.W. (Renza) Akers; sisters Lillie Hennessee…

Morrison resident and Bledsoe County native Donald ?Duck? Edward Boyd, 57, was born May 6, 1949 and died April 18 at his residence following an extended illness. A disabled employee of APAC and a member of the Baptist Church, he was the son of the late Paul Henry and Alice Roberta Christian. He was married…

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) ? Long before he boiled over, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was picked on, pushed around and laughed at over his shyness and the strange way he talked when he was a schoolboy in the Washington suburbs, former classmates say. Chris Davids, a Virginia Tech senior who graduated from Westfield High School…

CHURCH HILL, Tenn. (AP) ? A mother of a kindergarten student was charged with assault Thursday and banned from a school after officials said she walked into a classroom, pointed a toy gun at students and pulled the trigger several times. The incident happened Tuesday, a day after the shootings at Virginia Tech, and scared…

By Jim Mullen I have put away all my winter clothes and pulled out my spring stuff. My spring snowsuit, my spring thermal underwear, my spring gloves, my spring lined boots, my spring ski mask and my spring scarves. I’m trying to avoid getting case of spring frostbite. I’m going spring skiing with Dave tomorrow.…

By Gene Lyons Funny, but I never saw the hullabaloo over Don Imus’ offensive remarks coming. Nor am I sure exactly what’s been accomplished with him gone. For the time being, anyway. Does anybody doubt that the “I-Man,” as talk radio’s AM drive-time misanthrope likes being called, will resurface on a different network peddling his…

Boy Scout Patrick Davis of Troop 631 helped to build this playground equipment for the children at Families in Crisis, a local shelter for victims of domestic abuse, as part of his Eagle Scout project. For story, see page 7-A.

By DUANE SHERRILL Vandals have struck at the Barren Fork Greenway, spray painting the public exercise trail and nearby buildings with gang symbols. ?We counted 60 or more locations on the greenway which were vandalized,? said McMinnville Police Chief Charlie Sewell. ?They vandalized buildings, trash cans and the walkway itself.? Sewell said lawmen suspect the…

By DUANE SHERRILL On the eve of what would have been their 11th wedding anniversary, Mary Winkler walked from the courtroom a free woman yesterday, convicted of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and released on bond pending her sentencing hearing next month for killing her husband, Matthew Winkler. She faces three to six years…

A preacher’s wife who claimed her husband abused her was convicted Thursday of voluntary manslaughter for shooting him. Mary Winkler, 33, showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Prosecutors had asked that Winkler be convicted of first-degree murder, but the jury settled on the lesser charge after deliberating for eight hours. She faces three…