By CHARLES W. JOHNSON The Chamber of Commerce-sponsored 2008 Leadership McMinnville Class has been chosen and held its retreat this weekend at the cabins in Rock Island Park. The 19 members were treated to a series of whirlwind sessions designed to get them ready for the year of classes which will make them familiar with…

By DUANE SHERRILL A man who torched his girlfriend’s car, which in turn set off a blaze which burned down a nearby house, was granted probation. The defendant, Rex Martin, 40, was given a three-year probationary sentence, to be served on the community corrections program, and must attend outpatient rehab and keep employment in return…

By DUANE SHERRILL With the prime suspect in last year’s armed robbery of Northgate Shell seemingly cleared by scientific evidence, police are re-opening their investigation into the brazen heist which occurred at one of the city’s busiest intersections. ‘This case has had a number of twists and turns since it happened,’ said McMinnville Police Major…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON Warren County ambulances are now integrated with a state-of-the-art mobile data system, according to EMS director Brian Jennings. The computer hardware for the system has been in place for some time and now the second phase of the program, installation of the software to run the system, has been completed. ‘On…

By DUANE SHERRILL Twenty-two people were handed sentence Wednesday by Judge Bart Stanley in Circuit Court criminal division. Included in circuit action: ‘ Hilda Lanier was ordered to serve one year of a 10-year sentence and pay $2,000 plus cost for delivery of over a half-gram of cocaine. ‘ Timothy W. Johnson was directed to…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON Jeremy Stone is a people person. This is obvious from his choice of career. He works in the Human Resource Department at Yorozu, but it’s also obvious in his songwriting, currently his second career, but perhaps his first love. As a matter of fact, things are beginning to heat up for…

(CNN/ Money) ‘ It wasn’t the season to go shopping. Retailers reported deep declines in their December sales Thursday, reflecting a 2007 holiday shopping season that is turning out to be one of the weakest in years. ‘These numbers are bad because consumers are clearly seeing some pain here,’ said Ken Perkins, president of sales…

BY Consumer Reports Communication between doctors and patients sorely needs improvement, especially when it comes to prescription drugs. According to Consumer Reports, 45 percent of U.S. adults regularly take at least one prescription drug and 18 percent take three or more ‘ which means consumers need to know how to get the best value for…

By James Clark For four years, Amy Martin operated a daycare out of her home. Now she’s back in action at her Smartt Station facility with Kids Korner, which is open from 6 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday. ‘I missed it, but I forgot how hard the work is,’ said Amy, who can…

By James Clark If you combine the 960 Bridgestone employees with the 120 permanent contract employees who work at Bridgestone, the local plant provides jobs for 1,080 people. I’m stating the obvious when I say that’s a lot of people. ‘This plant is running at full capacity and we project to continue to run at…