Joyce Diane Bates, 73, of McMinnville passed from this life on Thursday, April 10 at her residence after an extended illness. Mrs. Bates was a member of The Way of the Cross Baptist Church and was a caretaker. She was preceded in death by Husband, Charles Bates, parents, James Roy and Mollie Roberts; and sister,…

McMinnville resident Gertie Irene Robinson, 88, died April 10 at NHC Healthcare. The retired owner/operator of Robinson’s Fish Market and a member of Bordeaux Baptist Church, she was a member of Eastern Star 342; and was preceded in death by parents, Hughy and Cora Vanatta Hibdon and her husband, J.D. Robinson. She is survived by…

By Gene Policinski Government at all levels always leans toward conducting business behind closed doors. The reasons range from the ease of working out compromises to avoiding hurt feelings and political repercussions to making the process work faster. The only problems ‘ apart from its occasionally being illegal to conduct public business in private ‘…

By Lisa Hobbs Because of one of my last columns ‘ flu season and me wishing I was a man ‘ I’ve been accused of taking a stab at men. I may have, but the jury is still out on that one. If you didn’t like that one, don’t read this one. The other day…

By Morton Kondracke Judging by his agile performance at Tuesday’s Iraq hearings, Sen. Barack Obama now is opting for the famous George Aiken formula from Vietnam days: Declare victory and get out. Or, rather, as an update on the late Vermont Republican’s 1966 idea, Obama would declare the situation in Iraq “manageable” and drastically reduce…

By Thomas Vaughn The war in Iraq was front and center on Capitol Hill last week. U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus made their marathon rounds to the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, followed by their appearance before the House Armed Services Committee and House International Relations…

CHICAGO (AP) ‘ Sitting in her hospital room in Marion, Ill., 17-year-old Kassie Hopkins knew something was wrong when she looked at the newborn officials told her she had given birth to a day before. Mary Jo Bathon had the same feeling but left Heartland Regional Medical Center with the hospital’s assurance that the baby…

HENRY PAULSON WASHINGTON (AP) ‘ Finance officials from the world’s top economic powers endorsed a plan Friday aimed at preventing another financial crisis like the credit and mortgage debacles that erupted in the United States and quickly sent tremors around the globe. “Rapid implementation” of the plan “will not only enhance the resilience of the…

By Ric Edelman I’ve been complaining for years about the ridiculous proliferation of professional designations in the financial-services industry. You’ve heard of some of them, but you probably don’t know that there are now nearly 100 professional designations! And none is bestowed by federal or state regulators. Thus, these so-called designations don’t really mean anything.…

NEW YORK (AP) ‘ Wall Street stumbled Friday after a disappointing first-quarter report from General Electric Co. surprised the market and stoked concern about the health of both corporate profits and the wider economy. The major indexes fell more than 2 percent, with the Dow Jones industrials giving up more than 250 points. A weaker-than-expected…