Our Viewpoint Soaring health insurance costs are a constant concern. In the past several years, it seems health care premiums have gone up every time the seasons change.It doesn’t take much research to figure out the root of the problem. Americans are growing more and more unhealthy. Our waistlines are expanding. Our diet is deteriorating.…

Wendy Gail Crim and Brian Joseph Anderson were married at Northside Baptist Church on April 23 in a double ring ceremony. Minister Mike Lee performed the ceremony. (Photo provided) Wendy Gail Crim became the bride of Brian Joseph Anderson at Northside Baptist Church on April 23 in a 6:30 double ring ceremony. Minister Mike Lee…

By CHARLES W. JOHNSON / News Editor for the Southern Standard It’s that time again. The time for Warren countians to make their way out to the valley, Viola Valley that is. Yep, the Viola Valley Homecoming parade and celebration will be taking off this weekend. Get ready for some good food, good fun and…

By MARGARET HOBBS / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Kali Edwards, 2, and Megan Rudicel maneuver the slide in the obstacle course. (Margaret Hobbs photos) Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary had only been in school for one week, which was long enough to enjoy a Back-to-School Blast.Parents, students and teachers gathered on the ball field…

Smithville resident Martha (Ma) Webb, 108, died Aug. 8 at her home.A member of Jefferson Cumberland Presbyterian Church, she was the daughter of the late Frank and Emily Delong Jones; and was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie Webb; daughters, Josie Pack and Lillie (Jack) Thweatt; grandson, Johnny Mack Thweatt; brother, Monroe Jones; and…

Memorial services for Madge Lucille (Agnew) Bess, 76, who passed away May 13 in Tucson, Ariz., after a lengthy battle with cancer will be held at 5:30 p.m. today at Love-Cantrell & Cope Funeral Home Chapel.The daughter of Dorothy (Dew) and George Agnew in Indianapolis, Ind., she graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis…

Rock Island resident and White County native Herbert Clay (Cookie) Conley Jr., 62, died Aug. 6 at Woodridge Nursing Home in Crossville.A machinist and a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, he was the son of Gertie Williams of Rock Island and the late Herbert Clay Conley Sr. He was also preceded in death…

TURNER Veteran lawman Grady (Pete) Turner, 84, died Aug. 9 at River Park Hospital.A deputy sheriff with the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and a member of American Legion Post 173, he served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II.A McMinnville resident and Warren County native, he was the son of William Jesse…

NEW YORK (AP) — Mixed among the pages of dazzling celebrities and rail-thin models that dominate fashion and teen magazines is a surprising sight: young women with thick thighs and flabby abs. In Seventeen, Teen People, CosmoGirl! and Teen Vogue are bathing suit sections partly illustrated by less-than-perfect figures and tips on maximizing assets and…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most participants in Medicare’s new prescription drug benefit will spend about $5 less per month in premiums than originally anticipated because of competition among private plans bidding to offer the benefit. The savings will also extend to the government. The subsidies it pays the plans to provide the drug benefit will decrease…