ATLANTA (AP) Hispanic births are skyrocketing in the Southeast, where an increase of at least 40 percent was recorded in five states between 2000 and 2003, according to a new government report. Among the states with the largest increases were Kentucky (80 percent), South Carolina (62 percent), Alabama (53 percent), Tennessee (53 percent) and Arkansas…

McMinnville resident and Warren County native Zelma Gladys Simmons, 72, was born Oct. 16, 1933 and died May 8 at NHC Healthcare in McMinnville following an extended illness. A retired employee of Magnetek and a member of Blue Springs Cove Church of Christ, she was the daughter of Irene McGee Barnes of McMinnville and the…

Mrs. Willie B. Morgan, 93, of the Lucky community died Saturday, May 6 at her home. She was born Jan. 11, 1913 in DeKalb County to the late Rufus and Lora Robinson and was preceded in death by her first husband Herbert Pedigo, and second husband Frank Morgan; sisters Alta Mae Robinson and Elizabeth Robinson;…

Daleville, Ind., resident Sallie Alda Rogers Cox, 95, died May 6 at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Ind. A homemaker and a member of Daleville Church of Christ, she was the daughter of the late Charlie D. and Nancy Scott Rogers. She is also preceded in death by her husband, Edison O. Cox, five sons…

Rock Island resident Otis LaTane Burgess, 79 died May 6 at NHC Healthcare in Smithville. A retired cosmetologist, he was a member of the Methodist Church and was preceded in death by his parents, Otis and Oma Burch McGinnis Burgess. He is survived by son and daughter-in-law John and Susan Whitt of Kentucky, granddaughter Allyson…

Madeline Pearl White, stillbirth, died May 8 at Southern Tennessee Medical Center in Winchester. She was the daughter of Jennifer Burton Lemons of Viola and James Newton White of McMinnville. She is also survived by maternal grandmother Marilyn Lundmark of Leonard, Minn., maternal step-grandfather Cheyenne Myers of Viola, paternal grandfather Phillip Burton of the Mt.…

Smithville resident Linda Gail Curtis, 57, died May 7 at her son?s home after an extended illness. A self-employed worker with Home and Garden Party, she was a member of Whorton Springs Baptist Church and was the daughter of the late Cecil and Marjorie Caldwell Thweatt. She was also preceded in death by her husband,…

McMinnville resident and Madison County, Ala., native Buford Wilson Webster, 82, was born Sept. 28, 1923 and died May 7 at the Tennessee State Veterans? Home in Murfreesboro following an extended illness. The retired owner of McMinnville Radiator Shop, a veteran of the United States Navy serving during WWII, and a member of the Baptist…

Chad Havern Nunley, 27 McMinnville resident and Warren County native Havern Chad Nunley, 27, was born Jan. 6, 1979 and died suddenly May 7 at River Park Hospital. An accomplished carpenter with Lawson Mill Construction and longtime employee of the Oak Tree, he learned his trade from his grandfather, Havern Wheeler, along with his brothers…

By Margaret hobbs Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard Peyton Kelsey is shown with her royal court at the close of the Warren County Junior Princess Pageant. Court includes, from left, Lexie Wood, second runner-up; Belle Copeland, first runner-up; Tess Fryar, third runner-up and Erika Colangione, fourth runner-up. Peyton Jade Kelsey is an active 10-year-old…