Jakob Shockley is the conductor of the Freedom Express as he prepares for the Yankee Doodle Children’s Parade during the Fourth of July celebration Wednesday in downtown McMinnville. Shockley won first prize for his creation.

By DUANE SHERRILL Charges have been lodged against a local man accused in a county-wide burglary spree ‘ which included the theft of a state trooper’s badge and gun. The suspect, Thomas J. Reeder, 30, was bound over to the grand jury following his initial appearance for arraignment this week before General Sessions Judge Larry…

By JAMES CLARK A 14-year-old boy was badly injured on the Fourth of July when a firework exploded in his hand. Dillon Mason, a rising freshman at Warren County High School, suffered a serious hand injury when he was setting off fireworks at his home on Hennessee Bridge Road. Mason was flown to Vanderbilt, according…

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McMinnville resident and Warren County native Rosie Lee Hale Simmons, 85, died July 4 at St. Thomas Hospital after a brief illness. A homemaker and a member of Campaign Church of God of Prophecy, she was the daughter of Arvill Taylor and Nancy Ella Johnson Hale and was preceded in death by brothers, Author, Ed…

McMinnville resident and White County native Mary K. Pepper, 68, died June 30 at her home. A order puller with B&P Lamp, a fishing enthusiast and a member of the Church of God, she was the daughter of Cleary Brown and Pauline Scott Miller; and was preceded in death by her husband, Austin Pepper in…

McMinnville resident and Chicago, Ill., native James Alan Mullican, 50, died unexpectedly July 4 at Stones River Hospital in Woodbury. A carpenter and a member of the Baptist Church, he was the son of James Marlin and Rose Katherine Giroux Mullican. He is survived by his wife, Rose Mullican; son, Mark Stinner; daughters, Samantha K.…

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) ‘ Family members Thursday mourned three children and the woman they say gave her own life in a failed attempt to save them as her minivan rolled down a hill and sank in a park pond. Michelle McIntosh, 39, died Wednesday along with her 2-year-old son David and 3-year-old family friend Julia…

CHICAGO (AP) ‘ Drug abuse experts say the arrest of Al Gore’s son underscores the growing problem of prescription drug abuse among America’s youth. College students use the stimulant Adderall, an attention deficit drug, to get a speedy high or pull all-nighters. The other drugs police say they found in Al Gore III’s possession ‘…

MEMPHIS (AP) ‘ Two children who drowned on a Fourth of July outing were among 10 people packed into a 10- to 12-foot fishing boat that sank on a small, residential lake on the outskirts of town, police said Thursday. The boat, equipped with an outboard engine, began taking on water shortly after heading out…