Matt Rains, of Ben Lomand Telephone, presents an employee donation of $200 for Books from Birth to Southern Standard publisher Pat Zechman. The family of Jeannine Miller donated another $100. Pictured are, from left, County Executive John Pelham, Zechman, Rains, Chris Phifer and Miller.

Southern Standard readers are invited to extend happy birthday and anniversary best wishes to friends and loved ones through this weekly column. Please submit your messages by our noon deadline each Thursday. No more than three wishes to any individual, please. Happy Birthday Wishes: Dec. 30 ‘ Happy 3rd birthday to our baby girl, Allison…

Baby Boy Chandi and Chris Nunley are the parents of a son, Kacen Lake Nunley. He was born on Nov. 30 at River Park Hospital. He weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces, and is the first child for the couple. He is the grandson of Sherry Moore, Tracy Burch, Jim Moore, Melody and Stan Hillis and…

Members of the Lucky Northside FCEC met Dec. 12 at the Bonnie Blue Inn for an 11 a.m. gathering. President Sandra Griffith conducted the meeting and welcomed Chandra Elkins, Hilda Lytle and Betty Grissom as guests. Ila Vae Boren led the devotional by reading ‘Friends, Gods way of taking care of us,’ and Psalms 55,22.…

BY DUANE SHERRILL Thirteen people were handed sentence Friday by Circuit Judge Bart Stanley in the last meeting of the court’s criminal division in 2007. Included in year-end court action: ‘ Ernest Dodd was ordered to serve 144 days of a two-year sentence for manufacture of meth. ‘ Stephen Jessie Judkins was directed to serve…

MONDAY, DEC. 31 A watch night service will be held at 7 p.m. at Sunny Hills Baptist Church with singing by the Pelhams. A covered dish supper will be held at Cedar Grove CIC at 5:30 p.m. with a Rook tournament following at 7 p.m. TUESDAY, JAN. 1 A Polar Bear breakfast and ride will…

BOSTON (AP) ‘ The pasteurization process at a central Massachusetts dairy connected to a deadly outbreak of a bacterial illness appears to be working properly, a state health official said Friday. Dr. Alfred DeMaria, the state director of communicable disease control, said that could mean the listeria bacteria that sickened four people in Massachusetts entered…

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) ‘ They’re not as loaded as Leona Helmsley’s pooch, but three Maryland canines are plenty rich enough to live high on the dog. The dogs ‘ named Buckshot, Katie and Obu-Jet ‘ inherited $400,000 and a house in Hagerstown with the death last year of owner Ken Kemper. Altogether, their estate is…

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ‘ The deadly tiger escape at the San Francisco Zoo could prove to be a costly blow to an institution that has come under fire repeatedly in just the past few years over the deaths of two elephants and the mauling of a zookeeper. The zoo could face heavy fines from regulators.…