Feature Stories

A group of Tennessee Walking Horse trainers recently traded in their spurs for spatulas in an effort to help Cookeville tornado victims. Layne Leverette spearheaded the group effort, acquiring the help of Tony Edwards and Rowdy Ranch Catering staff. Dickie Gardner of Wheel offered his horse trailer, which he said helped the catering group stay out of the elements while providing food buffet lines...

One pair of hands responsible for the many Quilts of Valor presented to local veterans over the last two years belongs to Mary Young of Bell Buckle. Quilting has always been her hobby, she reveals. “I joined Happy Hands Quilters in 2007. I’ve been quilting with them ever since.”...

Community High School Smokestack Theatre senior Morgan Stepp has always admired the character Mother Abbess of "The Sound of Music." On March 13 and 14, she'll turn her role up a notch as the lead role in the musical production of "Mamma Mia!" Smokestack Theatre's spring production is coming up 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, in the Community High School auditorium. Admission is $5 per person...

As a part of Victory Baptist Academy's 45th anniversary, an alumni group known as Friends of VBA have planned a special night of food, gospel music and fun for Saturday, March 14, at their beloved Christian school on North Main Street. The fundraiser is the first of what organizers hope will become an annual event, according to one of the organizers and 1995 VBA graduate Margaret Petty...

MURFREESBORO -- J.W. Harper didn't plan on being the first African-American football player at Middle Tennessee State University. Destiny guided him there. He has gone into the history books with that designation. Earlier this month Harper, and seven other African American athletes, were honored as "True Blue" Pioneers...

A former educator is credited with coining the phrase, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." This phrase applies very well to what Thomas Magnet School's Robotic Tigers are learning through FIRST LEGO League competition. Most kids will agree that playing LEGOs is fun. ...

The Shelby Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) held its annual Good Citizens Tea and Good Citizen Awards Ceremony on Sunday February 23 at First Christian Church. The meeting was called to order by Regent Muriel Robinson, who led in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and The American's Creed...

Shelbyville Woman's Club program chair Mary Ann Davis explained during this month's Valentine-themed luncheon that hearing the inspirational voice of soloist Carolyn Reed was going to be a sweet treat for all. Reed's standing ovation was likely an indication of how her music piped some sunshine into a rainy, gloomy winter day outside Riverbend Country Club...

The Elk River District of Scouts BSA held its annual winter camporee Jan. 31 through Feb. 2 at Camp Arrowhead along the shores of Woods Reservoir in Franklin County. Over 69 young men and women from troops across the Elk River District spent a weekend learning an assortment of scouting skills. ...

The Elk River District of Scouts BSA held its annual Eagle Scout and leader recognition banquet Feb. 8 at Cedar Lane Church of Christ in Tullahoma. The Eagle rank is Scouts BSA's highest rank award. In 2019, 27 young men from Shelbyville, Tullahoma, Winchester, Unionville, Hillsboro, Lynchburg, Winchester, Sewanee, and Estill Springs joined this elite group. Since the Eagle was first created, only two percent of Scouts have earned this prestigious rank...

Following the resignation of Wartrace mayor Vickie Smith, who served just one year of her four-year term, the town put out the word it was looking for someone who would be willing to serve for the next three years as interim mayor. There were five applicants. Four were people that can be fairly described as the “usual suspects,” and one that fits neatly in the “unusual” category...

When Iris Pierce speaks, she follows most sentences with laughter. Iris is 97 years old; she’s upbeat and she’s happy. She has an abundance of joy and a ready sense of humor. Laughing, she said, “I don’t want to live to be 100. I’m afraid I’ll get to where I don’t know anything. But, then I guess I wouldn’t know the difference, would I?”...

From retrieving birds and kittens from backpacks to giving high-fives for test scores, five retired teachers say they've pretty much seen, and heard, it all. Now into their jubilee years, they're still imparting knowledge, but this time around, they have a classroom partner with which to share the workload...

As the Christmas story was being read in homes and churches on Christmas Eve, Christ's birthplace of Bethlehem was being honored in another way as well. A new Internet radio station named Belén -- Spanish for Bethlehem -- went live Dec. 24 from Beth Sar Shalom Church on Madison Street...

In the first two full weeks of the new year, around 500 young firefighters and 157 instructors were engaged in intensive training in Bedford County, studying the tools and techniques for battling wildfires. While the 17th Annual Tennessee/Kentucky Wildland Fire Academy was underway, six new large wildfires were reported: in Colorado, Oklahoma and Georgia, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. ...

Charles Murphree of Unionville is pretty well known around here for his farm-fresh honey. What might just be one of this 87-year-olds undiscovered talents is what he considers a God-given gift for making musical instruments. Murphree most recently completed a fiddle from reclaimed wood from the old Longview Baptist Church, which due to age, was demolished in 2018. ...

Two years ago, it was discovered that hungry termites were slowly destroying the 106-year-old Longview Baptist Church structure at 101 Cooper Road. In this new year, the Rev. Jonathan Osterhaus says there are a multitude of silver linings, like the open house celebration coming up Sunday for the new worship center...

Each year, First United Methodist Church on the square sends a team of volunteers to work with the United Methodist Committee on Relief's Sager Brown Depot, a warehouse in Baldwin, Louisiana. UMCOR is the United Methodist Church's disaster relief agency, responding to natural disasters anywhere in the world. Its motto is "When the Earth rocks, UMCOR rolls."...

Town and Country Garden Club held its January meeting at River Bend Country with Linda Anderton and Mary Pickhardt serving as hostesses. The program " Keep on Moving" was presented by Lindsey Trice. Winners in the floral categories were Rita McDonald, Pat Johnson, and Mary Howard...

Middle Tennessee State University now has a noticeable presence inside the Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee's newest contribution to teaching Middle Tennessee secondary school students about financial literacy. Junior Achievement, a volunteer-driven organization that provides programs focused on work-readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills, hosted a grand opening Tuesday afternoon of the JA Finance Park, a state-of-the-art program that will serve seventh- through 12th-grade students across Middle Tennessee and is the organization's first such venture in the state.. ...

For over six decades Feldhaus family members have provided various aspects of health care service to the Shelbyville community. Dr. Henry Feldhaus planted the seeds here in the early 1950s when, fresh out of Vanderbilt University, he moved to Shelbyville to set up his medical practice...

Frittatas are an Italian dish that is similar to an unfolded omelet or crustless quiche. It makes a great breakfast or brunch dish for a cold weekend morning because it's easy (unlike a quiche), feeds several people (unlike an omelet) and uses whatever you have on hand...

Bedford County educator Joan Gray, who after retiring from the local school system served as the first-ever executive director of Tennessee Educational Technology Association, was honored recently by TETA on the occasion of Gray's retirement. The recognition took place at a TETC conference last month in Murfreesboro...

"In a perfect world, what would your school look like?" Lowering her voice, Jennifer Simons said, "Just like it is." Simons does not hesitate to express her love for East Side Elementary School in Shelbyville. "I love the kids that I see everyday. I love the families," she said. "I found my home."...