Government Pensions And Social Security

Fire Academy to hold graduation Friday (05/05/08)
Recruits from Shelbyville Fire Department will be standing tall Friday as they officially complete their training at the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy on Unionville-Deason Road. State Fire Marshal and Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Leslie A. Newman will deliver the commencement address to the recruit firefighter class at the Academy at 9 a.m....

Marijuana, stolen gun found after traffic stop (05/03/08)
A gun stolen 15 years ago was recovered during a traffic stop late Thursday night, Shelbyville police said. Officer Jody Shelton said he stopped the car occupied by driver Jake Allen Raby, 22, East Lane Street, and passenger Damon Juvea Hickmon, 21, King Arthur Trailer Court, due to no headlights in use at night. A strong odor of marijuana was coming from the...

Foster mother accused of statutory rape (05/03/08)
A Shelbyville foster mother has been indicted by the Bedford County grand jury for allegedly having sex with a foster child she had access to. Alea Rhea Rippy, 25, has been charged with eight counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, according to true bills issued by the grand jury on April 21...

Fuel costs impact city budget (04/28/08)
Rising fuel costs are prompting the city of Shelbyville to change how it will figure gasoline expenses into the next year's fiscal budget. But the good news is that overall, this year's budget is on target. With the numbers at the pumps reaching the $3.50 mark, cities and counties across the nation must absorb the impact and Shelbyville is no exception...

A big bang at the Fire Academy (04/25/08)
If you think you hear explosions around Bedford County next week, there isn't anything to be worried about. "Post blast training" is to be conducted at the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy (TFACA) on Unionville-Deason Road by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) next week for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) in preparation for possible deployment...

Utility plan for BCNH will cut costs (04/24/08)
Bedford County Nursing Home presented a plan Tuesday night to the county's Financial Management Committee which will allow it to separate its utility services from the Bedford County Medical Center building. Earlier this year, some county officials, hearing that it would cost up to $50,000 per month to operate the boiler which serves both buildings, were concerned that the nursing home would become a drain on county finances once the hospital moves to a new location this summer. ...

Copper taken from underneath home (04/24/08)
An estimated $2,500 worth of copper wiring was stolen between April 16 and Monday from a home under construction in Valley View Estates subdivision on Red Hill Road in Normandy. Builder John Morton told the Bedford County Sheriff's Department the wiring was taken from underneath the home...

County wants austerity budgets (04/24/08)
Bedford County Financial Management Committee is asking each county agency to submit two budgets for the 2008-09 fiscal year -- one based on what the agency's management thinks it needs, and another based on a 5 percent reduction from what the agency received in 2007-08...

Large tree must go, city says (04/23/08)
Concern about the fate of a tree on East Depot Street led to a small public hearing Tuesday between some downtown business people and city officials. Jennifer Templeton of Templeton Insurance started a petition to save the large tree in front of the business that is slated to be replaced by a pair of single stem crepe myrtles...

Schools are owed $23,000 by Alabama firm (04/22/08)
Bedford County schools are owed $23,000 by a consulting firm, eRate Consulting Services LLC, which appears to have deposited grant funds meant for the county. Several other school systems are owed even more, according to press reports. Reports in the Citrus County (Fla.) Chronicle state that the Citrus County School District is owed $263,000 by eRate...

Pipeline, higher dam among water supply ideas (04/22/08)
Alternatives on how to avoid water shortages due to drought are to be explored at Henry Horton State Park on Thursday when the Duck River Agency Board of Directors convenes for its quarterly meeting. One of the ideas is to have a pipe to transfer water from Tims Ford Lake, which is fed by the Elk River, to the Duck River below the Normandy Lake dam to maintain river flow through Shelbyville as well as water reserves for the utility serving Tullahoma and Manchester, according to the river agency's executive director and chairman of the board.. ...

Ticket sales continue for prayer luncheon (04/22/08)
Tickets are still on sale for the annual National Day of Prayer luncheon. The inter-denominational, community-wide luncheon will be held May 1 at First Baptist Church, with former Tennessee Titan Chris Sanders as keynote speaker. The theme for this year's event is "Prayer! America's Strength and Shield," and tickets to attend are $6. They may be purchased from National Day of Prayer board members or First Baptist Church...

Officers follow their noses to drug suspects (04/22/08)
Police say the smell of marijuana led them to two suspects early Saturday night. An off-duty officer said he saw a car drive under Veterans Memorial Bridge near Fisherman's Park in downtown Shelbyville, then smelled a marijuana odor coming from the vehicle a few minutes later...

Hold the air horns, school board says (04/21/08)
Save the air horns, cheers and screaming for after the graduation ceremony -- or you may not get to see it at all. That was the general feeling from Bedford County Board of Education members at their meeting Thursday night after Superintendent Ed Gray announced commencement dates and times...

Blackburn rallies local GOP (04/21/08)
U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn stressed energy, the economy and national security during a speech Saturday night at the annual Bedford County Republican Party banquet. The banquet was held at the Blue Ribbon Circle on the Celebration grounds. Blackburn said the party's losses in 2006 were the result of a loss of focus on key messages...

A record-setting flight in a Shelbyville-made plane (03/29/08)
An aircraft constructed at Shelbyville's Jabiru USA facility has set a coast-to-coast speed record for a piston engine landplane that weights a ton or less. Retired Navy pilot Earl Ferguson of Atlanta claimed the record, which was approved by the National Aeronautic Association this month. ...

Bell Buckle hires judge, attorney (03/29/08)
Bell Buckle's board of Mayor and Aldermen met for a brief special called meeting Friday to hire a municipal judge and a new city attorney. The board voted to hire Bill Haywood, who serves as Chapel Hill's municipal judge and city attorney for Lewisburg, as judge for the small village at a cost of $300 per session...

Bredesen pushes long-term care plan (03/28/08)
Gov. Phil Bredesen said that his own mother, last year, was in a position where she was too sick to be home alone and yet not disabled enough to be in a nursing home. Fortunately, she had "a son who knows a little bit about the system," in the governor's words, and he was able to arrange for her needs to be met...

Tyson defends hiring practices, works with refugees (03/28/08)
Tyson Foods officials have been working with the imam of Shelbyville's Islamic mosque to bridge the cultural gap that exists between the Somali community and the rest of the public. Representatives of the company also dismissed lingering charges of Tyson hiring illegal immigrants as "myths and misconceptions."...

Sanford honored for support of Guard member (03/28/08)
Sanford Brands' distribution center on Railroad Avenue has been honored by Employee Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) for its support of employees while they are away from their full-time jobs in the service of their country. Melissa Barker supervises Sanford's outbound distribution division. On March 24, she was presented with an award for her compassion and support as an employer of a Tennessee Army National Guardsman...

Flat Creek residents help catch burglary suspects (03/28/08)
A father and son have been charged in a series of daytime home burglaries in the Flat Creek and Wartrace areas after alert residents helped officials track the suspects. James Arthur Brown, 43, and Joe Brown, 20, who are both listed as residents of Forest Hills Apartments in Shelbyville, were arrested Wednesday while driving on New Hope Road. A 17-year-old girl was also charged...

Nashville center strives to help Shelbyville Somalis (03/24/08)
For the Somali Community Center of Nashville, Fridays are generally known as "Shelbyville Day." That's when carloads of Somali refugees from Bedford County head to the city for assistance from the center, which provides social services and advocacy "to meet the needs of refugees and immigrants in a culturally sensitive manner," according to program coordinator Kerry Foley...

Seminar in Murfreesboro focuses on Somalis (03/24/08)
MURFREESBORO -- "There will always be change." Those were the words of Salaad Nur, a Somali immigrant who spoke Thursday evening at Middle Tennessee State University to a group of students about the refugees who have moved to this state after fleeing their war torn country...

Timely phone call led to grand jury action (03/24/08)
Bedford County's grand jury has indicted a Shelbyville man on theft and traffic charges arising from a December incident that culminated with his arrest at about the time police were interviewing the complainant. With a suspect in custody, an observant officer noticed his prisoner had a cell phone, so he had a fellow officer call the victim's number. The cell phone found on the suspect began to ring, according to police reports...

Cost control emphasized to county officials (03/21/08)
Cost control and record-keeping were stressed during a meeting Thursday of the county's department heads. The quarterly luncheon meeting was held Thursday at the Bedford County Emergency Management Agency building on Railroad Avenue. It included the presentation of bonus checks to the staff of Bedford County Zoning Office for their cost-saving measures...

MTSU satellite discussions continue (03/21/08)
During a meeting Thursday of county employees, County Mayor Eugene Ray said discussions are continuing with Middle Tennessee State University over the possibility of MTSU holding satellite classes in the old Central High School / Harris Middle School building on Elm Street...

Vets may get lottery-funded scholarships (03/21/08)
Tennessee General Assembly's lottery subcommittee looking at proposals for disbursing excess lottery funds, chaired by Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), has recommended several bills for passage to the full committee. According to Tracy, there is $460 million in the lottery reserve account, of which $50 million must be kept in savings under current law...

Marijuana discovered during traffic stop (03/21/08)
The driver of a car initially stopped due to a defective taillight was charged with possession of marijuana after a vehicle search Wednesday night. Michelle Lynn Andrus, 21, Shelbyville Mills Road, was stopped by Officer David Curley in the parking lot of a Madison Street bar, As a computer check showed her license had been revoked for DUI, Andrus allegedly told a waitress who was checking on the commotion that she would "have to be arrested for DUI."...

Two churches step up for disaster relief (03/20/08)
Last year, Bedford County Emergency Management Agency began working with area churches to provide short-term shelter locations where people could ride out a severe storm in safety. But those shelters are only meant for a few hours, until severe weather has passed. What happens in the event of a major disaster, like the tornadoes that struck Tennessee in February, when a substantial number of people lose their homes all at once?...

E-911 board can't be reorganized for four years (03/20/08)
Bedford County Board of Commissioners' rules and legislative committee heard Tuesday night that the county can't reorganize the Emergency Communications District (E-911) board for four years, due to a contractual agreement between the district and the county...

Trucker charged in serious wreck (03/20/08)
The truck driver accused of causing an eight-vehicle pileup March 12 on Madison Street has been charged with reckless endangerment. Teresa K. McInnis, 46, of Morrison was arrested after arriving at Shelbyville police headquarters Tuesday to pick up a copy of the accident report...

Interest shown in nursing home (03/19/08)
A representative of a company which might be interested in buying Bedford County Nursing Home appeared Tuesday night before Bedford County Board of Commissioners' courthouse and county property committee. County commissioners are deeply divided on the issue of selling the home. ...

Donations still sought for World War II vets' trip (03/19/08)
Donations are still needed for next month's trip to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. for Bedford County's World War II veterans. According to Robert Daniel, who is heading up the project, March 25 is the cutoff date for veterans to register and donations are still arriving...