Stories from Monday, March 15, 2004

In Rome, Ga., the first stop for the first-ever "Hometown Edition" of the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus, it took 16 hours to set up. In Shelbyville, the second stop, it took 12 or 13 hours. By the end of the tour, as the crew becomes more experienced, it may take as little as six hours...

MURFREESBORO -- With three minutes left to play in Saturday night's Class AAA girls state championship game, the Shelbyville Golden Eaglettes began to realize they were about to capture a record 12th state title. "That's what we wanted to do tonight, we wanted to win," said tournament MVP Ashleigh Newman. "We didn't want runner-up, we wanted state champions."...

MURFREESBORO -- For the third time in the last four years the Shelbyville Golden Eaglettes have brought home the title of state champion in Tennessee Class AAA girls high school basketball. This state title was particularly important for the Eaglettes' five seniors...

A no true bill was handed down in the Millard Johnson case by the Bedford County grand jury this morning. The action indicated jurors did not feel enough evidence, if any at all, was apparent for Johnson to be indicted. Johnson, an agriculture teacher at Bedford County Vocational Center and sponsor of the school's Future Farmers of America program for many years, had been facing allegations by a 17-year-old student...

A woman who said she "just wanted to get away" did so -- but only for about an hour -- by allegedly stealing a pickup truck from Serv-N-Go Market, Madison Street, Friday morning. She managed to reach Coffee County over back roads before being stopped by Tullahoma police -- with much help from volunteer firefighter Terry Smith, who trailed the truck for many miles...