Stories from Saturday, January 29, 2005

"WHOA!!!" For about 30 minutes Friday at Southside Primary School, that was about the only thing you heard from the student body as two young ladies from England kicked, leapt, spun and contorted their bodies into impossible positions as part of a series of martial arts demonstrations held in Shelbyville...

Polio. Few people in this country even consider it any longer. Until the 1950s, summer was a time of fear, when many parents were afraid to let their children swim in public pools, go to movies, because of the threat of infantile paralysis. By the 1980s, wild (naturally-occurring) polio was virtually unknown here. However, more than a thousand children in more than 125 countries on five continents were paralyzed daily...

No greater honor can be bestowed upon a citizen than membership on a local school board. The office calls for the highest character and a dedicated interest in the welfare of all children, youth and adults in the community. To be a school board member is to serve the future of your community, state, nation and world...

CHAPEL HILL -- Late season district matchups usually feature high intensity and gutsy performances as teams fight to solidify their position in the district standings. Friday night was no exception as the visiting Community Viqueens fell to tough District 11-A opponent Forrest's Lady Rockets 57-43...

CHAPEL HILL -- There is no love lost between long-time District 11-A rivals Community and Forrest. Every year the matchup more closely resembles football than basketball. This season has proven no different. The Vikings (3-15, 1-11) knew Friday night they knew they would be facing the tough challenge of defeating Forrest's Rockets in their own gym. In the end, Forrest (9-10, 9-3) proved that they deserve their top district ranking by defeating Community 53-32...

HUNTLAND -- Sometimes you can really put your finger on what happened to cause a team to either win or lose a ballgame. Friday night's District 11-A matchup between Huntland and Cascade is such a case. The answer is simple. Maranda Wilkinson happened. The 5-foot-11 guard, who squats 235 pounds and bench presses 185, was unstoppable most of the night. Her foul trouble was nearly all that allowed the Lady Champions to stay in the game...

Victory Baptist avenged a one-point loss from earlier in the season to Anchored Christian with a 67-47 home victory on Friday night. Michael McClure led the Patriots with 18 points. Joshua Leathers had 17, Ross Smith 13 and Tyler Smith nine. Jason Harper paced Anchored with 23 points...

FAYETTEVILLE -- Shelbyville's Golden Eagles looked very impressive on both ends of the court in their 64-46 District 8-AAA win over Lincoln County's Falcons on the road Friday night. The victory ended a three-game losing streak for the Eagles (15-9, 5-4), who remain in the hunt for the second seed of the district tournament Feb. 21-25 at Franklin County...

FAYETTEVILLE -- Shelbyville's youthful Golden Eaglettes struggled offensively in the fourth quarter as host Lincoln County's Lady Falcons pulled away over the final eight minutes to claim a 50-36 win Friday night in a District 8-AAA matchup. Trailing only 39-36 after three periods, the Eaglettes didn't score a point in the fourth quarter...

HUNTLAND -- All you can do at this point is shake your head. There is no place to go from here except back up. After jumping out to a commanding lead in District 11-A at 8-0, Cascade suddenly finds themselves looking up at several teams with a 9-4 mark after Friday evening's 45-39 loss to Huntland...