Stories from Wednesday, June 29, 2005

"Dirt track racing: Isn't that just an excuse for country boys to get together to drink beer and wreck cars?" That seems to be the perception of some regarding the weekly races at Duck River Speedway. However, ask those same people if they've ever been to a race and most of them reply, "Well, no."...

Funeral services for Rosalie Hodge, 82, of Wartrace, who died Monday at Bedford County Medical Center, will be noon Thursday at the Shelbyville chapel of J.A. Welton and Son Funeral Home. Larry Crismon will officiate and burial will follow at Haley Cemetery.

Funeral services for Roy Lamar Fears, 56, of Shelbyville, who died Tuesday at his home after an extended illness, will be 2 p.m. Thursday at Hillcrest Funeral Home. The Rev. Jimmy Gray and the Rev. Paul McKee will officiate and burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens...

Shelbyville Central graduate Whit Turnbow paired up with Nick Shelton of Franklin for competition in the 2005 Tennessee Golf Association Four-Ball Championship. Turnbow, who along with Shelton graduated from Middle Tennessee State University, defeated Chattanooga's Tyson Elliott and Chris Gilliland 3 and 2 Sunday afternoon to win the TGA State Four-Ball title at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville...

The segregation has gone on long enough. We must emancipate the barriers that divide a select group of athletes in Bedford County. A division of men on the softball diamond must be no more. For years now, the Church Softball League has played on one side of Shelbyville at Never Rest Park...

Bedford County will receive $6.5 million later this week from the sale of Bedford County Medical Center, and the county commission voted Tuesday night to loan $1 million of that amount to Bedford County Nursing Home as seed money. The final documents for the hospital sale to Brentwood-based Community Health Systems were to be signed today...

Bedford County Board of Commissioners approved last-minute budget amendments Tuesday night and approved a "continuing resolution" allowing the county to continue to operate at 2004-2005 spending levels until a 2005-2006 budget has been approved. The new fiscal year begins Friday, but the county almost never has a budget in place by that time. ...

Message to fireworks thieves: Don't mess with the sales tent on U.S. 41-A North in Unionville. Someone's inside after hours -- and they'll take action. Mike Young said he was awakened by a noise and saw a person crawling under the tent shortly after midnight Tuesday, according to a report filed by Deputy Mike Carrick...

The fifth version of the proposed county school budget, approved Tuesday by Bedford County Board of Education, does not call for a property tax increase -- but that doesn't mean it won't require one. There are several things that could go wrong with the budget, according to outgoing School Superintendent Mike Bone and school system business manager Robert Daniel...

I was laughing just now and realized how few people experience laughter on a daily basis. The number is small. I read that the average adult laughs four times a day. Let's just say I am above average. I will admit this. "Hi, my name is Jamie and I am a laugher."...

Tennessee is going back to court today in hopes of improving its ability to contain TennCare costs. The hearing comes as a deadline looms for enrollees to respond to the state's request for information on whether they should be dropped from TennCare rolls...

"A terrific smash hit." That was the description of writer/director Cameron Watson about the reaction to the world premiere of "Our Very Own," the Shelbyville native's feature film directorial debut at last week's Los Angeles Film Festival. "It was an amazing success, it could not have gone better," Watson said. With over 600 attending the sold out premiere and the movie receiving a standing ovation, the future success of the film appears to be all but certain...