Stories from Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Salvador Gomes Torres, 76, of Wartrace, died Monday at his home after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with Richard Driscoll officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens...

Patricia Beatrice Arnold, 61, of Shelbyville died Sunday at Northside Health Care Center in Murfreesboro after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with Dave Shelley officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.

Funeral services for Robert Rossman Worley, 80, of Shelbyville, who died Monday at his home, will be 1 p.m. Wednesday at United Pentecostal Church with James Allen and the Rev. Daniel Stirnemann officiating. Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery...

Funeral arrangements for Mabel Snell Bearden, 88, of Flat Creek, who died this morning at Lynchburg Nursing Home after an extended illness, are incomplete and will be announced by Hillcrest Funeral Home.

Marilyn D. Howell, 62, of Shelbyville, died Monday at Bedford County Medical Center. Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Thursday at the new Fair Haven Baptist Church, U.S. 231 North, with the Rev. Charles Williams officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.

NASHVILLE -- The average length of time between sentencing a defendant to the death penalty and execution is about 11 years in the United States. Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft pointed that out Monday night while answering a question about Gregory Thompson who's been on Tennessee's death row for 21 years because he killed a Shelbyville woman...

The Bedford County Solid Waste Authority approved accepting a state recycling grant and the county's solid waste coordinator explained why the figure is much lower than reported last month. Coordinator Linda Gay Ervin told the authority about the miscommunication surrounding the nature of the rebate and that an amount of $600,000, not $500,000, was actually to be split between the 11 counties, leaving Bedford County with $19,824...

COALMONT -- Community took on Grundy County last night in a game that got away from them 57-27 but still earned some praise from their veteran coach. "We did some things well out there tonight," Viking coach Mike Edmondson said. "We had good intensity from the opening whistle and our ball movement was much improved...

Shelbyville Central picked up a huge win Monday night without even walking on the court. The Golden Eaglettes' win over Tullahoma on Friday assured them at least a share of the regular season District 8-AAA title but Lincoln County's 42-34 upset win over Columbia on Monday night gave first-year coach Lynn Burkey and the Eaglettes (20-6, 10-2 in 8-AAA) sole possession of the championship, a bye in the upcoming district tournament and a guaranteed berth in the region tournament...

One of the first Shelbyville confiscations of the African drug khat occurred early Sunday morning. "Approximately 11.26 grams of a green leafy substance believed to be khat" were found in a coat pocket of Mustaf Shire Abdi, 21, Anthony Lane, Officer Tracey Nelson said...

NASHVILLE -- The Tennessee Senate passed a resolution Monday honoring Dr. Art Walker on the occasion of his retirement as president of Motlow State Community College. "I am deeply honored," said Walker as he stood in the well of the Senate chambers. "This is truly a great honor for me." He joked that when he was called to the "well," it brought back memories of his childhood, when going to the well had quite a different meaning...

The secret to a happy marriage? For Robert and Margarette Brown, who this coming May 10 will celebrate 60 years of life and love together, it's a matter of cooperation and commitment. Working together -- literally -- has been a plus for the Browns, as well, as they have -- together -- owned and operated Shelbyville's Fix-It Shop for the past 57 years...

COALMONT -- Community concluded their regular season with a 75-23 loss to Class AA's Grundy County on Monday night. Grundy County (20-4) was led by Megan Rollins, Kayla Woodlee and Mandy Jo Sanders, who combined for 33 points in the first half as they went up 21-9 after a quarter and 41-14 at halftime...