Stories from Thursday, June 15, 2006

With nearly two dozen candidates in contested races in Bedford County's general election, about a third of them have expressed an interest in the seminar available Friday at the courthouse where an election official foresees fewer voters casting ballots on Aug. 3 compared to voter turnout during the May 3 primary...

MANCHESTER -- "Need tickets!" These signs could be seen for several miles down U.S. 41-A as people from all over the nation began to gather for the fifth annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. The sold out mammoth three-day concert is set to begin later today and local officials said they were ready to deal with the influx of fans that will turn the 700 acre site into the sixth largest city in Tennessee...

Bell Buckle Fire Chief Mary Lokey has withdrawn her resignation she submitted to the town council last month. She told the council Tuesday she would like to continue to serve as the head of the volunteer fire department. Last month, Lokey stated that she stay on for an extra month in the spot at the request of Mayor Linda Key, who asked that action on her replacement be deferred until this month...

Bedford County Board of Commissioners approved a $4.2 million bond issue Tuesday night to purchase new tanker trucks for Volunteer Fire Services Inc. and new stations for Bedford County Emergency Medical Services, one of which will also house VFSI trucks...

The second robbery in eight days involving a home invasion occurred early Wednesday on Burt Street. David De Jesus Cantu told investigators a man and woman were at his back door about 2:30 a.m. yelling. Cantu couldn't understand what was being yelled, Officer Sam Jacobs of the Shelbyville Police Department said...

A reversal in the decline of sheep in Tennessee is being attributed to the rise in hobby farms and there's a good example of that just west of Shelbyville. "My wife, Jolie, and I are from dairy families and we wanted to raise livestock," says Roger Richardson of Coble Road. "We were limited in our budget and wanted something small for the children."...

Bell Buckle is disputing some of the results of a recent sanitary survey of its water system, which has resulted in a notice of violation from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation [TDEC]. The survey was conducted on May 18 and the town received a score of 82 out of 100, putting the system in the "Provisionally Approved" category. Water manager Ronnie Lokey said the town got a score of 89 two years ago...

The Middle Tennessee Mudcats swept the American Legion Post 23 junior squad 9-1 and 10-3 Wednesday night at Shelbyville Central. MoMo Stewart put the 'Cats into the win column in the first game with a four-hit complete game. He struck out one and issued three walks...