Stories from Thursday, August 3, 2006

From time to time, I've been accused by my wife and daughters of staying up too late on the Internet. It's true, there are a few Internet sports sites that I frequent on a regular basis. I recently ventured onto one of those sites and noticed an article that listed the 50 top-earning athletes in the United States this past year...

Funeral services for Robert William "Billy" Rankin, 61, of Shelbyville, who died Wednesday at Bedford County Medical Center, will be noon Saturday at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel. The Rev. John Brown will officiate and burial will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery.

Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer announced Wednesday that Marsalous Johnson has been suspended from the team for the first four games and that he has dismissed Lee Smith. "We have excellent positive energy around our team," Fulmer said. "We have many outstanding young men and those are the ones we will work with, and the ones that have been inconsiderate of our program or act immaturely will be left behind...

Police are searching for the driver of a van which struck a Shelbyville Public Works employee picking up trash Tuesday morning on Deery Street. The trash collector, Francisco Vega, 60, Hoover Street, was checked and released at Bedford County Medical Center and was not seriously injured, police said...

Kim Lee's English is broken, yet understandable, but the Korean native's tears speak a message of despair. She worries about whether or not her husband will recover from the severe injuries suffered in an automobile accident 2 1/2 weeks ago. Will he ever regain consciousness? Will he spend the rest of his life as an invalid?...

One of the biggest issues this area is facing is the massive growth that is spreading southward from Rutherford and Williamson counties. But local leaders aren't just sitting on their hands and waiting for something to happen. Over the past year and a half, area leaders from several counties have been gathering at Henry Horton State Park to discuss growth readiness for the Duck River Watershed...

"Spontaneous combustion" is what Hal Smith called the cause of his truck fire during the heat wave last month, but this week it would appear that it's connected to a manufacturer's recall and a glitch in the notification system. While Smith maintained some sense of humor about the fire in the past two weeks, the burned truck remained until Wednesday at a house he was trying to sell. ...

State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) has received the annual budget data containing state funding broken down by county and has announced that during the new state fiscal year that began July 1, Bedford County is now projected to receive approximately $63.2 million of state appropriations. Also, Bedford County will receive a portion of the $9.3 billion of federal funds included in Tennessee's $26.4 billion budget as adopted by the 104th General Assembly...

Funeral services for Gladys Lawell Clark, 78, of Shelbyville, who died Wednesday at Harton Regional Medical Center in Tullahoma, will be 10 a.m. Friday at First Christian Church, where she was a member, with Brian Elliott offciating. Burial will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery.