Stories from Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Funeral services for Fred M. Sparrow, 57, of Shelbyville, who died Monday at Bedford County Medical Center, will be 1 p.m. Saturday at Bright Temple Church of God in Christ. The Rev. Herbert Lee Stewart will officiate and burial will follow in Mt. Ararat Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be 6-9 p.m. Friday at the church. Feldhaus Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Harris Middle closed its season with a disappointing 34-8 loss at Tullahoma in a Central Tennessee Conference matchup Tuesday night. The Golden Eagles finish 2-6 overall, 1-5 in conference play. After a scoreless first quarter, Harris scored on their first play of the second quarter on a lateral pass from quarterback Justin Mooneyham to Isaiah Washington, who then passed to teammate Wes Blanton for a 55-yard touchdown play. ...

The Liberty Patriots closed out their season with a 32-14 loss to Bridgeforth on Tuesday night, though they definitely let arguably their strongest opponent this year know that they were there to play a little ball too. The Patriots' offense came out a little slow, but the defense was more than holding their own against a much bigger and faster Bobcat squad until the 7:12 mark of the second quarter when quarterback Sam Abernathy hooked up with receiver Lavar Johnson on an 11-yard touchdown pass. ...

After claiming the District 8-AAA regular season title Saturday, Shelbyville Central stepped outside the district to play one of the state's top teams Tuesday night. It wasn't one of the Golden Eaglettes' best outings but fifth-ranked Brentwood (10-2-2) had a little to do with it, claiming a 6-1 win over the hosts (11-7)...

E-mail can be a convenient and helpful way to disseminate information, but some people lack common sense in how they use it. Recently, a government agency sent out some grant announcements to media outlets in Middle Tennessee. To spare them any potential embarrassment, I will call them "Gennessee Department of Gransportation." They made no attempt to target the news releases to the counties where each one applied; they simply sent all the announcements to everyone on their mailing list. ...

Discontent with our government seems to be growing and, as demonstrated so well by friends and relatives of a pilot slain 35 years ago today, there are some who have been more than discontent for a very long time. Brent Downs called Shelbyville his hometown and he's believed to have been the first American pilot killed as a result of a hijacking. ...

Musgrave Pencil Company, one of the reasons Shelbyville was nicknamed "The Pencil City," celebrates its 90th anniversary this year with a reception planned for Saturday at the factory on West Lane Street. The company, founded by James Raford Musgrave (nicknamed "The Colonel" by his northern contemporaries), is run by the third generation of family ownership, with a fourth generation already involved in management...

National Guardsmen who left Shelbyville last fall bound for Iraq will be back in about seven weeks, according to the president of the Guard's Family Readiness Group here. "Everybody's doing well, there have been no injuries and they're ready to get out of Dodge," said Valerie McConnell, president of the Readiness Group that helps the soldiers' relatives while they're away...

A Shelbyville homeowner was found guilty of "public nuisance" over sanitation issues and the accumulation of rubbish and garbage at her home on Landers Street. Meanwhile, city officials say that the council will likely move forward to pass an ordinance formerly declaring the property a public nuisance when they meet on Oct. 12...

The Bedford County Communications Center is keeping its 10-codes. Last year, it was feared that first responders such as policemen, firemen and paramedics were going to have to say good-bye to them, but Director of Bedford County 911 Communications Cathey Mathis said that they have chosen to keep using them...

Funeral services for Belle Steed Deal, 94, of Lynchburg, who died Wednesday, will be 2 p.m. Friday at Jennings Moore-Cortner Funeral Home in Winchester. Burial will follow in County Line Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday...

What do you get when you add up 98 points, including 14 touchdowns and seven two-point conversions, to a fierce battle between archrivals on the final game of the season? The answer: one of the greatest middle school games in Bedford County history...

Tennessee returns to the Southeastern Conference races this weekend in Athens, Ga., and just in the nick of time. Florida and Georgia have the early advantage in league play but Saturday's affairs in the Eastern Division could tilt things back toward the Vols...