Stories from Saturday, October 21, 2006

No lottery was held to select media witnesses for the now-stayed execution of Donnie Johnson. He killed his wife in Shelby County by stuffing a plastic bag in her mouth and has been on death row for about nine years. On Thursday a federal appeals court ruled more arguments could be heard on his behalf...

CROSSVILLE -- The Community Vikings closed out their varsity season with a 33-6 loss to Stone Memorial's Panthers in a game with an all too familiar theme. The Vikings (1-6) moved the ball pretty much at will against the Panther defense at first, scoring -- they thought -- on their opening offensive play on a pass to Zach Haynes, who then lateraled to Josh Green who took it 67 yards to the end zone before the fans could even get settled into their seats...

Things don't always go as planned. Then again, sometimes they do. First and foremost, Cascade rolled to a 41-21 victory over Clarksville Academy, which set a school record for single-season wins at nine. Secondly, they left a soggy, frigid field in Wartrace healthy and with a full head of steam going into next week's Region 5-A championship...

The highly potent Maplewood offense lived up to its billing, racking up 551 yards of total offense through the Shelbyville defense while posting a 56-6 win in the Golden Eagles' final home game of the year Friday night. Now the Eagles (0-9, 0-6 Region 5-4A) turn their attention to the final game of the season Thursday night at Lawrence County...

The man who allegedly stole a jar containing donations for Alzheimer's patients in late September has been identified. Johnny Glenn Ragsdale, 36, a resident of Magnolia Motel on South Cannon Boulevard, was identified by a surveillance tape as the man who took the glass jar at nearby Saddle Gait Market...

Former U.S. Rep. Van Hilleary will make a campaign appearance in Shelbyville Monday on behalf of U.S. Senate candidate Bob Corker. Hilleary will speak to a "Republicans for Corker" gathering from 9:30 until 10:15 a.m. Monday at Bedford County GOP Campaign Headquarters, 407 Elm St. (the former location of Flowers Etc.). The event is open to the public...

As construction of another water line was to start last week, weather permitting, directors of Bedford County Utility District struck a deal with a property owner to share the cost of installing another pipe. And so it goes for the rural water and natural gas utility as it grows one project at a time with this county's growth spurt, according to BCUD General Manager Marty Davis who's now in his second month as manager, instead of one of the directors...

The Bedford County sheriff's investigation into cattle rustling has led to a third arrest and recovery of a prized heifer from land owned by actress Ashley Judd in Williamson County. "I guarantee you, she doesn't know anything about it," Sheriff Randall Boyce said Friday about two of Bedford County Agricultural Extension Agent John Teague's special bred cows having been found on Judd's farm at Leiper's Fork...

KNOXVILLE -- Who said Tennessee and Alabama couldn't top last year's thriller? The two longtime rivals certainly tried their best before the seventh-ranked Volunteers scored their only touchdown of the game with 3:28 remaining to settle for a satisfying 16-13 victory at Neyland Stadium...