Stories from Thursday, November 16, 2006

The Community Viqueens open the 2006-07 season with a little different look to their roster as they look to take their program to the next level after a freshman laden team finished an impressive 14-14 campaign last year. Senior guard Andriana Jones leads a young team that will be outsized a majority of the time that they take the floor, but they will attempt to turn their disadvantage into a positive, depending on their speed and defensive tenacity to get the ball to their offense where they have plenty of firepower to put the ball in the hole on a consistent basis.. ...

Two purses, and their contents, were stolen from vehicles in and northern Shelbyville in two days, law enforcement officials report. They belonged to: Guns were stolen from three homes within the past two weeks. Taken were: An accident Friday on U.S. 231 North at Eady Road occurred when a car driven by Mary S. Boyce, 87, Philpot Road, was struck as it crossed the highway by a car driven by Jessica L. Lynch, 18, Wildcreek Road...

As a result of drought and extreme heat that has occurred since March 1, Bedford County has received a disaster designation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon announced. "Middle Tennessee's farmers work hard to earn a living, but Mother Nature sometimes makes it even harder," said Gordon. "As a result of this disaster declaration, some farmers may now be eligible for emergency loans to cope with their losses...

From the sound of his voice after Wednesday's practice inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center, Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer can't wait for Saturday. "I have really been happy with the preparation this team has shown on the practice field and the attitude they've had bouncing back from a couple of dadgum tough losses," Fulmer said. "It just really makes me madder than heck that we had to go through that without our best players."...

No rabies was found in the brain stem of the pit bull dog that attacked a Shelbyville grandmother, a city officials said late Thursday morning. (See related story.) Cujo, the pit bull dog that was destroyed earlier this week following its attack on Peggy Rambo of Treemont Drive, had not had its scheduled rabies shots, according to city Animal Control Director Randy McCullough...

In Tennessee's 17th Judicial District, there are close to 6,200 child support cases on the books and according to the District Attorney General, there are a lot of dads out there not helping their children. As told in part one of this series on Wednesday, Mary and her daughter Jamie [not their real names] have been fighting a battle for three years in Bedford County Court to get Bobby to pay child support for his little girl, who will turn 4 in January....

A Shelbyville grandmother who was mauled by pit bull dogs was to visit a hand specialist for more treatment of her wounds today as she awaited notification on whether one of the dogs was rabid and she needs another injection. Peggy Rambo of Treemont Drive was attacked by two pit bull dogs while she was walking her miniature schnauzer, Spookie, early Sunday morning before she was to teach Sunday school at a nursing home, according to her sister, Betty Harrison of Bell Buckle....

Following each performance of "My Three Angels," I join my fellow cast members in the corridor to meet and greet the audience. We thank them for attending, and if we're lucky they have kind things to say about the performance. Well, Saturday night, a woman approached me, got a good look at my face, and immediately took on a disappointed look...

The Community Vikings will field a team that consists of four sophomores, four freshmen, one junior and an eighth grader for the 2006-07 season. The most significant roster change is the loss of Ryan Zindars, whose leadership and court savvy will be sorely missed on a team that finished 5-23 overall and 2-10 in District 9-A last season...