Stories from Saturday, January 20, 2007

When Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey decided to start a single-ring "hometown edition" of its circus in 2004, Shelbyville was only the second stop on the tour. I attended with my family -- parents, two of my siblings, nieces and nephews -- and we had a terrific time. ...

"Eyes on the Prize." Those words are posted in the Shelbyville Golden Eaglettes' locker room as a reminder of the team's ultimate goal, a 13th state championship. Their eyes were distracted as Shelbyville was blindsided on its home court Friday night in a 54-50 District 8-AAA loss to Lawrence County...

Shelbyville Central's Golden Eagles rolled past visiting Lawrence County 56-42 Friday night to remain unbeaten in District 8-AAA play. The Eagles (15-5, 8-0 district) will now turn their attention toward Franklin County when the top two teams in the district square off in Winchester Tuesday night...

Eagleville's T'Anna Overton and Community sophomore Jessica Thompson put on a top notch scoring display Friday night with Overton winning the duel for top honors, but it was Thompson's team that got the win by a 49-48 margin in a key District 9-A match...

A chat line friend proved not so friendly when visiting a Shelbyville woman early Friday. The man, known only as "D" to Charlotte Ridley, left her Landers Street apartment with quite a few "souvenirs," police said. Ridley said she left "D" in the apartment and returned at 3:25 a.m. ...

EAGLEVILLE -- Eagleville entered Friday night's District 9-A competition against Community ranked No. 10 in the state in the latest AP poll and solidified position with a workmanlike 60-47 home win behind Aaron Alldaffer's 18-point night. Community (6-10, 2-4 9-A) played the Eagles tough and led 13-10 after one frame as all five starters got on the scoreboard early...

State Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) has been appointed chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville). "This is a great honor and a great opportunity for the citizens of Bedford, Moore and Rutherford Counties," said Tracy in a news release. "I appreciate the confidence that Lt. Gov. Ramsey has shown me by appointing me to serve as a committee chairman."...

The Greatest Show on Earth is on its way to Shelbyville -- and the clowns were in town to talk about it. Dave and Cherie Gregg, Good Will Ambassadors for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, visited last week to promote the Gold Tour of the circus, which will be at Calsonic Arena for five shows Feb. 23-25...

BRENTWOOD -- Digital video cameras in police cars here have a feature that's sort of like the time travel aspect of the recent movie "Deja Vu." Instead of starting a recording when the officer presses a button to simultaneously activate the car's blue lights and the camera, as many older analog models did, a digital unit records constantly. It keeps the past three minutes of recordings in its memory before recording over them...

Video cameras in patrol cars driven by Bedford County sheriff's deputies were suggested last year and deferred by then-Sheriff Clay Parker, but Thursday night the idea resurfaced to a warm welcome. "We talked about putting cameras in the cars," commissioner Bobby Fox said at the Bedford County Board of Commissioners' law enforcement and workhouse committee meeting...

Mildred P. Pressgrove, 85, of Shelbyville died suddenly Friday at Bedford County Medical Center. Graveside services will be 2:30 p.m. Monday at Pressgrove Cemetery with Michael Hix officiating. Visitation with the family will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday at Doak-Howell Funeral Home...

Jayne Sledge, 67, of Manchester, the mother of Kenneth Odom of Shelbyville, died Thursday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Funeral services will be 1 p.m. Monday at Manchester Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Hurricane Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be 5-9 p.m. Sunday...

Funeral services for Louise Williams, 89, of Shelbyville, who died Friday at Bedford County Medical Center, will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Galilee Primitive Baptist Church, where she was a member, with the Rev. Robert Stevenson officiating. Burial will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery. Visitation with the family will begin noon Tuesday at the church.