Stories from Thursday, June 14, 2007

As a 180-pound Alabama boy works his way through Major League lineups with relative ease, handing out several U-turns along the way, I can't help but smile. Thousands of miles away, a 24-year-old digs into a box in Detroit as part of a new wave of talent that is giving a downtrodden city something to cheer about...

Bedford County's state legislators both say they are pleased with the results of the 105th General Assembly, which wrapped up on Tuesday, especially the increases in funding for education. "Overall, I thought we had an excellent year," said State Sen. Jim Tracy, a Republican in the Republican-controlled Senate...

When we place our hands over our hearts and face the American flag, proudly singing the national anthem, we are remembering the history of our nation and saluting those who fought for our freedom, liberty and independence. We are saluting those who fought in both World Wars. We are saluting our past and present presidents. We are saluting our soldiers who have fought strong over the years and still continue to fight for us in the midst of a war in the Mideast...

A Bedford County icon is closing. Had he have been a businessman on the dusty stagecoach roads of the Western frontier, the tall drink of water would probably have brandished a six-shooter on his hip and slung sarsaparilla down a long wooden bar to customers...

Bedford County Board of Commissioners passed several budget amendments Tuesday night and set a special called meeting for June 26 to handle further end-of-fiscal-year business. The new fiscal year starts July 1, but the county never has a budget in place by that time. The budget process has been delayed even further this year by uncertainty about the state's education funding, which has now been resolved, and by the process of switching to the county's new financial management system...