Stories from Friday, July 27, 2007

HOOVER, Ala. -- The sweet smell of pigskin is again hitting the atmosphere as Southeastern Conference Media Days commenced on Wednesday. A coach and a pair of player representatives from every football program in the SEC man the microphones, strap on the radio headsets and grace the camera to talk about the offseason and what lies ahead...

Bedford County Board of Education voted Thursday night to continue random drug testing for students engaged in extracurricular activities, only with minor changes to the permission form which parents and students sign at the beginning of the school year...

The following persons were arrested since Tuesday by the Shelbyville Police Department, Bedford County Sheriff's Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol or 17th Judicial District Drug Task Force and processed through Bedford County Jail. They are only charged; guilt or innocence will be determined by the courts...

After serving faithfully for 26 years on the Senior Citizens Center Board of Directors, June Savage said it was time for her to step down and let someone younger fill her spot. She retired from the board earlier this month. Eleven years of her tenure were spent as chairman of the board...

Bedford County's unemployment rate jumped a full percentage point to 5.2 percent for the month of June, according to figures released Thursday by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The county has a labor force of 22,820, with 21,650 employed and 1,180 out of work, the department reported...

The Bedford County Fair has gone to the birds! It is said that birds of a feather flock together and never was there a more perfect example of that than at the exhibition building of the Bedford County Ag Center. Row after row of champion, feathered-friends, representing the poultry species of the world, take center stage...

A site plan review for a new elementary school on Learning Way was approved Thursday by the Shelbyville Planning Commission, while two other items of interest were delayed until August. The school is to be located at the intersection of Learning Way and Madison Street on 3.22 acres. The property is currently zoned I-1 [light industrial]. It has no official name yet, although it is widely referred to as "Central Elementary School" for the sake of convenience...