Stories from Thursday, December 13, 2007

CHAPEL HILL -- Cascade Middle dusted off their girls basketball coach and gave him reason to smile with a 31-9 dominating win over Sunset Middle in the opening round of World Tournament action at Forrest High School. Coach Chad Spencer had extra time to spend with his younger girls while fulfilling a suspension from high school play and the extra practice showed, most notably on the defensive end...

CHAPEL HILL -- Those wishing for a World Tournament title for Liberty Middle under the tree this holiday season will not have to worry about making a second trip to the store for batteries. The Lady Patriots come complete with their own source of energy...

Bell Buckle hopes to keep water bills low for its customers despite a dramatic rate hike from Bedford County Utility District (BCUD). The town's Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Tuesday to accept the latest contract from BCUD with the new rate of $4 per 1,000 gallons, an increase of 51 percent over the current rate of $2.65 per 1,000 gallons...

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate approved U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon's legislation to help communities clean up former methamphetamine lab sites, putting the bill one step closer to becoming law. "We have a duty to protect innocent families not only from the criminals who make and use this illegal drug, but also from the aftereffects of that crime, said Gordon, chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology, in a news release. ...

CHAPEL HILL -- Brown bagging is legal anywhere in Tennessee except where it's prohibited by local ordinance, and here the Board of Mayor and Aldermen has voted for an ordinance to ban brown bagging. Pouring drinks from your own bottle at a restaurant became a concern here after a barbecue restaurant operator asked for permission to sell beer to golfers who eat at her place because they can't get a beer at the state park restaurant...

"A Christmas Story," the 1983 film based on the autobiographical stories of humorist Jean Shepherd in which a young boy longs for a BB gun for Christmas, was chosen as the favorite holiday TV viewing by respondents to an online poll at the Times-Gazette web site...

A Shelbyville man allegedly dumped nearly $700 in a convenience store restroom's trash can early Wednesday after ignoring a police officer's order not to enter the room. The driver of a car in which the suspect arrived at the store was charged after drugs were found inside...

Funeral services for William Mitchell Nichols, 76, of Chapel Hill, who died Tuesday at Bedford County Medical Center, will be 2 p.m. Friday at Gowen-Smith Chapel. James Griggs, Jim Tedder and Chad Jolley will officiate and burial will follow in Willow Mount Cemetery....

Funeral services, with full military honors, for Henry S. Baker, 76, of Shelbyville, who died Tuesday at Alvin C. York VA Medical Center in Murfreesboro, will be noon Saturday at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel. Following the service, his remains will be cremated, according to his request....