Stories from Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Funeral services for R. Ervin Thomas, 75, of Wartrace, who died Tuesday at his home after a brief illness, will be 2 p.m. Friday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with the Rev. De Hennessy officiating. Burial will follow at Hollywood Cemetery. Visitation will be 5-9 p.m. Thursday.

MURFREESBORO -- After Michael Smith was hit by a pitch and Cody Pierce singled, Lance Paschal stroked a ball into the gap to score both teammates and stake Community to a 2-0 first-inning lead over Eagleville in the second elimination game of the afternoon in the District 9-A tournament at Middle Tennessee Christian...

MANCHESTER -- The season had to end at some point. Shelbyville's Golden Eagles just didn't want it to end this soon. Using four hits and two runs in the bottom of the first, host Coffee County hung on for a 2-0 win Monday night to eliminate Shelbyville from the District 8-AAA tournament...

COLUMBIA -- Shelbyville Central won the battle at the plate but Coffee County claimed the win on the scoreboard with a 4-1 victory over the Golden Eaglettes in a winners' bracket matchup of the District 8-AAA tournament on Monday night. The Eaglettes (16-11) outhit the Lady Raiders 6-4 but six errors in the field and clutch hitting at opportune times didn't help matters...

Shelbyville Central's boys tennis team swept Tullahoma 4-0 to win the District 8-AAA championship on Monday afternoon at H.V. Griffin Park. Top-seeded Golden Eagle senior Justin Gordon took down Kentaro Takido 8-4 in a rematch of the district singles final. The rest of the squad followed suit from there...

MURFREESBORO -- Coach Chris Parker urged his Cascade Champions to come out and show everyone who the best team in District 9-A is before the winners' bracket final versus tournament host Middle Tennessee Christian. The last time the two teams faced off back in early April, the Cougars ended the Champs' 22-game district winning streak and something had to give...

CHAPEL HILL -- How many times in softball does one inning or one play determine a game? Defending District 9-A champion Forrest scored nine runs in the fifth inning to break open a one-run game and defeat Cascade 10-0, move into the trophy round and drop the second seed into the losers' bracket against the winner of today's Boyd Christian/Eagleville game...

If a state legislator, or the governor, is convicted of crimes involving their office, should they still be eligible for state health insurance? State Sen. Jim Tracy said Monday he is disappointed with action in the House of Representatives last week that killed a bill he sponsored that would have ended the health insurance benefits of a member of the General Assembly or governor upon conviction for felonies involving their office...

On Saturday, the National Association of Letter Carriers, Campbell Soup Company, the U.S. Postal Service and United Way of Bedford County will partner again to sponsor "Stamp Out Hunger," which according to organizers is the nation's largest single-day food drive...

Bedford County Health Department is joining other areas Wednesday in recognizing the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The health observance was established in 2002 to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding pregnancy, parenthood and other serious consequences of sex...

Two persons were pinned in a vehicle after it struck a utility pole Friday night on West Jackson Street, Shelbyville police say. Tija Marie Murphy, 19, Moulder Road, the driver, and Joshua Wayne Clanton, 24, Meadowlark Drive, were extricated by Shelbyville Fire Department personnel after the accident, which was reported at 10:30 p.m...