Stories from Friday, July 25, 2008

Funeral services for Johnny Locke, 70, of Fayetteville, who died Wednesday morning at Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital, will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Gallant-Riverview Funeral Home in Fayetteville. Ray Armstrong and James Warren will officiate and burial will follow in New Grove Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today and Saturday.

CHAPEL HILL -- A former general manager of the Shelbyville Power, Water and Sewerage System was elected chairman of the Duck River Development Agency during its quarterly board meeting Thursday night. Gene Crowell started working for his city's utilities in 1957 and remembers working in downtown Shelbyville when power service trucks were replaced with "boats to pull meters because of the flooding" of the Duck River, he said...

Building update discussions for the Shelbyville Central High School, Learning Way Elementary and Community High School projects dominated the Bedford County Board of Education meeting Thursday night. Tom Grott, of American Constructors, reported Central will be issued its certificate of occupancy as early as Monday, about 12 days shy of the first day of school. ...

Think there's nothing much to do in Unionville? That's about to change. Anthony Davis, a drama and 11th-grade English teacher at Community High School, has joined with several others to start a community theater group. "We've had some really, really good success back in the last few years," said Davis, referring to the sold-out shows the high school productions such as "Grease" had. ...

Thunderstorms? Excessive heat and humidity? The weather may have put a little dent in the numbers at this year's Bedford County Fair -- but not much. "Attendance is up," said Judy Gambill, president of the Fair Association. "The gate's been higher than it was last year."...

Some people, no matter what, never feel comfortable being in the spotlight. For others, however, poise, personality and charisma come naturally. Or, at least that's the way Devon Ward makes it look. "I have been doing this all my life," said the 16-year-old Shelbyville Central High School student. "I wasn't nervous to compete, just very excited."...

Community High has added girls soccer to its ever growing sports repertoire under the guidance of first-year varsity head coach Mark Neill. The team is laden with incoming freshman and, as with any expansion-type team, serious growing pains are expected as they adjust to the speed and intensity of varsit play...

A first-inning home run was all the firepower Shelbyville Post 23 needed to down Manchester 3-1 Monday and claim the state American Legion title. Will Trice, in the game's second at-bat, brought home himself and Seth Draine, who reached base on a walk...

Talk about a gut check; I had one Wednesday night at the Bedford County Fair. The week was not even halfway over, and it had already been a particularly busy one for me -- one that stood out among a crowd of busy weeks. Even when I'm not at work, I have a tendency to think about work...

Marijuana was confiscated in two incidents Wednesday in Shelbyville, police say. "I asked who was smoking marijuana," Boyd said. "Karl Kerry McCoy II stood up and said he was smoking marijuana, and then he pulled a plastic bag from his left pocket that continued approximately 29.07 grams of marijuana."...

An Atlanta man who allegedly stole a truck in Shelbyville Wednesday is in critical condition in a Chattanooga hospital after allegedly attempting to sexually assault a woman, run down a deputy and flee from police at high speed through Franklin County...