Stories from Friday, December 26, 2008

Katie Beatrice Smith, 85, of Shelbyville, died Thursday at Heritage Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at Scott United Methodist Church, where she was a member, with Dr. Robin Kimbrough officiating. Burial will follow at Mt. Ararat Cemetery. Visitation will begin at noon at the church. Feldhaus Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Randy Lee Warren, 46, of Richmond, died Thursday evening at Heritage Medical Center after a short illness. Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Jimmy Gray officiating. Burial will follow at Old Orchard Cemetery in Petersburg. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Bedford County Board of Commissioners voted 11-4 Tuesday night to defend a lawsuit filed against the county over road conditions in the Nestledown Crossing subdivision east of Bell Buckle. On Monday night, Bedford County Road Board had also voted to defend the lawsuit...

Iris Bradford started 2008 with $500 extra in her pocket, as the winner of the Times-Gazette's first "Big Event" contest. Another lucky reader -- maybe even you -- will begin 2009 the same way. A special supplement featuring messages from local advertisers will be included in the Tuesday, Dec. 30, edition of the T-G. The supplement will include a number of Big Event logos (like the one seen here, only smaller) hidden throughout the advertising messages...

Helen R. Copeland, 77, of Cowan, died Wednesday at Southern Tennessee Medical Center in Winchester. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Moore-Cortner Funeral Home in Winchester with the Rev. Mark Ashley officiating. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

The year 2008 brought both good news and bad to Bedford County; it was a busy year which saw economic upheaval, culture clashes and changes in the local health care industry. From now through Wednesday, the Times-Gazette will count down the year's 10 most newsworthy stories as selected by a panel of Times-Gazette newsroom staffers and others. Many participants commented that it was hard to choose the top stories from what was a very eventful year...

Don't stop shopping yet. That's the message retailers want to send out, and they're backing it up with special sales across Shelbyville today. "We have our diamonds and gold 30 percent off and 20 percent off our gift items," said Billy Lowery of Lowery Jewelers...

Judge Robert Crigler denied a motion Monday to dismiss charges against a man who was allegedly found possessing thousands of child pornography images. Instead, Walter Jude Dec will appear in court on Jan. 12 so his defense attorneys can have more time to do legal research into his case...

There are always numerous accolades that accompany a spectacular season such as the one the Cascade Champions completed in November. As a group the Champs set a school mark by going 12-1 and winning their first-ever outright Region 5-A title. The core of that team was honored by the league recently...