Stories from Sunday, March 15, 2009

To the editor: To the citizens of Shelbyville and surrounding communities who were on hand March 7, and were able to contribute to our Easter basket fund drive we offer our heartfelt thanks. These are trying times, what with jobs lost and our economy in disarray, but what we saw Saturday with the outpouring of sincerety and giving from people, many of whom have not much to spare, showed the true spirit of America...

While the wind, rain and low temperatures had many feeling like winter had returned last week, the Riverbend Country Club was all about spring -- spring fashion that is. Carolyn Matusek, owner of Carolyn's Women's Apparel on 766 N. Main St., delivered a spring fashion show to the Shelbyville Woman's Club Wednesday...

The Noon Rotary Club of Shelbyville held its 31st Career Day at Motlow State Community College Thursday. Approximately 560 sophomore students from Shelbyville Central, Cascade and Community high schools attended, according to club president Jim Allison...

This time last year, trainers, owners and others in the walking horse industry were gearing up for the kick-off show of the season, the Walking Horse Trainers' Association Show. This year, all the frenetic activity seems to be taking place outside the ring and beyond the stables. In offices and boardrooms across the state, the trainers, owners and others in the industry are trying to work out the latest wrinkle in a troubled industry...

Members of Shelbyville's city council were looking for ways to save money and asking questions about the necessity of some bids for work during Thursday's meeting. Stewart Security Systems won the bid for the fire alarm system for Central Memorial Gym (formerly Harris Middle School gym) at a cost of $14,975, but councilman Lee Roy Cunningham said he had heard from a member of the school board that the current system in place might be repairable...

Calvin and Mark Kincaid pose with a 40" Sony 1080p flat panel LCD television, valued at $2,499, that Kincaid Service Company is offering as the local prize for this year's T-G BracketBucks contest. The national grand prize is $25,000. An official entry form will be published in the Times-Gazette on Tuesday and Wednesday. Completed entries may be dropped off at Kincaid Service Company on Madison Street or at the Times-Gazette by 11 a.m. Thursday, March 19, or may be mailed, with a postmark no later than March 18.

Webb's soccer squad continues to roll through opponents through their early-season schedule. They started out the Freed-Hardeman Lions Cup Invitational with a bang, defeating Middle Tennessee Christian 8-0 in soggy conditions on Friday. Danny Hwang led the way offensively with a pair of goals. Chris Whalen, Josh Ferrell, Kyle Poulicek, Cameron Togrye, Daniel Hoover and Austin Wilson each added a goal as well...

Strength in numbers -- it's the concept behind a local running and walking group that's preparing to take on the Country Music Half Marathon next month. Each Sunday, after attending First Baptist Church together, about 10 motivated individuals get together for their group training day. Currently, the group has worked up to about seven miles, more than half the distance of the half-marathon...

So many people today have fancy iPhones, Blackberries and other "cool" communication devices that I often feel like I must be missing out on something. But as often has I've indicated -- whined -- about keeping up with the Joneses of cell phones, I have to admit -- fancy phones were not made for me...

Hummus, a popular Middle Eastern dip, is one of those foods I find that people either love or hate. Ever since my days at Syracuse University, where I lived around the corner from a little Middle Eastern café called Munjed's, I've been a lover of the dip, which is comprised of chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans), lemon, garlic, olive oil and -- the secret ingredient...

Food and television have turned out to be a tasty combination. Cooking shows have been around for decades, with the late, great Julia Child as the obvious forerunner. But with the start of Food Network, and then with the popularity of shows like "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen," food and the people who cook it have become something of a cultural phenomenon. How long that will remain true is anyone's guess...

PTA stands for Patient Teachers are AWESOME. This has been a rough year for my youngest son. His much adored and worshipped oldest brother disappeared from the face of the earth, eaten up by slime-gliding cyborg aliens from the planet Jronkksnot (much more acceptable to a 10-year-old than a girlfriend, a job and college.)...

Coffins draped with flowers took over the stage at Community High School Monday afternoon, and students sat quietly as Billy Joe Calvert of the Normandy First Baptist Church delivered the eulogies of two star students, Megan Perry and Justin Stallings. ...

The inaugural year for Bedford County Schools' dress code has created more than one problem for area parents, but Dianne Connolly, manager of Oak Hill Apartments, and some of her residents are busy looking for solutions. When Connolly was told one of her empty apartments would be out of commission until the fall, waiting for renovations, her practical nature wondered what she could do with all that wasted space...