Stories from Friday, March 27, 2009

Funeral services for Robert Allen Collins, 74, of Shelbyville, who died Thursday morning in Murfreesboro, will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Lawrence Funeral Home in Chapel Hill. The Rev. Charles Melvin Collins will officiate and burial will follow in Pressgrove Cemetery near Unionville. Visitation with the family will begin 3 p.m. Saturday.

Last night I sat on the porch and smoked my last cigarette, and it's been a long time coming. I started smoking regularly when I was 13 years old. Back then, even an eighth-grade student could buy cigarettes just about anywhere. Now I'm 41, so I've smoked cigarettes almost every day for about 28 years. That's more than 10,000 packs of cigarettes...

Knoxville's loss is Shelbyville's gain. When a group applied for and qualified to hold the Tennessee State Chili Cookoff Championship in UT Town, it never got around to actually holding the event. This year, needless to say, the same group did not get a second chance. The major event, sanctioned by the International Chili Society, will be held here instead...

Here comes Peter Cottontail ... and the Times-Gazette's annual Easter Eggstravaganza issue, which will be published Wednesday, April 8. The issue is one of four quarterly extra large issues of the Times-Gazette, and will feature dozens of local stories and features spread throughout several sections...

Tennessee and 13 other states are weighing whether to change their rules governing unemployment benefits in order to take advantage of additional funding offered under the federal stimulus plan. Changing the laws would enable workers to qualify for 13 to 20 weeks of extended benefits after they've exhausted their state and emergency federal benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project...

Rescuers feared the worst after a Jeep was found in rain-swollen Garrison River off the Bugscuffle Road bridge, near Wartrace, about 5 a.m. today. The driver was later identified as Stephen Graham, 19, of Shelbyville, according to State Trooper Patrick Turner. ...

Cascade came out swinging early and put three first-inning runs on the board against visiting Moore County in muddy conditions on Thursday. A determined group of Raiders countered with their best punch in the second inning to go up 4-3. However, it was the Champions who went back ahead on the card with a three-spot in the third and delivered the knockout blow in the fifth to win 10-4...

The Shelbyville Central Eagles rallied back in No. 4 singles and won a see-saw battle in No. 1 doubles to come away victorious 4-3 over Lincoln County at H.V. Griffin Park on Thursday. The Eaglettes had another impressive showing, sweeping the Lady Falcons 7-0...

Bedford County's unemployment rate has nearly doubled in the past year, according to preliminary figures released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The jobless rate for February is currently at 10.8 percent, a hike of 1.1 percent points since January and 83 percent higher than the unemployment rate of 5.9 percent at this time last year...

Clarence A. Prater Sr., 87, of Shelbyville, died Thursday at Heritage Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with Mark Pierce officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday.