Stories from Sunday, March 29, 2009

Jean Sharp of Unionville confesses she may have gone a little hog wild when it comes to her collection. Or perhaps the expression should be "pig wild." "I guess I have more than 5,000 pigs," she said. "I don't know exactly how many." Refrigerator magnets, cookie jars, stuffed animals and figurines, pigs of all shapes and sizes line the walls, the shelves, the back of the couch, the windowsill, the hallway, the bathroom, the sidewalk, the kitchen counter ... ...

My kids have been on spring break for the last two weeks, and if I can't send them back to school soon, I'm loaning them to my brother-in-law. He runs a construction company that specializes in destruction. Water towers, old buildings, the peace and quiet of a Saturday morning -- you name it, he and his Caterpillar can destroy it. My sons would be an invaluable asset...

To the editor: Are you fed up with the spending spree in Washington, D.C.? It seems as though the Congress and the President are on a spending binge with our money that is really getting scary. Are you aware that when you give the government $1, you may get 25 cents back in the form of services? If your state takes money from the Fed and uses it for programs in your state, when those programs need to be funded again it is your local and state taxes that go up to pay for them (such as teachers' salaries, day care, etc.).. ...

helbyville's planning commission will take time over the next three months to review design guidelines, with members debating how to word the document without driving new business away. Planning and codes director Kip Green told the commission that the 18 pages of guidelines are only recommendations to firms and individuals submitting site plans to the city...

In the past five years, Shelbyville's noon Rotary Club has delivered more than 3,000 dictionaries have been delivered to students throughout the county. On Thursday, 12 members of the club blitzed through every third grade classroom in the county -- dictionaries in hand. Nearly 600 students received dictionaries this year, said Barry Cooper, club member and noon Rotary's dictionary project organizer...

A preliminary hearing for a Tullahoma man accused of rape and kidnapping has been set for late May. James Lynne Stewart, 51, of South Anderson Street, Tullahoma, will appear on May 29 for the hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to determine if there is sufficient evidence for a judge to bound the case over to a grand jury...

The Walking Horse Trainers' Show is back on, and a new horse industry organization (HIO) is set to be activated Wednesday. The Trainers' Show will be June 3 through 6 at the Calsonic Arena, said show chairman Benny Johnson. The show was originally scheduled for March 19-21, but was postponed as trainers and owners debated the future of the National Horse Show Commission, the horse industry organization that sanctioned the event...

Timely hitting, good pitching and steady defense led the way in Shelbyville Central's 6-2 win over visiting Page in the Warrior Spring Classic Friday night. In just his second outing on the mound this spring, sophomore right-hander Seth Jarrell pitched five strong innings for the Eagles, fanning five, walking three and allowing only a pair of hits...

Mercedes Jones is not your average 11-year-old girl. She'd rather watch the Discovery Channel than "American Idol." She followed the 2008 presidential election closely, spending hours watching the news networks and debating the merits of the candidates with her class. She would like to go into politics -- if she doesn't become a veterinarian -- and she wants to create a world without violence or meanness. She campaigns for a cause, speaking to groups of adults with poise...

I had to make a somewhat unexpected trip home to upstate New York last weekend. One of the hardest parts about being virtually the only one in my enormous family who lives out of town is not easily being able to "be there" for the seemingly millions of family engagements that arise...

"Allez cuisine!" If that phrase -- which I've been told is not actually proper French -- means anything to you, then you're obviously a fan of "Iron Chef" or its American spinoffs. "Iron Chef," for the uninitiated, is a cooking competition in which two chefs try to prepare the best dishes based on a surprise ingredient announced at the start of the show. ...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We at the Times-Gazette love to eat! We have typical company holiday parties and birthday celebrations on occasion, but in between those traditional parties, we make up our own excuses to gather and feast...

Albert Cauz has announced that he will leave his position as headmaster of The Webb School in Bell Buckle to accept a position at The Baldwin School in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the end of this school year. Cauz' departure was announced in an e-mail Friday by Phillip G. Coop, chair of the private preparatory school's Board of Trustees...