Stories from Friday, June 19, 2009

Wright Paving Contractors Inc. has been awarded the bid for construction of the Shelbyville bypass, State Route 437, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) announced. The Fayetteville firm had a low bid of $14,283,873, according to information released by TDOT. The estimate TDOT gave for the project was $16,164,696...

Opponents of a measure to close access to the names of people who hold state-issued permits to carry loaded handguns say its failure Wednesday night is a victory for those who support open government. The proposal sponsored by Republican Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville was defeated 14-13 in the Senate when it failed to get a majority vote. Norris didn't say whether he would try to revive the proposal, which passed the House 83-12 last month...

An elaborate video game and movie piracy operation has been shut down and its alleged operator arrested, according to Shelbyville police. Arrested was Lemuel Earl Houston, 33, of Templeton Street, who was charged with two counts of criminal simulation over $1,000...

Last week, a young mother who had lost her son in an accidental drowning death last year allowed herself to be interviewed by our intern, Micky Pietkiewicz. I sat in on the interview, and I was touched by Tiffany Young's selflessness, and her willingness to speak to us about the circumstances surrounding the death of her son, Matthew G. Woods...

In the course of a lifetime we make hundreds of acquaintances, find some good friends, and if we are very fortunate, we encounter a person or two who make profound impressions on us which last a lifetime. I have been very blessed in that respect as a result of the friendship I enjoyed with Professor James Scott. I was born and raised on a small dairy farm near Belfast in rural Marshall County...

They are having a ball in Bell Buckle -- and on Saturday, everyone is welcome to join in the fun at ht RC-Moon Pie Festival. This year's Synchronized Wading performance -- often referred to as "dry humor on a wet stage" -- is called "The Ball's in Your Court," and the town's first lady, Carla Webb, has outdone herself again...

Memory McCall, 86, of Texas, died June 13 in Murphy, Texas. Funeral services were held Thursday in Dallas. She has relatives in Bedford County, according to Eastgate Funeral Home, of Garland, Texas, which handled arrangements.

Janice Freeman Coleman, 55, of Tampa, Fla., formerly of Shelbyville, died Thursday in Tampa after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held June 22, 2009, at Siegroves Funeral Home in Tampa. Burial will follow at Bushnell Cemetery in Lakeland, Fla...

Arthur Hoyle Phillips, 87, of Shelbyville, died Thursday at Heritage Medical Center after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Jackie Riddle officiating. Burial, with full military honors, will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery...

Funeral arrangements for Bobbie Gene Childers, 77, of Shelbyville, who died Friday at Bedford County Nursing Home, are incomplete and will be announced by Feldhaus Memorial Chapel.

Bedford County Nursing Home Board of Trustees voted Thursday night to recommend that the county enter a five-year lease of the nursing home to a subsidiary of Johnson City-based Care Centers Management Consulting Inc. (CCMC). The lease would have to be approved by Bedford County Board of Commissioners in order to take effect...