Stories from Sunday, December 13, 2009

It's getting to where I'm enjoying commercials more than the regularly scheduled programming. Around Christmas, commercials take on their own flavor, from sloppy sentimentalism to crack-you-up funny. My favorite right now is the one of the two little boys staring at a package under the tree. The younger one wonders what's in the box and his older brother tells him it could be the Wii they wanted -- or a box of meat...

My dad has always been quite the inventor in the kitchen. It amazes me some of the recipes that he comes up with -- some delicious, some ... interesting. But one recipe Daddy has been cooking for years is hands down a family favorite, especially around the holiday season...

For the third year in a row, Toni Boss and Barb Stull are opening their arms and hearts to Shelbyville. At Toni's home at 108 Cottonwood Dr., the two friends will host their third annual Christmas with Santa party, and everyone's invited. "Last year, we had approximately 300 people show up, so we expect more this year," said Toni. ...

To the Editor: The Marines of Detachment #1128 of the Marine Corps League were honored to again lead the annual Shelbyville Christmas parade. We marched to collect toys and donations to support the Marine Corps Reserve "Toys for Tots" program...

I was amused at the online comments on one of our recent letters to the editor from someone who said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "[political party #1] always resorts to hysteria whenever [political party #2] confronts them with the cold hard facts."...

Webb enjoyed a fine night of shooting with Logan Burchett leading the way in a 65-45 rout of King's Academy in Bell Buckle on Friday night. Senior guard Burchett drained 10-of-11 shots from the field, including three 3s, en route to a team-leading 26 points...

Community utilized a swarming trap defense to build a large lead in the opening quarter and Aubrey Boyce, Katie Leverette and Megan Busbee all scored in double digits to help the Viqueens lead from start to finish and defeat visiting Huntland 56-49 in District 9-A action Friday night...

Starting well has not been the Community Vikings' problem this season. Finishing has been their Achilles heel. They may very well have alleviated that problem on Friday night as they led from start to finish in an impressive 68-47 blowout of District 9-A visitor Huntland...

McMINNVILLE -- The Cascade girls blew past District 9-A foe Boyd Christian 76-19 on Friday night. The Lady Champions (7-2, 2-1 District 9-A) exploded in the first quarter to outscore the Lady Broncos 34-2. This allowed Cascade some different pairings and strategies and the chance to play everyone on the roster. Ten of the 13 girls scored. The group boasted nine 3-pointers on the night...

WINCHESTER -- In what many will consider a huge upset, Shelbyville Central fell 69-54 to a very determined Franklin County team on the road in its first District 8-AAA matchup this season. The Rebels (3-4, 1-1 8-AAA) dominated on both ends of the court for the most part with the Eagles (4-1, 0-1) playing in catch-up mode most of the game...

WINCHESTER -- Any time you can get a win and not really play that well, it's a positive. When it's a district win on the road, that makes it even better. Such was the case Friday night as Shelbyville Central claimed a 46-40 win over Franklin County in its District 8-AAA opener...

The county's solid waste authority awarded its scrap metal contract to Middle Tennessee Metal Recovery Thursday following an intense debate over the five submitted bids. The firms were bidding on a percentage of the average price of scrap metal each month and were required to make a $2,500 security bond for the one-year contract, which includes an option of being extended to three years...

Effective in 2010, the State of Tennessee is taking the collection of business taxes and the renewal of business licenses away from the local city and county governments, which had been performing that function. Entrepreneurs will still go to the appropriate city or county office to obtain a new business license, but from that point forward the state will handle license renewals and collection of the business tax. ...

Thanks to the hard work by the students at Shelbyville Central High School, the Grinch CAN not steal Christmas. That was the motto for this year's SCHA Great Canned Food Drive, which culminated Friday morning with the donation of almost 20,000 food items to Good Samaritan...

McMINNVILLE -- Cascade capped off a run of three games in four days with another victory, rolling past Boyd Christian 74-37 to bring its District 9-A record to 3-0. Coach Charlie Pope's boys got ahead early, outscoring the McMinnville crew 20-6 in the first stanza, then kept the Broncos from coming anywhere close the rest of the game...