Stories from Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Christina Curtner and Beth Hawn combined for 37 points to lead the Forrest Lady Rockets to a 58-43 win over the Community Viqueens on Saturday night in Unionville. The District 9-A match was controlled by the visitors from start to finish and its outcome was never really in doubt. Forrest led 24-12 after one period and 39-19 at intermission...

NASHVILLE (AP) -- Lawmakers and education officials say Gov. Phil Bredesen's proposed changes in higher education will benefit the state longterm despite challenges to some colleges and universities. The changes are part of a special session the governor called to also make changes in K-12 education policy, which he said was needed to strengthen the state's application for $485 million worth of federal "Race to the Top" money. Lawmakers approved those changes last week before the Jan. 19 deadline...

Bedford County's solid waste authority has been awarded judgment against a scrap metal dealer that owed money. A letter from attorney M. Wyatt Burk informed the authority that judgment was received against Southeast Recovery Group and Robert Madeo in an amount of $12,479.64, plus $150 in court costs...

The attorney for a home builder who has pleaded guilty to participating in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme claims that losses attributed to his client have been miscalculated by over a million dollars. Roger Ritch is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. in Chattanooga before U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice Jr. for his involvement in a scheme which resulted in 61 Shelbyville residents losing their homes through foreclosure and lenders suffering significant losses...

It may have been more than the young Community Vikings could handle when they took to the floor for the fourth time in six days Saturday night against Forrest. Forrest appeared to be the fresher team from start to finish and won the District 9-A contest going away 62-38 to sweep the season series...

A back-and-forth contest in the middle stages eventually had a lopsided result as Middle Tennessee Christian scored 11 unanswered points to close out the third quarter and cruised to a 58-42 victory over host Cascade in District 9-A play Monday night...

It was an impressive reversal for the Community Vikings in their 54-50 victory over the Cornersville Bulldogs on Monday night in Unionville. Community, playing their fifth game in eight days, continues to show vast improvement in all areas as demonstrated by its revenge for a 22-point season-opening loss to the Bulldogs...

It was a tale of two halves for the Community Viqueens in a 54-39 home loss to the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs on Monday night. The Purple and Gold controlled the tempo with a pressure defense and rode an eight-point performance from freshman Katie Leverette to a 14-11 advantage after one quarter...

For the third time in as many games, Cascade saw its verdict come down to the very last shot in District 9-A competition. However, this time it was its opponent's last-second prayer going unanswered as the Champions fought off a scrappy Middle Tennessee Christian team to win 57-55 in Wartrace on Monday night...