Stories from Friday, January 22, 2010

Hazel Alean Halmontaller, 89, of Shelbyville died Thursday at Glen Oaks Convalescent Center after an extended illness. Funeral services were held Tuesday at Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Ron DeWitt officiating. Burial followed at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens.

Paul L. Puff, 66, of Wartrace died Thursday at Heritage Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Gowen-Smith Chapel. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Willie Lee Jones Mooneyham, 98, of Shelbyville died Thursday at her home. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with Jeff Smith and Mark Pierce officiating. Burial will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Catherine Smith-Warden, 84, of Lewisburg died Friday at NHC Columbia. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Williams Funeral Home, Columbia, with Rick Points and a grandson, Wesley Bishop, officiating. A dove release will follow the service at the ossuary in The Arbors at Polk Memorial Gardens, Columbia. Visitation with the family will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Bonnie Lou Meurer, 72, of Shelbyville died Thursday at her home after an extended illness. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Feldhaus Memorial Chapel.

After a dominating first half, Shelbyville Central slacked off a bit in the second but cruised to a commanding 73-59 win over visiting Lincoln County in a District 8-AAA matchup Thursday night. The Golden Eagles (8-8, 2-2 8-AAA) were clicking on all cylinders on both ends of the court in the first half, posting a 19-11 lead at the end of the first period before holding a 35-15 advantage at intermission...

"It's amazing what repetition and practice will do." With only one day alloted for improvement amidst a treacherous five-game stretch in just four days, coach Chad Spencer held Wednesday's practice session to just one hour. However, some of his Lady Champions went back to work to fix individual woes that became apparent during losses on Monday and Tuesday to District 9-A foes Middle Tennessee Christian and Moore County, respectively...

When coach Charlie Pope sat down to put together the 2009-10 schedule for his Cascade Champions, he wanted a two-game set with a non-district, non-region team that could pose a challenge. He found exactly what he was looking for in Richland, who drubbed the Champs by 23 back in December and entered Thursday's contest as the sixth-ranked team in Class A...

Any district game is huge but district games at home are even bigger. Shelbyville Central let a halftime lead slip away in the second half in a 66-62 District 8-AAA loss to Lincoln County on Thursday night. Costly turnovers and the inability to keep the Lady Falcons off the offensive boards proved to be more that the Golden Eaglettes (10-7, 2-2 8-AAA) could overcome...

Community Middle's boys started well but the ending was not to their liking as Middle Tennessee Christian Middle took advantage of a 25-point effort by Derrick Spears to coast to a 55-40 win Thursday night. It was the Cougars' third win in as many tries this season against the Bedford County squad...

Shelbyville's tornado siren was activated and emergency shelters were opened during a severe storm Thursday night. While hail was reported in some areas of the county, particularly northwest of Shelbyville, the Times-Gazette had no reports of major storm damage as of press time this morning, and The Associated Press had no reports of serious injuries or major property damage anywhere in Middle Tennessee...

If "dedication" had a name it would be Dorothy Elkins. Elkins, 83, has dedicated more than 52 years of her life to The Webb School in Bell Buckle. As a secretary, she reported directly to six former headmasters of The Webb School; and as a secretary/assistant in the Alumni and Development Office, she has worked for four different development directors...

Bedford County Board of Education heard a bit of good news on Thursday night -- December sales tax collections, representing retail sales during October, were $6,291 higher than they had been the previous year. That's the first time in many months that sales tax collections have been up when compared to the previous year...

It took a Bedford County jury less than 15 minutes to convict a Murfreesboro man of breaking into a home last February while a terrified teen hid under a bed. Larry Randall Henry II of Crater Road, Murfreesboro had a sentencing date set for March 19 by Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell after the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the charge of aggravated burglary...

Thomas H. Lynch, 82, of Chapel Hill died Thursday in Shelbyville. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lawrence Funeral Home, Chapel Hill, with Jeremy Vanatta and Mike Williams officiating. Burial will follow at Pleasant Valley Cemetery near Chapel Hill. Visitation with the family will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday.