Stories from Wednesday, February 3, 2010

COLUMBIA -- Sophomore post player Kelsie Smith had a double-double with 17 points and a dozen rebounds and a pair of teammates joined her in double figures as Shelbyville claimed a 55-48 win over host Columbia in a District 8-AAA matchup on Tuesday night...

COLUMBIA -- Don't count Shelbyville Central's Golden Eagles out of the regular season district race yet. Shelbyville hit the road for a huge District 8-AAA contest at Columbia and returned home with a 60-52 win on Tuesday. It was the Lions' (13-7, 6-1 8-AAA) first district loss. The Eagles (12-8, 6-2) are now just one game behind after splitting with Columbia and Franklin County...

MURFREESBORO -- A chance for Cascade to solidify itself in the District 9-A standings and get over the hump against a rival fell by the wayside as it blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and lost 46-40 to Middle Tennessee Christian on Tuesday night. "We're a young team and it show when it comes to the end of ballgames," said Cascade coach Chad Spencer, whose team lost in overtime at district-leading Forrest on Friday even though it led by five with only a few minutes remaining...

University School of Nashville piled up 41 points in the middle quarters to help it to a 67-39 win over East/Middle Region visitor Webb on Tuesday. The Tigers held a slim 12-10 advantage after a quarter but shocked the Feet (15-6, 7-2 East/Middle) with a 20 second-quarter points to go up 32-18 at the half...

MURFREESBORO -- The early stages of Cascade's pivotal District 9-A matchup at Middle Tennessee Christian contained five lead changes before the Cougars took control and held on for a 59-56 victory Tuesday night. The Champions (13-10, 9-4 9-A) trailed 13-8 after a quarter as their recent woes at the start of games continued. They have been outscored 42-17 in the opening quarter of their last three district road losses...

Bedford County's 7,800 elementary and high school students and nearly 1,000 school system employees returned to school today after three days out for winter weather. School Superintendent Ed Gray said on Tuesday that there were still some roads in the Rover area with frozen precipitation, but it was possible to coordinate bus routes to avoid those areas or minimize the risk...

Federal prosecutors have blasted a recent defense motion on behalf of Roger Ritch, asking for a harsh sentence for the home builder and calling Ritch's stated motives for his involvement in the multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme "ludicrous" and "laughable."...

Shelbyville will be getting ready to tear down a number of blighted structures soon. Last August, the city council approved action to work out the prices and acquire these properties under the Neighborhood Stabilization Housing Grant that Shelbyville in 2009...

Randall Boyce has announced his candidacy for re-election as Bedford County Sheriff in the May 4 Democratic primary. He was first elected sheriff in 2006. Boyce, a Bedford County native, lives in Wheel. He has two children and three grandchildren. He is a certified law enforcement officer with numerous in-service hours...

Bonnie Loretta Keys told Shelbyville police she didn't know how to drive. But she tried anyway Monday despite being drunk, police said, resulting in an injured 5-year-old daughter and a wrecked truck. Keys, 43, of Tate Avenue was arrested after the accident, which police said occurred in a field across the street from her home. ...

Kim M. Reynolds, 52, died Tuesday at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Gowen-Smith Chapel.

Lillian Russell Kitchens, 98, of Shelbyville died Tuesday at Glen Oaks Convalescent Center. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Victory Baptist Church with Jim Tedder and Michael Hawkins officiating. Burial will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery. Visitation with the family will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

This is my annual "Don't believe every e-mail you get" column. Funny, how it always happens around tax time ... The one that set this one off, for once, was not a phishing scam for your social security number or a myth about deducting your tattoo bill from your income tax...

Apple's announcement last week of its new tablet computer, the iPad, included the announcement of a new online book store. In addition, the iPad will also run iPhone applications, presumably including an existing app that allowed iPhone users to purchase books from Amazon's Kindle store...