Stories from Thursday, February 25, 2010

Lula Mae Jones, 65, of Shelbyville died Wednesday at her home after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel with the Rev. Donnie Jones officiating. Burial will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday...

County investigators have charged five people with a scheme to smuggle contraband into the Bedford County jail by allegedly hiding items in an area where prisoners await court appearances. Arrested were: A report by Bedford County Sheriff's Department Detective Todd Hammond stated that information was received in early February about contraband being brought into Bedford County Courthouse and dropped off for inmates to bring to the jail...

A Lebanon man accused of attempting to conduct a traffic stop using blue lights in Shelbyville in November 2009 is instead being fined for a lesser charge, officials say. A charge of criminal impersonation of a police officer against Michael Angelo DeSantis II was reduced to possession of blue lights, according to documentation at Circuit Court Clerk Thomas Smith's office...

This is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Tennessee, and Bedford County Emergency Management Agency director Scott Johnson says that every family, every business, and every church or non-profit organization should have a plan for coping with severe weather...

Like other communities throughout the state, Shelbyville and Bedford County have a pothole problem. Winter weather, snow and ice seep into cracks in the pavement. Ice expands as it freezes, and it can have enough force to loosen chunks of pavement. Rough winter weather in January and February has created potholes across the state...

Last year, the runners and observers at the inaugural "Paws for a Cause" 5K run had at least two things in common. They cared about the welfare of animals -- and they were freezing. The run took place on Feb. 21, to coordinate with National Spay Day, observed the following Tuesday...

Weather permitting, Wartrace's long-awaited conversion to the Tullahoma Utilities Board for water should take place early next week. The project, almost two years in the making, has had its final phase postponed repeatedly this winter due to freezing or wet weather...