Stories from Sunday, July 25, 2010

COLUMNIST'S NOTE: My son was No. 13,567 of the 16,000 American Idol hopefuls to try their luck at the tryouts in Nashville last week. So many funny things happened that I was going to do a column about it, but he told the story so well (after the 14th or 15th time) that I told him to write it instead. So here is Ben's first column for Mother Mayhem that he actually did write (instead of me pretending to be him, although he admits I'm pretty good at it.)...

As a child and young adult, I've been very lucky to have several people who I can look to for advice or who have inspired me in some way. If it weren't for some of these people, I wouldn't have shaped into the person I am today. One of the people that comes to mind when I think of someone who has strongly influenced my life is Mrs. Normanda Huffman. I didn't get to know Mrs. Huffman until I began high school and I wish I could have known her sooner...

"Bigger is not always better," according to Janelle Douglas. Douglas was the keynote speaker at this month's Shelbyville Woman's Club meeting. She specializes in making mini quilts, something she found out she enjoyed after attempting to make a regular-sized quilt...

There's nothing like escaping the heat and humidity of the South in the middle of summer, especially if you're doing it for a good reason. Of course, if you're only exchanging the wet heat of the South for the dry heat of the Southwest, it had better be a really, really good reason...

Over $50,000 worth of construction tools and a trailer stolen from outside a Tullahoma restaurant were recovered Friday morning in Shelbyville. Lloyd Davis, 47, of Shelbyville is being charged, Detective Ty Brazier of the Tullahoma Police Department said...

With Tennessee's gubernatorial primary now less than two weeks away, Bedford County got a visit from GOP candidate Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey. Ramsey made several stops Friday afternoon, visiting local law enforcement agencies and meeting the public. His first stop was at the Shelbyville Police Department, followed by visits to the Bedford County Sheriff's Department. Parkway Restaurant, and Bell Buckle Cafe...

With just one week left in early voting before the Aug. 5 primary and general election, Republicans are casting more ballots than Democrats by over a two to one margin in Bedford County. Election Commissioner Summer Leverette said Friday that turnout has been "a bit slow" during the first week of voting at the Bedford County Courthouse, where folks can beat the crowd on Election Day and cast their ballots early...

A substance officials suspect is crack cocaine and a large amount of money were taken from a vehicle following a high-speed chase which ended in a crash just inside eastern Shelbyville early Friday afternoon. Benjamin H. Sheffield Jr. of Tullahoma attempted to elude 17th Judicial District Drug Task Force officers in a wild chase from Tullahoma to Shelbyville, DTF Director Tim Lane said...

MURFREESBORO -- Shelbyville Post 23 took a commanding lead early only to see Gallatin rally late before holding onto a 13-12 win in the losers' bracket of the Senior American Legion state tournament play at MTSU on Friday night. Post 23 led 8-2 going into the top of the seventh inning when Gallatin pushed across five runs to cut the lead to 8-7...

HOOVER, Ala. -- "Just another mountain to climb, just another obstacle." Rare is it that athletes shrug off career-threatening injuries near the peak of their careers. Nick Reveiz did -- with faith, perseverance and resilience. Flashback to Sept. 26, 2009: Reveiz is barking out calls to teammates on the surface of Shields-Watkins Field in front of 95,535 fans as the Tennessee Volunteers are in an unexpectedly tight contest against Ohio...

To the Editor: I don't personally know the new city manager. But I know he has started out on the wrong foot. He pushed the trash tax, saying first, if the city didn't enact it, the state would force it. Wrong! Then he said the Feds had a law requiring it. Wrong again!...