Stories from Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Will the city pay for trash pickup through a fee or a property tax increase? That question was asked during Tuesday night's special called study session to discuss the possible implementation of a $11 monthly fee for garbage pick up. But as the discussion went on, it was apparent that the council was divided on how to pay for a $770,000 budget shortfall -- by either charging the garbage fee or raising the property tax by 21 cents...

James Austin McNatt, 87, of Shelbyville died Wednesday at Heritage Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with the Rev. Kenneth McNatt officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Thursday.

John Ira Rankins of Shelbyville died Tuesday. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Bellafant Tabernacle in Columbia. Burial will follow at Emery Cemetery in Murfreesboro. The body will lie in state from 1-5 p.m. Friday at Nelson & Sons Memorial Chapel and from 8-10 a.m. Saturday at the church with visitation from 10-11 a.m.

A flash flood warning is in effect for Bedford County and much of Middle Tennessee until 1 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. Localized heavy rainfall was moving into Bedford County about 12:30 p.m. "Storms are expected to intensify through this evening," the NWS said in their warning. "Expect additional amounts of 2 to 4 inches on top of the 1 to 3 inches that has already falling."...

Another lawsuit has been filed against the city over an application for a proposed rock quarry -- this time, asking for a judge to overturn a decision by the Board of Zoning Appeals. In June, the board determined that planning director Ed Dodson acted properly by not forwarding Wright Paving's request to the BZA for a special exception for property on L. Fisher Road, where the firm asked to operate a quarry and stone crusher five years ago...

The public now has online access to information having to do with cash shortages and thefts which appear in financial reports for all of Tennessee's 95 counties. But while Bedford County does appear in the report, the culprit has already been caught, sent to prison and the county reimbursed by its insurance company...

Two men eluded Shelbyville police after running from a stolen pickup truck Monday night. Officer Jerry Lawrence said he stopped the 2001 Toyota Tacoma after seeing it on North Main Street with no headlights at 9:09 p.m. The truck was later found to have been stolen July 28 in Johnson City...

Buzz, who is about as politically astute as your average 11-year-old, which is to say not at all, asked me about some things he had heard on television. "What is a Mama Grizzly?" he asked as we were driving home from our campground. Thinking he'd been watching Discovery, not Fox News, I gave the only answer a new...

A pair of early goals propelled Liberty Middle to a solid 3-0 victory over Community Middle on a muggy Tuesday afternoon in Unionville. The Lady Patriots came out on top of an intensely physical match in which many players were tossed to the turf to improve their season record to 2-0...

Harris Middle rolled past host Tullahoma 20-6 in a Central Tennessee Conference matchup on Tuesday. Treyvon Smith put the Eagles (1-0, 1-0 CTC) on the board first with a 1-yard run at the end of the first quarter with Tre Trice carrying it in for the two-point conversion and 8-0 lead...

Sgt. Richard F. "Ricky" Sutter, 25, of Athens, Ala. died Monday at his home. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Toney Wales officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday.