Stories from Tuesday, September 28, 2010

MANCHESTER, Tenn. (AP) - Family members of a soldier accused of killing his girlfriend and her two young sons say he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Perkins was arraigned Tuesday in Manchester in the deaths of 26-year-old Stephanie Hershman and her children - 3-year-old Jathon and 1-year-old Jaylon. Their bodies were found in garbage bags in a closet at her Coffee County home on Sept. 23...

NASHVILLE (AP) - Members of the Senate Education Committee meeting to discuss the composition of the Tennessee Board of Regents and its hiring of a new chancellor say their intentions are not political or to cause embarrassment. The panel on Tuesday heard from higher education officials about the makeup of the board and its responsibility...

Ellen Worley Taylor, 78, of Shelbyville died Tuesday at Glen Oaks Convalescent Center. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with Russell Countess and Geoffrey Giesemann officiating. Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Thursday.

Three Shelbyville Central golfers advance to the region after their performances in the District 8-AAA golf tournament in Lawrenceburg on Monday. Freshman Sterling Smith paced the Eagles with a 87 while Jarrett Dickens followed with an 89. Eaglette Amy Beth McGowan also advanced, shooting a 103...

The city's recreation center has won two Four Star Awards from the Tennessee Parks and Recreation Association for its exercise program for the younger set and for being a little spooky. Shelbyville's "Healthy Beginnings" Initiative, an exercise program for toddlers, and Goblin's Groove Dance and Haunted Woods both were recognized with Four Star Awards...

A man who robbed three children at gunpoint last January has lost his appeal for a shorter sentence. Wilson Palacio had appealed his sentence of 25 years, saying that Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler erred in ordering him to serve consecutive sentences...

A vehicular homicide case originally set to be heard by a jury later this week might be rescheduled due to another trial taking place. Vicente Hernandez Perez has been scheduled to stand trial beginning on Thursday, but according to assistant district attorney Mike Randles, another case could possibly be heard in Circuit Court involving methamphetamine, which would mean that Perez's trial would have to be moved to a different date...

NASHVILLE (AP) -- The Grand Ole Opry is ending its itinerant ways and returning home. An all-star slate of performers including Brad Paisley and Keith Urban is scheduled to celebrate Tuesday night when the restored building opens to the public for the first time since floods wrecked Nashville in May...

A one-goal lead at intermission evaporated in the second half for Cascade in a 3-2 loss to visiting Mt. Juliet Christian Academy late Monday afternoon. Allison Mahabir scored in the fifth minute to put the Saints (6-4) in front early. Emily Lewis scored in the 19th minute to erase that deficit for the Lady Champions (5-3-1). ...

Mckenna Hoover's first-half goal proved to be the difference as Webb Middle downed Cascade Middle 1-0 on Monday afternoon on Lagler Field in Bell Buckle. Alexandra Sharpe was a wall in front of the goal for Webb (4-3). The seventh grader pawed away 18 shots on goal to preserve the shutout...

A traffic offense and an officer's sense of smell led to the arrest of a Bedford County woman for marijuana possession Saturday. Shelbyville officer David Curley said he detected a marijuana odor after stopping Ashley Ruth Cooke, 26, Whitaker Road, for running a traffic light at the Lane Parkway-South Cannon Boulevard intersection...