Stories from Sunday, December 12, 2010

Back in the Dark Ages, when I was in college, my minor was in mass communication. To give you an idea of just how long ago that was, that was the first year we were required to take a computer course. We had three offered: Basic programming, COBOL and Fortran. We had about 8 keyboards and monitors to share and all of our work was printed off on a dot matrix plotter stuck in the dean's closet. I am not even kidding here...

One of my first memories as a child was when I was five years old, visiting my mom's sister in Buffalo, N.Y. This was back when Upstate New York, and especially Buffalo, got hammered with snow, seemingly week after week, from October to May. I don't remember seeing much of Buffalo during this visit because we were stuck inside, cozied up inside Aunt Marjie's little apartment...

Young and old alike had the pleasure -- or torture, if you were the youngest member of the Suarez family -- of having breakfast with Santa last weekend at the First Church of the Nazarene in Shelbyville. The breakfast served as one of several fundraisers a local Boy Scout Troop is holding to raise money for a trip to Yellowstone next summer...

Over the years, I have been confused once or twice over soft drinks -- Southern style. The dialogue goes something like this: Southerner: "Do you want a Coke with that?" Me: "Why, sure, that sounds great!" Southerner: "What kind?" Me: "What kind of what? Hmmm, hello, I said, yes, I'll have a Coke."...

Miles Davis helped carry Webb to a 61-34 win over King's Academy in Seymour to open up their East/Middle Region slate. The 6-foot-5 senior poured in 32 points as the Feet upped their records to 3-6 overall and 1-0 the league. The Bell Buckle bunch broke open an 8-all game after a quarter by bucketing 21 points in the second period and didn't look back...

Try saying, "Katie Vincent for 3!" eight times fast. The freshman dropped in a whopping eight 3-pointers en route to 41 points in contribution to an 87-19 Cascade victory over F.C. Boyd Christian in McMinnville on Friday night. Vincent's total is the most since Laura Bunn tallied 42 points as a sophomore against Community during the 2002-03 season...

HUNTLAND -- The Huntland Lady Hornets had a little more firepower than the Community Viqueens as Alexi Smith and Marley Majors combined for 32 points to lead their team to a 52-38 District 9-A home win Friday night. Huntland jumped out to a 14-6 first quarter advantage and never trailed as they built a 24-14 cushion at the intermission behind a seven-point quarter by Smith...

HUNTLAND -- Santa Claus came early for the Huntland Hornets and he was clad in purple and gold in a 45-36 win over the Community Vikings on Friday night. The Vikings (6-2, 1-2 District 9-A) controlled every aspect of the game for three-plus quarters and were in firm control until they inexplicably went ice cold offensively in a nine-minute stretch where they couldn't buy -- or even rent -- a basket...

When Shelbyville's Sammie Jo Huffstetler was asked to appear on MTV's show "True Life," she knew why. After all, she knew what the show was all about -- "exploring the intimate lives of young people at a turning point." "I've been watching 'True Life' since middle school," said the 20-year-old, whose own episode airs Monday at 9 p.m....

He's walked well over 10,000 miles, seen 37 states, toured 3,000 cities, visited 400 museums and worshipped at 150 different churches. Today, Steve Young of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is attending church in Shelbyville -- in the name of Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C...

With no place for the county's trash to go after the first of the year, the county's solid waste authority is recommending to the county commission that they ask to join the Interlocal Solid Waste Authority. Approval was given on Wednesday by the ISWA that both Bedford and Moore County would be allowed to join the group, which could bring a considerable savings to the county in the cost of trash disposal...

Even teachers aren't crazy about being called into the principal's office -- especially if they've been missing a lot of school lately. "Right before I came back to work, I came by to visit and Mr. (Tim) Miller called me back to his office," said Miriam Belanger-Pitts (Mrs. B to her students). "I didn't know what to expect."...

Alvia McKinley Dalton, 82, of Chapel Hill died Sunday at his home following an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Lawrence Funeral Home in Chapel Hill with Eddie Rogers officiating. Burial will follow at Harris Cemetery in Marshall County. Visitation will be held from 5-9 p.m. Monday.

Shelbyville Central's Golden Eagles scored a season-high 82 points, but it took three overtimes to accumulate them in an 82-78 District 8-AAA win over visiting Franklin County on Friday. The game was knotted at 58-58 at the end of regulation, 63-63 after the first overtime and 69-69 after the second...

Roads were becoming extremely slick by late Sunday afternoon across Shelbyville and Bedford County -- with little relief in sight in many areas. Only state-maintained roads are expected to be salted overnight, Shelbyville police were told. The city of Shelbyville has little if any salt available since its winter delivery isn't expected for several more days, according to police...

Shanice Burnette scored a game-high 24 points as Franklin County defeated host Shelbyville Central 44-30 in a District 8-AAA matchup on Friday. The visitors led 10-9 at the end of the first quarter but connected on four 3-pointers in the second stanza to build a 24-16 advantage at halftime...