Stories from Sunday, February 27, 2011

Usually, when I sit down to write my columns, the question is not "What on earth will I write about?" But "how many topics can I squeeze into 24 inches?" Not this one. I've been fighting this column all week. It's been more stubborn than a Wisconsin representative. You see, my birthday is today, my 48th. Yeah, I know I said the same thing last year, but last year's was really only 47. I've decided 48 is a good number and I'm sticking with it. For a couple of years, at least...

MURFREESBORO -- A long and challenging season came to an end for Shelbyville Central with a 55-28 loss at Blackman in the Region 4-AAA tournament quarterfinals on Friday night. The Eaglettes (12-18) entered the game with an upset win on their minds but were outscored 23-3 in the fourth quarter...

Spring is on its way and if longer evenings and more frequent trips to the park don't have your thumb turning green, perhaps the forsythias you'll soon be seeing all over town will. Even if you're a newcomer, it's not too late to plan for a garden this year...

Shoe imprints helped identify a suspect in three break-ins at a Shelbyville jewelry store, police said. Russell Chenney Winsett, 28, of Couch Lane, who was already in custody in connection with a home invasion last week, was charged Friday with entering Heritage Jewelers, East Side Square...

With tempers hot over Shelbyville's budget and the possible elimination of garbage pickup, critics have been pointing fingers at city treasurer Gary Cantrell. But he says that keeping the books for the city is all that he does, aside from following the directions of the city council...

A community forum on education, held Thursday night as part of the process for selecting a new school superintendent, produced both praise for the local school system and skepticism of the process, with some attendees alleging that the public selection process is a sham...

To The Editor: Please tell me I'm missing something! I've read two large articles featuring our elected state officials' agendas. I didn't see anything about helping our number ONE concern in November JOBS. It's been four months gentlemen since the election. You may be in good shape but I still have neighbors unemployed. I made people a promise when I ran for office if I didn't win at least I would try and convince you to do a better job...

When children show a certain amount of artistic talent, they're almost always praised and encouraged -- but not necessarily told to make a career of it. "Starving artist" is not what most parents want to see on their children's resumés. Luckily for George S. Smith, a writer who lives in Arkansas, the Bedford County art teachers are a little more supportive than the norm...

On the home front, close analyzation has revealed I'm a much better martyr than a nag. Maybe that's because my father, once a year, would go on a trip with his fellow nine brothers-in-law, and they would call their getaway, "No Nag Weekend." I never wanted to become "that wife," the annoying, bossy one whose husband's honey-do list was longer than Route 66...

What if I told you there was a coupon that was almost effortless that would still bring you great savings? You would probably say, "Show me that coupon!" Right? Well, there is! We call this amazing little coupon the ecoupon. Simply stated, ecoupons are manufacturer coupons you load to your Kroger's card for instant scannable savings...