Stories from Thursday, March 31, 2011

Annie Mae Brown Tucker, 92, died March 30 in Lebanon. Funeral services will be held at noon Monday at 1st Church Unity, Nashville. Burial will follow at Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m. Crawford Mortuary & Crematory of Nashville is in charge of arrangements.

JACKSON -- Abandoned by his parents and left on the streets of El Progreso, Honduras, when he was seven months old, Gabriel was taken into an orphanage founded by Catholic nun Sor Teresita Gonzalez. Now 14, Gabriel is an excellent soccer player with a great voice and a million-dollar smile and one of the most popular students at his technological high school...

The Webb School is bringing back an All-American tradition that's been absent for nearly 50 years. An eight-man football program will kick off this fall, bHead of School Ray Broadhead announced to an applauding student body last Thursday. "Academics come first, but this allows our male students to have an activity in the fall other than golf or cross country," Broadhead said. ...

Charles Franklin "Frankie" Sierman, 64, of Manchester died Wednesday at his home. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Manchester Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Shady Grove Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5-9 p.m. Thursday.

In 1946, a diner opened up on the Shelbyville square, and for the next 40 or 50 years, Pope's Cafe came to be the place to be if you wanted good food, friendly visits and a family atmosphere. It was considered the best kept secret in the country and rave reviews for the menu, a meat-and-three featuring good, down-home cooking, turned up in travelogues and magazines -- even on web sites in later years. ...

A human skull that was discovered last month turned out to be a lot older than expected -- with the remains to be repatriated to a Native American group. In late February, Sheriff's Detective Lt. Brian Farris was informed about the discovery of the skull inside a storage building on a vacant piece of property on Highway 82 East past Bell Buckle...

Ariel Massengale made the most of her opportunity to showcase her skills on the basketball court in the McDonald's All American game at Chicago's United Center on Wednesday night. The 5-foot-6 point guard contributed seven points to the East team's 18-1 run early that gave them all the cushion they would need in their 78-66 victory...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has fined and suspended the owners of Waterfall Farms in Shelbyville for one year from any horse show or event in connection with alleged violations of the Horse Protection Act more than 10 years ago. William B. (Bill) Johnson and Sandra Johnson of Atlanta, known nationwide as breeders of champion Tennessee Walking Horses, were suspended for a year beginning on Jan. ...

A caller attempted to convince a Shelbyville woman that he could sell her pharmacy supplies and prescriptions from Walgreens at reduced cost Monday, police said. The caller asked for her Social Security number, which she told police she gave him because he sounded sincere...