Stories from Wednesday, May 18, 2011

A pistol was found Monday in a wooded area on East Depot Street, Shelbyville police said. The Beretta .380 caliber gun was approximately 100 yards south of the street in a wooded area west of the VFW building by a man who told police he was searching for Bobby Smelcer, who has been missing since November...

The big technology news last week was Microsoft's $8.5 billion purchase of Skype, the online calling service. According to the technology press, several of Microsoft's other recent acquisitions -- such as its purchase of an online advertising company for $6 billion in 2007 -- haven't worked out well. But Microsoft plans to let Skype operate as a separate unit, hopefully preventing the employee defections that have happened after past acquisitions...

Well, it wasn't exactly the vacation I had wanted to take. Sure, I wasn't having to work and the food was great. I was making new friends and having deep, philosophical conversations -- and it was costing me a bucket load of money. But the vacation I'd planned in my mind, the one filled with cruise ships and warm Caribbean waters, didn't include going out of my mind...

The Times-Gazette won four first-place awards to lead its division among Tennessee Associated Press member newspapers during an awards presentation Saturday in Nashville. T-G staff members also took home five second place awards and two third place certificates...

Graduation is always a special time in a student's life. It's a time to reflect back on the events that have occurred over the years as well as an opportunity to look forward to the endless possibilities that lie ahead. For many, it's a challenge to determine what path to take after high school, yet for others the choice is surprisingly clear...

A Bell Buckle man will spend the next 16 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to having child porn on his cell phone. James Norman Pollock Jr., 42, of Wartrace-Bell Buckle Road, admitted guilt to nine counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in a negotiated plea before Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler...

Several residents of Wildwood Drive in Unionville say the construction of the new Community High School has created flooding problems in their yards which pose a safety issue for neighborhood children, and that they're tired of waiting for the county to do something about it...

Never underestimate the power of a bar of soap. Those little bars are playing an important part this week in moving a Shelbyville home. Lee Flippo and his crew from K & L Housemovers spent the past week preparing to move one of the few remaining private residences along the urban portion of North Main Street in Shelbyville...

Both sides involved a federal lawsuit against the county have jointly agreed to have all claims dismissed with prejudice. In February 2010, John Darron Thomas filed a $6 million federal lawsuit against Bedford County, the sheriff's department, Sheriff Randall Boyce and deputies Benjamin Burris, Kent Jacobs and Kevin Roddy...