Stories from Sunday, July 31, 2011

My grandson loves to put out flags with papa.

An Ohio man who sold a fully automatic weapon to an undercover Bedford County officer in January was found guilty by a jury in federal court last week. Thomas Lee Stetler, 53, of Port Clinton, Ohio was convicted after a two-day trial in Chattanooga of illegally possessing 14 firearms which he had sold to undercover agent David Sakich of the Bedford County Sheriff's Department. A sentencing date for Stetler has not been set...

With only a week of summer vacation left for Bedford County students, parents getting ready for the first day of school on Aug. 8 may take advantage of Tennessee's sixth annual Sales Tax Holiday, scheduled Friday through next Sunday. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less...

The Summer Feeding Program held each summer by Johnson Residential Homes held a back-to-school party Friday for its participants, marking the last day for the program this year. The program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, furnishes a nutritious lunch for kids during the summer, when some who are out of school may not have access to it...

For wannabe writers, it is the publishing equivalent of a Cinderella story. Last April, Debbie Henson clicked a button on her Amazon page, and became a published author. "I've been writing as a hobby all my life," said Henson. When the downturn of the economy left the Shelbyville resident and her husband out of work, Henson put the hobby to the test and spent a year writing and developing a mystery novel...

Republicans favor the super rich over poorer Americans, but we know that the majority of Republican voters are not super rich. But the fact is that the decision-makers of the Republican Party are far more concerned about meeting the wishes of its richer members than the needs of its poorer members...

Charles Lee Anthony, 76, of Tullahoma died there Friday at Hartin Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Kilgore Funeral Home in Tullahoma with Bill Inzer officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held from 5-9 p.m. Saturday.

While some teenagers may be spending these last precious days of summer vacation at the pool or the lake, there's about a dozen or so who have been slaving away down at The Fly Cultural Arts Center on this year's Bedford Youth production, "Bedford to Broadway."...

We were driving home from camp Sunday night and passed by one of the local schools in Tullahoma. "First Day of School: Wednesday, July 27" stated the sign out side the school. Oh, good, I thought. Make a note of that in my mental calendar so I'll remember to get Buzz ready to go...

When it comes to perspective, one of my favorite word pictures is crafted by Dr. Tony Evans. Imagine you're stuck in traffic, frustrated by what you can see ahead - nothing but bumper-to-bumper traffic - and you're certain you'll be late to work. High above you is a traffic reporter in a helicopter. ...

I worked as an orderly at a nursing home when I was a teenager, and I met a woman there named Minnie. She had a great personality and she was a joy to care for. I would be called to come and help the nurse's aide move Minnie from her bed to her chair and back again. Minnie had only one leg so she couldn't help much in the transfer. But she made our job easier by being lighthearted and fun-loving...

Living in a challenged economy often causes people to look for more and more ways to save money and reduce their monthly budgets. We look for grocery savings, clothing savings, electricity savings, vacation savings, insurance savings, automobile savings and the list goes on and on...