Stories from Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Photos by Renee Powell

Kaylea King as the flower child, "Jill Tanner" in Butterflies are Free, which recently ended its' run at Community's Smokestack Summer Theatre.

Tawny Helton played "Mrs. Baker", the conservative but opinionated mother of Dalton Reeves' "Don".

When yet another man appears in Jill Tanner's life, Mrs. Baker's anger reaches a boiling point.

A Bedford County man will serve 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted first degree murder for shooting at his ex-girlfriend. Christopher Vernor Locke, 42, Rippy Ridge Road, appeared before Circuit Court Judge Robert Crigler to make the plea. Locke will serve 30 percent of the sentence until he is eligible for parole...

Next week Will Shaw celebrates his first birthday. Just last week, he was undergoing open heart surgery in a Nashville hospital. The son of Mandy and Haven Shaw of Bell Buckle was born with complex congenital heart defects. From his fourth day of life through last week, he has undergone six surgeries to repair heart defects...

A maintenance worker with the sheriff's department has joined a lawsuit filed by four detectives alleging unpaid overtime, while the officers are asking for a court injunction to prevent retaliation against others who want to participate in the litigation...

Commissioner Jimmy Patterson asked his fellow commissioner and Bedford County Fire Department chief Mark Thomas last night what can be done to improve the Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating for the area served by Unionville Volunteer Fire Department. Thomas said he's already working on it, and is 12 months into what he said is an 18-month process...

A local judge has recused himself from a drug case involving a Moore County commissioner, and a different district attorney's office has been asked to take up the matter. William Karl Pyrdom Sr., 44, has his third appearance in General Sessions Court set for Nov. 29. However, General Sessions Court Judge Charles Rich has recused himself due to one of Pyrdom's family members being an officer of the court...

A new study by the Pew Research Center states that 83 percent of American adults own a cell phone, and reveals some other interesting statistics about cell phone use: Half of all adult cell phone owners (51 percent) have used their phone "to get information they needed right away." About one fourth, 27 percent, "had trouble doing something because they did not have their phone at hand" within the previous month...

Harris Middle School's football team kicked off the season with a huge 60-16 win at Tullahoma in a Central Tennessee Conference matchup Tuesday night. The Eagles (1-0, 1-0 CTC) took command early, posting a 38-0 advantage at the half before playing reserves the rest of the game...

Cascade's girls placed first and the Lady Champions second in a golf tri-match with Forrest and Spring Hill at Henry Horton State Park. Senior Kelly Ann Williams had the low score at 49 as the Lady Champs finished at 105. Forrest's team score was 114 and Spring Hill shot 123...