Stories from Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Assistant Chief Ricky McGee of the Flat Creek Fire Department uses a thermal imaging device to seek sparks in the roof of a chicken barn on Old Center Church Road at mid-morning Monday. Eddy and Penny Stallings, owners of the barn, said they'd seen smoke and had the fire out by the time firefighters arrived; little damage occurred. No chickens were in the barn at the time. (T-G Photo by David Melson)

The Cascade Lady Champions erupted for 15 runs, while keeping the Liberty Lady Patriots held to nil in Monday's home opener of the 2012 middle school softball season. Cascade wasted little time showing its defensive strengths with a quick three up, three down in the top half of the first frame...

McEWEN -- There's a reason the McEwen Warriors were the No. 1 team from District 10-A. The big post players can dominate from inside the paint, and when the inside attack was shut off, the Warriors had no problem with the ranged attack. That combination proved fatal in the Cascade Champions' attempt for a plow through the region bracket, as the Warriors steamrolled the Champs 63-36 to advance to the second round...

WHITE HOUSE -- It took hundreds and hundreds of hours of training and sacrifice to get there and just four short minutes of overtime to end the dream for the Community Vikings. They fell 54-48 to White House Heritage to end their quest to bring home a championship, but the true story was one that these 11 very diverse young men can take with them the rest of their lives...

No matter if it's the morning or afternoon rush, ducks rule the road on Fairfield Pike at the Hickory Drive ponds. Monday morning was no exception to the rule. (T-G Photo by David Melson)

Marijuana was confiscated from a La Vergne man following a traffic stop Friday night, police said. Jesse Andrew Garrett, 21, said he had a bag of marijuana in his clothing as Sgt. Charles Merlo was arresting him. Officers found a partially smoked joint in the car's floorboard but no marijuana in Garrett's clothing...

The ringleader of a local spotted saddle horse soring conspiracy received a sentence of one year and one day in jail from a federal judge Monday, and must educate the public about the problem. Barney Davis, 38, who has been in custody since July of last year, heard his punishment from U.S. District Judge Harry S. Mattice. Davis must also pay a $4,000 fine, and will then serve three years supervised release...

Today is the last day of early voting for the March 6 primary election. Voting has been slow so far, with only 633 early voters in the Republican primary and 167 in the Democratic primary, according Bedford County Administrator of Elections Summer Leverette. But there was a spike of activity on Monday...

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- Less than two years ago, Lance Cpl. Martin Powell Jr. was standing in a cap and gown alongside a graduating class of 90 students at Cascade High School. Today, he proudly wears a uniform shared by 200,000. Raised in Wartrace, Powell has seen more of the world than most 19-year-olds...

Funding requests for two upcoming horse shows to Shelbyville's council have been rescinded -- due to one moving elsewhere and the other acquiring the needed money.... For the complete story, see the print edition of today's Times-Gazette.

Today marks a milestone for the family of a popular eighth grade reading teacher at Harris Middle School who disappeared last year. Shelley Jones Mook, then 24, had moved from Shelbyville to an apartment in Murfreesboro over the prior weekend, taking Monday off to finalize the move. Her mother, Debra Sikora had flown from Pennsylvania to assist her daughter that weekend. Shelley had dropped Debra off at the airport early that Monday morning...

Virginia Louise Jones, 78, of Hohenwald, formerly of Shelbyville, died Monday evening at Maury County Regional Hospital in Columbia after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Malcolm George officiating. Burial will follow at Friendship Cemetery in Culleoka. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Thursday.

Blooms on our plum tree....Not only pretty to look at but they also smell so sweet!

Enjoying one of these beautiful breezy days, flying a kite.

Carl D. Glover, 71, of Shelbyville died Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at Hillcrest Funeral Home with the Rev. Bobby McGee officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held from 4-8 p.m. Thursday.