Stories from Sunday, December 9, 2012

Grandma Fontaine was always busy in the kitchen. When my family would drop by to visit we would usually find Grandma working at the stove or cutting things up on the kitchen counter. She always had an apron on over her dress and she would keep her tissues in one of the pockets on that apron. Those tissues were ever ready to wipe her nose or mop her brow...

One of my favorite things at the holidays is walking into the house after baking cookies and cakes and breads. The smell of cinnamon and cloves and yeast just fills your heart with holiday joy and says welcome to the season! My Mom always made several different kinds of cookies and put them in the freezer. She would spend a whole day baking cherry winks and pecan sandies and sugar cookies and toffee bars. The house smelled like heaven...

Anthony Moreli performs before thousands of people each week -- yet his name's far from a household word. Fans wave and yell their appreciation -- but, often, glass barriers are raised between him and his audience. His stage: A narrow strip of concrete. His act: Acrobatics and hand waves, mostly...

Alex Caruthers and Misty Blacksmith Caruthers of Shelbyville are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Laney Marie Caruthers. The baby girl weighed 8 pounds and was born Nov. 5 in Murfreesboro. She is the granddaughter of Bruce and Sheree Caruthers of Shelbyville, Michael Blacksmith of Shelbyville and Paula Parker of Shelbyville...

Cambria Hallmon and Jonathan Prater of Shelbyville are proud to announce the birth of a son, Benjamin Ross Prater. The baby boy was born Oct. 28 in Tullahoma. He is the grandson of Brandon Butler and Chris Hallmon of Shelbyville and Melissa and Terry Prater of Shelbyville...

December's Seasonal Eating demonstration at the University of Tennessee Extension Office featured recipes using dried and canned items -- a cook's friend during the winter season when certain fresh fruits and vegetables are unavailable. Whitney Danhof prepared the recipes below to the delight of a large class of guests....

It was a hard-fought battle that came down to the wire in Webb's game on Friday night against Mount Juliet Christian. In the end, though, Webb had just enough offense to pick up its first win of the season, 53-50 over the visiting Saints on Friday night...

The Webb Lady Feet's game on Friday against Mt. Juliet Christian came down to the wire, but in the end, a Lady Feet shot at the buzzer banked off the iron and Webb was dealt a tough, 33-32 defeat at the hands of the Lady Saints. Webb led through the first three quarters of play, but a 12 point, fourth quarter rally by the visitors was enough to hand Webb the loss...

For the Shelbyville Central wrestlers, a routine road trip to St. Andrew's-Sewanee turned out to be historic, not only for the wrestlers but for the program and school. The Golden Eagles recorded their first team (dual meet) win, 42-36, against Sale Creek, since the program was restarted a year ago...

EAGLEVILLE -- After struggling to find their traction in the first quarter during Friday night's District 9-A match up against Eagleville, the Lady Champs were finally able to get some offense moving capitalize on a big rally to hold an early lead. Despite those early woes, it was the Lady Champion defense that proved clutch in the second half, as Cascade gave up just seven total points to the Lady Eagles, which allowed the Lady Champs to advance and pick up the 46-31 win...

EAGLEVILLE -- Saying the Eagleville Eagles came out guns blazing in Friday's District 9-A showdown against the Cascade Champions (5-3, 2-1 9-A) might be a bit of an understatement. Eagleville's Ben Kelley lit the net on fire with six, first-quarter 3-pointers, making the Champs play catch up throughout the remainder of the half...

FAYETTEVILLE -- It was just one of those games where the Community Vikings struggled to put the ball in the basket. During Friday's game against Fayetteville, the Vikings got good looks through most of the game, but for one reason or another the shots just wouldn't fall...

FAYETTEVILLE -- Make it two straight District 9-A victories for the Community Viqueens. The Viqueens (3-5, 2-2 9-A) picked up their second win this week with the latest victory coming at Fayetteville City on Friday night, 53-44. It was a close contest for much of the first quarter, but Fayetteville was able to pull ahead and hold a slim 12-11 lead after the first eight minutes of play...

Every loss is hard to handle but none more so than Shelbyville Central's 51-50 setback to visiting Lincoln County in the District 8-AAA opener on Friday night. The Golden Eagles turned in their best performance of the season and out played the Falcons the entire game but a few mistakes late in the game along with a call or two that didn't go their way proved to be costly...

In one of their most complete games of the young season, Shelbyville Central's Golden Eaglettes claimed a 46-41 victory over visiting Lincoln County in their District 8-AAA season opener on Friday night. "This was a big win for our basketball team. Any time you can get a district win at home it's huge and important," Eaglette coach Kevin Thomas said...

Many veterans showed great camaraderie on the evening before Pearl Harbor day as they came to listen to fellow veteran Ralph Dietz speak of his tour of duty in Vietnam in the late '60s at Shelbyville's Vietnam Era Veterans meeting Dec. 6. Ralph Dietz has become acquainted with many local veterans with similar experiences...

Bedford County Historical Society held its winter meeting Dec. 3 at First United Methodist Church. After a potluck supper, President Al Simmons conducted a short business meeting. Simmons reported that the Society sponsored a visit by the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) at the Fly Building on October 3 to document County relics, antiques, and memorabilia related to the Civil War. This is part of the State's archival effort for the Civil War Sesquicentennial Program...

A Shelbyville man accused of attempting to sell someone else's car for $65 brought marijuana into Bedford County Jail, authorities said. Charles Antwain "Putt" Smith, 36, of Hobson Avenue allegedly called a towing service to a Fairfield Pike location Thursday...

Several local groups are stepping up to provide two meals each month to the Shelbyville-Bedford County Senior Citizens Center. Those meals were to have been eliminated due to funding cuts, according to the center's newsletter. An item said that the center was encouraging members to "brown bag" their lunches on two Fridays each month...

A non-scientific poll on the Times-Gazette web site indicates strong support for the idea of selling wine in grocery stores. In a web site poll asking "Should wine be sold in grocery stores?", 187 users -- 76 percent -- answered "yes," while 59 users, or 24 percent, said "no."...

The technology of gaming has arrived at the Tennessee Technology Center in Shelbyville, with an advanced training device for students in the collision repair program. In August the center purchased a virtual paint spray machine, becoming the first school in the Tennessee system to employ the technology...