Stories from Sunday, April 28, 2013

Most of us are just bursting at the seams to welcome spring. Spring means new beginnings, growth and transformation. It's the time of the year for proms and graduations and parties. Moms and dads turn over the car keys to eager sons and daughters and send them off with a hug and a prayer...

Dale and Linda Rucker, both teachers at Cascade High School, as they finished the Nashville Country Music Marathon on Saturday, April 27. It was the first marathon for both.

Dear editor, A heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped spread the word about Dixie Line Days in Wartrace this past Saturday. By a conservative estimate the train show pumped over $6,000 into the local Wartrace economy. The one-day event drew over 500 railfans and hobbyists...

A rained-out youth baseball game didn't keep Mark Kelly Olson away from his Young Guns teammates Friday night. Mark Kelly, who is undergoing treatment for acute lymphocytic leukemia, and the team spent an hour or so hanging out as a tent was set up. He left the park with a big smile on his face...

Bedford County's jobless rate dipped slightly in March, falling to 8.3 percent according to preliminary numbers released by Tennessee's department of labor and workforce development. Labor force estimates for last month showed 20,920 working out of 22,820 in the county's work force, with 1,900 unemployed. The rate fell 0.2 percent from the revised rate reported in February of 8.5 percent. At this time last year, the county's unemployment rate was 9.1 percent...

Six out of 10 participants in a non-scientific Times-Gazette web site poll plan to take some sort of vacation this summer, mostly by car. "Actually, by motorcycle," wrote one participant. A total of 311 readers of our web site, t-g.com, participated in the poll...

There was a tragedy that took place in Nashville this week that took me back to a very devastating time in my life. I'm sure if you watch the news, you are aware of the young mother who was shot by her husband. It is never far from my memory. My sister was killed by her ex-husband, he had been abusive during their relationship so she finally got up the nerve to divorce him. ...

The General Assembly adjourned on April 19 this year. This Session was only 15 weeks in duration, which makes it the shortest session in decades. We finished 6 weeks earlier this year than we did in 2009, which was my first year. This is the way we are supposed to govern -- get in, get it done, and get out...

Three television sets, Wii games and controllers and a bean bag chair were stolen between Tuesday and Thursday from a Bates Street home described by police as "completely ransacked." A bicycle left outside a Neeley Avenue apartment was taken between 3-4 p.m. Thursday. It is described as an orange 12-inch model with a "busted" back tire...

Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park will host its 37th Bi-annual Knap-in and Archaeoskills festival May 3-5. A celebration of the ancient arts and archaeoskills, the weekend's main activities and special programming are slated to begin at 8 a.m. ...

It is said that toy trains bring out the kid in everyone. If that statement is true, there were a lot of kids at the Wartrace Hotel last weekend. Over 450 train enthusiasts of all ages (from 2 to 92, it seemed) descended on Wartrace last Saturday to see and enjoy all things related to trains. ...

If one thing was for sure about Shelbyville Central's senior night on Friday night, it was the seniors were making their mark one last time. Led by the five seniors, the Eagles were well on their way to a potential 10-run mercy rule, but had the game called due to lightning in the top of the fourth inning...

Day two of the District 8-AAA individual tennis tournament couldn't have ended any better for Shelbyville Central players Jonathan Smotherman, Tyler Merlo and Carson Clanton. Smotherman worked his way through the singles competition and eventually claimed the district title, while Clanton and Merlo earned the doubles title...

The Community Viqueens had the Cascade Lady Champions on the ropes for the better part of 6 ½ innings during the Lady Champs' senior night on Friday night. With a 9-7 advantage, the Viqueens hit the field in the bottom of the sixth, hoping to close the door on the Cascade rally and spoil the senior night...

It was a big come-from-behind victory for Harris Middle School's Golden Eaglettes in a 5-4 win over Tullahoma on Friday evening. Trailing 4-1 going into the fifth inning, the Eaglettes rallied to score three runs to send the game into an extra inning, highlighted by a home run off the bat of Keneia Smith...

MANCHESTER -- Shelbyville Central's Golden Eaglettes won a pair of games in the Coffee County Classic on Friday evening. The tournament was scheduled to resume on Saturday but was canceled due to inclement weather. "We really played well in both of our games. ...

Does your mother want a Mother's Day gift that requires no dusting or watering? A charity has the perfect suggestion. Next Step Home is offering a Mother's Day-theme acknowledgement card to anyone making a minimum suggested donation of $20. If you donate to support the charity, the card will be mailed to the person of your choice as an "in honor of" or "in memory of" acknowledgement of your donation. The cards were designed by Jenna Henderson...

Years ago when I was a student in Bible College in Missouri, I was asked to go and preach at a church in a small town in the Ozarks. A friend of mine accompanied me on that journey. She was to provide the special music and lead worship. We drove through the snow covered hills on that Sunday morning, and following the directions we had been given we found the little church we were scheduled to minister at...

So, two pastors walk into a coffee shop... This may sound like the beginning to a joke, but if you're Bryan Nerren, pastor of Shelbyville's International House of Prayer or Edwin Fannin, pastor of Fayetteville's The Refuge Church, this is no quirky anecdote--it's the start of a business. The two pastors have recently taken a leap-of-faith and purchased The Coffee Break located on the square...

Drinking a couple of beers is a big deal when you're driving, an emergency responder told vocational students Monday. "Think about the repercussions legally and who it affects," said Brian Bruce, a supervisor with the Bedford County Emergency Medical Service. "Think about when we pull the sheet off you so your mother can identify you. You may think it's no big deal to have a couple beers and drive down the road."...

Billy and Jan Hix of Shelbyville announce the engagement of their daughter, Karen Elizabeth Hix, to Joshua Keith Heflin, son of Keith and Sheri Swan Heflin of Shelbyville. The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mary Hix of Shelbyville, the late Reagor and Vesta Mai Hix of Shelbyville, the late Ralph Flanagin and the late Frank and Elizabeth Fogarty of Fairfield Glade, Tenn...

William Grey "W.G." and Kenzie Miller of Shelbyville announce the birth of a son, Jep Russell Miller, on March 26 at Middle Tennessee Medical Center in Murfreesboro. The baby boy weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces. He is the grandson of Ron and Connie Miller, Chad and Lisa Hall and Jimmy Whorley...

Brian and Stephanie Rives of Fayetteville announce the birth of a daughter, Addalyn Kennedy Rives, on March 14 in Huntsville, Ala. The baby girl weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces. She is the granddaughter of John and Lynda Reed of Shelbyville, Willie and Judy Rives of Fayetteville and Diann Generazio of Shelbyville, and the great-granddaughter of Florence Reed of Shelbyville and Milton Holloway of Shelbyville...

Andrew Perry Crosslin and Tabitha Nicole Crosslin of Shelbyville announce the birth of a son, Caleb Andrew Crosslin, on March 13 at Harton Regional Medical Center in Tullahoma. The baby boy weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces. He is the grandson of Jeff and Bonnie Crabtree of Shelbyville, and Perry and Michelle Crosslin of Shelbyville, and the great-grandson of Virginia and Z.L. ...

Sandy and Jeff Quattlebaum of Winchester announce the forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Lisa Quattlebaum, to Thomas "Patrick" Lynch Jr., son of Ava and Tom Lynch of Estill Springs. The future bride is a graduate of Tennessee Technological University with a bachelor's degree in education...

Clint and Cheryl Bowman of Chapel Hill announce the engagement of their daughter, Chelsey Blair Bowman, to Ridge Taylor McMahan, son of Kurt McMahan of Christiana and Kim McMahan of Bell Buckle. The future bride is the granddaughter of Karen Smith of Unionville, Betty Woods of Chapel Hill and Walter and Mildred Bowman of Lewisburg...

The ninth annual Wartrace MusicFest, to be held Saturday, June 8, will feature exceptional musicianship from a multigenerational roster of talent that includes an award winning seven piece teenage blues band, a rising twenty-something rock and roll trio, and a veteran boomer ensemble playing Santana inspired Latin rock...