Stories from Thursday, February 20, 2014

Dorothy Jean King Sudberry, 83, of Shelbyville died Wednesday evening, Feb. 19, 2014. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lawrence Funeral Home in Chapel Hill with the Rev. Wallace Rowland officiating. Burial will follow at Simpson Cemetery in Rover. Visitation will begin at noon.

Heartburn was nothing new to Hershel Thrasher, so when he was awakened in the middle of the night this past Thanksgiving weekend, his first thought was to drink an ice-cold Coca-Cola. "I've had quite a bit of heartburn in my lifetime," he said, "because of acid reflux."...

Heart Month, first celebrated in February 1964 following a proclamation by President Lyndon B. Johnson, turns 50 this year. In that half century, amazing progress has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, and millions of people continue to live longer, healthier lives because of continuing research into understanding and treating heart disease...

Jacob Houston remembers the words vividly. "You will be in a wheelchair and not live past age 30." Unless... Thankfully for Jacob, he heard the word "unless." A couple of years ago, the 18-year-old high school senior, plagued by years of bullying, health problems and low self-esteem, met with his doctor who told him his health was so poor -- his heart failing, weight out of control -- that he'd be lucky to live another 12 years...

Athlete, star student, philanthropist, son, friend, believer. Gerold Blum was all of these things, and more...

Not many student-athletes get to continue their sport at the collegiate level. While most student-athletes follow baseball, basketball, football or softball, 2010 Shelbyville Central graduate Hunter McKamey chose to follow his passion--bass fishing...

Opening up the 2014 season, the Webb School girls kacrosse team hosted Pope John Paul II. Though Webb lost 17-8, the Lady Feet gave an impressive first-match performance on both ends of the field. Josie Reyes recorded 10 saves in goal, while Stephanie Fenner led the team with three goals...

The Community Viqueens have made quite the run through the 2013-2014 season, culminating in a District 9-A championship a week ago. Now the Viqueens have a new battle on the horizon in the Region 5-A tournament, beginning Friday evening at 7 p.m. Community will host the No. 4 seed East Robertson Lady Indians (11-14) in the quarterfinal round of the tournament...

Proposed legislation that would eliminate or reduce the Hall tax -- a 6 percent state levy on income from dividends and investment -- could take money away from Shelbyville's coffers. The question posed by city manager Jay Johnson is what would replace that funding...

WASHINGTON -- Pilot fatigue is among several issues being eyed by accident investigators as possible factors in the fatal predawn crash of a UPS cargo jet in Alabama last August that killed Shelbyville native Shanda Carney Fanning. The National Transportation Safety Board scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the accident, which killed both pilots. ...

New bids have been submitted for the widening of North Main Street after previous bids were rejected for being "too expensive" -- but the numbers haven't changed that much. According to the apparent low bids for the Feb. 14 letting, Civil Constructors LLC made an offer of $6,440,807.58, while Highways Inc. bid $6,597,994.95...

Bedford County is still welcoming Rita Allen as the new director of Argie Cooper Public Library, but she's no stranger to many. As a resident of the Normandy area for eight years, she is familiar with the county's people and their needs. She is also no stranger to librarianship, having worked both as a reference librarian -- finding all the answers long before Google -- and a library director for more than 30 years...

The Community Vikings (18-11) made a strong finish to the 2013-2014 regular season and locked up a share of the regular season championship with the MTCS Cougars. Upon entering the District 9-A tournament, however, Community has struggled of late, falling to Fayetteville and MTCS and finishing fourth in the District 10-A tournament...

Bedford County Board of Commissioners' rules and legislative committee and its law enforcement and workhouse committee will meet jointly 4:30 p.m. Monday in the third floor courtroom at the county courthouse to discuss whether changes need to be made in the county's animal control ordinances...

I remember growing up that if someone beat me in a given sport, I had to work harder, train harder, and play smarter than they did in order to beat them. It's kind of a novel concept that athletics is centered around. It used to be if you knew a team was better than you, you tried to out-smart them and out-work them...

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."...

After two months, a man accused of threatening a man with a gun and leading police on a chase from Shelbyville to Flat Creek in was arrested Tuesday. Beau Dawson Beecham, 23, of La Vergne allegedly entered a Landers Street home on Dec. 18 and argued with the residents before pointing a handgun as he left, Shelbyville police said...