Stories from Thursday, August 7, 2014

Professional sports are a physical and often brutal gladatorial spectacle for fans. There's a reason the professional players are paid the big bucks. Before the start of the 2014 MLB season, the league instituted a new rule on home plate collisions, designed to reduce the potential injury to players at home plate...

To the Editor: As we look toward the fall elections, I am very concerned about the future of my state. Too many voters don't realize several key measures that will be up for vote including pro-life Amendment 1. I will be voting "yes" on Amendment 1 because I want women and girls to be provided adequate and accurate information regarding their pregnancy options and the potential health risks associated with abortion. ...

Can one person make a difference? Gordy Klatt, a doctor from Tacoma, Washington, who died Sunday at the age of 71, might have had the answer to that question. Klatt was a surgeon, who operated on cancer patients. In 1985, in tribute to a young man who had died of cancer, Klatt decided to undertake a very personal fund-raiser. ...

Smokestack Summer Theater will present "Barefoot in the Park," Neil Simon's comedy classic about newlyweds in a big city apartment building, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at Community High School. The production features both students and alumni from the school's outstanding theater program...

Caden Peacock is excited for his 1st day of kindergarten at Thomas Magnet!

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's recent fugitive, Lesandru Deniesh "Precious" Webster of Columbia, was captured Wednesday in Lewisburg. A couple of hours ago, Webster was located by agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, deputies of the U.S. ...

Retired U.S. Air Force Sgt. David Wells looks up and smiles from painting a ceramic stein Wednesday at the Shelbyville/Bedford County Senior Citizens Center. The project has taken him months to near completion, and he said he has received a great deal of help from other ceramic class members. (T-G Photo by Jason Reynolds)

A Lewisburg man was arrested on drug charges after colliding with another vehicle and a large sign on North Main Street early Tuesday night. Witnesses said Regis Anthony Morris, 34, was southbound, crossed the center line and hit the side of a car driven by Heather Bartholomew before running into the base of a streetside sign at Kroger. Bartholomew was checked for cuts to her arms at Heritage Medical Center, police said...

Shanna Boyette has been nominated to serve as Shelbyville city recorder, it was announced Tuesday. Boyette, who took over the job in June after Vickie Haskins resigned, told the city council Tuesday that she "appreciated the opportunity" to serve as recorder...

Shelbyville officials are moving forward with plans for a proposed business park on Frank Martin Road. The plan calls for beginning the process to annex the entire piece of property into the city limits and zoning it industrial. If for any reason the city doesn't purchase the land, it would not go through with the agreement, but the council is trying to get the measures "into the pipeline."...

Tennessee Principal of the Year Martha Fisher is retiring from Cascade Elementary School to accept a job as an educational consultant. Fisher is taking a job with EdProDevelopment Inc. She said she will stay with Cascade until the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration...

Voting was reported to be steady this morning at the East Side Elementary precinct. Polls will remain open until 7 p.m.; see http://www.t-g.com/precincts for precinct locations. Look for up-to-the-moment results tonight at t-g.com and @times_gazette on Twitter. (T-G Photo by John I. Carney)

Kathern Oradean (Beaty) Mullins, 81, of Byrdstown died Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014 at Pickett County Care and Rehab. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Brown Funeral Chapel in Byrdstown with Andy Cope and Rick Cross officiating. Burial will follow at Mullins Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5-9 p.m. Friday.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, who has been battered by a series of scandals, is locked in a razor-thin battle to hang onto his seat in Tennessee's Republican primary. Results from Thursday's balloting show DesJarlais (day-zhar-LAY') with just a 33-vote margin ahead of state Sen. Jim Tracy. The race was too close to call and may ultimately be decided on a possible recount...