Stories from Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Bedford County Schools will be closed Thursday due to weather.

Mildred Bradford Ward, 89, of Shelbyville died early Wednesday morning, Feb. 25, 2015 at her home. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Lanita Monroe officiating. Burial will follow at Booneville Cemetery. Visitation will begin at noon. Doak-Howell Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Law enforcement officers are joining the public in frustration over not being able to discover more information on the dead woman found Monday morning alongside Mullins Mill Road. "We don't have the two key things we need -- who she is and who did it," Sheriff Austin Swing said...

Sorry, students: Your day off on Friday just became a school day. Unless a snowmageddon hits -- and another cancellation is very possible. The Bedford County Board of Education voted on Tuesday to replace Friday's staff development day on the academic calendar with a regular school day...

Those in Middle Tennessee with a 615 area code -- including Rutherford County -- will soon need to dial out using all 10 digits, and not the ones on their hands. The new rule goes into effect Saturday. Instead of splitting the 615 area code, an area-wide survey revealed 83 percent of respondents preferred a dual area code overlay for the region...

The criminal case against Bedford County's former child abuse investigator, who was charged with theft, has been retired. Rebecca Hord, 59, of Shelbyville was indicted in 2013 for theft over $10,000, official misconduct and four counts of forgery. According to an agreed order, the theft charges have been retired for two years, and if all conditions set for Hord are completed, the court could be petitioned to dismiss the case and expunge her record...

Bedford County Board of Commissioners' rules and legislative committee has added its recommendation to a rezoning request on State Route 64 between Wartrace and Fairfield. Hawkins & Price LLC and Hawkins Asphalt Paving LLC are requesting the rezoning so that they can build a new shop and office building...

Murder is afoot at a local Baptist church, and you can find out whodunit while eating dinner. Fair Haven Baptist Church is holding its annual mystery theater March 6-8. The title is "Something's Wrong With Abernathy." The play starts out with the title character being discovered dead, said church member Warren Sager, who wrote the script. The nine-person cast, including a bumbling dectective, tries to figure out "whodunit."...

Titan Transfer has announced that 24 of its drivers have accomplished the task of driving 1 million safe, accident-free miles while employed at Titan Transfer. These 24 drivers have an average of 1,354,227 safe miles over an average time span of nine years. Two of the drivers are only 120,000 miles away from 2 million safe miles. Titan Transfer recognized each of the drivers recently at a dinner held at River Bend Country Club...

A former Bedford County Jail inmate is demanding nearly $2 million in a civil rights suit alleging he was refused medicine while in custody last year, which he claims resulted in hospitalization. David Gifford II asks at least $1,950,000 in punitive and compensatory damages...

Two unlocked homes on adjoining streets in eastern Shelbyville were entered Tuesday, police said. "Numerous" collector coins, $3,035 cash and a check for $200 were stolen from a Jarrell Street residence between 2:15 and 4 p.m. Some of the money was taken from a safe which the owner told police had been locked but was opened without damage...

Bedford County Schools will close two hours early today due to expected winter weather.

Especially during these winter months, decorative and fragranced candles are popular décor in many homes. However, candles have caused significant loss of life, injury and property damage when used improperly. On the heels of this winter's dangerous ice storm, the State Fire Marshal's Office reminds Tennesseans to always use candles with care...

Ruby Jean Tucker, 54, of Shelbyville died Monday, Feb. 23, 2015 at St. Thomas Rutherford in Murfreesboro. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Friday at Gowen-Smith Chapel. Burial will follow at Farrar Hill Cemetery in Coffee County. Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. Thursday.

Henry Horton State Park's "Healthy Park Healthy Person" program is now underway -- an outreach effort to improve the health of the local community and to increase time spent outdoors. "Healthy Park Healthy Person" is an incentive based health program in which participants earn healthy points for participating in healthy activities in the park, taking a healthy class at the park and eating a healthy meal at the Governor's Table Restaurant at Henry Horton...

Bedford County Head Start is now taking applications for fall. Head Start is a free child development program for children and their families. Families usually meet financial eligibility requirements or require special needs. To apply, the parent will need verification of income and proof of child's birth. All interested parents may sign up...

The following local students were named to the Dean's List at the University of Memphis for the fall 2014 semester: Alexi Gordon of Bell Buckle; Nathan Dumser of Lewisburg; Hailley Shepard of Unionville; Lawrence Parawan of Wartrace; and, Rocio Agundis, Abigail Marbibi, Madison Martin, Belinda Neill, Claudia Noelle Tamula and Kalyn Treece, all of Shelbyville...

The dividing line between laptops, notebooks and tablets is getting fuzzier. Some companies are marketing "two-in-one" notebook computers with which the keyboard half can be swiveled and tucked away under the screen, so that the device can be held and used with a touchscreen, like a tablet. ...

MURFREESBORO -- Shelbyville Central's season came to an end with a 71-35 loss to host Blackman in the quarterfinals of the Region 4-AAA Tournament on Tuesday night. It was uncharted grounds for the Golden Eagles (14-15) with this being the first region tournament game for the entire team while Blackman (21-5) entered the postseason seeking its fourth straight trip to the state tournament...

CHARLOTTE -- It had a David and Goliath feel, but in the end, Goliath proved too much for young David. In their Region 6-AA tournament quarterfinal, the Cascade Champions were simply no match for the unbeaten Creek Wood Red Hawks. Creek Wood used its fast-paced style of play and deep bench to wear down the Champions (19-11) and claim a 98-46 victory...

CHARLOTTE -- The Cascade Lady Champions couldn't dig themselves out of an early hole against top-ranked Creek Wood in the Region 6-AA quarterfinals on Tuesday evening and saw their season come to a close with a 52-29 loss. "We turned the ball over too much. We dug ourselves in a hole and we couldn't get out of it," said Lady Champion coach Chad Spencer...

McEWEN -- The Community Vikings stayed close for 13 minutes, but a 17-0 run broke open a tie game and the McEwen Warriors went on to defeat the Vikings 67-43 in the opening round of the Region 5-A tournament Tuesday night. The loss ended the season for the Vikings (3-25)...