Stories from Sunday, June 7, 2015

A group of teens talk and laugh as they feverishly click away on their laptops. One might assume they are scrolling through social network feeds, watching YouTube videos, or playing online games. Not so. These teens are learning and taking advantage of a free coding camp hosted by the Hands On Science Center in Tullahoma...

Before we get into this, I want to tell you what happened. I was sitting at my desk trying to figure out what to write about. I do this often. It's kinda my job to do this, but with the column, it is a little different. I store the tools that I use for writing my column in a different department than I do with everything else I write for the newspaper. I can be a subjective as I want in my column, within reason...

Have you ever heard of the son of Dodo? Probably not. Maybe you have heard of the dodo bird, the extinct, flightless bird from the island of Mauritius. He's long gone. Or you may have heard of the now retired Brazilian soccer player, Ricardo Lucas, who was nicknamed, Dodo...

Recent Shelbyville Central graduate To'Nesha Allison has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. Bryan College is a member of NAIA's Appalachian Athletic Conference. Allison was a standout for the Golden Eaglettes and is excited about the opportunity to continue her education, as well as her basketball career...

The Shelbyville Sharks are showing improvement in the early portion of the 2015 summer schedule. During their last meeting a year ago, Athens, Alabama defeated Shelbvyille by 77 points. In Thursday's dual team meet, Athens escaped with a 314-310 win over the Sharks...

Déjà vu is defined as a feeling that one has seen or heard something before. Well, a report out of Washington, D.C., this week gave me that creepy feeling -- in spades. Bill Gertz of The Washington Times reported this week that the Obama administration continues to support the global Islamist militant group known as the Muslim Brotherhood...

Dear Editor, As I understand, the Tennessee Department of Transportation plans to replace the bridge at the intersection of Highway 130 West (Richmond Road), Snell Road, and Dixon Road. A dangerous bridge for decades, I very much hope that TDOT goes forward with their plans. Liberty School is less than a mile away, and many buses transport our children over this bridge and on this section of road daily...

The Cascade FFA held a banquet on Saturday, May 9. The chapter recognized many people and gave out many awards. Those recognized included special guests Gay Ervin, Tim Harwell, Neil Watson and four FFA members from the Bedford County FFA Chapter. The chapter also gave a special thanks to Nora Riner for preparing the meal and Tyson Foods, Bedford County Young Farmers and Ranchers, and Aerospace Testing Alliance for sponsoring the banquet...

Bedford County FFA took home first place honors in the Tennessee Future Farmers of America (FFA) State Agricultural Mechanics competition May 2 on the Tennessee State University campus. Five FFA chapters, finalists from each of the three regions, participated...

Some Tennessee school administrators will devote a small part of their summer to learning more about education in China. The Confucius Institute at Middle Tennessee State University is leading a delegation of educators on a 10-day excursion to China for a whirlwind sample of Chinese elementary and secondary schools...

They say there are no secrets in a small town. But, for one Shelbyville resident, a well-kept secret helped make his wishes come true. Charlie Coffey, a lifelong member of First Christian Church, got the surprise of his life when he walked in and found the sanctuary filled to capacity with family and friends who had come to support him...

Next weekend a 24-hour, 78-mile Fallen Soldiers March will pass through Shelbyville. The event will begin on the Fayetteville square, travel up U.S. 231 through the Shelbyville and Murfreesboro squares and end at the new Veterans Memorial on East Main Street in Lebanon with a Sunday morning service to follow...

The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Bedford County, which began Friday night and ended Saturday morning at Bedford County Agriculture and Education Center, raised approximately $80,000 including both advance fund-raising and what was brought in from concessions during the event...