Stories from Thursday, August 6, 2015

Annie Lorene Alexander Rodgers, 95, of Franklin died Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015. Graveside services will be held Monday, Aug. 10 at Mount Hope Cemetery with Jim Taylor officiating. Williamson Memorial Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

According to Ike Farrar, Bedford County's last surviving World War II pilot, the late John Tittsworth of Shelbyville was Col. Paul Tibbets' favorite crew chief and gunner. In 1945, Tibbets called Tittsworth and asked him to serve on an upcoming mission. Tittsworth turned him down, pointing out that he'd been on 50 missions already...

Shelbyville will be saving at least $95,000 after the city's water board voted to reduce its fire hydrant fee and make an in lieu of tax payment. A fee reduction requested by the city over a number of years was discussed during last week's meeting of the water board,...

Shelbyville's Industrial Development Board gave its approval for a PILOT (Payments in Lieu of Tax) program with Century Mold for a 50,000 square foot expansion. The PILOT program is made available to economic development projects that encourage investment and job creation...

A federal suit filed by two Bedford County Jail inmates citing overcrowding and a lack of medical attention has been dismissed by a federal judge. Jermaine Pillow and Christopher J. Harris Jr., demanded a jury trial and a total of $920,000 in damages last November...

Often, the position of football lineman doesn't get a lot of fanfare, especially on offense. While grinding away deep in the trenches, however, the effort and work put in does not go unnoticed by the coaching staff. With the help of a demanding offseason program, Community Viking Coach Chris Grooms sees a lot of promise for his linemen this season...

The Smokestack Summer Theatre will present Ira Levin's thriller "Deathtrap" on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 7-8, at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, Aug. 9, at 2 p.m. at Community High School. Admission is $5 at the door. The story centers around a has-been playwright named Sidney Bruhl who receives a script in the mail from one of his previous students. ...

The man who allegedly followed a woman through Kroger, then for several miles as she drove away, was recording video of her, police said. Jesus Sanchez Romero, 38, of Sherwood Court was charged with stalking after the Sunday morning incident. "We were able to recover videos from the suspect's phone where he recorded the victim without her consent while she was shopping in Kroger," Detective Lt. Brian Crews of the Shelbyville Police Department said...

Two area men will spend 30 months in federal prison for looting Civil War era artifacts from various sites. Kenneth Stephen Fagin, Jr., 39, of South Pittsburg, and Terry Bruce Tate, 61, of Manchester were sentenced by Curtis L. Collier, U.S. District Court Judge, to serve the 30 months in federal prison...

The following local students have earned degrees from WGU Tennessee: l Anita Cook of Bell Buckle has received her bachelor's degree in Health Informatics. l Stephanie Tribble of Shelbyville has received her bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (K-8)...