Stories from Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Tammy O'Connor, a stained glass artist from the area, is displaying her work in a prestigious locale: the governor's residence. O'Connor's artwork is part of an exhibit, the fifth annual Tennessee's Home for the Holidays, at the Tennessee Residence, where Gov. Bill and First Lady Crissy Haslam live. The free open house began last week and runs through Thursday, Dec. 17. Randy McCurdy, a glass artist from Wartace, is also among the featured artists...

"Bah, humbug!" That curmudgeonly exclamation is perhaps one of the most famous quotes in the English language. It instantly conjures an image of an old, miserable man in a Christmas setting who frightens off dogs, children and beggars and is not even willing to spend a little money to stay warm in the winter weather. We're talking about none other than Ebenezer Scrooge, of course...

Carrie Brooke Simmons, school counselor at Eakin Elementary School, was awarded the Phoebe White School Counselor Award by the Tennessee School Counselor Association. The award is named for the late Phoebe White, a school counselor from upper East Tennessee who died of cancer more than a decade ago. It is given to an outstanding school counselor who demonstrates the qualities that White demonstrated...

The word for television buying this season is 4K, according to Mark Kincaid of Kincaid Service Company on Madison Street. "Now, it's affordable," said Kincaid. He's seen a strong upsurge in sales of 4K sets going back to September. The term 4K refers to a TV set with a display in the neighborhood of 4,000 pixels wide. It's much sharper and with greater detail than 1080p or 720p high-definition TVs. It's comparable to the resolution on the digital cameras used by the movie industry...

Remember back in the day when computer magazines would give you a free CD full of software (or an AOL disk) stapled onto the cover? Times have certainly changed, because now computers have become so small and inexpensive that the devices themselves are now being given away with the publications...

A Shelbyville native has released a book detailing the grieving process she experienced when her husband died eight years ago. Rebecca (Haynes) Cooper is the author of "Hey, God? Yes, Charles.", a deeply moving journal written after her husband died Nov. 26, 2007 from complications following emergency open-heart surgery in Atlanta. Two days after Charles' 58th birthday, he suffered a thoracic aortic dissection, the same condition that killed actor John Ritter...

With so many choices of entertainment to view on the tube these days, the problem isn't what to watch, but when to find time to sit down and actually enjoy it. Fortunately, some of the best shows these days are available on streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and others so you can watch whenever and however you want...

One whisker at a time, several Bedford County deputies grew facial hair in November to help raise funds to fight cancer. "We saw a flyer about No Shave November and we decided we wanted to keep it local and to help local cancer patients," Lt. Nikia Elliott said...

The Webb School was just too much for arch-rival St. Andrews-Sewanee on Tuesday night, blasting the home team 69-42. Webb got a steady source of offense from Deion Nickson in the paint. He led all scorers with 21 points, including 15 in the first half...

LEWISBURG -- After a close first half, Shelbyville Central lost a 61-51 decision on the road at Marshall County on Tuesday night. The Eagles (2-5) fell behind 13-6 at the end of the first quarter, but outscored the Tigers 17-14 in the second stanza to cut the lead to 27-23 at the intermission...

LEWISBURG -- Shelbyville Central's Golden Eaglettes scored quickly and often in a 68-29 blowout victory over host Marshall County on Tuesday evening. The Eaglettes (3-4) jumped out to a 20-6 lead at the close of the first quarter, was in control 40-17 at halftime and took a 58-23 advantage into the fourth quarter...

The Community Viqueens proved why they're one of the best in the area. In perhaps their best offensive night in the past few seasons, the Viqueens added another impressive win to the resume on Tuesday night, defeating the Cascade Lady Champions 82-25...

Just call him Mr. Clutch. With his team trailing 58-57, Cascade junior Hayden Edmondson fired off a NBA-caliber three-pointer that swished the nylon as time expired on Tuesday night at Community, lifting the Champions to a 60-58 win. "It was a blast -- back and forth. When the ball left his hand, I thought it might be long. But he stepped up and made a long three there at the end," said Viking coach Robbie Davis...

The Shelbyville Satellite Group, part of Cheekwood Chapter of The Embroiderer's Guild of America, gathered at Traders National Bank on Monday, Nov. 30 to decorate the bank's Christmas tree with hand-stitched ornaments. This is the 30th year that the group has decorated a tree at a local bank...

Dr. Celio Pou (M.D., F.A.C.O.G), an obstetrician and gynecologist whose office is located in Tullahoma, has welcomed nurse practitioner Saharra Jewel to his staff. The office is board certified in general and high risk OB and offers ultrasounds, including 3D-4D, on premises. They specialize in women's healthcare including family planning and birth control, pelvic pain and also welcome patients in need of a second opinion...

Drop by Newton Nissan Saturday to have an early visit with Santa. The dealership at 2801 U.S. 231 North is hosting Cookies + Crafts with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 12 from noon-2 p.m. Take a picture with Santa and decorate your very own Christmas ornaments (several selections). The elves will be making cookies for all the good girls and boys. This event is free for the whole family...

Last summer, I took advantage of a sale to replace my several-years-old entry-level Kindle e-reader with the latest entry-level Kindle, and I've been delighted with it. But writer Kannon Yamada, at the website MakeUseOf.com, has advised against buying an e-reader this Christmas, saying that both the processor and the display used by several of the top manufacturers are due for upgrades, and so there should be substantially better models available for sale in 2016...

A man who may be Alexander Rodriguez, 30, of Bridlewood Drive -- or may be someone else -- was arrested Monday morning after allegedly trying to buy beer while intoxicated at two convenience stores with what police think is a fake Social Security card...

I asked Times-Gazette readers for their favorite Christmas songs, sacred and secular, and got a number of responses. My first impulse was to put up a web site poll, but there are so many songs to choose from I wasn't sure I could get all of the appropriate entries in one poll, so I just posed an open-ended question at the T-G's Facebook page and in a blog post at the T-G website...

Templeton & Associates will host its holiday open house Friday, Dec. 11 from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Kay and Jennifer Templeton welcome the public to come by for food and beverages. The business is located at 108 E. Depot St. in Shelbyville. Throneberry & Associates, located at 306 Bethany Lane, is hosting a holiday open house Tuesday, Dec. 15. from 1 to 6 p.m...

NASHVILLE (AP) -- The University of Tennessee's chancellor said Tuesday that an online memo advising employees to make sure holiday celebrations aren't Christmas parties in disguise was "poorly worded" and that oversight of the website where it was posted has been reassigned...

City Outreach Ministries needs help buying toys. The ministry has bought Christmas toys for children for 21 years, Scott Horn said. "We're just trying to help the kids in the community who are in need," he said. "We want to make sure they have a good Christmas."...

NASHVILLE -- Muslims murdering and enslaving Americans under the name of their religion. U.S. military battles against Islamic aggressors in far-off locations. Lack of foreign credibility. National deficit. Political intrigue. You might think this is referring to current events on the evening news. But it's all from a new history book about America's first war as an independent nation...

Calvin Lee Mooningham, 46, of Terre Haute, Indiana, formerly of Shelbyville, died Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015 after an extended illness. Per his wishes, there will be no formal memorial ceremony. The family will gather at a later, undetermined date and location for a celebration of his life.