Stories from Friday, December 18, 2015

Joshua David Collings, 20, of Tracy City died Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 at Heritage Medical Center. A celebration of life service will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday at Simply Southern Restaurant in Pelham. Kilgore Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

The man who escaped Bedford County Jail on Tuesday night is back behind bars. Harley Caffee, 20, drove a truck he allegedly stole to Mississippi, then to Alabama where family members turned him in to authorities, the Bedford County Sheriff's Office said...

Evolet Godinez, 4, was thrilled to receive a bicycle Tuesday from the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Toys for Tots distributed toys Tuesday at Gateway Church and in partnership with other churches and charities, serving approximately 1,500 children, Col. Ken Crowell (ret.) said. See more photos at http://www.t-g.com/gallery/25999. More photos are

No matter what is under your tree Christmas morning, your chance to win a $500, $300 or $200 Shell gas card will arrive right after Christmas. The Times-Gazette and Southern Energy / Serve & Go Markets will sponsor this year's post-Christmas "$1,000 Big Event Gas Give-Away" promotion, which starts with a special 32-page advertising supplement in the Sunday, Dec. 27 edition of the Times-Gazette...

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized a rule to ensure that farm safety net payments are issued only to active managers of farms that operate as joint ventures or general partnerships, consistent with the direction and authority provide by Congress in the 2014 Farm Bill. The action, which exempts family farm operations, closes a loophole where individuals who were not actively part of farm management still received payments...

Motlow State Community College, which led the state's colleges in enrollment growth for the fall semester, now has bragging rights in another area. It had the highest percentage of students completing their community service requirement for Tennessee Promise for the upcoming spring semester...

The Governor's Foundation for Health and Wellness announced Tuesday that Bedford County has been named a candidate for official designation as a Healthier Tennessee Community. Healthier Tennessee Communities encourage and enable more physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco abstinence at the local level. The program takes a community-wide approach to improving Tennesseans' health by engaging the local leaders of cities, towns, counties and neighborhoods...

BELL BUCKLE -- Webb coach Jeff Mitchell didn't have too much to be dissatisfied with against Franklin Classical on Thursday afternoon. Looking perhaps the best the team has this year, Webb notched a huge 89-72 win against a talented FCS Knight team...

CHAPEL HILL -- The outmanned Liberty Patriots could not keep up with the MTCS Cougars Thursday night as the Cougars beat the second-seeded Patriots 60-23 in the semifinals of the Duck River Valley Conference World Tournament. The Cougars scored five points just 25 seconds into the game in racing out to a 19-0 first quarter lead...

CHAPEL HILL -- Top-seeded Cascade ran into a hot-shooting Forrest team Thursday night as the Rockets upset the Champions 47-34 in the semifinals of the Duck River Valley Conference World Tournament. The fifth-seeded Rockets connected on eight three-pointers while the Champions made just one...

CHAPEL HILL -- A cold third quarter was the undoing of the Liberty Lady Patriots Thursday night as the Forrest Lady Rockets won 40-28 in the semifinals of the Duck River Valley Conference World Tournament. The Lady Rockets scored the first six points of the game before Kaylee Adams broke the ice for the Lady Patriots with a free throw at the 3:44 mark of the first quarter. Kelsey Hardin led Liberty with four points in the quarter as Forrest ended the first quarter with a 17-9 lead...

TULLAHOMA -- Shelbyville Central picked up a sweep of the Tullahoma quad-match on Monday afternoon, defeating La Vergne 54-18, Lawrence County 60-22, and reigning region champion Tullahoma 42-36. "The first two matches really went well for us and I was really impressed with our intensity and effort. La Vergne is a very aggressive team that had a lot of strong kids. The team really stepped up and wrestled well in that match," said coach Jacky Blosser...

This shrubbery at St. William Catholic Church conveys the message of the cross, in a unique way. (T-G Photo by Jason Reynolds)

The Internal Revenue Service will not call your home if there's a problem with your taxes. Scammers, attempting to prey on the unsuspecting, have been bombarding Bedford County homes this week with calls claiming otherwise. The Times-Gazette has received scores of calls from people who have been threatened by people with Spanish or foreign accents threatening to have them arrested if they don't send payments by Moneygram. ...

H.A. Beasley and Co. teamed up with Gloria Throneberry for a Christmas open house. From left: Nancy Patrick, Kaye Reynolds, Bryan Todd, H.A. Beasley, Scott Miller, Gloria Throneberry and Katybeth Bobo. (T-G Photo by Hugh Jones)