Stories from Friday, March 4, 2016

First Presbyterian Church will install the Rev. Allen Cross as its newest pastor on Sunday. Cross will be the 20th called pastor of the church in its 200-year history. He follows the Rev. Stephen Caine, who is now serving in Ohio, and two interim pastors, the most recent of which was the Rev. Lindsey Wade, who had been the church's associate pastor for several years...

Things got worse for an allegedly-intoxicated driver, who told officers he was "having a really bad week," when a loaded gun and marijuana found in his vehicle Wednesday afternoon. Other drivers reported Mikel James Burkey, 58, of Eagleville was "all over the road" on U.S. 41A North and almost struck another vehicle head-on. Maj. Nikia Elliott of the Bedford County Sheriff's Office stopped him and attempted to perform field sobriety tests, some of which Burkey was unable to perform...

The Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association closed the calendar year with 6,568 members, registered 3,178 new foals and transferred 4,444 horses between owners. Of the top 10 breeds in America, the Tennessee Walking Horse was among the top reporting positions of American breeds...

Four East Side School students have been chosen to attend the National Invention Convention after placing third in a Middle Tennessee State University competition Feb. 25. Ty Childress, Caleb Darnell, Cameron Harvey, and Marquis Wilson invented a game called Fishing for Idioms. They participated in the Games category and join a total of 20 students invited to the Washington, D.C. national meet...

A Soddy-Daisy man convicted in the deaths of two men in a February 2014 crash near Bell Buckle has been sentenced to 48 years in prison by Circuit Court Judge Forest Durard. Wesley D. Luthringer, 30, was found guilty of two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in a December jury trial. He will be eligible for parole after serving approximately 30 percent of his sentence...

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, State Sen. Jim Tracy and State Rep. Pat Marsh visited the Tennessee Walking Horse National Museum in Wartrace on Thursday for the formal presentation of a $3,300 state grant, which the museum is using to continue its film restoration project...

For the past four years, Tennessee Corrections Institute has been telling Bedford County that it would not decertify the overcrowded and run-down county jail so long as the county was making good faith progress towards resolving its issues, presumably by building a new jail...

After suffering a devastating season-ending knee injury her sophomore year, Shelbyville Central softball standout Allie Odeneal wondered if her dreams of playing the sport she loves would be possible. Her dedication, hard work and perseverance have paid off after signing a letter of intent to continue her education, as well as her softball career, at Columbia State Community College...

Kalan Isbell Anderson, 48, of Shelbyville died Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Gallant-Riverview Funeral Home in Fayetteville, Burial will follow at Pleasant Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday.