Stories from Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Connie Lester "Pastor" Marise, 78, a former resident of Shelbyville, died Tuesday, March 22, 2016. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Hillcrest Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Thursday.

Clarence A. 'Bud' Hart Jr., 86, of Shelbyville died Monday, March 21, 2016 at the Alvin C. York V.A. Medical Center in Murfreesboro after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Doak-Howell Funeral Home with Robert Simmons and Jim Waddell officiating. Burial will follow at Rosebank Cemetery in Flat Creek. Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Wednesday.

Mary Faye Talley, 78, of Petersburg died Sunday, March 20, 2016. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at Bright Temple Church of God in Christ. Burial will follow at Pleasant View Cemetery in Fayetteville. Visitation will begin at 11 a.m. at the church. Gallant Riverview Funeral Home of Fayetteville is handling arrangements.

Myron Frank Tiemens, Jr., 58, of Bell Buckle died Sunday, March 20, 2016, at Alive Hospice in Madison after an extended illness. A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at his home, 201 Matt Drive in Bell Buckle. Nashville Cremation Center is handling arrangements.

Seven people have been charged in connection with contraband including drugs, homemade weapons and cell phones being smuggled into Bedford County Jail through a broken window since January. Investigation into the phones -- including a series of raids over the past two months -- revealed more dangerous items were being brought in, Shelbyville police said...

Infant Dalton Conner Butler died Sunday, March 20, 2016 at St. Thomas Rutherford in Murfreesboro. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Willow Mount Cemetery with Jay Pope officiating. Gowen-Smith Chapel is handling arrangements.

Tracy Kim Thomas Sanders, age 49, a former resident of Shelbyville, died March 6, 2016, in Barefoot Bay, Florida. Per her wishes, her remains were cremated and no services are planned.

John Robert Upchurch, 49, of Rover died Sunday, March 20, 2016 in Shelbyville. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Lawrence Funeral Home in Chapel Hill with Allen Brown officiating. Burial will follow at Cothran Cemetery in Rover. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Friday.

Lack of staffing is the main reason the broken window through which items were smuggled into Bedford County Jail wasn't discovered earlier, Sheriff Austin Swing said. "Our jail is just entirely overcrowded and understaffed. It just makes it difficult," Swing said Friday. "I'm not making excuses. It's our job to have the jail secured and to do everything to protect contraband from getting into the jail."...

Two of the inmates allegedly involved with smuggling items into Bedford County Jail caused a brief ruckus last Thursday morning as they were being led into Bedford County Courthouse. Sedrick Darion Mitchell pushed Darius Deonte Lewis against a wall, causing him to hit a window and leaving two small cuts on his head, deputy Eric West said in his report...

The large hole in a column on the south side of Bedford County Courthouse isn't a major problem, an architect assured officials this morning. "Water got in behind the back side of the column and caused expansion," architect John Davis said after closely inspecting the hole shortly after sunrise today. "It's called 'getting old.'"...

With Tax Day less than a month away, Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance's (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs wants the public to know they have a voice at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). "For many, filing income taxes is a task that can be time-consuming and stressful," TDCI Deputy Commissioner Bill Giannini said. "Our Consumer Affairs team and our partners with the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service remind Tennesseans that tax help is just a phone call away."...

Tennessee Highway Patrol checkpoints for April have been announced. Driver's license checkpoints are set for 3 p.m. Friday, April 22 on Highway 64 East at the 15 mile marker; Safety belt checkpoints will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, April 1 on State Highway 437 (the Shelbyville bypass) a half-mile north of State Highway 64; Wednesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. ...

The club met Feb. 16 with Elizabeth Blackburn as president calling the meeting to order with six members present. Devotion by Jean Fausnaugh on "Influence, how's yours?" Reports were given. Three cards were sent by Martha Clark. A leadership report was given by Virgie Summers on "Securing Important Items in Times of Disaster."...

Shaina Schneider stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning, already with a two singles and a triple to her credit. She ended the 2016 District 12-AA opener against CPA with a two-run bomb over the center field fence, giving her team an 11-0 win...

UNIONVILLE -- The Community Viqueen reserves took over for the starters on Monday and hit the ball all over the park in a 19-4 victory over Lancaster Christian in a three-inning softball game. The Viqueens pounded out 16 hits as they stayed undefeated at 4-0 to start the 2016 season...

A five-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning was enough to give the Liberty Lady Patriots a 10-9 win over visiting Cascade on Monday night. Cascade seemingly took control of the game in the first inning, driving in three runs, but surrenderd two back to Liberty in the bottom of the third...

BELL BUCKLE -- The Shelbyville Central Eaglette tennis team got back into the win column on Monday afternoon, defeating The Webb School with a clean sweep, 7-0. Doubles partners Keely Smith and Sydney Cooper knocked off the top duo of Alexis McKnight and Karley Dodson 8-4...

A two-vehicle accident occurred about 7:15 a.m. today southbound on U.S. 231 near Tennova Healthcare. Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Mickey Marvin said a Chrysler Sebring driven by Tiffany Richardson of Shelbyville rear-ended a GMC Denali driven by Aaron Melhorn of Murfreesboro, causing the Denali to roll over. Richardson was cited for following too close, Marvin said, and she was taken to Tennova for evaluation. Melhorn said he was okay. (T-G Photo by Jason Reynolds)

The Liberty Patriots backed a strong start from AJ Parker's effort on the mound and coasted to a 5-0 win over visiting Huntland on Monday afternoon Parker was a workhorse on the mound for the home team, tossing a full seven innings of no-hit baseball in the victory...

Shelbyville Central's Golden Eaglette softball (4-3) team won three games and lost a pair in the Commando Classic over the weekend in Hendersonville. Friday Shelbyville Central 12, Harpeth Hall 0 ­-- Liz Pendergrass claimed the win in the circle, with a two-hit shutout. She fanned four batters and walked two. Kendall Durard collected three hits while Trinity Whitaker had a home run with Ashlyn Brannon ripping a triple and Pendergrass a double...

UNIONVILLE -- The Forrest Middle Lady Rockets capitalized on seven Viqueen miscues and won 10-0 win over Community on Monday night. The bright spot of offense came from Jaide Langley, who was 2-for-2 on the night, while Tatianna Eady and Mackenzie Newkirk each connected on hits...

A man who allegedly threatened his girlfriend and stole her car was captured after smashing into two cars, a street sign and stop sign while being pursued by Shelbyville police late Sunday. Officers found Julius Dominque Guinn, 30, of Wartrace Pike hiding under a truck on Elm Street after a foot chase...