Stories from Sunday, March 27, 2016

ABOVE: The Stations of the Cross participants walk along Highway 82 Bypass in downtown Shelbyville on their way to the public square Friday. BELOW: Debra Escamilla and her children Carla and Carlos Escamilla pay their respects to the cross at the close of the ceremonies. (T-G Photos by Jim Davis)...

Some education advocates say Tennessee is on the cusp of making a major breakthrough in helping dyslexic students. The Tennessee Legislature's Senate Education Committee last Wednesday passed a bill 9-0 that requires school districts to screen students in kindergarten through second grade for dyslexia with a program provided by the Department of Education...

The ex-husband of a missing Shelbyville teacher, who has been considered a "person of interest" by authorities since her 2011 disppearence, has been convicted of attempting to kill his girlfriend in Florida. Tyler Mook, 35, now a resident of Palm City, Florida, threw his girlfriend over the front of a boat and held her underwater in Stuart, Florida, in October 2014, authorities and an arrest report said...

Members of Shelbyville Central High School's student council attended the Tennessee Association of Student Councils convention at Ravenwood High School in Franklin. Attending were, front row from left, Cassey Young, Bailee Phelps, Morgan Jennings, Madison McCormick and Kaiden Garland; second row, Elliot Smith, Zoe Jensen, Angelica Miranda, Macey Hix, Brandie Dukes and Grant Thompson. Not pictured: Hannah Heflin.(Photos submitted)...

Rose Ramirez (right) buys some treats from the Shelbyville-Bedford County Humane Association bake sale on Good Friday at Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. (T-G Photo by Jason Reynolds)

CHATTANOOGA -- Cascade had quite the start to the Lookout Valley Classic on Friday. The Champions opened the tournament, sweeping Friday's three-game slate against Silverdale Academy in Game 1, Rockwood in Game 2, and host Lookout Valley in Game 3. The efforts by the Champions (7-2) on Friday locked down a spot in the tournament championship on Saturday afternoon...

Shelbyville Central's Golden Eaglettes had a successful start to the Southern Warrior Classic with a 5-1 win over previously unbeaten North Augusta, South Carolina on Friday evening in Murfreesboro. The Eaglettes scored a run in the third and fourth innings, then rallied for three in the top of the sixth to secure the victory...

A four-run seventh inning led the Cascade Lady Champions to a 6-3 win over Polk County in the Warrior Classic, hosted by Riverdale on Friday night. Polk County plated one run in the bottom of the first inning, but saw Cascade tie the game with a run in the top of the fourth inning...

FAYETTEVILLE -- Jesse Clanton carried Liberty's Patriots, but it was the efforts of A.J. Parker that finished off a 2-1 win for Liberty on Friday afternoon at Lincoln County. Clanton lasted five innings on the mound and struck out seven, while not issuing a single walk...

UNIONVILLE -- After a string of tough luck games, Community Middle blasted visiting Moore County, 14-3, in five innings Friday. Moore County struck the first blow, but it was Community who had the last laugh, pulling ahead with two, five-run innings...

Shelbyville Garden Club met March 16 for its annual luncheon at Riverbend Country Club. There were 15 members present and two guests. Helen Garner and Nancy Hulan were hostesses for the lunch with St. Patrick's Day-theme decorations that were given as door prizes...

"Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together." -- Paul Ryan We are winding down here at the General Assembly. Most committees have closed and the floor debates on proposed legislation are at a fast and sometimes continuous pace. I have about five or six more bills to try to pass and they should be heard on the House floor in the next two weeks...

Here's our look back at the past seven days in local news. Choose the best answer for each question. 1) On March 18, each child, teacher and staff member at Eakin Elementary School received which of these items? A. A dictionary B. An iPad C. A pair of shoes...

Each child is different -- but when a child is so different that he or she is alienated from other children, how do we as grownups react? Are we looking out for the good of the child, or just reacting to our own stereotypes and expectations? "Be Frank With Me," the debut novel from one-time Shelbyville resident Julia Claiborne Johnson, is a very funny novel about the world's most dapper 9-year-old boy, but it raises some serious questions about parenting and education as they relate to kids who break the mold.. ...

From left, Shelbyville-Bedford County Public Library director Rita Allen and Sharon Edwards of Friends of the Library accept a $5,000 donation from Walmart Distribution Center, represented by Daniel Prince and Charles Brandon. (T-G Photo by David Melson)

The Alpha Zeta chapter of Beta Sigma Phi held its March meeting at the Bedford County Agricultural Center. Whitney Danhof, University of Tennessee extension agent, presented a program entitled "Do It Yourself Ideas for Spring and Easter Decor." Danhof is pictured holding a candy bunny favor using netting rounds, yarn, pipe cleaners and candy eggs. Pictured also are an umbrella wreath, three cross arbor arrangement, bunny peeps flower arrangement and a candy jar center piece. Danhof provided a guide for the "do it yourself" ideas with pictures and step by step directions that she demonstrated during the program. (Submitted photo)

Austin Fiona Fleming of Fort Mill, South Carolina, and Samuel Andrew Walker of Murfreesboro were united in marriage on the afternoon of Nov. 28, 2015, at The Fields of Blackberry Cove in Weaverville, North Carolina. The bride is the daughter of Jason and Teresa Campbell of Fort Mill, South Carolina, and Robert and Michelle Fleming of San Jose, California. ...

I'm generally very skeptical when I see recipes which liken themselves to one of my fondest childhood memories, Girl Scout cookies. Maybe not so much the selling cookies part but definitely the Girl Scout part. Tons of fun. My favorite cookie of all time is definitely the Samoa. They're gooey, crunchy, salty, sweet goodness all comes together in one bite. So, my skepticism, as you can imagine, was through the roof when I saw a recipe called Samoa Pie on Pinterest...

As Community High School's prom Friday night approached, two events emphasized the importance of safe driving. On Friday, March 18, law enforcement officers and members of the FCCLA (Family, Career & Community Leaders of America) club conducted a safety belt check on vehicles arriving at school for the day...

With Daylight Saving Time set having set in, spring can no longer evade us.The buttercups are popping up all over. Across our area individuals and businesses are gearing up for the shift from, what felt like perpetual gloom to more pleasant weather...

Happy Easter to everyone! I hope you are having a marvelous spring day! All the pastel spring clothing, flowers in bloom, and trees budding put me in mind of my own childhood when I used to jump off the school bus, race down the lane to our house, change clothes and spend as much time as I could exploring the forest on our home acreage. ...

I haven't had many inspiring thoughts this week that I feel like I need to share with you (some may argue I never do). This is one of those weeks where I let busy get the best of me and I haven't set aside much time for pondering the mysteries of life, such as: How do barcode scanners really work?...

"Come Thou Fount" is one of the first hymns I learned to sing with the traveling choir from Inter-Mountain Bible College. I was a student at this school in Grand Junction, Colorado in the mid-1970s, and we sang this hymn just about every weekend as we traveled across Colorado....