Stories from Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Leslie 'Porky' Newsom, 54, of Chapel Hill, a native of Bedford County, died Tuesday, March 29, 2016 in Columbia. Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Lawrence Funeral Home in Chapel Hill with the Rev. Larry Chatman officiating. Burial will follow at Cothran Cemetery in Rover. Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m. Thursday.

State Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville, who complained last year about money that had been "raided" from the state's highway fund from 2001 to 2007 and used for other state expenses, praised Gov. Bill Haslam for using part of a state budget surplus to pay some of that money back...

We couldn't get to these folks amidst vehicle traffic on Lane Parkway to get their names Monday, but they were part of a wagon train on their way to Mule Day in Columbia this weekend. Shelbyville's own mule show -- the 25th annual Great Celebration Mule and Donkey Show -- is scheduled for July 7-9. (T-G Photo by David Melson)

The soup kitchen operated by Bedford County Ministerial Association during Lent has proven to be needed, and sustainable, say organizers, and it will continue. The association originally announced that the kitchen would have a trial run during the Lenten season in order to determine whether it was needed and whether there would be support for it. Lent ended last week, but the soup kitchen will continue...

The Shelbyville City Council appointed an acting city recorder Tuesday during a special called meeting. Administrative assistant Anna Mai will fill in as recorder. Her tenure starts Friday and will last until a permanent hire is made, which could take up to 12 weeks, according to the council...

Two women have been charged with prostitution and a customer with patronizing prostitution in the past few days during what Shelbyville police call an "ongoing" investigation. Rachel Lynn Thomas, 28, of Cartwright Road was charged with prostitution Thursday and Savannah Nicole Hill, 18, of Butler Street, was charged with prostitution and simple possession Monday by Detective Cody Swift after arriving at a motel thinking they were responding to potential customers to their ads, police said Tuesday.. ...

Gov. Bill Haslam recently signed into law legislation sponsored by Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville) and Rep. Judd Matheny (R-Tullahoma) that would guarantee governmental transparency in livestock inspections. Senate Bill 2332 enables owners of an animal subject to inspection to be able to personally record or designate an agent to record the assessment by audiovisual means...

A Bedford County Jail inmate found dead in a holding cell Nov. 23, 2015 died of natural causes, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Monday. Henry Garrett was found unresponsive by a corrections officer, the Bedford County Sheriff's Office said. The jail was placed on lockdown until the TBI was called, which is common in deaths within jails...

Getting the message right was the message crisis management expert Judy Smith delivered at Middle Tennessee State University. Smith, who was the inspiration for the character of Olivia Pope on the ABC television series "Scandal," ventured into the audience to field questions from students and others in the James Union Building on Monday during her National Women's History Month keynote address...

As Tax Day (April 18) approaches, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance's (TDCI) Consumer Affairs Division is warning Middle Tennessee consumers to be on alert for swindlers who make unsolicited phone calls to consumers and claim to represent the IRS...

Bedford County Republican Party will hold its 2016 Reagan Day Dinner Thursday, April 21, at the Blue Ribbon Circle. The keynote speaker will be U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, with State Sen. Jim Tracy and State Rep. Pat Marsh also scheduled to speak. Registration and a reception begin at 5:45 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m...

We got a photo in the e-mail the other day to promote the upcoming return of an annual fund-raising event. I looked at the photo and my first thought was, "that's a nice, professional-looking photo." Then I looked at the file name and realized why: It had been taken by my colleague Jim Davis. Jim uses a particular system for naming his image files, and this was undoubtedly one of Jim's photos, taken, I assume, at some previous year's fundraiser...

Lisa Armstrong, travel agent and co-owner of Two Sisters Travel in Shelbyville, recently received certification from Special Needs Group, Inc. This is a global provider of special needs equipment for the travel industry, to help make travel accessible to those with special needs...

It's springtime and that means baby farm animals. Jason Smotherman, a 5-year-old from Bell Buckle, is the proud owner of this Boer doe, who surprised him with quadruplets, three doe kids and one billy kid. While goats typically have twins and some triplet births, it's fairly uncommon for them to have healthy and thriving quadruplets. All four are the same size and are doing very well. Jason has shown his goats in area fairs since he was two, and he has plans to show at the Bedford County Fair pee wee show this summer. (Submitted photo)

Glen Oaks Health & Rehabilitation recently hosted a celebration for its employees and their commitment to service. They recognized 17 employees for a combined 279 years of service. Back row, from left: "Mama Jo" Warren, RN unit manager, 14 years; Melody Thomas, LPN, 13 years; Wendy Lockey, LPN, 13 years; Gene Smith, plant operations manager, 13 years; Tonya Anderson, central supply coordinator, 13 years; Janet Newson, housekeeping, 14 years. Front row, from left: Janene Cooper, MDS coordinator LPN, 10 years; Cathy Purcell, CNA, 11 years; Ben Mullen, medical records/staffing coordinator, 16 years; Cheryl Davis, CNA, 18 years; Dawn Pope, activity director, 15 years; Debra McGee, housekeeping, 19 years; Brenda Sargent, laundry aide, 11 years; Mary Dixon, dietary aide, 28 years. Seated: "Miss Dean" Nelson, dietary aide, 34 years. Not pictured: Erin Lashway, LPN, 10 years. (Submitted photo)

Caregiver Relief Program will hold its annual pancake supper Tuesday, April 5, from 5-7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church on the square. Tickets are $5 and are available from any Caregiver Relief Program board member or by calling 931-685-9039. The program assists families of Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers in Bedford County. Seen here are Karen, a caregiver, and her father Jim, along with (standing) Jennifer Abernathy of the Tennessee Respite Coalition and Joyce Adams, program director for Caregiver Relief Program. (T-G File Photo by Jim Davis)

After taking an early lead, Shelbyville Central came up a little short in a 4-2 loss to visiting Tullahoma in a District 8-AAA matchup on Tuesday evening. The Eaglettes scored a run in the second and third innings before the Lady Wildcats tied the game with a two-run fourth...

UNIONVILLE -- The Community Vikings used two big innings early on to take a big lead and held on for a 10-5 victory over the Moore County Raiders in a District 9-A contest Tuesday night. The Vikings were outhit by the Raiders 11-to-9, but were able to escape trouble all night as Moore County left 16 runners on base...

Miscues and missed chances were the Cascade Lady Champions' undoing on Tuesday night in a non-district game against visiting Fayetteville. Hit with five errors and a pair of runners tagged out at the plate, Cascade suffered a 6-4 loss to the Lady Tigers, marking the third-straight loss the Lady Champions have suffered...

UNIONVILLE -- The Community Viqueens had no trouble finding offense against the Huntland Lady Hornets on Tuesday afternoon. Community plated 10 in the first inning and went on to claim a 20-8 victory. Huntland struck the first blow, scoring four runs in the first inning, but saw that early lead dwindle away with a 10-spot by the Viqueens...

Hunter Palmer, Zach McKamey and Alex Allison combined for a no-hitter in Tuesday afternoon's 14-3 Cascade Middle win over visiting Huntland. Hunter Palmer, who got the start, claimed the win and pitched two innings before turning the ball over to McKamey, who pitched the ensuing two innings...

The Liberty Patriots completed their sweep of the Cornersville Bulldogs on Tuesday afternoon, claiming a 10-0 win in five innings. The game got off to a promising start for the Patriots, who plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. While only able to score one over the next three innings, Liberty finished the game with the 10-run rule limit, driving in seven in the fifth inning...