Stories from Thursday, December 1, 2016

Mary Toth, 95, of Wheel died Wednesday at Glen Oaks Health and Rehabilitation. Arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Doak-Howell Funeral Home.

Kathleen C. Rhodes, 87, of Shelbyville died Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016 after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Feldhaus Memorial Chapel is handling arrangements.

Jessie Ruth Boyce Thomas, 91, died Wednesday, November 30, 2016, at The Waters of Shelbyville after an extended illness. Funeral services will be held 2:00 P.M. Sunday, December 4th, at Hillcrest Funeral Home with Ray Armstrong officiating. Burial will follow at Willow Mount Cemetery. Visitation will begin at noon.

During Red Ribbon Week, first and second grade students from Eakin Elementary School competed in a coloring contest. The theme was "Paws-itively Drug Free," and students donated items for the local animal shelter. First grade winners, from left, were Nathaniel Barajas, Alex Perez Lopez, Jaxon Gannon, Alyssa Hedge, Ceili Yarger and Cayden Arendall. Second grade winners were (front row, from left) Ashley Hernandez, Kaydence Moss, Hailey Brown, Destiny McCullough, Adolfo Lopez, Darlyng Salinas, (back row) Jaelynn Toth, Tarchae Moore, Erik Smith, Jay Whitelow, Jansen Ward, Giselle Galindo, and Dominique King. (Submitted photos)

The 43rd Annual Shelbyville Christmas Parade will begin at 4 p.m. Saturday. The parade is sponsored by Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce and the Jaycees. This year's theme will be "Peace On Earth." Local elected officials will collectively serve as the grand marshals for the parade. The rain date for the parade will be Sunday at 2 p.m...

The Webb School Chapel will be filled with music, song and fellowship on Dec. 8 during the school's annual celebration of Lessons and Carols. The performance will begin at 7 p.m. A piano prelude will begin at 6:50 p.m. A reception will follow in the Grace Follin Dining Hall on The Webb School campus. The event is free and open to the public...

Shirley Sheffield was the winner of the "Bill Davidson Top Ticket Sales" Award for selling the most tickets to the Shelbyville-Bedford County Senior Citizens Center country ham breakfast. Sheffield won a country ham and $25 for selling 153 tickets. (Submitted photo)

Jacob Tucker, grandson of the Rev. Jack Carney of Shelbyville, is one of nine finalists for the Harlon Hill Trophy, given to the best player in NCAA Division II college football. It is often called Division II's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy. Tucker, the son of Cascade High School graduate Elecia and Andy Tucker, is a senior quarterback for the University of North Alabama in Florence. He has thrown for 2,257 yards and 18 touchdowns and rushed for 719 yards and 14 touchdowns, even though he did not play in the fourth quarter of six games due to large UNA leads. UNA will host North Greenville University on Saturday in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals. Tucker attended Perry County High School in Linden and was a TSSAA Mr. Football (Class A, backs) in 2011. He's seen here with his mother and grandfather at UNA's senior recognition ceremonies last month. The Harlon Hill Trophy winner will be announced Dec. 16. (Submitted photo)

The Tennessee Comptroller's Office has announced that Bedford County government received a clean audit report for the 2015-2016 fiscal year which ended June 30, without a single audit finding. The comptroller's office called this "a distinctive honor"; so far, Unicoi County is the only other county (out of 24) to have received an audit report without any findings, although the state will continue releasing audit reports for several more months...

The pilots who fly through Shelbyville Municipal Airport have a lot of experience, but on Dec. 10 the airport will get a visitor who has logged more miles than all of them put together. In fact, airport director Justin Heid calls him "the most famous aviator out there."...

The USDA released two statements this week about enforcement of the Horse Protection Act (HPA) and its relations with the show industry, but some question if there is any new information there. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service this week released a letter stressing its desire to work well with horse show managers. ...

Margaret Ina Molder Bartlett, 92, of Chattanooga died Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016 at her home. Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. Monday, December 5th, at Hillcrest Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Sunday.