Stories from Thursday, December 14, 2017

Napoleon Alexander “Sonny” Bryan, 74, of Shelbyville died Monday, Dec. 11, 2017. Funeral services 2 p.m. Saturday at Feldhaus Memorial Chapel, Jim Tedder officiating. Burial in Willow Mount Cemetery. Visitation begins at noon.

Richard Nathaniel “Nate” Robinson, 33, and his daughters, Cailyn Jade Robinson, 13, and Gillianna “Gillian” Isabella Robinson, 8, all of Petersburg, died suddenly Saturday, Dec. 9, 2017. A celebration of life service will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16 at Jennings-Moore-Cortner Funeral Home in Lynchburg. Visitation starts at 11 a.m.

Bedford County Board of Commissioners, meeting Tuesday night, approved a rezoning at the site of Sand Creek Farms for the purpose of opening a tourist-oriented, whiskey-themed business which will include mellowing and bottling of whiskey -- and, perhaps, small-batch distillation at some time in the future...

Bedford County Board of Commissioners, meeting Tuesday night, voted to sell the former Central High School (and later Harris Middle School) on Elm Street to Gary King, the highest of three bidders. King will pay $120,000 for the main high school building and an additional $20,000 for property including athletic fields behind the school. The county will keep the school annex, which houses Bedford County Learning Academy, and the gymnasium, which is used for storage of surplus property...

City and county agencies involved in the response to the Oct. 27 white supremacist protest and counter protest were honored during Tuesday night's meeting of Bedford County Board of Commissioners. Shelbyville Police Department was recognized for coordinating the response, which involved a wide spectrum of local, federal and state agencies. Numerous city officials were in the audience for the county meeting...

A fourth quarter comeback fell a few points shy as Community Middle School’s Vikings ran out of time in a 46-39 loss to Middle Tennessee Christian School in the Duck River Valley Conference Tournament at Community Middle School. After trailing 16-7 at the end of the first quarter, 23-8 at halftime and 33-18 after three periods, the Vikings rallied in the fourth quarter and outscored their opponent 21-13 in the final stanza but it was too little too late...

Cascade Middle used a balance scoring attack and pressure defense to claim a 50-35 win over Westwood on Wednesday night in the quarterfinals of the Duck River Valley Conference Tournament hosted by Community Middle School. The victory put the Champions in the semifinals tonight at 8 against Middle Tennessee Christian School...

The Tennessee Volunteers may have their guy needed to undo the mess left by Butch Jones. Earlier this week, Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer announced the hiring of Jeremy Pruitt as the Volunteers’ new coach. While Tennessee has potentially made a fantastic hire, Volunteer fans would do themselves a service to remember it takes time for a new coach to install his recruits and coaching staff...

A noise at a Benford Road home early Tuesday alerted a resident to an intruder. The resident, who had been asleep, saw a light in a front room and confronted an intruder described as a "Hispanic male." The visitor said he was leaving and ran out the door, according to a Bedford County Sheriff's Office report...

The local Wreaths Across America observance will take place Saturday, with ceremonies at 11 a.m. at First Church of the Nazarene (a change from previous years) and wreath-laying on the graves of veterans at Willow Mount Cemetery beginning at 1 p.m. Scott Johnson, director of Bedford County Emergency Management Agency and a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, will be the keynote speaker. For more information, call Tim Estes, 931-703-3755, or go to wreathsacrossamerica.org...