Stories from Friday, May 25, 2018

Eric Michael Bedwell, 44, of Shelbyville died Thursday, May 17, 2018. Memorial service 10 a.m. Saturday, June 2 at Eastview Baptist Church, Rev. Jimmy Gray officiating. Arrangements: Hillcrest Funeral Home.

Bedford County Financial Management Committee put its stamp of approval Thursday evening on a 2018-19 county budget and tax rate, which uses revenue growth and savings to fund department requests without a property tax increase, assuming that the full county commission approves the budget and tax rate on June 12,...

CHATTANOOGA (AP) -- The Tennessee Public Records Act is adamant that public records should be available. But that doesn't mean government entities will make them affordable. A statewide examination of 259 local government public records policies by the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government found that while almost all stated the government entity will charge for copies of public records, fewer offered the possibility of fee waivers...

CHATTANOOGA (AP) -- Fee waivers vary among government agencies across Tennessee, according to survey results. --59 percent of cities and 41 percent of counties give records custodians discretion to waive fees when the records were determined to be in the best interest of the government entity and for the "public good."...

Unemployment rates dropped in April in every county in Tennessee, including Bedford County, which had an unemployment rate of just 3 percent. All 95 counties now have employment rates at or below 5 percent, according to a state news release. Bedford County's preliminary 3 percent rate for April compares to a revised March rate of 3.5 percent, and an April 2017 rate of 3.4 percent...

MURFREESBORO — At this stage, there are no easy games. Easy is overrated. It took all of eight innings to find a run, but that single run scored by Cascade against Whitwell was enough to send the Lady Champions (26-9-1) to the final day of the Class A state tournament in a 1-0 win...

Murder threats were made against a Shelbyville man after he refused to pay a woman he met on Facebook $200 to learn how to give massages, police were told Wednesday. The victim said he backed out of a scheduled face-to-face meeting after becoming nervous. At that point, he said, threatening text messages including photos of men who appeared to have their heads severed began arriving from a number supposedly from Seattle...

Columbia State Community College has announced its spring 2018 graduates. The following students graduated from Columbia State in May, with 343 degree and certificate candidates recognized during the spring commencement ceremonies on May 5. l Tyler Baldwin of Bell Buckle, Associate of Science Degree in Agricultural Animal Science...

Elks scholarship recipients received their certificates Wednesday, May 9, 2018, at the Lewisburg Elks Lodge #1990. Elinor Foster, Exalted Ruler and Doug Cheek, Elks Scholarship Chairperson, presented the certificates to eight high school seniors from Marshall County and Bedford County, after a dinner that was prepared for them and their families...