Stories from Sunday, May 27, 2018

Shelbyville Central High School's 2017-18 valedictorian was Madelyn Marie Northcutt. As a freshman, she received academic excellence awards in honors English I, honors physical science and Spanish I, as well as an honors geometry award. As a sophomore, she received academic excellence awards in Spanish II and honors English II; a science award of excellence in honors biology; and an honors algebra II award...

My two oldest granddaughters had their last day of school for the year this past week. Charli just completed the third grade, and Kori just completed first grade. Kori told her mother that she was excited for the summer break to be here, "but I'm really going to miss Ms. Lovvorn," she said. She loved her first grade teacher...

I was looking for something sweet and easy to make last week with Dani and a friend of hers last weekend and my mother mentioned to me some custard cake I should try. She sent me the ingredients and recipe and I loved the fact that everything required was on hand. It seemed like a great idea, until Dani and her friend argued over who did what. Turns out, though the ingredients were quite simple in the recipe, technique matters quite a bit...

One of my Facebook friends mentioned the other day that he felt a lot like the old veterans he knew in his own childhood and that the Vietnam War Era probably seemed to younger Americans, the same as the World Wars, Korean War, or American Civil War had to him -- just history and old news...

Joshua Wade has been named the 2018 June Dairy Month Chairman for Bedford County, for the second year. June Dairy Month activities are designed to communicate the value of milk and dairy products to Tennessee consumers and Chairpersons play a vital role in spreading dairy's message in their community...

William Shakespeare once proclaimed "all the world's a stage," and Jonah Jackson is working as hard as he can to perform on as many stages as he possibly can. Jackson was a familiar face in theatrical productions at Shelbyville Central High School and continued to hone his craft on the way to a dual B.F.A degree in acting and directing in 2016 from Lipscomb University. ...

A man walking along Madison Street with a loaded carbine rifle was arrested on weapons charges Thursday afternoon, police said. William Allen Mueller, 21, of Bethany Lane allegedly told officer Ronnie Blankenship he was armed for “safety reasons.” Mueller had one magazine loaded into the pink camouflage Hi Point 9 mm rifle, another loaded magazine in a shirt pocket and brass knuckles in a pants pocket, the report said...

MURFREESBORO — As it’s said, all good things must come to an end. The best Cascade High School softball run in school history ended on Friday morning with a 3-1 extra inning loss to Sale Creek. The Lady Panthers played Cascade as closely as many of the teams in the state tournament did...

The Shelby Chapter of the Daughers of the American Revolution met at Riverbend Country Club with 20 members in attendance. Marjorie S. Collier, Coffee County Historical Society, gave an educational program concerning the Dixie Highway Association (DHA) which was formed in 1915 to provide a good, drivable, north/south highway system in the eastern United States. This year marks the 103rd anniversary of the DHA...

We are looking at a rather unsettled week ahead with numerous showers and thundershowers expected from day to day as moisture comes up from the Gulf of Mexico from a tropical storm that has formed unusually early. There will be quite a bit of cloud cover each day with high temperatures in the low to mid 80s. We could end up with some pretty high rainfall amounts from this tropical storm so it is something to monitor in the week ahead...

Gregory Vick is the Republican nominee for a 2nd district seat in Bedford County Board of Commissioners in the Aug. 2 general election. Vick, a businessman and farmer, said he is the first person to run for the seat as a Republican. “I want to get involved in my community. I’m a business person who can read a balance sheet, I understand how government should and can work and I believe our community needs to have a goal, a vision and a plan,” Vick said...

The annual Wartrace Music Fest will take place Saturday; don’t stop believin’ it will be a good one. Faithfully, a Nashville-based tribute band which recreates the music of Journey and Steve Perry, will headline the 14th annual festival, which will also include the blues guitar work of Chase Clanton & Vintage Vibes as well as country singer-songwriter Mary Katherine Williams...

Memorial Day, perhaps more than any other holiday, sometimes loses its true meaning. The holiday has become the unofficial start of summer, and for many people, the weekend is more about backyard barbecues or swimming pools. But Memorial Day is a holiday to remember those who died to protect the very peace and freedom that makes backyard barbecues and three-day weekends possible...

Kamryn Hall is ready to take her American Flag float to the pool for Memorial Day!

Charges have been filed against a Franklin County man accused of impersonating a licensed fire inspector across a multi-county area, police say. Wesley Mark Shaw, 58, of Decherd allegedly targeted primarily ethnic restaurants operated by people who don’t speak English well, Shelbyville police and fire personnel said...

On this Memorial Day weekend, I thought I'd share with you a book I read earlier this month about one of the greatest stories of selflessness and sacrifice in military history -- and I'm shocked at how many people have never heard it. I had never heard it myself until some years ago when my father, a United Methodist minister and former history teacher, was asked to speak about it to some local organization, perhaps the DAR. ...