Stories from Sunday, April 21, 2019

Learning Way Elementary teachers had a pep rally April 12 to encourage students to do well on the TN Ready test. There were games, a spirit stick competition, and a musical performance by fifth grade students and principal Kathy Reed.

Thomas Magnet School third graders inducted into the National Elementary Honor Society include (top row, from left) Reed Dickens, Ashlynn Church, Nate Pinkston, Nate Simmons, Treyden Sharp, Jayda Fraiser, (second row) Georgia Kate Melson, Hannah Vincent, Cierra Webb, Anna Kate Gregory, Dani Rae Fowler, Ava Spiers, (third row) Angel Majors, Bella States, Lillyanne Harrie, Chloe’ Guzman-Brown, Britt Rose, (bottom row) Laila Lauderdale, Braylon Casteel, Olivia Blackburn and Colton Berry.

Chloe DeLease and Connor Prim represented Cascade High School at the 2019 All-State Music Ensemble at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville. This is the second year both have earned this honor, DeLease for the clarinet and Prim for the trumpet. (Submitted photo)

Second graders at Liberty School recently participated in Duck River Electric Membership Corp.’s Louie the Lightning Bug safety presentation and coloring contest. Eighty students learned how electricity is made, how it travels and how to use it safely via a 10-minute video and presentation by DREMC’s Gina Warren, communications and community relations coordinator. All second grade students received special Louie the Lightning Bug prizes for participating in the coloring contest; first place winners in each classroom were received a collectible Louie stuffed toy and certificated signed by the cooperative’s Interim President and CEO Charles McDonald. First place winners were, from left, Zander Smith, Jackson Pyrdum and Layklyn McKin. Not pictured is Gabby Price. (Submitted photo)

The Webb School Theatre will present the musical comedy "The Addams Family" in the Follin Chapel on May 2-4 at 7 p.m. Seating begins at 6:40 p.m. The production is open to the public. General admission is $10 with no charge for children under 10. For more information, call 931-389-5703...

As a single mom, I often feel there's a fine line between honestly acknowledging my struggles versus sounding like I'm having a pity party. Sometimes I want to shout to the world "I am exhausted! Help!" while other times I feel I'm supposed to grin and bear it and be "strong" like a good girl should...

The Webb School, in Bell Buckle, recently announced its A and B honor rolls for the third quarter of the 2018-2019 school year. An independent college preparatory day/boarding school for grades 6-12, The Webb School is the oldest continuously operating school of its kind in the South. The school has a dual emphasis on academic excellence and character development...

The tragic conflagration that engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral compels me to write about services that we take for granted, right up until the moment we suddenly need them ourselves. I have the utmost respect for professionals who decide to make a career of firefighting; but this week I will be focusing on the nation's VOLUNTEER fire departments, made up of citizens who work for free or a nominal amount or at least a written guarantee that all emergency calls will last long enough for their spouse to get the kids' homework and baths tended to. ...

Happy Easter to all of you! I hope that you are celebrating this holiday just as you like. I wish you all a relaxed, pleasant day. Your librarians will be charging their batteries today because tomorrow we will have a full day of "in-service" training to teach us some new skills and refresh old knowledge, too. The library will be closed on Monday. We will be back to normal hours on Tuesday...

A preacher tells a story of one quiet and sunny Sunday afternoon when his son was five-years-old. They drove past a cemetery together. Noticing a large pile of dirt beside a newly dug grave, the little boy pointed and said: "Look, Dad, one got out!"...

Principal's List: A Honor Roll Fifth Grade Ella R. Allen, Kolby S. Allen, Laura J. Bennett, Christina M. Bilbro, Kaydence B. Bynum, Caroline L. Cook, Robert A. Cook, Morgan L. Evans, Allison G. Farris, Trenton A. Giel, Daniela L. Jara, James D. Jennings, Tanner W. Johnson, Adelyn E. Jones, Nicholas G. Lineberger, Wyatt J. Petelle, Chere' N. Potts, Caleb M. Smith, Henry G. Stone, Amelie I. Taucare, Kaegan L. Young...

There's a catch phrase: "Bloom where you're planted." Shelbyville Central High School substitute educator Carolyn Buckingham has strong convictions that is what she's doing in her life. "I'm glad God put something in me to blossom out," said the 65-year-old. "God has opened avenues ... allows me to come to this school every morning."...

For Community senior Beau Smith, when it came to picking a college, a personal relationship with Central Methodist’s coaches and a relatable small-campus environment was all he needed to make his decision for where he wanted to spend the next four years...

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation. (1 Peter 1:3, New Living Translation) This Legislative Session should be over in about two weeks. Most of the committees are closed and the Finance Committees are clearing out their last bills. Then we will take up the budget. Passing a balanced budget is a constitutional obligation here in Tennessee...

Rainfall totals for the first three weeks of April across Bedford County generally range from 4 to 5 inches and I do not expect a great deal of rain for the coming week. We have only a slight chance on Wednesday and Thursday and 50 percent Friday. It looks like scattered thunderstorms from April 29-May 1...

As the school year closes, the Bedford County FFA of SCHS says farewell to three of their most outstanding and successful members, Chapter President Brett Harden, Chapter Vice President Emily Crabtree, and Chapter Secretary Lawson Lemmon. These three individuals have achieved many goals and have left an impact on their chapter while following the FFA 3 circle model: classroom, SAE (Supervised Agriculture Experience), and FFA, the blueprint for all successful FFA members and chapters around the nation. ...

Billy Caskey of Shelbyville is having a good year for sports-related Times-Gazette contests. In January, he was one of three winners randomly selected from among those who answered all six of our football-themed “Big Game Trivia” questions correctly. He won $50 in restaurant gift certificates...

Though it’s going to remove over $800,000 from the school budget, Bedford County Board of Education moved Tuesday night to make classroom laptops accessible to every high school student. The approved recommendation, made by the school’s technology department, will purchase 2,600 laptops at $340 each for a total of $840,884. A budget amendment made by the board allows the money to be taken from the school fund balance...