Stories from Wednesday, February 19, 2020

A suspect allegedly fought off officers after exposing himself inside Walmart at midday Monday, Shelbyville police said. Tom Luke Arnold, 59, of Mac Street allegedly demanded money at the service desk for items he hadn't purchased before sitting in the floor and yelling at other customers...

To the Editor: Across the country, everywhere you look, our religious freedoms are under attack from the radical left and their socialist agenda. In Tennessee, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit last November against the Smith County School System for a student-led prayer at a Veterans Day assembly and their "prayer and period of silence" in school...

Simplicity, 6 Railroad Square in Bell Buckle, held a Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony last week. The store offers home decore, vintage and antique items, as well as specialty food items.

Jon G. English of Commercial Industrial Construction (CIC) Inc. of Nashville was recently presented with a Brighten Your Corner award from Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce for Tthe company’s renovations on the public square business district at 111 and 113 East Holland Street. English owns the building occupied by Nail Suite. From left, Andrea Sublett and Linda Nichols of First Community Bank, which sponsors the award; English; Sara Wood, Chamber beautification chair; and Nancy Ayers, Chamber program chair.

American Whiskey had its biggest award night Feb. 11 at the World Whiskies Awards in New York. Some of the industry's brightest stars packed the Flatiron Room in Manhattan as awards were handed out in categories from Best Rye to Best Blended Malt, and everything in between. ...

Shelbyville Rotary Club had recent programs related to the MyRide program and Duck River Electric Membership Corp.

U.S. Senate candidate James Mackler told Bedford County Democratic Party members on Monday night that just as he left his law practice to join the 101st Airborne in the wake of 9/11, he believes he is stepping in at a time his country needs him. "Throughout my life, I've chosen service," said Mackler. ...

Bell Buckle was in the right place at the right time with a lot of the preliminary work already completed to qualify for enough state funding to replace the town's aging water storage tank. The town's water system provides water to around 850 homes and businesses. The water is piped in from Wartrace which in turn buys its water from Tullahoma...

Middle Tennessee Spay and Neuter Clinic recently announced it has received a $10,000 discretionary grant from the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which it will use as part of an effort to eliminate one of Bedford County's greatest pet problems: feral cat overpopulation...

Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce honored local leaders and volunteers, passed the gavel from its outgoing to its incoming president, and heard an entertaining talk from Tennessee Poet Laureate Margaret Britton Vaughn of Bell Buckle during its annual meeting and awards luncheon on Tuesday...