Stories from Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Edward Arthur Clanton, 87, of Shelbyville died Monday, March 30, 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic there will be no public visitation or service. A private graveside service will be held at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens, Revs. Jonathan Curry and Jon Amspaugh officiating. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. Hillcrest Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

Atmos Energy is taking steps to ensure safe and reliable natural gas service during the COVID-19 pandemic.  During these unprecedented times, Atmos wants to assure you the company’s focus remains the same: the safety of 4,800 employees, more than 3 million customers and the 1,400 communities the company serves...

United Way of Bedford County Executive Director Mark McGee, left, presents a plaque to Mike Rittenberry, president and chief executive officer of Peoples Bank, honoring the bank's 100 percent employee participation in the UWBC employee campaign for the ninth straight year.

Fawn Weaver, co-founder and chief executive officer of Uncle Nearest Whiskey of Shelbyville, is featured in the April/May edition of “Garden & Gun” magazine. Weaver is among the magazine's featured 30 “Southern Heroes” honored for their ecological, culinary and artistic traditions. Daughter of Motown Records songwriter and producer Frank Wilson, Weaver and husband, Keith, married in 2003. In addition to discussing how she serves the South as an author and historian, the article also reveals how Weaver, by way of her family heritage, opened the local whiskey distillery last September at the former Sand Creek Farm horse facility on Highway 231-North. Just as philanthropic, Weaver provides scholarships for every direct descendant of Nearest Green. “Garden & Gun” is known for its high-quality photos, which celebrate “the modern South” and features stories relating to food, style, travel, music, art, literature, and sporting culture.

The Bedford County Convenience Center on Unionville-Deason Road in Deason was apparently struck by a “large vehicle” Tuesday, a Bedford County Sheriff’s Office report said. An arriving employee Wednesday morning discovered the office building had been moved approximately 2 feet, a trash compactor wasn’t functioning and items were knocked off a desk...

To the editor, I would like to respond to Adam Johnson's front-page editorial, claiming that the Covid-19 pandemic is overblown, and causing "a level of panic disproportionate to the threat the virus poses." It is so easy to sit in your comfy chair in a county that only has a couple of cases of the virus, and believe that everything is rosy. But Mr. Johnson is pushing dangerous attitudes and beliefs...

“With the spread of COVID-19, breaking news and announcements have been coming at us at an accelerated rate,” Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) President and CEO Scott Spence said. “Life as we know it has been altered, and our sense of normalcy has been disrupted...

To the editor, As each day passes the Coronavirus continues to increase by large numbers. The United States has surpassed all the others countries where the virus has been. The numbers of cases and deaths increase daily. The government has tried to curtail the virus by asking the citizens to use social distancing and by staying at home if they can. ...

Bedford County School System is continuing its free breakfast and lunch program at six school sites. This is spring break, but many school officials are continuing to dedicate their time to make sure children do not go hungry during the time schools are closed...

Deer in Bell Buckle enjoy the sunshine Wednesday morning.

The Times-Gazette is in business to write news for and about the people who live here in Bedford County and to provide merchants with a place to advertise their goods and services. Coronavirus (or COVID-19 if you prefer) has abruptly changed everything...

Motorists coming into Bell Buckle on Highway 269 (Liberty Pike) are getting a reminder of how fast they’re going. The speed limit is 25 mph and this motorist was traveling well under the limit Wednesday morning.

Most employees of the National Pen Corporation plant in Shelbyville were notified Tuesday they were permanently laid off effective immediately. Management had not responded to a request for comment by the Times-Gazette on Wednesday. According to the Shelbyville - Bedford County Chamber of Commerce, National Pen is the 4th largest local employer. The company employs 500 people...