News

A Shelbyville middle school teacher has been charged with aggravated statutory rape after allegedly becoming involved with a 17-year-old local high school student, police said. Emily Perakes, 28, of Murfreesboro is a sixth grade math and English teacher and girls softball coach at Harris Middle School, said Detective Nathan Everhart of the Shelbyville Police Department...

It’s been a tough year for trees at the intersection of Main and Cumberland in Bell Buckle. The most recent giant to fall was on Tuesday morning during a storm when most of this giant oak broke loose from its trunk. In March on the same corner a storm took out five trees including an ancient pine.

A Bedford County deputy has been charged with aggravated rape in connection with an alleged incident in 2019. Joseph Guthrie, 31, of E.C. Arnold Lane, is accused of sexually assaulting an adult female in October 2019 at a home in Bedford County, according to a press release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation...

A fiscal year 2020-21 budget containing no property tax increase was approved by Bedford County Commission in a special called meeting Tuesday night. The budget passed 16-1 with Commissioner Anita Epperson stating “pass” when her name was called. Commissioner Bill Anderson was not present...

Shelbyville Parks and Recreation is still in phase 1 of COVID-19 social distancing orders. The City of Shelbyville issued a continued state of emergency Friday. ▪Parks will open and close at regular scheduled times through the holiday weekend (6 a.m. to midnight.)...

In just five days (from Friday, June 26 through Tuesday, June 30) Tennessee added 5,475 new COVID-19 infections to its case count bringing the total to 43,509. The first Tennessee infection was found in Franklin on March 5. By the last day of June, four months into the pandemic, 604 Tennesseans had died from the coronavirus...

(Editor’s note: A friend and reporter who lives in Arizona, Mara Reyes Knaub, has been writing a Facebook account of her personal experience with COVID-19. Mara lives in Yuma, Arizona. She works for the Yuma Sun newspaper. This is her second report. ...

A blaze suspected to have been deliberately set destroyed more than $13,000 worth of markers Monday at Newell Rubbermaid, Shelbyville police and fire investigators said. An employee quickly doused the fire with an extinguisher, but most of the pallet containing 13,446 markers valued at $1 apiece was damaged, police said...

Motlow State is offering free dual enrollment courses to high school juniors interested in pursuing a degree in Mechatronics. The Motlow Middle College program will pay for all books, tuition, and even travel for juniors willing to pursue a dual enrollment mechatronics degree...

At sunrise on Wednesday the sun makes a brief appearance through the clouds.

The Highway 41 Toy Convoy has been rolling for 24 years to help brighten Christmas for the kids of Coffee and Bedford Counties.  The Gene Taylor and Steve Graves Christmas Foundation, Manchester Police Department and  Wartrace Fire Department will be sharing the toys with the kids in their area...

A Bedford County deputy has been charged with aggravated rape in connection with an alleged incident in 2019. Joseph Guthrie, 31, is accused of sexually assaulting an adult female in October 2019 at a home in Bedford County, according to a press release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation...

Trainer Jimmy McConnell took his first step in his “drive for five” guiding Jose’s Cold Chills to the championship in the 50th annual Celebration Spring Fun Show. McConnell, whose Formac Stables is based in Bedford County, won Saturday night in front of an estimated crowd of 2,000 in Maverick Arena on the Celebration Grounds...

For nearly three decades, Hershel Thrasher has witnessed a great number of Shelbyville Housing Authority families, when provided with the proper resources, move on to “better things,” like home ownership. Affectionately known as “Mr. Thrasher,” the jovial gray-haired friend to many on Tillman and other Shelbyville Housing Authority neighborhood streets, officially said goodbye on Friday...

NASHVILLE — Tennessee health officials on Friday again reported the biggest one-day jump in people testing positive for COVID-19, the second time that’s happened within a week. The record was reported not long before Nashville joined Memphis in moving this week to require people to wear face masks in many public settings. Nashville’s health board voted to have staffers draw up the details of an order by Sunday evening...

A pair of does dance on a cool spring morning as they cross a field outside Bell Buckle.

Two participants in the Celebration’s Fun Show told police horse equipment was stolen from their trailers while they were in the show ring Saturday night. Five bridles were taken from one trailer and two saddles and a bridle from another between 8:45-9:15 p.m. as the riders were showing in the same class, Officer Joseph Cleek’s report said...

Vietnam Era Veterans’ June event was their 10th Anniversary celebration. Waiters at the restaurant surprised all in attendance by singing “Happy Birthday” in Spanish and English.  Veteran Jimmy Gray talks about being drafted during the Vietnam war. Most of the group Gray trained with went to Vietnam but he was sennt to Germany. Veteran Russell Hubbell while listening, looks through the group’s scrapbook full of pictures and stories of past events. Gray reflected about the POW/MIA flag’s meaning, stating that missing soldiers remains are still being discovered even from World War II. Gray gave each person there license plates with the soldier's cross (some gave all) and the cross of Jesus (One gave All). The group meets the second Thursday of each month. 

Candidates like Doug Meyer, conservative Republican running for U.S. Congress in the 4th district, which includes Bedford County, are beginning to hit the sidewalks in anticipation of the Thursday, Aug. 6, election which includes the state primary and the county general. Deadline to register to vote in the August election is July 7. The Tuesday, Nov. 3, election will not include those candidates vying for county offices on the August ballot but will include those running for office within the City of Shelbyville, Normandy and Wartrace, according to Bedford County administrator of elections, Summer Leverette. Bedford County early voting for the upcoming August election runs from July 17 to Aug. 1.

A recent study from the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro examines ways to strengthen the workforce of professionals in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The newly published research from BERC is part of a larger economic development project, “STEM Workforce Dynamics in the Tennessee Valley Corridor,” sponsored by the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, or TSBDC. ...

MURFREESBORO —  Small business owners across the state unclear about the process for applying for emergency assistance from the federal government are encouraged to seek free counseling assistance through the Tennessee Small Business Development Centers across the state. ...

The Motlow State Medical Laboratory Technology (MLT) program cleared a significant hurdle in April when it earned full accreditation with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). The accreditation comes as the second MLT graduating class completes its requirements...

What makes Subida Coffee any different from the other coffees available in grocery stores? Well, for one, 100% of the profits go to charity, according to Subida officials. Shelbyville Piggy Wiggly managers confirmed Monday morning the local store stocks the coffee brand...

It’s growing. The season finally has worked with our vendors, and the garden ‘stuff’ is coming in. It’s been an up-hill battle, with the early cold weather on into spring, the extremely wet conditions during all of that, and we have had some battles with plant diseases along with having to replant over a few times...

Pole replacement at the intersection of Union Street and Lane Parkway creates a traffic rodeo Wednesday.

While he’s still unsure as to the best course of action for reopening Bedford County Schools during this pandemic, superintendent Don Embry told board of education members on Thursday, “No matter what we do, it’s not going to be right.” The noon special called meeting, which was accessible online, was scheduled for the board to approve some final 2019-2020 budget amendments. ...

Bedford County Board of Education recently asked parents to fill out a survey to get their input on opening schools Aug. 3. There were mixed reviews on that survey, which has not yet been made public, according to schools superintendent Don Embry. Embry said over 3,000 parents and or guardians took time to fill out the survey. There are currently over 8,000 students enrolled at 14 school sites in Bedford County...

Normandy town officials are continuing with their efforts to get a few property owners to clean up their yards and they’re adopting a new strategy to combat what they say are outlandish, false allegations posted on social media by one town resident...

The MyRide Bedford program had just started up, so to speak, when COVID-19 closed Shelbyville-Bedford County Senior Citizens Center in mid March. With full confidence in this new state-affiliated program, organizers said Tuesday that coordinators want senior citizens to know that MyRide volunteers will pick up and deliver prepaid groceries and or prepaid prescriptions to member riders within a 3-day notice...

During a recent family gathering in Rover at the home of Jim and Judy Sorrells, Quilts of Valor were presented to, from left, Robert B. Adgent, who grew up in Rover, served in the U.S. Navy from 1957-1983 and was captain of a Naval ship and James (Jim) H. Sorrells, who served in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968, is a life-time resident of Rover and current UMC pastor at Flat Creek and Pleasant Grove.

F.Z. King Jr. of Unionville was recently awarded a Quilt of Valor for his service in the U.S. Army from 1966-68.

A charge of evading arrest was filed against a driver allegedly clocked at 55 mph in a 30 mph zone Thursday night on West Lane Street Scott Elliot Colburn, 28, of West Lane Street accelerated, then turned into the driveway of his home after Sgt. Trey Green of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office attempted a traffic stop...

The Arrowhead Boys Ranch will be celebrating Independence Day on Saturday, July 4th with fireworks, hot dogs and lots of fun—and all proceeds support the boys ranch. This fundraising event is only $10 per adult and free for children under 10 years old. Fireworks start at 9pm at 239 Cortner Mill Road in Normandy. ...

The Shelby Chapter DAR met Wednesday, June 24 at River Bend Country Club for its last meeting of the DAR Year. Teresa Gill, Program Chairman for June, introduced the speaker, International House of Prayer pastor and missionary Bryan Nerren of Shelbyville. ...

A newborn takes cover under a tree.

The first duty of incoming president Ivan Jones was to recently swear in his fellow Rotary officers for 2020-21. From left, Darin Hasty (president-nominee), Angela Huffman (treasurer) and Dawn Hobbs (president-elect) and Jones.

Nashville orthopedic trauma surgeon, Dr. Manny Sethi, has recently been face-to-face with COVID-19 at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. While he isn’t about to hang up his white coat, Sethi is dividing his time this month on the campaign trail, where he’s seeking support from Tennesseans to fill an open seat in the U.S. Senate...

Bedford County native Mark Clanton announced his candidacy for the position of Bedford County road superintendent for the Aug. 6 election. A lifelong resident of Bedford County and a graduate of Shelbyville Central High School, Clanton said recently, “I remain invested in our community and my commitment to local government public service. In 2018, I obtained certification by the state highway officials board for the position of Bedford County road superintendent.”...

Ronda Clanton of Shelbyville has announced her candidacy for re-election as property assessor in the Thursday, Aug. 6, county general election. Unopposed, her name will appear on the ballot an independent candidate. “I will continue to operate the Assessor’s office with professionalism,” Clanton said Tuesday. ...

Our weather in Bedford County is looking good for the most part through Saturday with typical summertime conditions. Partly sunny each day with a 30% chance of an afternoon thundershower, high temperatures in the upper 80s. Rain is likely Sunday through Tuesday as plenty of moisture will be coming up from the Gulf. Our latest data indicates rain increasing again from July 4-7. I will update you next week on the Independence Day forecast but let’s hope the rain doesn’t mess it up...

In its 50th year, the bright lights of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration Fun Show will shine on at Maverick Arena through Saturday night. TWHNC officials have decided to pay it forward during this year’s event by honoring those who work on the front lines during the pandemic...

The number of newly found cases of COVID-19 in Bedford County is up sharply in the last two weeks but so is the number of tests so much of the increase may just be that with more tests it follows that there will be more positives. The total number of cases in Bedford County (March 5 through June 23) was up to 436. Of that number, 306 have recovered and 126 of the infections are still active...

Fearing its newest construction project is being deliberately delayed, Bedford County Board of Education members asked county officials during the June board meeting exactly when work can begin on the wing at Community High School. Board member David Brown voiced the allegation, “It just appears someone is delaying our project.”...

While it’s still up in the air as to whether students will return to classes on Aug. 3, due to COVID-19, Bedford County school maintenance and previously contracted construction crews have continued to finish their site punch lists, while reportedly staying on schedule, despite pandemic downturns...

Olivia Mason provided an instrumental background for Father’s Day visitors to Bell Buckle Sunday.

A forlorn mule stands in a wealth of refuse in a yard on Carr Creek Road in Normandy.

An employee of Valley View Market near Normandy told a deputy he was attacked as he closed the store Monday night. The victim, who refused medical treatment, told Deputy David Burns a man who arrived at the Huffman Road store on a four-wheeler at closing time cursed him when told to leave. Moments later, as the victim was getting into his truck to leave, he was struck in the back of the head, Burns’ report said...

Knowing that United Way supporters are likely in need of a “celebration,” right now, United Way of Bedford County has renamed its annual shrimp and crawfish boil fundraiser to “Mardi Gras in July.” “After two postponements we are hopeful we can have our event July 31,” said United Way Executive Director Mark McGee. “The dinner has been renamed “Mardi Gras in July” because we think people will be ready to do some celebrating.”...

A Canada goose and one of her goslings float on the Duck River on Saturday.