Stories from Friday, February 8, 2013

By Clint Confehr Senior Staff Writer A memo from U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey paves the way for more women to serve in direct combat roles and in more occupational specialties now open only to men...

By Clint Confehr Senior Staff Writer Marshall County's Election Commission chairman advocates election centers to make voting more convenient. And the Tennessee Association of County Election Officials (TACEO) says election centers could lower the cost of elections...

Pollye Taylor Hundley, 82, of Lewisburg, passed away on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at Marshall Medical Center. A native of Guthrie, Ky., Mrs. Hundley was the daughter of the late Milos G. Davis and Bessie Craft Davis. She was a retired hospital administrator/office manager, and a member of the First Assembly of God in Lewisburg...

Artie Christine Chapman Sharp, 89, of Lewisburg, died Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, in NHC Oakwood Healthcare. Mrs. Sharp was a native of Marshall County, and daughter of the late John and Ruth Rambo Chapman. She was a homemaker and member of Church Street Church of Christ...

Phillip G. Johnson, 55, of Lewisburg, died Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013, at his residence. Mr. Johnson was a native of Marshall County, and son of the late Leslie and Dora Lou Tate Johnson. He was an agriculture teacher at Fairview High School for 33 years, state FFA advisor, coach for the golf and softball teams at Fairview High, and ham radio communicator. He was a member of the Church of Christ...

On Feb. 2 at the Marriot Hotel in Nashville, Cornersville senior backstop Cody Blackburn received the Soaring Eagle trophy he garnered during the summer when he was named MVP of the American Legion, Columbia Post 19, Jr. League Division.

The Forrest Rockets (18-9) beat county rival Cornersville for the third time this season when they thumped the Bulldogs 70-43 on Monday night at CHS behind a barrage of three-pointers to extend their current winning streak to five games. Having defeated Cornersville (5-19) decisively in the previous two meetings, the Rockets took care of business in a similar fashion on Monday, as they built a 35-22 lead in the first half before outscoring the Bulldogs 35-21 over the final two quarters to cruise to the 27-point victory. Bolstered by a 10-of-16 shooting performance in the fourth quarter, Forrest shot 44 percent (27-of-61) from the field overall against CHS' 2-3 zone, which included a 10-of-16 effort from beyond the arc.

The Marshall County Tigers travelled to Spring Hill Monday night with a chance to tie the Raiders for second place in the district standings and led for almost three quarters before a last second 51-49 heartbreaking defeat. "The effort we gave last night was great," said Wilson. "I hate losing but if we are going to lose we want to go down swinging, and we did do that." Cameron Bowers gave the Tigers a chance at victory when he was fouled beyond the three-point arc as time ran out in the ballgame, but unfortunately, Bowers was unable to convert in the two-point loss.

On Tuesday, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs (18-7) ended the regular season with a thud, as they suffered a 59-48 loss at home to the Huntland Lady Hornets (12-14) on Senior Night. After pulling out a hard fought 61-59 overtime victory over CHS in their previous encounter on Jan. 10, Huntland used a barrage of three-pointers to build a 33-26 lead in the first half before opening up a 49-28 advantage early in the fourth quarter en route to sweeping the season series against the Lady Bulldogs.

The emotions of Senior Night were not enough to carry the Cornersville Bulldogs (5-20) to victory on Tuesday, as they dropped a 57-43 decision to the Huntland Hornets (15-11) at home in their season finale. Having lost to Huntland 69-49 earlier in the season, the Bulldogs led for much of the first half in Tuesday's contest, but the Hornets used a late second quarter run to take a 32-27 advantage into the break.

The Marshall County Tigers, coming off two consecutive district losses, took their frustrations out on a winless Hickman County squad with a 67-39 win over the Bulldogs in Lewisburg Tuesday night. With the win, Marshall County (15-11, 11-5) clinched a tournament third seed and a first round District 12-AA home game Wednesday night at Dottie Kelso.

MCHS head coach David Junkins has improved his district winning record each of the past two seasons as he started with seven wins in 2010, improved that mark to nine last year, and after a resounding 47-31 win over Hickman County in Tuesday's senior night event, the Tigerettes finished with an impressive 11-5 District 12-AA regular season mark. The Tigerettes finished the season strong, posting an 11-14 overall record, while winning eight out of their last 11 games. "That is just the way it panned out," said Junkins. "We struggled early in the season trying to find ourselves and I believe we have matured into a much better team."

The Marshall County Tigerettes clinched home court advantage in the first round of the District 12-AA Tournament with a convincing, 48-39 coast-to-coast win at Spring Hill Monday night. "I am happy to gain the home court advantage, hopefully we will get the win versus Hickman County to secure third place," said MCHS head coach David Junkins.

The Forrest Lady Rockets (13-16) recorded their fourth straight win on Monday night when they went on the road and defeated county rival Cornersville 52-40 to earn a split in the season series with the Lady Bulldogs. Cornersville (18-6) had beaten the Lady Rockets 39-37 on Nov. 19, but Forrest turned the tables on the Lady Bulldogs in Monday's contest, as they built a 25-21 lead in the first half before opening up a 51-36 advantage late in the fourth quarter en route to claiming the 12-point victory.