Stories from Wednesday, April 30, 2014

By Jessica Moore Staff Writer An example of the Tennessee state tree, the tulip poplar, was ceremonially planted near the greenway of Rock Creek Park Friday morning. The tree was actually planted earlier in the spring. It can be found along the greenway about half way between the crosswalk at East Church Street and the bridge landing. It can easily be identified by the concrete marker placed in the ground in front of it...

By Karen Hall Editor The man whose radio show has been called "mandatory listening for conservative law makers and candidates," got a standing ovation at the end of his speech at the Marshall County Republican Party's annual Presidents Day dinner. The large meeting room at the Recreation Center was filled with party members, plus legislators Scott DesJarlais, Bill Ketron, Jim Tracy, and Billy Spivey. ...

By Karen Hall Editor Fourteen people (12 jurors and two alternates) took their seats in the jury box at 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, ready to hear evidence in the case of Heather Rogers McCollum, 24, who is charged with first-degree premeditated murder and arson...

Thefts and vandalism reported A zero-turn 2000 series Toro mower with a 60-inch cut, worth $7,150, and the red trailer with a ramp at the back, worth $600, were taken from a property on Holly Grove Road between 9 p.m. April 22, and 5:30 p.m. April 23. The serial number of the mower is 312000757...

John Thomas "J. T." Blackwell, 73, of Belfast, passed away on Friday, April 25, 2014, at his residence. A native of Marshall County, Mr. Blackwell was the son of the late Clarence Blackwell and Oma Rogers Blackwell. He was self-employed and enjoyed doing small engine repair...

Lloyd Gordon, 56, husband of Sandy Gordon, and a resident of Lewisburg, passed away Wednesday morning, April 23, 2014, at his residence. Lloyd was born Sept. 11, 1957, in Lansing, Mich. and was the son of the late Earl and Tyke Gordon. He enjoyed fishing and treasure hunting...

Gilbert Howard Pope, 88, of Cornersville, died Thursday, April 24, 2014, in the Gardens of Poplar Estates Retirement Center in Columbia. Mr. Pope was a native of Giles County, and son of the late Johnny Gilbert and Mattie Lucille McNeese Pope. He served his country in the U.S. Navy during WWII. He was the owner of Robertson Fork Grocery for 10 years and retired from Green Realty Company. He was a member of Cornersville First Baptist Church...

Talmage Dewitte Young, 92, of Ostella, passed away on Monday, April 14, 2014, in Rockdale Hospital, Conyers, Ga. after a short illness. He was born in Lincoln County on Oct. 26, 1921, to the late Dewitt Talmage and Bessie Louise Young. He was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Cloyce, and two sisters, Glendon Smith of Petersburg and Louise Adams of Pulaski...

Ardeth "Ardie" Bender, 86, of Lewisburg, died Saturday, April 26, 2014, at NHC Lewisburg. Funeral services for Ardie were held at East Commerce Baptist Church on Monday, April 28, with Brother James Hickey officiating. Pallbearers were Bryan Storey, Steve McPherson, Donnie Webb, Rick Roberts, Chris Cox, and Kevin McGehee...

After splitting their two pool games the previous evening, the Marshall County Tigerettes (9-12) fell into the Bronze Division of the Franklin/Sonic Tournament when they lost 8-0 in five innings to the East Robertson Lady Indians on Saturday morning in the first round of the double elimination portion of the tourney. Bolstered by a five run third inning, East Robertson finished with 10 hits and two walks against MCHS starting pitcher Grace Medley to go along with two Tigerette errors.

Coming off an 8-0 loss to East Robertson earlier in the morning, the Marshall County Tigerettes (10-12) bounced back by defeating the Martin Luther King Magnet School Lady Royals 4-1 in the first round of the Bronze Division bracket on Saturday in the Franklin/Sonic Tournament at Fly Park. After the Tigerettes built a 4-0 lead through the first three innings of play, MLK tallied a run in the bottom of the fourth to trim the deficit to 4-1 before the game was called at the end of the frame due to time constraints.

Following an impressive win over Collierville, the Marshall County Tigerettes (12-12) advanced to the Bronze Division championship game of the Franklin/Sonic Tournament by defeating the Eagleville Lady Eagles 2-0 in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon at Fly Park. After the two teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first three innings of play, Marshall County tallied a run in each of the next two innings to grab a 2-0 lead before the game was called in the bottom of the fifth due to time constraints.

On Friday night, the Marshall County Tigers (17-9) laid an egg at Shelbyville Central High School, as the Golden Eagles thrashed MCHS 17-4 in five innings. Shelbyville (6-20) enjoyed their best offensive performance of the season and pounded out 16 hits against four Marshall County pitchers to go along with four walks. The Tigers also compounded their pitching staff's problems by committing eight errors, which led to 11 of the Golden Eagles' 17 runs.

After beating Martin Luther King Magnet School 4-1 in the first round of the Bronze Division bracket, the Marshall County Tigerettes (11-12) recorded their most impressive win of the season on Saturday afternoon when they slayed the Collierville Lady Dragons 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Franklin/Sonic Tournament at Fly Park. Having reached the Class AAA State tournament last year, Collierville boasted a 28-8-1 record coming into their contest with MCHS and jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.

Ravenwood (19-12-2) took home the Bronze Division championship of the Franklin/Sonic Tournament by defeating the Marshall County Tigerettes 11-1 in three innings on Saturday night at Fly Park in the title game. Despite coming up short in the championship contest, MCHS coach Heather Denton thought her team made progress during the tournament after they posted a 4-3 record during the two-day event.

After a close 3-2 loss to Columbia Central in Chapel Hill on Friday, the Rockets were looking for revenge on the road on Saturday, but the Lions came away winners again by a 6-1 margin, making it four straight wins over Forrest since 2002. On Friday, the Lions scored three runs in the second inning off Forrest starter Ryan Byrd before Jacob Daughrity came to the hill and shut down Columbia Central the rest of the way.

The Forrest Lady Rockets came within one strike of taking home first place in the Silver Division Saturday at the Sonic Tournament at Fly Park in Franklin, but it was not to be as longtime rival East Robertson pulled out a dramatic 7-6 win in the title game. Forrest opened up the tournament with a pair of shutout wins over Hume-Fogg Academic Magnet School and Ravenwood, highlighted by a grand-slam home run by Sara Jordan versus Hume Fogg.

The Marshall County Tigers (17-8) defeated Cornersville for the third time this season when they beat the Bulldogs 5-2 on Friday at home on Senior Night. MCHS held a 3-1 lead through the first three innings of play before Cornersville (13-11) scored a run in the top of the fourth to whittle the deficit to 3-2.

After defeating a strong Gordonsville team a couple hours earlier, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs (14-10) saw their run through the Bronze Division of the Franklin/Sonic Tournament come to an end on Saturday afternoon when they lost 3-0 in five innings to the Ravenwood Raptors in the semifinals at Fly Park.

After losing to Pope John Paul II earlier in the morning, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs (13-9) stayed alive in the Franklin/Sonic Tournament by defeating the Harpeth Hall Honeybears 3-2 in six innings on Saturday in the first round of the Bronze Division bracket at Fly Park. Having defeated Harpeth Hall 3-1 the previous evening during pool play, the Lady Bulldogs found themselves locked in a 2-2 tie with the Honeybears (12-5) at the end of the fifth inning in Saturday's contest. CHS then pulled out the victory by scoring the winning run in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a sacrifice fly by eighth grader Emma Mitchell to advance to the next round.

Having won both of their pool games the previous evening, the Cornersville Lady Bulldogs (12-9) fell into the Bronze Division of the Franklin/Sonic Tournament after losing 6-0 in five innings to 2013 Division II Class AA runner-up Pope John Paul II on Saturday morning at Fly Park in the first round of the double elimination portion of the tourney. Bolstered by a pair of three-run innings, the Lady Knights (21-10) finished with six hits and two walks against two Cornersville hurlers to go along with two Lady Bulldog errors.

The Cornersville Lady Bulldogs (14-9) notched an impressive win on Saturday afternoon at the Franklin/Sonic Tournament when they defeated the Gordonsville Tigerettes 2-1 in five innings at Fly Park in the quarterfinals of the Bronze Division. Having finished second in last year's Class A State Tournament, Gordonsville boasted a 22-8 record coming into their contest against Cornersville, but the Lady Bulldogs didn't appear to be intimidated by the Tigerettes' resume and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning.