Stories from Wednesday, December 17, 2014

By Karen Hall Editor Anthony S. Puca, who has been writing about sports for the Tribune since 2006, has now been named sports editor. He retired from General Motors in June 2006, and shortly thereafter saw an ad in the Tribune for a reporter. "Let me just go see what they want," said Puca, who was already growing bored with retirement...

The Marshall County Tigers (5-4) avenged an earlier one-point loss to Shelbyville on Friday night when they defeated the Golden Eagles 59-53 at home to record their fourth straight win. Despite getting off to a slow start, the Tigers held a 30-28 lead at halftime before Shelbyville (5-7) seized a 41-39 advantage late in the third quarter.

The Forrest Rockets busted their four-game losing streak Friday night, beating District 9A foe Moore County 56-52 in Chapel Hill. "It is always good to win a district game and get some positive momentum moving forward," said Forrest head coach Wes Hobbs. "I felt with the way we played this past week that we were getting closer to having some success, but the win tonight gave the guys some validation for their hard work. Moore County is a quality opponent and was already 2-1 in our district, so knocking them off at home was an important step in where we want to be."

The Forrest Rockets, propelled by a huge third quarter, outlasted the Community Vikings 57-55 in Unionville Monday night, salvaging a split as the Lady Rockets lost their second consecutive district game by one point. The Rockets trailed 13-9 after the first quarter, tallying all of their points on a pair of 3-pointers by Colton Cook and a trey by Will Edmonson.

The Cornersville Lady Bulldogs (3-6, 2-1 District) recorded their 25th straight win against Culleoka on Friday night when they went on the road and defeated the Lady Warriors 51-44. Culleoka then snapped a four-game losing streak against the Bulldogs later that evening by pulling out a 43-41 victory in the nightcap.

Coming off a lopsided loss to Meridianville two days earlier, the Lewisburg Middle School Tigers (7-3) vented their frustrations on Spring Hill this past Thursday night when they crushed the Generals 52-19 at home. The Tigers forced the Generals to surrender early in the contest and built a commanding 33-8 lead in the first half. Lewisburg then opened up a 52-15 advantage at the end of the third quarter before cruising to their third straight win over Spring Hill.

After a 46-36 win in Manchester on Monday, the FMS Rockets travelled to Middle Tennessee Christian School (MTCS) on Thursday and handily beat the Cougars 46-34 in a coast-to-coast win, marking the 16th consecutive Duck River Valley Conference win in a row for Forrest this season. FMS can clinch the outright conference title with a win at Liberty (13-2) on Jan. 5, 2015 or in Lynchburg (3-12) on Jan. 8.

The Forrest Lady Rockets were riding high on a nine-game winning streak coming into Friday night's big District 9A showdown with Moore County, and for the fourth year in a row, the Raiderettes won in Chapel Hill with the last three losses decided by three points or less. "We led the whole game, but then we decided to try not to lose the game, just doing what we were supposed to do, make layups, make free throws, play defense, and we didn't do any of those things," said Forrest head coach Jeremy Jean.

On Thursday night, the Cornersville Middle School Lady Bulldogs (9-6) ended their season on a high note when they defeated Elkton 33-14 on the road to complete the season sweep of the Lady Elks. The Bulldogs (7-8), meanwhile, missed a chance to record their second straight winning season after dropping a 41-35 decision to the Elks in the nightcap.

Spring Hill (11-4) handed the Lewisburg Middle School Tigerettes (4-6) their second straight loss on Thursday night when they defeated LMS 34-13 in Lewisburg. Having lost to the Lady Generals 33-17 in their previous encounter on Nov. 3, the Tigerettes actually got off to a promising start in Thursday's contest and held an 8-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

The FMS Lady Rockets, coming off back-to-back wins, sputtered offensively in Murfreesboro Thursday night, falling 33-17 to Middle Tennessee Christian School (MTCS). Forrest did not have a field goal until the 2:53 mark of the third period. Stevie Ray hit one of two free throws to start the contest before MTCS scored 23 consecutive points to put the game on ice early.

Points proved to be a scarce commodity for the Marshall County Tigerettes (2-7) on Friday night, as they mustered just one field goal over the final three quarters en route to suffering a 57-14 loss at home to the Shelbyville Golden Eaglettes. After drubbing MCHS 80-35 in their previous meeting on Nov. 17, Shelbyville (5-5) once again ran roughshod over the Tigerettes and built a 32-13 lead in the first half before outscoring Marshall County 25-1 over the final two quarters to complete the sweep of the season series.

Forrest wrestling results Thursday Dec. 11 at Shelbyville Forrest 58-Shelbyville Central 24 170 pounds: Dylan Booker (FORR) over Triston Maxwell (SHCE) (Fall 0:59) 182: Luc Zahorian (SHCE) over William Eddins (FORR) (Fall 5:08) 195: Cody Donnelly (FORR) over Arturo Ruiz (SHCE) (Fall 1:58) 220: Nikolas McGuiggan (FORR) over (SHCE) (For.) 285: Dillon Kydd (FORR) over Quinton

Henry Clifton Frame, 88, of Chapel Hill, died Friday evening, Dec. 12, 2014, in Franklin. Mr. Frame was born in Moore County, and was a son of the late Charlie Clifford and Etta Mae Smith Frame. He was a veteran, having served in the Third Army, 42nd Rainbow Division, C Company, under Gen. ...

Gene Shires, 85, of the Caney Spring Community of Marshall County, died Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014, in Lewisburg. Mr. Shires was born in Marshall County and was a son of the late Paul Jones and Elizabeth Harris Shires. He was a graduate of Forrest School in Chapel Hill, attended the University of Tennessee, and served his country as a member of the Tennessee National Guard. ...

Carl Edward Moses, 79, of Cornersville, died Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2014, in NHC Oakwood Healthcare. Mr. Moses was a native of Norfolk, Va. and son of the late Carl S. and Jennie Gray Bailey Moses. He served his country as a career veteran in the U.S. Navy. He was a former member of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for the City of Cornersville, and was a member of the Cornersville United Methodist Church...

Gerald W. Burns, 64, of Lewisburg, passed away on Monday, Dec. 15, 2014, at his residence. A native of Lincoln County, Mr. Burns was the son of James Burns of Fayetteville and the late Doris Fite Burns. Mr. Burns was self-employed as a paver and served his country in the United States Army...

Guy Loyd Rankin, 87, of Lewisburg, died Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, at NHC Oakwood. Mr. Rankin was a native of Marshall County, the son of the late Guy and Lennis Rachel Woodward Rankin. He was retired from the State of Tennessee Highway Department and was a member of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Lewisburg...

Dorothy Miller, 84, of Lewisburg, died Sunday, Dec. 14, 2014, at NHC Columbia. Mrs. Miller was the daughter of the late James Samuel and Willie Brence McAdams Darnell. She was a homemaker and a member of Westvue Church of Christ. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Bobby Horace Miller, on Nov. 9 this year...

Wesley Layne Worsham, 47, of Lewisburg, died Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, in Vanderbilt Medical Center. Layne was a native of Giles County, and son of Don Worsham and Carolyn Rainey Magnusson. He was employed as a deputy with the Marshall County Sheriff's Department and, formerly, as a police officer with the Cornersville Police Department. He was also employed part-time with London Funeral Home in their monument and cemetery operation. Layne was a member of the Cornersville First Baptist Church...

Brenda Kaye Farrar, 63, of Cornersville, died Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014, in Maury Regional Medical Center. Mrs. Farrar was a native of Maury County, and daughter of the late Charles Edward and Ruth Mae Davis Luttrell. She was a member of the 1969 graduating class at Jones High School in Lynnville. She was the owner of ABC Child Care in Cornersville and member of the Cornersville Baptist Church...

By Karen Hall Editor Effective yesterday, Robin Minor has resigned from Lewisburg's City Council. This was regretfully announced by Mayor Jim Bingham. Minor, who recently retired from a lifetime in the teaching profession, has served the citizens in Ward 5 since he was elected in May 2007, being re-elected to another four-year term in 2011...

By Karen Hall Editor Last Thursday local officials were excited to hear the results of Gov. Bill Haslam's Labor Education Alignment Program competition -- the grant proposal Marshall County and Lewisburg participated in was one of 12 winners, out of almost 30 competitors. A total of $970,000 was awarded to the plan put together by the South Central Tennessee Development District, called "Filling gaps between industry and employees with manufacturing technology."...

By Ivory Riner Staff Writer The Lewisburg Police Department hosted their annual Cops for Kids program Saturday. The program has been around since the '80s or '90s, and Capt. Rebekah Mitchell has been in charge for about eight years. This year, 120 students were chosen from Westhills, Marshall Elementary, and Oak Grove to participate in a day filled with shopping and eating. ...