Stories from Friday, June 23, 2017

Marshall County should lose an unwanted claim to fame this year. With the recent reappraisal year complete, the county’s tax rate should fall out of the top five among the 95 counties in the state of Tennessee. For the past five years, the tax rate of $3.22 per $100 of assessed value has placed Marshall County at the fourth highest rate in the state, trailing only Davidson, Shelby, and Coffee Counties...

Diamonds are created from pressure, fossil fuels, and eons of time, but in Delina, Tennessee Larry Payne is forming his own diamond in the form of a country store... one day at a time. Sometimes one lost customer at a time. More about that later. The Delina Country Store is “somewhere in the middle of nowhere,” as tall white-washed letters plainly state on the outside of the historic structure which has been part of the community since 1892...

While conducting interviews at the Delina Country Store, I felt the urge to look through the pages of the old ledger book. I had family that lived in the area in the early 20th Century. I looked through one ledger, but had no luck making any family connections. ...

• On Thursday, June 8, Marshall County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Arbor Hill Road regarding an assault. The complainant stated that himself and his girlfriend, who had been staying at the home with his parents, had gone out to eat when he began receiving text messages from his mother stating that she had thrown his belongings out of the home...

James David Bowen to Teresa Powell Casteel; David Eugene Crosby, Sr. to Chrystal Rena Hennessey; Rebecca Dawn Cates to Andrew Joshua Endsley; William Scott Johnson to Shyanne Hunter Heath; John Timothy Long to Sheryl Lynn Johnson Mosley; James Bradford Lowry to Melissa Jill Sawyer Surratt; William Dusty Nance to Irina Katherine Searle; Paul Stephen Sanders, Jr. to Bridgette Amanda Elmore; Andrew Charles Smith to Emily Caroline Bell...

(Note to editors: A version of this column was distributed in 2015.) Dear Mom and Dad, It’s been less than a week since you dropped me off at summer camp. You better come get me ‘cause I’m in big trouble. On my first day, I was feeling homesick. So I found a piece of wood and began carving it with my Swiss Army knife the way Daddy showed me...

June 2017 was supposed to be the month my 13-year-old son Gideon went to Washington, D.C. on a youth tour. For reasons that had nothing to do with recent gunfire or the current occupant of the Oval Office (or the fact that “draining the swamp” might be too overpowering a concept for a lad who still cringes at parental suggestions about “emptying the cat litterbox” or “picking up that HazMat suit from your bedroom floor”), my wife and I decided to cancel our plans and get a refund...

It’s impossible to argue with Rush Limbaugh. When Rush said the nut job who shot House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four others at a D.C. baseball field on Wednesday was radicalized by the leftwing establishment media, he’s absolutely correct. Everyone in Washington has been urging us not get into a political blame-game like the ones that followed the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Gifford in 2011 or the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995...

Dear Savvy Senior, My husband and I are interested in getting a couple of bicycles for leisurely exercise and fun, and would like to get your recommendation. We’re both approaching 60 and are a little overweight, and it’s been a while since we rode.—Easy Riders...

Dear Heloise: How do you kill DUST MITES? I just moved into my first house, and I don’t want any dust mites in my house. -- Juliana L., Blacksburg, Va. Juliana, dust mites love our homes because they live on dead flakes of skin and dander shed by people and pets. ...

The Old Man had just poured the coffee when the table began shaking and the dishes began rattling on their shelves. Suddenly, as the entire house shook, he heard the engine noise. Chimney soot fell to the open hearth of the fireplace, billowing a cloud of black smoke in the den. The Old Man shielded his eyes from the glare and then as the plane climbed in its path back toward the house, he recognized the unmistakable signature on its fuselage – cow manure...

“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.” - 1 John 4:15,16 Have you ever asked yourself, “Why did God create me?” There are many answers one could give, but when all is said and done it comes down to – love!...

Mr. Bobby Lee “Toby” Martin Jr., age 45, of Murfreesboro, died Tuesday, June 20, 2017, at St. Thomas West. Mr. Martin was a native of Marshall County, the son of Bobby Lee, Sr.(Cindy) Martin and the late Barbara Smith. He was a graduate of MCHS Class of 1990 and was employed in the printer industry. ...

Glen Doggett, age 94 of Lewisburg, died Monday, June 19, 2017, in NHC Pulaski Healthcare. Mr. Doggett was a native of Marshall County, TN, and son of the late Buford Lee and Sallie Lou McGaugh Doggett. He served his country in the U.S. Army during World War II. He saw action in New Guinea, Southern Philippines and Luzon. He retired from R.C. Mahon Steel Corporation in Michigan and was a member of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church...

Post-Season Tournaments Boys District Tournaments T-Ball- Friday, June 23 at Lawrenceburg, 6 p.m. 7 year-olds- Friday, June 23 at Lewisburg, 8 p.m. 8 year-olds- Thursday, June 22 at Lewisburg, 8 p.m. Minor League- Friday, June 23 at Lewisburg, 8 p.m. Major League- Friday, June 23 at Lawrenceburg, 8 p.m. State Tournament will start Friday, July 7 Girls State Tournament T-Ball, 8U, and 12U-June 23-25 at Columbia