Links and Lanes Tournament combines golf, bowling in memory of fallen trooper

The 8^th annual Links and Lanes tournament combines golf and bowling competitions in memory of a state trooper killed in the line of duty. The Oct. 19 event includes an 18-hole scramble at the Dickson Country Club, dinner and an evening of bowling at Thunder Alley and is a benefit for the Todd Larkins Memorial Foundation. Larkins was a 1991 graduate of Dickson County High School and a five-year veteran of the Tennessee Highway Patrol who was struck by a tractor trailer and killed during a traffic stop on Interstate 40 in July 2005. His death spurred an effort to strengthen Tennessee’s “move over” law that requires motorists to slow down or move over a lane when approaching any emergency vehicle stopped on the side of a road or highway. The truck driver who killed Larkins blamed sleep apnea for causing his vehicle to swerve onto the interstate shoulder. He pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and was sentenced to three years on probation and lost his license for a year. The Links and Lanes Tournament begins at 1 pm Friday at the country club with teams of four competing in an 18-hole scramble. Whitt’s Barbecue will cater a dinner for participants at Thunder Alley and then there is a no-tap bowling tournament in which knocking down nine pins counts as a strike. There will be prizes for grand champion, golf champion, bowling champion and other competitions, as well as numerous door prizes. The entry fee is $80 per person and entry forms are available at the Dickson Country Club and Thunder Alley. For more information on the 8^th annual Links and Lanes Tournament, call 446-2557.