by Amanda West | Apr 5, 2024 | Feature
CNDY HAMBLEN has dreamed of having “special friends” since she was a little girl. But not just any friends — those who have differing abilities. For the last 45 years, Hamblen has been a special education (SPED) teacher in Sumner County Schools, with 40 of those years...
by Amanda West | Apr 5, 2024 | Feature
“SCIENCE ISN’T just for the boys, Janet. It’s for the girls, too.” This simple statement made in 1978 by fifth-grade teacher Mrs. Ernestine Yarborough forever changed the trajectory of Janet Ivey-Duensing’s life. Referring to Yarborough, Ivey-Duensing said, “She...
by Amanda West | Feb 17, 2024 | Feature
SOME SINGLE mothers work multiple jobs to keep their families afloat, but with housing and utility prices at an all-time high, child care costs mounting, and grocery prices steadily rising, many are still struggling. One missed paycheck can equal homelessness. That’s...
by Richard Klin | Feb 17, 2024 | Feature
THE HENDERSONVILLE Samaritan Center, part of the Samaritan Association, is a multi-pronged assistance center serving the community for six decades. The center offers crucial services to those in need. According to Executive Director Steve Brown, employed individuals...
by Amanda West | Jan 20, 2024 | Feature
THE OWNERS of 393 Café, Tanya McPherson and her mother, Nadine Simons, wholeheartedly believe, “Good food is all the sweeter when it’s shared with good friends.” For 25 years McPherson watched her father and stepmother run a successful restaurant in Wisconsin, 25...
by Paige Cushman | Jan 20, 2024 | Feature
AT THE tender age of 19, Ameera Briefki embarked on a life-altering journey, fleeing the war-torn landscapes of Iraq with her Kurdish mother and siblings. “I was living from war to war, literally all my life,” she reflects. In 1980, when Briefki was still a toddler,...
