OVER THE past 10 years, Amanda Lankford’s career in home health has evolved from scheduling appointments at the front desk to working in human resources and managing the weekly payroll. Her...
THE CHURCH parking lot is full. Fire trucks, ambulances, police and sheriff ’s department cars, and other emergency response vehicles encircle the property and overflow into areas surrounding...
Jimmy Simmons has spent nearly half a century helping Bedford County families achieve the American dream. Long before the growth, the subdivisions, and the new businesses, Simmons was selling the...
The raging fire popped and hissed as it devoured the first floor. Flames licked the windows along the second story. One by one, the windows shattered, sending shards of glass onto the rose bushes...
By the end of the Civil War, more than 750,000 soldiers had died — more than the combined losses of World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Locals from Bedford County, in...
Shirley Capley gripped the bassinet and examined the tiny infant. Her entire body could fit in the palm of Capley’s hand. At only 1.5 pounds, this was the smallest baby she had helped Dr. Birch...
Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) celebrated its 90th anniversary Saturday, Aug. 15, at Harris Middle School. A total of 407 cooperative members registered, and an estimated 520...
"You've been bad again,” his uncle said. Then he wadded up a few T-shirts and a pair of blue jeans and threw them into a black trash bag. His uncle slammed the door and locked the deadbolt. The boy...
Genevieve Harris loads her daughter, Evalynne Stringer, and her two sons, Killian and Declan, into their handicapped-accessible van. Between working a full-time job, driving Evalynne to her...
You take between 12 and 20 breaths every minute. Over the next 24 hours, you will inhale and exhale approximately 17,000 to 28,000 times. Unless we are winded from overexertion, controlling our...
Ava Graves considers the characters in books her dearest friends. Novels, short stories, poetry, and the authors’ own stories fill Graves with an unending desire to create. They are the breath that...
If you research the Scottish history of Clan Wilson, you will discover that their crest features a lion brandishing a large sword. The motto “Semper Vigilans,” meaning “always watchful,” is...
Somehow, seconds blur into hours as your dream home is reduced to smoldering embers. Your mind races. How could this fire have started? Everyone — including your tiny Yorkies and your daughter’s...
Stormy weather couldn’t keep Shelbyville from celebrating the 250th birthday of the nation. Although the burial of the much-anticipated 2076 time capsule on the grounds of the historic Bedford...
Matt Insell grew up on the sidelines of the basketball court at the Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS) gym. As the son of Rick Insell — the “all-time winningest coach” in the history of Middle...
Even before they were known as the Golden Eaglettes, Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS) set and broke records in athletics. In fact, because SCHS allowed girls to play basketball as early as the...
Saddle up your Tennessee walking horses, slip on your favorite pair of boots, and bring your excitement — and your appetite — to the largest event facility in the state of Tennessee for the 88th...
Shelbyville became the Tennessee Walking Horse Capital of the World because of families like the Dericksons, who championed their success from the very beginning. On Sept. 17, 1886, a black stallion...
Six-year-old Greyson Green never leaves the house — or his grandfather’s barn at Jeff Green Stables — without clutching at least one miniature horse in each hand. Horses are practically part of...
Some athletes excel at baseball. For others, football is their specialty. Stephen Bobo, a senior at Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS), has been described as a “dual-sport star,” with others...
OKINAWA, JAPAN; Korea; the Philippines; Thailand; Australia; Singapore; Hong Kong; Saudi Arabia; the United Arab Emirates; Qatar; Kuwait; Iraq; Kosovo; Cuba; Greece; Italy; Spain; France; Germany;...
I PLUNKED MY keys and cellphone into the plastic tray. Two windowless metal doors separated us from the outside world. A third interior door was unbolted, and Lt. Chris Cook, the director of the...
1967 WAS BOTH a tumultuous and transformative time in the history of our nation. January began with a national tragedy when three astronauts were killed during the prelaunch mission of Apollo 1....
HER MOTHER had reluctantly signed the papers. Twenty-four days after Jennifer Clever turned 18, she was on her way to Fort Dix in Burlington County, New Jersey. As a native of Dunkirk on the...
DUSTIN MASON looked up from his Game Boy. Bolts of lightning flashed across the square television screen, followed by rumbles of thunder. The timer was counting down on his Pokémon game, but he...
THE HOMETOWN Heroes & Harmony event, sponsored by the United Veterans Council of Bedford County, began as an invitation-only event before welcoming our community to a free concert on the...
TOWERING TREES hugged both sides of the narrow driveway as gravel crunched beneath the tires of my minivan. Each time I traveled Old Nashville Dirt Road, I had admired this two-story farmhouse with...
ON MAY 9, the aroma of fish fillets and hushpuppies sizzled and crackled inside deep fryers. Children played tag on the freshly manicured lawn. Others smiled joyfully as they gathered new friends at...
WHEN PEYTON Allison was a little girl, she lined up her Bratz dolls and imagined she was their teacher. Other times, she talked her little brother, Alex, into pretending he was one of her students....
"WORK HARD, play hard, pray hard” is the motto of the White family, who own White Associates LLC, which opened at 100 L. Fisher Rd. in 2000. What began as two separate businesses opened the door for...
“DO YOU want fries with that?” was a question Mike and Holly Rittenberry frequently asked customers while working at the McDonald’s on Madison Street during the early 1980s. What began as a...
“When your pawpaw, Willie B. Davis, was younger, he used to make moonshine.” Michelle leaned closer, looking puzzled. “Are you serious, Nanny?” “Back in them days, ‘fore he worked at the highway...
EMILY WOODRUFF turned the brass knob and pushed the door open. “This two-bedroom townhome is move-in ready. I think you’ll love this retirement community,” she said. Her client wearily scanned the...
AT THE corner of East Depot Street and Thompson Street, a few blocks from the historic Bedford County Courthouse, treasures await at Shelbyville’s oldest antique store. Every counter, curio cabinet,...
AMERICAN NOVELIST Thomas Wolfe famously said, “You can’t go home again.” Our lives — and everything around us — change constantly. Family members and close friends pass away. Communities evolve....
IT’S ONE of the busiest days of the year — the Saturday before Thanksgiving. In kitchens all across Shelbyville, steam will rise from the fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies cooling on the counter....
IN 1997, Susan Haynes had spent a decade working for Union Planters Bank, and though her husband, Andy, had a dependable job, one question kept circling inside his brain — “What if I started my own...
THE FIFTH annual Spring Fling, hosted by the Bedford County Fair Board at 2119 Midland Rd., included a free countywide Easter egg hunt, a guest appearance by the Easter Bunny himself, 60 vendors...
THE SPEED limit isn’t the only change that has taken place on Fairfield Pike over the last several years. A once undeveloped piece of land is now a state-of-the-art learning facility. Cartwright...
GLITZ, GLAMOUR, balloons, sparkly sequins, and a whole lot of pictureperfect smiles transformed the theater at Shelbyville Central High School on Saturday, Feb. 7, for the 2026 Mister and Miss...
COURTNEY BOGLE applied to Thomas Magnet School (TMS) three years ago, hoping to teach English to seventh and eighth graders. When the principal, Mrs. Tracy Watson, asked if she’d be willing to start...
THE CONNECTED Community 5K on May 10, 2025, left many participants with more than just shin splints. Not long after everyone crossed the finish line of the "Run, Walk, and Roll," Beth Davis and...
TINA CORLEY looked on in grateful awe at the rows of pallets stacked near her husband, Ryan, and their adult children, Chloe and Caden. Every pallet was stuffed with school supplies for the Bedford...
BEYOND THE doorway of the classroom, hurried footsteps echoed in the tiled hallway of Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS). “Must be nice,” someone seated in the back of the room whispered. “I bet...
“LOVING AND taking care of God’s people is in our DNA,” Patricia Simmons said. When she and her husband, Robert, retired to Shelbyville from Los Angeles, California, a decade ago, they felt the Holy...
AVERY LANÉE Floyd slides another blue, velvety-smooth bead onto the wristlet, meant for holding keys, and lifts it up for her mom, Kelsey, to examine before she sells it. “This one’s gonna say ‘Dog...
PHARAOH CONDEMNED him to death. But as Pharaoh’s daughter lifted baby Moses from the hand-hewn basket bobbing in the Nile River, Moses passed from certain death to life. Not just life — he would be...
“JOHNNY, CAN you come to my desk, please?” At the sound of his name being called, Johnny jumped from his seat. He tried not to look too eager as he dashed across the bright red, blue, and yellow...
THE FLY Arts Center is abuzz with activity. Community potlucks, professionally catered dinner theatre shows, fundraisers for nonprofits, a quarterly “Maker Market,” plus exhibitions by local artists...
IN 1860, three women in Hartford, Connecticut, started an after-school club to provide young boys with a safe place to stay out of trouble. By setting high expectations, the boys learned positive...
BIG HAIR bands, leg warmers, neon spandex, mullets, perms, and ultra-teased bangs, bright geometric shapes, and colorful wind suits — each of these reminds us of the 1980s. But this era, with its...
AN EXTENDED hospital stay; an injury on the job, at home, or in an accident; post-surgery; or the need to increase mobility following a stroke, age-related decline, or to improve flexibility,...
NO MATTER where you live in Bedford County, mention the name Virginia Freeman and faces light up. “The mold was thrown away after God made her,” and “God has blessed her, and everyone who knew her...
ACROSS THE aisle of the grocery store, 8-year-old Catherine Smith watched as a white-haired lady stretched her trembling hand toward a package of toilet paper before several rolls tumbled from the...
BETH MEERDINK tenderly cradled her treasured copy of “The Lady With the Lamp: The story of Florence Nightingale” and audibly repeated Nightingale’s call to action: “I will change all this, if it...
THE SHELBYVILLEBEDFORD County Chamber of Commerce hosted A Bedford County Christmas on Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. This second annual event included lighting the Christmas tree on the lawn of the historic...
CHRIS BROWN slid his card into the ATM and punched in his PIN. As he’d done many times before, he selected the amount of cash he wanted to withdraw from the bank in Fayetteville, North Carolina....
THE UNITED States Army, the largest branch of our military, was established on June 14, 1775. Two years later, on the same exact date, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution....
THE ROAR of five mighty engines, the thrill of the crowd cheering from the stands, and the wholesome family atmosphere made the Monster Truck Wars at the Cooper Steel Arena on Oct. 25 unforgettable....
Dear Good News Magazine,My 13-year-old granddaughter KaemeyYoung is my hero — and a hero to manyothers — as she continues her battle againstacute lymphoblastic leukemia. She’s not afirefighter, a...
GROWING UP, most of us played outside long after the streetlights in our neighborhood buzzed to life high above our bicycles. Electricity has hummed through our lives like a silent servant — so...
FOR MOST working mothers, 6 p.m. is a time for reheating a pot of soup on the stove or warming bread in the oven for dinner. It’s a time when our modern conveniences, such as washing machines,...
MORGAN HEAD bent her elbow and slowly raised the mascara wand toward her dark eyelashes. Her grasp faltered, and the wand dropped from her shaking hand, leaving a black trail down the front of her...
FROM THE livestock in your barn to the pets snuggled on your living room couch to your furry — or not-so-furry — friend snoozing in your pocket, Cascade Veterinary Hospital LLC (CVH) welcomes every...
ANDREA NIX stretches her arm over the side of her recliner and pushes the cloth-covered lever forward. The footrest pops upward, elevating her legs. She savors interactions with students, but this...
THIS LITTLE piggy went to market. This little piggy stayed home. And this little piggy was a Bedford County 4-H project? Founded more than a century ago, 4-H began with a mission of teaching rural...
HIS SIZE and gentle demeanor were those of a Labrador retriever, but the shape of his muzzle resembled a hound’s. Like most of the dogs at New Destiny Dog Rescue (NDDR), he was a mystery. His coat...
ON OCT. 18 and 19, Bell Buckle welcomed thousands of visitors to the annual Webb School Art & Craft Show. The salty-sweet aroma of kettle corn, funnel cakes dusted with powdered sugar, and...
WOOD SMOKE teases your nostrils. Buttery yellow, bright orange, and cranberry leaves rain down from the mature trees overhead. Rays of golden sunlight dance on Thompson Creek, beckoning you to spend...
THE CELEBRATION City Car Club began in March 1982 with a group of car enthusiasts, led by Garland King, who wanted to share their passion for classic cars, bring the community together, and...
WE HAVE understood the term “kick the bucket” for centuries. But it wasn’t until 2007 that screenwriter Justin Zackham coined the phrase “bucket list,” following the release of his film, which...
THE SHELBYVILLE-BEDFORD County Public Library at 220 S. Jefferson St. is topsy-turvy. Staff completed a much-needed reset, replacing the adult book section with the children’s and youth books...
WHEN WORD reached Clement Cannon that commissioners sought land along the Duck River to establish the county seat of Shelbyville, it is said that he stuffed $1,000 worth of silver into his pockets,...
WE’VE ALL heard, “The sky’s the limit,” but for Clara Grace Sanders, the sky isn’t the limit — it’s home! From a young age, she attended several Girls in Aviation events with her Girl Scout troop,...
THE BEDFORD County Fair, July 14-19, 2025, brought a blend of lighthearted, down-home entertainment and beloved traditions, reminding us why this yearly event buzzes with anticipation. This year,...
WHEN MELONIE Valleroy entered second grade, her mom started a job as a pharmacy technician at Middle Tennessee Pharmacy Services (MTPS), so Valleroy often spent time there after school and during...
ALTHOUGH FELLOW nurses refer to Michaela Stone as a “baby nurse,” Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital recently awarded her the Rosamond Gabrielson Staff Nurse of the Year award. This prestigious award...
THE TENNESSEE College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Higher Education Center at 2905 Highway 231 N. should be completed before the end of the year. The state financed this $45.4 million project...
SUCCESS IS often found in who you know and those you meet along the way. For those who own a business or dream of launching one, networking opportunities provide a space to dig deeper roots within...
SADDLE UP your Tennessee walking horses, slip on your favorite pair of boots, and bring your excitement and appetite to the largest event facility in Tennessee for the 87th annual Tennessee Walking...
EVERY EYE was on the center ring. The floodlights overhead, which had previously illuminated the arena for dozens of Tennessee walking horses (TWH) and their riders, switched off. A subtle hush fell...
HURRICANE HELENE dumped an astonishing 30 inches of rain on portions of Tennessee and Western North Carolina, triggering deadly landslides. Scenes unfolding across social media showed utter...
TIFFANY WOOSLEY transferred from Moore County and started her freshman year at Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS). This decision proved to be a game-changer for Woosley. She rose from an...
WHILE HIS mother earned a nursing degree from Motlow State Community College and worked full time to support her family, Chris Fritz watched with silent admiration. “I’ll never forget waking up at...
AFTER DRU McCormick graduated from Louisiana State University with a psychology degree, she traded tantalizing French beignets, Cajun and Creole cuisine, and the cypress-lined bayous of “Fisherman’s...
THE SHELBYVILLE Garden Club has been cultivating beauty — not just in flowerbeds, but in friendships and civic pride — since April 27, 1955. Whether they’re planting flowers at The Fly Arts Center,...
FIVE DAYS after her 17th birthday, on June 14, 1942, Muriel Moyers nervously squeezed Leonard Coble’s hand. “How old do I have to be to get married?” Leonard asked the justice of the peace in...
Medina Stackpole fluffed her pillow, then jammed it between her aching back and the headboard. She patted the empty spot on the mattress and whispered, “We miss you, Rick.” The words of her eldest...
“Cooking With a Veteran” began with hunger — an ache that Dave Rogers knew too well. Before he enlisted in the U.S. Army and for a short time after his honorable discharge, Rogers faced...
“Mrs. Heather, please don’t cry Because toys you didn’t have to buy Sometimes the shelves get kind of bare But because of love for Mandy and children, people did share Stuffed animals, blankets,...
YOU ARE loved. You are valued. Imagine hearing these words from a stranger, or receiving a gift bag and discovering these words have been lovingly penned inside a card. Whispers of Hope Founder...
FOR KAY Templeton, the insurance industry has been her life’s work, a career spanning over 40 years that began when she graduated from Shelbyville Central High School (SCHS) in 1966. After attending...
THE RHYTHMIC clatter of pins and the squeak of shoes echoes across the wooden floors of the Shelbyville Bowling Alley. The buzz of conversation — and sometimes lively songs coupled with overly...
THE SPLASHING of the waterfall is a welcoming melody to Dorris Turrentine as she savors the sweet, earthy perfume of iris blooms carried by the evening breeze. Tricolored orange, white, and black...
THE SUN dips behind the Shelbyville Recreation Center, casting shadows across the baseball field, dotted with soccer players at H.V. Griffin Park. Marc Betzelberger leans forward, elbows on his...
LYNDA JOHNSON settled into the wheelchair as the nurse swaddled 4-month-old Natasha before placing her in Lynda’s outstretched arms. Although Lynda and her husband, Alfred, already had four...
STEP INSIDE the newly remodeled JW Boutique at 203 N. Cannon Blvd., Suite C, and discover a wide array of trendy yet budget-friendly clothes, jewelry, and accessories. Though Jennifer “Jen” Whitson...
BACK WHEN she was a student, Jennifer Jordan Thompson examined every detail of the photo in her marketing book. The overhead spotlights illuminated a stage where rows of picture-perfect models were...
WHAT IS your vacation budget? When do you want to go? Do you have a preferred destination or region? What type of activities do you enjoy? Imagine answering similar questions and then having a...
WHEN SHE was a little girl, Katybeth Beasley Bobo wiggled her toes inside her father’s dress shoes and admiringly gazed up at him. Though H A Beasley’s shoes would always be much too large for her...
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