by Amanda West | Jun 12, 2025 | Feature
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 knees, as his youngest son, Jonathan, kicks the ball with relentless...
by Amanda West | Jun 12, 2025 | Feature
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 children, Natasha was the first — and last — they brought home from the...
by Amanda West | May 8, 2025 | Feature
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 to wear, following in his footsteps would prove to be just the right...
by Amanda West | May 8, 2025 | Feature
WHETHER YOU dream of owning your own micro-farm or raising cattle on hundreds of acres, the Shelbyville-Bedford Co-op near the Duck River on South Cannon Boulevard has exactly what you’re looking for. Since it first opened in 1956, it has been the one-stop shop for...
by Amanda West | Apr 17, 2025 | Feature
COMMUNITIES ACROSS the nation are grappling with a severe shortage of school bus drivers — a crisis that has deepened in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Here in Tennessee, the situation is no different, and Gov. Bill Lee and state officials are working to find...
by Amanda West | Apr 17, 2025 | Feature
AS A single parent raising three boys on her own, Cam Farrell’s mother had no choice but to work long hours. Farrell and his brothers often lacked supervision, but sometimes, it takes a village to raise a child, and in Farrells case, his “village” included local law...
