Local Adventurer: Explore The Obed National Park on Labor Day Weekend

Local Adventurer: Explore The Obed National Park on Labor Day Weekend

For the past four years, I’ve run a travel blog on my own, but now I feel it is time to share my love for traveling with the community surrounding my home, Nashville and Lipscomb University. Every other week I am planning to share a location that’s not too far from Lipscomb and makes for a perfect-length weekend or day trip. This being a long weekend for students, I have picked a destination that’s a bit farther from Lipscomb, but still a perfect day trip. This week I would like to introduce, The Obed. The Obed National Park is located in Wartburg, Tennessee, a little under two hours from Gatlinburg. I had never heard of the park until a friend of mine shared a post on Instagram of a stunning view in the park. Obed is known most for its challenging whitewater rafting, rock climbing, camping and hiking trails. There are several trails at the park, including Lilly Bluff Trail, Emory River Nature Trail, Point Trail and the Cumberland Trail. Lilly Bluff is an overlook point of the Cumberland River Gorge, and the overlook trail takes you right to it. The overlook trail is only 0.3-miles long.   This next trail is my favorite and is called The Point Trail; it is a 3.8-mile round trip trail and a moderate to strenuous hike with climbing and the crossing of creeks. The Point Trail dips down into Melton Mill Branch and involves a moderate amount of easy climbing. Point Trail contains many turns and a beautiful scenic overlook of the gorge as well. The Bridge Trail is 0.5-mileslong and crosses the river through...
Kelsea Ballerini experiences several firsts; headlines SGA spring concert

Kelsea Ballerini experiences several firsts; headlines SGA spring concert

After several firsts, singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini visited the place where her country roots were nurtured. This former Lipscomb student headlined Student Government Association’s 2015 Spring Concert to a very familiar crowd Wednesday night in Shamblin Theater. “I always dreamed about being an artist and songwriter and doing it for a living, but did not know how to do it,” Ballerini said. But it didn’t take her long to figure out how, as she recently cracked the charts with her song “Love Me Like You Mean It” that debuted in November 2014. This Knoxville, Tennessee native moved to Music City to kick off her career when she was 15 years old, and she landed at Lipscomb several years later. “[Being at Lipscomb] was two of my favorite years of my entire life,” she said. “The whole time I would just go to school and then go to the writer’s round to co-write. I kept trying to do both at the same time until I found the right opportunity.” Just halfway through her sophomore year at Lipscomb, Ballerini signed a deal with Black River Publishing. Her career took off from there, as she debuted on one of country music’s most famous stages — the Grand Ole Opry. Ballerini said the last few months have been nothing but firsts. After hearing her own song on the radio, her music got in the hands of some of her biggest inspirations. “One of the craziest things that’s happening is people that I’m fans of are becoming friends and reaching out, and kind of speaking into my life and helping me,” she said. Most recently, this rising star...

Lipscomb softball’s historic run ends against Lady Vols

The Lipscomb softball team’s season ended Sunday after losing to the University of Tennessee 2-0 in the Knoxville regional championship game. The game was a pitchers duel until the sixth inning. Lady Vol sophomore outfielder Haley Tobler led off the inning with a single. Sophomore catcher/infielder Lexi Overstreet hit a two-run home run to plate the only runs of the game for either team. Lipscomb junior infielder Paige Neely led the Lady Bisons with two hits. Senior infielder Kristen Sturdivant earned one hit. Senior pitcher Ashley Anderson went the distance for the Lady Bisons. She gave up five hits and struck out nine. Her final record this season fell to 20-8. Seven Lady Bisons finished their careers at Lipscomb including: Anderson, infielder Bridgette Begle, catcher Rena’ Cothron, catcher/infielder Haley Elliott, infielder Kelsey Cartwright, pitcher/infielder Heather Parker, and Sturdivant. Lipscomb became the first softball team from the Atlantic Sun Conference to play in a regional championship game. The Lady Bisons finished the season with an overall record of...

Lady Bisons win two Saturday, advance to NCAA Regional Final

The Lipscomb softball team won two games on Saturday to advance to the final day of the NCAA Knoxville Regional on the University of Tennessee’s campus. The Lady Bisons will have to beat the Tennessee Lady Vols twice on Sunday to advance to a super regional. Lipscomb eliminated Charleston Southern in the first game on Saturday. Freshman infielder Mimi Cartwright doubled to score sophomore infielder Brittany Elmore to give the Lady Bisons a 1-0 lead after the first inning. Elmore scored on junior infielder Paige Neely’s single up the middle. Lady Bisons had a 2-0 lead in the sixth. Charleston Southern tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom on the sixth. Lipscomb would strike again in the seventh off a solo homerun from senior infielder Kristen Sturdivant. Pinch runner Jordan Abell scored on freshman outfielder Dee Baddley’s single to give the Lady Bisons the 4-2 lead. Charleston Southern failed to score in the bottom of the seventh. Senior pitcher Ashley Anderson picked up her 20th win giving up six hits while striking out four. Lipscomb had a rematch against Virginia Tech in game two on Saturday. The Lady Bisons bats did not disappoint. Lipscomb recorded 12 hits and scored 12 runs. Senior infielder Haley Elliot hit two homeruns and had six RBIs. Junior outfielder Brianne Welch had a triple and an RBI. Senior infielder Bridgette Begle recorded a three hit game with an RBI. Elmore and Neely both had two hits. Elmore earned two RBIs. Virginia Tech scored three runs. Lipscomb sophomore pitcher Tanner Sanders went the distance for Lipscomb giving up seven hits with one strikeout. The...
Pastor Khem Sam escapes Khmer Rouge to find home helping fellow Cambodian refugees in Nashville

Pastor Khem Sam escapes Khmer Rouge to find home helping fellow Cambodian refugees in Nashville

Pastor Khem Sam reminds his congregation that “we are the lucky ones” every Sunday at Belmont Heights Baptist Church. Those may be just words to most, but to Pastor Sam, those words hold a much deeper meaning. Sam was abandoned by his parents as a young boy. He struggled to survive on the streets of poverty-stricken Cambodia. That was just the beginning of his problems. “I did whatever I could to survive,” he said. “I took whatever jobs I could find.” One of Sam’s first jobs was as a taxi driver. The only difference with today’s taxi drivers and those in the 1950s and 60s Cambodia was that they did not use cars. Sam would sit passengers in a carriage and he would walk or run them around town for miles in a day. Sam eventually worked hard enough to pay his way through school. “In those days only the rich people went to school,” he said. “The poor were illiterate, and I knew that I had to educate myself if I wanted a better future for myself.” Then came the Vietnam War, and Sam’s world would turn upside-down. Cambodia was a neutral country during the war, but it was often bombed by American forces because its borders were used as a supply chain to the North Vietnamese. It is estimated that as many as 500,000 Cambodians died as a direct result of the bombings, while perhaps hundreds of thousands more died from the effects of displacement, disease or starvation during this period. After the Vietnam was over, the Cambodian government collapsed and was taken over by the Khmer...