Retired teacher and principal writes under a pen name

Kimberly Brackett

CURIOUS MIND COLUMNIST

Q. Who is Helene Mitchell and what is her tie to the Magic Valley?

A. “Most people in the Magic Valley know me as Gail Cushman, which is my given/married name,” said Gail Cushman, author of 11 books. “I taught English and a variety of other subjects at Gooding High School, before becoming principal of Jerome High School. I wrote a column for the Times-News called ‘Academics Count’ for several years.”

Cushman is working on two more books.

“Helene Mitchell is my pen name...Helene is my middle name, and Mitchell is my new husband’s last name,” Cushman said. “My first husband, Judge Thomas Cushman, passed away in 2021 of a plethora of complications from Agent Orange he received during the Vietnam conflict. He was the Magistrate Judge in Gooding fr