Blood Assurance to Host Two Drives in January

December 27, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Blood Assurance will have two January drives within two days of each other in Smithville.

A DeKalb County Neighbors Helping Neighbors Blood Assurance Drive will be Monday, January 15 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. at 718 South Congress Boulevard in the parking lot of the County Complex next to South Congress Boulevard on the mobile Bloodmobile. All donors will receive a fleece blanket for National Blood Donor Month while supplies last.

To schedule an appointment, go to bloodassurance.org/neighbors or contact Jimmy Poss at 615-464-7426 or jimposs72@yahoo.com.

Please remember to eat a good meal, drink extra water, avoid energy drinks, and bring your ID.

Blood Assurance is the SOLE blood provider for our local hospitals. One donation can save three lives!

The following blood drive will be Wednesday, January 17 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Family Medical Center at 302 North Congress Boulevard on the mobile Bloodmobile. All donors will receive a fleece blanket for National Blood Donor Month while supplies last.

To schedule an appointment, go to bloodassurance.org/fmc or contact Michiko Martin at 615-597-4395.

Please remember to eat a good meal, drink extra water, avoid energy drinks, and bring your ID.

Blood Assurance is the SOLE blood provider for our local hospitals. One donation can save three lives!

December 26, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County’s local option sales tax collections for November 2023 were down from October but up significantly from November 2022.

According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, DeKalb County collected $171,014 in local option sales taxes in November, 2023. While it did not keep pace with the $176,794 recorded in October, collections for November 2023 outperformed the same month last year by $22,333.

Smithville’s collections for November 2023 were $367,352, an increase from $320,369 collected in October, and up from $348,774 in November 2022.

Alexandria’s local option sales tax collections stood at $28,266 in November, down slightly from $28,779 in October but up significantly from the $22,904 collected in November 2022.

Dowelltown’s collections for November at $3,014 did not measure up to October’s haul of $3,140 and were below the $3,246 total from November, 2022.

Collections in Liberty stood at $12,499 in November, compared to $11,463 in October and $13,991 in November last year.

Net collections for the county and cities combined for November 2023 were $582,147, up from $540,546 in October and from the $537,597 collected in November, 2022.

November collections reflect activity for the previous month.

December 26, 2023
By:

It is official!

Austin McCoy, son of Greg and Trudie Matthews of DeKalb County, graduated from the “Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy” on Thursday.

“Austin’s mom and I can’t say enough about how hard he worked for this,” said Greg. “Austin started working for the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department in corrections while he was a senior still enrolled in high school. Due to Covid, school was shut down, and the DCHS principal at the time ” Randy Jennings” sent a letter to the Sheriff’s Dept to verify that Austin would graduate so he could start his journey in law enforcement”.

“While other high school kids were putting on their tuxes for prom, Austin put on a uniform and his boots and locked himself in a building full of criminals,” Greg continued. “While in corrections he got his certifications to teach and certify officers in Defensive Tactics, Chemical Weapons, and Impact Weapons. He also received his certification in Tactical Medicine, Basic EMT, and Gang Investigations”.

“After years with the Cannon County Sheriff’s Dept he put in and was offered a position with the Sparta City Police Dept. While waiting to attend the police academy and during his time with his FTO, he received two commendations. The past 12 weeks has been mentally and physically exhausting for him but week after week he kept his head in the books and passed test after test. Tonight, we got the call that he passed his final test. He has officially passed and has reached his goal of becoming a law enforcement officer,” added Greg.