County Clerk Seeks Help from High School Students in Digitizing Records

March 13, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss is on a mission to save paper records in his office by digitizing them and he is reaching out to interested high school and college students to help him do it.

Poss said any motivated student looking to complete an internship or community service hours may participate. It’s a great opportunity especially for Tennessee Promise scholarship students who are required to perform several hours of community service

Right now more than 100 years of vital records are all in their original paper forms, bound in hardback books.

“Our office has approximately 40 marriage books with up to 500 individual marriages per book prior to 2007. Currently, all marriage records prior to 2007 must be identified solely from hardback books not searchable by computer,” said Poss.

“There are several reasons this job is important and should be completed. Primarily, protection and preservation of the record. In the case of fire, water, smoke, wear or tear each of these books are at risk for damage or complete loss. Also, by inputting every individual handwritten transaction, we will have the ability to secure and preserve the record both locally and off site. Once entered and saved into the data base, the record then becomes searchable to all citizens via internet. This will then allow our office digitized searching and the ability to print and view records from 1854 the same way we print and view them today,” Poss continued.

“Confirmation of marriage records are frequently requested from the Social Security Administration, genealogy research and every day citizens. My hope and goal are to enter these 40 books dating back to 1854 with volunteers needing to complete an internship or community service hours. In order to accommodate students, our office will work with their schedule. Our office hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and most Saturday’s 8:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.,” Poss added.

For more information stop by or call the County Clerk’s Office at 615-597-5177.

March 13, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

WJLE will soon be starting a “Preacher Feature”

Listen and watch for the first segment next week on the WJLE website and on the radio too!

WJLE will conduct a video interview with a minister at a DeKalb County church to discuss his or her background and ministry and the church’s role in the community. The program will be featured several times each month with a different minister

The first guest will be Chris Moore of the Smithville Church of God.

March 13, 2019
By:

Being physically active is one of the best things you can do to improve and maintain your health, yet nearly two-thirds of Americans aren’t getting the activity they need. Consider taking up walking with friends or your family by participating in Walk Across Tennessee, which is an eight-week program that will spark some friendly competitions in DeKalb County. The event is being conducted by the University of Tennessee Extension office of DeKalb County. Beginning Monday, April 1 teams of eight will compete to see who can log the most miles walking, jogging, biking, and other forms of exercise in their community. Biking or jogging teams can have a team of four. The miles walked are not literally across the state, but reported on a map posted at the UT Extension Office, Green Brook Park, Smithville Review, online and social media.

Since everyone participates in a variety of sports, the Walk Across Tennessee program also has an exercise conversion chart so that participants can count aerobics, swimming, weight lifting, etc. For example, 16 minutes of high intensity aerobics would equal one mile.

The Walk Across Tennessee kickoff for DeKalb County is set for Monday, April 1 at Green Brook Park at 6:00 PM. “Teams will keep track of their miles, which will be posted in the Extension office, Greenbrook park, Smithville review, on social media and the UT Extension of DeKalb County website at http://dekalb.tennessee.edu. Teams can be composed of coworkers, teachers, students, neighbors, etc. This is an excellent team competition for the workplace, neighborhoods, and families” said Dr. April Martin, DeKalb County UT Extension Agent. For general reporting purposes, 20 minutes will equal one mile.”

According to Martin, “There will be prizes for the winning teams and individuals. There will also be weekly team challenges and prizes for that. There is no cost to participate. Remember if most of the team members are runners or bicyclists, the team is limited to 4 people. To join Walk Across Tennessee, first choose your team of up to 8. Then choose a team captain and go to our website at dekalb.tennessee.edu to download the registration forms. Registration is due before or on Monday, April 1st.” We also have team captain packets at the UT Extension office and at the fitness center located in the DeKalb County Complex building at 722 South Congress Building in Smithville.”

Many people are unaware of the positive benefits of exercise. According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the No. 1 problem in the United States. The risk of heart disease could be significantly reduced by regular exercise. According to the Center for Disease Control, the positive effects of physical activity are not limited to lowering the risk of heart disease. Not only does regular exercise help relieve stress and anxiety,” physically active people outlive inactive people. Participating in Walk Across Tennessee DeKalb County is not only a great way to get involved with our community, it’s a healthy habit,” Martin stated.

“Competition kicks off on Monday, April 1, 6:00 PM. at Green Brook Park under pavilion one,” Martin said. The competition will last for 8 weeks. “Come out and plan to have lots of fun.” For more information, call the Extension office at 615-597-4945 or visit the website.

All of the programs of the University of Tennessee are open to all people regardless of race, color, sex, national origin, or disability.

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