DeKalb Middle School Unveils New Playground for Students

August 28, 2024
By:

For the first time since the establishment of DeKalb Middle School (DMS), students there now have a dedicated playground area to enjoy, complete with swings and a basketball court. The playground project, initiated in the summer of 2023 by Student Council Sponsor Suzette Barnes, marks a significant milestone for the school community.

The project began with the installation of a 20×30 concrete pad, on which two basketball goals were set up. Throughout the 2023-2024 school year, students relished the opportunity to play in the new space. However, the excitement didn’t stop there. Student Council members worked diligently to add swings to the area, and their efforts came to fruition last month. A three-bay swing set, featuring two seats in each bay, was installed between late July and early August.

On Monday, August 26th, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to officially open the swing set for student use. The ceremony was a momentous occasion, with students eagerly participating and becoming the first to enjoy swinging at DMS. The joy and excitement among the students were palpable as they embraced this new addition to their school.

Plans are in place to further enhance the playground to accommodate even more students, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to enjoy this outdoor space.

DMS extends its heartfelt thanks to Director of Schools Mr. Patrick Cripps, Coordinated School Health Director Mrs. Elise Driver, DeKalb Schools Maintenance Supervisor Mr. Aaron Young, Former DMS Principal Mr. Caleb Shehane, Current DMS Principal Mrs. Teresa Jones, and Assistant Principal Mr. Josh Agee for their unwavering support in making this project a reality for the students. Additionally, a special thank you goes out to IMI Concrete, 3:23 Custom Concrete, Smithville Electric, Middle TN Natural Gas, and the dedicated DMS Student Council members who contributed to the success of this project.

The new playground is a testament to the power of community collaboration and the commitment to providing students with a safe and enjoyable environment to play and thrive.

August 28, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Two new aldermen have been appointed to the Alexandria city council.

During Tuesday night’s regular monthly meeting, the Alexandria Aldermen voted to appoint Tiffany Robinson and Sherry Tubbs to unexpired two-year terms.

Robinson said she has lived in Alexandria for two years and is a lifelong DeKalb County resident. “I am here to serve the community,” she said.

An Alexandria resident for more than four years, Tubbs said she has been in DeKalb County for 13 years and came here from Nashville. She has worked in nursing for the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs.

City attorney Vester Parsley administered the oath of office to both Robinson and Tubbs after the meeting.

The entire makeup of the mayor and aldermen are Mayor Beth Tripp and Aldermen Jeff Ford, Jonathon Tripp, Bobby Simpson, Luke Prichard, Tiffany Robinson, and Sherry Tubbs.

Meanwhile, Mayor Tripp informed the aldermen and a large audience in attendance that she is actively seeking new police officers to fill the vacancies of the three who recently resigned including Chief Travis Bryant, K-9 officer Brandon Deffendoll, and Officer Jackson Franks, leaving the town without a police force.

“I am actively looking for more cops. I have had one interview with somebody, and I am going to interview more. I hate that they (former officers) left but I cannot make anybody stay. I do apologize but I had the best intentions of keeping them and I was never going to get rid of them,” said Mayor Tripp.

The mayor and aldermen are also looking for funds in the budget to restore garbage pickup for all residents of the town.

“What about trash pickup,” asked Alderman Bobby Simpson.

“The budget was already approved by the prior council,” said Mayor Tripp. “We will have to amend the budget to address it because there is no money for streets. It was taken away,” she said.

City recorder Jeff McMillen informed the aldermen and public that city auditor John Poole has said funds from within the city budget can be moved around to fund trash pickup.

“In 2022-23 the budget had $32,353 in it for an employee (for trash pickup). In 2023-24 the estimate was $16,286 and the budget for 2024-25 is zero,” said McMillen.

“This year’s budget has zero money in it for that (trash pickup),” McMillen explained. “I talked to Mr. Poole who is the city auditor. You can move money around within the budget, but we need to know what we have in the budget before you start moving money. I am a believer in paying as you go. Give us just a few days for the mayor to find that money and lets come back with a budget amendment soon to hire somebody,” said McMillen.

In other business, the aldermen voted to move forward with plans for purchasing new automated water meters to replace all the old meters throughout the town using the city’s allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. The only cost to the city will be for water leak detection services in the town’s 38 miles of water lines in the amount of $12,300 awarded to the lowest bidder.

According to the town’s water and sewer plant manager Rich Potter of Brush Creek Environmental Management (BCEM), the new meters are expected be more accurate to help prevent water loss.

“You have 100-year-old meters out there and meters don’t get faster as they age. They get slower. New meters were approved four years ago but never purchased. The new meters will read more accurately but that will mean higher water bills for some,” said Potter.

“You had a 48% water loss and 33% of it was through your meters. We previously changed 200 of 1,050 meters but you’re still at 29% water loss which has to be accounted for through your water bills,” he added.

The total project comes to more than one million dollars using the city’s allocation of $700,000 in ARP grant funds plus another $350,000 in ARP money donated from the Smith Utility District to be used at the pumping station in the Sykes community to fix pumps and put in generators to improve water pressure to the Town of Alexandria.

Potter, who was just hired by the aldermen last week to run the town’s water and sewer department, said while some residents are still dealing with cloudy and brown water from their faucets, he is working to resolve the problem.

“Your system is over 100 years old it starts on the outskirts (coming from Smith County). “The water has iron and its soluble which means you can’t see it. It goes insoluble when its contained in dead end lines. This is the dead end. The water comes from that end (Smith County) and comes to this end (Alexandria) and then it stops,” said Potter.

“I have gotten my board (Smith Utility District) to authorize a chemical polyphosphate treatment that I put in play two months ago and what it does is it sequesters the iron. It doesn’t get rid of it but it hides it. You won’t see it but its working. Polyphosphates sequester iron and manganese to prevent discolored water,” said Potter.

Potter, prior to being named water and sewer plant operator last week, had previously worked for Alexandria in that role for several years but the former board of Aldermen apparently rejected his bid to return and wanted to go with another company, however the deal was not finalized. According to Potter, that’s why the town’s utility was unmanned without an operator for 58 days before his return.

“That’s another reason your water is this way it is because nobody did nothing for 58 days. You drank water that was bought and sold to you and nobody tested it. That’s against the law,” he said.

When the aldermen awarded the bid to Potter last week, Mayor Tripp said his ($142,000 quote) was significantly cheaper than others recommended by the city’s consulting engineer and provided more services including water and sewer repairs and maintenance.

“We could not afford the others,” said Mayor Tripp. “We did not have it in the budget to pay someone $400,000 to $500,000. We can’t do that. If he (Potter) had been here and his contract had been agreed upon it would have been fine. I am not sure why things were done the way they were (by the previous council) but if you (public) will give us time we will work out the kinks,” said Mayor Tripp.

August 27, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Seniors Jordan Parker and Annabella Dakas have been named Mr. and Miss DeKalb County High School for 2024-25.

Jordan is the 17-year-old son of Kendall and Dallas Parker and Annabella, age 17 is the daughter of Mandy Fanning and John Dakas.

DCHS teachers all nominate students, girls and boys, for the honor and then the whole school votes for Mr. and Miss DCHS.

“This honor means a lot to me in that the students here think a lot of me,” said Parker.

Jordan is a member of the DCHS football team and he also plays basketball and is a member of the FBLA club.

As for future plans after high school, Jordan said he wants to become a physical therapist and try to play college football although he hasn’t’ settled on which college he plans to attend.

Annabella said she was honored and excited to have been chosen as Miss DCHS and to have been nominated by the teachers was “really cool and then the whole school votes so it was thrilling knowing the wanted me,” she said.

Dakas is a member of the FBLA, BETA, SGA, Science, and Spanish Clubs and the secretary of her class. She is also a Captain for both the football and basketball cheer teams.

Annabella said her plans are to further her education after high school at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and become a pharmacist.

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