State Lawmakers Honor DCHS Valedictorian and Salutatorian

April 22, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County High School Class of 2023 Valedictorian Robert Wheeler and Salutatorian Amelia Atnip have been recognized by the Tennessee General Assembly in a resolution introduced by State Representative Michael Hale. The DCHS Graduation will be Friday, May 12 at 7 p.m.

The Resolution honoring and recognizing Valedictorian Wheeler states as follows:

“WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this legislative body should pause to pay tribute to those students who, through their natural talents and unflagging commitment to academic excellence, have distinguished themselves in the classroom; and

WHEREAS, Robert S. Wheeler is one such exceptional student, who was recently named Valedictorian of the 2023 graduating class at DeKalb County High School; and

WHEREAS, through diligent study, steady composure during examinations, and steadfast commitment of time and talent, Mr. Wheeler has achieved outstanding academic success and joined the ranks of the best and brightest students in Tennessee and our country; and

WHEREAS, in his remarkable high school career, Mr. Wheeler has earned an exemplary grade point average while participating in numerous extracurricular activities, including Beta Club, FBLA, basketball, and the ACT 29+ Club; and

WHEREAS, his display of intellectual aptitude and ambition surely bodes well for his future success as he pursues his goal of becoming a physician; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Wheeler’s noteworthy achievement is a tremendous source of pride for his mother, Kim Wheeler, his school, and his community; Robert’s father, the late Scott Wheeler, would be deeply proud of his son as well if he were with us today; and

WHEREAS, Robert Wheeler’s dedication to excellence is clearly deserving of the respect, admiration, and commendation of the members of this legislative body; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that we commend and honor the 2023 DeKalb County High School Valedictorian, Robert S. Wheeler, on his impressive academic achievement and extend to him our best wishes for a happy, successful future”.

The Resolution honoring and recognizing Salutatorian Atnip states as follows:

“WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this legislative body should pause to pay tribute to those students who, through their natural talents and unflagging commitment to academic excellence, have distinguished themselves in the classroom; and

WHEREAS, Amelia Atnip is one such exceptional student, who was recently named Salutatorian of the 2023 graduating class at DeKalb County High School; and

WHEREAS, through diligent study, steady composure during examinations, and steadfast commitment of time and talent, Ms. Atnip has achieved outstanding academic success and joined the ranks of the best and brightest students in Tennessee and our country; and

WHEREAS, in her remarkable high school career, Amelia Atnip has maintained an impressive grade point average while participating in numerous extracurricular activities, including cheerleading, FBLA, Service Society, Science Club, Literature Club, Spanish Club, and ACT 21+ Club; and

WHEREAS, her display of intellectual aptitude and ambition surely bodes well for her future success as a student at Middle Tennessee State University; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Atnip’s noteworthy achievement is a tremendous source of pride for her parents, Jessica and Chris Higgins and Jason and Karen Atnip, her school, and her community; and

WHEREAS, Amelia Atnip’s dedication to excellence is clearly deserving of the respect, admiration, and commendation of the members of this legislative body; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, that we hereby commend and honor the 2023 DeKalb County High School Salutatorian, Amelia Atnip, on her impressive academic achievement and extend to her our best wishes for a happy, successful future”.

April 21, 2023
By:

Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District (MTNG) has been awarded a $311,845 grant through the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s first-ever Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization (NGDISM) grant program.

The grant award was presented by USDOT/PHMSA Representative Damond Smith in a small ceremony at the MTNG Administrative Center in Smithville, Tennessee, on Friday, April 21. MTNG was one of only thirty-seven recipients selected from one-hundred-seventy-nine nationwide applicants. MTNG will utilize the grant funds to purchase safety equipment, including,

•Four Remote Methane Leak Detectors (RMLD) which utilize lasers to detect natural gas leaks, and
•Fifty-seven Sensit Gold G3 methane and carbon monoxide detectors to replace older equipment on every MTNG service truck and five calibration units.

“These equipment upgrades through the NGDISM grant will allow MTNG to enhance our ability to eliminate natural gas leaks and carbon monoxide issues, building on a nationally recognized safety management program. MTNG Executive Vice President & CEO Mike Davidson thanked DOT, PHMSA, US Representative Scott DesJarlais, US Representative John Rose, US Senator Bill Hagerty, US Senator Marsha Blackburn, and the US Taxpayers who made this grant possible. “This funding will significantly assist MTNG’s continuous efforts to keep our system safe and reliable, and we are grateful for the assistance of our legislators and everyone who helped make this grant possible,” said Mr. Davidson.

“This is an exciting day for Middle Tennessee Natural Gas,” said Davidson, speaking with WJLE at the brief ceremony Friday. “We learned recently that we were one of 37 recipients nationally of a new grant and the only one in Tennessee through the Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization (NGDISM) program. This grant is in the amount of $311,000 to purchase some safety equipment to make sure we can detect and find any potential leaks that may be in our system,” said Davidson. “In this first round of funding there were 179 applicants and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas is honored and thankful to be one of the 37 grantees for this funding,” he said.

“We have tried to budget funding for this equipment over the last few years and have been able to purchase some of that, but this will mean we can get some leak detection equipment in every one of our service trucks. This grant meets a huge need and is a huge boost forward for Middle Tennessee Natural Gas,” Davidson continued.

“Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Utility District was established in 1955 with a vision to bring energy to the rural parts of middle Tennessee and since that time we have grown quite a bit. We now serve around 70,000 customers. Each and every day those customers count on us to deliver the safest and most reliable energy source there is, and we focus every day on making sure we deliver that product in the safest manner possible. We are excited about the growth of the district because demand for natural gas continues to grow each and every day. It is a great, reliable, and abundant energy source in this country,” said Davidson.

“It was a very competitive grant application process,” said Stennett. “We just worked hard and tried to answer all the questions that we could and to put our best foot forward. We had some help from our Senators and Congressmen to write letters of recommendation for us which we appreciate very much,” he said.

“The whole purpose of this grant was to invest back into the communities and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas is doing exactly that,” said Smith. “They are reaching out to their 70,000 plus customers and they are doing the work to keep them safe and that is the heart of this grant,” he added.

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in over half a century. This law included the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) first-ever Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization (NGDISM) grant program. The legislation designated $200 million a year in grant funding, totaling $1 billion over the next five years. The Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant funding was made available to a municipality or community-owned utility (not including for-profit entities) to repair, rehabilitate, or replace its natural gas distribution pipeline systems or portions thereof or to acquire equipment to (1) reduce incidents and fatalities and (2) to avoid economic losses.

April 21, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County’s share of local option sales tax collections for March 2023 outperformed the same month in 2022 by over $28,000 according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue. For the county and the four cities therein, combined collections were up by more than $79,000.

DeKalb County brought in $141, 411 in March 2023 compared to $113,053 for March 2022.

Three of the four cities within DeKalb County also hauled in more local option sales tax revenue. Liberty was the exception.

The comparisons between the two months for each municipality are as follows:

Smithville: $361,475 (March 2023), $315,019 (March 2022)

Alexandria: $30,847 (March 2023), $25,390 (March 2022)

Dowelltown: $3,136 (March 2023), $2,482 (March 2022)

Liberty: $10,905 (March 2023), $12,272 (March 2022)

NET COLLECTIONS (LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX): $547,776 (March 2023), $468,218 (March 2022)

March sales tax collections reflect previous month activity.

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