DCHS Students Wrap Up National FFA Week Events with “Drive A Tractor to School” Day (View video here)

February 25, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS FFA Chapter and other students observed National FFA week February 20-24 by participating in daily activities at school including the first ever “Drive a Tractor to School” event held on Friday morning.

Participating students met in the parking lot at DeKalb Market where they unloaded  farm tractors and began their journey to the high school in parade fashion with a police escort.

Morgan Oyster, DCHS FFA Advisor and agriculture teacher said all the activities held during the week was an effort to involve more of the student body to help grow the chapter’s appeal and membership.

The week’s events began on Monday with the first annual DeKalb FFA Chapter sponsored fish fry held at the high school cafeteria which raised about $6,000 for the club.

Tuesday was “True Colors Day” when members of the student body were encouraged to join FFA members in wearing the FFA colors of National Blue and Corn Gold in tribute to the organization.

Other observances were Western Wednesday and Tacky Thursday. Also on Thursday, members of the local FFA Chapter gathered with other FFA students from across the state at the State Capitol to meet with state lawmakers and observe the legislative process. Oyster said FFA members locally visited with State Representative Michael Hale and State Senator Janice Bowling along with the Speaker of the House and Secretary of State among others during a “Flowers on the Hill” event.

In addition to the “Drive a Tractor to School” event on Friday, a few local FFA students visited Tennessee Tech University as part of a Goodwill Tour where they had breakfast and took part in leadership activities with State FFA officers

National F.F.A. Week was initiated by the National Future Farmers of America Organization — a youth leadership organization, and one of the largest in the U.S., to make a positive difference in the lives of young people by developing their potential for leadership, personal growth, and career success through agriculture education.

First founded by a group of young farmers in 1928, the F.F.A. mission, during National F.F.A. Week, is to prepare future generations for the challenges of feeding the growing population of the United States by teaching members various topics relating to agricultural technology, science, and business, i.e., Ag Business, Ag Mechanics, Ag Sales, Dairy cattle evaluation, and Agronomy, Food Science & Technology, and Dairy Food, etc.

Initially, the holiday was observed on a single day. In 1948, to recognize George Washington’s example and legacy as a leader and farmer, the National F.F.A. Board of Directors initiated a weeklong tradition.

Each year, all 700,000 F.F.A. members spend the weeklong holiday developing their potential for leadership, personal growth, and career success through agricultural education in creative and innovative ways in their various local F.F.A. chapters. During the week, F.F.A. members will take part in agricultural, leadership, and service-based activities across the country.

The organization hosts Career Development Events or Courses contests in which student members compete to test the skills they learned through agricultural education instruction from the program.

February 25, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County is in the hunt for another Community Development Block Grant.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the County Commission adopted a resolution to apply for up to a $420,000 Community Development Block Grant through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. If approved, the county would be responsible for paying a 16% local grant match. The Upper Cumberland Development District would make application on behalf of the county and administer the grant upon approval by the state.

This grant would go toward funding a new ambulance.  County Mayor Matt Adcock said based on estimates, the county could buy a new ambulance for around $250,000. Previous grants have been to fund fire trucks and equipment for the county fire department.

Before the vote, Commissioner Tim Reynolds asked if the county could use the grant, if approved to fund chassis remounts on two current ambulances in the fleet rather than buy one new ambulance. County Mayor Adcock said he wasn’t sure if that qualifies but he would inquire with UCDD.

Commissioner Myron Rhody then asked if the county could just buy two brand new ambulances outright if the grant is fully funded since it would almost pay for two. County Mayor Adcock said he had recently posed the same question to Tommy Lee, Deputy Director of the Upper Cumberland Development District who said that the county’s chances for getting the grant might be less if it tried for two ambulances rather than one.

The resolution states that “ Whereas, DeKalb County needs to improve community livability through the purchase of new emergency medical services equipment to meet the needs of the citizens of the county; and

Whereas, emergency medical service equipment projects are eligible activities under the Community Development Block Grant Program; and

Whereas, DeKalb County is eligible for a maximum grant of $420,000 under the Community Development Block Grant Community Livability category including the three-star bonus; and

Whereas, DeKalb County has agreed to pay the required 16% of the local total project cost (based on the DeKalb County 20% Ability-to-Pay rate with the ThreeStar 4-point match reduction), plus any additional funding required to complete the project beyond the grant amount”.

February 25, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County’s share of local option sales tax collections for January 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 over $76,000.

DeKalb County brought in $182,660 in January 2023 compared to $154,574 for January 2022.

All four cities within DeKalb County also hauled in more local option sales tax revenue.

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

Smithville: $418,757 (January 2023), $371,978 (January 2022)

Alexandria: $36,751 (January 2023), $36,561 (January 2022)

Dowelltown: $4,655 (January 2023), $4, 642 (January 2022)

Liberty: $13,799 (January 2023), $12,237 (January 2022)

NET COLLECTIONS (LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX): $656,624 (January 2023), $579,994 (January 2022)

January sales tax collections reflect previous month activity.

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