Newly Elected Smithville Aldermen to Take Oath of Office Friday Evening

September 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The newly elected Smithville Aldermen will take their oath of office during a special meeting of the city council on Friday, September 4 at 5 p.m. at city hall.

The special meeting will be held in lieu of the regular September board meeting.

Incumbent Aldermen Shawn Jacobs and Danny Washer were re-elected while Jessica Higgins defeated Incumbent Alderman Donnie Crook for the third available alderman seat in the Municipal Election last month. All terms are for four years.

Mayor Josh Miller will then appoint aldermen and citizen members to various city boards and committees. A vice mayor will be named along with commissioners/aldermen to oversee each city department, including police and fire, water and sewer, streets, financial and taxation, etc.

The aldermen will name a successor to city judge Hilton Conger who announced his retirement as judge last week. The candidates for the appointment are local attorneys Gayla Hendrix and Mingy Bryant-Ball. The term is for two years. Since Hendrix is also one of the aldermen, she will have to abstain from voting. If she were to be appointed city judge, Hendrix would have to resign as alderman.

The aldermen will also vote on second and final reading to adopt an ordinance to change the zoning classification of the Mark Wallace property on Miller Road from R-1 low density residential to C-1 local commercial.

The property, formerly known as Mark’s Body Shop, is located adjacent to City owned property where the water tower is located. Although Wallace ran a business for several years on his property, it was not zoned commercial, but residential. The property has now been sold and will be used for other commercial purposes.

Mayor Miller said the Smithville Planning Commission recently voted to recommend that the alderman change the zoning from R-1 to C-1.

Following the meeting, a groundbreaking for the new police department building will take place at the site on the north side of the city hall/police and fire department building on Don Cantrell Street.

September 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Library staff continue to provide services through the COVID-19 pandemic though not in the usual manner.

“The library staff wants you to know that we miss all our friends and look forward to the time when we can get back to some form of normalcy. We appreciate everyone for being so patient and understanding with us during this crazy time. Please be assured that the library staff is here to support and serve our community and will provide as many services as possible through curbside and hopefully in the near future in person visits by appointment. The safety of our community and library staff is of paramount importance in any decisions that are made,” said Library Director Kathy Hendrixson.

“The services through curbside consists of faxing, copying, printing, notary, book and DVD check out and new patrons can acquire library cards. Patrons can reserve items by going to OPAC or calling the library. The books or DVDs will be checked out and the patron will call when they arrive at the library and a bag with the items will be placed outside the library door for pickup. We have a special e-mail for those that need items faxed, copied or printed so call the library for this information. The library patrons also have access to magazines and thousands of audio and e-books through READS for free with their library card. This download counts toward the library’s circulation. Wi-Fi is available outside the library 24 hours a day for use by the community. If there are other services that we can provide in a safe manner we will certainly do so”.

“The books and DVDs that have been donated are greatly appreciated. The libraries are not taking any further book donations at this time due to the huge volume of books we have received and the lack of space to store more. We are trying to come up with a safe plan to have a book sale so stay turned for more information on this. It may be virtual or at some venue outside the library with COVID19 safety guidelines in place,” Hendrixson continued.

“Justin Potter Library will start our Facebook Live Storytime again on Friday, September 25th at 10:00 AM. So please join us for a morning of fun”.

Please contact Justin Potter Library at 615-597-4359, Alexandria Library at 615-529-4124, our webpage at www.dekalblibraries.net or Facebook for more information.

September 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities is asking for public input on the work it will be doing for the next five years.

“Our work is guided by the goals in our five-year state plan,” Executive Director Wanda Willis said. “Before we write a new plan, we survey the entire state. We want to know how disability services are working. What’s going well? What needs to change? Where are the gaps? What matters most to people living with disability in our state?”

The Council gathers this input through an online survey, available in English at bit.ly/PublicInput2020 and Spanish at bit.ly/SpanInput2020.

“This is a chance for people to give feedback that guides real work for change,” Willis said. “Hearing from more, and more diverse, people helps us get the best picture of where the needs are. It helps us keep working to improve our state’s disability services system.”

The Council works on issues that cover the whole lifespan, from early intervention for babies to special education to adult services and aging. “It’s so important for us to hear from people who are in all those stages, who have all different types of disabilities, who have all different kinds of identities and life experiences,” Willis said.

The Council’s survey will be open until the end of September. Once it is complete, the Council will use results to guide its new five-year state plan, which will begin in 2021. There will be a chance for the public to comment on the new draft plan before it is final. Follow the Council on Facebook or Twitter for news about the process.

The Council will also use the results of its public input survey to form a “snapshot of disability services” in Tennessee. That snapshot will be sent to the federal government, along with the state plan, and shared with the public.

For questions or help filling out the public input survey, contact Council Program Operations Director Alicia Cone at 615-253-1105.

About the Council on Developmental Disabilities
The Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities is a state agency established to improve disability policies and practice, educate policymakers and the public, and build collaboration to create lasting, positive change for Tennesseans with disabilities and their families. The Council is the only state agency tasked with looking at how all the pieces of our disability system work together, identifying areas of need, and bringing different parts of government and outside groups together to tackle challenges and improve state services. For more information, visit www.tn.gov/cdd or follow us on Twitter (@TNCouncilDD) or Facebook.

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