Community Calendar Including Holiday Closings

December 22, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

CITY OF SMITHVILLE HOLIDAY GARBAGE PICKUP SCHEDULE
The City of Smithville has announced that Friday, December 24, and Monday, December 27 garbage collection routes will be run Tuesday, December 28 and that the following week the Friday, December 31 routes will be run on Monday, January 3.

COUNTY CLERK’S OFFICE TO BE OPEN THURSDAY BUT CLOSED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY THIS WEEK
The DeKalb County Clerk’s Office will operate normal business hours on Thursday, December 23 from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The office will be closed Friday, December 24 & Saturday, December 25 for the Christmas holiday

MIKE FOSTER MULTI-PURPOSE CENTER TO BE CLOSED FOR THE HOLIDAYS
The Mike Foster Multi-Purpose Center will be closed Christmas Eve, December 24th and Christmas Day, December 25th.

COURTHOUSE AND COUNTY OFFICES TO BE CLOSED FOR HOLIDAYS
The DeKalb County Courthouse, County Complex County Offices, and Senior Center will be closed Thursday, December 23rd and Friday, December 24th for the Christmas holiday.

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE FOR COUNTY TRASH COLLECTION
All county trash collection sites will close at 4 p.m. Christmas Eve, December 24th and will be closed Christmas Day December 25th. The DeKalb County Transfer Station and Landfill will be closed Christmas Eve, December 24th.

DEKALB COUNTY LIBRARIES CLOSED FOR HOLIDAYS
The DeKalb County Libraries will be closed December 22nd through 25th for Christmas and will reopen on Monday, December 27th. The libraries will be closed on January 1st for New Years and reopen on January 3rd.

CITY OF DOWELLTOWN’S HOLIDAY SCHEDULE FOR TRASH PICK-UP
The City of Dowelltown’s holiday schedule for trash pick-up will be as follows: Week of Dec. 20, 2021 will be Thursday Dec. 23rd starting at 9am. Week of Dec. 27, 2021 will be Thursday Dec. 30th starting at 9am. Regular Trash pick-up will resume on Saturday’s starting the first week of January, 2022.

DESA TO PREPARE AND DELIVER HOT MEALS AND SACK LUNCHES TO NEEDY ON CHRISTMAS EVE
The DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA) will be preparing and delivering hot meals and sack lunches to the needy or underserved on Christmas Eve Friday, December 24. Each plate lunch will consist of baked ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, roll, and a dessert. Sack lunches will be provided for recipients to enjoy later. More than 500 food trays were prepared and delivered on Thanksgiving morning. Cooking and food preparation will begin early Friday morning, December 24 at the county complex kitchen. Volunteers will then load their personal vehicles with food trays and set out to deliver them in time for the recipients’ noon time meal. Those who received a Thanksgiving meal will not need to sign up for the Christmas Eve list but please text or call 615-390-0297 or 615-712-4286. Anyone who would like a meal but did not receive one on Thanksgiving should call 615-390-0297 or 615-712-4286. Volunteers who would like to help on Christmas Eve should call 615-390-0189. Donations can be made by venmo @Blake-Cantrell-4, by calling 615-390-0189, or stop by Wilson Bank & Trust.

GRIEF SUPPORT GROUP MEETING
Kay & John Quintero will be leading a grief support group each Monday during December at the Haven of Hope. They are offering a day group at 11:00 am and a night group at 6:00 pm. There is no fee as this is a service to the community. Call 615-597-4673 for more information or to sign up for the day or night meeting.

SUPPORT “LOVE LIGHTS A TREE” FOR THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY 
The American Cancer Society invites you to make a special donation in honor or in memory of a loved one during the holiday season through “Love Lights a Tree”. The names are in “honor of” and in “memory of” for a donation of five-dollars per name. Forms may be obtained at the local banks. For more information, contact Iva Dell Randolph at 615- 597-5296, Melanie Judkins at 615-464-7664, Renea Cantrell at 615-684-2688, or Gail Taylor 615-597-5936. The DeKalb County Unit of the American Cancer Society seeks your support in the “Love Lights a Tree” fundraising campaign to raise money for research to find a cure as well as cancer education and patient services. Donations may be made throughout the holiday season. The persons you honor or remember do not necessarily have to have suffered from cancer.

DEKALB COUNTY NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS BLOOD ASSURANCE DRIVE TO BENEFIT GOD’S FOOD PANTRY
A DeKalb County Neighbors Helping Neighbors Blood Assurance Drive to benefit God’s Food Pantry will be Thursday, December 30 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the DeKalb Community Complex. The blood drive will be set up outside in the parking lot on the mobile. A $10 donation will be made to God’s Food Pantry for every donor who donates, and Jimmy Poss will match the $10 donation per donor for the pantry. All donors will receive an “Adventure Awaits” long sleeve t-shirt and their names entered into a drawing for a chance to win a “2021 Side-by-Side”. To schedule an appointment, go to Bloodassurance.org/GODSFOODPANTRY or contact Jimmy Poss at 615-464-7426 or jimposs72@yahoo.com. Please remember to EAT A GOOD MEAL, drink additional water, avoid energy drinks, and bring a photo ID. Blood Assurance is the SOLE blood provider for our local hospitals. Save time on your donation by answering your health questions the day of the drive prior to arriving. Download “bloodassurance.org/quickscreen” onto your phone. This will save you 10 minutes on the mobile.

December 22, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

After losing their first Christmas tournament games on Monday, the DeKalb County Tigers and Lady Tigers came roaring back Tuesday to claim victories in their respective games.

The Tigers (7-4) defeated the Cornersville Bulldogs (6-3) 53 to 27 in the Adidas Classic at Murfreesboro Riverdale while the Lady Tigers (6-5) knocked off the Cosby Eagles (2-10) 52 to 45 in the consolation bracket of the Heritage Christmas Tournament at Maryville

The Tigers are now finished for the week while the Lady Tigers will face the Grace Christian Rams of Knoxville (1-10) today (Wednesday) at 1 p.m. eastern time in the Maryville tournament. Grace Christian got its first victory of the season Tuesday with a tournament win over the West Rebels (0-9)

The Tigers outscored Cornersville 17 to 11 in the 1st period and led 27 to 17 at halftime, and 39 to 21 after the 3rd period before notching a 53 to 27 victory.

Robert Wheeler scored 14, Stetson Agee 12, Isaac Knowles 8, Zach Birmingham 6, Elishah Ramos 5, Ian Colwell and Jordan Young each with 3, and Alex Antoniak 2.

Meanwhile the Lady Tigers led Cosby 16 to 8 after the 1st period, 26 to 21 at halftime, and 38 to 36 after the 3rd period before going on to claim a 52 to 45 win.

Ella VanVranken scored 25 followed by Avery Agee 9, Dare Collins 7, Kadee Ferrell, who returned with limited play after being out of the lineup recently due to an ankle injury, scored 6 and Madison Martin had 5 points.

On Monday, December 20 the Tigers lost to the Smyrna Bulldogs 60 to 55 in the Adidas Classic at Murfreesboro Riverdale while the Lady Tigers were defeated 61 to 31 by the Knoxville Catholic Fighting Irish in the Heritage Christmas Tournament at Maryville. Knoxville Catholic is a private school and ranked #3 in the state.

The Tigers led Smyrna 18 to 9 after the 1st period, but the game was tied at 28 by halftime and 41 all after the 3rd period. The Bulldogs went on to outscore the Tigers 19 to 14 in the 4th period to get the win 60 to 55.

Isaac Knowles scored 17 for the Tigers followed by Stetson Agee 12, Elishah Ramos 8, Jordan Young and Zach Birmingham each with 7 and Robert Wheeler and Nathaniel Crook each with 2.

The Lady Tigers trailed 20 to 9 after the 1st period of their game with Knoxville Catholic and were down 34 to 18 by halftime and 49 to 23 after the 3rd period before losing 61 to 31.

Avery Agee scored 10, Ella Van Vranken 6, Ally Fuller 5, Xharia Lyons and Ella Hendrixson each with 3 and Madison Martin and Cam Branin each with 2.

December 22, 2021
By: Bill Conger

In her first year at DeKalb Middle School music teacher Erica Birmingham wanted to do something special with her classes. So, she polled her students about what genres of music they liked. Taking the results, she used her creativity to weave together an 8th grade Christmas musical.

“I stitched them together through dialogue to create the story about what the Christmas time or holidays really meant to these people. It was about sharing love with everyone around you, getting together with your friends and family, and holding onto that childlike wonder no matter how old everyone was,” said Birmingham in a WJLE interview

The students’ recent performance in front of a packed house at the community complex was met with lots of laugher and even a few tears. That was just part of the whirlwind first semester Birmingham enjoyed since stepping into her new role. The 2017 D.C.H.S. graduate was helping out this summer with the high school band’s percussion section when she was asked to interview for the music teacher position.

“It came as a shock to me,” Birmingham said of the job offer. She had just graduated from Belmont University in April with a degree in Commercial Music.

“I was kind of scared but in a very exciting way,” she added. “It’s the unknown. I’m stepping into something that I’ve never stepped into before. It was just an exhilaration. Now, I get to do what I love doing and sharing my passion with other kids and creating a space for other kids to be passionate about their own interests and hobbies.”

Her passion was clearly evident whether Birmingham, who is also the Assistant Band Director, was on the ground repairing drums, kicking off the tempo to the next song, or dancing along with students in the football stands to the groove of the pep songs.

She first started developing her love of music as a child who would tag along with her mother, former Assistant Band Director Kelly Jo Birmingham.

“I grew up around music,” Birmingham said. “I was always on the marching field with high schoolers as they were playing music almost every day after school.”

“Erica was practically raised in the music world,” Kelly Jo Birmingham said. “After school, she was usually found on the marching band field with me, or in my music classroom, helping me lay out the instruments I was going to use in class the next day. Of course, as most children are, she was always curious about how to play those instruments and how each of them made music.”

Mother Birmingham joined band as a percussionist in 6th grade and went on to wear many musical hats in DeKalb, including assistant band director, percussion instructor, countywide general music teacher and high school chorus director.

“Erica always had an appreciation for all types of performing arts. However, it was her 5th grade year at Northside Elementary School when she really latched on to music. Until then, she was a very quiet, shy, and reserved child. She never wanted to stand out in the crowd or have attention drawn to her in any way. But in 5th grade, she sang two solos in the NES 5th grade musical that I was directing at the time. She joined beginning band the next year as a 6th grader at DMS.”

“As I grew older, it became a part of me,” Erica said. “It’s always been a way for me to express my thoughts and my feelings and my passions. By the time I got old enough to get into the high school marching band in 7th grade—I joined it because it was more time to spend with my mother— it actually became not something that my mother was a part of. It was all of me. It holds a special place in my heart, and she is absolutely a wonderful supporter of the arts and of her children. I wouldn’t be where I’m at without her supporting me along the way.”

Like her mother, Birmingham started off as a percussionist and then graduated to other instruments including the trumpet and French horn for the last two years in band. She became proficient in most instruments.

“I can pick up an instrument, practice, and learn with everyone else. I’ve grown fond of learning new instruments like piano, guitar, ukulele. I just like to bring in more knowledge and expertise so that I knew what I had to do over here and over here in these different areas.”

She added singing to her repertoire, and the talented alto refined her skills even more during college.

“My unique voice is my unique voice,” she said. “We were having to grow and cultivate that so that I wouldn’t go out and sound like Adele or another artist whose already out there.”

Birmingham had originally planned to take her talents upon graduation and audition for musical theater in Nashville. Later she had set her sights on opening a performing arts studio with her brother, Nicholas, a dancer. While she is currently an educator for the school system, Birmingham still holds to that dream to teach classical or commercial music or any type of dance to students after school. But for now she’ll continue to pursuing her passion next semester teaching music at DeKalb West School where she plans another performance for students there in the spring.

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