State Director of USDA Rural Development Commends County on Serving Three Communities with Grant to Buy Fire Trucks (VIEW VIDEO HERE)

June 10, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County government and Volunteer Fire Department have been recognized for being able to serve three communities with newer fire trucks through USDA Facility Grant funding.

Jim Tracy, State Director of the USDA Rural Development Program was in Smithville this morning (Monday) for the observance held at the County Fire Department’s Main Station on King Ridge Road.
The county secured grant funding to purchase fire trucks for the Temperance Hall, Cookeville Highway, and for the soon to open Four Seasons Fire Hall.

“I appreciate your service in protecting the citizens of DeKalb County. When you go to sleep at night just know you are helping DeKalb County and that is what we are here on this earth to do is help others. If someone has a fire or other emergency you are there. Rural Development is all about helping rural communities prosper. As a rural community if you are going to retain jobs and bring people in you have to protect the community and fire services with new fire trucks that we were able to help provide with these funds is very important,” said Tracy.

The latest truck was purchased earlier this year for $27,655. The 1996 Ferrara International Model truck had 22,171 miles on it at the time and came from Mississippi. It is stationed at Temperance Hall.

This is the third fire truck the county has been able to purchase through this grant program according to County Mayor Tim Stribling.

The first truck, a 1992 Pierce model with 17,214 miles, was purchased from the City of Smithville last spring for $30,000 and is located at the Cookeville Highway Fire Station.

The second truck, a 1993 E-One International model with 24,291 miles was purchased last fall for $25,000 from a fire department in Connecticut to be located at the new Four Seasons Fire Hall when it is completed.

“A couple of years ago we received two grants from the USDA amounting to $88,800. The local match on the grants was $57,800. The way this works is we (county) have to spend our local match first ($57,800) and any amount above that up to the full grant amount of $88,800 will be reimbursed to the county ($31,000) through the grant program. We have spent $55,000 for the two fire trucks and another $27,655 for the third truck. We will still have left to spend $6,145 to finish out the grant,” said County Mayor Stribling.

(PICTURED ABOVE: Blake Cantrell, Herb Checci, Rachel Checci, and Jay Cantrell, Chris Hampton -Area Director of USDA Rural Development, Jim Tracy-State Director of USDA Rural Development, County Mayor Tim Stribling, County Commissioner Anita Puckett, Michael Lawrence, Steve Repasy, Justin Bass, Justin Coats, Kristie Johnson, Kim Cantrell, Travis Checci, County Commissioner and firefighter Matt Adcock, and County Fire Chief Donny Green.

June 9, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

For the last four years the DeKalb County School District has participated in a plan under the National School Lunch Program to provide free meals at school to all students.

During Thursday night’s monthly meeting, the Board of Education will decide whether to seek continued participation in the program.

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows the nation’s highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

According to local data, the DeKalb County School District has maintained a 10% increase in the percentage of students who eat both breakfast and lunch district wide since it began participating in the CEP program in 2015-16. On average, 1,300 breakfasts and 2.300 lunches a day have been served.

Over the course of four years, more than 2.2 million meals have been served for free saving parents an estimated $750,000.

However, unless the school district can increase its number of “identified students” participating going forward, it could receive less reimbursement funds through the program. Under CEP, the higher the number of identified students, the higher the school district’s reimbursement per meal.

During the original cycle, the district reported 1,435 identified students with an attendance of 2,824. For the new cycle, the number of identified students has dropped to 1,224 with an attendance of 2,807 as of April 1.

According to school administrators, the DeKalb School District’s original average reimbursement per meal was $2.82 for lunch and $1.79 for breakfast. If the district applies for renewal the reimbursement could drop to $2.50 for lunch and $1.61 for breakfast. These number are approximate but it could mean a decrease in funding to the district of up to $160,000 for the year.

In order to continue the CEP program based on these numbers, the district would have to make up the loss by either implementing a grab and go breakfast service county-wide which could potentially add $90,000 in reimbursements or switch to a Department of Human Service Program serving Afterschool Snacks and Summer Foods which could mean an additional $80,000 in reimbursements.

The Board of Education will meet Thursday, June 13 at 7 p.m. at the Ernest Ray Education Center. A work session will be held prior to the meeting at 6 p.m.

In other business, the Board will consider and act on outsourcing its school custodial service in a janitorial partnership with SMS.

The Board will consider adopting the school calendars for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.

The agenda also calls for the Board to act on granting tenure to eligible teachers; consider and act on a differentiated pay plan for 2019-20; consider final approval of the 2019-20 budget; consider and act on a resolution and inter-local cooperation agreement; consider and act on board member exemptions for the 2018-19 school board academy; and the Director of Schools will give his monthly report on personnel plus any other business that may properly come before the Board.

The consent agenda is as follows:

*Authorization to make necessary line item transfers within the categories of the 2018-19 school budget and any category amendments.

*Consider and act on approval of local government hardware maintenance agreement

*Consider and act on 2019 Read to be Ready Summer Grant Budget Amendment

*Consider and act on 2018-19 Pre-K Budget Amendment

*Consider and act on the Carl Perkins Budget Amendment

*Consider and act on a Special Education contract with Brenda Pedigo, Visually Impaired Teacher

*Consider and act on a Special Education contract with Kealah Curtis, Licensed Physical Therapy Assistant

*Consider and act on a Special Education contract with Karen Nelson, Orientation and Mobility

*Consider and act on DeKalb Middle Cheer Camp, June 20-22

*Consider and act on Consolidated Federal Application Federal Programs & IDEA 2019-20

*Consider and act on declaring Surplus Property (Technology and Food Service)

*Consider and act on 21st Century Budget Amendment

*Consider and act on LEAP’s Budget Amendment

*Consider and act on additional Course Offering at DCHS

*Consider and act on Memorandum of Understanding with Tamara L. Beckman, Audit of Internal School Funds

*Consider and act on an overnight trip request for DCHS Soccer to attend the FHU Soccer Camp, Freed Hardeman University, Henderson, TN June 16-20

June 8, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Twelve soccer teams took to the field Saturday at Northside Elementary School to help raise funds for 14 year old Cameron Miller, a soon to be high school freshman, who is fighting leukemia and searching for a donor to allow him to undergo a bone marrow transplant.

The Cameron Miller Invitational Soccer Tournament, organized by Cameron’s DeKalb Middle School Soccer Coach Justin Nokes, April Coronado, and the Center Hill Soccer Club  generated thousands of dollars for Cameron and heightened awareness about the need for bone marrow donors.

Cameron was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia on April 5 and has been in treatment at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital receiving Chemotherapy. Although he is out of the hospital now, Cameron will soon be undergoing more therapy.

Joined by his parents, Billy and Kate Miller and brother Bill Miller, Cameron was on hand for the benefit soccer tournament Saturday.

“Cameron has been in and out of the hospital since being diagnosed but he is doing very well and is in good spirits. He is looking for a bone marrow transplant and we are trying to raise awareness for that. We have had a bone marrow match going on today called “Be the Match” to get people to register in becoming a donor,” said Cameron’s father Billy Miller.

“The next step he will go through is Car T cell treatment and then a bone marrow transplant. Hopefully that will be the end of it. Cameron has a way to go and he has some time to do in the hospital at Vanderbilt but hopefully in the next three or four months he will be through this thing and rid of it and back on the right track. With the help of everybody and the good Lord he is going to be okay,” said Billy.

“We just can’t express how much we love our community and how grateful we are to live in Smithville and all the support that has been shown from the school system, our friends and family, and our soccer family. It’s just been very overwhelming and we really appreciate all the support,” said Kate Miller.

“This is a very nice tournament and we really appreciate them putting it on. I think it’s good for our small town. We’ve been shown great support and small town love here and we’re very grateful for the community we live in and the people we are around. Thank you so much,” added Billy Miller.

You could hold the key to a life saving cure. For patients with blood cancers and other blood diseases, a donation of blood stem cells from a genetically matched donor can be a cure.
Donation is safe, free, and confidential.

Be the match. Learn how you can save a life at http://Join.BeTheMatch.org/Camo

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