DeKalb Gets Grant to Make Dangerous County Roads Safer

January 25, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County has been awarded a federal grant through the Tennessee Department of Transportation under the Local Roads Safety Initiative Program to improve conditions on two county roads where there have been severe crashes within the last six years.

The two roads, the Old Blue Springs Road (1.75 miles) from Blue Springs Road to Highway 56 and Holmes Creek Road (5.64 miles) from State Route 83/Allen Ferry Road to Golf Club Drive were identified through the Tennessee Department of Transportation safety needs investigation process and were added to the Highway Safety Improvement Program list.

The total estimated cost of the projects is $320,500 which includes $232,300 for construction expense of asphalt paving, guardrails, new signage, and pavement markings, mobilization etc. with a local match to the county of $4,700 for the paving on Old Blue Springs Road. The preliminary engineering costs is $65,000 and $23,200 for construction engineering and inspection.

“In February 2018, then Road Supervisor Butch Agee, Sheriff Patrick Ray and I met with TDOT officials and people from T-Square Engineering to discuss the Local Roads Safety Initiative Program (LRSI). Out of this discussion we were able to identify some roads that met the criteria under the LRSI program. TDOT contracted with T-Square Engineering to do the preliminary engineering study. Current Road Supervisor Danny Hale, Sheriff Ray and I are very pleased of the safety improvements to be done to these two roads. Also, county tax payer dollars to be spent will be very minimal at only $4,700 for $232,000 worth of safety improvements. This is a win-win for everyone,” said County Mayor Tim Stribling.

The LRSI has a $250,000 cap available to each County with the focus being on items eligible for 100% federal funding. To qualify a route for the LRSI, there must be a minimum of five (5) crashes with at least one (1) crash being a fatal or incapacitating injury crash during a six (6) year period. Additionally, the severe crash rate must equal to or exceed the statewide average severe crash rate.

According to the study, Old Blue Springs Road is a two-lane with widths of nine (9) feet and shoulders of two (2) feet. This road was added to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) list and qualifies for funding because it experienced fifteen (15) crashes, including one (1) fatal crash from 2010 – 2016. Additionally, the road has a severe crash rate of 0.344 which exceeds the statewide average severe crash rate of 0.222. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) for this segment is 758 vehicles per day.

Holmes Creek Road is a two-lane with widths ranging from eight (8) to ten (10) feet and shoulders of two (2) feet. This road was added to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) list and qualifies for funding because it experienced seventeen (17) crashes, including two (2)incapacitating injury crashes from 2010 – 2016. Additionally, Holmes Creek Road has a severe crash rate of 0.275 which exceeds the statewide average severe crash rate of 0.222. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) for this segment is 588 vehicles per day.

January 25, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

State Senator Mark Pody paid a call on the county commission Thursday night.

The purpose of his visit was to hear from the commissioners on questions or concerns they have as the Tennessee General Assembly begins a new session.

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“I want to work with you. If there are private acts or things you want us to fight for I want to hear about it now. I also want to come back when we’re done to answer questions. I want to talk to you in person to explain why we did what we did good or bad. We want to hear it,” he said.

After handing the commissioners a statement showing what the state is spending and how much is coming back to the counties, Senator Pody talked about Governor Bill Lee’s first executive order focusing on addressing the needs of rural Tennessee.

“One of the governor’s priorities and that of the legislature is to get the things we need for our rural communities whether it be broadband, infrastructure, jobs, and economic growth. We also want to make sure schools have what they need here. That is going to be one of the priorities the governor plans to put forth and we try to back up to make sure we get things we need here for the county,” said Senator Pody.

“What specifically is in the executive order? Does it mean giving counties more money to take care of schools?” asked seventh district commissioner Bruce Malone.

“Yes. What the governor specifically wants to do is help the CTE program. The career and technical training. We have been focusing on trying to get people to go into college. The governor believes we should get more money into our high schools for specific training so if students go into trades the schools would have money to train them?” answered Pody.

“Does that include money for capital projects?” asked Malone.

“No. It would be for classes,” said Pody.

“What about teacher salaries and benefits?” asked Malone.

“Yes. I believe Tennessee has already increased teachers pay more as a percentage than anywhere in the nation. We have tried to put more money into teacher salaries in the last six years and this governor wants to do the same thing. The last time we did it we wanted every teacher to have almost a one thousand dollar raise. We gave it to the school boards but it was up to them to divide it out and make those decisions. I don’t remember how many millions of dollars it was but we voted on it to put that extra money toward teacher raises in the last budget. We put that money to the local school boards but we don’t want to tell the school boards how to spend it. We said here is the money and this is what we would like to see but the school boards make those decisions,” Pody explained.

January 24, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Extended Arms Project is excited to announce its first annual “Labor of Love” Dinner and Concert.

The non-profit will host a dinner and concert on February 9, 2019, at the DeKalb County Complex located at 712 S. College Street Smithville, TN 37166.

The Extended Arm’s Project, a division of Young Harmony, Inc., is a non-profit organization with a mission of aiding the underprivileged with physical, emotional and inspirational needs. Extended Arms currently operates in Atlanta, GA., Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nashville, TN., Smithville TN and Cincinnati and Lexington, KY reaching 20,000 people each year.

The dinner will be at 5 p.m. and will cost $15.00 per adult and $8.00 per child (6-12), children 5 and under eat free. The Concert will follow the dinner, starting at 6 p.m. and is free to everyone and for those who purchase a dinner ticket, they will receive preferred seating. A love offering will be collected.

The Concert will include The Nunley’s, The Agee Family and Johnathan Bond.

To purchase tickets for the dinner please contact Wanda Redmon at 615-351-1119.

All proceeds will benefit the Extended Arms Project, a non-profit outreach program, with a mission to help those in need. For more information on the Extended Arms Project visit, www.ExtendedArmsProject.com

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