Smithville Police Officers to Let Their Beards Grow to Raise Money for Martha Melching During “No Shave November”

October 18, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Members of the Smithville Police Department are letting their beards grow next month for a good cause.

No-Shave November is a nationwide fundraiser for cancer awareness. This year’s observance by the Smithville Police Department will be in memory of the late Karen Jacobs and all proceeds will go to the Martha Melching Fund. Mrs. Melching, who is 6 months pregnant, is a guidance Counselor at DeKalb Middle School. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer

All officers who choose to participate will make a cash donation. If anyone else would like to support the cause, contact the Police Department at 615-597-8210.

“At some point in time almost everyone will personally know someone afflicted with cancer. It is a privilege to work alongside fellow officers who care enough to try to make a difference,” said Police Chief Mark Collins.

As the participants let their beards grow, family and friends are encouraged to join the campaign and become more educated about cancer prevention, saving lives, and helping those fighting cancer.

“You will soon see some Smithville police officers that could use a shave, but it’s for a good cause,” said Captain Steven Leffew. “Many of our officers are very enthusiastic to take part in the fundraiser. I’m very proud to work beside such caring people,” he said.

October 18, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Dewain Hendrixson has taken sole possession of first place among WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters for picking winners after seven weeks of the college football season. It’s the fourth lead change so far this year.

Hendrixson has an overall record of 64-40.

Scott Brown is in second place at 63-41. Will Graham and Darrell Gill are tied for third place at 62-42 each. Grant James of the James Gang is 4 games out of first place at 60-44. Ricky Atnip and John Pryor are each 5 games back at 59-45. Chad Kirby is at 58-46, 6 games back and the guests are 56-48, 8 games out of first place. Our guests this season have been Larry Green, Darvin Gill, Isaac Gray, Luke Willoughby, Ronnie Goodwin, Tony Cross, and Dan Delacruz

Meanwhile Dewain Hendrixson, Scott Brown, and Ricky Atnip tied at 10-5 for the best record of the week followed by Darrell Gill, Grant James of the James Gang and Chad Kirby each at 9-6. Will Graham and John Pryor were each at 8-7, and last week’s guest, Dan Delacruz went 7-8.

Two forecasters hit their underdog picks last week. Scott Brown picked the VOLS to beat Auburn and picked up 15 points to take over first place with a total of 35 points. Grant James of the James Gang got 7 points as Texas Tech knocked off TCU.

Will Graham has slipped to second place in total underdog points with 34 behind Scott Brown’s 35. Grant James of the James Gang is now in third place with 31 points followed by Ricky Atnip 15, Darrell Gill 14, John Pryor 11.5, Dewain Hendrixson 11, the guests 7 points, and Chad Kirby 5.

Today (Thursday) the Forecasters will be picking winners in the following games:

Stanford at Arizona State, USC at Utah, Oklahoma at TCU, Michigan at Michigan State, Cincinnati at Temple, Oregon at Washington State, North Texas at UAB, Virginia at Duke, Minnesota at Nebraska, Memphis at Missouri, Auburn at Ole Miss, Mississippi State at LSU, Vanderbilt at Kentucky, Alabama at Tennessee and in the NFL the Tennessee Titans at the L.A. Chargers.

Today’s special guest is Donny Green, DeKalb County Fire Chief and Farm Services Agency Director.

Catch the Fearless Forecasters on WJLE today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.

The program is sponsored by the Charles D. Atnip Realty and Auction Company, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, Liberty State Bank, DeKalb County Insurance, Gill Automotive, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, and DeKalb County Ace Hardware.

October 18, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

The Budget Committee of the County Commission began discussions Tuesday evening on the Board of Education’s proposal for building a new Pre-K to 2^nd grade school to replace Smithville Elementary.

School Board Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III addressed members of the committee, Chairman Dennis Slager, Jerry Adcock, Sabrina Farler, Anita Puckett, and Jeff Barnes to provide specifics of the plan and to answer questions.

During its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, October 4, the school board voted unanimously to seek funding for the construction of a new elementary school.

Smithville Elementary School, originally built in 1958, now is 70,557 square feet in size, and has a current enrollment of 556 students. A year ago a facilities study by the board’s architect for the design phase, Upland Design Group, concluded that the school, which has mold and other concerns, should be replaced and repurposed for other uses.

The proposed new school, 98,000 square feet, would accommodate 800 students. The estimated project cost is $19,464,500 but that figure does not include costs of site preparation or the purchase of additional land if needed. Plans are to build the new school (Pre-K to 2^nd grade) adjacent to Northside Elementary School (grades 2-5) on the same property if it is feasible. According to the architect’s facilities study, 15-20 acres would be needed for the project. Members of the Board said having both Northside and the new elementary school on the same property would make it easier for students to transition from one to the other and it would free up space at Northside.

Chairman Evins told the budget committee Tuesday night that the board reached a consensus on this proposal because it addresses the most immediate need and is less costly than other plans which were considered. He added that this is the first phase of what the board hopes will be a long range plan for school construction.

“Something has to be done with Smithville Elementary School so we came to a unanimous consensus that the most practical thing to do right now is propose building a new Pre-K through  2 school.  It’s a simple solution and there is no zoning. The other options were two Pre-K  through 5^th grade schools and add on to Northside or two Pre-K through 8^th grade schools but with those plans there were zoning issues, athletic issues, and it’s a $38 million ticket. This one is $19.4 million. Its the least expensive and the one more do-able on a quicker time table. It puts the new school adjacent to Northside Elementary  and if we need to purchase more land extra real estate is available there. We looked at the simplest  plan, something that would pay out in  a ten year period,” said Chairman Evins.

“Will that school fit on the property?” asked Budget Committee Chairman Slager

“It might be tight. The only reason is the traffic concerns of putting two schools over there. We would need to address egress and ingress of traffic off North Congress Boulevard. We might need an additional 10 or 20 acres,” said Chairman Evins

“Will you know that soon?”asked Slager

“Yes but we will have to retain Upland Design Group as our Architect for the construction phase. We didn’t want to hire them until we got some positive feedback from you (budget committee). We can call a special meeting and put them on retainer,” answered Evins.

Slager said the budget committee would need more specifics on costs before putting together a proposed financial plan to fund the project. “This is a $19.5 million project but there may be additional costs that we would need to know about such as additional land as far as coming up with a financial package for the school. I’m sure you will let us know as soon as you can about that,” said Slager.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation also requires a traffic study be done anytime a new school is built near a state highway. Findings of that study as it relates to increased traffic flow and congestion will also be a consideration.

“I talked to TDOT today. They want in on the early design for driveway and road entrances,” said County Mayor Tim Stribling.

Slager urged Chairman Evins and the School Board to work on the cost numbers and keep in touch with the budget committee.

“We look forward to working with you. I think you can sense we are interested and on board to go forward. In the very near future we have to get together and start working on a financial plan with some hard numbers. By then we’re going to know pretty much where we are headed with TDOT, any additional land purchase, and those types of things. At that time we’ll get together and start working on a financial plan,” said Chairman Slager.

Should the new school proposal be approved by the county commission, the school board wants a plan in place, working with the commission, to move toward building a new high school after the new elementary school is completed and paid for hopefully within 10 years. The school board also wants the blessing of the county commission soon to purchase property for a new high school once a suitable location is found so it will be available when the time comes to build.

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