City to undertake $700,000 sewer rehab project

March 11, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville will soon undertake a $700,000 project to rehabilitate deteriorating sewer lines and manholes in certain parts of town including Earl Avenue, West Main Street, and Carter Street.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the aldermen voted to enter into a contract with the J.R. Wauford & Company Consulting Engineers to provide services related to the project.

The city’s share of American Rescue Plan Act (ARP) and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) grant funds will be used to cover costs of the rehab effort.

(The audio starts 4 minutes into the video as the actual business meeting begins)

Daniel Tribble, Manager of Field Services for the J.R. Wauford Company who addressed the mayor and aldermen Monday night, said the project will be done in phases.

“We have been requested to review sewer lines that have been identified by your city personnel that are subject to what is believed to be inflow. Inflow is simply when water that is collected in streets and roadways or flowing in ditches and creeks enters your sewer lines, which in turn increases the sewer that you have to treat at your wastewater plant. A lot of times the vitrified clay pipe (VCP) like any utility has a certain life span and over years it simply deteriorates. The reports we have received are that in this case gravels, dirt, and other material that is not sewer has been found in these locations where the sewer line is believed to be failing or collapsing which allows the debris and inflow into your sewer lines. More than likely these lines would be replaced with PVC pipe which is the standard 8-inch PVC that we call SDR-26 sewer line pipe,” said Tribble.

“Due to the estimated cost of this job and the available funds we (J.R. Wauford Company) have proposed a phased approach to complete rehabilitation of the subject lines. Phase one of this project includes the open cut sewer replacement of approximately 2,700 feet of sewer line along Earl Avenue, West Main Street, and Carter Street. The second part of phase one of this job is the CCTV or closed-circuit television inspection of approximately 7,400 feet of sewer lines mostly in cross country areas that flow along creeks and not in roadways. Our plan is to review the CCTV footage and make a recommendation to the city as to the appropriate rehabilitation methods for these areas,” Tribble continued.

“The estimated cost of phase one of the project is $703,000. We need an executed contract between the City of Smithville and J.R. Wauford & Company in order for us to mobilize our survey crew and begin design work to get this project bid,” added Tribble.

The aldermen gave approval to proceed with the bid process.

March 10, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

A fire late Tuesday night destroyed a residence at 5753 Walker Creek Road between Temperance Hall and Alexandria.

Central dispatch received the call at 11:25 p.m.

The two occupants of the home escaped unharmed after discovering the blaze.

The owner and resident of the home, Melinda Griffith told firefighters that she awoke to popping and sizzling noises and found the fire in the attic. After evacuating the residence, Griffith called 911.

County Fire Chief Donny Green said firefighters found the blaze already fully involved and coming through the roof upon their arrival and could not save the home. They were able to keep the fire from spreading to automobiles and other property in the yard.

The cause of the fire has not been determined but might have been due to an electrical shortage. Except for the clothes there were wearing the occupants lost all their personal belongings from inside the home.

Members of the Temperance Hall, Liberty, and Main Stations of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department responded along with the tanker truck, DeKalb EMS, and the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department. The local chapter of the American Red Cross also had a representative there to help the couple with their immediate needs.

March 10, 2022
By:

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce made a successful request to the “Art for Cops” organization for artwork for the new Smithville Police Department. Chamber Director Suzanne Williams made the presentation to Smithville Mayor Josh Miller and Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins who accepted the art piece on behalf of the department. The abstract artwork, titled “Brothers and Sisters in Blue,” was done by artist, Cindy Shepard of Nashville, whose goal is to honor and pay tribute to police departments around the country.

After the 2020 Christmas Day bombing in Nashville, Cindy Shepard chose to begin giving her work to police departments and to the organizations, like the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber, that support law enforcement.

According to Cindy, “That’s when I decided to quit selling my paintings and begin donating all of them to support law enforcement. It’s such a tiny little thing, I know. But I wanted – no, needed – to do something to show my appreciation of law enforcement, and this is my humble way of doing it.”

For more information about Art for Cops and the story behind Cindy Shepard and her mission to honor law enforcement, visit the website at: artforcops.com.

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