Today (Tuesday, February 27) is the last day for Early Voting

February 27, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

If you intend to vote early in the March 5 primaries you are running out of time. Today (Tuesday, February 27) is the last day for early voting which will take place from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. in the courthouse downtown Smithville. The Absentee ballot request deadline is also today (Tuesday, February 27).

The Election Commission reports that a total of 154 people voted Monday, February 26 including 150 in person and 4 by absentee. Of that number, 146 cast ballots in the Republican Primary and 8 in the Democratic Primary.

That brings the ten-day early voting total to 962 of which, 888 have voted in the Republican Primary and 74 in the Democratic Primary.

Election day voting, March 5 will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. at all 12 precincts in DeKalb County.

February 26, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Another county commission resignation!

The commission Monday night during its regular monthly meeting had just filled a vacancy from the 6th district with the appointment of Andy Pack to succeed former commissioner Justin Adcock, when 7th district commissioner Tim Reynolds announced that he too was stepping down from the county commission effective immediately.

https://www.facebook.com/wjleradiosmithville

“I would like to resign as district 7 commissioner due to personal circumstances. Its not going to allow me to make a lot of the committee meetings and its not fair for me to hold a seat when I can’t go to a lot of committee meetings or most meetings period in order to be informed and make decisions on the county’s behalf, so I am announcing my resignation from this seat,” said Commissioner Reynolds.

The commission accepted Reynolds’ resignation.

“We appreciate the time you served with us,” said County Mayor Matt Adcock.

Reynolds, a Republican, was elected in August 2022 and was almost 18 months into his first term which expires August 31, 2026.

Although it was not mentioned Monday night, the county commission will presumably appoint someone to fill the vacancy next month until the DeKalb County General Election on August 1 in which someone will be elected to serve out the unexpired term.

February 26, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

One month after a vacancy was created on the county commission from the 6th district with the resignation of Justin Adcock, a new member has been seated.

See video on our youtube channel

(View the entire county commission meeting video on the wjle facebook page)

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, Andy Pack of Corinth Church Road was appointed to the position by the county commission to serve for the next six months until the August 1, 2024 DeKalb County General Election, when someone will be elected to serve out the remaining two years of Adcock’s unexpired term which ends on August 31, 2026.

As commissioner, Pack will serve on the county’s Audit Committee, Community Economic Development Committee, Public Works Committee, and Planning Commission as approved by the county commission. The same committee assignments as held by former commissioner Justin Adcock.

After the meeting, Pack was sworn into office by County Mayor Matt Adcock. Pack told WJLE that he is a Republican and will seek election to the position in August to the fill the unexpired term.

Pack beat out two others, Bruce Parsley and Danny McGinnis, who had announced an interest in filling the vacancy during last Thursday night’s committee of the whole meeting of the county commission.

“I want to commend Mr. McGinnis and Mr. Parsley. I am surprised that I got this position, but I am glad it worked out like it did,” said Pack. “Two words that keep coming to mind is expectation and accountability and that’s what I want to hold myself to. I have expectations for myself being a part of the county commission and representing my district. I want to be a productive person for the commission and hopefully represent my district in a way to honor it and DeKalb County. I want to fill this role to the expectations of myself and the other commissioners. I would like to thank my fellow commissioners for entrusting me and voting me in this position. I will try to fill this position as best I can,” said Pack.

Before the vote Monday night, the commission had to settle on the voting procedure. The commission decided to accept nominations and vote on each one separately.

In the first round of voting, Andy Pack received nine votes, Bruce Parsley three, and Danny McGinnis with one vote. Although Pack already had more than the seven votes needed from the 13-member commission to get the appointment on the first ballot, essentially a run-off vote was taken by the commission to determine the final outcome between Pack and Parsley. In the run-off vote, Pack received ten votes to five for Parsley. Two of the commissioners, Tony Luna and Tony (Cully) Culwell voted for both Pack and Parsley on the roll call for each.

Here’s how the voting took place:

The first nomination came from Commissioner Tom Chandler who placed Andy Pack’s name on the floor for a vote. Commissioner Larry Green nominated Bruce Parsley and Commissioner Myron Rhody followed by nominating Danny McGinnis.

On the first roll call vote, Pack received nine votes for his appointment and four against. Those voting for Pack were Tom Chandler, Tony Luna, Greg Matthews, Tim Reynolds, Glynn Merriman, Daniel Cripps, Jeff Barnes, Sabrina Farler, and Tony (Cully) Culwell. Commissioners voting against Pack were Larry Green, Beth Pafford, Susannah Cripps Daughtry, and Myron Rhody.

On the next roll call vote, Parsley received only three votes for  appointment from Beth Pafford, Larry Green, and Susannah Cripps Daughtry.

Only Commissioner Myron Rhody voted for McGinnis on the third roll call vote.

Although it wasn’t really necessary, the commissioners took two more roll call votes including one each for Pack and Parsley, after dropping McGinnis’ name from the list.

This time, Pack received ten votes including the support of Tom Chandler, Tony Luna, Greg Matthews, Tim Reynolds, Glynn Merriman, Daniel Cripps, Jeff Barnes, Sabrina Farler, Tony (Cully) Culwell, and Myron Rhody. Only Beth Pafford, Larry Green, and Susannah Cripps Daughtry voted against him.

In the last round for Parsley, five voted in his favor including Tony Luna, Larry Green, Beth Pafford, Susannah Cripps Daughtry, and Tony (Cully) Culwell.

In his remarks to the commission last Thursday night, Pack summarized his background as a farmer, family man, volunteer firefighter, and employee of Middle Tennessee Natural Gas.

“I live at 1685 Corinth Church Road,” said Pack. “I have lived there all my life. I actually built a home behind my mom and dad’s place there now. I work at Middle Tennessee Natural Gas. I have been there 23 years. I have always wanted to give something back to my community, so I volunteer my time as a volunteer firefighter. I have done that for 18 years. I operate a cattle farm. We started out with three acres and are blessed to now have a 120-acre farm that my family and I operate. My wife and I have been married for 22 years. We have three children. One of them is a senior in high school. Another is a sophomore, and we have one in kindergarten. Throughout my career and the businesses on my cattle farm I operate, I have found you have to be in tune with loss prevention and planning. I have taken pride in that at my employment. I am on the safety committee. We try to recognize issues and before it becomes a bigger issue, we try to resolve those. I think my whole life and through the positions I have found myself in with my careers has somewhat prepared me for this. I try to let my faith guide me in my decisions. I didn’t act on instinct or impulse for this position. I discussed it with my family and on President’s Day it hit me that this is a role I could fill and be productive for the county especially for my district. I come here to ask for your nomination and your vote,” said Pack.

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