Conner Close and Abby Cross Named Mr. and Miss DCHS

September 1, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Seniors Conner Close and Abby Cross have been named Mr. and Miss DeKalb County High School for 2023-24.

Close is the 17-year-old son of Richard and Gina Close and Cross, age 17 is the daughter of Tony and Shelly Cross.

“How this comes about is the teachers all nominate students, girls and boys, for the honor and then the whole school votes for Mr. and Miss DCHS,” said Cross.

“To me it’s a big honor. I want to thank all the students for voting for me and Abby,” said Close.

Close and Cross have both excelled inside and outside the classroom and they are enjoying their high school experience.

“I love it. I have made a lot of friends and made a lot of memories with my buddies. I have got to participate in a lot of things,” said Conner.

When asked if she has had fun as a student at DCHS, Abby replied “Yeah” adding that she especially enjoys homecoming every year and all the excitement that comes with that. Close said he too likes homecoming week.

Conner is a member of the DCHS basketball team and he is also in the FBLA club and participates in some of the FFA club activities. Cross is a football manager and she is a member of the FBLA, Beta, Science, and Spanish Clubs, along with the Service Society.

As for future plans after high school, Close said he would like to go on to college and perhaps continue playing basketball. “I would like to attend college, probably Tennessee Tech, and maybe even have an opportunity to go play basketball somewhere if I don’t go to Tech. I would probably like to get into the agriculture field or maybe somewhere in the engineering field.

Cross said she wants to further her education at Tennessee Tech University and get accepted into their nursing program.

August 31, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Lotsa Love!

The DeKalb Animal Shelter is home to lotsa furry friends anxious to give lotsa love. All they need is a forever home.

“Meika” is such a pet and she is the WJLE/DeKalb Animal Shelter featured “Pet of the Week”.

“At about eight years old, Meika is among our senior pets,” said Shelter Director Emmaly Bennett. “She has already been spayed and is up to date on everything. Meika is a really good dog and she is great with other dogs and people. All in all, Meika is a great little house dog. She is the perfect size, really well behaved, has wonderful manners and just wants to be loved on and in your lap. If this is the type of dog you are looking for then come see Meika. Her adoption fee has been sponsored and it only costs $80 to adopt her. She would make a great addition to anyone’s household,” said Bennett.

“If you are interested in adopting Meika, please check out the adoptable pet’s link on our website to fill out an application at https://www.dekalbanimalsheltertn.com/ and we will call you to come in and meet her,” she said.

The shelter is open Monday-Friday from 8 to 4 and Saturday from 8 to 12 at 186 Transfer Station Road. Phone 615-597-3647.

August 30, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Two more properties are up for rezoning in the City of Smithville

During Monday night’s special called meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen, an ordinance was adopted on first reading to rezone property located on Miller Road near Foster Road from R-1 (Low Density Residential) to R-2 (High Density Residential).

The Smithville Planning Commission met on August 14 and voted to recommend approval of the rezoning request to the Mayor and Aldermen.

Plans are to develop residential housing on the property.

Second and final reading action on this rezoning ordinance will be at the next meeting of the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen on Monday, September 11 at 6 p.m. following a public hearing.

Meanwhile, the aldermen adopted on first reading another rezoning ordinance Monday night. This property (two parcels) is located on Short Mountain Highway near Bill Page Ball Park. The owner wants the site rezoned from R-1 (Low Density Residential) to C-1 (Commercial) for the intended purpose of a laundry mat.

Second and final reading action on this rezoning ordinance will be at the next meeting of the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen on Monday, September 11 at 6 p.m. following a public hearing.

The Aldermen will also adopt on 2nd and final reading an ordinance as recommended by the city planning commission to rezone 600 & 602 Estes Street belonging to Dan Boyd from R-1 (low density) to R-2 (high density) residential. The ordinance was adopted on 1st reading last month.

In other business Monday night, the aldermen adopted on 1st reading an ordinance to amend the budgets to make corrections from earlier calculations for municipal revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023 and ending June 30,2024 and for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 and ending June 30, 2023.

The purpose of the amendment is to make a correction in the amount of $240,300 to the “Total Other General Government Expenses” of the General Fund Budget which changes the total on page 12 of the budget from $6,687,574 to $6,927,874. The “Revenues over (under) Expenditures” in the General Fund is also amended by the same amount $240,300 which puts expenditures exceeding revenues from $441,403 to $683,703 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2023 and ending June 30, 2024.

The budget amendment also corrects the “Total Other General Government Expenses” of page 12 of the General Fund Budget in the amount of $206,200 which changes the total from $853,012 to $1,059,212. Accordingly, the total Expenditures of the General Fund on page 16 of the budget is changed from $6,319,344 to $6,525,544. The “Revenues over (under) Expenditures “in the General Fund is also amended by $206,200  to expenditures exceeding revenues from $254,999 to $461,199 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2022 and ending June 30, 2023.

Although the 2023-24 budget is now projected to finish in the red, Janice Plemmons-Jackson, the city’s longtime financial advisor, explained that some capital outlay expenses, which contribute to that, will be for one year only.

‘I still feel like we have a very good budget. When those changes are made, we are negative as far as the current income and expenses, but we had already planned to use some of the reserves to fund primarily capital outlay projects. We have $2 million in capital outlay projects. Our irrigation system was more than $600,000 so we have lots of projects in there.”

“I looked to see how our fund balance has been doing. The last five years we have increased cash about $3 million dollars in both the general fund and another $3 million in the water and sewer fund so although you are spending more money (in the budget) than you thought you were you still have reserves and I think we are balancing what we are spending with conservative but good sound judgment and that we spend money in excess when it’s for a big project the city needs. The city has done lots of good things like the splash pad, police building, etc. I see so many improvements coming through the city and I don’t want you to feel concerned that you have overdone anything,” said Plemmons-Jackson.

The budget amendment also includes a new matching paving grant which has not yet been received.

“We are adding $191 158 in new monies for more paving. There’s $153,000 of grant money (Small Towns Grant) that we are receiving, and the city is spending $38,232,” said Plemmons-Jackson.

Meanwhile, the Aldermen approved a revised request by Police Chief Mark Collins to apply for a Community Facilities Grant to purchase a new police car, rather than a Polaris Ranger Crew XP 1000 utility vehicle.

During the last city council meeting, Chief Collins asked for and received permission from the aldermen to apply for a $24,704 grant to purchase a utility vehicle under the impression that the city’s matching portion of the grant would be 25%. He was also unaware at the time that the grant could be used to purchase police cars.

Since then, Chief Collins has learned that the local grant match is actually 45% of the cost so he wants to amend his request to seek grant funds for a new police car rather than the utility vehicle.

“I’d like to have one (utility vehicle) but I believe we could get more bang for the buck if we apply this grant toward a vehicle,” said Chief Collins.

“A 2023 Dodge Charger is $36,451. If we apply this grant toward a new vehicle, it will pay $20,048 and the city would be out $16,403. We will know by the end of October if we have been approved for the grant, but no money would be allocated from the grant until December should it be approved. I feel like this would be a good time for us to get another new vehicle on the grant at a very low cost to the city”.

The cost of equipping the car might also be included in the grant, if approved but that is not yet known. The city will address the added costs of equipping the vehicle with emergency lights, etc. should the grant be approved without the equipment package.

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