4th District Constable Position to be Filled in November Election

June 25, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County Election Office has announced since no candidate qualified for the 4th District Constable vacancy, the office will be on the ballot again in November.

Initially, Eric Ervin, a qualified candidate for school board, had also filed a write-in request with the election office to be a candidate for constable as well.

However, state law prohibits a candidate from seeking two county constitutional offices at the same time, and as a result, the constable vacancy remains.

“I had a few conversations with our state office about this issue and the bottom line is, since Ervin is a qualified candidate for school board, his request to be a write-in candidate also for constable for the August election cannot be approved,” said Dennis Stanley, Administrator of Elections. “Should Ervin lose the school board race, which is obviously an unknown at this point, he would be eligible to seek the constable office in November.”

“Due to the timeframe, both political parties can select a constable nominee for the November ballot by the convention process, or candidates can run as an independent through the petition process,” Stanley said. The qualifying deadline in either process would be Noon, September 14, 2022.”

Candidates for the 4th District School Board race in the August election are Ervin, a Republican nominee; Scott Little, Democrat nominee; and Tony Poss, Independent.

The 4th District Constable became vacant with the death of Paul Cantrell.

June 24, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville Municipal Judgeship is a step closer to becoming a four year rather than a two-year position.

During a special called meeting Thursday evening the Mayor and Board of Aldermen adopted on first reading an ordinance to change the term of the appointed city judge position from two years to four years to be appointed by the mayor and aldermen. If approved on second and final reading following a public hearing at the next meeting, July 11 the new four-year term will begin September 1, 2022.

Other provisions of the ordinance are that the person holding the city judgeship must be at least 30 years of age, licensed by the State of Tennessee to practice law, and must be a resident of DeKalb County. If the appointee should ever move his or her location outside of DeKalb County, he or she must vacate the judgeship. The salary of the city judge must be set by the mayor and aldermen prior to the term and cannot be changed during the term of office. During the absence or disability of the city judge, the governing body may appoint a city judge pro temp to serve until the city judge returns to his or her duties. The city judge must take an oath of office and be bonded.

Since 2006, the municipal judgeship has been a two-year term position with the judge being appointed by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. The salary is $1,000 per month. Prior to 2006 the city judge was elected by the voters of Smithville to an eight-year term.

The incumbent City Judge Gayla Hendrix was appointed to her first two-year term in 2020 and it expires August 31.

The municipal judge primarily hears city ordinance violations.

In other business, the aldermen voted to reapply for a $1.25 million Tennessee Department of Transportation Multi-Modal Access Grant for a sidewalk project on Highway 70 East in the city limits. If approved the city would have to meet a 10% grant match or $125,000. The city has applied for and been denied the grant previously.

The aldermen also updated the city’s personnel policy to include the observance of Juneteenth which is now a federal holiday every June 19. The city observed the holiday this past Monday.

June 24, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners of the 2022 “Project Welcome Mat” in time for the Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival July 1 & 2.

This year’s winners are as follows:

*People’s Choice – Wilson Bank & Trust
“Come Have Some Fun in the Sun at Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree #51”

*Most Original – Middle Tennessee Natural Gas
“Welcome to Jamboree 51 Summer Fun since 71”

*Best Worded- Tennessee Credit
“51 Years Fiddlin’ On Gas Prices Be Gone, Cloggin’, Craftin’ and Fun for All has Begun”

Most Creative – Liberty State Bank
“Come for the Music & Crafts, Stories Spun, Food by the Tons, Jamboree 51”

“We want to thank all the businesses for posting their signs to welcome our Jamboree visitors. “It is extremely important to make sure that our valued guests know how appreciated and important they are to us. We hope to see everyone at the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Crafts Festival on July 1st and 2nd,” said Chamber Director Suzanne Williams.

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