UC Counties Recognized as ‘Best Value’ by SmartAsset

December 18, 2020
By:

Eight Upper Cumberland counties have been recognized as best values in several categories including home value growth, school value, and lowest average property tax.

SmartAsset, a financial technology company, reviewed the data from all 95 Tennessee counties
to rank the top 10 in several “best value” categories.

Of locations named “Best Overall Value”, six Upper Cumberland counties made the top 10 list:
Overton (1), DeKalb (2), Van Buren (4), Smith (7), Pickett (9), and White (10).

Particulars, such as property taxes paid, school rankings, and the change in property values over
a five-year period were reviewed and compared county to county. Counties with the highest
scores were those where property tax dollars are going the furthest.

All counties listed in the top 10 for lowest average property tax listed a property tax rate below 50 percent; well below the state’s average property tax rate of 0.73 percent. Among the top 10, five Upper Cumberland counties made the list of lowest average property tax rates: Pickett (1),
Cumberland (2), DeKalb (6), Fentress (7), and Overton (9). When considering most value for home value growth Pickett (1), Cannon (3), and Overton (6) claimed three spots on the top 10 list; each nearly doubling the state’s average home value growth of 14 percent. Pickett County’s reported home value growth stands at 58 percent, Cannon County at 33 percent, and Overton County reporting a 25 percent home value growth rate.

Three Upper Cumberland counties ranked among the top 10 school ratings: Cumberland (3), Overton (4), and Smith (10) counties. When measuring the quality of schools, SmartAsset analyzed
the math and reading/language arts proficiencies for every school district in the country; creating an average score for each district and weighting them to account for the number of students in each school.

SmartAsset states, “our study aims to find the places in the United States where people are
getting the most value for their property tax dollars. To do this, we looked at property taxes paid, school rankings, and the change in property values over a five-year period.”

To learn more, visit https://smartasset.com/taxes/tennessee-property-tax-calculator

About the Upper Cumberland Development District: The Upper Cumberland Development
District provides regional planning and assistance to the 14-county Upper Cumberland region to
promote economic growth and community enhancement. Find UCDD on the web at www.ucdd.org and at facebook.com/UCDDconnect.

December 17, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Although COVID-19 has forced changes in the way it has operated for most of the year, God’s Food Pantry continues its mission to feed the hungry through the holidays and year round.

For 13 years the pantry has provided food and other essentials to help meet the needs of the medically frail and elderly, children, veterans, the homeless, and the working poor.

Food is distributed on the first Friday after the first Thursday and on the third Friday of every month from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. from the pantry at 430 East Broad in Smithville in a drive through pickup line. Senior citizens are served first from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. and others can drive through after that up until 12 noon.

The next food distribution is Friday morning, December 18 and will be the last before Christmas.

Pat Zornow, God’s Food Pantry volunteer and coordinator, said thousands of people from within and outside of DeKalb County have been served by this ministry over the years, which is supported by churches, businesses, and caring individuals. And its not just people in the urban areas who are in need of help, but many in rural areas too.

“We want people to realize that that we are here and that the need for our services is just as great in the rural area if not more so than in the urban areas basically because there are more facilities available as far as pantries in the cities versus the rural areas,” said Zornow.

Anyone in need of food can drive up and get a box which includes basic staples, perishables, and sometimes meats including either beef, pork, and this time of year turkeys provided by Tenneco Automotive. Turkeys and hams typically go to the larger families.

“Every month we still have two food drives on the first and third Friday. The first Friday is basically staples with perishables and the third Friday is the staples, perishables, and meats. We are one of only a few pantries in the area that provide meat to everyone. Typically on pantry days when we don’t offer meat products we average about 250 cars pulling up but on days when we do have meats we usually get 300 plus cars drive through in addition to our regular 120 deliveries we do twice a month. With all these families we are feeding it comes to between 1,200 and 1,400 people per pantry with an average of 35% children and 31% senior citizens,” said Zornow.

Gods Food Pantry can also be reached to meet a dire emergency need anytime at 615-597-4540. Leave a message and someone will promptly return your call.

December 16, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

One of DeKalb County High School’s most outstanding football players will soon be trading his black and gold school colors for purple and gold.

Evan Jones, a senior who played tight end and defensive end for the Tigers, signed a letter of intent Wednesday to play for the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles next year. Jones will graduate from DCHS in May.

Jones, a 1st Team All Region Award winner this year, played for the Tigers all four of his high school years with these last two seasons having been the most memorable as the team had back to back appearances in the state play-offs before losing both years to Nolensville.

Jones said he has always had a special place in his heart for Tennessee Tech and that is primarily why he chose to further his education and football career there.

“I have been around Cookeville a lot since I was little and I just like the atmosphere at Tennessee Tech. I can remember the first time my dad took me there and I have always loved that campus. Every time my dad and I went to Cookeville when I was little when we would go to Tech’s campus I would say to him tell me some stories about your college days so it just felt right for me. I don’t yet know what my role will be there but wherever they put me I will give it everything I have and hopefully eventually become an important part of the Tennessee Tech football team,” said Jones.

As for his years as a Tiger, Jones said those memories will last a lifetime.

“The most memorable to me was my senior year but both my junior and senior years were great. It was important to me to prove to myself and to the community that DeKalb County isn’t a pushover in football. We went 3-7 my freshman and sophomore years but my junior and senior years I felt we had something to prove. We had chips on our shoulders. These last two years have been pretty special and it has been awesome to have been a part of that,” said Jones.

Tiger Coach Steve Trapp said he is proud of Evan and what he has meant to the DCHS Football Program and is confident he has more good years in football ahead of him at the next level.

“It’s a good day anytime you see one of your guys have the opportunity to go to the next level and continue to play. We want Evan and the other guys to take those experiences they had here to the places they are going. They will learn new things, new plays, new schemes, and new ways to do things but with what our assistant coaches do here and put our players through they are prepared to do that. This is the second year in a row we have someone going to Tech and I am really excited for Evan and everything he and his family have meant to this program. He is a good guy from a great family and that is represented in how he carries himself and its one of the reasons Tennessee Tech was so excited about him,” said Coach Trapp.

Tennessee Tech competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision and is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The season ended for the Tigers last month at 7-5 although one of the losses was not on the field but a COVID-19 forfeit to Cumberland County. The 2020 Tigers made history by being the first DCHS football team to win a regular season region championship and the first to host back to back state playoff football games in Smithville.

Evan was joined at the signing Wednesday by his parents, Chris and Teresa Jones and his brothers and Ean and Eli.

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