Tracy Luna Celebration Concert and Scholarship Challenge Set for Saturday

February 15, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

A Celebration of Life and Music concert in memory of TTU and Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble alumnus, Tracy M. Luna, will be held Saturday, February 19 at 7pm in The Bryan Fine Arts Center in Cookeville. This concert is open to the public, and the family hopes you will join in celebrating Tracy’s life and love of music by attending in person or watching the LiveStream on the School of Music at Tennessee Tech Facebook page.

Graduating from Wayne County High School in 1991, Tracy was the first in his immediate family to be accepted to college. He was a dedicated, enthusiastic tuba player and was excited to be able to join the world-famous Tennessee Tech Tuba Ensemble directed by R. Winston Morris. An unusual medical condition forced him to leave TTU prior to completing his undergraduate degree. This same condition took his hearing in one ear. Despite the challenges, Tracy was able to complete his undergraduate degree at a different institution in 1997 after meeting and marrying his wife, Laura. After spending several years as a high school and middle school band director and having initiated a band program in places where one did not previously exist, he returned to TTU in 2008 to complete an advanced degree. He was deeply grateful to be able to once again participate in the ensembles in the music department including the tuba ensemble. In addition, Tracy indulged his passion by performing with regional groups such as the Cookeville Community Band, the Nashville Wind Ensemble, and Southern Stars Symphonic Brass in Crossville, TN. Tracy was most recently the band director of DeKalb County High School in Smithville, TN until his untimely passing on December 21, 2021 from complications of pancreatic cancer.

The concert will include music from the ensembles in which Tracy was actively involved as a tuba player.. The Southern Stars Symphonic Brass will open the concert and will be followed by an octet of the Tennessee Tech Tuba ensemble that will include Tracy’s younger son, Victor. A former student and soon to be music graduate from UT Chattanooga, Caleb Rowland, will perform a composition done for Tracy by Dr. Kenyon Wilson. Closing out the concert will be a performance by the DeKalb County High School Band currently directly by Mr. Don Whitt and Ms. Erica Birmingham.

In Tracy’s memory and to honor all the students he has influenced, the Tracy M. Luna Memorial Music Scholarship at TTU is being established with the purpose of alleviating part of the first-year financial burden that might otherwise prevent promising music students from attending Tennessee Tech, particularly from rural areas with priority given to DeKalb County and Wayne County students, in order to allow the student to take full advantage of the opportunities to learn and perform at the university level. The family of Tracy Luna would like to challenge the DeKalb County community to be a significant contributor to this scholarship. They are looking for at least 100 people to donate at least $40 towards the scholarship. Contributions to the endowment of this scholarship will be accepted at the concert and can also be made online or by mail/phone:

●Online:https://www.tntech.edu/univadv/giving/online-giving.php
Select “Other” and then type in Tracy M. Luna Memorial Music Scholarship in the description line.

●Checks may be made payable to Tennessee Technological University Foundation with Tracy M. Luna Memorial Music Scholarship in the memo line and mailed to:
Tennessee Tech University Foundation
PO Box 1915
Cookeville, TN 38505

●Phone with credit or debit card – University Advancement at 931-372-6102

February 14, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville is in need of lifeguards for the upcoming season at the Municipal Swimming Pool which usually opens on Memorial Day weekend.

Manager Jeania Cawthorn is asking anyone who is interested and qualified to apply as soon as possible. The pay is $10.00 an hour with flexible hours.

“I only have four lifeguards coming back right now from last year and I would like to have a total of 17-20. While we have the pool open we are required to have four lifeguards on duty at all times but when the weather gets hot, I like to rotate them out about every four hours, so I usually use eight lifeguards a day. I work around their schedules. Some lifeguards have ball camps, some have other jobs, and others have vacations and church camps, so I work around their schedule,” said Cawthorn.

Requirements include the following but are not limited to:
*Must be 15 years of age by May 1st
*Must pass American Red Cross Lifeguard Course and CPR Class
*Must be a strong swimmer
*Must be able to pass drug test and background check

Benefits of being a lifeguard:
*You could save a life.
*Lifesaving skills
*Self-confidence
*Developing leadership skills
*Being a role model
*Looks good on resumes
*Developing new friendships

A class will be offered at a Murfreesboro in-door complex starting March 10. After that there will be two classes starting in mid- April at an outdoor pool in McMinnville. Lifeguard certification is good for two years, but CPR recertification is every year. Lifeguards will have to pay for the cost of their class upfront which is $175.00 but the city will reimburse those who pass the course and work at the pool all summer.

Contact Jeania at the Pro-shop at 615-597-6648 for more information on how to sign up for the classes.

February 14, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County High School Lady Tigers will play their first game of the District 7-3A basketball tournament at Upperman Tuesday night, February 15. The game starts at 6 p.m. and WJLE will have LIVE coverage.

The Lady Tigers (15-13, 4-8) are the 5th seed in the tournament and Upperman (22-5, 8-4) is the 4th seed.

The two teams just met last Friday night at Baxter on the final evening of the regular season with Upperman winning 54 to 24. In the previous meeting on January 18 in Smithville, the Lady Tigers defeated Upperman 42 to 40.

In the game Friday night, Upperman led 10 to 4 after the 1st period, 29 to 11 at halftime, and 40 to 18 after the 3rd period before claiming a 54 to 24 victory.

Avery Agee scored 6 for the Lady Tigers followed by Ella Van Vranken with 4, Kadee Ferrell and Dare Collins each with 3 and Madison Martin, Xharia Lyons, and Darrah Ramsey and Tess Barton each with 2 points.

The Tigers will travel to Cumberland County for their first district tournament game on Wednesday night, February 16. The game starts at 6 p.m. and WJLE will have LIVE coverage.

The Tigers (13-13, 5-7) are the 6th seed and Cumberland County (13-13, 7-5) is the 3rd seed.

In the previous meetings this season, the Tigers defeated the Jets 71 to 66 in Smithville on February 8 but lost at Crossville 76 to 70 on January 14.

In the regular season finale at Upperman Friday night, the Tigers were beaten 50-49.

The Tigers trailed 18 to 12 after the 1st period but took a 28 to 27 lead by halftime. The Tigers fell behind 45 to 37 by the end of the 3rd period and lost 50 to 49.

Conner Close scored 22, Elishah Ramos 14, Isaac Knowles and Brayden Antoniak each with 4, Stetson Agee 3 and Jordan Young 2.

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