Public hearing set on City CDBG Grant application to offer Substance Abuse Recovery Transitional Housing

March 14, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville is seeking a grant to fund a transitional housing program for people in recovery from substance abuse.

The Upper Cumberland Development District will apply for the Community Development Block Grant-Recovery Housing Grant through the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development on behalf of the city to be administered by the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency if approved.

A public hearing will be held on Monday, April 4 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall. The hearing is open to the public and active participation is highly encouraged

UCDD and UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley informed the Mayor and Aldermen Monday night, March 7 during their regular monthly meeting that Smithville has a good chance of getting this grant because of the need.

“When we looked across the 14 county Upper Cumberland region we assessed that DeKalb County would probably score highest. Unfortunately that is based on percentage of overdoses that DeKalb County has compared to other counties across the state. Sometimes grants come to you because of good things and sometimes grants come because things are not going so good. For whatever reason, DeKalb County had the highest percentage of overdose deaths in 2019 which is the base year they are looking at (for grant eligibility). We feel like DeKalb would be the best among the upper Cumberland counties to apply for this grant. The reason I am coming to you (City of Smithville) first is that for recovery housing opportunities it would probably make sense to put that (transitional housing) inside the city limits. There are not a lot of these grants to be funded. The state only has $1.8 million to go all the way across the state and the maximum grant award can be $750,000 so there will probably only be a couple of awards across the state,” said Farley.

If approved, Farley said the city will partner with UCHRA under terms of the grant program to manage the transitional housing facility to serve from 8-12 people in recovery who would be charged rent to live there.

“In this grant application the city would have to partner with an agency to oversee this recovery housing and that’s where UCHRA would come into that. We run a substance abuse program that we have had for a couple of years where we work with individuals to get them into recovery and once they get out of recovery we try to place them into housing, put them in jobs, and make sure they have all the supports they need to be successful coming back into society. We (UCHRA) would offer to be that partnering agency. There is no grant match required from the city. We (UCHRA) would take care of all costs. It would not cost the City of Smithville anything. UCDD would oversee the grant writing and UCHRA would manage it. Rent would be charged to the residents. We are talking about a facility for 8-12 individuals and they would pay a monthly rate to cover the operation of it,” said Farley.

The location of the facility has not yet been identified

“You could take an existing apartment unit and rehab it. You can do new construction or you can acquire existing property. We would lay out who would be in this housing and how long they would be there and I assume you could put some other stipulations on that as well from the community level. We have done some housing grant programs like this in the past where you (local governments) apply for the funds, get it awarded, oversee the grant contract, and then deed the property over to say the UCDD or UCHRA and from there we take it and maintain it. If you (city) wanted to retain ownership you could do that to where we (UCHRA) would only be overseeing it so that while its under the grant contract we (UCHRA) would manage it as transitional housing and if it ever ceased to be that then it would revert back to the city,” said Farley.

During Monday night’s meeting, March 7, the aldermen voted to authorize UCDD to make application for the grant which must be filed by April 29.

“It requires a resolution to apply,” said Farley. “I suggest that we (UCHRA) put together a proposal for you and bring it back at your next city council meeting and then go through all the details and explain exactly what we would propose. If you (city) have stipulations you would also like to impose as well we would be open to hear that and then see where this project goes. The application is due April 29. There are some reporting and public hearing deadlines so we would need to go ahead and start that process as soon as possible,” Farley added.

March 13, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Allie Wilbur, a senior and gifted Lady Tiger soccer player signed a letter of intent with Waynesburg University on Friday to play collegiate soccer for the Lady Yellow Jackets next season after she graduates in May.

Waynesburg University is located in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania.

Joining Wilbur for the signing were members of her family, coach, and fellow players.

In addition to furthering her soccer career, Wilbur plans to study forensic investigation at Waynesburg.

“I will be majoring in forensic investigation and pursuing a career in crime scene investigation,” said Wilbur. “I chose Waynesburg because I felt like it was the best opportunity because I could get the forensic education I wanted, and I could also play soccer at the next level which was a big goal. It is a very good opportunity and I believe I can grow a lot there,” she said.

During her high school years, Wilbur anchored the Lady Tiger Soccer Team on the left wing.

“I have really liked playing for Coach K and the Lady Tigers these past four years. It has been the best years of my life and I have made a lot of close friends. I played the left wing. The left wing is on the outside of the left side of the field, and I pretty much moved the ball up and down that sideline and got it into the middle of the field for the forward and set up goal scoring opportunities,” said Wilbur.

Allie said she developed a love for soccer at an early age and has played the sport since she was little. As a high school soccer standout on the girls’ team, Allie followed in her father Andrew Wilbur’s footsteps who also played soccer at DCHS for Coach K on the boys’ team.

“Allie has been a good captain. She is a silent leader and doesn’t talk a whole lot, but she leads by example,” said DCHS Soccer Coach Dylan Kleparek. “This year she was a real leader for us on the team not only on the field but how she acted, and, in the way, the other girls followed her in that attitude. Allie scored several goals. She played at left wing all four years and was a really hard worker up and down the field. Allie also had a lot of assists where she put the ball in the box and gave other people opportunities to score. She has a strong left leg and is a solid player,” said Coach K.

The fact that Allie was also Coach K’s first, second generation player made his experience coaching her a little extra special too.

“I coached her dad (Andrew) in the boys’ program and to see Allie come through the girls’ program too was pretty awesome. Andrew was on the first couple of teams that I had. After 20 years, I have stuck around long enough to see the next generation and that’s pretty exciting,” he said.

Waynesburg University is a private university in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1850 and offers undergraduate and graduate programs in more than 70 academic concentrations. The university enrolls over 2,500 students, including approximately 1,800 undergraduates. Waynesburg University is a member of the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC).

March 13, 2022
By:

Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine (LMU-DCOM) student Ashley Dailey, Class of 2022, has received the National Outstanding Medical Student Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association (EMRA). Dailey is only the second DO student to win the award.

“When I received the call that I had been nominated and selected as a recipient, I was shocked beyond belief,” Dailey said. “Quite frankly, I have struggled with self-confidence throughout my entire medical school journey, and words cannot begin to describe what an honor receiving this award is, especially after looking at the past recipients of this prestigious title.”

Dailey is from Smithville, Tennessee, and received her undergraduate degree from Tennessee Technological University (TTU). Her rotation site is in Morristown, Tennessee, and she is pursuing a career in emergency medicine.

“If my journey through medical school has taught me anything, it’s that working hard and believing in yourself leads to success, and this award is yet just another example of that,” Dailey said.

Dailey, who is president of the LMU-DCOM Class of 2022, earned an MBA and BS degrees in biochemistry and biology health sciences from TTU. Her other honors at LMU-DCOM include Top Quartile Class Rank, Omega Beta Iota Honor Society, Harvey and Lois Schell Endowed Scholarship, Translating Osteopathic Understanding into Community Health Service Hours, Gold Badge, Sigma Sigma Phi Honor Society, LMU Woman of Distinction and Gold Humanism Honor Society.

“My interest in EM was cemented by my desire to have an exposure to all specialties of medicine – not just one,” Dailey said. “I look forward to an intellectually stimulating career and the challenge of providing care to diverse patient populations.”

The DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine is located on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. LMU-DCOM is an integral part of LMU’s values-based learning community and is dedicated to preparing the next generation of osteopathic physicians to provide health care in the often-underserved region of Appalachia and beyond. For more information about LMU-DCOM, call 1.800.325.0900, ext. 7082, email dcom@LMUnet.edu, or visit us online at http://med.LMUnet.edu.

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