DTC Communications Announces Five Additional WI-FI Hotspots Throughout DeKalb County

July 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

DTC Communications is proud to announce the addition of five new Wi-Fi hotspots located throughout DeKalb County for public use. These new hotspots can be found at the community centers in the Belk, Blue Springs, Keltonburg, Midway and Temperance Hall. DTC now provides thirteen (13) free, driveup hotspots throughout its service territory.

Additional hotspots are located at DTC retail stores in Alexandria, Gordonsville, Smithville and Woodbury, and also at DeKalb West School in Liberty, Smithville Elementary, Northside
Elementary, and DeKalb Middle School, in Smithville.

DTC Communications previously joined hundreds of companies across the United States in signing the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Keep Americans Connected Pledge, in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this pledge, DTC initially promised to keep open public Wi-Fi hotspots to the general public through the month of June.

“We understand the pandemic has negatively affected many families and businesses in our communities. To ensure that everyone has access to essential broadband internet connectivity, DTC initially provided four free drive-up hotspots within our service territory for use by any community member,” noted Chris Townson, CEO of DTC Communications. “After further conversation with school leadership, and based upon identified need in the communities, our board of directors approved extending access to the free hotspots, as well as adding additional sites at the schools and community centers throughout DeKalb County, as requested. We appreciate all our schools are doing for our kids, and we’re thankful Mr. Patrick Cripps and Mr. Joey Reeder asked DTC to help in this capacity. We’re also appreciative of Mayor Tim Stribling and the DeKalb County Commission for allowing access at each of the community centers. It means a lot to our board and employees to be able to work together to serve our schools and communities.”

DTC Communications is a member owned telecommunications cooperative established in 1951. DTC provides world-class broadband and technology solutions to improve the quality of life of our members and communities in the regions we serve.

July 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Turnout for early voting has been brisk even with COVID-19 concerns. Although requests for absentee ballots have been up, many people are coming in person to vote as well.

A total of 779 people have taken advantage of early voting for the August 6 elections through Friday, July 24.

According to the DeKalb County Election Commission Office, 111 people cast ballots Friday including 104 in person and 7 absentees. Of that number 85 voted in the Tennessee Republican Primary, 24 in the State Democratic Primary, and 2 voted only in the DeKalb County General Election without voting in either state primary.

The City of Smithville vote stands at 246 total through Friday including in-person and absentee ballots and property rights voters. Twenty five people voted Friday.

For the first seven days of early voting a total of 504 have voted in the Tennessee GOP primary, 249 in the Tennessee Democratic Primary, and 26 have voted only in the DeKalb County General Election without voting in either state primary.

Early voting started Friday, July 17 and runs Monday to Saturday until Saturday, Aug. 1 in the downstairs courtroom of the courthouse.

Hours for early voting are Mondays 1-5 p.m.; Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Thursdays 2-6 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Election day voting at all 15 precincts will be from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 6.

July 23, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Unemployment rates in a vast majority of Tennessee’s 95 counties including DeKalb continued to drop in June, according to new data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Seventy-four counties had lower jobless rates for the month, as Tennessee continues to reopen after many businesses closed in the spring to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

DeKalb County’s Jobless Rate for June was 11.6%, down from 15.7% in May but still well above the 4.7% rate in June, 2019.

The DeKalb County Labor Force for June, 2020 was 7,330. A total of 6,482 were employed and 848 were without work.

Unemployment did increase slightly in 17 counties during the month and remained the same in four counties.

Williamson County recorded the lowest unemployment rate in June. At 6.7%, the rate dropped 0.4 of a percentage point when compared to May’s rate.

Crockett County’s rate of 6.8% was Tennessee’s second-lowest figure for the month, down 0.3 of a percentage point from May. Pickett County had the third-lowest rate at 7.2%, down a 0.5 of a percentage point.

Shelby County had the state’s highest rate of unemployment in June. Its figure jumped 1.8 percentage points to 13.2%.

Grundy County was just below Shelby County at 13.1%, which represents a 3.8 percentage point drop from May’s rate of 16.9%.

Knoxville had the lowest unemployment rate among Tennessee’s three largest cities at 9.5%, which is a 0.3 of a percentage point decrease from the month before. Nashville had a rate of 12.1%, down 0.2 of a percentage point from May. Memphis saw a 2.4 percentage point increase in unemployment between May and June to 12.1%.

Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate decreased for the second consecutive month. The June 2020 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate is 9.7%, down 1.3 percentage points from May’s revised rate of 11%.

Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment dropped by 2.2 percentage points in June, going from 13.3% to 11.1%.

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