Rare Plant Species Discovered at Appalachian Center for Craft Campus in DeKalb County

June 4, 2022
By:

Tennessee Tech University students have discovered a rare plant species in a wooded area surrounding the Appalachian Center for Craft, Tech’s satellite campus in Smithville. The plant is called the Cumberland pagoda-plant (Blephilia woffordii) and is a species new to science, first described in 2020 by Aaron Floden, Ph.D., and Ed Schilling, Ph.D. The plant is so rare that there are only four other known populations surrounding the Caney Fork River area.

Students participating in the field botany summer intersession course spent four days hiking the trails around the Center for Craft when they stumbled upon this rare plant species.

“This discovery of a new location for a very recently described species is significant. That new collection would be the furthest east it gets. It highlights the importance of the Central Basin and the Eastern Highland Rims with respect to the level of plant diversity and endemism,” Floden said.

During the student’s last day of collecting plants around the trails, they had to detour off a path due to a large fallen oak tree. As they maneuvered around the hole the fallen tree left behind, Blephilia woffordii stood out because of its bright white flowers. Tech student Emmalee Higdon collected it to deposit in the Hollister Herbarium, Tech’s museum that houses nearly 40,000 plant specimens for scientific study.

“Each time a new site for a rare plant is found, we learn a little more about where to search in the future. We know that Cumberland pagoda-plant likes limestone rock outcrops, but we are still learning how much sunlight it needs and how much is too much,” Todd Crabtree, State Botanist with the Tennessee Natural Heritage Program, said.

“I am very proud of the students in this class. They worked hard during these surveys to collect many important specimens and even to identify them. Their positive and inquisitive attitudes made it possible for us to cover as much ground as we did. We were also fortunate to have the support of Dr. Kimberly Winkle in the use of the Center for Craft property and classrooms for our work,” Tech associate professor of biology Shawn Krosnick said.

The new specimen of Blephilia woffordii will soon be digitized as part of the curation process at the Hollister Herbarium, making it available for other scientists to study online through the Southeastern Regional Network of Expertise and Collections (SERNEC; www.sernecportal.org).

June 4, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The splashpad is now open at Green Brook Park and if the first day is any indication it’s going to be a big hit with children.

The mayor and aldermen, joined by other city officials, the Chamber of Commerce, parents, and kids hosted a ribbon cutting for the new splashpad Friday at Green Brook Park just before it opened at noon. The splashpad is open seven days a week from 12 noon until 7 p.m.

“It’s a very exciting day for Smithville. I want to thank the city council for funding this project. I think this will be a great asset and something good for the kids to have to enjoy for years to come. I also want to thank our public works department. They have put a lot of time into this project especially Public Works Director Kevin Robinson and City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson. We did not use an architect with this, so we saved money and there was a lot of time put into this by our administration going over plans. We are proud of it,” said Mayor Josh Miller.

A groundbreaking was held in March for the new 2,400 square foot splashpad. The mayor, aldermen, and other city officials and friends were on hand for that occasion including Jason Stewart and Adam Walton of Recreational Concepts of Cookeville, the company that built the splashpad.

In November, the aldermen awarded the bid and adopted a budget amendment authorizing an expenditure of up to $173,000 for the splashpad. The money for the project was taken from the city’s unreserved fund balance.

“The splashpad is about 2,400 square feet and it has a lot of beautiful above ground features for kids to run through and things that spray and splash along with in-ground features that spray out of the ground. It’s a nice mix for all age groups and abilities. It fills up the space really well especially with the playground and gazebos. It’s a nice addition to the park,” said Walton.

“Like Adam said It’s about 2,400 square feet and has a five-foot apron around the pad that is essentially a dry deck where no water flows and on the inside on the splashpad itself there are above grade and embedded features that spray upward providing an experience for different age groups and ability levels. There are about 28 different features on the pad itself,” said Stewart.

Mayor Miller said the city also plans to refurbish the 25-year-old playground at Green Brook Park soon.

“We have about $50,000 in the budget to start fixing up the playground equipment and refurbishing that. Although the city would have to replace the broken and splintered wood, a professional company could be contracted to refurbish and stain the playground equipment,” he said.

June 3, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Gas prices across the country and close to home are continuing to skyrocket.

The national average gas price is currently setting at an all-time high of $4.71, which is up 11 cents from last week, according to AAA.

Tennessee is also seeing record-high gas prices with the state’s average price setting at $4.35.

In Smithville, some local convenience markets now have prices for regular gasoline at $4.49 cents per gallon, which is above the state’s average.

For more information on gas prices, check gasprices.aaa.com.

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