News
November 3, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County High School Football fans wanting to buy tickets for Friday night’s TSSAA play-off game will have to purchase them online.
As the Region 3 champs from Class 4A, the Tigers (6-3, 3-0) will play host to Spring Hill (3-7, 2-3), the 4th place team in Region 4. Kick-off will be at 7 p.m. and WJLE plans LIVE coverage.
“TSSAA is requiring all tickets for playoff games must be purchased on line through GoFan. Tickets will be digital and must be shown and confirmed on a smartphone at the gate upon entering the stadium. There is a limited number of tickets available for Friday’s game. If you would like to purchase a ticket go to the following link. Tickets will be available for purchase beginning at noon on Tuesday, November 3” said DCHS Principal Randy Jennings.
https://gofan.co/app/events/135722
Election Day Has Arrived
November 3, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
Election day has arrived.
Voters across the state and nation will be making their choices today (Tuesday, November 3) for various state and federal offices including President of the United States.
Voting at all 15 precincts in DeKalb County will be from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage when the polls close at 7 p.m. Listen for local returns along with updates from the state and national radio networks.
Safeguards will be in place at the polling locations to help protect both workers and voters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
DeKalb County hit a record high for early voting/absentee turnout at 5,089, up by 1,097 over the early voting/absentee turnout for the 2016 Presidential election. DeKalb County has 12,509 registered voters. In the Presidential election four years ago, 7,065 people cast ballots in DeKalb County including 3,073 on election day and 3,992 early votes/absentee.
“Our office, in conjunction with the local election commission and state office, has worked to make the voting process as ‘No Touch’ as possible, just as it was in August” said Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley.
“Voters will have access to a disposable pen when they arrive to vote which will minimize contact with shared surfaces and voting machines. Voters may also use their own pen or may use disposable gloves.”
Hand sanitizer will be available at the polling locations and poll workers have been equipped with face masks and/or face shields and some will be stationed behind plexiglass sneeze guards. Social distancing signs will be displayed either on the floor or walls throughout the entrance and voting area.
“We encourage all voters to do their part in making the voting experience a safe and efficient process,” said Stanley.
The following candidates have qualified to appear on the November 3 General Election ballot:
Candidates for President and Vice President of the United States:
*Republican Party Donald J. Trump for President and Michael R. Pence for Vice President
*Democratic Party Joseph R. Biden for President and Kamala D. Harris for Vice President
* Independent Don Blankenship for President and William Mohr for Vice President
*Independent Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente for President and Darcy G. Richardson for Vice President
*Independent Howie Hawkins for President and Angela Walker for Vice President
*Independent Jo Jorgensen for President and Jeremy “Spike” Cohen for Vice President
*Independent Alyson Kennedy for President and Malcolm Jarrett for Vice President
*Independent Gloria La Riva for President and Sunil Freeman for Vice President
*Independent Kanye West for President and Michelle Tidball for Vice President
Candidates for the United States Senate
*Republican- Bill Hagerty
*Democrat-Marquita Bradshaw
*Independent- Yomi “Fapas” Faparusi Sr.
*Independent- Jeffrey Alan Grunau
*Independent- Ronnie Henley
*Independent- G. Dean Hill
*Independent- Steven J. Hooper
*Independent-Aaron James
*Independent- Elizabeth McLeod
*Independent-Kacey Morgan
*Independent-Eric William Stansberry
Candidates for the United States House of Representatives-6th District
*Republican- John Rose
*Democrat-Christopher Martin Finley
*Independent-Christopher B. Monday
Tennessee House of Representatives-40th District
*Republican-Terri Lynn Weaver
*Independent-Paddy Sizemore
Tennessee House of Representatives-46th District
*Republican-Clark Boyd
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Installed in Smithville
November 2, 2020
By: Dwayne Page
Imagine owning an automobile that you don’t fill up, but charge up.
Smithville’s first ever electric vehicle charging station was installed Monday located at the city parking lot across from Love-Cantrell Funeral Home.
Lead project infrastructure partner Seven States Power Corporation managed the installation in cooperation with Smithville Electric System and Tennessee Tech University.
Plans are to install a total of nine such electric car stations throughout the Upper Cumberland Region. Cookeville, Lafayette, Carthage, Livingston, and Spencer already have one in addition to Smithville and Sparta, Jamestown, and Byrdstown are due to get one within days.
TTU Mechanical Engineer Assistant Professor Pingen Chen said the project is part of a three-year Tennessee Tech study to research how electric vehicles could be the new future of transportation in rural communities. “Electric vehicles can bring a lot of benefits over conventional automobiles including the low fuel cost and low operational cost”.
This project is one of the first of its kind. Chen said this is an important study because 97 percent of the United States consists of rural areas but contains 20 percent of the population. He said the main drawbacks why electric vehicles have not become more practical is due to a lack of knowledge, awareness, and charging station availability.
Brad Rains, Director of DER Deployments with the Chattanooga based Seven States Power Corporation, expects EV drivers to embrace the charging station’s convenience. “Most EV drivers will charge the battery overnight at home,” said Rains. “This station is used for getting a little bit of power over a shorter period. Every hour you charge at the Chargepoint, you’ll add 25 to 30 miles of range to your car. It’s like topping off your tank.”
Eight of the charging stations in the Upper Cumberland Region, including the one in Smithville, are Level 2.
“This particular charger is a 7 kilowatt charger so that means you get 7 kilowatt hours each hour you use it and how long it takes to recharge depends on the size of the battery in your car and how empty or full that battery is. For example, if you have a 60 kilowatt hour battery and you are half way depleted that means you need 30 kilowatt hours so it will take you a little over 4 hours to put 30 kilowatt hours back into the vehicle,” Rains said.
“If you own an electric vehicle it has a display very similar to a gas gauge with which we are all familiar and it will tell you whether you are 75, 50, or 25 % full of charge. When you get down to that 25% in a gasoline fueled car you get a little nervous. You start looking for a gas station. The same thing applies with electricity. You’ll see that 25% mark on your gauge and you will know its time to refuel just like with your gas tank. If you have a 20 gallon gas tank and you are at 25% you need 15 gallons to fill up. The same thing with electricity. If your battery is 60 kilowatt hours at 25% you need 45 kilowatt hours”.
To activate the charge station, Rains said EV owners download the Chargepoint app and set up an account with their credit card on a mobile phone or computer. They scan the app at the station, and once the car is plugged into the machine, the cost is one dollar per hour and that money locally flows back to Smithville Electric System for those charges and revenues. While the vehicle is charging, EV drivers have time to spend downtown shopping or enjoying a meal at a restaurant.
Chen said after all stations are installed, three electric vehicles will be given to UCHRA to test transportation practicality: a Nissan Leaf, an EV pickup truck, and a EV shuttle bus.
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