Fare Changes, Software Upgrades Coming to UCHRA Public Transportation

November 6, 2023
By:

A variety of upgrades have been announced for the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency’s (UCHRA) transit services in the coming weeks.

Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 14, UCHRA Public Transportation will begin charging a flat rate of $2 each way for in-county travel. Special discounts, for seniors, people with disabilities, and veterans, are also available for eligible passengers.

In another move to improve overall efficiency, a new trip management software will go live next week; allowing UCHRA Public Transportation to be more efficient without requiring passengers to schedule trips on specific days and providing a more user-friendly experience for passengers.

“Our old fare system was designed to encourage passengers from outlying areas of the county to coordinate their trips on certain days to improve efficiency,” said Holly Montooth, UCHRA Public Transportation Director. “We can introduce a more straightforward fare structure as a result.

“We’re very excited to bring these technological innovations to our rural public transportation users in the Upper Cumberland region,” Montooth added. “We’re also thrilled to announce the launch of the UCHRA Transportation app.”

In the coming weeks, a new app, UCHRA Transportation, will also launch. The UCHRA Transportation app is designed to better serve the agency’s existing PickUp Upper Cumberland passengers who currently access this popular on-demand service through the Uber app. This new app, UCHRA Transportation, is available for download via the Apple App Store and the Google Play store.

For more information about UCHRA’s Public Transportation services, visit www.ucpublictransit.com or call 833-828-7477 to connect with the department’s call center.

November 6, 2023
By: Suzanne Williams

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the winners of the Smithville Boo Bash Costume Contest. This annual event, which brings businesses and offices in the community together to showcase their creativity and Halloween spirit, was a resounding success, thanks to the dedication and hard work of all participants and event coordinators. We extend our gratitude to all the businesses and offices that participated and special recognition to the dedicated Boo Bash coordinators, Beth Adcock and Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins. Their commitment and leadership played a pivotal role in making this event a great success.

The 2023 Smithville Boo Bash Costume Contest was fiercer than ever, with numerous impressive entries. Chamber Director Suzanne Williams remarked, “It was the tightest contest ever! We applaud the hard work and ingenuity of all participants and commend them for making the 2023 Smithville Boo Bash a memorable event.”

After careful consideration, the judges made their decision, and we are pleased to announce the winners of the “2023 Boo Bash Best Costumes/Decorations.”

1st Place:

RealSource Title Insurance & Real Estate Closing

Theme: “The Addams Family”

2nd Place:

Smithville City Hall

Theme: “Gilligan’s Island”

3rd Place:

DeKalb County Courthouse

Theme: “Disney at the Courthouse”

November 6, 2023
By: Bill Conger

Two members of Allen’s Chapel Church in Smithville are producing a new worldwide Christian podcast. Grant Goodwin is the voice and creator of the content for “Worthless to Worthy,” and Jonathan Morris is behind the controls as engineer and producer.

“I’ve been in a season of waiting for quite a long time,” Goodwin said. “Something I’ve been talking with a lot of people about and praying and just wanting to know what God has for me next, and this is something that he’s put on my heart as a ministry opportunity.”

“I don’t feel like I’m worthy to tell people about Jesus or to understand what God sees in me, and I think I’m not alone in that there’s so many people that don’t understand what it is that makes them worthy. Me personally, I feel like I’m underwhelming when I speak to people at church or minister to people on the street. But we have to all understand we are worth it because of what Jesus did on the cross. And that’s what I want to get across to people.”

Goodwin says he feels called to follow through on the Great Commission Jesus commanded in Matthew 28:19.

“That’s something that we’re falling short with, and I have confidence in saying that, as Christians, we all fall short of that. We’re not doing a good enough job people telling people about Jesus.”

He says believers’ insecurities can hinder them from sharing, but he says the

“Our testimony is what makes us worthy and what makes us necessary and equipped to tell people,” Goodwin adds. Some people are concerned what others will think or how they are received. We hear it a lot on Sunday mornings from our pastor [Darrell Gill]. He’s told us people always say I never thought you’d be a preacher, and I think people struggle with that in their own lives.”

“I know what I’ve put people myself through. How could that be forgiven? And how does that get me to a place of being qualified to tell people about Jesus? But again, it’s what we’re called to do as Christians.”

The “Worthless to Worthy” podcast is scheduled to come out on Spotify weekly. New shows will be released usually on Fridays. Jonathan Morris handles all the behind-the-scenes activity including creating the logo, producing the music, and editing and uploading the episodes.

“He’s really working hard for the Lord, and people are not going to see that necessarily. Just to know what he’s doing behind the scenes gets me more fired up. He spends an hour or two every night to get it ready to be uploaded on Friday morning.

Goodwin says he also wants the podcast to not only reach people who aren’t believers in Jesus but also those who are professed Christians.

“I hope the podcast can help deepen that. We’re going to do some studies in the future, and I hope that can help people get deeper into the Word. But more so we want to reach people that don’t have that relationship. I’ll really believe in this could be an outlet for people. This could be the only time of the week that they hear or talk about or think about God. That’s the people that I really want to reach. I want to plant seeds in the hearts of those people. I want everybody to understand. God’s love and how that works.”

Goodwin is a husband to Taylor and dad to Charlie, but he says at the end of the day he’s simply a sinner saved by grace.

“I’m somebody that makes mistakes every day, but because Jesus died on the cross for us, I’m redeemed for those sins, and that’s what I’m trying to get across to people. If you have Jesus in your heart, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done you have an opportunity every day to be better for yourself, for your family, for your friends, for your church, and most importantly for God. He’s doing so many wonderful things in my life and has given me so many ministry opportunities like this one. I think it’s time that I start truly telling people what He’s done.”

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