Lacy Resigns as City Golf Course Manager

January 8, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville Golf Course is without a full time manager

Ken Lacy resigned the position last Friday.

Until the mayor and aldermen can decide on Lacy’s replacement, they have chosen to pay two part time workers, Ray Underwood and Dawn Brooks, to oversee the operation for now.

Both have worked and volunteered at the golf course under Lacy.

“I talked with Mr. Ray Underwood today. He has been working with Mr. Lacy for quite sometime. He said he would be glad to stay on. The proposal he wanted me to come to you with is for him to be paid a salary of $400 per week . Ms Dawn Brooks was laid off for the winter months but I would like for her to come back and work at the pro shop at $9.00 per hour for 29 hours per week. I know the work load will be more now that Mr. Lacy will not be there. This just a solution right now until the board looks at this further to see which direction you would like to go in,” said Mayor Josh Miller during Monday night’s regular monthly meeting.

The aldermen voted to approve Mayor Miller’s recommendation. The issue will be among the topics discussed during a workshop scheduled for Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m. at city hall.

Meanwhile, Mayor Miller said Underwood plans to keep the golf course open during the winter as long as the daily high temperature is over 45 degrees.

Lacy had been on the city payroll since last March when he and Pete Ferguson were hired by the aldermen to be co-managers of the golf course, swimming pool, and tennis courts. The city budgeted their pay at $1,000 per month each and both were provided the city’s healthcare insurance package, a $7,000 benefit to each of them.

In July Ferguson resigned leaving Lacy as the sole manager of the facilities.

In September, the aldermen voted to double Lacy’s pay from $1,000 to $2,000 per month and to make it retroactive to the date when Ferguson left. Two weeks later, the aldermen voted to raise Lacy’s pay again from $24,000 to $40,000.

Prior to Lacy and Ferguson, the city had leased the golf course for many years to others. But after the last tenant, Tony Poss gave up his lease, the city decided to take on the responsibility by hiring a manager and purchasing its own golf course maintenance equipment.

January 7, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Two phases of the proposed Highway 56 improvement project are still scheduled for a March bid letting.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation proposes to let bids for two of the phases from south of the Warren County line to near Magness Road (3.3 miles) and from south of State Route 288 near Magness Road to East Bryant Street in Smithville (5 miles). The third segment from near State Route 287 in Warren County to near the DeKalb County Line is not yet ready for bid letting.

The project had been scheduled for the bid letting December 7, 2018 but was delayed.

“TDOT plans on letting both projects at the same time. The projects are currently scheduled to be included in the March 2019 letting. The projects had to undergo a NEPA (environmental) reevaluation because additional Native American coordination was required. TDOT is in the final stages of the reevaluation of the environmental document, which must be approved before the project can be let to construction,” said Jennifer Flynn, Community Relations Officer for the Tennessee Department of Transportation in an email message to WJLE today (Monday).

The state plans to build largely two lanes of a proposed four lane project and maintain traffic on the existing Highway 56 (alignment) while construction is being done on the new portion.

“On the southern part from the DeKalb County line up to Vaughn Lane, its going to be a two lane roadway. There will be left turn lanes at the side roads. As we get closer to Smithville where some of the intersecting roads are offset there will be some extended sections of three lanes. Once we get to Vaughn Lane we will be expanding to the three lane typical all the way up to just past Morgan Branch. When we get past Morgan Branch we will be building a five lane section with curb and gutters and sidewalks,” said Robert Rodgers of the TDOT Region 2 Project Development Office.

According to Rodgers, the state will deviate from the existing road in the Shiney Rock area in order to bypass the cemeteries. The highway will then tie back in to the existing alignment in Smithville.

“Where the church and the cemetery are now, we are going off alignment because there was not room to fit the proposed finished road in between the two. Traffic on that section will stay on the existing road until the new road is complete,” said Rodgers.

The proposed cross sections for the project are as follows:

*From south of State Route 287 to north of Bessie Gribble Road-two 12-foot travel lanes with a 12-foot continuous center turn lane, four-foot shoulders and ditches.

* From north of Bessie Gribble Road to Vaughn Lane-two 12-foot travel lanes with 12-foot shoulders and ditches. There will be left turn lanes at intersecting roadways.

*From Vaughn Lane to north of Morgan Branch-two 12-foot travel lanes with a 12-foot continuous center turn lane, 12-foot shoulders and ditches.

*From north of Morgan Branch to East Bryant Street- four 12-foot travel lanes with a 12-foot continuous center turn lane, four foot shoulders, two-foot curb and gutter, a sidewalk within a 10 foot utility strip on either side.

January 7, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A Carthage man involved in a truck crash last week near Liberty was found with methamphetamine.

38 year old Mark William Green is charged with driving under the influence and possession of methamphetamine with the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. His bond totals $17,500 and he will be in court January 17.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Thursday, January 3 a deputy responded to Smith Fork due to a truck accident. After the crash, the driver drove away from the scene but the deputy spotted the vehicle on Hannah Branch Road. Green was behind the wheel unconscious. The officer stopped and awoke him but Green kept trying to fall asleep. His eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred. Green said he had taken several xanax the night before and was still hung over. Because of his condition, Green was unable to perform field sobriety tasks.

As Green got out of his truck, the deputy spotted a small package wrapped in black electrical tape setting in the driver seat. Green said the package contained one ounce of meth. The officer opened the package and found one ounce of a white crystal rock like substance believed to be methamphetamine. Several small plastic bags were also found in Green’s possession.

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