DeKalb School District Provided Food Boxes to 950 Students Monday. Effort Resumes Today (Thursday)

April 9, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

A record 950 children and teens were served Monday during the DeKalb County School system’s “meals for kids” program supported also by local churches.

“It was the best turnout we have had so far. Our goal is to make sure every student in our school system has plenty to eat while our schools are closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Director of Schools Patrick Cripps.

The drive through food distribution resumes today (Thursday) from 10:30 a.m. until 12 noon at DeKalb Middle School, DCHS, and at DeKalb West School.

“We are distributing food boxes on Mondays for a three day supply and a two day supply on Thursdays,” said Director Cripps.

“We will have volunteers distributing the food. As you pull up to the buildings we will hand out food for the numbers of students age 18 and younger who are in the car,” he said.

“Students being served must be inside the vehicles driving through the pickup line according to state and federal guidelines. Meals will be served in a “Drive Through” style. Please stay in your car and follow traffic directions at each site. Meals must be taken home and should be refrigerated until served. Please let us know if your child is part of the Back Pack Program because if so the child will also receive those food supplies on Thursdays. Free meals will be made available each week until at least April 24th,” added Director Cripps.

April 9, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The Spring edition of “Reeling in the Years” is coming up Saturday night on WJLE.

Former local announcers Dennis (DS) Stanley and Shawn Jacobs host the four-hour program, which features the top pop and rock hits of the 60s, 70s and 80s.

“It’s something we really enjoy doing,” the hosts said. “It brings back a lot of good memories for our listeners and reminds all of us just how good and creative the music was doing that era.”

This particular program will also feature many of the hits during the week of/nearest April 11 for many different years. The program will air from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday (April 11) on WJLE.

April 8, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

If you’re a census slacker and haven’t yet filled out the form for the 2020 head count, the federal government is trying another way to get in touch with you.

Starting Wednesday (today), the U.S. Census Bureau is mailing out paper forms to 65.6 million homes nationally whose residents haven’t yet answered the once-a-decade questionnaire.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the DeKalb County response rate at 33.5% is approximately 12% below the Tennessee and national averages. Response rates for the cities are as follows: Liberty-28%, Alexandria 33.9%, Smithville 36.5%, and Dowelltown 39.8%. The final county wide response rate for 2010 was 62.3%.

Most U.S. residents started getting notices about a month ago that they could respond online or by phone. But about 20% of households automatically received a paper questionnaire, either because their area lacks consistent internet connectivity or their neighborhood has a high percentage of people over age 65.

Now the rest of the nation, at least those households that haven’t responded, are getting paper questionnaires.

About a month into the start of the 2020 census for most U.S. residents, the self-response rate is approaching half of all households, with most responding online. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa and Virginia are setting the pace with response rates over 50%. But in other states — Alaska, West Virginia and New Mexico — only between a quarter and a third of households have responded.

The Census Bureau’s suspension of field operations between mid-March and mid-April due to the spread of the new coronavirus may be affecting response rates.

The Census Bureau says the current national response rate is on track for what was expected. Because the 2010 census only used paper forms, and the schedule was more compressed, a side-by-side comparison of response rates from the two decades is flawed. But almost a month into the 2010 census, about two-thirds of households had responded.

The 2020 census will guide the distribution of some $1.5 trillion in federal spending and help determine how many congressional seats each state gets in a process known as apportionment.

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