Time for Dogs and Cats to Receive Rabies Vaccinations

April 8, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Spring and summer mean having fun in the sun and enjoying many outdoor activities. Keeping your family safe is also important. The Tennessee Department of Health reminds Tennesseans that preventing exposure of people and their pets to the rabies virus is a priority, especially during this time of year.

Keep vaccinations up-to-date for all dogs and cats, as required by Tennessee law and local ordinances. Owners are urged to have their dogs (3 months of age or older) and cats (6 months of age or older) vaccinated. Store purchased vaccines are not legally acceptable.

Vaccination clinics will be held on the following dates and locations:

Animal Clinic of Smithville, 440 East Broad Street (Dr. Mark Burke) In the office:

April 17, 18, & 19: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

April 20: 8:00 a.m. to Noon

DeKalb County Animal Clinic, 1020 West Broad Street (Dr. Scott Little) In the office:

April 17: 8:00 a.m. to Noon

April 18 & 19: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

April 20: 8:00 a.m. to Noon.

A fee of $10.00 will be charged for each inoculation.

For more information contact an Environmental Health Specialist at the DeKalb County Health Department at 615-597-7590.

Humans can be exposed to rabies when attempting to assist, feed or handle wild animals. If a wild or domestic animal is seen as ill or acting strangely, it should be reported to your local animal control agency. Bats in particular should not be handled. If a bat is found inside, in a swimming pool, or brought home by your pets, use precautions and consult your local health department.

Rabies is a deadly virus transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal. Rabies infection occurs primarily in wildlife in Tennessee, but it can be transmitted to any mammal, including humans and family pets. Bites are the most common means of transmission; contact with saliva from an infected animal can also be a concern.

Citizens can take the following actions to help prevent the spread of rabies:

Keep your pets under direct supervision so they do not come into contact with wild animals. If your pet is bitten by a wild animal, seek veterinary assistance for the animal immediately.

Keep children away from any wild or dead animals. Educate them not to touch or attempt to pick up, feed or handle any wild or unfamiliar domestic animals, especially those that are or appear to be sick or injured.

Do not disturb bats. Instead, consult your local health department or animal control agency for assistance in dealing with potential exposure to bats.

For more information or assistance with a potential rabies exposure, call your local health department or the Tennessee Department of Health emergency line at 615-741-7247.

April 7, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

If you ever ask Chad Ramsey, a native of Powell, Tennessee how he found Smithville to pastor a church he will be quick to answer, “God brought us here”!

Since December, 2017 Ramsey has been the lead minister at the Smithville First Baptist Church. He and his wife Kathy have been involved in ministry for over 15 years. Before coming to Smithville Chad served as Senior Pastor, Associate Pastor, and Student Pastor at churches in Texas and Kentucky in addition to Tennessee.

It’s been a good fit for both Ramsey and the church.

IMG_5347 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

Chad is the focus of this week’s WJLE Preacher Feature.

“I felt God calling us to come here,” Ramsey said. “My wife, Kathy, and I wanted to be a part of a multi-generational church that is focused on loving God and loving others.”

“We were looking for a new church to do more mission work because I felt God was calling us in that area. We were talking to a couple of churches in the Georgia area when Smithville FBC called us. We kept praying and felt like this was a better fit. One thing led to another and every time we felt like we had an obstacle to work out God fixed it before it came to fruition so God was really in it. We always say God definitely brought us here and we’re so excited about it too,” he said.

Ramsey and his wife grew up in Powell, a suburb of Knoxville. He’s a graduate of Carson-Newman College with a double major in Religion and Mathematics. After he received his diploma, the couple were married and moved to Waco, Texas, where Chad attended seminary at George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. He currently is working on his doctor of ministry degree through the New Orleans Theological Baptist Seminary.

Chad & Kathy are the parents of two children, 11 year old Cameron, a 5^th grader at Northside Elementary, and 7 year old Abby, a 1^st grade student at Smithville Elementary. Kathy is a 4^th grade teacher at Northside.

Ramsey said his spiritual conversion and calling came during a low point in his life when he was a freshman in high school.

“I was struggling as a believer. My father had passed away from cancer that year and through all of that I was struggling with life in general. I wasn’t really happy with God and everything that happened. I remember going to camp that summer with my church. I was very involved with my church and they were sort of my support group. I just remember God telling me to go down and pray. They had an altar call that night but instead of going over and talking to the pastor I just went over to pray. I remember getting down on my knees and closing my eyes. As soon as I closed my eyes, the brightest light I ever imagined came on and as clear as day God said I want you to work for me,” he said.

During his time as lead pastor, Ramsey has watched the Smithville FBC grow in its outreach and mission work in serving the community and beyond.

“We do a little bit of everything. Our purpose statement is Love God and Love Others. We try to keep it simple. We have done several community projects. Once a quarter we do a community day. In fact we just had one where we gave away free clothing and had health screenings. We have passed out food for the holidays and participated in the First Day of School Education Celebration distributing free school supplies”.

“Our mission work is also done abroad as well as locally. We have gone to Puerto Rico and we have a team lined up and ready to go to Uganda in the fall. We also have teams doing local projects. We do mission projects for all ages. Last year we went to Minnesota to help a church there and I was able to take my son and he participated in doing mission work just like we did. We also have senior adult mission trips,” Ramsey continued.

“We intentionally strive to be multi-generational. We want to make sure our church is a place for everybody. We believe in mentoring. We believe that we learn from the people who have come before us but we don’t want to neglect the people who are coming behind us either so we make sure there is a place for everybody. We try to be loving and caring,” he added.

Pastor Ramsey invites you to visit the Smithville First Baptist Church especially if you are looking for a church home.

Sunday Services: Small Groups 9 am, Worship 10 am, & Bible Study 6:30pm

Wednesday Services: Awana 6 pm, Genesis Students 6:30pm, & Bible Study 6:30pm

The church will have an Easter Sunrise service April 21 at 6 a.m. at Evins Park downtown Smithville followed by the first church service of the day at 8 am, small groups at 9 am and the second service at 10 am

“We look forward to introducing you to my Jesus. He will change your life.”

To learn more about the church visit www.smithvillefbc.org  or follow facebook, twitter, or instagram.

April 7, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for the month of February was 4%, down from 4.8% in January and 4.8% in February, 2018.

The local labor force for February was 7,760. A total of 7,450 were employed and 310 were unemployed.

Jobless rates for February among the fourteen counties in the Upper Cumberland region were as follows from highest to lowest:

Clay: 5.4%

Pickett: 5.3%

Jackson: 4.9%

Cumberland: 4.7%

Van Buren: 4.7%

DeKalb: 4%

Overton: 4%

Fentress: 4%

Warren: 3.8%

White: 3.5%

Putnam: 3.3%

Smith: 2.9%

Cumberland: 2.7%

Macon: 2.7%

Eighty of Tennessee’s 95 counties have an unemployment rate less than 5 percent, a marked improvement from January’s jobless numbers.

“It is encouraging when unemployment rates drop in every county across the state,” said TDLWD Commissioner Jeff McCord.

Williamson County leads the state with the lowest unemployment in February. The county’s 2.2 percent rate is 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the previous month.

Both Davidson and Rutherford counties have the second lowest unemployment rates at 2.3 percent. That marks a 0.3 of a percentage point drop for Davidson County, while Rutherford County is down 0.4 percent of a percentage point when compared to January.

With a rate of 5.9 percent, Lake County has the state’s highest rate of unemployment for February. The latest statistic represents a decrease of 3.4 percentage points from the previous month’s rate.

Hancock County recorded the second highest unemployment rate at 5.8 percent, which is a 1.5 percentage point drop from its January rate.

“It is heartening to see unemployment rates in some of Tennessee’s rural counties rebound from last month,” McCord said. “We will continue to align our efforts with the state’s rural counties to support economic growth.”

Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rate reached an all-time low of 3.2 percent in February. That figure bested the previous record low of 3.3 percent, which was the state’s unemployment rate between October and January.

Nationally, unemployment dropped to 3.8 percent, a 0.2 of a percentage point decrease from January’s revised rate of 4 percent.

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