County Clerk Putting Minutes of County Commission Meetings Online

November 15, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

For the first time ever, the DeKalb County Clerk’s office has the ability to preserve records of current and future county commission meetings at no extra cost to the county. As these minutes are scanned, saved and stored in a web-based format they immediately become available for public viewing and printing.

County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss recently began the process of converting the original paper documents to digital with the help of a software provider.

More than 100 years of county commission minutes are stored in the archives of the clerk’s office and up until now they have remained in their original paper forms, bound in books.

Although the books will not be replaced, Poss said putting the minutes contained in those books into a web-based format will better preserve and make them more readily available to the public through home computers or mobile devices. Poss said plans are to also install a public access computer in the clerk’s office where people can use to look up minutes from county commission meetings..

“Scanning and storing these minutes by computer makes the searchability quicker, more accessible and certainly much more secure. We are protecting these records from fire, water and or smoke damage, physical and or aging. Simultaneously, we are backing each document up in our computers as well as an off-site center (Business Information Systems or BIS),” said Poss.

Although the process of scanning the paper documents is lengthy and time consuming, Poss said the     software provider is making it easier and at no extra charge to the county.

“Business Information system (BIS), our software provider has furnished and installed a program enabling our office to scan, save and store these records by computer. Our office currently has multiple books dating back to 1884. Our staff has the ability to scan several of the books which are binder style with removable pages and paper size making it easy for our equipment to scan,” he said.

Other books not as easy to scan can be done by the software provider for a fee

“The remaining books are much larger with pages that are bound together. Those books require additional steps and equipment our office doesn’t have. However; Business Information System (BIS) can and will process these books for a fee per book. We will also continue producing and storing minute books as we scan all future minutes,” Poss continued.

Once scanned, anyone wanting do a web-based research of the minutes for a particular issue can do a keyword search on their computer and every meeting in which that issue was discussed will appear on the screen.

“If someone comes into our office asking about a road say “Sunset Drive” for example, they can enter that road name into the search window on the computer and the software will search all of the documents that have been scanned, listing each of the documents the keyword search appears in. All of the results will then be displayed, allowing you to access every document that matches your search criteria,” said Poss.

You can also do research from your home computer simply by visiting www.tncountyclerk.com. and selecting DeKalb County. Many of the records are already scanned in and online for public viewing.

https://secure.tncountyclerk.com/minutesSearch/index.php

“The searchable program was added to tncountyclerk.com on October 29, 2018. We have a number of these records currently searchable. Once you’re on the website, near the bottom of the page you will see Minutes Search. You are able to key in a single word, road name, specific month, etc. to view these records which are available,” said Poss.

With the technology so readily available, Poss said it only makes sense to preserve these records in an electronic format and to scan new ones into the system going forward.

November 15, 2018
By: Bill Conger

After 31 years of teaching, Janet England has retired from DeKalb West School.

England started this school year as usual with plans to work through the year, but something just didn’t feel right. She turned in her retirement papers and left by the end of August. It was a bitter sweet time because her father, Neil Dudney, who has since passed away, was sick in the hospital. Instead of taking care of students, she was then taking care of her daddy.

“I was so very thankful and blessed, I was able to retire when I did and be where I needed to be for my parents,” England said.

Overall, though, Mrs. Janet says being retired feels “wonderful.”

“I have not missed hearing an alarm clock. I have enjoyed not having a set daily schedule to follow. It has been really nice so far. It’s still exciting! I have missed seeing friends at school and the interactions with the student on a daily basis.”

A 1983 graduate of D.C.H.S., England attended David Lipscomb College and graduated from Tennessee Tech in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education (grades 1-8). Her tenure with DeKalb West started in September of ’87. She taught Chapter/Title 1 for three years, 4th grade for nine years, 8th grade for three years, 6th grade for 11 years, and RTI for the last five years of her education career.

“In the past I have taught all subjects, but my favorites are math and social studies,” says England.

She served as yearbook advisor for five years, cheerleading coach for one year, FCA sponsor for two years, the 21st Century After School Program for six years and served on various school committees.

Born in Rockwood, TN with her twin sister, Susan, Mrs. Janet lived most of her life in Smithville. Married to her high school sweetheart, Brian England, the couple has a daughter, Laura, who is an Optometrist in Lawton, OK.

“She was a dedicated teacher, wonderful friend, and good advice giver,” says Lori Pryor. “We taught fourth grade together several years ago and discovered we are a lot alike, and after riding to school together for years we discovered our daughters are a lot alike too.”

“She was not only my teaching partner but also my mentor, and she very quickly became my close friend” says Jenny Cantrell, who at one point taught 6th grade with Mrs. Janet. “She had to answer hundreds of my questions; yet, she did without complaining. She claimed that she was training me to take care of her someday just like Ms. Pat Allen had done for her. We had a lot of fun together, probably too much, which probably led to us being separated!  She was the most organized person in existence. I was not that person, so I was happy to let her interpret data, make suggestions, and give advice, and in return, I would decorate our classroom doors and talk her into trying new things. I hope Ms. Janet’s retirement will be an adventure of a lifetime because she deserves it.”

England plans to hit the road quite often.

“My plans are to travel whenever I get a chance,” says England. “I have already been to the beach and to Oklahoma to visit my daughter and family [grandson, Charles]. We are planning on returning to Oklahoma as much as we can.  We are planning a trip to New Orleans in the near future. We will probably be heading back to our beach house whenever we are able. I have several projects/hobbies that I have planned to do around the house and for family. Who knows what I will get myself into in the future, the possibilities are endless!”

November 14, 2018
By: Dwayne Page

Friday is the deadline to get your name on the list for a free Thanksgiving Day meal courtesy of the DeKalb Emergency Services Association (DESA).

In partnership with Adoration Health as well as local businesses and volunteers, the DESA will be preparing and delivering Thanksgiving Meals to the needy or underserved on Thursday, November 22.

“We feel that this is just another way our local emergency service providers and our supporters can serve our community. If you or a family member would like a hot meal on Thanksgiving Day, please call one of the numbers listed below to be added to our delivery list. We will need your address, phone number, and number of persons in your household. The meals are scheduled to be delivered between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 Noon,” says Association President Blake Cantrell.

DESA will accept names of persons requesting meal through Friday, November 16.

To get your name on the delivery list, call 615-390-0297 or 615-712-4286.

Additionally, if you want to support this community project by donating food items or volunteering your time to prepare meals and/or make deliveries, you can contact any of the phone numbers above. The DeKalb Emergency Services Association also plans to prepare and deliver meals on Christmas Eve. A future announcement will be publicized later for this project.

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