Painting by late Tennessee Tech faculty member finds new home at Appalachian Center for Craft

January 2, 2024
By: Kelly Chambers

Tennessee Tech University’s Appalachian Center for Craft has new artwork to greet visitors when they enter the lobby: a painting titled “Reminiscences” by the late Sally Crain-Jager.

Sally was a member of Tech’s fine arts faculty from 1967 to 2001. During her tenure, she was instrumental in developing Tech’s Bachelor of Art Education degree and Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting degree. She also managed the Joan Derryberry Art Gallery and served as interim director of the Craft Center.

Kim Winkle, director of the School of Art, Craft and Design and the Appalachian Center for Craft, says when Sally’s husband Bob Jager mentioned donating the painting to the university, she knew the perfect place to display it: a large, prominent wall in the Craft Center’s lobby.

“Sally had a warm and inviting personality,” Winkle said. “I think her painting in the lobby is another way of greeting people into the Craft Center. We’re so honored to be able to feature it and have a piece of Sally with us each day.”

Reminiscences is a large-scale painting comprised of nine panels, and Bob describes it as an autobiographical abstract.

“It’s Sally’s story in a painting,” he said.

Bob explains that Sally liked to include portals – doors and windows – in her paintings. Reminiscences also includes what, at first glance, may appear as dark smudges but they are actually shadows of Sally’s family. Finally, the colors represent the Oklahoma plains where Sally grew up. Bob says Sally’s paintings convey her personality.

“She loved people,” he said. “She loved teaching. She loved sharing her knowledge with others. Even now, I’ll be in the grocery store and one of her former students will come up to me and say, ‘Mr. Jager, I just wanted to tell you how much I miss her.’ Sally loved life tremendously, and it’s in her paintings. I can’t think of a painting of hers that has any negative connotation. It’s all about creativity, life and joy.”

Sally and Bob met at a faculty meeting, which Bob jokes is the best thing he ever got out of a faculty meeting, and the two married in 1993. Bob was a member of Tech’s music faculty, and the two shared a love of the arts. Sally passed away in 2014 but Bob says he is grateful that people continue to appreciate her art.

Sally’s painting was formally dedicated at the Craft Center on Nov. 19, and Bob recalls seeing the painting displayed there for the first time.

“It’s on the wall as you come in the front door, and the neat thing about it is that right across from the painting are windows where natural light shines in,” he said. “The painting really glows.”

Bob adds that he was able to share a special moment with his late wife at the dedication.

“It was towards the end of the event, and people were starting to leave and things had quieted down,” Bob recalled. “I looked up at the painting in its new home and said, ‘What do you think, honey?’ I know she was there for that.”

Winkle says that although Sally has passed, her presence and impact remain strong at the Craft Center and in the Upper Cumberland arts community.

Bob added, “She loved this community and the people in it and of course, Tennessee Tech. She enriched this community – both the university community and Cookeville itself. For an artist, there’s nothing better that can be said than this: She left the earth a better place.”

January 2, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

A Repeat!

For the second year in a row, Ricky Atnip has claimed the WJLE Fearless Forecaster of the year title!

During the 15-week college football season including bowl games, Ricky compiled the overall best record picking winners in 253 games at 171-82. For the third year in a row, Atnip also accumulated the most underdog points during the season at 67 points this year.

Ricky will be presented the “WJLE Fearless Forecasters Joe Goodwin Memorial Awards” Thursday, January 11 on the season finale of the Fearless Forecasters Show on WJLE at 4:30 p.m.

Goodwin, a longtime member of the Fearless Forecasters, passed away in February 2019 and the awards are named in tribute to him.

The final standings of the forecasters for the season are as follows:
Ricky Atnip: 171-82
Grant James: 169-84
John Pryor: 168-85
Scott Goodwin, Dewain Hendrixson, and Darrell Gill: 166-87 each
Jared Davis: 165-88
Chad Kirby: 161-92
Scott Brown: 160-93

Final underdog points standings are as follows:
Ricky Atnip: 67 points
Jared Davis: 54.5 points
Darrell Gill: 39 points
Dewain Hendrixson: 37.5 points
Chad Kirby: 35 points
Scott Goodwin: 30 points
John Pryor: 28.5 points
Grant James: 11.5 points
Scott Brown: 9 points

Best Bowl Season Records
Darrell Gill: 29-14
Ricky Atnip: 26-17
John Pryor and Dewain Hendrixson: 25-18 each
Scott Goodwin, Jared Davis, and Scott Brown: 22-21 each
Grant James: 21-22
Chad Kirby: 19-24

The program is sponsored by the Charles D. Atnip Realty and Auction Company, Davis Auto Body, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, First Bank, DeKalb County Insurance, DeKalb Ace Hardware, Gill Automotive, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, and Domino’s Pizza.

January 2, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

Celebrating Success!

A Christmas/New Year Party was held Friday night at the Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church gym for youth involved in the recently created “Choosing to Change” program in DeKalb County.

“Choosing to Change” began locally six months ago modeled after “The SPOT” in Smith County, an outreach program of the Youth and Family Resource Network, a non-profit, faith-based organization.

The program operates under the direction of Justin Cantrell, Regional Overdose Prevention Specialist for the Upper Cumberland area and facilitator for SPOT Youth and Family Resources Network Center in Carthage and DeKalb County and Director Barbara Kannapel, who was instrumental in starting “The SPOT” in Smith County several years ago.

The goal is to help students from 6th to 12th grade, who have committed minor infractions at school, to make better life choices and build positive relationships with others.

“Choosing to Change” works with the Juvenile Court in DeKalb County and the students who participate must attend a series of classes over eight weeks.

“In our juvenile program with delinquent and unruly offenses we sometimes do an informal adjustment, sort of a diversion, if it’s the first time they have been in trouble or if its a really minor offense,” said General Sessions and Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox. “For example, if they are in court for truancy issues, being a runaway, for vaping etc. when they come to court the first time, they are given the option to attend this class for eight weeks and if they do then we will re-evaluate the case and see how it is going at that point, checking their grades, attendance, etc. We have already had probably 30 or so youth go through the program and we have seen a lot of success with it. Friday night a Christmas party was held to celebrate the kids in the program as well as Justin and Barbara,” added Judge Cox.

“We meet from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. every Tuesday at the courthouse and we are hoping to expand it by starting an afterschool program here,” said Cantrell.

The DeKalb Prevention Coalition participated in the Christmas Party Friday night in support of the “Choosing to Change” program.

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