The Shoppes on West Walnut Present an Art Walk on West Walnut

September 13, 2022
By:

Artisans and vendors will descend upon Walnut Street in Historic Downtown Smithville on Friday, September 16, for the first Art Walk. The street will become a safe-walking pedestrian area, akin to a European Street Fair, with the festivities occurring from 6pm-10pm.

A variety of local and regional artists (visual arts, woodworkers, luthiers, etc.) are slated to attend, as an MTSU Jazz Trio performs in the street. This event is free and open to the public, with local food and beverage options available for purchase. A private collection of artworks, including an authentic Pierre-Auguste Renoir, will be on display at one of the businesses.

Thierjung, resident artist at TTU’s Appalachian Center for Craft, is helping The Shoppes on West Walnut assemble artists and students, so there’s no doubt you’ll see top-notch pieces.

Confirmed artisans slated to exhibit:
• Gerry Smith Burklow – Felt/ Paper Mache
• Lara Cottrell – Painter
• Karyn Walker – Mixed Media
• Susan Thornton – Jeweler
• Marcella Roe – Painter
• Kerry Judkins -Acrylic/ Oil Landscapes
• Tony Luna – Lakescape Photographer

If you’re interested in becoming a vendor, please contact Karyn Walker at 615-438-6062, or
karynwalkerart@gmail.com.

September 12, 2022
By:

Beginning with the 2024 election cycle, DeKalb County voters will be casting ballots on new voting machines that will include a “Voter-verifiable paper audit trail.”

(See video below)

The DeKalb County Election Commission voted Monday night to purchase the machines from the Microvote Company, the county’s current vendor. The commission’s action will comply with a law passed by the legislature earlier this year requiring that on or after January 1, 2024 “each voting machine used by a county election commission must produce a voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT).” As defined, a VVPAT means “a paper record that is marked either manually by the voter or with the assistance of a devise that includes human-readable voter selections that the voter may check for accuracy before the vote is cast.”

The purchase price for 32 machines and necessary supporting equipment totaled nearly $150,000. The Secretary of State received an appropriation of $15 million in the 22-23 budget and those funds, along with existing Help American Vote Act funds, are to be used for the counties to purchase the new equipment. The new machines will not be made available for use until 2024.

“We are very appreciative the state is providing funding for these machines and are excited to provide voting machines that will have a brighter, colorful screen and will give the voters another method of checking their selections for accuracy,” said Commission Chairman Walteen Parker.

“There will be very little learning curve for the voters,” added Administrator Dennis Stanley. “The new machines are basically a newer, more modern version of the machines we have now and will include the VVPAT. The short learning curve for voters and our machine technicians was an important factor in the commission choosing these machines.”

“This is just another step toward the on-going efforts of election integrity,” Stanley continued.

Tennessee was recently ranked Number 1 in the Country in election integrity by The Heritage Foundation and all election officials on the state and local level are very proud of that accomplishment.”

More information on Tennessee’s efforts to “protect the ballot box” can be found at https://sos.tn.gov/elections and selecting the Tennessee Election Integrity tab under Election News.

September 12, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville will alter its residential garbage pickup schedule for some starting next month.

Currently the city picks up garbage for businesses Mondays through Fridays and home garbage on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays but under this schedule there are more residential stops on some days than others.

Under the new plan, City Public Works Director Kevin Robinson said beginning October 4, some Wednesday and Thursday residential garbage routes will be changed to Tuesdays. Friday garbage routes will remain the same. Residents affected will be issued a tag starting this week which will be attached to your garbage can.

Robinson said by spreading the residential garbage pickup over four days instead of three, it will save wear and tear on the trucks, particularly the brakes. The same number of garbage trucks and employees will be used.

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