The holiday season is just around the corner and it’s time again to start thinking about being part of the 2011 American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes. For a fifth year, American Red Cross and Pitney Bowes are partnering to ensure all Americans have an opportunity to send a touch of home this holiday season to members of our U.S. military, veterans and their families, many of whom will be far away from home this holiday season.
Starting this fall and throughout the holiday season, the Red Cross is working with Pitney Bowes, a mail stream technology company, to collect and distribute holiday cards to American service members, veterans and their families in the United States and around the world.
The process is very simple and takes no time at all – All you need is a pen and piece of paper to share your appreciation for the sacrifices members of the U.S. Armed Forces make to protect our freedoms The Holiday Mail for Heroes mail box is open and ready to receive for your cards.
Kathy Nesmith, executive director of the Warren County Chapter for the American Red Cross serving Warren and DeKalb County, said you can drop off your cards at the Smithville, Liberty, and Alexandria Senior Citizen Centers. “We want to ask everyone to write a Christmas card. Either make it or buy a Christmas card and sign a special message to soldiers thanking them for their service that they provide for us everyday. We also want to thank our veterans. We can’t forget the veterans who have served in past years. We want to make sure these cards go out to all the military hospitals and military installations. We want to make sure they are going overseas and here locally as well. We want to show our support and what better time to start than during the week of Veterans Day. Everyone is asked to sign a card so we can get them sent out by Christmas. Just general cards cannot go out to these hospitals unless they are scanned for anthrax and different things like that. They will not let just general cards go out into these facilities. They have to be scanned. They have to be read for hate mail as awful as that sounds. Unfortunately that has to be done. The American Red Cross will facilitate getting the cards to the place where they need to be scanned and then distributed to the different places,” said Nesmith.
The three senior citizens centers in DeKalb County will serve as the drop off points for the cards, according to Nesmith. “We have three drop off points, which are our three senior citizen centers here in DeKalb County at Alexandria, Liberty, and Smithville. You have until Monday, November 28 to have those cards at those centers. There are a few guidelines. A few do’s and don’ts. Each of those centers will have information available concerning what you can and can’t do. For example, you can’t put glitter on cards. So get your church group and your school involved,” said Nesmith.
Sending a “touch of home” to American men and women who serve our country is the perfect way to express your appreciation and support during the holiday season.
Meanwhile, the American Red Cross will soon be opening an office in Smithville according to Nesmith. “The Red Cross is going to have an office here and we’re going to be seeking disaster volunteers. That will be top priority,” she said. The location for the office has not yet been determined.

The Chamber Prayer Breakfast will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd at 7 AM at the 303 North Public Square Building, Smithville. The theme this year is “Building Community Character.” Lighthouse Christian Camp founder, Ben Chapman, will be the keynote speaker. With wife Ermeda, Ben founded the Lighthouse Christian Camp in 1982, where he serves as the president of the ministerial team that provides camps and special programs for disadvantaged children in DeKalb County and throughout Tennessee. Thousands of lives have been touched through Lighthouse’s summer camps, after- school- programs, special Christmas events, the “Sing for Joy” widows’ ministry and the newest program at Lighthouse – the Pastors’ Respite.
Special music will be performed by pianist Tomomi McDowell and Suzanne Slager and Chris Summers. Local Boy Scouts will present the flags. Prayers for our community, our leaders, and our children will make this a meaningful and memorable experience. A delicious breakfast will be catered by Jason Evans, head chef at The Inn at Evins Mill. Leadership Director Jen Sherwood and the Leadership DeKalb Class of 2012 will serve the beverages. Doors open at 6:30 AM.
Tickets are $12 per person and can be purchased at the Chamber office or from the Chamber Board of Directors.
Chamber Executive Director, Suzanne Williams says, “I would like to invite everyone to join with us at this special event in giving thanks to God for the abundant blessings He has given us in our county. The Prayer Breakfast is a wonderful way to begin the holiday season.” For tickets or additional information, call the Chamber at 597-4163.

Six firefighters from the DeKalb County Fire Department attended the Tennessee River Weekend Training November 4-6, 2011 in Savannah, Tennessee.
Chief Donny Green, Steve Repasy, and David Agee completed the Thermal Imaging Camera 15-hour course and Lt. Michael Lawrence, Lt. Jay Cantrell, and Bradley Johnson completed the Pump Maintenance 15-hour course.

Congratulations to the Infinity Athletics All Stars for bringing home 1st place at Tennessee Tech University’s Golden Eagle Classic on November 6th. Their next competition will be Saturday, December 10th at Nashville Municipal Auditorium.
Pictured are:
Top Row (L-R): Coach Sonja House, Kenzie France, Madison Colwell, Emme Colwell, Katherine Clendenen, Callie Mulloy, Coach Jennifer Sykes
Bottom Row (L-R): Shaunta Koegler, Chloe Sykes, Alley Sykes, Shelby Sprague
Individual Picture:
Congratulations to Alley Sykes for placing 2nd out of over 30 participants in the Jump Contest at the Golden Eagle Classic on November 6th.

The 2012 election season will begin with the Tennessee Presidential Preference Primaries and the DeKalb County Democratic Primary on March 6th.
On the local scene, the office of Assessor of Property will be up for election along with all seven constable positions. Each of the terms is for four years. The qualifying deadline is 12 noon on December 8.
In 2008, Assessor of Property Timothy Fud Banks was re-elected while those elected as constable were Reed Edge in the second district, Wayne Vanderpool in the third district, Paul Cantrell in the fourth district, Mark Milam in the fifth district, Cantrell Jones in the sixth district, and Johnny King in the seventh district. No one was elected in the first district.
Paul Cantrell has qualified to seek re-election as constable in the fourth district. Constable Mark Milam has also qualified for re-election in the fifth district. Others who have picked up petitions for constable are Johnny King in the seventh district, Wayne Vanderpool in the third district, and Richard Bullard in the sixth district. Scott Cantrell has picked up a petition for Assessor of Property.
While the local Democratic Party will be selecting its nominees through the primary process, the DeKalb County Republican Party will choose any nominees it has by convention.
“Petitions can be picked up for all of the local offices on the March ballot,” said Dennis Stanley, Administrator of Elections. The qualifying deadline is NOON, December 8, 2011. The same
qualifying deadline will apply to the Republican Party nominees (chosen by caucus) and Independent candidates.
Any Republican and Democratic nominees for the offices of Assessor of Property and Constable will face off in the August 2012 DeKalb County General Election
(Pictured Above: Constables Cantrell Jones in the sixth district, Johnny King in the seventh district, Reed Edge in the second district, Wayne Vanderpool in the third district, Mark Milam in the fifth district, and Paul Cantrell in the fourth district)