International Fresh Faces recently held their preliminary Pageants in McMinnville
Two locals girls Addison Puckett, 8 year old daughter of Jimmy and Anita Puckett, and Morgan Green, 13 year old daughter of John and Suzanne Harrison, were crowned Finalists.
Addison walked away with Overall Queen while Morgan received Supreme. These girls now qualify for Regionals to be held in Murfreesboro.

Three people are apparently making plans to run for alderman in the Smithville Municipal Election this summer.
Incumbent Alderman Gayla Hendrix is the latest person to pick up a qualifying petition from the election commission office. Hendrix, a local attorney, was elected to her first term as alderman in June, 2011.
Incumbent Alderman Shawn Jacobs recently picked up his petition. Jacobs will be seeking his third term.
Anthony Scott of Riley Avenue was the first to pick up a petition.
Three aldermen are to be elected in the city election on Tuesday, June 18. Petitions for alderman can now be picked up at the election commission office on the first floor of the courthouse. The qualifying deadline is Noon, March 21st.

The DCHS basketball teams will be busy on this last week of the regular season.
The remaining regular season schedule is as follows:
Tuesday, February 5: DCHS at Cannon County: 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, February 7: DCHS vs Chattanooga Patriots : 5:00 p.m. (Smithville)
Friday, February 8: DCHS at Gabriel Christian: 6:00 p.m.(make-up)
Saturday, February 9: DCHS at Gordonsville: 6:00 p.m.

Forty eight students will be competing in the Tenth Annual County Wide Spelling Bee at the DeKalb County Complex Auditorium on Monday, February 11 at 6:00 p.m.
The 2012 winner was Kirkland Smallwood, who was an eighth grader last year at DeKalb West School. He is the 14 year old son of Jimmy and Jennifer Smallwood of Liberty.
Earlier this year students from DeKalb Middle School, DeKalb West School and Northside Elementary School competed at the school level to become eligible for the county competition. WJLE will broadcast the Spelling Bee LIVE. Along with thirty-nine counties, the first and second place winners in the DeKalb County Spelling Bee will compete in the Middle Tennessee Regional Spelling Bee sponsored Middle Tennessee State University. The regional bee will take place on Saturday, March 2 at 9:30 a.m. at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The winner of the Regional Spelling Bee will compete in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.
The purpose in sponsoring the County Wide Spelling Bee is to “help students improve Spelling skills, increase vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives”.
Participants in this year’s County Wide Spelling Bee are:
DeKalb West:
Cayden Kyle, Jordan Crook, Holly Evans, Ashton Sensing, Diego Vazquez, Phillip Coats, Jacob Frazier, Jaime Alexander, Cody Hale, Jayra Plattenburg, Brandy Rock, Casey Vickers, Jacob Billings, Rosa Payne, and Paige Snyder
Northside Elementary:
Briona Agee, Alexis Cudney, Julia Curtis, Yessi Dragustinovis, Kenzie France, Skylar Fuson
Kiersten Griffith, Savannah Jackson, Duncan Johnson, Karly Knowles, Raiden Martin, Makenzie Poss, Laynie Rippee, Carly Vance, Justin Washer, MyKenzie Wilson, and Jayden Worley
DeKalb Middle
Calen Arnold, Kayla Belk, Alexis Cantrell, Ethan Cantrell, Timothy Cassinera, Dalton Daniels, Baylie Davis, Malone Fletcher, Olivia Fuson, Kyle Justice, Reagan Patton, Skylar Pease, Ashley Phillips, Alec Reynolds, Alyssa Sewell, and Savannah West.

Hunter Graham, a senior member of the DCHS Tiger baseball team, will play for the Columbia State Community College Chargers next season.
A signing was held Friday afternoon at DCHS. Graham was joined by his parents, Kyle and Doris Graham; his sister, Tyra Graham, DCHS baseball coach Scott Odom and assistant coach Andrew Dixon; and Mike Corn, head coach of the Columbia State Chargers.
“I’m very excited to sign to play college baseball. Its been a dream since I was a kid,” said Graham.
Coach Corn said its also a pleasure to have Hunter as a member of the Chargers. “We’re real excited to bring Hunter and his family into our family,” he said. “Its so important for these young men to be recognized, not only as baseball players but as student athletes and Hunter is a great representation of both of those. He’ll graduate (DCHS) in 2013 and start up with us in the fall of this year and we’ll expect big things from him coming in. This is not a huge recruiting class for us. He’s our first signee of the year. For recruiting purposes with the junior college it just now really cranks up in January for us. I think he is going to be a great talent and he would certainly project as a Division-I pitcher for me after two years with us,” said Coach Corn.
Before he moves on to the next level, Graham said he is hoping to help lead his team to another state tournament appearance this spring. “Definitely going to state my freshman and sophomore year was a big deal. We’re hoping to go back for a three peat my senior year,” said Graham
Coach Odom said he is excited for Graham to be able to continue his baseball career at Columbia State. “It is a good program and Coach Corn has done a wonderful job there,” said Coach Odom. “However, we are really glad he still has another year of eligibility left with us. Hunter has started with us since he was a freshman. In those three years the TIGERS have an impressive 75-17 record and an .815 winning percentage with two district championships, 2 region appearances, 2 region and sectional championships and 2 state tournament appearances, where we finished ranked as high as #3 in the state and #4 last year,” he said..
“Hunter has a lot of talent and has put in a lot of hard work as well,” said Coach Odom. “Nothing good comes easy and he has earned this right to go to college and hopefully get a degree and keep playing. They like him as a pitcher and a hitter. He has been one of our best hitters over the last two years and we rely on him a great deal as both a pitcher and hitter,” he said.
“I am really happy for him and his family. They are very supportive of Hunter and the TIGER baseball team. The best part is he is as good of a young man as he is a baseball player. He is someone that all of DeKalb County can be proud of. I know that I am,” said Coach Odom.
Following a record breaking 2012 season, Coach Corn at Columbia State Community College was named Coach of the Year by the Tennessee Baseball Coaches Association. This marks the second consecutive year Corn has received this award.
The Chargers had an impressive 2012 season with a record 38 consecutive wins at home, a program best 43 victories and an NJCAA national ranking of number four. The 2012 team also boasts four Division-I signees and the only MLB draft pick in the TCCAA, Marsalis Holloway (34th Kansas City Royals).
In its history, Columbia State has logged six World Series appearances, sixteen state titles, twenty division titles, twenty four pro baseball signees, 238 four year signees, and 132 Division-I signees.
Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee’s first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the sixth largest higher education system in the nation.
Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Community College Athletic Association and the National Junior College Athletic Association.
(Pictured above: Left to Right- DCHS assistant baseball coach Andrew Dixon, Tiger head coach Scott Odom, Columbia State head coach Mike Corn, Kyle Graham (father), Doris Graham (mother), Tyra Graham (sister); seated, Hunter Graham)

The Smithville Beer Board Thursday night granted applications from three Mexican Restaurant owners for on-premises consumption permits.
City Secretary-Treasurer Hunter Hendrixson, who presided over the meeting, said that all three businesses, El Rancho of 1101 West Broad Street, Mercadito Chabelita Restaurant of 408-A East Broad Street, and Los Lobos of 106 East Broad Street meet all requirements including the minimum distance of 400 feet to schools, churches, and or other places of public gatherings. “El Rancho is located fairly close to the high school so I had Phillip Gotro go out and shoot a line, front door to front door since it must be 400 feet or more. He had it at 756 feet so it exceeds well over the 400 feet (minimum requirement). I have a certified surveyor letter from him,”said Hendrixson.
City Beer Board member Annette Greek asked Hendrixson to read the regulations in the beer ordinance as they relate to “on- premises consumption permits”
Hendrixson, reading from the beer ordinance, said that “To qualify for a Class 1 On Premises permit, an establishment must, in addition to meeting the other regulations and restrictions
(A) Be primarily a restaurant or an eating place; and
(B) Be able to seat a minimum of thirty people in booths and at tables, in addition to any other seating it may have; and
(C) All seating must be part of the premises. In case of any outdoor seating, the outdoor seating area must be accessible from the inside of the restaurant or eating place and the outdoor seating area must have some type of enclosure around it, such as a wall or fencing; and
(D) In addition to the requirements of subsection 8-210(1) (a) through (c), the monthly beer sales of any establishment which holds a Class 1 On Premises Permit shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the monthly gross sales of the establishment. As used herein, the term “gross sales” means all retail sales of the permit holder plus any applicable taxes. As used herein, the term “beer sales” includes all retail beer sales plus any taxes applicable to beer sales”
Hendrixson added, “basically what its saying is it (ordinance) prevents bars from opening up everywhere. Its saying your beer sales can’t exceed your food sales. But I don’t think that’s going to be the case for any of these three applicants,” he said.
City Beer Board members Annette Greek, Steve Hayes, Farron Hendrix, and Alderman Danny Washer all voted to grant the three permits. Member Lloyd Black was absent.
The Smithville aldermen in December changed the city’s beer laws to allow eligible restaurants to have an on-premises permit.

Two former record setting football players at DeKalb County High School recently sat down with local attorney Sarah Cripps with Ben Herman’s Country Community Radio Show on WJLE to reflect on their playing days.
Mike Corley, a local attorney for Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, and Joey Reeder, DCHS educator and former Tiger baseball coach and assistant football coach both set single game rushing records at DCHS during the 1970’s.
Corley, a tailback, rushed for 190 yards at Jackson County in October 1972. Four years later, Reeder, a fullback, broke Corley’s record with 210 yards on 18 carries in the season opener at Nashville Joelton. Reeder’s record was broken by Mike Kress during the 1980’s. Corley, Reeder, and Kress played for former DCHS Football Coach Wayne Cantrell.
(PLAY VIDEO BELOW TO HEAR CORLEY AND REEDER TALK ABOUT THEIR RECORD SETTING PERFORMANCES)

The UT Extension Office in DeKalb County has scheduled a series of classes for producers who wish to participate in the University of Tennessee Master Beef Program. Along with the information gained from the event, producers will also receive a certificate recognizing their training, Master Beef manual, and a Master Beef Producer Farm sign and cap. Producers are urged to contact the UT Extension office in DeKalb County at 722 South Congress Blvd in Smithville or phone (615)597-4945 to sign up for the Master Beef Producer program.
The Master Beef Producer Program is an educational program designed to provide information to Tennessee cow-calf producers to help them be the very best in the country, improve their profitability and position the industry to be competitive with other states. The MBPP is part of the overall effort of the Tennessee Beef Cattle Improvement Initiative and enables participants to apply for a 50% cost-share through the Tennessee Ag Enhancement program.
The topics for the sessions will include: Managing and Planning for Success, Marketing Beef Cattle, Developing Genetics to meet the Needs of the Industry, Carcass Merit, Food Safety, Feeding the Beef Herd, Forage Production, Reproduction in Beef Cattle, Herd Health, Cattle Handling and Behavior, Environmental Concerns, and Management of the Beef Herd.
All classes will be at the UT Extension Office at 722 South Congress Blvd in Smithville, which is in the new County Complex building across the road from Food Lion. The classes take place from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on the following dates: Thursday, February 7; Monday, February 11; Thursday, February 14; Monday, February 18; Wednesday, February 20; Monday, February 25; Thursday, February 28; Monday, March 4; Thursday, March 7. Lunch will be provided at each session.
In order to graduate and become an official Master Beef Producer, a producer must attend a minimum of 7 of the 9 educational sessions. Registration fees are $175. Producers with BQA Certification and Premise ID are eligible for a $100 scholarship through the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The cost per person would be only $75 with a Premise ID. A Premise ID can be obtained at the USDA FSA office on Bright Hill Road.
For more information or to sign up for the Master Beef program, contact Michael Barry, County Extension Director at (615)597-4945.