Parents, children, and local businesses are invited to join the City of Smithville for the Police Department’s “Trick or Treat Halloween Downtown” Friday, October 31 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Beth Adcock, records clerk for the Smithville Police Department, organized the first “Trick or Treat Halloween Downtown” three years ago and it turned out to be a great success. Hundreds of children have been served.
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According to Adcock, the event serves as a way for the Smithville Police Department and other businesses to give back to the community, to allow trick or treating in a safe environment, and to afford the police officers an opportunity to interact with the children and gain their trust. It also provides parents who may not be able to take their kids trick or treating on the night of Halloween, to do it during the day at downtown businesses and at offices in the courthouse and at city hall along with business on the side streets such as: Smithville Review, Meigs Eye Care, Probation Office, Love & Cantrell Funeral Home, Tangles, and MC Studios.
Participating businesses will have candy and special treats for the children. Look for the stores and offices with a picture of a pumpkin on their windows. Maps will be available at the police department, Justin Potter Library, Chamber of Commerce and other locations to show parents which businesses will be taking part in the event. WJLE will post the map at www.wjle.com. Last year, some of the clerks in the businesses and government offices joined in the fun by dressing up in Halloween costumes.
Adcock says a Halloween costume contest will be held again this year for children up to pre-school age at 10:00 am at the Evin’s Park open stage. Another costume contest for those up to age twelve will be at 4:00 p.m. Participants need to register by 9:45 am and 3:45 pm. In case of rain the contests will be held upstairs inside of City Hall.
For those planning to enter the contest, there will be winners in different categories. The categories will be scariest, funniest, most creative, and best overall.
There will also be a Chamber Costume Contest to the downtown business employee’s. Any business wishing to enter this contest will need to contact the Chamber of Commerce at 597-4163 and Suzanne Williams will visit each business throughout the day and take pictures of the participants and pick a winner.
Mayor Jimmy Poss encourages parents and children to join the city in “Trick or Treat Halloween Downtown” Friday, October 31 from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
For more information call Beth Adcock at the Smithville Police Department at 615-597-8210 or check out the police department’s face book page at https://www.facebook.com/SmithvillePoliceDepartment.

It’s again fire season in Tennessee, and the Division of Forestry is reminding everyone in DeKalb County that if they intend to do any outdoor burning they are required by state law to obtain a burning permit. The free permits are required October 15th through May 15th and can be obtained by telephone or on line. A poorly prepared or unattended burning debris pile can, under the conditions common in autumn, escape control and become a destructive wildfire. The Tennessee Division of Forestry asks everyone to be cautious when doing any outdoor burning.
Before doing any outdoor burning:
•First call the Division of Forestry for a burning permit at 597-4015 between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday (call on Friday for the weekend) or obtain a permit on line at www.burnsafetn.org. If weather conditions permit you will be issued a burning permit. If the permit is obtained by phone they will also advise you of any weather conditions such as predicted wind, low humidity or other factors which might call for extra precaution.
•Establish wide control lines down to bare mineral soil around brush piles or other piled debris to be burned. The larger the debris pile, the wider the control line needs to be to ensure that burning materials won’t be blown or roll off the pile into vegetation outside the line.
•Keep water, tools, and plenty of help ready in case your fire should attempt to spread.
•Stay with all outdoor fires until they are completely out.
•Be aware of where your smoke is going. Avoid burning when your smoke will be bothersome to neighbors or when near sensitive locations such as highways.
Remember, you as a homeowner have control over the most basic things that will make your house safer from wildfires and allow the local Fire Dept. and the Division of Forestry to protect your home. This includes:
•Clear away flammable brush and other materials at least 30 feet from your house.
•Don’t pile firewood or other flammable materials near your house or on your porch or deck.
•Keep your yard, roof, and gutters free of leaves, pine needles and other debris.
•Keep leaves, pine needles and other debris off of or from under decks.
The only materials for which a permit can be issued are brush, leaves, grass, or plant materials that are grown on the property or untreated and unpainted lumber. Anything else such as automobile tires, roofing shingles, household garbage, feed sacks or anything not grown on the property cannot be legally burned. Failure to obtain a permit or the burning of illegal materials could result in a citation to court and a fine. For more information on this or any other forestry related matter, call the Division of Forestry at the above phone number or visit the Division of Forestry’s wildfire safety web-site at www.burnsafetn.org. And remember, ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES!!

The DeKalb County Board of Education claimed first place for “Best Chili” and “Best Decorated Booth” at the 11th Annual Habitat for Humanity Chili Cook-Off and Bake Sale Friday at the county complex.
“We had a great turnout for the Chili Cook-off. All the teams did a great job with their chili, and the bake sale was also a huge success. Many thanks to all the teams and those who donated baked goods. Over $3,000 was raised for Habitat today, and we are thankful to the community for supporting this fun event,” said Tecia Puckett Pryor, Development Committee member. “Just last month, we completed our Fifth Habitat home in DeKalb County and are making plans for our sixth house to be built in 2015. The Chili Cook-off is an important fundraiser for Habitat and money raised will be used in our ongoing construction costs,” said Pryor.
Receiving second place for “Best Chili” and “Best Decorated Booth” was the “The Courthouse Gang” from the DeKalb County Officials.
“Team MTNG – Cooking with Gas” from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas and “The Bean Counters” from Tom Janney, CPA and Associates tied for third place in the “Best Chili” competition. MTNG also received third place for “Best Decorated Booth”.
Other participants included “Hot Checks Chili” from DeKalb Community Bank; “Just Chilin” from Center Hill Realty; “No Liability Chili” from the DeKalb County Bar Association; and a team from Cumberland Adaptive.
Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates houses in partnership with volunteers and families in need, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged. To contact Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County, please call 615-215-8181.

The DeKalb County Board of Education Thursday night authorized the Chairman and Director of Schools to do some research on the feasibility of a Time Management Study.
Time Management refers to managing time effectively so that the right time is allocated to the right activity. Board Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III, who proposed the study, said the intent is not to get rid of personnel but to make the school system operate more efficiently. “In my experience in business and years ago in banking through LSU we did some time management studies. A lot of financial institutions do it and a lot of private businesses do it. It involves someone coming in and looking at different areas of the school system. It’s not in any way an implication that we’re trying to cut personnel. It’s to make sure that if someone has a work load that is too heavy then maybe there is someone who can assist in those ways. There are people who can come in from the outside and look at these kind of situations and tell you what you can do more efficient. That’s all it amounts to. It’s not someone coming in and saying you need to get rid of this person or that person. It’s someone coming in and saying here’s a way of doing this more efficiently. And if you can do it more efficiently then that opens up more opportunities and gives principals and everyone else more time all the way through the system to focus on three thousand kids. All I’m asking the board to do is to give me and Mr. Willoughby the authority to research this between now and the next meeting to see what potential costs there may be. I can assure you there will probably be enough savings somewhere to take care of that,” he said.
In other business, Director Mark Willoughby updated the school board on personnel moves since the September meeting.
Those employed are:
Nora Harvey, substitute nurse
Shea Colwell, substitute nurse
Ana Guzman, custodian at Smithville Elementary School
Cody Randolph, teacher at DeKalb Middle School
Transfers:
Sabrina Farler to Principal position at DeKalb West School
Joey Agee to Assistant Principal position at DeKalb West School
Resignations/Retirement
Danny Parkerson, Principal at DeKalb West School, retired
Brian Pack, custodian at Smithville Elementary School
Meanwhile, the DeKalb Middle School Computer Lab is being named in honor of long time educator Tom Hill while the DCHS Library will be named for Hill’s wife Marie and her mother, the late Nell McBride, who were both Librarians at DCHS.
The board approved the request as presented by Chairman Evins. “We can’t let things get out of hand to the point that we’re naming something after everyone but I think it’s very appropriate, and I have not talked to these people (Hill’s), but we’ve had two people who have retired. One of them is Tom Hill who was instrumental in the computer lab at the Middle School being what it is today. His wife, Marie Hill was the librarian at DCHS. She went above and beyond being a librarian and so did her mother, who preceded her. I would like for the board to consider naming the computer lab at DeKalb Middle School in honor of Mr. Tom Hill and the high school library in honor of Marie Hill and her mother, Mrs. Nell McBride with a plaque as we have done in other situations,” said Evins.
Sixth district board member Doug Stevens also paid tribute to former fourth district member Billy Miller, who resigned from the school board as of September 30. “He was instrumental in working with the county commission, school board, and the sheriff’s office so that we can have School Resource Officers (SROs) in each school. He laid the ground work and identified the land for the new soccer field that will be at Northside School. He had a big part in getting the soccer and cross country teams that we have now at the Middle School. I hope that when the county commission appoints somebody that they (appointee) will be as passionate about this position as Billy Miller was,” said Stevens.
“I am going to miss him as a board member. I just appreciate his service. I’ve been on here (school board) quite a while but I learned a lot from him. He was always straight forward in trying to do the right thing. We appreciate his service to the board,” added Chairman Evins.
Due to his having accepted a new job with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation which does not allow him to hold public office, Miller had to resign from the School Board. It’ll be up to the county commission to name his successor, who will serve as an appointee until the next regular election in August, 2016 to fill the unexpired term which ends in August 2018.
Meanwhile, as the board meeting got underway Thursday night, Chairman Evins called for a moment of silence in remembrance of former third district school board member Kenny Rhody, who died last month. He served on the board for twelve years from 2002 until his last term expired September 1, 2014.

Three people were involved in a two car crash Wednesday on Highway 70 west near Smithville.
Trooper Tommy Cooper of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 74 year old Mary Young of Cookeville was driving west on Highway 70 in a 2002 Mercedes when she pulled into the turning lane and then crossed into the path of another vehicle while turning left onto the old Snow Hill Road. The other vehicle, an eastbound 2009 Ford Escape, was driven by 77 year old Leonard Shively of Cookeville. His wife, 75 year old Mable Shively was a passenger.
Young was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital. The Shively’s were apparently not injured.

DCHS Homecoming activities begin next week leading up to the football game Friday night, October 17 against Macon County.
During Thursday night’s School Board meeting, DCHS Principal Patrick Cripps extended an invitation for everyone to participate in the various Homecoming events. “Next week is our Homecoming week at DCHS. It will be a very busy week. We would like to invite the public to come out on Thursday night to our bon fire and pep rally. Friday, October 17 is Homecoming and we’ll have our parade as usual. We’ll come around the square and have a pep rally there. We ask the community to come out and join in our pep rally and show our team support,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fall break is set for October 20-31 and Intercession will be Monday through Friday, October 20-24 to give DCHS students a chance to catch up on class work. “As we go into our fall break, we will again have our Intercession that will run October 20 -24th from 8:00 a.m. until noon. Any student that is behind in a class or is failing a class or has failed a class in the past can come in during that time and get their grades up to par or recover a credit,” said Cripps. “If they have failed a class due to absences, they can do what we call “double time for time” to make up those absences. It’s a program that has really helped our graduation rate as well as the after school program. If you (students) don’t have those forms filled out, you need to have those filled out and turned in to Ms.Charlotte Blaylock by Tuesday, October 14. Parents, if you have a student who intends to attend the Intercession please contact Ms. Blaylock at DCHS and get the forms filled out so that if you do need a bus we can get that lined up so your student will have transportation to that program,” he said.
On another event, Cripps said the FBLA Club is seeking support for a children’s book drive that is currently underway. “Our FBLA is doing a book drive for infants to fifth grade. Our intentions are to give out those books free at football games. If anyone would like to participate in that we would greatly appreciate it. You may turn those books in at any school,” said Cripps.
The Book Drive is a joint effort between the local FBLA Chapter and the “Read 20” initiative. The FBLA chapter is competing with all other FBLA chapters in the state. All books will be handed out to local children at home football games. Gently used children’s books will be collected with reading levels from Pre-K to 5th grade. Send your donated books to school with your child. His/her teacher will know what to do with them. The drive will be from Oct. 6th -17th. The FBLA chapter will provide $50 for the winning school’s library! If you have any questions, you may contact DCHS or email at mroberts2@k12tn.net.

The Smithville Elementary School Wildcat Fun Run will be Friday, October 10.
Due to rain in the weather forecast, this year’s Fun Run will be held inside the gym. The event is sponsored by the PTO.
Start times for each grade level is as follows:
8:15 – 8:45 a.m.: ALL Pre-K students
Kindergarten:
8:55 – 9:25 a.m.: Classes of Beth Cantrell, Misty Agee, Bethany Rigsby, and Tanya Howard
9:30 – 10:00 a.m.: Classes of Crystal Young, LeVaughnda Midgett, Janet Trapp, and Layra Crook
10:10 – 10:40 a.m.: Classes of Kristy Williams, Kelly Huling, and Lindsey Bouldin
2nd Grade
10:50 – 11:20 a.m.: Classes of Macy Nokes, Joy Parker, Angela Johnson, and Ashlee Thomason
11:30 – 12:00: Classes of Tiffany Cowart, Allison Rigsby, and Hannah Mummert
1st Grade
12:10 – 12:40 p.m.: Classes of Vicky Duke, Melba Farmer, Leah Magness, and Whitney Brelje
12:50 – 1:20 p.m.: Classes of Chelsea Grissom, Amanda Rhoady, Renee Beaty, and Vicky Hawker
1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Classes of Christie Young, Kristen Malone, and Heather Shehane

Due to rain in the weather forecast, the 11th Annual Habitat for Humanity Chili Cook-Off and Bake Sale will be at the County Complex on Friday, October 10 from 10:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
It’s chili time and time for you to again support a great cause and decide who makes the best chili in DeKalb County! Come out and cast your vote this Friday, October 10th when Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County hosts its 11th Annual Chili Cook-off and Bake Sale.
You can purchase your bowl for $5.00, eat all the chili you want, and vote for your favorite chili and the best decorated booth. Handmade pottery bowls will be available for $10.00. Delicious baked goods prepared by members of local churches and the DCHS Tiger Pride Bakery will also be for sale.
“There’s a chill in the air, making it a perfect time for everyone to enjoy the Chili Cook-off,” said Tecia Puckett Pryor, a member of the Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County Development Committee. “We hope everyone will come out to enjoy the fun and fellowship. Just last month, we completed our Fifth Habitat home in DeKalb County and are making plans for our sixth house to be built in 2015,” said Pryor. “The Chili Cook-off is an important fundraiser for Habitat and money raised will be used in our ongoing construction costs. We hope that everyone will come out and support this great cause!”
At press time, the teams competing in the Chili Cook-off are “Superhero Chili” from the DeKalb County Board of Education; “Hot Checks Chili” from DeKalb Community Bank; “The Courthouse Gang” from the DeKalb County Officials; “Team MTNG – Cooking with Gas” from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas; “The Bean Counters” from Tom Janney, CPA and Associates; “Just Chilin” from Center Hill Realty; “No Liability Chili” from the DeKalb County Bar Association; and a team from Cumberland Adaptive.
Last year, the “The Courthouse Gang” from the DeKalb County Officials won the “Best Chili” award, with The Inn at Evins Mill receiving 2nd place and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas receiving 3rd place. In the decorating contest, “Storybook Chili” from the DeKalb County Board of Education” won first place honors, with the DeKalb County Officials receiving 2nd place and Indian Creek Baptist Church receiving 3rd place. The 2013 event raised approximately $3,500 for Habitat for Humanity.
Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates houses in partnership with volunteers and families in need, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged.
For more information on the Chili Cook-off and Bake Sale, contact Tecia Puckett Pryor at 597-7370. To contact Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County, call 215-8181.

It’s time to get your flu shot.
Health care providers are encouraging you to be immunized because it can make a big difference by helping you and others avoid becoming sick.
“As of yesterday afternoon (Wednesday), we have had 15 positive Type B and zero Type A cases of flu since the beginning of school. We have also had 19 positive strep and 10 positive mono tests,” Michiko Martin, Office Manager of the Family Medical Center told WJLE. “We have plenty of flu vaccine available at the Family Medical Center and the Alexandria Family Medical Center – quadrivalent, high dose (for the over 65 population), pediatric (6-35 months), and FluMist,” she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Tennessee Department of Health recommend annual flu vaccination for everyone over the age of six months. It’s especially important for pregnant women to be vaccinated in order to protect their unborn children. One major challenge for health officials is combatting rumors and myths about flu immunizations. It is important to note: It is not possible for the flu shot to give you the flu.
You can choose from the nasal mist and the traditional flu shot. Check with your healthcare provider to see which option is best for you or your child.
After your flu vaccination, it’s still important to practice good health habits to protect yourself from the flu and other winter viruses, and to prevent spreading them to others if you do get sick. Good health habits include frequent hand washing with soapy water or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and covering coughs and sneezes with a sleeve or tissue. People who are sick should stay home if at all possible to recover to prevent spreading illness to coworkers, friends and others.
Flu vaccines are widely available across Tennessee from a number of sources and take only a few minutes to receive. Contact your health care provider about flu vaccine locations near you, or visit the Vaccine Finder available at http://flushot.healthmap.org/.

The 9th Annual History Hayride at Edgar Evins State Park will be Saturday, October 11 at 2:00 p.m. Bring your blanket for a hayride back into time as the Friends of Edgar Evins and park staff bring history alive. There will be approximately 10 stops along the route where a cast of colorful characters will reveal the history of the area and its people. Reservations are required and the cost is $15 per person. Reservations are now open .
The History Hayride is the major fundraising event for the Friends of Edgar Evins. Each year a living panorama of people and events is presented that have shaped the communities and history of the park and surrounding areas. Amateur actors and actresses, dressed in period costumes, act out the roles of people and times from years gone by to demonstrate the events and happenings.
A guide on each wagon will provide additional narrative between stops. It is not only entertaining, but an educational experience as well.
Departure and returns will be at the Visitors Center. A circuit will last approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours during which spectators will remain on the wagons. Wagons will leave about every half hour.
This will be the first year that all reservations for the History Hayride will be made on-line at https://www.123signup.com/event?id=yfzx
The new reservation system will make it possible to reserve seats for an individual or a group 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, A Visa or Master Card will be accepted.
For more information call the park office: 931-858-2114 or 800-250-8619, ext. 107 or 102.