Smithville Area Local News

Flags Presented to Jamboree Visitors from Alaska and Vietnam

Dwayne Page — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 06:02:49 -0500

A family from Vietnam received a United States flag and an Alaska woman was presented a Tennessee State flag during the Fiddler's Jamboree on Friday night

The flags go to the persons who travel the greatest distances, both from inside and outside the country, to get here.

The flags were presented by State Senator Mae Beavers and State Representative Mae Beavers.

The American flag went to Nica Ellis and Laela Ellis of Vietnam and Elizabeth Musgrove of Palmer, Alaska received the Tennessee flag.

The first day of the 38th annual Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree and Crafts Festival ran non-stop from about 8:30 a.m. Friday morning until about 12:10 a.m. Saturday morning..

Preliminaries were held in sixteen categories of music and dance competition followed by the finals featuring the top three acts in each event.

Neil Dudney Day Observed at Fiddlers Jamboree

Dwayne Page — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:55:29 -0500

"Neil Dudney Day" was observed Friday, July 3rd at the 38th annual Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree and Crafts Festival.

Dudney, longtime President and Coordinator of the Jamboree and a founding member, received special recognition on-stage Friday night.

County Mayor Mike Foster presented a plaque to Dudney inscribed with a resolution adopted by the county commission earlier this year. Smithville Mayor Taft Hendrixson joined Foster in making the presentation to Dudney who was surrounded on stage by members of his family and close friends.

The resolution states "Whereas, it is appropriate that the DeKalb County Commission and the DeKalb County Mayor should announce their pride, respect, and admiration for people who so ably serve DeKalb County."

"Whereas, those who volunteer their time and abilities to unselfishly serve our communities should be recognized for the positive work they do."

Ready for Some Pickin' and Grinnin'?

Dwayne Page — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:55:16 -0500

The 38th annual Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival is in progress downtown Smithville.

(Click link at the bottom of the page to see photos from the Friday session of the Fiddler's Jamboree)

The program officially kicked off at 9:00 a.m. this morning (Friday) but some shade tree musicians, who couldn't wait, got together to do a little pickin' and grinnin' on the courthouse lawn Thursday evening

But they weren't the only ones getting in on the fun. Over at the 303 building beside the Chamber of Commerce Office, the Community Chorus performed a stirring rendition of patriotic songs before a packed house, in celebration of the Independence holiday weekend.

Preliminaries are being held in the following categories:

Chamber Awards "Project Welcome Mat" Winners

Dwayne Page — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:05:38 -0500

The Smithville- DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce honored the winners Wednesday in "Project Welcome Mat".

"Project Welcome Mat" awards three categories, "Most Original", "Best Worded", and "People's Choice"

DeKalb Community Bank received the "Best Worded" award for their sign "Fiddlers Food & More is What's in Store at the Fiddlers Jamboree July 3 & 4".

The "Most Original" award went to the First Free Will Baptist Church for their sign "God is a Smiling Cause He Loves Jamboreers Too, so Come on Down and Worship with Us & Sing & Fiddle Too"

Liberty State Bank won the "People's Choice Award" for their two-sided sign "Picking, Grinnin', Cloggin', Oh How Great! See this and more at Jamboree 38; and "Cloggin', Fiddlin, Bring Your Mate. It's Time to Celebate Jamboree 38"

Governor Signs Bill to Extend Unemployment Benefits

Dwayne Page — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:09:17 -0500

Governor Phil Bredesen recently signed into law legislation extending unemployment benefits with federal funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Tennessee Extended Benefits Program adds a maximum of 20 weeks of benefits for claimants who exhausted their emergency unemployment compensation benefits on or after February 28, 2009.

"The extended benefits provided by the Recovery Act will help eligible Tennesseans who have exhausted their emergency unemployment benefits," said James Neeley, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. "And since the federal government pays 100 percent of the costs to extend the benefits, the money will not be drawn from Tennessee's unemployment trust fund."

38th Annual Fiddlers Jamboree Kicks off Friday Morning

Dwayne Page — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:21:11 -0500

The 38th annual Smithville Fiddler's Jamboree and Crafts Festival is set for Friday and Saturday, July 3th & 4th. The musical competition kicks off on Friday morning at 9:00 a.m.

Jack Barton, the new Fiddler's Jamboree Coordinator, says this year's event promises to be exciting and entertaining, and two new competitive events have been added to the lineup. "There is a lot of excitement building around this. I think when it lands on the Fourth of July, there's usually a lot more people in attendance. We've got a couple of new events that are great. We'll have youth square dancing on Friday night. We're letting the youngsters have their own category. We've also added a bluegrass fiddle category, which is more of a truer to Appalachian style category and that will be named in honor of Neil Dudney. It will actually be the Neil Dudney award and we're excited about it."

Newly Elected Smithville Aldermen Take Office

Dwayne Page — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:30:28 -0500

The three recently elected Smithville Aldermen were sworn into office during a brief ceremony held following Tuesday night's special city council meeting.

Judge Bratten Cook II administered the oath of office to W.J. (Dub) White, Aaron Meeks, and Shawn Jacobs. Their terms of office officially begin at midnight and expire in two years.

The new city council is made up of Shawn Jacobs, W.J. (Dub) White, Aaron Meeks, Stephen White, and Cecil Burger. The mayor is Taft Hendrixson. The terms of Aldermen Stephen White, Burger, and Mayor Hendrixson expire in 2010.

During the special meeting, plaques of appreciation were presented to the three aldermen, Tonya Sullivan, Jerry Hutchins, Sr., and Willie Thomas whose terms are expiring.

Vance Charged in Burglary and Theft at K & M Jewelry

Dwayne Page — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:16:21 -0500

A 39 year old man has been arrested by Smithville Police in the recent burglary of K & M Jewelry on West Broad Street.

Comer Vance is charged with theft of property over $60,000, burglary, felony vandalism, and unlawful possession of a firearm. His bond is $250,000 and he will be in court on Thursday, July 2nd.

Investigator Jerry Hutchins, Jr. says sometime during the early morning hours of Thursday, June 25th, someone (believed to be Vance) entered the business by removing plywood covering a window. Once inside, a safe, containing jewelry, was taken from the store. The intruder also busted out glass in the display cases and removed more jewelry. The total value of the stolen jewelry was estimated at $100,000.

The owner of the business, Mark Violet, discovered the burglary and theft when he arrived to open up the store later that morning..