Wilson Bank & Trust, DCHS Dedicate New Baseball Scoreboard

April 10, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County High School recently recognized Wilson Bank & Trust for supporting DCHS baseball with a new sponsored scoreboard. WBT Smithville Office Manager Chad Colwell joined Tiger baseball players and coaches in dedicating the new scoreboard, which has been in use this season.

Wilson Bank & Trust (www.wilsonbank.com), member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender, operates 28 full-service offices in nine Middle Tennessee counties, and offers a full range of financial products that include secondary market mortgage loans and mobile and online banking services.

April 10, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A man responsible for breaking into a truck almost two years ago has been sentenced in the case.

47 year old Stanley William Morris, Jr. of Oak Street, Smithville appeared in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday where he entered a plea to burglary of an automobile. He received a 2 year TDOC sentence suspended to supervised probation. He must make restitution to the victim.

Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on November 9, 2016 Morris and another person broke into a 1998 Nissan Frontier. Entry was made by breaking out the glass window.  A machete and  a fold up chair were stolen from the truck.

The case was investigated by a Sheriff’s Department Detective.

Meanwhile, 28 year old Michaela Lynn Murphy and 46 year old Melissa Faye Murphy each entered a plea to theft under $1,000 and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days suspended to probation with the first six months supervised and the remainder unsupervised if court costs and restitution are paid within the first six months. They must make restitution of $1,216 to their victim jointly and severally.

35 year old Jason Witherspoon entered a plea to worthless check over $2,500 and received a sentence of four years all suspended to supervised probation. He must make restitution of $5,500 to his victim.

April 10, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The next deadline for Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) applications to be considered for funding in fiscal year (FY) 2019 is May 10, 2019. USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) plans to invest up to $700 million for new enrollments and contract extensions in fiscal year 2019. The 2018 Farm Bill made several changes to this critical conservation program, which helps agricultural producers take the conservation activities on their farm or ranch to the next level.

“CSP continues to be a very effective tool for private landowners working to achieve their conservation and management goals,” said Sheldon Hightower, Tennessee NRCS State Conservationist. “It is the largest conservation program in the United States with more than 70 million acres of productive agricultural and forest land enrolled.”

While applications are accepted throughout the year, interested producers should submit applications to their local NRCS office by May 10, 2019, to ensure their applications are considered for 2019 funding.

Changes to the Program

The 2018 Farm Bill authorizes NRCS to accept new CSP enrollments from now until 2023, and it makes some important improvements to the program. These updates include:

•NRCS now enrolls eligible, high ranking applications based on dollars rather than acres. For fiscal year2019, NRCS can spend up to $700 million in the program, which covers part of the cost for producersimplementing new conservation activities and maintaining their existing activities.

•Higher payment rates are now available for certain conservation activities, including cover crops andresource conserving crop rotations.

•CSP now provides specific support for organic and for transitioning to organic production activitiesand a special grassland conservation initiative for certain producers who have maintained croplandbase acres.

About the Program CSP is offered in Tennessee through continuous sign-ups. The program provides many benefits including increased crop yields, decreased inputs, wildlife habitat improvements and increased resilience to weather extremes. CSP is for working lands including cropland, pastureland, rangeland, nonindustrial private forest land and agricultural land under the jurisdiction of a tribe. More Information For additional information about CSP, contact the USDA service center located at 647 Bright Hill Road in Smithville or call 615-597-8226 x3..