Local EAA Chapter to Host Free Airplane Rides for Kids Saturday at Smithville Municipal Airport

June 8, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Area young people ages 8-17 will have a chance to take to the skies on Saturday, June 11, as the local Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 1378 hosts a Young Eagles Flight Rally at the Smithville Municipal Airport.

The rally is part of the EAA Young Eagles Program, created to interest young people in aviation.

Smithville Airport Manager Katelyn Sanders said children will be taken for a free scenic flight over the lake and the Smithville area from 10 a.m. until 12 noon. First come, first flown. The rides are limited to children only ages 8 to 17 and while siblings may fly together, if possible, parents cannot join them unless there is a medical reason they must be with their child.

“We will have about four or five pilots lined up. A few of them are tenants here. We will have single engine and multi-engine aircraft. The fights will last about 15 minutes and will probably go over the lake and take a little scenic route back to the airport,” said Sanders. “ Before the plane rides you will get a little safety briefing and basic information about the aircraft and what to expect. Then they will get you buckled in and take off. We will have a couple of booths set up for anyone wanting more information about joining Young Eagles or about aviation in general,” said Sanders.

June 7, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

Should the Smithville Municipal Judge position be a four year rather than a two-year term?

The Smithville Mayor and Aldermen may decide during a special called meeting set for Thursday, June 23 at 6 p.m. at city hall. This issue will be on the agenda along with second and final reading passage of the 2022-23 budget ordinance following a public hearing.

Since 2006, the municipal judgeship has been a two-year term position with the judge being appointed by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen. The salary is $1,000 per month. Prior to 2006 the city judge was elected by the voters of Smithville to an eight-year term.

The incumbent city judge Gayla Hendrix was appointed to her first two-year term in 2020 and it expires August 31. If she is re-appointed this fall it would be to a four-year term, if the Mayor and Aldermen were to decide to make the change in the term of office from two to four years.

The municipal judge primarily hears minor city traffic offenses and city ordinance violations.

June 7, 2022
By: Dwayne Page

The speed limit is changing from 30 to 45 miles per hour on Highway 56 (North Congress Boulevard) between Church Street (near the Police Department Building) and Smith Road near the Northside Church of Christ.

During Monday night ‘s regular monthly meeting the aldermen adopted on second and final reading following a public hearing an ordinance to change the speed limit there based on a traffic study by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. No one showed up to express any opposition to the plan.

Mayor Josh Miller said last month that Alan Wolfe, Regional Traffic Engineer at TDOT sent him a letter with the recommendation after the study was completed.

“I was asked to call the state about doing a speed study on Highway 56 in the city limits. Mr. Alan Wolfe of TDOT did the study and this was his response.

Reading from Wolfe’s letter, Mayor Miller said “We have completed our speed study for this section of State Route 56 in Smithville. Based on the results of the study we recommend the speed limit remain 30 miles per hour from Highway 70 to just north of the State Route 56 intersection at Church Street. From north of Church Street we recommend raising the speed limit to 45 miles per hour all the way to the existing 45 mile per hour speed zone where the turn lane ends just north of the Northside Church of Christ”.

A speed limit of 25 miles per hour will still be enforced in the school zone mornings and afternoons at Northside Elementary School.