Smithville Municipal Swimming Pool Opens Today (Friday, June 26)

June 26, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville Municipal Swimming Pool will open today (Friday, June 26).

Plans were to open the pool June 18 but it had to remain closed at that time due to a mechanical breakdown. The repairs have now been completed.

Pool hours will be from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 1 until 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission remains at $2.00 per person.

June 25, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

One man died in a shooting Thursday afternoon at a residence on Carter Drive. The case is under investigation by the TBI

Sheriff Patrick Ray issued the following statement about the case.

“On June 25 at 12:28 p.m. Central Dispatch received a call of a shooting on Carter Drive in Smithville. This residence is located just outside of the city limits, approximately 240 yards, in the county. The caller stated someone had been shot.

When units from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and the Smithville Police Department arrived on the scene, they found one man lying on the front porch of a residence that had gunshot wounds. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The District Attorney’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation were notified and arrived on the scene a short time later.

Through the investigation, it appears the home owner and the deceased man exchanged gunfire and the homeowner shot the deceased man. The homeowner was not injured.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting. The deceased man’s identity has not been released.

No arrests have been made.

Sheriff Ray wishes to thank Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins and his Department for their assistance and Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker for bringing water for the Officer’s on the scene” and to Constable Mark Milam.

June 25, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band became the fourth annual recipient of the Fiddlers’ Jamboree’s “Blue Blaze Award” during the 46th annual Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival in July 2017.

After receiving the award, the TMJ Band delighted a Fiddlers’ Jamboree audience with a session of rib-tickling old time tunes, jokes, and slapstick gags. The video shown below is the latest in a series of Fiddlers’ Jamboree “special moments” from past festivals to be presented by WJLE through the 4th of July weekend.

M2U02481 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

The Tennessee Mafia Jug Band includes guitar picker Mike Armistead, banjo player Leroy Troy, fiddler Dan Kelly, Ernie Sykes, Kent Blanton on the bass fiddle, and Dobro player Mike Webb. The overalls-clad band has appeared on the Opry, at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center, at The Station Inn and at numerous other venues, playing boisterous songs like “Too Old to Cut the Mustard,” “What a Waste of Good Corn Liquor” and “Slide Them Jugs Down the Mountain.”

Leroy Troy is a regular on the weekly Marty Stuart television show on RFD TV and the entire band is often featured on the show.

The Blue Blaze Award is designed to honor a group or individual that keeps the embers of bluegrass music glowing for future generations.