Election Commission Announces COVID-19 Safety Procedures with Early Voting Set to Begin Friday

July 15, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County voters will see some COVID-19 related changes during early voting and on election day.

“Policies and procedures have been put in place by the election commission to ensure the safety of our workers and voters due to COVID-19,” said Dennis Stanley, Administrator of Elections, and Walteen Parker, Chairman of the DeKalb County Election Commission.

“Masks, face shields, gloves and sneeze guards will be provided the election workers,” according to Stanley and Parker, and voters are encouraged to do their part. This includes wearing a face covering and maintaining a six-foot distance from poll officials and others. Voters should expect to see signs with further safety instructions at their polling locations. All poll officials have been instructed to wear face coverings and have been trained to take appropriate protective measures.

Early voting begins Friday, July 17 through Saturday, August 1 in the first floor courtroom of the DeKalb County Courthouse. Hours for early voting are Mondays 1-5 p.m.; Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Thursdays 2-6 p.m.; Fridays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Election day voting at all 15 precincts will be from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 6.

“Policies are in place to cut down on items being touched by multiple people,” said Stanley. “In addition, hand sanitizer, soap and paper towels will be provided the workers at every precinct.”

For example, “Voters will be asked, via personnel or signage, to pick up a pen that they can keep with them through the entire process,” said Chairman Parker. “Those pens can be used to sign in and used at the voting machine (as a stylus). They can keep the pen and take it home with them, but if they choose not to, we will have a box they can drop it into and the pen can be properly cleaned and used again.”

In addition, Stanley said “a very limited number of gloves, masks and faceshields will be available to voters who want to use them. The gloves can also be used at the voting machines (and Q-tips may also be available as a stylus.)

“We are really concerned about protecting our election workers because they will be exposed to all voters who come into the facilities,” added Parker. It is important that voters read and observe the instructions on signs or relayed verbally to them by an election official. This will make the process smoother and safer for everyone.”

“Early voting provides voters the opportunity to avoid election-day crowds,” said Stanley. “Early voting also offers the flexibility of late afternoon and Saturday morning hours.”

DeKalb County voters can find early voting and Election Day polling locations, view and mark sample ballots and much more with the GoVoteTN app or online at GoVoteTN.com. You can download the GoVoteTN app for free in the App Store or Google Play. Reviewing your sample ballot and deciding how you will vote will reduce your time at the polls.

Voters who have moved within DeKalb County or have had a name change since the last time they voted can update their registration online at GoVoteTN.com. By making sure your registration is up to date, you can shorten the time you will need to spend at your polling location.

Anyone voting early or on Election Day should remember to bring valid photo identification with them to the polls. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, by Tennessee state government or by the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable. More information about what types of ID are acceptable can be found on GoVoteTN.com.

For more information about early voting in DeKalb County call 615-597-4146 or visit www.dekalbelections.com.

(Click link below to view ballot)
Ballot

Local voters will make their choice in one contested county-wide election, one contested school board race, a contested Smithville Municipal Election and in the state Republican or Democratic primaries. There are uncontested races for constable, another school board seat, the mayor and two aldermen in Dowelltown and for aldermen seats in Alexandria. In addition, there is an uncontested race for Criminal Court Judge Part II District 13.

July 15, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The DeKalb County School District is offering a “Parent Digital University” for those with children in the school system.

Parents are urged to view the videos below (available in English and Spanish) to better educate themselves on the use of the digital educational platform being offered by the school district in preparation for remote learning from home .The videos will equip you with the tools necessary to help make your child successful in the DeKalb County School System.

(Video below in English)

(Video below in Spanish)

Although plans are for a traditional reopening of DeKalb County schools with students attending on campus August 3 parents may opt for remote learning from home for their children. Parents are asked to contact their child’s school weekdays from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. prior to July 22 if they want their child to participate in remote learning.

Unlike this past school year, the school district will use the same digital platform for all grade levels and parents should be prepared to understand how to make use of it and to practice its operation with their children.

Director Patrick Cripps has announced that all DeKalb County students in grades K-12 (almost 3,000) will be provided a chromebook (computer) for the 2020-2021 academic school year for use in the classrooms and at home.

“Every student in the school system will get a 1:1 device (computer) to take home. We will expect our teachers to not only communicate with our parents digitally but be prepared to assign lessons through the Edgenuity platform,” said Cripps.

Providing all students in kindergarten to 12th grade a Chromebook is new. High school students were the first to be assigned chromebooks three years ago for use at school and home. A year later 6th to 8th graders were provided chrome books and this past year 3rd to 5th graders got 1:1 devices although they (elementary and middle school students) could not take them home.

Chromebooks are returned at the end of each school year but students are reassigned the same devices the following year. High school seniors return their devices upon graduation and those are either replaced or recycled back into the system for other students to use.

WJLE will be hosting a LIVE Call-In program Thursday morning, July 16 starting at 8:30 a.m. featuring Director of Schools Patrick Cripps and Attendance Supervisor Joey Reeder to discuss the plans for re-opening DeKalb County Schools on Monday, August 3.

Listeners may phone in their questions to Cripps and Reeder at 615-597-4265. The program will be broadcast LIVE on WJLE AM 1480/WJLE FM 101.7 and LIVE stream at www.wjle.com.

July 14, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County is known for tourist attractions such as Center Hill Lake and the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Crafts Festival and those scenes are captured in a “Welcome to Smithville” mural which will soon be completed on the exterior west wall of the Gayla C. Hendrix Law Office building on the public square.

Hendrix came up with the idea for the mural and turned to local artist Scott Shaw to create the design.

“I had been wanting to do one on my building for a long time and then one day I was at the Button Willow General Store and Coffee Shop on Main Street and Scott was working on their mural. When I saw what he was creating I thought this is exactly what I have been wanting to do on my building so I got his business card and contacted him. I was super excited to find somebody to do the kind of work I was wanting. I already had this design in my mind. I wanted the lake. I wanted to incorporate Jamboree musicians. On the bottom right corner will be a lady story teller reading a book to a child and on the bottom left corner the mural will show an older gentleman whittling, a long ago pastime of many around the public square. I wanted all those things incorporated into the mural so I gave Scott the ideas of what I wanted and he drew up the design. Scott works at Federal Mogul so he gets to work on my building when he has time off but it will be finished soon,” said Hendrix.