Smithville FBC to Host Back to School Bash Today (August 1) (View video here)

August 1, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

Families in DeKalb County can get a helping hand with their back-to-school needs thanks to the annual Back to School Bash hosted again this year by the Smithville First Baptist Church (FBC).

The event will be held rain or shine Tuesday, August 1 starting at 6 p.m. at the church’s Life Enrichment Center downtown.

Pastor Chad Ramsey said other churches, businesses, etc. will be joining in the effort to provide free school supplies to families as well as food and fellowship. Tables or booths will be set up inside the Life Enrichment Center gym and to help prevent duplication of services, they will each offer different types of supplies from pencils, paper, back packs, etc. Participants will line up at the door and enter after being handed information describing what they will find at each table. Families will walk through and get what they need from each booth. Most of the activity will be held inside.

“We are very excited about the Back to School Bash,” said Ramsey. “This is an event that has been going on for many years in Smithville. It was once held on the town square. After COVID, we brought it back here at the Smithville FBC and we now host this event in our Life Enrichment Center. We are excited to offer it. Last year we had people lined up and over one thousand people came through. We had enough supplies for every single one of them and we will have ample supplies again this year. Its not being done just by us here at the church. Many businesses in the community have contacted us and they will have booths at this event. There will be from 14-16 booths and each will have different types of school supplies. We will have supplies for kids from the elementary school age, intermediate, middle school, and the high school. We will have basic things kids will need for school without families having to go purchase those at the store. This will save them hundreds of dollars. A special thanks goes to companies, churches, businesses, and others who are participating in this,” added Pastor Ramsey.

August 1, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

The seasonal impacts on employment, such as school breaks, continued to have an impact on Tennessee’s county unemployment numbers in June, according to newly released information from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).

DeKalb County’s jobless rate for June 2023 was 4.6%, up from the rate of 3.7% in May and just below the 4.7% rate in June, 2022.

The local labor force for June 2023 was 8,285. A total of 7,900 were employed and 385 were unemployed.

County unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted to take into account the effects of seasonal layoffs, while the statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted.

The June 2023 data showed unemployment rates increased in each of Tennessee’s 95 counties during the month. Seventy-seven counties had an unemployment rate of less than 5% in June, while the remaining 18 counties had rates of 5% or greater but less than 10%.

At 2.8%, Williamson County reported the lowest unemployment rate in June. Its new statistic was 0.3 of a percentage point higher than the previous month’s rate. The rates for both Cheatham and Sevier counties were 2.9% for the month. The rates in both counties increased by 0.3 of a percentage point between May and June.

Bledsoe County had Tennessee’s highest unemployment rate for the month. At 6.5%, the county’s June rate jumped 1.2 percentage points when compared to its May rate. Scott and Van Buren counties shared the next highest rate of 5.9%. That represented a 0.6 of a percentage point increase for Scott County and an increase of 1.8 percentage points for Van Buren County.

Statewide, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate matched the state’s all-time low statistic of 3.2%, which represented a 0.1 of a percentage point decrease from the previous month.

Employers across the state having a difficult time finding employees can learn how second chances work by viewing the Second Chances Work Employer Resource Guide. The Tennessee Office of Reentry can work with businesses to show them how hiring justice-involved individuals can benefit their workforce and their budget with tax incentives and job training funds.

July 31, 2023
By: Dwayne Page

DeKalb County Schools will re-open Tuesday, August 1 for registration.

Students will attend for 90 minutes from 7:45 a.m. until 9:15 a.m. to sign up at their schools.

The first full day of school will be Thursday, August 3. Wednesday, August 2 will be an administrative day for teachers only. Students will not attend on Wednesday, August 2.

With school starting, drivers are cautioned to be careful around school busses that are stopping to let children on or off the bus.

Tennessee Law 55-8-151 states that drivers on a roadway overtaking a school bus from any direction must stop when the school bus stops with the purpose of receiving or discharging any school children.

This applies to all roadways aside from “separate roadways” that are divided by a barrier, raised median or an unpaved space of five feet or more where pedestrians are not permitted to cross.

Drivers passing in the opposite direction on a separate roadway of a school bus that has stopped for school children to enter or exit should still proceed with caution.

Failure to stop upon approaching a school bus that is stopped is a Class A misdemeanor. Drivers who don’t stop may receive a fine ranging from $250 to $1000.

The 2023-24 DeKalb County School Calendar is as follows:

DeKalb County students and teachers will have a full week off for fall break October 16-20, Thanksgiving November 20-24, and spring break March 25-29, and a two-week break for Christmas December 21 to January 3. December 20 will be an abbreviated day. Students will return to school after the Christmas holiday on January 4, 2024. Schools will also be closed for Labor Day September 4, Dr. Martin Luther King Day January 15, President’s Day February 19, and Monday, April 1. The last day of school will be May 21, 2024. May 20 will be an abbreviated day.

Report cards will be issued at all schools on October 9, January 9, March 13, and May 21.

Parent teacher conferences will be held at DCHS from 3-6 p.m. on October 10 and March 19 and at all the other schools, DWS, NES, SES, and DMS from 3-6 p.m. on October 12 and March 21.