Smithville Elementary School’s 500 Book Challenge!

September 22, 2021
By:

Principal Summer Cantrell has issued a challenge to the teachers of Smithville Elementary School to read 500 books to each homeroom class by the end of the school year! The challenge is off to a great start and hundreds of books have already been read. Each classroom is keeping a chart to mark off a book for each book that is read to their class. The teachers and students have embraced this challenge, and the students are enjoying it as well.

September is National Literacy Month, which is a time to celebrate the importance of literacy, encourage young people to visit the library, pick up a good book, and explore new worlds. The importance of reading aloud to children was demonstrated in a two-year study that was completed by the US Department of Education. Results of the study indicated that the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. Reading aloud to children increases listening skills, expression, inflection, vocabulary, comprehension, visualization skills and background knowledge.

Take time to share the reading experience with the children in your life. Read a book with your child and then ask them questions about the book. Talk about your favorite books and authors, and ask your young readers about theirs. You might be surprised how much fun it can be for both you and the children in your life.

You are encouraged to take your young readers to the library, get some great books, and sit down together to read out loud. Help your more advanced readers find books they’ll enjoy on their own. You can even set up an account with one of the local libraries to borrow e-books that can be downloaded to smartphones, tablets, or laptops. Kids can get new books to read sitting in their living rooms. The staff at the Justin Potter Library or the Alexandria Library will be happy to help you gain access to the many e-books they have available for check out.

Smithville Elementary is super excited about the 500 book challenge and knows that great and fun memories will be made for the Wildcats at SES! A school-wide celebration will be held in May when the first ten classes reach the 500 book mark. Join in on the fun by reading a book to a Wildcat today!

September 21, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Attorney William T. “Will” Ridley, a Republican, has announced his candidacy in 2022 for the Circuit Court Judge, Part 1 position in the 13th Judicial District. The seat is currently held by Democratic Judge Amy Hollars.

Ridley and his family make their home in Cumberland County. His wife, Tiffany, is a fourth-grade teacher at Stone Elementary School, and they have two daughters, Rylee, age 5, and Madison, age 2.

“As the owner and operator of the Law Office of William T. Ridley, I love helping my clients find success,” Ridley said.

Ridley has represented clients from across the Upper Cumberland in a variety of civil and criminal issues. In addition to his private practice, Ridley also serves as the Crossville City Attorney and the Crossville Tax Attorney.

“My family and I are active members of Cumberland Fellowship Church in Crossville. We love our church and our small group. I enjoy spending time with my family, working to improve our farm in Grassy Cove, and spending time on the lake,” Ridley said.

He has also volunteered to serve as the special judge in Cumberland County General Sessions Court when the judge is unavailable.

Ridley was a founding member of the Young Professionals Alliance, past vice president of the Cumberland County Republican Party, advisory member for Friends of the Trials, and serves pro bono as an administrative hearing officer for the Crossville Housing Authority. Ridley has also served as a special master in Chancery Court and was appointed by Governor Bill Haslam to serve as Special Attorney General handling condemnation cases on state road projects in the city limits of Crossville.

“I want to give back to my community and serve the people I live among,” Ridley said. “Circuit Court Part 1 has been held by a democrat for as long as anyone can remember. I want to give the people of the Upper Cumberland a conservative choice on the ballot in August of 2022.”

Ridley is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and obtained his law degree from the Nashville School of Law. He worked full time while attending law school at night. Before becoming an attorney, he was a field representative for Congressman Scott DesJarslais and legislative assistant to state Sen. Ken Yager.

“These jobs taught me valuable skills that I use every day — how to listen to people and help solve their problems,” Ridley said.

The 13th Judicial District includes Putnam, Cumberland, Pickett, White, Clay, DeKalb and Overton counties.

“I believe that the courtroom belongs to the people, and the Judge works for the people. If I am elected, I promise to always remember who I work for and treat everyone with respect while making fair and impartial decision,” Ridley said.

Ridley will be on the Republican Primary ballot in the May 3, 2022, election and the Aug. 4, 2022, general election.

September 21, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Jason Martin, a Nashville physician and vocal critic of the state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, officially launched his bid last month for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2022, with hopes of taking on Republican Gov. Bill Lee next year.

Dr. Martin was in Smithville last week as part of his 95 county listening tour across the state. He met with local party leaders and others at Green Brook Park. He currently serves as Director of Hendersonville Medical Center’s critical care unit.

“We are excited to go around Tennessee to mainly listen. We want to hear what is on people’s hearts and minds and see what we can do to make Tennessee a better place,” Martin told WJLE.

Entering the race with no prior government experience, the 46 year old Martin – a self-proclaimed “authentic outsider” said he will run on a platform of affordable health care, fully-funded public education and job creation.

“I have never been a super political guy in the past. I have been an ICU or critical care doctor but over the last 18 months I have seen so much death and destruction due to COVID. I have been a first party witness to holding up an Ipad while moms and dads, brothers, and sisters cry at that screen watching their loved ones take that last breath remotely. That has been a life changing experience. I realize if there had been some politically courageous leadership I think we could have been in a better position. I think our schools would be open safely and I think fewer people would have passed way from this virus. That was my call to action. We could use some better leadership when it comes to health care more generally and when it comes to funding our education system. That’s why I am excited to be in the race,” said Dr. Martin.

Originally from Alabama, Dr. Martin said the place where he grew up is much like rural Tennessee.

“I grew up in Mobile Alabama. It was a pretty rural community much like the rural communities in Tennessee. I had hard working parents. When I was in college I would call my dad and complain about having to study hard for a test and he would say “son try it with two kids and a mortgage”. He was a hard working man. He and his brother were the first ones in our family to go to college so I was real proud of that. Because of my parents’ sacrifices and good public schools in our community my family was able to change the track of our family trajectory in just a generation so I was able to go to med school and college and eventually end up here in Nashville for my medical training about 20 years ago,” Dr. Martin continued.

Asked how he would have handled the COVID pandemic as governor particularly in the public school system , Martin said “if we want our teachers and kids to go to school safely, I think a temporary mask requirement is important. I don’t like masks and I don’t like requirements but I think to protect the health and safety of those in the public schools that’s a good place to start. We need to speak the truth about the effectiveness of the vaccine and we need to speak the truth when people say misinformation. Right now the voice of truth is missing. We need to improve the health care of the folks in Tennessee so they can be healthy and go out and work hard and provide for their families and that means not giving up on the billion dollars a year we are passing up on Medicaid expansion. If you want people out there working hard they need to be healthy. One in five Tennessee counties don’t even have an emergency room and there have been 14 hospitals primarily in rural Tennessee that have closed since 2012. We need to get more money into the system so that folks don’t have to drive two or three counties away if they have a medical emergency. That’s why we need Medicaid expansion. That means hard working Tennesseans can have affordable insurance. That brings more money into the system so that more healthcare providers can set up shop,” Dr. Martin said,

“We also need to fully fund our public schools. We are 47th in the nation when it comes to funding our public education system. I think we can do better than that. We have billions of dollars in our rainy day fund in Nashville. I think we can do a lot better to support our teachers. If 2 or 4 year college isn’t right for every child out of high school then let’s have some good vocational training programs so we can give kids a skill . I think we could do that with some money we already have on hand and with public and private partnerships,” he added.

Although the odds may be stacked against him and other Democrats in a heavily Republican state where the GOP has firm control of the state Senate, House and the governor’s office. Martin said he is still hopeful.

“All of us have to learn to play nicely together and stop talking about politics as a team sport because when we do everybody loses. We need to identify the things that we have in common and I happen to think that adequate access to health care for hard working folks , a good education, and a good job are Tennessee values and not Republican or Democratic values. I do think people will rally around those ideas,” said Dr. Martin.