WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters College Football Talk Show Airs Today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m.

September 16, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Two of WJLE’s Fearless Forecasters are tied for having the best record picking college football winners over the last two weeks.

Jared Davis and Chad Kirby each have compiled a record of 17-13. They also tied for the best single week record at 8-7 last week while Darrell Gill, Grant James, Ricky Atnip, and Scott Goodwin each went 7-8, John Pryor finished 6-9 and Scott Brown was 5-10.

Following Davis and Kirby for the overall best records after two weeks are Grant James and Ricky Atnip each at 16-14, John Pryor 15-15, Darrell Gill and Scott Goodwin each at 14-16, and Scott Brown 13-17.

Two forecasters picked up underdog points last week. Ricky Atnip got 6.5 points with Arkansas’s win over Texas 40-21 and Scott Brown got on the board with 4 points as Iowa beat Iowa State 27-17.

After two weeks Atnip is the underdog points leader with 6.5 points followed by Scott Brown with 4 and Grant James and Jared Davis each with 3 points.

Today (Thursday) the Forecasters will be picking winners in the following games:

Purdue at Notre Dame, Auburn at Penn State, Arizona State at BYU, Michigan State at Miami, Virginia Tech at West Virginia, USC at Washington State, Florida State at Wake Forest, Virginia at North Carolina, Cincinnati at Indiana, Oklahoma State at Boise State, Mississippi State at Memphis, Alabama at Florida, Stanford at Vanderbilt, Tennessee Tech at Tennessee, and in the NFL the Tennessee Titans at Seattle.

Catch the Fearless Forecasters on WJLE today (Thursday) at 4:30 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.

The program is sponsored by the Charles D. Atnip Realty and Auction Company, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, FirstBank, DeKalb County Insurance, Davis Auto Body, Gill Automotive, Love-Cantrell Funeral Home, and Dominos Pizza.

September 16, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The City of Smithville is again embarking on a plan to eventually build new sidewalks and improve pedestrian crossings and is hoping to obtain a grant of up to almost $1 million to help make it happen.

During Monday night’s regular monthly meeting, the aldermen adopted a resolution to authorize the submission of an application to the Tennessee Department of Transportation for a Multi-Modal Access Grant.

This program is a 95/5% match for construction of up to $1 million. If fully funded, the city would receive $950,000 in grant funding with a $50,000 local match requirement for construction of new sidewalk and crosswalk improvements along the State Route 26 (Highway 70) and State Route 56 (Congress Boulevard) corridors and intersections.

The grant application will be filed and if approved be administered on behalf of the City by the Upper Cumberland Development District.

The city first applied for the grant two years ago but the application was denied.

September 15, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has released a weekly update on three major highway improvement projects underway in DeKalb County

*DEKALB COUNTY SR-26 (US-70) grading, drainage, and construction of retaining walls and paving from near SR-53 (LM 2) to near SR-96 (LM 6.1): The contractor (Twin K. Construction) has begun clearing operations, installing erosion control measures, and water line relocation. Intermittent lane closures and flagging operations are expected. Intermittent blasting operations have begun and temporary road closures will result. Motorists are advised to use caution and be alert to all construction signage while traveling through the work zone.

*DEKALB AND PUTNAM COUNTY SR-56 resurfacing from north of East Church Street (LM 8.1) in DeKalb County to I-40 (LM 0.6) in Putnam County: The contractor (Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc) will be performing daily lane closures as resurfacing operations take place. Motorists should be prepared to stop and be aware of all construction equipment and personnel.

*DEKALB AND WARREN COUNTY SR-56 construction of bridges and paving from south of Warren-Dekalb county line (LM 24.5) to East Bryant St. (LM 2.9): The contractor (Jones Brothers Contractors) will continue installing concrete box culverts and drainage structures. Grade work, bridge work, paving operations, and utility work on the new roadway alignment are ongoing. Traffic is still using the existing SR-56; however, motorists are advised to use caution and watch for construction equipment adjacent to roadway. Flaggers may be present to move equipment across roadway, unload equipment, or complete utility work. The contractor is currently performing grade work at various locations throughout the project. A traffic shift in Smithville will remain from Vaughn Lane to the end of the project to allow the contractor to complete work. There will be a temporary diversion for Ferrell Road and one remains in place for Williams Road to allow the contractor to construct the new alignment. The speed limit has been reduced to 45 mph in the construction zone. Motorists should use caution in this area and watch for flaggers and construction equipment.