The “Boiling Water Advisory”, which has been in effect since Wednesday night for subscribers of the City of Smithville and DeKalb Utility District, has been lifted.
Hunter Hendrixson, Secretary-Treasurer for the City of Smithville, says the official word came down from the state Friday afternoon. “As of 2:30 p.m. today (Friday), the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has lifted the “Boiling Advisory” for water for both Smithville Water Department customers and also for DeKalb Utility District customers so it is safe to drink your water. We have been cleared by the state. Our water samples checked out fine. There was nothing found in them to be alarmed about.”
Hendrixson adds that the water treatment plant continues to pump and water storage levels are rising in the city’s water tanks. “We are seeing water storage levels rising slowly, but hopefully tonight (Friday) and with the weekend coming up, we should be back up to normal storage levels.”

“The Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency (UCHRA) has received an additional $1,270,760 in energy assistance funding to serve low and moderate income consumers in the Upper Cumberland region announced,” Phyllis Bennett, Executive Director.
The Tennessee Department of Human Services has informed UCHRA that funding for its Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) has been increased to $5,081,257 for the year ending June 30, 2010, a 74% increase over the previous year’s funding. “The increased LIHEAP funds will allow UCHRA to serve in excess of 14,000 households in the 14-county area,” remarked Bennett.
In DeKalb County, 765 households have received assistance totaling $248,703. “We are very pleased that with these funds every eligible household that has applied for LIHEAP assistance will be served,” stated Stephen Bilbrey, Pickett County Executive and UCHRA’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. “I encourage individuals who meet program guidelines to apply for funding this year, even if they have not previously been served,” Bilbrey continued.
During the current year the Federal government has increased the required level of poverty from 125% to 200% for households to be eligible to receive LIHEAP assistance. “Under these guidelines, for example, a household of 4 persons may have an annual income up to $44,100 and qualify,” explained County Executive Mike Foster. The range of payments is $300 – $375, depending upon priority points, which are paid directly to the provider of the eligible household’s primary energy source (i.e. electric, natural gas, propane, coal, wood, or kerosene).
The increase in funds represents a successful effort on the part of the UCHRA Board and staff to provide more LIHEAP program funds for qualifying families. “This infusion of additional funds has come at the best possible time to assist residents in the Upper Cumberland,” remarked Michael Nesbitt, Smith County Mayor and Chairman of the Aging and Community Services Committee.
All UCHRA county offices are accepting LIHEAP applications between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. DeKalb County residents may apply at the DeKalb County office located at 527 West Main Street in Smithville. For more information call 615-597-4504.
CUTLINE: Pictured from left to right: Phyllis Bennett, UCHRA Executive Director; Curtis Hayes, Mayor of Livingston and UCHRA Policy Council Chairman; Stephen Bilbrey, Pickett County Executive and UCHRA Chairman of the Board of Directors; and Lee Webb, UCHRA Community Services Director.

Congressman Bart Gordon is encouraging DeKalb County residents to document property damage from flooding and contact county emergency management officials following this weekend’s devastating floods.
“In the next few days, county officials will be working with TEMA and FEMA to conduct damage assessments that could determine whether the area will be eligible for federal disaster assistance,” Gordon said. “If your property was damaged by flooding, make sure the county is aware of it. This is one of the most important steps you can take right now.”
Several counties in Tennessee have already received federal disaster declarations. Governor Phil Bredesen has requested a disaster declaration for 52 Tennessee counties, including DeKalb. Gordon continues to work with federal, state and local officials to ensure damaged areas receive needed assistance.
Gordon applauded the efforts of local first responders during the unprecedented flooding and the Army Corps of Engineers for its management of the Center Hill Dam, which is upstream from DeKalb County. Gordon, who has worked closely with the Corps in the past to secure critical funding for dam repairs, noted Corps officials report both dams remain structurally safe and are not showing signs of damage.
“The Corps is doing an excellent job of monitoring the situation. The dams have performed as they were designed to under massive pressure,” Gordon said. “The flood damage is still substantial, but we could have seen much worse without prompt response and sound repairs.”
Gordon’s staff will be available to answer questions about applying for federal assistance at (615) 896-1986. Up-to-date information will also be online at www.house.gov/bart.
Steps for property owners to report flood damage:
·Contact county emergency management officials at (615) 597-5673.
·Contact your insurance company to determine the extent of your coverage. A list of major homeowner insurance telephone numbers is available at house.gov/bart.
·Contact the Red Cross for immediate assistance and information about other local assistance at (615) 250-4250.
· If the county is declared eligible for assistance, contact FEMA promptly, regardless of the level of insurance on your property, at 1 (800) 621-FEMA or at www.fema.gov.

Water is flowing again in the City of Smithville but it may be Friday afternoon before the “Boil Water” Advisory is lifted.
Hunter Hendrixson, Secretary-Treasurer for the City of Smithville says the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has asked the city to collect twenty water samples for lab testing in McMinnville. He says the state wants the samples taken from areas near the city’s water tanks, where levels ran so low Wednesday. Hendrixson says if the test results check out okay, then the “Boil Water” advisory will probably be lifted, but that may not be for 24 hours or sometime Friday afternoon.
In the meantime, the “Boil Water Advisory” remains in effect.
The Cookeville office of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Wednesday afternoon asked the City of Smithville to issue a “Boil Water Advisory” once water service was restored. The city’s water treatment plant began pumping again Wednesday night.
Because of the “Boil Water Advisory”, DeKalb County Schools, the Smithville Head Start Center, the Smithville Day School, and the Smithville First Methodist Pre-School all closed for the day today (Thursday).
The notice states as follows” Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have reason to suspect that the water distributed to the customers of the City of Smithville and DeKalb Utility District may be contaminated. Until further notice, water customers are advised to boil water prior to using it for drinking or food preparation. As a precaution, customers should take the following step:
The water should be heated to a vigorous boil, and then rolling boil should be maintained for one minute to insure disinfection.”
Although most customers of the DeKalb Utility District were unaffected by the disruption in water service Wednesday due to ample supplies, the “Boil Water Advisory” included them because the City of Smithville is the primary source of water for the DUD.
City officials apparently discovered early Wednesday that it was going to take stronger chemicals to treat the water from the intake because of the condition of the lake in the Sligo area. The water, as shown in these pictures, was very muddy and filled with floating debris due to the recent floods. With the city being unable to pump water to town until it was properly treated, the levels in the city’s water tanks began to drop, which caused low water line pressure problems for customers.
Hendrixson says the city later had to cut off the supply from the water tanks before they ran dry.”We had to cut the tanks off today (Wednesday). We were hoping not to get to this point, but unfortunately it did. We can’t run the tanks completely dry, although they were basically almost dry. The McMinnville Water Treatment Plant is letting us use one of their chemicals, which is a little stronger than the one we were using to cut through all this dirty water, with all the mud and sediment in it. It seems to be doing a better job. We are currently treating water and are now pumping back out to our water tanks. We just ask everybody to be patient.”
“It’s taken longer to treat the water due to the trash in the lake. The lake water is extremely muddy right now due to several reasons. The Corps of Engineers discharged an extremely large amount of water overnight (Tuesday) and the lake level dropped about twenty feet. That stirred up the bottom of the lake making the lake water extremely dirty and when we pumped that water here to the plant it took longer to treat before we could send it out to the water tanks in town.”
“It’s not a city operational issue nor a water plant issue, it’s a lake issue. The (Corps) hasn’t released much water downstream toward Nashville since the floods, but they’re releasing a lot more now. Anyone who has been around our water intake near Sligo bridge can tell that the lake water there is nasty. The nastiest that I have ever seen it. Again, because of that it just took us longer to treat the water and therefore it took us longer to get it out to the water tanks.”

County Mayor Mike Foster, County Clerk Mike Clayborn and Register of Deeds Jeff McMillen all were re-nominated during Tuesday’s Democratic Primary and will go on to be re-elected in the August General Election without opposition.
CLICK THE FOLLOWING LINK TO SEE TABLES OF ELECTION RESULTS FOR CANDIDATES IN CONTESTED RACES FROM EACH PRECINCT.
http://www.wjle.com/node/37
Foster defeated challenger, Bob Snyder, 2,135 votes (78.2%) to 594 votes (21.7%) in the County Mayor’s race. Foster carried all sixteen precincts along with the early voting and absentees.
Clayborn fended off challenges from both Chris Smithson and Glynn Merriman. Clayborn earned 1,617 votes (58%), followed by Smithson with 764 votes (27.4%) and Merriman with 403 votes (14.4%). Clayborn carried every precinct except Cherry Hill. He also carried the early voting and absentees. Smithson carried Cherry Hill with 8 votes to 5 for Clayborn and 3 for Merriman.
McMillen defeated Clarence Trapp 1,897 votes (68.1%) to 886 votes (31.8%). McMillen carried all sixteen precincts along with the early voting and absentees.
Meanwhile, incumbent Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack finished with 2,256 complimentary votes. Pack will be unopposed in the August General Election.
James D. Sprague finished with 1,397 complimentary votes in earning the Democratic nomination for Road Supervisor. Sprague will square off with Republican incumbent Kenny Edge in the August General Election.
Only 2,907 people voted in the primary including 1,149 who voted either early or by absentee and 1,758 who cast ballots on Tuesday.
In other uncontested races, Circuit Court Judge Amy Hollars received a total of 1,243 complimentary votes in DeKalb County while District Attorney General Randy York received 1,289 complimentary votes in DeKalb County. Both will also be unopposed in August to fill unexpired terms.
Incumbent Sheriff Patrick Ray and incumbent Trustee Sean Driver, both Republicans, will also be unopposed in the August General Election.
In the contested county commission races, Bradley Hendrix and incumbent Jerry Scott secured Democratic nominations in the third district. Hendrix had 258 votes, while Scott finished with 198, just three votes ahead of Roy Merriman, who tallied 195 votes. Hendrix carried the Middle School precinct 113 votes to 87 for Merriman and 72 for Scott. Hendrix also carried Early Voting/Absentees 145 to 126 for Scott and 108 for Merriman.
In the fourth district, incumbent Wayne Cantrell led the ballot with 233 votes, followed by David McDowell with 191 votes. They defeated Ron Rogers, who tallied 136 votes, and Jesse Baker, who earned 120 votes. Cantrell carried the Early Voting/Absentees 107 to 66 for McDowell, 63 for Rogers, and 55 for Baker. Cantrell also carried the Courthouse precinct 97 votes to 71 for McDowell, 66 for Rogers, and 63 for Baker. McDowell carried Cherry Hill 8 votes to 6 for both Cantrell and Rogers and and 2 for Baker. McDowell also carried Rock Castle 46 votes to 23 for Cantrell, 1 for Rogers and no votes for Baker.
In the fifth district, incumbent John Green led the ticket with 177 votes, followed by Bobby Taylor with 152 votes. Randy Braswell finished with 106 votes, while Johnny Ringo Colwell received 69 votes. Green carried Early Voting/Absentees 72 to 57 for Taylor, 45 for Braswell, and 31 for Colwell. Green carried the Elementary School precinct 85 votes to 77 for Taylor, 50 for Braswell, and 23 for Colwell. Green carried the Johnson’s Chapel precinct 20 votes to 18 for Taylor, 15 for Colwell, and 11 for Braswell. Green and Taylor will face a challenge from Republican Jerry Adcock and Independent Lloyd Emmons in the August General Election. Two will be elected.
In uncontested County Commission races, Elmer Ellis, Jr. had 237 complimentary votes in the first district. Ellis and Republican Mason Carter will be unopposed in the August General Election.
In the second district Jack Barton got 248 complimentary votes. Both he and Republican Bobby Joines will be unopposed in August.
Jeff Barnes had 278 votes while Marshall Ferrell picked up 214 in the sixth district. They will be unopposed again in the August General Election,
In the seventh district, Jimmy W. Poss garnered 233 votes, while Larry Summers had 210. Independent Dick Kinsey will be running against them in August. Two will be elected.