The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has initiated a voluntary recall of select packages of Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size Original and Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size because of possible metal mesh fragments from a faulty manufacturing part, according to the FDA.
Director of Schools Mark Willoughby said parents of students receiving food through the school system’s Backpack Program should especially be aware of this recall. “We suggest you follow the guidelines and discard any packages of Frosted Mini-Wheats that you might still have,” said Director Willoughby.
Recalled products include the letters KB, AP or FK before or after the Best If Used Before date.
Products impacted are:
Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats Bite Size Original cereal
· UPC 3800031829 – 18-ounce carton with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 01 2013 KB – SEP 21 2013 KB
· UPC 3800073444 – 18-ounce carton with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 01 2013 KB – SEP 21 2013 KB
· UPC 3800031834 – 24-ounce carton with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 01 2013 KB – SEP 21 2013 KB
· UPC 3800046954 – 30-ounce carton with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 01 2013 KB – SEP 21 2013 KB
· UPC 3800031921 – 70-ounce club store carton with Better if Used Before Dates APR 01 2013 KB – JUL 29 2013 KB
· UPC 3800004961 – single-serve bowl with Better if Used Before Dates between 04013 KB – 09213 KB
· UPC 3800021993 – single-serve carton with Better if Used Before Dates between AP 04013 – AP 09213 or FK 04013 – FK 09213
Kellogg’s Mini-Wheats Unfrosted Bite Size cereal
· UPC 3800021983 – single serve carton with Better if Used Before Dates between FK 04013 – FK 09213
· UPC 3800035982 -18-ounce carton with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 01 2013 KB – SEP 21 2013 KB
People with the recalled product or who have questions should choose “Contact Us” on Kellogg’s website or call 800-962-1413 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday-Friday.

The new independent Christian film “Unconditional” produced by local residents Jason and Shannon Atkins, opened in theaters last month and can now be seen in this area.
Unconditional, written and directed by Brent McCorkle, was inspired by true events. It is the first film by Harbinger Media Partners, founded by Jason and Shannon Atkins, which aims to “produce high quality theatrical films that honor God and inspire viewers to pursue Him and serve
The film is based on the actual story of Joe Bradford, who grew up in a rural area of Tennessee. When he developed kidney disease, Joe and his wife Denise were forced to move to a low-income area of Nashville.When they arrived, they were confronted by the needs of the underprivileged children in their neighborhood. Joe and Denise began to reach out to them and also started directing a choir of inner-city children. Many of the fatherless children embraced Joe, who became known as “Papa Joe.” Together with his wife, he founded Elijah’s Heart, a non-profit organization, in 2005 to help children in need.
(PLAY VIDEO BELOW TO SEE MOVIE TRAILER OF “UNCONDITIONAL”)
“Unconditional” Teaser Trailer from Harbinger Media Partners on Vimeo.
In the film, Samantha Crawford is living a storybook life: she’s happily married, she lives on a ranch where she keeps her beloved horse, and the stories she’s told and illustrated since childhood have become published books.
When her husband Billy is killed in a senseless act of violence, Sam loses her faith and her will to live. But a death-defying encounter with two children leads to a reunion with Joe, her oldest friend. Inspired by true events, UNCONDITIONAL stars Michael Ealy (Think Like A Man) and Lynn Collins (John Carter).
As Sam watches “Papa” Joe care for and love the kids in his under-resourced neighborhood, she begins to realize that no matter life’s circumstances, the love of God is always reaching out to us.
Jason and Shannon Atkins founded Harbinger Media Partners in Nashville in 2009 to produce inspirational films. Prior to founding Harbinger Media Partners, Jason served as general partner and portfolio manager of a hedge fund, managing resources for prestigious groups. He made his mark as an investor who identified coming waves of change. His visionary skills led to the establishment of a foundation that impacts humanitarian organizations across continents. Recognizing the influence of art on the ideals and pursuits of man, Jason founded The Doorpost Film Project in 2007. This passion would lead Jason to closing his investment fund and forming Harbinger Media Partners LLC in 2009. UNCONDITIONAL is Harbinger’s first film.
The Atkins’ own a local farm and they attend the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

A Cookeville woman, who works as an invoice associate at the Smithville Walmart store, is one three Tennessee women suing Walmart. Shawn Gibbons, like the other two women, is claiming she “was discriminated against because of my gender in both pay and promotions”.
Gibbons alleges in the lawsuit filed Tuesday, October 2 in U.S. District Court that she was paid less than men who performed the same jobs and that she has been denied entry into the management trainee program.
Gibbons’ complaint states as follows “On or about October 1993, I started working as an Associate at the Cookeville store. On or about September 2001, I transferred to the store in Athens, Alabama. In June 2003, I was transferred to the store in Sparta as an instock Guarantor. In October 2003, I was then transferred to the store in Algood and in January 2004, I was transferred to the store in Huntsville, Alabama. In March, 2004, I was transferred back to the store in Algood as an Office Associate/Instock Guarantor. Throughout the rest of 2004 until October 2006, I traveled for weeks at a time in many stores throughout Tennessee, such as Ashland City, Camden, Soddy Daisy, Athens, Jamestown, Cookeville, and Jacksboro. In October, 2006, I transferred to the store in Smithville as an Office Associate, where I am currently employed. Prior to starting at Wal-Mart, I had six years of retail experience working for Roses stores and Kmart.”
“During the eight years I was in the Cookeville store, it was my understanding that the male employees were often paid more than women. Several different men who spoke with me told me that they made between $1.00 and $2.00 more per hour than I was making, even though they had the same jobs. There are males that have been with the company less than five years and they make almost as much as I do even though I have been with the company almost 18 years. When I asked management about the discrepancies in pay, they just brushed me off and told me that they were not allowed to discuss pay. It was also much more difficult for women to get merit raises than it was for men, who seemed to get them easily. When women wanted a merit raise, it would be for 25 or 50 cents. Men could simply request a raise and their pay would be increased by up to two dollars at a time. From my experience at Wal-Mart, I believe that the disparity in pay that I witnessed is part of a broader pattern or practice of denial of equal pay to women in my store, district, and region. I believe that this unfair disparity in pay lasted for the duration of my employment with Wal-Mart.”
“On or about 1995, I became a Department Manager in the Floral Department of the Cookeville store. In 1999, I first tried to get into the Management Training Program. Management told me and several other women who were also interested that we needed to have more experience as department managers before we would be eligible. At the time I started with Wal-Mart, I already had six years of retail experience, and by the time I applied for the Management Training Program, I had been a department manager for at least four years, having managed both the Floral Department and the Garden Center. Further, I had helped with multiple store set-ups, remodels, and relocations. All this was not enough, according to the District Manager, to qualify me for the program. Male applicants, however, never seemed to have a problem being accepted into the program even without these qualifications. Nine times out of ten, all the available spots in the program were filled with males. Some of the successful male candidates had only two years of experience at Wal-Mart and no prior retail experience. Even though the District Manager told me I didn’t have enough experience to be accepted into the program, he accepted three males with less experience than I had. I again applied to enter the Management Training Program in 2003, and was once more deterred by the District Manager. He explained to me that I would have to accept a $2,000 pay cut in order to enter the program. Even though I had been a loyal and hardworking employee of Wal-Mart for ten years and had won several awards for improving the sales of the departments I was managing, I was told I would have to accept a lower pay rate, comparable to male employees with significantly less experience and tenure that were just starting in the program. By 2006, I had requested many times to be entered into the Management Training Program and had become so frustrated with the process that I gave up applying. To further illustrate how Wal-Mart discriminated against me with respect to promotions, my current store manager, was previously my associate in Cookeville. He had a college degree and was allowed to move up in the company while I was not. Through all the years, I have worked at Wal-Mart, all but one store manager has been male. I believe that I, and other female employees who were similarly situated, have been discriminated against because of our sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.”
This lawsuit is the third of its kind against Walmart in the country in the past year. The U.S. Supreme Court tossed out a class action lawsuit in 2011 representing 1.6 million women who worked at Walmart on the grounds that their allegations were too varied to show the company engaged in a specific nationwide pattern and practice of gender bias.
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove told the AP that the company has strong policies banning discrimination. “As we have said all along, these claims are unsuitable for class treatment because the individual situations are so different and because the claims of these three people are not representative of the hundreds of thousands of women who work at Walmart,” Hargrove told the AP.

DeKalb County junior Mallory Sullivan is scheduled to compete this week in the Class A/AA state golf tournament at Willowbrook in Manchester.
Sullivan finished second with an 82 in the Region 4-A/AA tournament last Wednesday at The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay to qualify for the state tournament
The state appearance is the third-straight for Sullivan.
The region tournament was originally scheduled for Monday, but heavy rains forced a two-day postponement.
Meanwhile, the District 8-A/AA champion DeKalb County boys team finished in third place in the region tournament last week with a 326, behind champion Signal Mountain (302) and runner-up Notre Dame (316)
Zach Martin turned in the Tigers’ best finish, in 10th place with a 79. Ethan Roller was close behind with an 80, followed by Hayden Ervin (81) and Cory Kijanski (86). Dylan Young (90) was also in the lineup.

Under an agreement with the city, members of the Joe Black Effort has removed all animals from the Smithville dog pound and plans to accept any other strays brought to the shelter in an effort to find homes for them.
Joe Black Effort supporters want to eventually establish a no kill shelter locally so that abandoned animals won’t have to be euthanized.
Two months ago we held our first “DeKalb Coalition for the Humane Treatment of Animals’ meet and greet.,” said Joe Black member Rene Stufano. “The mayor and Monica Summers who works at the pound were there along with many Joe Black members and other interested parties.. We discussed the situation and also the idea of Joe Black taking the animals out of the pound at some point and all of the puppies now because the pound has parvo. After our discussion we felt that the conditions sounded a lot better than what we thought according to reports from other people,” she said.
“This was a big decision, but in the moment (last Friday) it was the only one we were capable of making. We went to City Hall and called the mayor. We also called Alderman Gayla Hendrix who was attentive. She made arrangements for us to get a key (to the shelter). When we went in (shelter) the conditions were deplorable. All of the animals were frightened. They were fed, there was food out everywhere in big pans but the place itself was filthy, the dogs were filthy and some of them were sick or injured. We carried them all out and took them immediately to the vet for tests and shots. Presently they are all in foster homes,” said Stufano
“Our intent was not to undermine our city authorities and certainly not to condemn or hurt the present care takers of the pound. I believe they were contracted to be there 40 hours a week which isn’t nearly enough time to properly care for the facility. There are 168 hours in a week, which leaves the pound unattended for 128 hours a week. I believe the city thought it was being taken care of. There is no blaming here, no fingers to point, we only need to move forward from here,” she said
“Our only intent is to see to the well being of the rescue animals and to take care of them until they can be placed in loving homes,” added Stufano.
City officials hope to find common ground with the Joe Black Effort for a long term solution to the problem.

Smithville Police arrested a man for evading arrest after assisting the sheriff’s department in possibly foiling a burglary in progress last Sunday, September 30.
Chief Randy Caplinger said 30 year old William Travis Malone is charged with evading arrest. Corporal Travis Bryant assisted the Sheriff’s Department in responding to a burglary in progress at an old barn at the corner of Allen’s Ferry Road and Holmes Creek Road. Upon arrival Corporal Bryant was flagged down by neighbors informing him that the suspect was hiding in an old silo. Corporal Bryant approached the silo, identified himself, and asked the suspect to come out. The suspect, Malone, took off running but was found a short time later lying down among tall weeds. His court date is October 11.
35 year old Crystal Rae King was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia on Friday, September 28. Chief Caplinger said that while on a call at Wal-Mart, an officer saw King attempting to throw a needle in the trash can. King will be in court on November 15.
52 year old Linda Sue Murphy and her son 37 year old Dewayne Dovie Thompson were cited for shoplifting on Saturday, September 29. Chief Caplinger said that Murphy was shopping in Wal-Mart and knowingly and intentionally attempted and assisted her son, Thompson in concealing items on Thompson’s person in an attempt to deprive Wal-Mart of their property. Their court date is October 12.
25 year old Jonathon Carltion Armour was cited for theft of property on Monday, October 1.. The victim filed a report on September 27 stating that someone had stolen a box containing miscellaneous copper pieces from his front porch. Upon investigation it was found that Armour had taken the copper belonging to the victim. His court date is October 25.
30 year old Nicholas A Hollingsworth was cited for simple possession and drug paraphernalia on Tuesday, October 2. Hollingsworth was stopped for a traffic violation and upon a search of his vehicle, the officer found paraphernalia used for illegal drugs. A pill was also found, believed to be dilaudid. His court date is October 25.
Meanwhile, anyone with information on any criminal activity is asked to please contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210 or the Tip Line at 464-6046.
Any information received that will help the Smithville Police solve any criminal offense will be greatly appreciated. All information is confidential.