Opponents of a proposed DeKalb Utility District Water Treatment Plant are taking their case to the Tennessee State Comptroller and the Utility Management Review Board.
During a meeting Monday at the County Complex, Darden Copeland of Calvert Street Group told DUD water plant opponents that a petition, signed by more than 1,000 persons will be submitted to state officials this week, more than the 520 signatures needed to force a review of the DUD’s plan. Calvert Street Group is a Nashville public relations company, hired by the City of Smithville in April to better educate the public, from the city’s perspective, on the impact of a plan by the DeKalb Utility District to build its own water treatment plant.
(PLAY VIDEO OF DARDEN COPELAND AT MONDAY’S MEETING)
M2U00732 from dwayne page on Vimeo.
Opponents hope that if state officials conduct a review, they will find no need for the project and block the sale of bonds to help fund it. “There’s a rule in Tennessee Code. Tennessee Code 7-82-101. It’s known as the Utility District Law of 1937. It says the taxpayers can petition the Utility Management Review Board for a review of the DUD’s plan to finance their water treatment plant,” said Copeland. ” Essentially what this says is, if ten percent of DUD customers sign a petition we can bypass the DUD and go straight to the Tennessee State Comptroller. The mission of the Tennessee Comptroller and the Utility Management Review Board is to look for duplicity, for taxpayer waste to protect ratepayers, and rate increases that are out of line with what their plans and their debt management policy calls for. If we have enough petition signatures collected we can turn that in to the comptroller to force a review. That review will look at rates, rate increases, plan of services, service area, and a lot of the (existing service) problems that have been brought up (by DUD customers). A lot of those problems hopefully will be addressed and looked at by the Tennessee Comptroller. They’ve (DUD) got a plan for a new water treatment plant but they don’t necessarily increase the services rendered and rates are going to go up,” he said.
The City of Smithville, according to Copeland, has also retained the services of Nashville attorney and former Metro Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell to help “walk the petition through the process” and get answers from the state. “Their (DUD) customer base is right around 5,200 so ten percent of that would be 520 signatures that we would need. As of today (Monday) we have over 1,000 signatures that we plan to turn in this week, directly in Nashville to the Tennessee Comptroller’s office. We have also retained additional counsel, former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell. He has a law practice in Nashville and understands utility work. He can help us get answers and walk this petition through the process and manage our best interest. He has been retained by the City of Smithville,” said Copeland.
Copeland said DUD has already increased rates by 8-1/2% and more increases are coming within the next two years. “For July, DUD rates are going up 8-½ %, and rates will go up next year and the year after that as well,” said Copeland. “USDA Rural Development, in their review of the application said that the DUD would need 31% more in revenue before this plan would work,” he said. “The DUD has $4 ½ million dollars in loans outstanding already. They’ve got five million dollars in loans from USDA Rural Development and right now they have put out to bond another $4.25-$4.5 million dollars in additional loans to fund their water treatment plant and to refinance some of their existing debt. So that’s a total of about $14 to $14-1/2 million dollars in loans to refinance some old debt but also to build this new water treatment plant. The debt service alone is going to be astronomical for those existing 5,200 customers,” said Copeland.
“They (DUD) currently have some of the highest rates in the state already,” said Copeland. “Now if you add another fourteen million dollars in loans to pay back, that’s going to be on the backs of DUD customers and those rates are going to have to go up. What the number is, remains to be seen. But that’s going to be a tough pill for folks to swallow who live out in the county, who pay high water bills as it is,” said Copeland.
If the DUD goes through with it’s plans, the City of Smithville stands to eventually lose it’s largest water customer and over a half million dollars in sales each year.
J.R. Wauford, the city’s utility engineer since 1962, who spoke during an April city council meeting, said a DUD water plant is unnecessary since the city’s newly renovated water treatment plant has more than the capacity to meet current and future needs of the City of Smithville and the DeKalb Utility District. “You(Smithville) have a four million gallon a day water treatment plant. You’re producing about 1.8 million gallons per day. About 700,000 to 800,000 gallons is going to the DeKalb Utility District. Your contract with DUD now gives them the right to buy two million gallons a day which is well within your capability of doing so. They’re (DUD) proposing to build a three million gallon a day treatment plant at Holmes Creek,” said Wauford.
DUD officials say they do not want to have to depend on Smithville for its water supply. “Our major concern is DUD customers,” said DUD Board Chairman Roger Turney at the May 24 meeting. ” We buy our water from Smithville. Every year that water rate goes up because the rate from Smithville goes up every year. Our contract (with Smithville) runs out in sixteen months. We looked to the future. We had our auditors and several different other people look at the possibility of continuing to buy water from Smithville or produce our own water. In the long run all the projections come back that our water rates will go down or not go up as much because we will have the capacity to control our own expense and not have to depend on Smithville,” said Turney.
USDA Rural Development funds have already been approved to construct a new DUD Raw Water Intake, Raw Water Transmission Line, Water Treatment Plant and distribution system improvements. The proposed plant would be constructed near Holmes Creek Road in the Yolanda Hills area and would have a capacity of three million gallons per day. The intake would be on Center Hill Lake, the Transmission Line along Holmes Creek Road and distribution lines would be along Allen’s Chapel, Game Ridge, Turner, South Tittsworth, and Big Rock Roads, and Wheeler Lane.
The DUD is to receive a $5,000,000 loan and a grant of $1,250,000 to fund construction of the water plant. The terms of the loan are forty years at 2.75% interest. The remaining $4,250,000 needed to build the $10.5 million facility would be funded through a bond issue. During a DUD board meeting in May, Chairman Turney said that the DUD is also refinancing other loans to save money. “In this loan and grant we have applied for, we’re refinancing some of the loans we already have at a savings of over $400,000 on the money that we have right now because of the historically low interest rates. The time is right. Everything that we’ve looked at says this is the time to do it,” he said.
On May 24, the DUD board, facing a small room full of DUD customers and others in opposition, voted 4-1 to adopt a bond resolution for the authorization and issuance of not to exceed $9-million 250-thousand dollars in aggregate principal amount of waterworks revenue refunding and improvement bonds. Board member Hugh Washer voted against it.
During the meeting, Turney explained what passage of that bond resolution meant. “In essence what it does is, it gives the bond council the right to go into negotiations to set up and to see just what qualifications we’ll have. What our bond rating will be and what the bonds will cost. No obligation will go forward. If something happens, we can back out of that and change it, but this gives them the permission to go on and find out exactly to the penny what our bonds will cost, what the interest rate will be, what the interest rate will be for those who buy them, and what the final cost will be,” said Turney.
(PLAY VIDEO OF DUD BOARD CHAIRMAN ROGER TURNEY DURING MAY 3RD DUD BOARD MEETING)

Turney said that DUD water rates, while increasing seven percent each year over the next three years, will actually stabilize, if not decrease in time with this new plant. “We had to project to the state what our rate increases would be in order to pay for this grant, loan, and this water treatment plant. Our board passed a seven percent rate increase for this year, seven percent next year, and seven percent the third year with the stipulation that the third year that seven percent increase may not be that much. Let’s talk about what that really means. Our minimum bill right now is $17.50. At the end of that three years, the minium bill will go up four dollars and twenty cents. That’s the price of 1.2 gallons of gas today. That’s not going to break anybody. I don’t want anybody’s water rate to go up but that’s a small price to pay. We figure that our average customer uses about 6,000 gallons. Their water bill now is around $44.00. At the end of the three year period, their water bill will go up $10.50,” he said.
Turney also believes that having two water plants in the county would be better than one, especially in the event of some catastrophic episode. “What if something happens, and it did happen sometime ago. A flood came and Smithville was short of water for a while. Thank goodness it wasn’t a disaster. It could have been. What happens if that plant goes down. Where do you get your water? There’s no other place. With two treatment plants, we can benefit Smithville and they can benefit us and I firmly believe that in the long run not only will DUD customers be happy that we did this, but the City of Smithville will be happy we did it. We can help each other,” said Turney.
In addition to the grant/loans which have already been approved for the proposed water treatment plant, DUD Manager Jon Foutch told WJLE Monday the DUD is currently awaiting word on another grant application, in the amount of $500,000 for the project. Foutch added that with interest rates having fallen to a new all time low as late as last week, there is no better time to proceed with this plan than now.
Foutch told WJLE Monday that the DUD’s reasons for wanting to build its own water plant have been well explained and publicized. The message is still the same and there are currently no new developments. He added that unlike the City of Smithville which is paying a public relations firm $5,000 per month in this matter, the DUD prefers to spend its money on water related services, rather than having to engage in a PR dispute. Foutch also questions whether the city can legally employ a public relations firm to advocate a position such as this, at taxpayer expense.
The DeKalb Utility District serves parts of a four county area, DeKalb, Cannon, Smith, and Wilson.

Five DeKalb County natives were recently recognized at Tennessee Tech University’s 37th Annual College of Business Scholarships and Awards Banquet.
Emilee Anderson, a senior accounting major at TTU from Smithville, received the L. W. Legge Insurance Agency Endowed Scholarship.
Another Smithville native, sophomore basic business major Brady Evans received the Avo Anderson Memorial Scholarship.
Alexandria native Megan Osborne, a senior marketing major at TTU, received the Avo Anderson Memorial Scholarship.
Brooke Pack of Smithville, a senior human resources major at TTU, received the Winberley Lawson Endowed Scholarship.
Frank Pursell, a senior accounting major at TTU from Smithville, received the Ed Waters Endowed Scholarship.
The five were among 129 students to be recognized in front of donors, award recipients and their families, faculty and business alumni as nearly $143,000 in scholarships was distributed. Seventeen honor students with a 4.0 GPA were acknowledged for their scholastic achievements. In addition, 10 of the university’s Captain Anderson Scholars, one recipient of the university’s Tommy Burks Memorial Business Scholarship, one Alex Cassetty Memorial Intern and one Ladies Auxiliary BusinessMedia Intern were recognized.
“We are proud of this outstanding group of students,” said James Jordan-Wagner, dean of the College of Business. “We are also extremely pleased with the support we receive from businesses and alumni in supplying the private funds for scholarships. In trying times, they have responded by increasing the amount that we could award this year. These awards both recognize achievement and help us attract high-quality students to the college and the university.”
The College of Business and its accounting program were recently reaccredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, making it among the fewer than 5 percent of business programs worldwide to hold the distinction of having both the college and accounting department accredited.

Who has the best pulling all terrain vehicle? Find out Thursday night, July 26 at 7:00 p.m. as the DeKalb County Fair presents for the first time the “ATV-Mini Rods-and Outlaws” pulling event at the T.C. McMillen Arena.
Jeff McMillen of the DeKalb County Fair Board said this event will include classes for local people to enter and the winners will not only take home awards, but have bragging rights for a whole year. “I really want to stress that this event was added for the local people. We have all these people around here who have four wheelers. They have side by sides, Polaris Rangers, Yamaha’s, and all the other brands. They’re always bragging about who has the best pulling four wheeler or side by side. We’re going to give you the opportunity to have the bragging rights for the year at the DeKalb County Fair on Thursday night, July 26,” said McMillen.ATV Sled Pull – Click here for more amazing videos
“We’re going to have eight stock classes for 4×4’s. This is just ATV’s. They will be zero to 300 cc and 301 cc and up. Then we’ll go to four wheel drives from zero to 300 cc, 301 to 500 cc, 501 to 700 cc, and 701 cc and up. There is a weight limit on them. Check the flyers to see what the weight limits are. We will also have one modified class where you can bring anything and race it whether it has headers or whatever, you can pull with it. We’ll have one class of the side by sides. We’re not going to split them into cc’s we’ll just run one class of the side by sides. Then classes 9-14 are a mini-rod class and an outlaw class. The outlaw class supposedly has motorcycle motors on them,” he said.
(PLAY VIDEO OF JEFF MCMILLEN WHO MENTIONS ALL EVENTS UPCOMING AT THE T.C. MCMILLEN ARENA DURING THE FAIR JULY 23-28)
JEFF 001 from dwayne page on Vimeo.
Entry Fee: ATV $10.00 per Hook. Trophies, 1st, 2nd, 3rd place. Mini Rod/Outlaw TBD Money Payback
Classes
ATV Stock
1. 0-300cc- 2×4- 1,000 lb
2.301-up cc-2×4- 1,000 lb
3. 0-300cc- 4×4- 1,000 lb
4. 301-500cc- 4×4- 1,000 lb
5. 501-700cc- 4×4- 1100 lb
6. 701-up cc- 4×4- 1,150 lb
Modified Open ATV
7. OPEN – 2×4, 4×4- 1,250 lb
8. Stock Side x Side- ANY cc
ALL ABOVE CLASSES MUST HAVE 11/2″ HOLE OR TWISTED CLEVIS TO HOOK TO SLED
Mini Rods
9. V-8- 1,900 lb
10. V-8- 2,050 lb
MINI RODS NOT TO EXCEED 410 CI AND MUST BE NATURALLY ASPIRATED
Outlaws
11.750 cc-1,250 lb
12. 1150 cc- 1,300 lb
13. Light Outlaw-1,350 lb
14. Heavy Outlaw- 1,400 lb
For more information, go to www.dekalbcountyfairtn.com.

The DeKalb County Fair, to be held Monday through Saturday, July 23-28, will accept perishable exhibits at the Kenneth Sandlin Center Saturday, July 21
All perishable exhibits will be accepted Saturday, July 21 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
The Kenneth Sandlin Center will be open Monday through Friday during the fair from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
The following is the schedule of events for this year’s Grandpa Fair of the South
Monday, July 23: Cattle Show at 6:00 p.m. at the Grandstand; Open Rodeo at the T.C. McMillen Arena at 7:30 p.m.; Junior Fair Princess Pageant for contestants ages 13-16 at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Fairest of the Fair Pageant for contestants ages 17 to 20 at the Lions Club Pavilion. (2- $500 cash drawings) at 9:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 24: Little Mr. and Miss Pageant for contestants ages 4-6 at 6:00 p.m. at the Lions Club Pavilion; Go-Cart Racing at 6:00 p.m. at the T.C. McMillen Arena; and a Horse Show at 7:00 p.m. at the Grandstand; (2- $500 cash drawings) at 9:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 25: Snowbird- WSMV Channel 4 from 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.; McKameys in Concert at 6:30 p.m. at the Grandstand (sponsored by DeKalb Funeral Chapel); Little Miss Princess Pageant for contestants ages 7-9 at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Miss Sweetheart Pageant for those ages 10-12 at the Lions Club Pavilion; 4 Wheeler and Motorcycle Racing at 6:00 p.m. at the T.C. McMillen Arena; (2- $500 cash drawings) at 9:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 26: Senior Citizen Day activities at 9:00 a.m. at the Lions Club Pavilion; 4-H Chick Chain Show at 5:00 p.m. at the Tot Kelly barn; Junior Goat Show at 6:00 p.m. at the Grandstand; a Baby Show at 6:00 p.m. followed by a Vintage Fashion Show at the Lions Club Pavilion; and ATV-Mini Rods- Outlaws Pulling at the T.C. McMillen Arena at 7:00 p.m.;(2- $500 cash drawings) at 9:30 p.m.
Friday, July 27: Toddler Show for contestants 13 months to 47 months at 6:00 p.m followed by DeKalb Idol at the Lions Club Pavilion; 4 Wheel Drive Mud Racing at 7:00 p.m. at the T.C. McMillen Arena; and a Demolition Derby at 7:00 p.m. at the Grandstand; (2- $500 cash drawings) at 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 28:
Horseshoe Tournament at the Tot Kelly barn at Noon.; Gospel Singing at the Lions Club Pavilion at 6:00 p.m.; Super Tractor and Truck Pull at 7:00 p.m. at the T.C. McMillen Arena: and (2- $500 cash drawings) at 9:30 p.m.
Take a stroll down Memory Lane and enjoy nightly entertainment at the Memory Lane Stage in Memory Village, sponsored by DeKalb Community Bank.
Rides on the Midway will be provided by the Family Attractions Amusement Company. Unlimited rides will be available for $15.00 on Monday night; $16.00 on Tuesday night; $14.00 on Wednesday and $18.00 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
Admission to the fair is $4.00 per person. Children age four and younger will be admitted free! Gates open at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Parking is Free!
For more information, call 529-FAIR or visit on-line at www.dekalbcountyfairtn.com.

The Tennessee Department of Veterans’ Affairs, in partnership with the U. S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the Smith, Dekalb, and Macon County Veterans Service Officers will conduct a Veterans Outreach Event on Wednesday, July 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Smith County Agricultural Center, 159 Ag Center Lane, Carthage TN 37030. The event will serve Smith, Dekalb, Jackson, Trousdale, and Macon counties and is open to Veterans of the Armed Forces, Reserves, National Guard, Survivors, and Dependents.
Free Service filing claims for:
•Disability Compensation
•Healthcare Benefit Information
•Education Benefits
•Employment Assistance
•Burial Benefits
•Survivors Benefits
•Non-Service Connected Pension
•Agent Orange
•Veterans Exposed to Radiation
•Gulf War Veterans
•And Many More!
You may be entitled to benefits and not be aware of it. If you are a Veteran, Survivor of a deceased Veteran, or Dependent, please stop by and see us. We thank you for your service to our nation!
Sarah J. Tinch, TDVA Veterans Benefit Representative (931) 526-6929
Bob Baker, Smith County Veterans Service Officer (615) 735-1148
Paul Cantrell, Dekalb County Veterans Service Officer (615) 597-5175
Mike Scott, Macon County Veterans Service Officer (615) 666-4480
The Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs is organized to accomplish its mission of serving Tennessee’s veterans and their families with dignity and compassion, and being their principle advocate in ensuring they receive the care, support, earned entitlements, and recognition they earned in service to our nation. For more information, visit the department’s Web site at http://www.state.tn.us/veteran/index.html.

DTC Communications is proud to announce its sponsorship of the annual DeKalb Idol talent competition at the DeKalb County Fair in Alexandria, Tenn. DeKalb Idol will be held Friday night, July 27, in the Lions’ Club pavilion at the DeKalb County Fairgrounds. DeKalb Idol will immediately follow the Toddler Show, which starts at 6:00 p.m. at the pavilion.
“DTC is excited to take on this popular competition, after it was initially announced it would no longer be held,” said Tom Duggin of myDTC3, who will help to oversee as well as serve as host of this year’s DeKalb Idol. “There is a tremendous amount of talent in this area, and DeKalb Idol has become an extremely popular event at the fair. We hope that along with some of the changes we are making to this year’s Idol that it will continue to grow and be a fan favorite at the DeKalb County Fair.”
(PLAY VIDEO OF 2011 DEKALB IDOL WINNER ELIZABETH KOEGLER)

The biggest change will be in the amount of prize money to be given away to DeKalb Idol winners. The $300 prize to the first place winner will remain the same; however, a $200 award will be given to the competition’s runner-up, and $100 will be awarded to the third place participant, marking the first time monetary awards have also been given to Idol runners-up. In addition, the People’s Choice award will remain in place, with $150 going to the competition’s fan favorite.
Registration for DeKalb Idol will take place the evening of the competition, Friday, July 27, starting at 5:30 p.m., behind the Lions’ Club pavilion. The age restriction for the competition has been lifted; however, only the first 20 contestants to register will be allowed to compete. There will be a $10 registration fee to be paid at the time of registration. All past DeKalb Idol winners are welcome to participate in this year’s competition, and the contest is open to any contestant, whether he or she resides in DeKalb County or not.
A panel of three judges with affiliations to the music business will be on hand to score the contestants. The initial field of up to 20 contestants will be given a 30-second showcase in the first round to display their talents to the judges’ panel. The field will then be trimmed to the Top Ten, with each of those contestants allowed to sing a full song. Three finalists will be chosen from the Top Ten, again with an opportunity to sing one last song for the judges. First, second and third place will be determined from the three finalists, with the People’s Choice being selected from any of the Top Ten contestants.
Singers are urged to have three different songs available for performance, as it will be required to sing a different song in each round. Either instrumental or pre-recorded accompaniment is welcome. Contestants will be scored on vocal ability, stage presence, appearance and audience response. The decision of the judges will be final.
“We want the best talent from all over to come to the DeKalb County Fair to be a part of this year’s DeKalb Idol,” said Duggin. “Being so close to Nashville and having myself seen so much local talent up close, I know there’s no shortage of good singers out there. We hope to put on the best DeKalb Idol yet for visitors of the DeKalb County Fair.”
For more information on DeKalb Idol, contact Tom Duggin at (615) 464-2402.

DeKalb County Schools will re-open in three weeks.
Registration for all students will be Thursday, August 2. That will be an abbreviated school day from 7:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.
The first day of school education celebration will be held on Friday, August 3 on the public square. (More details forthcoming)
Friday, August 3 will be an administrative day for teachers only
The first full day of school for all students will be Monday, August 6
Pre-K registration for DeKalb County Schools will be held on Monday, July 16 from 7:45 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. at Smithville Elementary School and from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. at DeKalb West School. Parents should bring the following items for their children:
Original Certificate of Birth
Physical Examination within the last six months
Current Certification of Immunization
Proof of Income for All Household Members
Parents are encouraged to register all students who will be four years old on or before September 30, 2012
For more information call Clay Farler at 615-215-2102
Registration for students new to DeKalb County Grades 9-12 will be July 26-27 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at DCHS
Students should bring the following:
Birth Certificate
Immunizations
Proof of Residence
Transcript/grades from previous school if possible
A system wide professional development day will be Monday, July 30 at DCHS from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
All teachers will report to their individual schools on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 31 and August 1 from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Students will not attend on Monday, Labor Day, September 3.
Schools will be closed for the fall break October 15-26
Students will be off for the Thanksgiving holiday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, November 21, 22, & 23 and for the winter break December 20 through January 1. Wednesday, December 19 will be the last day students attend before winter break and that will be an abbreviated school day. Students will return after the holidays on Thursday, January 3.
Schools will be closed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 21 and for President’s Day, Monday, February 18.
Schools will be closed for spring break March 25-29
Students will not attend on Thursday, May 23. That will be an administrative day and all teachers must attend. The last day of school will be Friday, May 24. That will be an abbreviated school day and report cards will be sent home.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, October 9 and Tuesday, March 12 at DeKalb County High School from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will also be held from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Thursday, October 11 and Thursday, March 14 at DeKalb Middle School, Northside Elementary, Smithville Elementary, and DeKalb West School.
DCHS report cards will be sent home on Monday, October 8 and at all other schools on Tuesday, October 9. Report cards to be sent home from all schools on Tuesday, January 8. DCHS report cards to be sent home Monday, March 11 and at all other schools Tuesday, March 12.
AYP-EOC/Gateway Testing at DCHS will be Tuesday through Thursday, December 4-6 and May 7-9 and a make-up AYP-EOC/Gateway Test will be Friday, December 7 and May 10.
ACT Test for the 11th grade will be Tuesday, March 19
Writing Assessment for the 5th, 8th, and 11th grades will be Tuesday, February 5. Writing Assessment make-up will be Wednesday, February 6.
TCAP testing of elementary students will be April 22 through May 3
(Stockpile Days) Professional Development/Instructional Days will be held for all teachers and all paraprofessionals from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, October 12 and Wednesday, January 2. Students will not attend on those days.