The DeKalb County Complex is hosting a FREE MOVIE NIGHT tonight (Thursday, February 7).
ParaNorman, a 2012 American 3D stop-motion animated comedy horror film, will be featured starting at 6:00 p.m. at the county complex auditorium. No admission charge for either children or adults. Concessions will be available for purchase.
County Mayor Mike Foster said movies and other special events will be scheduled on a regular basis at the county complex to attract more people. “We’ve been trying to think of things to involve more kids so the staff there have decided they are going to show a movie called “ParaNorman” which is an animated movie. It lasts about an hour and a half. Its rated PG and was picked as one of the top movies of the year. People who have seen it say it’s a cute little film. We’re just trying to establish some things on Thursday night. We’re probably going to try to do a movie night at least once a month. We hope to have an open mic night, a band, and karaoke. We want to try to have something each Thursday night,” said Foster.
The movie ParaNorman is about the little town of Blithe Hollow where a boy named Norman Babcock can speak to the dead, but no one besides his eccentric new friend, Neil, believes his ability is real. One day, Norman’s estranged eccentric uncle tells him of an important annual ritual he must take up to protect the town from a curse cast by a witch it condemned centuries ago. Eventually, Norman decides to cooperate, but things don’t go according to plan. Now, a magic storm of the witch threatens Blithe Hollow as the accursed dead rise. Together with unexpected new companions, Norman struggles to save his town, only to discover the horrific truth of the curse. With that insight, Norman must resolve the crisis for good as only he can.

The Smithville Downtown Revitalization Project was a recent recipient of funds from the Middle Tennessee Natural Gas Project Hometown Help program. These funds will be used to assist with the construction of a new open-air stage located at the Anne S. and Joe L. Evins Park across from the Smithville Post Office and used for outdoor concerts, performances, and other community events for the public to enjoy and use.
Project Hometown Help is funded by the customers of Middle Tennessee Natural Gas who allow the utility to round their bill up to the next dollar. The money collected in this fashion is distributed to local organizations and charities. These customers have given more than $1,500,000 to their communities since 2005.
Presenting the check from Middle Tennessee Natural Gas is (center) W. Michael Corley, Vice President – Human Resources and General. Accepting the check for the Tennessee Downtowns Program Steering Committee is from left to right, Mark Ashburn, Wade Smith, Corley, Steve White and Suzanne Williams.

When the State’s Utility Management Review Board comes to Smithville on April 4 for a DeKalb Utility District rate review hearing, the City of Smithville will apparently get to intervene along with DUD ratepayers.
Steve R. Darnell, an Administrative Law Judge, has granted a motion by the city to be a participant in the hearing, along with DUD ratepayers, to address the UMRB on how the proposed plans for a DUD water treatment plant could impact city water ratepayers.
Attorneys for the DeKalb Utility District are opposed to the city’s intervention in the hearing.
Darnell’s order, which came down Tuesday, stated “This is an action initiated by the petitioners (DUD rate payers) which grants the Board (Utility Management Review Board) the authority to review rates charged and services provided by public utility districts.”
“Smithville’s motion demonstrates the disposition of this case may, as a practical matter, affect Smithville’s interests. The factual issues asserted by Smithville are intertwined with the petitioners (DUD ratepayer’s) assertions. Finally, Smithville’s participation will not render the hearing unmanageable or interfere with the interests of justice and the orderly and prompt conduct of the proceeding. Accordingly, Smithville’s motion to intervene should be granted without restriction,” wrote Darnell.
“We had filed a motion to intervene in the hearing with DUD to set out what the position for the City of Smithville would be if we lost the contract with DUD and how that would affect our rate payers as well as their ratepayers,” said City Attorney Vester Parsley. “The administrative law judge filed an order this afternoon (Tuesday) allowing the city to intervene in that matter and be there on April 4 when we have a hearing here in Smithville to put on anything that we have to show that the ratepayers of DUD would certainly be materially affected and so would the city rate payers. Its good news for the city because the opposing counsel, Mr.(Dewey) Branstetter had opposed the intervention of the City of Smithville on the grounds that we didn’t have any basis to argue about what the rates are for DUD. We (city) filed a motion to intervene. Mr. Branstetter had filed a motion objecting to our intervention and the administrative law judge has made his decision and said we (city) are allowed to intervene and be a part of this hearing and have a right to participate in the hearing without restrictions. Mr. Branstetter was wanting to restrict it some if we were allowed to intervene. But the order clearly sets out that there are no restrictions (on the city),” said Parsley.
The DUD is represented by its own attorney Keith Blair and by Dewey Branstetter, a Nashville attorney recently hired by the DUD to help represent them before the UMRB.
Attorney Jason Holleman of Jones, Hawkins & Farmer, PLC of Nashville represents the City of Smithville in this matter along with City Attorney Vester Parsley.
Meanwhile an issue was raised as to whether Branstetter’s firm could represent DUD in this proceeding due to a potential conflict of interest. But the Administrative Law Judge said that issue was not proper for him to consider.
Darnell’s order states that “It appears the issue of a conflict of interest has been raised concerning the Branstetter firm’s representation of Respondent (DUD) in this proceeding, and also, the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts of which Smithville is a member. This issue is not a proper consideration in determining whether to grant Smithville’s motion to intervene. No motion to disqualify the Branstetter firm is pending before the undersigned (Darnell). It is noted that if there is a conflict it may exist regardless of whether Smithville is permitted to intervene. The parties are referred to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility for guidance on this issue. If either party believes this to be a legitimate issue, guidance should be sought immediately to avoid delay of this hearing.”
“It is therefore ordered that Smithville’s motion is granted and Smithville shall have the right to participate in this hearing without restriction,” wrote Darnell.

The City of Smithville is taking advantage of a USDA Rural Development Grant/Loan for the purchase and installation of a new automated water meter reading project.
Under the program, the city has been approved for a total of $410,000 in funding including a $95,000 grant and a $315,000 loan for the project. The city will have to repay the loan. The aldermen, Monday night, adopted a bond resolution authorizing the issuance and sale of bonds up to $315,000 at an interest rate not to exceed 2.75% per annum. The bonds shall be payable over a term not to exceed twenty years. The bonds shall be revenue and tax deficiency general obligation bonds of the City of Smithville and will be payable from revenues derived from the City’s water and sewer system.
The new equipment will be installed on the existing water system but will replace the current manual read meters and include leak detecting encoding and a radio frequency transmitter. The new equipment will send a radio signal that can be read from outside by simply driving along the streets within the service area. The project will allow the city to make meter reading more efficient and billing more accurate.
“The grant/loan will free up our two meter readers that currently spend six to seven days reading meters and allow them to spend more time helping with other public works needs,” said City Secretary-Treasurer Hunter Hendrixson. “With the new automated system our entire water meter system can be read within one days time and without getting out of the vehicle which increases safety as well. Although it’s a 20 year loan I believe the city should be able to repay the entire sum within three to five years. Plus the city will receive $95,000 towards this project as a grant that does not have to be repaid,” said Hendrixson.
During a city council meeting in February 2010, Will Taylor of the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts, addressed the mayor and aldermen on this issue. According to Taylor, benefits to the city by having an automated meter reading system are that it would reduce water loss by an estimated seven to fifteen percent and cut costs associated with the current manner of reading meters.
Many utilities are now using Automated Meter Readers as a way of improving customer service while reducing the cost of reading meters. With this process, one driver in a vehicle is able to read more meters in one day. At the end of the day, the meter reader unloads the information to the city’s billing system.