The DeKalb County Commission Monday night, September 28 voted to name a bridge in memory of a nine year old boy who lost his life in a 1997 accident with a horse.
The bridge, over Smith Fork Creek, on the Lower Helton Road near Mount Zion Baptist Church will be named the Zachary Lee Close bridge.
The bridge over Smith Fork Creek on the Alexandria to Dismal Road had been named for Close several years ago but vandals repeatedly damaged or tore down the memorial signs at the bridge. First District Commissioner Mason Carter said the child’s mother requested that the memorial be transferred from the bridge on Alexandria to Dismal Road to the one on Lower Helton Road, hoping that the signs would not be vandalized there.
The resolution is as follows:
“Whereas, Zachary Lee Close was born on November 30, 1987 and departed this life tragically on January 3, 1997; and
Whereas, the bridge across Smith Fork Creek located on the Alexandria to Dismal Road is named in memory of Zachary Lee Close; and
Whereas, Tammie Hubbs, mother of Zachary Lee Close has requested that the bridge across Smith Fork Creek located on Lower Helton Road be named in memory of Zachary Lee Close; and
Whereas, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners has the authority to name bridges located on county roads, and
Whereas, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners is pleased to name the bridge located across Smith Fork Creek on Lower Helton Road in memory of Zachary Lee Close.
Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Board of Commissioners of DeKalb County, meeting in regular session this the 28th day of September, 2015, does declare and name the bridge located across Smith Fork Creek located on Lower Helton Road the Zachary Lee Close Bridge.
Be it further resolved that the bridge across Smith Fork Creek on the Alexandria to Dismal Road be returned to the status of an unnamed bridge.”
The county commission approved the request. The bridge on the Alexandria to Dismal Road will return to being an unnamed bridge.

Work crews lifted a turbine out of hydropower unit two at Center Hill Dam today, one of the final pieces of the disassembly process. It is the first time the 82-ton steel wheel has seen the light of day since its installation in 1950, a rare sight that makes it possible to inspect, rebuild embedded parts, and then reassemble the unit with new components.
Jeff Linkinhoker, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District, said the exciters and 248-ton rotor were removed about two weeks ago, followed by the generator shaft, wicket gates, basically everything from top to bottom, culminating with the turbine runner.
“It’s exciting when you get to this point. Disassembly of these major components shows real progress,” Linkinhoker said.

He noted that a tremendous amount of work over the past several years led to the milestone of removing the turbine, which included design work and the preparation of the project’s plans and specifications, getting all of the funding in place, contracting work, and a lot of coordination with the contractor.
“A lot of work has gone on behind the scenes. It is how we got to the point where we are now,” Linkinhoker said.
The Center Hill units have a type of reaction turbine runner known as a “Francis” wheel where water is introduced causing it to spin.
Jeff Flowers, power project manager for the Nashville District Mid Cumberland Area, said the turbine runner is one of the last major components of the unit to be removed. The last major component to be removed is the generator stator.
The turbine is a critical component that actually transfers water energy to mechanical energy, and then to electrical energy, Flowers explained shortly before crews lifted it out of the hydropower unit.
“When that turbine turns it turns a shaft that turns a magnetic field that produces the 13,800 volts that the generator produces,” Flowers said. “This is the first time a turbine has been removed in the Nashville District.”
Each hydropower unit at Center Hill Dam supplies enough electricity to power 150 homes, which reduces the cost of electricity during peak periods of the daytime. The three hydropower units at the dam can supply the needs of an average city of 125,000 people. Electricity is marketed by the Southeastern Power Administration and then sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority and other preference customers in the region.
The Nashville District awarded a $47.25 million contract to Voith Hydro in June 2014 to rehabilitate three Center Hill Dam hydropower units. The contractor mobilized to the dam in July 2015 and the rehabilitation of unit two is scheduled for completion in the August-September timeframe of 2016. Unit one will then be rehabilitated followed by unit three. It will take three years to complete the project.
Martin Parker, site manager for Voith Hydro, said when the disassembly is completed his team can focus on the next step.
“We’ll start on the rehabilitation of the unit, which is blasting and painting, machining embedded parts, and then rebuilding the generator, which will take a few months, and then we’ll get into the reassembly,” Parker said.
The Nashville District operates nine multi-purpose projects in the Cumberland River Basin, which produced 2.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2014. In the same year, sales of this electricity yielded about $57 million dollars in revenue for the U.S. Treasury.
Loren McDonald, project manager and assistant program manager for the Nashville District Section 212 Program, said the hydropower unit at Center Hill Dam is the first of 28 units at nine projects that will be rehabilitated over the next 20 years.
“We’re all very excited to see the first turbine,” McDonald said. “We’re all very happy this will become a common occurrence as we are able to go through the units one by one to rehab the system and increase the reliability.”
The Water Resources Development Act of 2000, Section 212, authorized the Corps to accept and expend funds from power preference customers to perform rehab work on hydropower equipment. Under this provision of the law, funds that would normally be returned to the general fund of the U.S. Treasury are now available to maintain the hydropower generating equipment. Over the life of the program SEPA looks to direct more than $1.2 billion into the Cumberland River System Hydropower Rehabilitation.
Center Hill Dam is located on the Caney Fork River and contributes to the electrical power supply of the area through the generation of clean, safe and efficient hydroelectric power.
(PICTURED ABOVE: Several Corps of Engineers employees watch as work crews lift the turbine runner out of hydropower unit two in the power house at Center Hill Dam Oct. 7, 2015. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District is rehabbing all three units at the dam. (Photo by Lee Roberts)

Members of the Smithville Police Department visited the First United Methodist preschool on Thursday.
The children were told that police officers are their friends and that they (children) may go to them if they need help. The officers also talked about safety concerns such as buckling up and being beware of strangers. The children also received coloring books, Jr. police stickers and Smithville Police Department hats.
Pictured are Lt. Matt Holmes, Capt. Steven Leffew, Officer Lance Dillard and Detective Brandon Donnell.

Artists of Off the Beaten Path cordially invite you to their 16th Annual Studio Tour, which takes place October 23-25, from 10:00 to 5:00 in and around DeKalb County.
Take a drive through beautiful fall foliage as you tour 14 artist’s studios, watch demonstrations, buy handcrafted fine art and craft, and chat with more than 25 artists about their work and processes. Of the 14 different stops on the tour this year, there are three new stops in addition to six “visiting artists” participating, making for a wide-variety of contemporary fine-craft to see and purchase.
Some of the finest artistry and craftsmanship in the region will be represented in a wide-variety of artistic media: rake pottery, hand-blown glass, ceramics, handmade paper & books, reclaimed jewelry, sterling silver jewelry with semi-precious stones, woodturnings, architectural ceramics, women wearables, furniture, large-scale pulp painted canvases, ethnic-inspired dolls, and original paintings.
There is something for everyone at this family friendly event. Don’t miss this great opportunity to tour Tennessee’s beautiful autumn back-roads and support your local artists. For a printable tour map, list of artists on the tour and more information about Off the Beaten Path, visit www.offthebeatenpathtour.com

As part of its community outreach ministry, the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church is again sponsoring a drive thru mobile food pantry Saturday morning, October 10 rain or shine.
In partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, the church plans to prepare enough food boxes to serve up to 300 families regardless of their income status, on a first come, first served basis. Families will receive enough food to last them for a full week. The church held its first mobile food pantry in April and it was a great success.
Second Harvest will bring in pallets of food on trucks. The food will then be off loaded and organized in preparation for the distribution.
Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and the food will be delivered from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Unlike most food distributions, those being served by the mobile pantry will not have to get out of their automobiles. They will drive thru in a pickup line and volunteers will deliver the food directly to their vehicles, placing the food boxes either in the back seat or trunk. Cars will line up facing north on College Street across from the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
“It’s a mobile food pantry but it’s also a drive thru. The recipients will stay in their cars. They will line up starting at 8:00 a.m. on College Street and when we have everything prepared and organized we’ll start the line moving, hopefully around 9:00 a.m. Recipients will drive through. As they enter in we’ll have a team there to put a box of food in their cars, either in their back seat or trunk,” said spokesperson Teresa Trapp Brown.
“We will line up right across from the church (Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church) on College Street. We’ll start registration at 8:00 a.m. We’ll need the name of the recipients and how many families are being served. We’re limited to two families per vehicle to make sure we have enough food,” added Isaac Gray, Minister of the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Others who wish to volunteer may show up Saturday or call for more information at 615-464-7896

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital, along with the local schools and civic organizations, are bringing awareness to this important topic in various ways throughout the month of October. A county-wide ‘Pink-Out’ is scheduled for Friday, October 16th where the public, county schools, and businesses are encouraged to wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and our fight against all forms of cancer. The public is invited to gather on the Smithville Courthouse steps for a media photo in support of breast cancer awareness. County schools are participating in a ‘pink’ jack-o-lantern contest sponsored by Saint Thomas DeKalb and Saint Thomas Stones River Hospitals, and various businesses and organizations have agreed to take the ‘Pinky Swear Dare’ – painting their pinky nails pink throughout the month of October after pledging to get regular mammograms after the age of forty.
“We would like to thank the community and local schools for making last year’s Pink-tober events so very successful,” said Shan Burklow- Marketing Director for Saint Thomas DeKalb and Saint Thomas Stones River Hospitals, “We look forward to an even greater response for 2015. I am humbled by the wonderful and caring people who have volunteered their time to help us spread the word about the importance of early detection and mammograms in the fight against breast cancer. This is such an ugly disease and it has touched everyone in some way. Take this month to remind your friends and family of the importance of weekly self-exams and annual mammograms after forty. Early detection is so very important in the fight against cancer. Hundreds of people across Tennessee have taken the ‘Pinky Swear Dare’ posting photos of their manicure on FaceBook, Instagram, and Twitter and we hope that hundreds more participate before the month’s end.”
For more ways that your family, business or organization can support the fight against breast cancer, go to www.cancer.org or contact Shan Burklow: shan.burklow@sth.org
Pictured: Erica Jenkins shows off her pink painted pinkies in support of the ‘Pinky Swear Dare’ for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

The body of a man of unknown age at this time was found in the backseat of a car in the parking lot of Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital early this morning. (Wednesday).
The vehicle was still running when the discovery was made by hospital staff.
The incident was reported at 2:17 a.m.
According to a prepared statement by Captain Steven Leffew, “On Wednesday, October 7 at approximately 2:17 a.m. the Smithville Police Department was dispatched to Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital in regards to a deceased body being found in the backseat of a vehicle in the parking lot. The death was deemed to be of a suspicious nature. District Attorney Bryant Dunaway along with investigators from the District Attorney’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation responded to the scene.
This case remains under investigation at this time. “I would like to thank CEO Sue Conley and the staff of Saint Thomas-DeKalb Hospital for their cooperation and hospitality during this investigation” added Captain Leffew.