The Gordonsville Events Committee and the Gordonsville Police Department are excited to announce the upcoming Gordonsville Play Day & Touch-A-Truck event. This free event will take place on Saturday, June 22nd, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ivy Agee Park. There will be a special session from 10 to 11 a.m. for children with special needs or sensory issues.

This family-friendly event is an excellent opportunity for the community to come together and meet local heroes from various organizations. Attendees will have the chance to interact with representatives and explore equipment from the following groups:

• Gordonsville Police
• Smith County Sheriff’s Department
• Smith County Rescue Squad
• Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA)
• Tennessee Highway Patrol
• Gordonsville Fire Department
• M & W Wrecker Service
• State Road Department
• Smith County Road Department
• Upper Cumberland Electric Corporation
• Smith County EMS
• Vanderbilt Lifeflight
• National Guard

One of the event highlights will be the Gordonsville Fire Department’s ladder truck, which will be spraying water. Families are encouraged to bring a towel and a change of clothes for the kids who wish to participate in this activity.

In addition to meeting local emergency and service personnel, the event will feature a variety of fun activities, including a bounce house, face painting, and food.

Don’t miss out on this exciting day of community fun and learning. The Gordonsville Play Day & Touch-A-Truck promises to be a memorable event for families and children of all ages.

For more information, contact the Gordonsville Events Committee or the Gordonsville Police Department.

Calling all local businesses! BANG invites you to lunch with your fellow entrepreneurs and local business owners on Friday, May 31st at Ebels Tavern at noon. Share ideas and grow your network.

BANG (Business Alliance Networking Group) is a business networking organization that provides a structured platform for professionals to meet. Ebels is located at 104 3rd Avenue East,, Carthage, TN. Stay updated by checking out the BANG Facebook page.

A ceremony will be held on Friday, May 31st at 10 a.m. to honor Louise Scruggs with a “Tennessee Music Pathways” Marker. The ceremony will take place on the grounds of the Historic Smith County Courthouse on Main Street in Carthage.

Louise Certain Scruggs was a pivotal figure in popularizing bluegrass music, managing her husband Earl Scruggs and his partner Lester Flatt from 1956 to 1969 through their rise to popularity. A native of Smith County’s Grant community near Carthage, Tennessee, Louise moved to Nashville after graduating high school to pursue an accounting career. She married Scruggs in 1948 and played a crucial role in the success of Flatt & Scruggs, recognizing the potential of bluegrass music to reach broader audiences. Louise booked Earl at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959, which propelled their fame. She managed the Earl Scruggs Revue after Flatt & Scruggs split in 1969, always striving for higher achievements. Louise passed away in 2006 and was posthumously inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2010.

Launched by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development in 2018, Tennessee Music Pathways is an online planning guide that connects visitors to the state’s rich musical heritage at tnmusicpathways.com. From the largest cities to the smallest communities, Tennessee Music Pathways stretches across all 95 counties and features hundreds of landmarks from the seven genres of music that call Tennessee home.

The Carthage Junction Depot will present an exhibit of works by local artist, Anne West Towns on June 8 from 10-4pm.

Anne Towns was a manufacturing and retail illustrator for 34 years. Her career was encouraged by Smith County High School teacher, Lunette Gore. When Mrs.Gore asked Anne if she had considered a career in art, she seriously had not. She knew Sears Roebuck catalogues were drawn, but had no idea how the process came about. 

Following two years of training at the Harris School of Art, Anne not only learned the business of fashion and home furnishings, she built a network of artistic friends, including her future husband Harry Towns.

Their 45 years in Franklin, TN allowed them to enjoy “living history.”  When First Baptist Church, Franklin was selected as part of the annual Candlelight Tour, Anne was chair of its historic decor presentation. Art can be expressed in many ways. 

The Towns were able to travel internationally, giving her rich material for her watercolors of people and places which look quite different from Smith County, Tennessee!

Anne had the pleasure of studying watercolor under Shelley Snow, award winning artist and teacher. While Anne has studied many mediums, her favorite is still watercolor and her favorite subjects are old houses and people in their native environment, Interest in various cultures led Anne to pursue teaching English as a Second Language. She was trained and certified by the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Anne knows her artistic ability is God-given and desires to always give Him the thanks and praise for her accomplishments. “I want to stay on the path He has designed for me: Loving Him and making life more beautiful for others.”

This exhibit is free and open to the public from 10-4 on June 8 at the historic Carthage Junction Depot gallery, 185 Gordonsville Highway, Brush Creek.

The Southside Lions Club of Gordonsville is holding its 17th Annual “Drive for Sight” 2 Man Golf Scramble on Saturday, June 15, 2024 at the Southern Hills Golf Course in Baxter, Tennessee.

The scramble will begin at 8 am with a shotgun start. Entry fee is $60 per man – bring your own team.

• Free Lunch
• Longest Drive Contest
• Numerous Door Prizes
• Gift Bag for Each Player
• 50/50 Drawing
• Closest to the Pin
• Closest to the Line
• Flights Established after play
• Mulligans $5
• Lucky Ball Drop

Call the club house to sign-up: (931) 432-5149. Proceeds go to the Southside Lions Club for community service and to help those with visual disabilities.

The annual Defeated Creek Bluegrass Festival will be held at the Defeated Creek Marina and Campground on Friday, June 14th and Saturday, June 15th 2024.

Gates open at 6:00 p.m. on both nights, and live music will begin at 7:00 p.m.

Avery Trace and Bluegrass Solutions will perform on Friday night. Copper Canyon and Mountain Ridge Five Bluegrass will perform on Saturday. Dancers on both evenings will feature the Evermean Evergreens. Admission to the festival is $5 per adult.

The hosts of the festival recommend bringing your own lawn chair and coming prepared to have a great time! Vendors include food, arts, crafts and a children’s area.

The Defeated Creek Bluegrass Festival is a fundraiser for the Defeated Creek Volunteer Fire Department, and all proceeds from the event go to the Fire Department.

Cordell Hull Lake is offering a free public tour of the powerhouse and navigational lock 9 a.m. (Central Time) Saturday, June 8, 2024. Tours of the facility are limited to 50 people. Online sign ups will be released by the end of May 2024.

Pre-registration is required for all tour guests, including minors. The deadline to register is seven business days prior to scheduled tour. Personal information collected during sign-up is used for security background checks.

Tour visitors will meet at the parking lot before then powerhouse located at 150 Corps Lane Carthage, TN. After guest check in with a valid photo ID, Corps of Engineers personnel will provide information about Cordell Hull Lake’s unique history, project purposes, recreational opportunities, and an up-close look of the dam and powerhouse facilities.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District Cordell Hull Dam is located at river mile 313.5, approximately five miles upstream of Carthage, Tenn. Rising 87 feet above the streambed, the combination earth fill and concrete-gravity dam is 1,306 feet long with a hydroelectric power generating plant. The plant has three 33,000 kilowatt hydropower units that produce approximately 350,000 kilowatts annually.

After the behind the scenes tour visitors are invited to attend the unveiling and ribbon cutting of the State of Tennessee Historical Marker celebrating last year’s 50th anniversary milestone of the Lock and Dam completion.

Tour participants must register for the tours at least a seven business days prior to the desired tour date. The registration form and submission information can be found on the web at https://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/Locations/Lakes/Cordell-Hull-Lake/Open-House-Tours/. The public can obtain additional information about these public tours by calling the Cordell Hull Lake Resource Manager’s Office at 615-735-1034.

The public can obtain news, updates and information from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nashville District on the district’s website at www.lrn.usace.army.mil, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nashvillecorps, and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/nashvillecorps. The public can also follow Cordell Hull Lake on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cordellhulllake.

The Smith County Board of Education would like to congratulate both SCHS Baseball and GHS Baseball teams for making it to the state tournament.

The board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, 2024, will be rescheduled to Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 5:00, so board members and school administration can go and support the teams. The budget work session will still be held before the board meeting on May 28, 2024, at 4:00.

A bass tournament will be sponsored by the Lady Owls Softball Team at Cordell Hull Lake (Wartrace) on June 8^th, 2024.

Only first place is guaranteed with $1000 payout ($75 entry fee); additional places may be paid out depending on the number of teams that enter

Big Fish is guaranteed $500 (participant must enter the big fish pot with additional entry fee of $25.00)

There is no pre-registration for this tournament, all registrations will be done the morning of the tournament.

Click on the following for more information including Official Rules, Release Form and Sponsorship Form .

The Biz Foundry and Bank Tennessee will host a Powered by HER Lunch and Learn on Tuesday, May 28th at 12 p.m. at the Smith County Chamber of Commerce. Women entrepreneurs often juggle multiple roles and responsibilities. At this luncheon, you can explore how building a strong community can be a game-changer for your businesses and well-being.

During the event, you’ll have the opportunity to connect with other women in business, share your own experiences, and build meaningful relationships. Networking activities and discussions will be tailored to help you forge valuable connections and collaborations.

The event is FREE but you are asked to save your seat: https://hubs.li/Q02wg0Vz0 to help plan for enough food for the event.