The first Saturday in November has typically been a busy morning on the campus of Gordonsville High School as members from all throughout the community gather for the annual Chad’s Run 5K. The 17th Annual Chad Run will be held on Saturday, November 4, 2023 at Gordonsville High School at 9 a.m. Registration is $25

Chad’s Run was established to support Chad Hunter, who was involved in an automobile accident on February 14, 2004, that left him needing around-the-clock care. Proceeds from the race go into the Chad Hunter Trust, which provides financial support for Chad’s continued care.

Each year, Chad’s Run also awards scholarships to one senior at Gordonsville High School and one senior at Smith County High School who wishes to pursue a career in the medical field.

South Carthage, Tenn. – The Smith County Health Department will participate in the statewide Fight Flu ’23 effort on Nov. 1, 2023, and provide free flu shots to all Tennesseans who are eligible, six-months and older.

‘’We want to protect as many people as we can in our communities from the flu,” County Director, Michael Railling, MPH, CPH said. “Getting an annual flu shot is the best way to protect yourself and everyone around you.”

Smith County Health Department will provide free flu shots on Nov. 1, 2023, at:

LOCATION: Smith County Health Department

ADDRESS: 251 Joy Alford Way, South Carthage TN 37030

HOURS: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM

An appointment is not needed to receive a free flu vaccine at the Smith County Health Department’s Fight Flu ’23 event.

Also, the flu vaccine will remain free to anyone eligible to receive it at all local health departments across the state throughout flu season.

The flu vaccine is safe and effective and can protect individuals against the most common types of flu, and the virus’s worst symptoms and outcomes.

The flu virus is very contagious. Pregnant women, infants, the elderly, and people with certain medical conditions are at the highest risk of severe complications from the flu. Annually, more than 7.5 million illnesses, 400,000 hospitalizations, and 22,000 deaths could be prevented in the U.S. if more people chose to get the flu vaccine.

To prevent spreading the flu virus to others, follow precautions such as proper hygiene and handwashing, cover your coughs or sneezes with a tissue or your elbow, and stay home if you are sick.

For more information about the flu virus and Fight Flu ‘23, visit tn.gov/health/fightflu. For information about getting a free flu shot, contact the Smith County Health Department at 615-735-0242.

The Gordonsville Events Committee will host the annual Gordonsville Halloween Bash from 5:00 p.m until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 31, 2023. The event will take place on East Main Street in Gordonsville. The committee is working diligently to make this event bigger and better, while keeping it safe for everyone to enjoy.

The Halloween Bash will feature a photo booth, music, dancing, door prizes, TONS of candy and much more! Domino’s Pizza, the Dog House, and Helen’s Restaurant will be at this year’s bash serving freshly cooked pizza, fish, chicken, fried oreos and much more. Southern Shave & Brew Co. will also be in attendance serving a variety of shakes, frappes, and sno cones.

Nearly 50 businesses, churches, and organizations have signed up to participate in the bash. Participants will be set up in the area of Bass Funeral Home, First Baptist Church – Gordonsville, and the former Shoprite building.

There will be two 13-passenger shuttle buses running non-stop throughout the evening and will be stopping at numerous parking lots near the event. Shuttles will begin running at 4:45pm and will continue until 8:00pm.
Parking will be available at the following locations and there will be a bus stop at each parking lot:

• Living Waters Ministries Church of God
• Ivy Agee Park
• Citizens Bank (after 5:00pm)
• Wilson Bank & Trust (after 5:00pm)
• Gordonsville Drugs (after 5:30)
• Classic Cuts/Gordonsville Family Wellness (after 5:00pm)

If your business, organization, or church is interested participating in the event by either coming to setup a booth to hand out candy or donating a door prize, please send an email to GordonsvilleHalloweenBash@gmail.com. The Gordonsville Events Committee is also inviting individuals or families to come to the event and hand out candy.

This event is safe, fun and FREE for the whole family.

To ensure the safety of the hundreds of children and families who will be out enjoying the festivities, a section of Main Street will be closed to through traffic from 4:30 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

The closed section will span from the Main Street/Hickman Highway/Gordon Drive intersection to the Main Street/Maple Street intersection between the high school and the elementary school.

If you need to get to your home in the closed section, law enforcement officers will be at the barriers to let you through. If you need to travel through Gordonsville, please use Hickman Highway/Oak Drive/Maple Street to bypass the middle of town.

To stay up-to-date on details about the event, visit the Gordonsville Halloween Bash Facebook page.

For more information about the Gordonsville Halloween Bash, please contact 615-489-0572 or email GordonsvilleHalloweenBash@gmail.com.

On Saturday, October 21, 2023, a Fish Fry and Benefit Auction to benefit foster children in Smith County will be held at the Smith County Ag Center. The Fish Fry will begin at 4:00 p.m. and the Benefit Auction will start promptly at 5:00 p.m.

Items for the auction include tools, home decor, gift certificates, and much more. Food will be provided from Helen’s Restaurant including fried fish and chicken along with all of the fixings.

All proceeds from the event will benefit foster children in Smith County during the upcoming Christmas season and throughout the year as needs arise.

Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance at the following businesses:

• Citizens Bank – John Foster
• Smith County Bank – Cindy Hawkins, Pat Nixon
• BankTennessee – Michael Nesbitt
• Wilson Bank & Trust – Laura Piper

Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for children. 

The Forks River Fire Department will be holding its annual Community Appreciation Day on Saturday, October 21, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. To 3:00 p.m. at the fire hall.

There is no charge for the meal, but donations are always greatly appreciated. Hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, beans, and drinks will be served. wonderful community. This year we will also have a bounce house for the kids to play on. If you would like to donate to our fire department, do what you feel is best for you and your family. With COVID still lingering, if you feel the need to wear a mask we understand.

Make plans to stop by and brings the kids to see the equipment, visit with the firemen, and just sit and talk a while with your neighbors. The fire department looks forward to seeing you there!

The Forks River Fire Hall is located at 598 Cookeville Highway in Elmwood, TN. If you are unable to attend but would like to mail a donation, those can be sent to the following address: Forks River Fire Department, P.O. Box 114, Elmwood, TN 38560.

Chestnut Mound Christian Fellowship Church will be hosting a Trunk or Treat on Tuesday October 31, 2023. The event is free and will offer plenty of fun for the whole family from 5-8 p.m. The Church is located at 916 Cookeville Highway in Chestnut Mound, TN.

The Fall Town of Carthage Market Fest will be held Saturday, October 28th from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Food vendors, music, crafts and bounce houses are just some of the activities planned. Bring the family for an afternoon of fun at the Carthage City Park and Walking Track, 350 Industrial Drive, Carthage, TN.

COOKEVILLE, TN – The physics department at Tennessee Tech University will host a watch party for the annular solar eclipse on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Laboratory Science Commons lawn on Tech’s campus. The event is free and open to the community.

The physics department will have materials for guests to create pinhole viewers to see the eclipse. Telescopes will also be set up for safe viewing and free eclipse glasses will be available while supplies last.

The eclipse is expected to be observable in the Cookeville area at 10:40 a.m. and will reach maximum eclipse at 12:07 p.m. The moon is expected to complete its passage between the sun and the earth around 1:37 p.m., marking the eclipse’s end.

“We very much enjoyed hosting the 2017 total solar eclipse viewing party and wanted to continue to provide the public with information about astronomy and with safe ways to view this eclipse,” said Mary Kidd, associate professor of physics at Tech.

Kidd says the event is also intended to serve as an unofficial kickoff for the forthcoming Astronomy Club – an idea that came directly from Tech student Mackenzie Henley, a Kingsport, Tennessee native and honors mechanical engineering major pursuing a concentration in aerospace.

“Mackenzie has been instrumental in organizing this event, from designing posters to planning the pinhole viewers,” said Kidd.

Kidd and Henley, along with other faculty and students in the physics department, are in the process of formally registering the Astronomy Club with the university.

While Kidd emphasizes this is a partial eclipse and will be less striking than the total eclipse witnessed in 2017, she says it will still be noticeable and should not be viewed with the naked eye.

“This eclipse is happening at a time when the moon is a little further away from the earth, and so the moon won’t completely cover the sun, even during totality,” said Kidd. “Here in Cookeville, we are not in the path of totality. We will only see a partial eclipse. As time progresses through the eclipse, more and more of the sun will be covered by the moon, and eventually the sun will appear as a crescent.”

In 2017, Tech students, faculty, staff and community members packed Tucker Stadium to watch the total solar eclipse, a scene that played out in communities across the nation. Kidd says astronomical events have always had a way of bringing people together.

“Astronomical observations are common across all the cultures on Earth,” said Kidd. “I think that shared experience of seeing a big change in our daytime sky, and understanding what causes it, contributes to the public’s excitement. It is also a remarkable accomplishment that we can predict these eclipses to very high precision hundreds of years in advance, because we understand the physics of our solar system very well.”

Kidd adds that aspiring astronomers will want to start making their travel plans for the next total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

“Unfortunately, its path does not cross Cookeville, but there are locations within a day’s drive where you could get to the path of totality!” said Kidd.

Individuals with questions about the eclipse watch party can email Mackenzie Henley at mlhenley42@tntech.edu.

The Smith County Drug Prevention Coalition will host a Drug Take Back Event on Saturday October 27th at the Carthage Walmart from 10AM- 1PM

This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.

Clean out all of your expired medications and drop them off on for safe disposal.

Gordonsville Highs School and Smith County High School will be hosting a College Fair Event on October 24th, 5 – 8 p.m. for student and families or guardians to talk to college advisors/representatives from various Tennessee college and Tech schools. This is a come and go event.

The focus of the event is for all GHS And SCHS students and guardians, but all students and guardians 9-12 in Smith County are welcome.

Several food trucks will be available for the event including – Cousins Maine Lobster, Slick Pig BBQ, Donna’s Kitchen, and MoTown Treats.