by Rachel Petty – UT Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development

Calling all homeschool students in Smith County! The first meeting of the Smith County 4-H Homeschool Club will be held on Tuesday, September 24th at 10:00 a.m. at the Smith County Ag Center. Our 4-H Homeschool Club is open to all students in 4th-12th grade, and there is no cost to participate. The Smith County 4-H Homeschool Club meets monthly from September through April, typically on the last Tuesday of the month.

4-H encourages youth to develop their unique skills and talents to the fullest potential. Through our club meetings, we will focus on cultivating life skills through lessons and contests like public speaking and demonstrations, as well as allowing 4-H’ers to show their creativity with the poster contest, photo contest, and piggy bank pageant.

The 4-H Homeschool Club is also a great way for homeschool families to make connections and for 4-H’ers to gain life-long friendships with their peers.

Students are able to participate in a variety of leadership opportunities through the 4-H program, and we will be electing club officers at our first meeting.

Our homeschool group has grown a lot the past couple of years, and we would love to have you join us! 4-H can offer so many beneficial opportunities for our local young people. We’re looking forward to a great school year together!

The 4-H Youth Development Program delivers programs through cooperative efforts of the University of Tennessee, Tennessee State University, and public and private sector volunteers. 4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades 4-12, on an age-appropriate basis, without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

Please call our office at 615-735-2900 or email rpetty@utk.edu with any questions.

“Farm to Table” continues to be a hot topic in the agriculture industry and around the dinner table as more and more consumers are wanting to know where their food comes from. The easiest way to know where your eggs are coming from is to raise chickens in your own backyard!

Members of the Smith County 4-H Chick Chain project would like to invite you to join them at the Smith County Ag Center on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, for the annual 4-H Chick Chain Poultry Show and Sale, where you can purchase some good-quality laying hens and support a group of hardworking young people in the process!

This year, over 30 4-H’ers are participating in the 4-H Chick Chain project. Each participating 4-H’er received up to 24 two-day-old baby chicks in early April and has been responsible for raising them throughout the spring and summer.

On September 24th, 4-H’ers will select their three best pullets to enter into the show. The breeds that will be available for purchase this year are Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red.

The show will begin with the judging of the pullets at 5:30 p.m. with the auction to follow at approximately 5:45 p.m. If you are interested in buying, please arrive by 5:30 p.m. so that you can check in and receive a buyer number.

Each 4-H’er is required to bring three pullets to be judged at the county show and may bring more for the auction. We should have a nice selection of laying hens to bid on! All proceeds from the sale go directly to the 4-H members to help with their expenses in raising the chicks.

Please consider coming out and supporting our 4-H Poultry Project members on September 24!

For further information about the 4-H Chick Chain Project or our upcoming Show & Sale, call UT Extension Smith County at 615-735-2900 or email rpetty@utk.edu.

The Smith County Financial Management Committee will meet on Thursday, September 19^th at 5:30 pm in the conference room located at 122 Turner High Circle in Carthage.

Highpoint Health – Riverview with Ascension Saint Thomas announces that it has been awarded five stars in the latest round of Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Highpoint Health – Riverview’s Overall Hospital Quality 5-Star Rating puts it among the top hospitals in the U.S. with respect to patient safety and the overall patient experience.

“Our team works to constantly evaluate and improve the care and experiences we provide our patients and their families,” said Rod Harkleroad, chief executive officer of Highpoint Health — Riverview. “We are so proud to have received this recognition from CMS and look forward to continuing our efforts to enhance healthcare delivery and advance our mission of making communities healthier.”

The Star Ratings program is designed to increase healthcare transparency and help patients and their family members make informed decisions about healthcare. CMS’ Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings measure hospitals based on their performance across five quality areas: mortality, patient experience, readmissions, safety of care and timeliness and effectiveness of care.

Highpoint Health — Riverview has launched several initiatives in recent months aimed at further enhancing the quality of care provided to patients. This includes an emphasis on bedside shift report, the addition of a patient representative on quality committees, and the implementation of a nursing governance council. These initiatives ensure that patient and frontline staff perspective is included during decision making while improving communication throughout the facility. Additionally, an enhanced discharge process, the expansion of disease-specific education, and newly developed relationships with community partners, assist the patient with managing care upon discharge from the facility. 

“We are honored to serve the healthcare needs of our communities,” said Angela Pruett, Chief Nursing Officer for the facility. “We thank our providers, clinical teams and staff for their commitment to our patients and to one another, and we also want to recognize the role that our former CEO, Carolyn Sparks, who has now taken on a new role at another Lifepoint facility, played in achieving this rating. It is the dedication from leadership to front line staff that made this five-star rating possible and that will continue to drive our quality improvement initiatives going forward.”

For more information on the Star Ratings Program, visit the CMS website at Medicare.gov.

About Highpoint Health with Ascension Saint Thomas

Highpoint Health with Ascension Saint Thomas, part of Lifepoint Health, is a regional health system dedicated to making communities healthier in northern Middle Tennessee. It is composed of Highpoint Health – Sumner, the 167-bed flagship hospital, and Highpoint Health – Sumner Station located in Gallatin; Highpoint Health – Riverview, a 35-bed critical access hospital in Carthage, and Highpoint Health – Trousdale, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Hartsville. The system’s innovative partnership with Ascension Saint Thomas brings together the organizations’ clinical excellence, best practices, and talented caregivers to collaborate in new ways that improve access to high quality clinical programs and specialty care for patients and communities. To learn more, visit HighpointHealthSystem.com

Check out the September 2024 edition of the Smith County Chamber Corner Show!

This month’s show features local businesses, community organization and events going on in and around Smith County.

If you would like to promote your event or local business on the Smith County Chamber Corner Show, contact the Smith County Chamber of Commerce by calling 615-735-2093 today. 

Watch the full show below, or catch it on DTC3 TV.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has postponed the repairs to the Rome Bridge to the weekend of September 20th. TDOT will fully close the Rome – Highway 70 (SR 24) bridge over Round Lick Creek in Smith County.

Mid-State Construction crews will shut down the bridge to all traffic starting Friday, September 20th at 6 p.m. until Monday, September23rd at 6 a.m.

This closure is necessary to repair damaged steel in the overhead truss.

During both closures, the following detours will be in effect:

• Westbound traffic to Carthage: Detour via Sparta Pike to I-40 East to SR 53.
• Eastbound traffic to Lebanon: Detour via SR 53 to I-40 West to Sparta Pike.

Travelers should plan for extra travel time due to the detours.

Please note that all work is weather-dependent. Drivers are reminded to slow down and move over in work zones. Tennessee’s Move Over Law, enacted in 2006, carries penalties of up to 30 days in jail and a maximum fine of $500 for violations.

For the latest updates on construction and traffic, visit the TDOT SmartWay map at TDOT SmartWay or call 511 for travel information.

Due to scheduling conflicts the Smith County Financial Management Committee scheduled for tomorrow will be postponed. The next meeting is on Thursday, September 19^th at 5:30 pm at the Turner Building back conference room.

The Carthage City Council held its monthly meeting on September 5th at 6:00 pm. Several items were discussed. Watch the full meeting below.

Thanks to Teresa’s Gifts for sponsoring Smith County Insider’s live broadcast of this meeting.

Subscribe to Smith County Insider’s YouTube channel to stay up-to-date on meeting coverage, business spotlights, video features, and more!

The Carthage City Council generally meets at 6:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at Carthage City Hall, located at 314 Spring Street in Carthage, Tennessee – 37030.

All meetings are open to the public and streamed live at https://www.facebook.com/smithcountyinsider/.

The Smith County Government has approved the Smith County Misdemeanor Probation Office to hire a new probation officer. This position is for a full-time employee who will work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The minimum requirements will be a High School Diploma or GED and/or experience working in the Criminal Justice System. The new employee should be organized, respectful, prompt, attentive to detail, have strong communication skills, be able to use Microsoft Word and Excel, and be receptive to learning new skills. Our department meets with the public daily and frequently is required to testify in a court of law, so these skills are a must.

The Smith County Misdemeanor Probation Department is now accepting applications until September 20, 2024. Please send all applications to Mlbush@smithcountytn.gov or bring them to the probation office at 322 Justice Dr, Carthage, TN 37030.

by Rachel Petty – UT Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development

My friends, I have to admit that I spent most of this summer with the tune of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” stuck in my head. Since October of last year, we have known that our state-winning 4-H Forestry Judging team from Smith County was headed to “almost heaven” West Virginia to compete at the National 4-H Forestry Judging invitational.

The National 4-H Forestry Invitational was held at Jackson’s Mill in Weston, West Virginia, on July 21-25, 2024, and Tennessee was blessed to come home with 3rd Place in the nation.

Our Tennessee team was made up of Easton Bibbings, Emmy Bibbings, Owen Meeks, and Gabe Harville and coached and mentored by Smith County 4-H Alumni Carson Meeks. I had the pleasure of attending with this group as a chaperone and a cheerleader.

In addition to our 3rd Place overall team win, Tennessee also brought home 1st Place in the Forestry Bowl portion of the competition, and Gabe Harville was named the overall 5th Place individual competitor.

In the Woodsmen’s Skills Fun Competition held on Wednesday evening, Emmy Bibbings, along with her new friend Cora from the Florida team, received a 3rd place ribbon in the Jill-and-Jill Log Rolling contest.

Now, allow me to set the scene for all of you who are reading along…

After a journey up and across Kentucky and into West Virginia, our National Forestry Invitational experience officially began on Sunday afternoon, when we arrived at Jackson’s Mill, got ourselves checked in, and got to work settling in to our charming yet rustic accommodations for the week. Sunday evening consisted of meeting the other students, chaperones, and coaches from 10 other states that were represented at the competition. For the evening social, Tennessee brought Moon Pies and Mountain Dew to share as a representation of our great state.

Monday was Contest Orientation Day, where students got to learn from experts in the forestry industry and get hands-on with each part of the competition: Tree Identification, Tree Measurement, Forest Evaluation, Forest Health (Insect & Disease ID), Compass and Pacing, and Topographic Maps. Monday evening concluded with a college and career fair and an invigorating “Night Sounds of the Appalachians” presentation led by Kevin Dodge from Garrett

College in Maryland. Gabe was even invited up on stage to give his best impersonation of a preening woodcock, which gave us all a good laugh!

Tuesday was an intense day full of individual competition events, and our team suited up in Tennessee orange for good luck! We wound down on Tuesday night with Council Circle, where each state presented a skit to the rest of the group. Our skit featured the story of Tennessee’s most famous pioneer, “Gabe-y” Crockett, as he journeyed, Biltmore stick in hand, across the state’s three grand divisions, spurred ever onward by the improvisational voice of Mr. Carson Meeks. We ended the night with a little stress relief in the form of some line dancing after dark!

Before we knew it, Wednesday had arrived – our last full day at Jackson’s Mill. Wednesday started bright and early with the team competition events, including the Forest Evaluation and Forestry Bowl competitions. As the day progressed, our Tennessee team kept coming out on top during the ten-team bracket, quiz bowl style Forestry Bowl competition and finally emerged victorious after facing Indiana in the final head-to-head heat in front of everyone. We took advantage of a break before the final match to travel down the road to the famous Coke & Float for a sweet treat. Wednesday evening brought more fun in the form of the forestry-themed lumberjack games on the lawn, where students paired up to try their hand at the Log Roll, Pulpwood Toss, and Cross-Cut Sawing.

Our 4-H Forestry Invitational experience concluded with the Awards Presentation on Wednesday night, where we all waited with bated breath to hear the results. Afterwards, we celebrated our 3rd Place finish and took some time to reflect on all of the hard work and dedication it took to represent Smith County and Tennessee on the national stage. I could not be prouder of Easton, Emmy, Owen, Gabe and Coach Carson!

Jackson’s Mill is maintained by West Virginia University Extension and is the oldest 4-H Camp in the nation and also the birthplace of the 4-H All-Star program. I can’t imagine a more perfect location for these bright young 4-H’ers from all across the nation to spend a week learning about forestry, silviculture, and themselves as they competed both as teammates and individuals.

In the true spirit of the 4-H Outdoor Recreation project, we stopped one last time on Thursday to appreciate wild and wonderful West Virginia at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve on our way back home.

What an excellent contest and an excellent week full of fun and educational opportunities for our 4-H’ers!

Looking back on this once-in-a-lifetime experience, we sure are glad that those country roads did indeed lead us back home to Smith County with some new accomplishments under our belt and a few good stories to tell.

Reflecting on his National Forestry experience, Gabe Harville had this to say: “I encourage anyone who is interested in forestry, wildlife, or fisheries to participate in forestry judging, because you never know where it may take you!” Wise words indeed.

If you would like to learn more about 4-H Forestry Judging or the Smith County 4-H program as a whole, please call the UT Extension Office at 615-735- 2900 or email me at rpetty@utk.edu.

Although Labor Day has come and gone, don’t think summer and family vacations have to be over! Are you looking for a quick family adventure on a dime? There are many opportunities for families to enjoy each other’s company and for parents to teach children many life lessons throughout the year.

· There are many cool weather plants that flourish in the fall and later. Visit a nursery where you can choose plants and flowers that you would like to grow as a family. Herbs are nutritious and beautiful plants that you might consider. You can turn this into a science experiment for children.

• Go on a hike. There are many trails, areas, and parks where families can explore on their own. Pack a picnic lunch and enjoy the great outdoors. National Parks have several free entrance days throughout the year. Check out https://www.nps.gov to find a date that works for your family.

• Geocaching adds adventure for young and old alike. Enjoy this “treasure hunt” together and see new places and things in places near or far. Geocaching is an engaging adventure that combines technology, the outdoors, and exploration.

• Groupon/Scoopon, LivingSocial, and many other websites offer hidden gems at half the price. Explore every corner of your state with these tools.

• Search for local festivals across the state. Tennessee has free events year-round that include toy train shows, reenactments, music, and various food and garden festivals. Enjoy a weekend and potentially find new hobbies for the family.

Whether you have a few days to leave town or two weeks, packing all the essentials into a carry-on seems like an impossible task. Pack like a professional with these tips:

· Pack fast-drying or athletic tops. If your top gets dirty, you can wash it and be ready to go within the half hour.

· Wear your walking shoes and pack dressier shoes in a suitcase to stay comfortable or to be ready for a night out.

· Pack items by type in plastic bags with dryer sheets to keep your suitcase organized and smelling fresh.

· Use a multipurpose soap in a refillable bottle to cut down on space.

Fall is an excellent time to extend family togetherness. Although many students are in school, a two-day weekend getaway can be a beautiful time to enjoy the wonders of nature with the whole family.

Cornflake Treats

1 cup sugar

1 cup white Karo syrup

6 cups cornflakes

1 cup peanut butter

In medium saucepan cook syrup over medium heat stirring constantly until rolling boil. Let boil 30 seconds. Remove from heat, add peanut butter, mix well, pour over cornflakes. Mix gently and drop onto wax paper in small portions. Makes 3 dozen.

Submitted by: Linda Lankford, Elmwood/Chestnut Mound FCE Club