The Tennessee Council of Cooperatives recently awarded a $1,000 scholarship to Ashley Noel Barrow of Gordonsville. Ashley is a student at Tennessee Tech University. Ashley is a Junior working toward a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture; Nursery and Landscape Management.

Ashley is employed part-time at Dynamic Excavation as a heavy equipment operator. After college, Ashley intends on starting a business in landscape design and running her own greenhouses growing and propagating landscape plants for wholesale and retail purposes.

The Tennessee Council of Cooperatives is a nonprofit organization established to promote the cooperative form of business through education and promotion of all types of cooperatives. TCC has two types of memberships including “parent cooperatives” and “individual cooperatives.”

The council is made up of member representatives from various cooperative organizations in Tennessee. The total TCC membership is approximately 81 members. Leadership for TCC is provided by eleven voting board members, ten ex-officio members and one Administrative Secretary/Treasurer.

The TCC sponsors six college scholarships for agricultural students from each of Tennessee’s four-year agriculture programs: Austin Peay State University; Middle Tennessee State University; Tennessee Technological University; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the University of Tennessee, Martin; and Tennessee State University.

The scholarship program, started in 1984, is an effort to acknowledge and aid the young people most likely to return to communities served by rural cooperatives. TCC considers the scholarships an investment in the future of cooperatives and their leadership. Several scholarship recipients from the past currently serve in one of Tennessee’s cooperatives or in one of the state’s agriculture-related agencies which work with, support and help build cooperative businesses.

To be considered for the $1,000 scholarship, the student must be a citizen of Tennessee; enrolled in a college of agriculture; maintain an overall grade point average of 2.5 out of a possible 4 points; and, if possible, be in his or her junior year of study.

For more information about Tennessee cooperatives, the Tennessee Council of Cooperatives or the TCC scholarship, contact Barbara Davis, TCC Administrative Secretary, at 423-447-1222 or via e-mail to barbarabtc@bledsoe.net. For more information about Tennessee cooperatives, the Tennessee Council of Cooperatives or the TCC scholarship, please visit the TCC Web site at https://tennesseecouncilofcoops.com/

In a routine traffic stop on January 13, 2024, Sgt. Junior Fields and Deputy Bert Collins of the Smith County Sheriff’s Department uncovered a series of suspicious activities, leading to the arrest of a driver with an outstanding warrant and the discovery of narcotics inside the vehicle.

The incident began when Fields and Collins stopped a blue 2011 GMC Acadia. After running a warrant check on the driver and owner, identified as Mr. Christopher Maynard, it was revealed that Maynard had an active warrant out of Macon County for Failure to Appear. Consequently, he was placed into custody and secured in the back seat of Sgt. Junior Fields’ patrol unit.

The passenger, identified as Ms. Katie Martin, was ordered out of the vehicle and allowed to sit in Sgt. Robbie Woodard’s patrol unit due to the cold weather. A subsequent probation search of the vehicle, conducted by Deputy Collins, led to the discovery of a glass methamphetamine pipe in the center console.

Further investigation revealed a small metal tubular safe inside a locked plastic tool box, with the key found on Mr. Maynard’s key chain. Sgt. Fields noted an odor of marijuana emanating from the safe. Upon opening it, officers found a bag containing a half-ounce of marijuana, along with a small bag containing crystal methamphetamine. A set of digital scales and a container with small baggies were also discovered.

During the interaction, Mrs. Katie Martin admitted to Sgt. Fields that Mr. Maynard had handed her a bag of methamphetamine prior to the traffic stop. She cooperated with authorities, placing the said bag on the hood of Sgt. Robbie Woodard’s patrol unit. Mrs. Martin also produced a zippered bag containing two small baggies with a small amount of methamphetamine from her waist, along with a snorting tube and an empty rubber container.

Both Mr. Christopher Maynard and Ms. Katie Martin were placed under arrest and subsequently transported to the Smith County Jail for processing. No children were affected by either arrest.

By Katie Martin, Smith County Extension Agent

If you’re a cattle producer, one of your main goals if you are focusing on increasing efficiency and profitability has to be managing your forages. Most cattle in Smith County and across Tennessee graze primarily tall fescue pastures. While tall fescue has many positives like its persistence, ability to handle drought conditions, and ability to tolerate a wide range of temperatures, one drawback is most fescue is infected with a fungal endophyte that can hinder animal performance. To combat this, one simple way to improve your pastures is by adding legumes.

Adding clover to pastures or hayfields can not only increase yields but also aid in nitrogen fixation and increase animal performance. Clovers can help improve animal gains and conception rates and replace almost 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre. If interested in improving your pastures by adding legumes, simply follow the steps below to plant clover into a fescue pasture.

1. Fertilize according to soil test. The establishment and yield of clovers will be enhanced if the proper pH and nutrient levels are provided. Do not add nitrogen. Nitrogen will not kill clovers, but it stimulates grass growth and increases the potential of the clover being shaded out by the grass.

2. Seed 2 pounds of ladino white clover and 4 pounds of red clover per acre. With the clovers, be sure to use pre-inoculated seed, or inoculate the seed yourself.

3. Seed the mixture from February 15 to March 1. If the forage stubble is 2 inches or less, broadcast the seed on top of the ground.

4. Don’t graze livestock on the newly seeded pasture until the pasture is 8 inches tall. This will allow the clovers to develop a root system that will not get pulled out of the ground by grazing.

For more information about pasture management the UT Beef and Forage Center website utbeef.com contact the UT Extension office at 615-735-2900.

By Rachel Petty, UT Extension Agent, 4-H Youth Development

Twelve Smith County 4-H’ers recently had the opportunity to show off their public speaking skills at the Area II Sub-Regional 4-H Public Speaking Contest, which was held at Hyder-Burks Ag Pavilion in Cookeville on Tuesday, January 23, 2024. Our local 4-H’ers competed against their peers from ten other counties across the Upper Cumberland. 4-H’ers were invited to the area contest by placing 1st or 2nd in their grade division at our county-wide speech contest in December.

In the 4th grade division, Scarlett Hicks and Katie Wilson competed, and Katie was awarded 4th place.

In the 5th grade division, Tripp Medley and Chloe Williams competed.

Representing the 6th grade were Avery Myers and John-Haynes Winkler. John-Haynes placed 5th in that division.

Makenna Hassler and Tana Harville competed in the 7th grade division, with Makenna placing 4th and Tana placing 2nd overall.

In the 8th grade division, Turner Harville and Kasie Thomas competed, and Turner received 3rd place.

Kynlee Davis and Gabe Harville competed in the 11th grade division, and both qualified to advance to the Central Region Senior High Public Speaking contest, which was held at Cumberland University on Saturday, February 3, 2024. At this contest, Senior High 4-H’ers gave a prepared speech that was worth 75% of their score and an extemporaneous speech that counted for 25%. Gabe and Kynlee both did an excellent job!

Gabe was one of the top two in the 11th grade division, which means he will advance to compete again at 4-H Congress in March.

We are so proud of all of these 4-H’ers and the way that they represent Smith County throughout our region and state!

Please call 615-735-2900 for further information regarding the many 4-H activities and events available to our great young people in Smith County.

Local District Attorney General Jason Lawson has been selected as the newest member of the historical preservation club, the Sons of the American Revolution. SAR, and its counter-part DAR, the Daughters of the American Revolution, are civic organizations dedicated to preserving and promoting the patriotic work of our nation’s founding fathers and soldiers in fighting for American Independence in the Revolutionary War. To be admitted to the SAR, a person must be a citizen in good standing and be able to trace their ancestry directly to a Revolutionary War patriot.

District Attorney Lawson was selected to join SAR as a direct descendent of Samuel Scurlock, a young patriot soldier during the Revolutionary War who served as a private in the militia of North and South Carolina. He served for three years with the armies of General George Washington and General Nathanael Greene. At the battle of Gates Defeat, Scurlock was wounded in the leg by a musket ball shot which resulted in his medical discharge from the war due to injury. However, once recovered, Scurlock re-enlisted and fought again at the Battle of Guilford in North Carolina. He then continued to fight under General Washington through the conclusion of the war and was present at Yorktown when British General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington, ending the war. The musket ball that had caused his medical discharge was never removed, and he carried it with him in the calf of his leg for the remainder of his life where it could be easily felt by those examining.

“It is inspiring to hear the stories of the brave people who placed their lives at risk to win our freedom,” said Lawson. “I am humbled to be a descendant of one of these patriots and very proud to be part of an organization that will work to keep his memory and the memory of others like him alive and appreciated by our future generations.”

The Sons of the American Revolution participate in many initiatives throughout the year, including identification and maintaining the grave markers of patriots, placing wreaths on these graves at the holiday season, and reading of the Declaration of Independence at Fourth of July events. The organization also awards scholarships to deserving recipients for patriotic essays, as well as for participation in school JROTC or BoyScouts EagleScout programs.