Arthritis is the cause of disability for one in five adults and 300,000 children. The Arthritis Foundation (arthritis.org) is dedicated to raising awareness and reducing the intolerable impact of this serious and painful disease, which can severely damage joints and hinder people from living life to the fullest.

Walk with Ease is a free Arthritis Foundation fitness program that can reduce pain and improve overall health. If you can be on your feet for 10 minutes without increased pain, you can have success with the Walk with Ease program. Benefits of the program include:

· Motivating yourself to get in great shape

· Walking safely and comfortably

· Improving flexibility, strength, and stamina

· Reducing pain and feeling better

Studies by the Thurston Arthritis Research Center and the Institute on Aging of the University of North Carolina have shown that Walk with Ease reduces pain, increases balance and strength, and improves overall health.

Starting February 20th, I will be offering Walk with Ease at the Smith County Senior Center. Each session will include a health-related discussion and a self-paced group walk. Our one-hour classes will meet three times per week for six weeks and are designed to be relaxing and enjoyable.

For more information on the Walk with Ease program, contact Mary Parker Draper at the UT Extension office at 615-735-2900.

Stuffed Cinnamon Crescent Rolls

*For the cinnamon rolls*

½ cup granulated sugar

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

¼ cup butter, melted

Flour, as needed, for dusting a work surface

1 can refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

8 large marshmallows

*For the glaze topping*

½ cup powdered sugar

½ tsp vanilla

3 tsp milk

¼ cup pecans, chopped

Directions:

Position a rack to the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a medium size muffin tin with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and the cinnamon. Add the melted butter to another small bowl. Lightly dust a work surface with the flour. On the floured surface, separate the crescent rolls into 8 triangles. Dip the marshmallows into the butter and then into the sugar mixture, ensuring all sides are coated. Place 1 of the coated marshmallows onto each of the dough triangles, roll them up and pinch the seams to tightly seal, ensuring the marshmallow is covered. Roll each of the marshmallow rolls into the butter and then into the cinnamon sugar and place them into the prepared muffin cups. Bake the rolls until they are golden, about 12-14 minutes. Allow the rolls to cool in the muffin tin for 2 minutes. Use a butter knife or offset spatula to transfer the rolls onto a cooling rack covered with wax paper and let them cool slightly. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, milk, and beat until sugar has dissolved. Transfer the rolls to a serving platter and drizzle them with the glaze. Sprinkle the rolls with the pecans. Serve warm. Submitted by: Jan Knowles, Elmwood/Chestnut Mound FCE Club

Smith County Agriculture News – By Katie Martin, Smith County Extension Agent

The 2024 Smith County Cattlemen’s Association Annual Meeting was held on January 22nd at the Smith County Ag Center in Carthage. With one of the largest crowds ever, over 145 beef producers enjoyed a steak supper and a night of fellowship and door prizes. We want to especially thank Smith Farmers CO-OP for sponsoring the meal.

One of the highlights of the Annual Meeting each year is the presentation of the Harold Dillard Producer of the Year award. This year’s winner was Tommy Turner. Mr. Turner is well known for his outstanding Charolais cattle as well as his passion for helping youth get started showing cattle. Countless peewee exhibitors have benefited from the opportunity to walk in the show ring with his cattle at the Spring Showdown, Smith County Fair, and other shows.

For the 10th year in a row, a heifer was auctioned during the meeting as a fundraiser that will help with the youth scholarship fund. This year’s heifer was donated by Danny Baker and purchased by Dewayne Cantrell. Scholarship recipients for 2023 were Hayden Bush, Brooke Russell, Brady Russell, Lillian Dillard, Macy Turner, Abby Malone, and Bryson Greer.

The Smith County Cattlemen’s Association would like to thank all the members for being a part of our organization and to give a special thanks to those who had a hand in making this year’s annual meeting a success. We want to invite everyone to our Open Beef Show on May 4th and encourage you to follow us on Facebook at “Smith County Cattlemen’s Association.”

The Smith County Board of Education met at 5:00 p.m. on January 24, 2024

You can watch the full meeting below.

The live broadcast of this meeting is sponsored by the Smith County Insider.

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

The Smith County School Board meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 5:00 p.m. at the Smith County Board of Education, located at 126 Smith County Middle School Lane in Carthage, Tennessee.

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

The Smith County Board of Commissioners held a special-called meeting on the evening of Tuesday, January 23, 2024. The Commission met inside the Smith County Ag Center.

You can watch the full meeting below.

Thanks to Powell & Meadows Insurance Agency for sponsoring the 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 Smith County Board of Commissioners meets on the second Monday of every other month at the Smith County Agriculture Center, 159 Ag Center Lane.

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

For more information about your County Commissioners, meetings and committees visit the https://smithcotn.com/county-commissioners.

The Carthage City Council held its monthly meeting on Thursday, January 11th 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 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/.

Troop 367 Scouts BSA is pleased to announce that Coleman Grant Pedigo has earned the rank of Eagle Scout! Since 2007, he becomes the seventeenth Scout from Troop 367 to attain this honor and ranks in the 7% of middle Tennessee Scouts in his accomplishment. Plans are being made to hold an Eagle Scout Court of Honor where he will be presented the Eagle Scout Award before family, friends, and members of the community.

The determination was made on Sunday afternoon, January 28, 2024, by members of the Cumberland River District Advancement Committee of the Middle Tennessee Council of the Boy Scouts of America.  During the interview, the Eagle Board of Review paid special attention to the candidate’s leadership skills in the community.

For his Eagle Scout Community Service Project Coleman designed and constructed a 10’ x 12’ x 8’ (side wall height) storage shed and a 3’ x 3’ donation box for the Emmanuel House in Carthage.  (The Emmanuel House is a transitional living facility where homeless women and children can find temporary housing, spiritual mentorship, transportation, life skills training, education and access to recovery and social service.) Donations of materials from Cumberland Supply in Carthage and Tucks Building Center in Lafayette made this project possible along with the help of fellow Scouts.

The elder son of Josh and Karen Pedigo, Coleman is a senior at Lafayette High School with plans to pursue his passion for aviation in MTSU’s Department of Aerospace Professional Pilot Program.

Information provided by Vivian Reynolds, Boy Scout Leader.

In the background, Josh and Karen Pedigo pose on either side of their son Coleman after the pronouncement of Eagle Scout was made by the Eagle Board of Review: l-r, Lynn Ray, Danny Ray, Doug DeLong, Scott Penfield, and Stacey Rodenbach.

U.S. Representative John Rose’s (TN-6) district staff will hold a series of local office hours for constituents to connect directly with caseworkers and receive assistance with federal agencies throughout the month of February.

During the local office hours, district staff will be available to answer questions and assist constituents with federal casework, such as social security and veterans’ benefits, steps for obtaining a passport, and more. Local office hours occur monthly. If you have questions, please contact one of Representative Rose’s offices so a staff member may help you.

“We are ready to assist constituents with federal casework and welcome anyone with questions to sit down with staff,” said Representative Rose. “My goal is to make the expertise of my staff and the resources of this office easily accessible to every person I represent.”

Details for local office hours can be found below and on Representative Rose’s website.

Tuesday, February 20, 2023

TIME: 1:00pm-2:00pm

WHAT: Smith County Local Office Hours
LOCATION: Smith County Admin Building, 122 Turner High Circle, Carthage, TN 37030

WHO: Representative Rose will be represented by Field Representative Lou Nave during this visit.

At the request of 15th Judicial District Attorney General Jason Lawson, law enforcement agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) have responded to a shooting incident around the 300-block of Rawls Creek Road – Gordonsville, TN.

The incident occurred early Tuesday morning, January 30, 2024. The victim has been identified as Theodore Taylor, born on January 3, 2003. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under active investigation, as authorities work diligently to piece together the events leading to this incident.

The TBI has not released further details about the circumstances of the shooting. Susan Niland, spokesperson for the TBI, told Smith County Insider that the investigation remains active and ongoing at this time and more information would be released as it becomes available.

Check back to Smith County Insider for updates. We will update this post when more information becomes available to us.

Congratulations to all the Hilltoppers at Western Kentucky University who earned a spot on the Dean’s and President’s List for the fall 2023 semester!

Smith County residents included –

• Brennan Rigsby 
• William Maynard 
• Graycee West 

Full-time undergraduate students with a semester grade-point average of 3.4 to 3.79 are named to the Dean’s List Students with a GPA of 3.8 to 4.0 are named to the President’s List. Their names are marked with an asterisk (*). The list is located at https://www.wku.edu/mediarelations/deanslist.php

More than 6,220 Middle Tennessee State University students are included on the latest dean’s list for their academic achievements for the fall 2023 semester. Eleven Smith County students made the list. To qualify for the dean’s list, an undergraduate student must maintain a current semester grade-point average of at least 3.5 and have earned at least 12 semester hours.

Congratulations Smith County students at MTSU including –

• Janna Miriam Abou-Rahma Lebanon TN-SMITH
• Ethan Rogers Walker Chaffin South Carthage TN-SMITH
• Katelyn Noel Chandler Carthage TN-SMITH
• Lillian E Dillard Gordonsville TN-SMITH
• Cameron Cruz Loftis Carthage TN-SMITH
• Michela Shay Loftis Carthage TN-SMITH
• Christopher D Richmond Brush Creek TN-SMITH
• Chale’t Leigh Smith Carthage TN-SMITH
• Isabella Rose Terry Pleasant Shade TN-SMITH
• Allexis Denise Caroline West Pleasant Shade TN-SMITH
• William James Jefferson Woodard Hickman TN-SMITH

The searchable PDF is available here. This new list, alphabetized by home county, state and surname, is the final compilation by the MTSU Registrar’s Office of the names and hometowns of 6,227 undergraduate students earning the dean’s list distinction for the fall. The dean’s list notation applies only to undergraduate students. MTSU updates the lists after each semester ends and student grades are posted.

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s fall 2023 dean’s list has been posted online.

To qualify for the dean’s list, an undergraduate student must earn a term grade point average of 3.90 to 4.00 (summa cum laude), 3.7 to 3.89 (magna cum laude) or 3.50 to 3.69 (cum laude). Students must complete at least 12 credit hours, not counting work taken on a satisfactory/no-credit basis, to be eligible.

The list is searchable by semester, name, hometown, state and county (Tennessee only). Eight Smith County students made the 2023 Fall Deans list including Kalli Cothron, Ethan Crockett, Emma Flood, Ashby Long, Lily Manor, Seth Manor, Olivia Phillips, Neelie Sloan and Natalie Smith.