It’s that time of the year again when we see a rise in the need of food and utility assistance. If you or some one else needs any help this year please call the Smith County Help Center at 615-735-8090 (ext 1). This will get you in touch with the office personnel, so we can schedule you an appointment. You will need to bring some documentation with you, such as, an official ID, proof of residence, and  proof of income. We update client files once a year, not with every visit. A client can get a food box every 30 days, and when available with our food boxes, you will get a $20.00 voucher for meat, produce and dairy. Clients can also receive assistance on utilities once per calendar year, up to $350.00. We see clients on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. 

Please keep in mind office personnel might not available on other days. If emergency assistance is needed, we can hand out traveler’s bags. This bag will not have as much as our normal food boxes. These are designed to get a client through a day until they are able to come in to talk to office personnel. 

Listed below are the items that come in every base food box. (Larger families will receive more of each item):

-3 cans of Veggies

-2 packs of Ramen Noodles

-1 can of Fruit

-1 box Instant Potatoes

-2 Hamburger Helper

-1 pack of Spaghetti Noodles 

-1 jar of Tomato Sauce

-2 Cornmeal Mix

-1 can of Pinto or White Beans

-3 Packs of Kool Aid

-1 bag Sugar

-1 jar of Jelly

-1 jar Peanut Butter 

-1 box of Oatmeal

-1 Box of Cereal

-3 Soups

-1 Box of Crackers

-1 box of Shells and Cheese

-1 can of Meat

-1 box of Pancake Mix

-1 bottle of Syrup

We are always taking donations of these items to add to our food pantry. We can also receive monetary donations to assist in purchasing these items, and encourage you to donate and shop at our 2nd Editions Thrift Store in downtown Carthage to support our mission of helping Smith County! 

Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) employees showed their support during the co-op’s cancer awareness and prevention campaign that ran throughout the month of October. Beginning Oct. 1, employees who donated $25 or more to a charitable organization of their choice with the mission of curing cancer received their choice of a pink MTE-branded hard hat, visor or trucker cap.  

Employees were enthusiastic about their support for the cause, with more than 160 hats being distributed. This translates to around $4,000 in donations to various charitable organizations.  

“We know this is a devastating disease that has touched many employees and their families,” said Gray Bateman, MTE’s chief human resources officer. “We appreciate our team members for bringing this idea forward, and we’re proud of how our team rallied behind this important cause to make a positive impact. This was an employee-driven effort from start to finish.” 

MTE shared the stories of employees who have battled cancer throughout the month, and they stressed the importance of staying on top of preventative care.  

Employees are encouraged to wear their pink hats year-round. 

Nyrstar’s Middle Tennessee Mines in Gordonsville, TN, announced that it will temporarily pause production operations on 30 November 2023. This decision comes after a thorough review and is in direct response to significantly weakened market conditions and inflationary impacts on input costs and operating margins.

As a result, employee layoffs will occur and Nyrstar plans to offer some employees alternative employment opportunities at its East Tennessee Mines and other mining operations in the US. During the pause in production operations, a limited number of staff will remain on site to ensure a safe and efficient ramp down of production activities and transition to essential services.

“We understand that the decision to pause production at the Middle Tennessee Mines will have a significant impact on our employees, their families and the local community. This decision was not taken lightly and we acknowledge the challenges this may present. These actions in no way reflect the skills and commitment of our talented team at Middle Tennessee Mines, but are a direct response to the current business conditions. We thank all members of our team for their continued support and firmly believe that this pause is necessary in these challenging market conditions in order to ensure the long-term sustainability and profitability of the mines.”, said Bill Hart, Nyrstar’s Vice President Environment, Health & Safety, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs for North American Mining.

During this temporary pause in production operations, Nyrstar plans to conduct drilling to explore and define additional zinc, germanium, and gallium resources to position the company to increase the supply to Nyrstar’s Clarksville, TN smelter upon completion of a planned investment to enable on-site germanium and gallium recovery. Once operations resume, the Middle Tennessee Mines -as part of Nyrstar’s Tennessee-based ‘mine to metal’ value chain- will supply diversified critical minerals to the US market. This will reduce reliance on foreign supply chains and help build a domestic supply chain critical to the US economy, clean energy, high tech and national security while providing quality jobs in local communities.

Nyrstar’s mining business will continue to meet its contractual obligations to supply its customer, the Nyrstar Clarksville, TN smelter, with concentrates from its East Tennessee Mines’ operations so that the Nyrstar Clarksville smelter can continue to meet the US demand for domestically produced zinc. It will also be supplemented with concentrates from external sources. Nyrstar Clarksville is not expected to be affected by the temporary pause in production at the Middle Tennessee Mines’ operations.

This announcement follows engagement between Nyrstar’s Middle Tennessee Mines management and Middle Tennessee Mines employees through a WARN Act notification.

The situation will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Production at Middle Tennessee Mines will resume as soon as it is economically viable or once the proposed gallium and germanium production capacity at Nyrstar Clarksville comes on line in the next few years.

Heartland Real Estate and Auction will feature the residence at 36 Pigeon Roost Road, Brush Creek in an absolute auction on Saturday, November 4th, 2023, at 10 a.m.

The 3 bedroom/2 bath mobile home on a permanent foundation less than 2.5 miles from I40 will be offered at absolute auction along with personal property including a Toyota Truck, Harley Davidson Motorcycle, riding mower, furniture, kitchenware, and much more.

For more information and pictures go to HeartlandREandAuctions.com

Riverview Regional Medical Center celebrated the opening of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center last week with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony. Community members, local businesses, the Smith County Chamber of Commerce and RRMC team members were invited to learn about program offerings, see new equipment, and celebrate the new service that will help patients breathe easier.

This program is a medically supervised, progressive exercise and education program for individuals with breathing problems and chronic lung disorders.The purpose of the program is to help patients overcome the fear of being short of breath and restore the highest possible functional capacity.

On the RRMC website Lauren L. Cooper, DO, Medical Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation and physician at Carthage Family Wellness said “As a physician, I am so excited to work with the respiratory team so that we can provide a better quality of life for our patients and also keep them local in the community instead of having to send them outside of the county for these services. Pulmonary rehabilitation will be a team of respiratory therapists helping patients by addressing their underlying lung diseases such as emphysema, COPD, asthma and post-covid respiratory problems, by working on not only prevention but treatment of these respiratory illnesses.”

Patients will receive education about chronic lung disease and self-management of the symptoms that accompany breathing problems. They will be guided through physical conditioning to allow for a more active lifestyle. Patients will also be trained on breathing techniques, energy conservation, stress reduction, nutrition, and the use of prescribed respiratory care equipment and medications. Every patient is treated individually in regards to their symptoms, and goals.

Education, physical conditioning, and training take place during one-hour sessions either two or three days a week, over a 12-to-18-week period. Each patient has a team of experienced healthcare professionals on their side, including a primary care provider, respiratory therapists, and dietician.

The goal for each patient is to return them to the highest possible level of independent living. To learn more about the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at RRMC, visit MyRiverviewMedical.com/Pulmonary-Rehab

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has announced the application period for the 2023 Mid-Season Waterfowl Hunts is open now through Nov. 14. Applications can be made online at https://quotahunt.gooutdoorstennessee.com, the TWRA mobile app, TWRA regional offices, or any TWRA license agent. Mailed applications will not be accepted. Applicants must be at least 16 years old. Detailed application instructions, general waterfowl quota hunt information, and WMA locations are available on the TWRA website on the Quota Hunts page.

A person may only submit one application, that can include up to 48 unique hunt choices; hunt choices may not be repeated. Qualifying parties must have at least four members, with a maximum of eight.

A party must be established by a party leader who will select the hunt choices for the entire party. A party number will be assigned to the leader after the application has been submitted. The leader informs the person(s) wishing to join the party of the party number. The members will choose “join a party” on their application and input the leader’s party number onto their application.

TWRA’s priority drawing system gives one priority point to applicants each year they apply and are not successful for any hunt. Applicants who were successful last year will start over with a priority of zero. If applicants in a party have varying priority points,

the party will assume the point status of the highest point of the party. If a party is unsuccessful, each party member’s individual priority will increase by 1 point.

A successful applicant may bring up to seven additional hunters (guests) of their choice, each day of the hunt. The number of adults in a blind or pool may not exceed eight, one of which must be a permit holder. No additional party members can be added after the drawing. Permits are nontransferable.

Successful applicants will receive an email with instructions to log-in and claim their permit before Nov. 27. Each party member must claim their own permit. Permits will be available to print after the permit has been claimed. Individuals in the party that fail to claim their permit forfeit their individual permit but may still hunt with a permit holder in attendance at the blind. If the entire party fails to claim their permits, the site location will be forfeited.

The deadline for applications is Nov. 14 at 11:59 (CDT).

Heartland Real Estate and Auction is hosting an online-only auction. This auction contains pocket knives, specialty coins, certificate currency and more.

All bidding will take place online. Bidding ends on Tuesday, October 31st at 10 a.m.

Purchases will be available for pickup on Wednesday November 1st and Thursday November 2nd at the Heartland Real Estate and Auction office in Carthage, TN. Shipping is available for additional charge. For more information, follow Heartland Real Estate and Auction on Facebook or call 615-735-9001.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Our Smith County 4-H Poultry Judging participants may not know the answer to that age-old question, but they sure do know a lot about chickens and eggs!

In the weeks leading up to the Central Region Poultry Judging Contest on Thursday, September 28, 2023, our 4-H’ers learned how to evaluate live birds for their laying capacity, how to grade eggs by evaluating their interior, exterior, and broken-out quality, how to identify different meat parts, and how to grade those parts as well as whole chicken carcasses for quality. Our 4-H’ers also learned how to identify defects in further processed poultry products like chicken nuggets and chicken patties.

The various components of the Poultry Judging contest help our 4-H’ers develop their critical thinking skills, be better stewards of their own poultry flocks at home, and even prepare them for future careers in the agriculture industry.

Eight of our outstanding 4-H’ers traveled to Murfreesboro to test their knowledge at the regional contest. Approximately 150 individuals competed in this contest, and Smith County came away with quite a few awards!

Our Junior Team was made up of Charlotte Driver, Clay Driver, and Aubrey Hicks. Charlotte placed 6th in her division. Our Junior High Team, which was made up of Emmy Bibbings, Tana Harville, Turner Harville, and Owen Meeks, placed 1st in their division. Emmy placed 5th, Turner placed 6th, and Tana placed 8th overall. Easton Bibbings competed as an individual in the Senior High division and placed 12th overall.

Gabe Harville, who represented Smith County and Tennessee as a member of our 2022 National 4-H Poultry Judging Team, did not compete this year but was invited back to help with the contest.

Congratulations to all of these fine young people on a job well done!

If you have any questions about how to get involved in Poultry Judging or any other aspect of the 4-H Poultry project, please call the Smith County office of the University of Tennessee Extension at 615-735-2900 or email rpetty@utk.edu.