World wide evangelist Richard Green will be among the many preachers who will come from across America to participate in the special services at Grace Baptist Church on Monday and Tuesday, August 28th and 29th.

This will be the 23rd year for these services that consist of gospel singing and preaching to Praise the Savior, Preach the Scriptures and Prop Up the Saints. The public is invited to attend. The service times are as follows:

Monday 1:00 - 5:00 pm Singing and Preaching
6:00 - 7:00 pm Supper in Fellowship Hall
7:00 pm Singing and Preaching

Tuesday 9:00 am - 12:00 pm Singing and Preaching
12:00 - 1:00 pm Lunch in Fellowship Hall
1:00 - 5:00 pm Free Time
6:00 - 7:00 pm Supper in Fellowship Hall
7:00 pm Singing and Preaching

Grace Baptist Church is located at 747 West Magnolia Avenue in McKenzie. For further information call Pastor Fred Morris at 731-225-3610.

  

MCKENZIE (August 21) - Bethel College opened its doors Monday to over 900 students as it began the 2006-2007 academic year.

"It has truly been an awesome and rewarding experience in giving our students an opportunity to gain a quality education," said Tina Hodges, enrollment director of admissions and financial aid. "Our staff has worked very hard and dedicated special time to each student enrolled."

Registrar Shirley Martin reported there are approximately 907 traditional students and 50 physician assistant students enrolled as of Monday afternoon.

Due to continuing registration, no numbers are currently available for graduate students, Martin said. SUCCESS Web Site Coordinator Michellia D. Wilson reported that the program had approximately 1,250 students as of Monday.

Martin stressed that these numbers are only early estimates and will most likely change over the next few weeks. "We're hesitant to say that enrollment is up or down this year. These numbers aren't comparable yet to last year's numbers," she added.

According to Kimberly Martin, assistant public relations director, this semester promises to be yet another semester of growth for Bethel, not only in enrollment, but also in facilities. The new Wildcat Football Stadium will open during the first home game of the season on September 2.

Lots of festivities are planned for the stadium grand opening, including tailgating and entertainment for the entire community - music, balloon animals, face painting, a petting zoo, pony rides and a dunking booth. Activities begin at 4:00 p.m.

"The kids are really excited to have this great new field to play on," said Head Football Coach Dino Kaklis, "and now they're ready to prove they deserve to have one of the best facilities in the conference."

In addition to the start of a new season of athletic events, the beginning of the fall semester also brings the continuation of other campus traditions. The customary Opening Convocation will be held Tuesday, August 29.

Rick Owen, pastor of St. Matthew Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Burleson, Texas, will be the speaker at the service. Owen has been the pastor at St. Matthew since 1986. During that time, he has also served as moderator of the Red River Presbytery, Chair of the Red River Board of Missions, and Red River Board of Missions Regional Conference and Seminar Speaker.

Owen received a Master of Divinity degree from Texas Christian University in 1990. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Midwestern State University. Prior to becoming the pastor at St. Matthew, he was the associate pastor at St. Andrew Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Odessa, Texas.

He now lives with his wife and three sons in Burleson, where he coaches little league baseball and basketball, is a member of the Burleson Chamber of Commerce, and serves as an adjunct counselor for the Burleson Independent School District.

"Exciting things are happening at Bethel," said Bethel College President Dr. Robert Prosser. "We hope that the whole community will take notice and will come out and support Bethel this semester."

CARROLL COUNTY - The candidates are in for the November municipal elections in Bruceton, Hollow Rock, Huntingdon, McKenzie, McLemoresville, and Trezevant.

MCKENZIE will elect a mayor and three aldermen. Two candidates qualified for the office of mayor. Incumbent Mayor Walter Winchester is seeking re-election for a second four-year term. He is being opposed by William L. (Bull) Bullington, a paramedic with McKenzie Regional Ambulance Service. Jerry Arthur is seeking re-election for Ward 2. Arthur is being opposed by Charles Ramey and Steve Watson. Willie Huffman is seeking re-election for Ward 3. He is being opposed by Brad Davis and David L. Smith. Gene Hale is unopposed for his re-election bid for Ward 5.

BRUCETON will elect a mayor and two aldermen at large. Terms expiring include Mayor Robert Keeton, III, and aldermen Bob Clark and Dan Young.

Keeton is unopposed in his re-election bid. Bob Clark and Robert Cole qualified for the two aldermen seats. Dan Young did not seek re-election.

HOLLOW ROCK will elect a mayor and two aldermen at large. Terms expiring include Mayor Greg Hillard and aldermen Tim Runions and Ronnie Webb. Tim Runions is running unopposed for the mayorial position. Six candidates qualified for the two aldermen positions. The top two vote-getters will be elected. Candidates include: Bobby Brotherton, Bill Eubanks, Charles O. "Rip" Hill, Ra Sha' Mathis, Susan Moon, and Ronnie Webb.

HUNTINGDON will elect three aldermen. The terms of Melissa Powell, John Sanders, and Jeff Bailey are expiring. Seeking the office are Jeffery L. Bailey, Brian McDowell, Melissa Powell, John L. Sanders, and Daniel D. Williams.

MCLEMORESVILLE will elect a mayor and five aldermen. The terms of Mayor Phil Williams and aldermen Harold Blow, Angie Martin, Sue Newsome, Don T. Reed, and Barbara Younger are expiring. Williams is uncontested in his bid for re-election as mayor. Five candidates are seeking aldermen seats. Candidates are Harold Blow, Larry D. Elliott, Angie Martin, Don T. Reed, and Barbara Younger. Sue Newsome is not seeking re-election.

TREZEVANT will elect three aldermen, however, only two candidates qualified. The terms of Joe Butler, James E. Moore, Jr., and Bobby Blaylock are expiring. Incumbent Bobby Blaylock and newcomer George E. Jennings are seeking election.

For qualifying information, contact the Carroll County Election Commission at 986-1968.

The conference center at the Paris Landing State Park will be dedicated in honor of L. Don Ridgeway on Thursday, August 24 at 11:00 a.m.

Ridgeway served with distinction in the Tennessee House of Representatives for 18 years, 1985-2002, representing the citizens of Benton, Carroll, Dickson, Henry, Houston, and Stewart counties. He was an advocate of the Tennessee State Parks.

"Tennessee State Parks is pleased to recognize Representative Ridgeway's outstanding career in public service and many contributions to outdoor recreation in Tennessee my naming the Conference Center at Paris Landing State Park in his honor," said the news release.

Jim Fyke, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation will attend the dedication.

Commuters and travelers throughout Tennessee now have a new convenient resource for obtaining valuable information about travel conditions anytime via the phone or Internet.

Governor Phil Bredesen and Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely announced the launch of the new Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) statewide 511 traveler information system last week.

By dialing 511 or logging on to www.TN511.com, travelers throughout Tennessee now can access accurate, real-time road and weather conditions including traffic congestion, incidents, construction, and closures. Travelers can find out about their routes before leaving on a trip, whether across town or across the state.

There is no charge for a 511 call from a land line phone. If dialing from a cell phone, normal airtime and roaming charges would apply according to the terms of the caller's wireless contract.

5-11 is an easy to remember, three-digit phone number for travel information, similar to 911 for emergencies and 411 for directory assistance.

Callers simply dial 5-1-1, then request the information they need. The voice-activated system can alert callers to major closures on the interstate, U.S. route and state routes, weather information, Amber Alerts, links to neighboring state 511 systems, and TDOT's Record-A-Comment phone line 24-hours a day.

How to Use the 511 System

The Tennessee 511 phone system uses voice-activated technology and touch tone technology. When you dial 511, the system will greet you and will present a menu of options. Here's what you hear on the main menu:

• To hear up-to-date traffic information, press 1 or say "Traffic Conditions." You can then request a highway or region.
• For weather conditions, press 2 or say "Weather."
• To transfer to a 511 system in a neighboring state, press 3 and say "Other States."
• To leave a comment with your feedback on this system, press 4 or say "Comment."
• For assistance on using the system, press 5 or say "Help." To hear the options again, press star or say "Repeat."

Hearing-impaired callers can dial 711 and ask the operator to connect them to 511, or they can get the information provided on 511 at www.TN511.com.

"We hope Tennesseans and visitors alike will begin to rely on this remarkable new technology whenever they travel around our state," said Bredesen. "This is a convenient informational tool that can help drivers avoid the frustration of traffic tie-ups and, more importantly, make their travels safer."

"Tennessee 511 is another resource TDOT provides to help travelers make good decisions," added TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. "We believe that this system has been well planned and carefully tested. It is an important investment for our department to make for the people we serve."

TDOT has added the Tennessee 511 voice-activated system to TDOT SmartWay (Tennessee's intelligent transportation system), which already provides camera links, traffic information, and weather-related road conditions online on TDOT's homepage, and has linked the 511 phone service with the SmartWay information on the Web.

Tennessee's 511 service is part of a nationwide effort to provide traveler information. Tennessee is the 24th state to launch a 511 system since the initiative began in 2000. Tennessee is the first state to launch a comprehensive system that includes interstates and state routes. The nationwide 511 system has logged over 55-million calls since its inception and is available locally to over 93-million Americans. For more information about 511 deployment, visit www.deploy511.org.

Tennessee information is available from out of state by dialing toll-free 1-877-244-0065. Neighboring states with 511 systems are Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina. Several other states are in the planning stages for their systems.