By: Calvin Carter Staff Writer

“So tell me, do you think Haywood County has talent,” asked 2009, Miss Black Kentucky Tamira A. Cole, the host of Haywood’s Got Talent.

After seeing the youthful competitors perform, the crowd of course responded with an energetic “Woo!”

Hosted by UT Extension, PROMise to Strive for a Bright Future, and Extension Agent Tennille Short, the program showcased some of Haywood County’s undeniable youthful talent.

At 2 p.m., last Saturday May 8, the Ann Marks Performing Arts Center transformed into a small-town replica of American Idol, including its own judges.

Judges were Brownsville Radio Program Director Drew Magruder, Angela Taylor Boyd who has great knowledge in dance, Jessica Taylor who has a background in dance and instrumental music, and singer and musician Keith Hendrix.

The event kicked of with high schoolers Caleb Gildewell, Katherine Tritt and Mark Michael. Gildewell went towards the alternative route with his rendition of Green Day’s “Good Riddance,” while Michael took the building to church with his take on the song “Praise.”

Tritt sang and played keyboard on an original piece she wrote that would probably sound at home on pop radio.

An intermission was set, then Clifton Smith and James Gavin shook things up with a drum duet.

Jarvis Bynum followed the duo with a soulful, “Sitting on the Dock of The Bay.” Shay-Lynne Williams, who was the youngest competitor at 13, took the stage with her take on “Mercy Said No.”

The competition closed with the oldest competitor, 25-year-old Dwan Smith—also known as the Christian rapper Scapegoat—and his partner Courtney Hicks charismatically bouncing, as well as the crowd, through an original rap promoting abstinence.

After the competitors, Greg Campbell took the stage with Christian songs, “I can only Imagine” and “I will Go On.”

Suffice it to say, no one really wanted the judges’ jobs that afternoon.

“I thought you guys were going to make this easier for us,” Magruder said to the competitors. “But you’re making it really hard to judge.”

Yet, despite the difficulty, a decision was made. Third place went to Dwan Smith. Second place went to Clifton Smith and James Gavin. And first place went to Tritt, who will have the opportunity to showcase her talent this fall at the Hatchie Fall Festival.

The Brownsville States-Graphic, Thursday, May 13, 2010 —Page A11

FREDDY O. SMITH

VO

TE

FO

R

HAYWOOD COUNTY MAYOR

Our legislative system is the best in the world. Elected offi cials conduct

business and make decisions for the people who elected them.

The real beauty of our system is that when our elected offi cials do not

follow the will of the people we can vote them out.

Lets make things happen together in 2010. Your vote is the power you

have for change needed in Haywood County. Use your vote as your voice

Aug. 5thLET ME WORK FOR YOU!

EARLY VOTING JULY 16-31

9:00 A.M. TO 1:00 P.M. COURTHOUSE HALL

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When you visit the Brownsville Bells Funeral Home offi ce, one of the fi rst faces you see belongs to Judy Blair. Judy has worked with the funeral home for eighteen months and is the offi ce manager. She is very active in her church, Holly Grove Baptist. At Holly Grove she teaches the seventh and eighth grade Sunday School Class, is a Youth Committee Member, drives the Youth van on Wednesday evenings, and teaches the Bible Drill class. Judy lives in Bells and is active in both Crockett and Haywood Counties. She raised her grandson, Jacob Watson age 26, after the loss of her daughter, Cindy Watson.

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Jarvis Bynum performing an Otis Redding classic

The performers with Tamira A. Cole in the center. From left, James Gavin, Clifton Smith, Mark Michael, Cory Hicks, Dwan Smith, first place winner Katherine Tritt, Shay-Lynne Williams, Jarvis Bynum and Caleb Gildwell.

Rapper Dwan Smith aka Scapegoat.

Clifton Smith performing a duo with James Gavin

First place winner Katherine Tritt

Haywood shows its talentbudget.Fitzhugh said he hopes for significant progress this week as legislators complete other business and have only the budget to tackle. A compromise proposal currently under discussion has no gen-eral tax increase, though it includes some targeted taxes and the possibility of removing some histor-ically exempt taxes. Under consideration is increasing “sin” taxes on alcohol and tobacco products. Fitzhugh said that increase alone could account for $10 to $15 million in new revenues.“There’s the possibility of raising the professional tax and changing alloca-tion of the Hall Income tax,” Fitzhugh added. Funding the Tennessee Highway Patrol from road taxes would allow about $60 to $90 million to stay in the general budget.

No fear of “flying” for winning outdoors

writer

Brownsville’s Taylor Wil-son won first places in the best column or fea-ture category of the Ten-nessee Outdoor Writers Associations (TOWA) an-nual Excellence in Craft competition.The award was an-nounced at TOWA’s an-nual meeting , held this year in April at Clarks-ville, TN. Wilson is editor of the Mid-South Hunt-ing and Fishing News, which has been pub-lished in Brownsville for three years. His winning column was entitled, “These legs were made for flying,” and is about friend Brandon Row-land of Jackson, whose life—in the outdoors and otherwise—soars aboard camouflaged prosthetic legs.The competition for the award included outdoor writers from most of the state’s other new publi-cations.

News of Years

Gone By

See whats going on out there!

Read the Brownsville

States-Graphic

Shay-Lynne Williams