Habitat for Humanity Chili Cook-off A Success

Approximately 300 people enjoyed chili Friday at Habitat for Humanity?s Third Annual Chili Cook-off, which was held at the First Methodist Church CFC. The Inn at Evins Mill took the top honors for Best Chili, with ?The Chuckwagon Chili Crew? from the DeKalb County Board of Education following in second place and Middle Tennessee Natural Gas in third. In the decorating contest, ?Great Bowls of Fire? from Bradley Printing placed first, followed by Middle Tennessee Natural Gas in second place and the ?Edgar Evins Chili Peppers? from Edgar Evins State Park in third.
According to Tecia Puckett Pryor, Habitat board president, the event raised $3,300.00, which will be used toward the building of the second Habitat house in DeKalb County. ?We were really pleased with the turnout, especially in light of the weather,? said Pryor. ?We appreciate all the teams for their participation and for their flexibility and good sportsmanship. We also appreciate everyone who came out to eat chili and those who donated baked goods to sell. I think everybody had a great time, and we look forward to another successful cook-off next year.?
Nine teams participated in the event, including ?Great Bowls of Fire? from Bradley Printing, ?Curves Divas? from Curves of Smithville, ?Chuckwagon Chili Crew? from the DeKalb County Board of Education, ?The Hot Checks Chili? from DeKalb Community Bank, ?The Courthouse Crew? from the DeKalb County Courthouse, ?Edgar Evins Chili Peppers? from Edgar Evins State Park, ?The Bean Counters? from Tom Janney, CPA and Associates, Middle Tennessee Natural Gas, and The Inn at Evins Mill. The Middle Tennessee Times had a ?Times Tummy Table,? and sold items for post-chili relief.
Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates houses in partnership with volunteers and families in need, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged. To contact Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County, please call 215-8181.

Kasey Layne Holiday

45 year old Kasey Layne Holiday of Liberty died Tuesday at Centennial Medical Center. He was a Baptist. He was preceded in death by his mother, Grace Phillips Vaughn and a brother, Byron Vaughn. Survivors include his father, Eugene Vaughn of Smithville; a brother, David Vaughn of Smithville; and a sister, Deborah Vaughn Smith of Nashville. Mr. Holiday’s remains have been cremated and a memorial service will be held at a later date. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.

William Henry

59 year old William Henry “Bill” Webb of Smithville died Tuesday at the emergency room of DeKalb Community Hospital. He was a U.S. Army veteran and a painter. He was preceded in death by his wife Roberta Sue Webb and his parents, Darrell and Berdia Wilson Webb. Survivors include his children, Sarah Williams, Juanita Stout, Billy Webb, Kara Hucklebee all of Missouri and Ricky Webb of Indiana. Several grandchildren; a brother, Donald Webb of Indiana, and a sister, Sharon Hutcheson of Smithville. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. The family has requested that donations be made, in lieu of flowers, to DeKalb Funeral Chapel to help with funeral expenses. Mr. Webb’s remains have been cremated. No services will be held.

County Commission Gives First Reading Approval To Proposed Changes In Subdivision Regulations

The DeKalb County Commission Monday night adopted proposed amendments to the Subdivision Regulations on first reading upon the recommendation of the Planning Commission.
Second and final reading passage will be scheduled following a public hearing at the next county commission meeting in November.
One of the proposed amendments pertains to the design and construction of new roads in subdivision developments.
County Mayor Mike Foster, reading from the proposed resolution Monday night, said “A revision of minimum standards for new roads has been determined as necessary in order to help protect the DeKalb County taxpayers from excessive and unnecessary expenditures for road maintenance, in order to provide fair and equitable treatment to all persons seeking to have suitable roads within the county.”
Under the proposed amendment, Foster says developers would be required to put down two inches of hot mix. “They would still do the six inch base and 20 foot width of surface but they would also, after completing the two inches of asphalt binder, come back and add 1 ? inches of wearing surface after everything is done for a total of 3 ? inches of concrete.”
The following is the proposed amendment:
Cross Section
Right of Way- Local 50 feet, Collector 60 feet
Roadbed Width- Local 28 feet, Collector 34 feet
Width of Base- Local 22 feet, Collector 32 feet
Thickness of Base- Local 6 inches, Collector 8 inches
Width of Surfacing- Local 20 feet, Collector 26 feet
*Thickness of Asphalt Binder- Local 2 inches, Collector 2 inches
*Thickness of Wearing Surface-Local 1 ? inches, Collector 1 ? inches
Thickness of Total Surface- Local 3 ? inches, Collector 3 ? inches
*The compacted thickness of the asphalt concrete surface (Hot Mix) shall be determined by road classification and shall not be less than as indicated above.
Another proposed amendment would revise the “Hillside Development Standards” by adding the following text, ” Lots that have slopes thirty percent or greater shall be inspected by the Planning Commission. Lots that are deemed not suitable for construction and not approved, shall be left as open green space for the developments.”
The existing regulations reads, “For area and width requirements, the maximum total increase shall not exceed fifty percent for any slope of thirty percent or greater.”
Foster says the proposed change is primarily meant to stop some lot developments on the lake that are actually too steep for development.”
Another amendment seeks to revise regulation standards concerning the design of “Flag Lots”.
The proposed amendment states that “Within a subdivision, occasional “Flag Lots” may be permitted with a minimum “50 feet Road Frontage” section for driveway and utility access and a minimum 30,000 square foot acre building site at the end of a driveway-utility strip. In such situations, the strip cannot exceed 300 feet in length. Also, such lots must be restricted from further subdivision unless the strip is built to road standards. Such lots cannot exceed 10% of a total development.”

Carter Appeals Statutory Rape Sentence

53 year old Gary Marshall Carter, sentenced last month on a charge of statutory rape, has filed a notice of appeal of the judgment to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
Criminal Court Judge Leon Burns Jr., on September 25th, denied Carter’s request for judicial diversion and ordered Carter to serve nine months of a two year sentence and then be on probation for a total of four years.
The charge stems from an alleged incident dating back to the Spring of 2005 and involves a girl who was under the age of 18 at the time.
Carter had entered a plea at an August hearing but filed the request for judicial diversion hoping to avoid any jail time.
As part of the sentence, Carter was required to submit to the Sexual Offender Registration and Monitoring Act and he is now listed on the TBI Sexual Offender Registry.
On Tuesday, October 24th , Carter filed a $50,000 appearance/surety bond and will apparently be free pending the disposition of the appeal.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says he was approached Monday night by Carter’s attorney Hilton Conger asking if the Sheriff would agree to a work release program for Carter, subject to the court’s approval, so that Carter could keep his job at the county landfill.
Sheriff Ray told Conger he would not agree to such a request due to the seriousness of the offense and due to the fact that the Sheriff’s Department has no work release program.
Sheriff Ray said he also turned down Conger’s request to make Carter a trusty at the jail. Sheriff Ray says he told Conger that he doesn’t permit convicted sex offenders to be trusty’s .

Michael Anthony Shaw

34 year old Michael Anthony Shaw of Watertown died Sunday morning at his residence. He was a DeKalb County native, a plumbing and electric worker, and a member of the Temple Missionary Baptist Church. The funeral will be Monday at 2:00 p.m. at Hunter Funeral Home in Watertown. Gerald England will officiate and burial will be in New Hope Cemetery. Visitation will be Monday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Survivors include his wife, Tina Hill Shaw of Watertown, a daughter, Macy Shaw of Gordonsville. His parents, Bill and Linda Shaw of Smithville. A sister, Tammy Hooper of Defeated Creek. Three brothers, Tommy Payne of Strawberry Plains, Jeff Payne of Lebanon, and Billy Shaw of Smithville. His father-in-law and mother-in-law, Silas V. and Melba Sue Hill of Watertown. Hunter Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Lebanon Man Charged With Rape of Dowelltown Girl

A 22 year old Lebanon man has been charged with the Statutory Rape of a 14 year old Dowelltown girl.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says Ricky Darnell Johnson of 135 Rogers Street, Lebanon was arrested Friday evening by Wilson County authorities.
He is under a $150,000 bond
Sheriff Ray says Johnson is accused of committing statutory rape by having sex with a 14 year old girl without her consent on October 14th in Dowelltown.
The victim identified the man to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department was contacted since Johnson is from Lebanon.
Sheriff Ray says Johnson is a registered sexual offender having been convicted of an attempted aggravated sexual battery in Wilson County in September 2002. He has been on supervised probation.
In addition to the sex offense in DeKalb County, Johnson is also a suspect in a Wilson County rape, which occurred three weeks ago.

Over 500 Take Advantage of Early Voting Through Saturday

A total of 511 people have cast ballots during the first four days of early voting for the Tennessee General Election including mail-in ballots.
All early voting will be in the basement courtroom of the DeKalb County Courthouse through Thursday, November 2nd.
Hours are 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Thursday hours are from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 7th.

W.C. Keyt

77 year old W.C. Keyt of Fairfield Glade, Tennessee died Wednesday of an extended illness. He was born in Crossville but moved to Smithville at the age of six months. He attended school in Smithville and graduated from the University of Tennessee with a degree in the School of Transportation. He made transportation his career for 53 years. He was also a Korean War Veteran. The funeral will be Monday at 1:00 p.m. at the Whorton Springs Baptist Church. Roland Smith of the Central Baptist Church in Crossville will officiate and burial will follow in DeKalb Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Sunday from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at DeKalb Funeral Chapel and on Monday from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the service at 1:00 p.m. at the church. He is survived by his wife, Antha Smith Keyt of Fairfield Glade and formerly of McMinnville. A daughter, Janice Marie Burris of Nashville. Two sons, Timothy Wade Keyt of Cookeville and Robert Keyt of Chattanooga. A sister, Louise Frazier of Dowelltown. Two brothers, Lloyd Keyt of Springfield and James Keyt of Columbus, Georgia. Several nieces and nephews also survive. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.