The county commission has rejected a proposal to close a portion of a county road in the Wolf Creek area.
During the regular monthly meeting Monday night (November 28), the commission defeated a motion to give conditional approval to close 1,085 feet of the end section of Taylor Lane. The measure failed with seven voting against. Five voted in favor and one member “passed”. First district commissioner Julie Young presented a petition signed by 175 people in opposition to closing this portion of the road.
Taylor Lane is six tenths of a mile long and located near the intersection of Wolf Creek Road and the Buffalo Valley Road-Medley Amonette Road.
A landowner on Taylor Lane, Andy Redus requested that the end section of the road be closed where he has a part time residence. Redus, who lives out of the county, told the county commission in a committee meeting on Tuesday night, November 22 that he wanted to install a gate to restrict access to his private property for public safety concerns. “My residence is not a full time residence. I have no way of telling what’s going on there all the time,” he said. Redus wants to keep out sightseers, trespassers, and litterers. He had already obtained permission from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, an adjoining landowner, to erect the gate provided the Corps has access.
Janice Martin, who also has property on Taylor Lane, opposed the closure because an old cemetery is located on the road inside the area where Redus wanted to put the gate.
Although the cemetery has been there for over a century and is unkept with overgrowth Martin told the county commission during the Tuesday night committee meeting that the road should remain open for anyone who wants to visit there. “This road is not only to my (family) cemetery back there, there are other people in this county I have talked to who own businesses that have people buried in that cemetery. This is not just the two graves that you can see (stones showing) because the markers (of the other graves) are not there now. It’s a very old cemetery,” said Martin
The DeKalb County Regional Planning Commission held a public hearing in September where Martin voiced opposition but voted to recommend to the county commission that Redus’ request be approved subject to the right of access of visitors to the cemeteryand that a 35’ x 25’ hammerhead turnaround which meets with the approval of the Road Supervisor be developed at the expense of Redus.
Martin said Tuesday night that the turnaround is not large enough especially for emergency vehicles. “I am totally opposed to closing the road. Andy knew when he bought the property what he was buying. We own both sides of the road all the way back passed that area. I’m within 50 feet of the turnaround so I will have to use that turnaround on a daily basis. I took one of our hay wagons behind my vehicle back there and I could barely get turned around. It is very hard to do. I may also build another house within 50 feet of this property so I will have to have access to fire trucks, ambulances, or other emergency vehicles that would have to come in there. They would have to use this turnaround,” said Martin.
Redus claims the turnaround is large enough and provided pictures showing where he turned around there with a pickup truck pulling a sixteen foot trailer. Redus said he would provide a key to Corps officials for access to Corps property and make access available to others requesting entry to the cemetery by opening the gate himself remotely from his phone.
During Monday night’s meeting (November 28), County Commissioner Jack Barton made a motion to adopt the planning commission’s recommendation and grant Redus’ request to close 1,085 feet of Taylor Lane but he added further conditions including that the turnaround area be enlarged and for Redus to provide a key to Janice Martin for access to the cemetery. “I believe right now the turnaround is 25 feet into the hill side and 35 feet circular. (My motion) is to make it (turnaround) 30 feet in and to make the 35 feet be 60 feet. The second contingency would be to give Mr. and Mrs. Martin a key to access the cemetery like he (Redus) did the Corps,” said Barton.
Commissioner Julie Young voiced her opposition to Barton’s motion. “I would just like to put in the minutes that I passed out (a petition) with 175 signatures of first district and county residents (all but fifteen county residents) who are in opposition to the commission putting (authorizing) a gate being put across this road and denying access to a cemetery. Also in your folder you have an entity to itself (cemetery parcel) and a tax code. The tax papers of this cemetery. You also have the deed from Ms. Bethel W. Foster to Mary Helen Gill of this cemetery. I state an objection to Mr. Barton’s motion and I stand in full protest with these 175 signatures each of you have of a gate being put across a public county road on Taylor Lane,” said Young.
Commissioners voting to close this section of Taylor Lane were Jack Barton, Kevin Robinson, Joe Johnson, Jonathan Norris, and Larry Summers. Those voting against it were Julie Young, Anita Puckett, Betty Atnip, Bradley Hendrix, Jeff Barnes, Jimmy Midget, and Wayne Cantrell. Jerry Adcock “passed” and Mason Carter was absent.

DeKalb County High School Football is stepping up a class next year going from Class 3A to 4A.
Enrollments for Class 4A are from 822 to 1,102. The DCHS enrollment is 856.
DeKalb County will be part of the new five team Region 3 Class 4A which will also include Macon County, Livingston Academy, Stone Memorial, and Cumberland County.
“It’s changed a lot. We’ve been in Class 3A the last few years but now we’re in Class 4A. We’re in a smaller region but we’re with some familiar teams. Really our schedule just flip flopped in that our old region opponents are now our non region games and the teams we were playing as non-region opponents are now region like Stone Memorial, Macon County, and Cumberland County. A new team is Livingston Academy which is really not new but we haven’t played them in the last couple of years. Its only a five team region and the top four teams will go to the state play-offs but its going to be a quality region,” Tiger Coach Steve Trapp told WJLE.
For the last few years, DeKalb County has been part of Region 4 in Class 3A along with Cannon County, Grundy County, Sequatchie County, Smith County, Upperman, and York Institute.
DeKalb County’s 2017 non-region opponents will include Warren County, Upperman, Watertown, Grundy County, Cannon County, and Smith County.
“We’ve got two new teams on the schedule we haven’t played in the last few years, Watertown and Livingston Academy. We’re not playing York Institute or Sequatchie County but everybody else we played last year is still on the schedule. We picked up Watertown which is always a big game and at one time we played them more than any other team in the history of DeKalb County football. I think that is going to be a good game for us. It should be a good gate. We’ve been down there at the Jamboree for the last few years and that’s been good for us so its good to get them back on the schedule,” said Coach Trapp.
“Our schedule worked out the way I hoped it would. I had to find six ball games (non-region opponents). I had already talked to a lot of our region foes from last year, Smith County, Upperman, and Cannon County. We already had those set to play if we could get the weeks worked out. There were about four or five days when I was sweating it. I was needing one more game and the weeks I were needing were our fall break and week five which was slated for a region game. I got pretty fortunate to get Grundy County back on the schedule and to have them come here. We got a bye week on fall break so it all worked out,” Coach Trapp said.
The DCHS 2017 Football Schedule is as follows:
REGION OPPONENTS (*)
August: Jamboree TBA
August 18: Warren County- McMinnville 7 p.m.
August 25: Upperman- Baxter 7 p.m.
September 1: Stone Memorial*-Smithville 7 p.m.
September 8: Watertown-Watertown 7 p.m.
September 15: Grundy County-Smithville 7 p.m.
September 22: Cannon County-Smithvillle (HOMECOMING) 7 p.m.
September 29: Livingston Academy*-Livingston 7 p.m.
October 6: Smith County-Smithville 7 p.m.
October 13: Macon County*-Smithville 7 p.m.
October 20-BYE WEEK
October 27: Cumberland County* Crossville 7 p.m.
2017 JV Schedule:
August 21: White County-Smithville 6 p.m.
August 28: Upperman- Smithville 6 p.m.
September 11: Watertown-Smithville 6 p.m.
September 25: Cannon County-Woodbury 6 p.m.
October 9: Smith County-Carthage 6 p.m.

A 44-year-old Smithville man, who was paroled in March 2015 after serving more than 12 years in a 2002 DeKalb County murder case, is back in prison after getting into trouble with the law in Putnam County in February.
Melvin Eugene Turnbill was sent back to the Bledsoe Correctional Complex at Pikeville earlier this year, according to Neysa Taylor, Director of Communications at the Tennessee Department of Correction who spoke with WJLE Tuesday.
Turnbill was released from prison on March 9, 2015 after serving over 12 years of a 25 year sentence for facilitation of first degree murder in the September 2002 fatal shooting of Joshua Murphy in DeKalb County.
Eleven months after getting out of prison, Turnbill committed two offenses that resulted in him returning to prison for violation of his conditions for parole. Turnbill was arrested for a DUI on Saturday, February 6 followed by a burglary charge two days later on Monday, February 8. Both offenses occurred in Cookeville. According to the Putnam County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Turnbill later entered a plea to the DUI charge and was fined and sentenced to supervised probation. He made another court appearance on the burglary charge where he entered a plea to the lesser offense of aggravated criminal trespass and again was fined and sentenced to supervised probation to run concurrently with the DUI case and his state parole.
Turnbill’s next scheduled parole hearing in the murder case is set for February, 2018. His sentence is due to expire on January 7, 2022.
A co-defendant in the killing, Christopher Nicholas Orlando was denied parole in March. He is serving a 35 year prison sentence for facilitation of first degree murder in the death of Murphy. He is incarcerated at the Northeast Correctional Complex in Mountain City, Tennessee. His next parole hearing is in March, 2018.

Thirteen players on the 2016 DCHS football team and Assistant Coach Clarence Trapp will be recognized Sunday for All-Region honors during an awards banquet in Cookeville.
Trapp has been named the Region 4-3A Offensive Assistant Coach of the Year.
Head Coach Steve Trapp said the honors are well deserved. “We have fourteen guys who are going to be rewarded as far as All-Region 1st Team or 2nd Team including five guys who won superlative awards and then we also have a coach recognized. Coach Clarence is Offensive Assistant Coach of the Year in our Region. Its very exciting to see these guys get rewarded in this form or fashion. Its really an indication of the team game and what they can do with each other out there. I’m really happy and proud of all these guys, a majority of whom are multiple year winners,” Coach Trapp told WJLE
Tiger players being honored are as follows:
Region 4-3A Most Outstanding Linebacker Nick May
Region 4-3A Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman Tayvian Nokes
Region 4-3A Most Outstanding Defensive Back Bradley Miller
Region 4-3A Most Outstanding Tight End Christian Pruitt
Region 4-3A Most Outstanding Punter Matthew Poss
Region 4-3A 1st Team All Region Eli Cross
Region 4-3A 1st Team All Region Luke Green
Region 4-3A 1st Team All Region Steven Jennings
Region 4-3A 1st Team All Region Riley Sexton
Region 4-3A 1st Team All Region Devin Zaderiko
Region 4-3A 2nd Team All Region Devin Bain
Region 4-3A 2nd Team All Region Gage Delape
Region 4-3A 2nd Team All Region Tyler Cantrell

A Saturday night fire destroyed the home of James Michael “Moose” and Becky Nokes at 677 Dry Creek Road near Dowelltown.
Central dispatch received the call at around 9:00 p.m.
“The residents called 911 and reported their basement was on fire. Upon our arrival, heavy smoke was observed coming from the basement and the first floor of the home,” said DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green.
“Firefighters entered the basement but the fire, heat, and smoke were too intense to reach the basement area where the fire had already begun to breach the first floor. Firefighters had to resort to a defensive attack to protect nearby exposures, three parked vehicles outside the basement door, and a detached garage,” Chief Green continued.
“The residents were able to safely escape the home, taking only a few personal items with them but the home and remaining contents were destroyed,” he said.
The Liberty, Temperance Hall, and Main Stations responded along with the department’s tanker truck, DeKalb EMS, and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
“The residents say they noticed the power flicker a few times, heard a loud pop, and then the power went completely out. When they went to investigate, the residents discovered the fire in the basement,” said Chief Green.
“Although no official determination of the cause of the fire has been made, it is suspected to have started in the electrical breaker box in the basement,” he concluded.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol was called to the scene of a rear end crash involving three vehicles Saturday evening on Highway 83 (Allen Ferry Road).
According to Trooper Bobby Johnson, 40 year old Melanie Stansberry of Smithville was traveling west on Highway 83 (Allen Ferry Road) in a 2001 Chevy Tahoe when she was forced to stop due to another vehicle having stopped in front of her. Behind Stansberry was a 2012 Chevy Equinox, driven by 66 year old Betty Davis of Smithville who was also traveling west. Following behind Davis was a westbound 2006 Kia Spectra, driven by 38 year old Joey Redmon of Smithville.
“Ms. Davis was slowing in her travel lane when Mr. Redmon failed to stop, striking Davis’ vehicle in the rear knocking her into the rear of Mrs. Stansberry’s automobile. Mr. Redmon stated his vision was obstructed by the sun which caused him to strike Ms. Davis’s vehicle. Mr. Redmon was transported to Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital. Mr. Redmon was issued citations for failure to exercise due care and financial responsibility,” said Trooper Johnson.
Neither Davis, Stansberry or her passenger, 46 year old William Stansberry were injured.

The American Cancer Society invites you to make a special donation in honor or in memory of a loved one during the Christmas holiday season through “Love Lights a Tree”. A special memory board will be erected on the south side of the courthouse that will list the names of loved ones being honored and remembered.
The DeKalb County Unit of the American Cancer Society seeks your support in the “Love Lights a Tree” fundraising campaign to raise money for research to find a cure as well as cancer education and patient services. Donations may be made throughout the holiday season. The persons you honor or remember do not necessarily have to have suffered from cancer.
The names are in “honor of” and in “memory of” for a donation of five-dollars per name. Forms may be obtained at the local banks. For more information, contact Ivadell Randolph at 615- 597-5296, Lynda Luna at 615- 597-5837, Renee Cantrell at 615-684-2688, or Gail Taylor 615-597-5936

A midnight fire Friday destroyed a portion of a mobile home at 3620 Cookeville Highway .
The owner and resident, Debra Caldwell, escaped unharmed.
“Just before midnight (Friday) we were called to 3620 Cookeville Highway to a mobile home fire,” said DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green.
“Upon our arrival, we found half of the structure fully involved with other nearby structures threatened. The owner, Debra Caldwell, was at home and her dog awoke her. Caldwell then heard her smoke alarms sounding. The house became filled with smoke but Caldwell managed to escape with her purse and her dog. She went next door to her mother’s house and had her mother call 911,” Chief Green continued.
Members of the Cookeville Highway, Short Mountain Highway, and Main Stations responded along with the County Fire Department’s tanker truck, DeKalb EMS, and Sheriff’s Department.
“Another person rented half of the trailer but he was out of town for the holiday weekend,” added Chief Green.
“Approximately half of the trailer was totally destroyed and the remaining portion received extensive heat and smoke damage. The fire caused no damage to any nearby structures,” he said.
“Mrs. Caldwell and her dog suffered some smoke inhalation but Mrs. Caldwell refused medical treatment and transport by EMS”.
“The fire began in a kitchen area but the exact cause is under investigation,” Chief Green concluded.

A 35 year old Smithville man was injured after losing control of his 2003 Ford Explorer on New Home Road (State Highway 83) Saturday afternoon. The vehicle overturned on its top.
Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Joshua Isaac Melton was traveling east when his vehicle went off the right side of the highway into a ditch, hit a fence and then overturned on a road sign before coming to rest on its top.
Members of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s extrication and rescue team were called to the scene to help free Melton who was trapped in the vehicle. He was taken by DeKalb EMS to Saint Thomas DeKalb Hospital. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department was also on the scene.
Melton was later airlifted from the hospital to Vanderbilt Hospital

Since the election commission closed the Cherry Hill precinct some members of the county commission have expressed an interest in selling the property. But in order to do that the county will have to file an application with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to remove a deed restriction and purchase the 0.24 acre lot.
More than three decades ago, the state deeded the lot to the county at no cost but included a provision that requires the county to use the property “ for public purposes for the benefit of DeKalb County citizens”. The county later built a community center on the lot and still owns and maintains the facility although no one uses it anymore.
“At one point, it served its purpose but interest in the community center has declined to the point where no individual or group uses it anymore. The county maintains and upkeeps utilities, mowing, etc of the entire facility at taxpayer dollars with no use by its citizens. The building is also in need of repair. In the summer of 2011 there was an effort from several individuals in the community to revive the center but there was not enough interest. They made a web page when they tried to revive it. They had tee shirts printed up. They had meetings and tried to have a barbeque to raise money but there was no interest. That was the last organized effort by the community dealing with the center. We have had nobody call wanting to rent or use it,” County Mayor Tim Stribling told the county commission during a committee meeting Tuesday night.
“I looked on the property data map and it still shows the (Cherry Hill Community Center lot) on the state right of way. I called the Department of Transportation in Chattanooga and they looked back on the deed. Although the state deeded it to us (county), DeKalb County did not buy the property. Since the land must be used for public purpose for the benefit of citizens of DeKalb County according to the deed, we will have to go through the process of filing an application to the state and go before the excess land committee to ask for the deed restriction to be removed. In order to do that the property will have to be appraised and we will have to purchase the property. Not the building but the lot. While the property belongs to the county, we can’t sell it because of the deed restriction. The state will send somebody out to look at the lot and if it’s valued at under $10,000 they will do an appraisal. If it’s valued at over $10,000 they will get an independent appraiser. They will only appraise the lot, not the building,” said County Mayor Stribling.
The county commission will discuss the issue again during the regular monthly meeting Monday night, November 28 at 6:30 p.m. in the downstairs courtroom of the courthouse.