The DeKalb County Beer Board voted to impose a civil penalty on the owner of Nicole’s Market Thursday night after she admitted to illegally selling beer to a minor.

42 year old Areceli Soto Godinez of Smithville has until next Friday, December 11 to pay the $1,000 fine or she will lose her beer license for six months.
Godinez appeared before the beer board Thursday night for a revocation hearing. But Godinez decided against proceeding with the hearing and accepted the penalty assessed by the beer board.
During an undercover operation in September, a 20 year old operative working for the Sheriff’s Department entered Nicole’s Market and bought beer from Godinez. Sheriff Patrick Ray, Detective Jeremy Taylor and other officers involved in the operation were present for the hearing Thursday night and prepared to testify.
“This is an opportunity for you to make any statement you care to. You are entitled to a hearing here tonight on the issue of whether your license should be revoked based on the allegations and the sheriff and his witnesses are here if you want a hearing. The board has two options. If the board after a hearing found you had sold beer to a minor they could revoke your license for a period of time or they could impose a civil penalty or fine up to $2,500,” said County Attorney Hilton Conger in addressing Godinez and her interpreter.
Conger then asked the interpreter “Do you know if she wants to have a hearing or does she acknowledge or admit that she did sell beer to a minor? After conferring with her, the interpreter replied “she says she’s I guess guilty that she sold to a minor”.
“It’s up to the board then with her acknowledgement or her admission that she did sell to a minor to either vote to revoke her license. The board could suspend her license for any period that you choose or in the alternative you could impose a penalty of up to $2,500. That’s the options,” said Conger.
Beer Board member Rhonda Caplinger made a motion to impose a $1,000 fine and if it’s not paid within seven days for the beer license to be revoked for six months. Board member Jim Stagi seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.
Godinez appeared in DeKalb County General Sessions Court on Thursday October 29 on a criminal citation for this offense. While she pled not guilty, the case against Godinez was continued for six months after which time the citation will be dismissed provided she pays the court costs of $212 and has no further incidents of this kind.
Godinez was among four persons cited for the illegal sale of alcohol to a minor as part of an undercover investigation conducted jointly by the Sheriff’s Department, Smithville Police Department, and the Alexandria Police Department.
Godinez along with 25 year old Langed Bassem Nabil Samir of the Alexandria Discount Beer and Tobacco store on Nashville Highway and 56 year old Allison Ferguson of Smithville, an employee of Mapco Express on East Broad Street, Smithville appeared in General Sessions Court Thursday, October 29.
Under negotiated settlements with the District Attorney General’s Office, each case is to be dismissed provided the defendants pay their court costs and have no further incidents of this kind within a certain period of time. Ferguson’s case was dismissed that day. Citations are to be dismissed after 60 days for Samir and after six months in the Godinez case.
The case against 32 year old Jennifer Sims of McMinnville, an employee of the Discount Tobacco Store on West Broad Street, Smithville across from the Dairy Queen was postponed until December 10 to give her time to hire an attorney.
The Alexandria Beer Board Tuesday night, October 27 imposed a $500 fine against the owner of the Alexandria Discount Beer and Tobacco store for the violation of the town’s beer ordinance. Samir, the clerk who actually made the sale, was cited by the Alexandria Police Department after he illegally sold beer to an underage operative during an undercover investigation on September 22. Samir admitted to making the illegal sale of beer but claims he made a mistake in reading the birth date on the identification presented to him by the customer (undercover operative) who is 20 years old.
Members of the DeKalb County Beer Board are Chairman Edward Frazier, Robert Rowe, Jim Stagi, Johnny King, Frank Thomas, Leonard Dickens, and Rhonda Caplinger.

As part of their Bronze Award Project, members of Girl Scout Troop 750 are collecting donations of new pajamas for the DeKalb County Foster Children’s Program.
Girl Scouts Layla Walker, Jenna Wright, and Tori Summers visited WJLE Wednesday to produce a public service announcement asking for donations.
“We are asking everyone to help out and make the season better for children who cannot be with their families,” said Summers
“If you can help out please bring your donations to Annette Greek at Webb’s Gifts before December 11,” added Wright.
“Thanks and our troop wants to wish you a Merry Christmas” said Walker.

A tractor trailer rig overturned on Highway 56 south near Sink Creek Thursday afternoon. The driver of the rig, 66 year old Jimmy McGowan of West Green Hill Road, Smithville was pinned inside the cab for more than an hour as fire and rescue workers labored to free him with extrication equipment. The truck had no cargo in the trailer. A helicopter ambulance was summoned and landed in a field across the highway from the scene waiting to airlift the truck driver. He was later flown to Vanderbilt hospital.
The accident was reported to Central Dispatch at 1:24 p.m.
According to Trooper Chris Delong of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, McGowan was traveling south on Highway 56 when the semi went off the right shoulder of the road. McGowan then overcorrected causing the rig to go back across the highway and over a private driveway and an embankment, clipping a utility pole before coming to rest on its side. Because the trailer blocked most of highway, traffic was tied up and had to be diverted for several hours.
In addition to DeKalb EMS and Life Force, others on the scene were members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department, and members of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department, and North Warren Fire Department who were apparently called to provide mutual aid back up manpower support.

Surrounded by her parents, coaches, principal and fellow players, DCHS Softball standout Tyra Graham, a senior, signed scholarship papers Wednesday with Cumberland University of Lebanon to play softball after she graduates here.
“I chose Cumberland because I really wanted to be close to home and when I went to visit there they really made me feel welcome. They were really friendly,” said Graham.
“We’re really excited to have Tyra. I think that she is pretty versatile and definitely very athletic so we are looking for her to make an immediate impact. She seems like a well rounded person and that’s something we look for in our program,” Cumberland Softball Coach Heather Stanfill told WJLE.
DCHS Tigerette Coach Danny Bond said Graham is quite talented and has contributed to his teams making back to back state tournament appearances the last two seasons. “She has helped us to achieve success with our last two teams going to the state. Her freshman year she was on the team that went to the region. We’ve had a lot of wins under our belt with her. The last two years Tyra has played at shortstop. Her freshman year she played at second base and in the outfield some. She leads off for us in the top order of the lineup. She has great speed. Tyra is a real scrappy player. Her glove is tremendous. She has defensive ability and batting in the upper part of the lineup means she is pretty consistent with the bat and can go either way, left handed or right handed. She can play the small game and the big game. Tyra can hit the ball long or bunt it, drag it or slap it. She has a lot of tools in her tool box,” said Coach Bond.
Graham was joined at the signing by her parents, Kyle and Doris Graham, Coach Bond and his assistant softball coaches Danny Fish and Melissa Ruch, Cumberland Coach Heather Stanfill, DCHS Principal Kathy Bryant and members of the Tigerette Softball Team.
TOP PHOTO: Top Left to Right: DCHS Tigerette Coach Danny Bond, Cumberland Coach Heather Stanfill, and Assistant Tigerette Coach Danny Fish. SEATED: Left to Right: Assistant Tigerette Coach Melissa Ruch, Kyle Graham, Tyra Graham, Doris Graham, and DCHS Principal Kathy Bryant.
BOTTOM PHOTO: Top Left to Right: Kelly Roberts, Kristina Bain, Hailey Redmon, Kendal Taylor, Katie Hall, Hannah Walker, Cumberland Coach Heather Stanfill, Myranda Bailiff, Kayley Caplinger, Lexi Bates, Hannah Panter, Allison Maynard, and Maddie Dickens. SEATED left to right DCHS Princial Kathy Bryant, Melissa Ruch, Kyle Graham, Tyra Graham, Doris Graham, Danny Fish, and Coach Danny Bond.