A Smithville man who resisted arrest and escaped deputies on State Route 840 in Williamson County Monday morning has been arrested and charged with resisting arrest, escape and criminal impersonation.
According to the Tennessean, 31 year old Michael Pierre Rose fled officers around 11:15 a.m. after being pulled over for a traffic violation near Triune, said Sharon Puckett, public information administrator for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office.
Several deputies, a helicopter and canine searched for Rose until he was found around 3:30 p.m. near Highway 96 and Hawkins Lane in Triune, according to a Williamson County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Rose is being held on a $9,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Williamson County court at 1 p.m. July 16.

The DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club conducted a Special Event Station at the 44th Annual Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Craft Festival on Saturday, July 4th, 2015. This year marked the fifteenth year that a special event station had been set up at the Jamboree.
The station was setup at the front entrance of the Justin Potter Library during the early morning hours on Saturday. Antennas were assembled, radios were properly checked, and transmissions were begun at 7:50 AM local time. Operations took place in the 20 meter, and 40 meter Amateur Radio bands, and the station was publicized in Amateur Radio magazines QST, CQ, and the club website. This year operations took place on a cool over cast day with only one small rain shower during the operations.
The station contacted 162 total Amateur Radio Stations in 34 States, Ontario and Nova Scotia, Canada, as well as stations in the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico. One interesting contact included an amateur radio operator on-board a farm tractor in Michigan.
Amateur Radio Operator Guests included the following: K4DZR – Jerry Goodchild, Cookeville, TN; KC5PSD – Keith Herbert, Smithville, TN; KD4TVO – Joe Poole, Wartburg, TN and WB4OFM – Jim Hall, Murfreesboro, TN.
Participants of the station included DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club Members:
NN9J – Steve Kujawski, Sparta, TN; NF9G – Kathy Kujawski, Sparta, TN; KF4QNT – Kevin Neely, Smithville, TN; and W4WFC – Wm. Freddy Curtis, Smithville, TN.
The club would like to offer thanks to Jamboree Coordinator – Mr. Jack Barton; Justin Potter Librarian – Mrs. Kathy Hendrixson; DeKalb County EMA Director – Charlie Parker; and Mr. Darryl Counts – Postmaster, Smithville Post Office for their support of this activity.
The DeKalb/Cannon County Amateur Radio Club is an organization of Amateur Radio operators from DeKalb, Cannon, and Surrounding Counties and is an affiliated club of the American Radio Relay League. The next club meeting will be on Thursday, July 30th, 2015 – 6:30 PM at the DeKalb County Complex, 722 South Congress Boulevard, Smithville, TN. Any person interested in Amateur Radio is invited to attend. More information about the club can be found at the club’s website – http://www.dccarc.org.
Picture Caption:
Picture 1 = Amateur Radio Operators at the Special Event Station operate during the 44th Annual Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival included:
Left to Right: W4WFC – Wm. Freddy Curtis; K4DZR – Jerry Goodchild and NN9J – Steve Kujawski. Photo Courtesy of NF9G – Kathy Kujawski.

One month after being sued over the termination of Randy Caplinger as Chief of Police, the City of Smithville has filed an answer in DeKalb County Circuit Court.
In the answer, Filed Monday, July 6, city attorney Vester Parsley and Nashville lawyer Mark E. McGrady of Farrar & Bates, LLP claim that Caplinger was validly suspended and terminated by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and that he is not entitled to back pay from the City.
In the lawsuit, attorneys for Caplinger, Sarah Cripps and Brandon Cox are asking for a declaratory judgment “to construe the charter for the City of Smithville and to determine which provision controls and governs the number of votes required by the Board of Aldermen to ratify or confirm the mayor’s decision to remove an employee of the city”. Cripps and Cox are also urging the court to find that the Board of Aldermen violated a section of the charter by not convening a meeting to ratify the mayor’s suspension of Caplinger without pay prior to the due process hearing. They are further asking that the court “hold and declare that Caplinger’s suspension without pay effective March 13, 2015 is invalid, and hence, a nullity” and that Caplinger be allowed to “receive all accrued back pay from March 13, 2015 until the date of the hearing in this cause.
“We are seeking to have Chief Caplinger restored to his rightful position as chief. We are also asserting that he is entitled to receive all accrued back pay and every other benefit to which he would be entitled had this unlawful suspension and termination never occurred,” Cripps told WJLE last month.
Attorneys for the city contend that the issues the court must determine are:
“Whether the mayor’s decision to terminate Caplinger received the approval of the requisite (required) number of members of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen under the applicable provisions of the charter and ordinances of the City?”
“Whether the vote of a majority of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on May 8, 2015 in favor of the mayor’s decision to terminate the employment of Caplinger was a valid ratification of the mayor’s suspension of Caplinger’s employment without pay effective March 13, 2015 under Section 3.08 of the City’s charter?”
“If Caplinger’s termination of employment was not approved by the requisite (required) majority of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen under the applicable charter and ordinance provisions, whether Caplinger is entitled to back pay from the City since March 13, 2015?”.
After a seven hour due process hearing Friday, May 8 the aldermen voted 3-2 to uphold Mayor Jimmy Poss’ termination of Caplinger. Aldermen Gayla Hendrix, Danny Washer, and Jason Murphy voted in favor of the mayor’s action. Aldermen Shawn Jacobs and Josh Miller voted against it.
But the vote itself became an issue and is one of the key components of the lawsuit.
Cripps and Cox insist that the city’s charter requires a two thirds majority vote (four out of five) to confirm a mayoral termination. And Aldermen Jacobs and Miller said at the due process hearing that they had spoken with a legal representative of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) who told them that according to the city’s charter, four votes were required to approve the action of the mayor.
Article III of the Smithville City Charter regarding Organization and Personnel. Section 3.01, subsection (2) states that “All officers and employees of the city, except as otherwise specifically provided by ordinance, shall be appointed and removed by the Mayor but only with the approval of at least two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the Council present voting upon the appointment or removal, and the employees shall be under the direction and control of the Mayor.”
But during the due process hearing City Attorney Vester Parsley cited another section in the charter, which seems to conflict with Section 3.01 in that it allows for only ” a majority of the board” to approve removal of employees by the mayor. Parsley recommended that the aldermen follow this section of the charter.
The section of the charter to which Parsley referred is Section 3.08 in Article III which states that “The appointment and promotion of employees of the city shall be on a basis of merit, considering technical knowledge and education required to perform satisfactorily the work, experience in the particular or similar line of work and administrative or supervisory qualifications. The Mayor, or the City Administrator, if established by the Board, may, with the approval of a majority of the Board, make appointments, promotions, transfers, demotions, suspensions, and removal of all employees”.
In the lawsuit, Cripps and Cox are asking the court to preserve both sections of the charter but to find that Section 3.01 (requiring a 2/3 super majority vote) controls because it is more specific than Section 3.08.
The city claims in its defense that the super majority requirement in Section 3.01 of the city charter to uphold the mayor’s removal of an employee is not applicable when “otherwise specifically provided by ordinance”.
Along that line, the city claims that the personnel policies adopted as an ordinance in March 2014 provides that the “mayor’s termination decision will be reviewed by a review panel which will consist of the Mayor and City Council”. And that “four of the six members of this review panel (including the mayor) approved the mayor’s termination decision, supplying both a majority vote and two thirds vote in favor of termination”.
The city goes on to argue that the new personnel policies require only that “the board” decide whether a termination is appropriate and that the board acts through a “majority” of its aldermen, who voted in favor of sustaining the mayor’s decision to terminate Caplinger.
As for a legal representative of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) advising Aldermen Jacobs and Miller that according to the city’s charter, four votes were required to approve the action of the mayor, the city denies that the MTAS official provided an opinion as to whether Section 3.01 of the city charter (providing for a super majority vote) controlled over the conflicting provisions in Section 3.08 of the city charter or the city’s 2014 personnel ordinance.
According to attorneys for the city, Section 3.08 of the charter requires only a majority of the Board to approve the mayor’s suspension or removal of all employees. Section 3.01(2) requires a two thirds majority vote of the “Council” to approve removals, but this section does not apply to suspensions. Smithville’s governing body is made up of a Board of Mayor and Aldermen, not a “Council” and that Section 1.02(c) of the City charter defines the “Board” as including the mayor and five aldermen elected under the charter. This Section defines “Aldermen” and “Board Member” to include the Mayor. Therefore, a two-thirds vote of the “Council” can reasonably be construed to require the vote of a majority of the aldermen (three) plus the mayor, which would harmonize Section 3.01(2) of the charter in removals with Section 3.08 of the charter which applies to both suspensions and removals,” according to the city.
“Section 3.08 of the charter permits a majority of the Board of Aldermen to approve a mayor’s suspension of an employee. If Section 3.01 (2) (super majority vote) is the controlling provision for removal of an employee and it is construed to require that four of the five aldermen approve the removal of an employee, a majority of the aldermen and the mayor would be able to suspend an employee indefinitely but would not be able to terminate that employee,” attorneys for the city continued.
“A super majority vote requirement is contrary to the principle of majority rule, and should not be enforced unless the super majority provision is unambiguous. The best argument “Caplinger” can make is that the charter is ambiguous, so the super majority provisions must give way to the majority rule provision”.
“A majority of the aldermen at the conclusion of the May 8, 2015 hearing voted to uphold the mayor’s decision to terminate “Caplinger”, which vote was sufficient to uphold the mayor’s decision to suspend “Caplinger” indefinitely effective on March 13, 2015.”
The city also argues that Caplinger is not entitled to back pay because the personnel policy relating to such only applies if the board “determines the employee should be reinstated. A majority of the Board voted against Caplinger’s reinstatement, so he is not entitled to receive any back pay”.
Attorneys for the city are asking the court to enter a declaratory judgment finding that the mayor’s decision to terminate Caplinger received the requisite (required) approval of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen under the applicable provisions of the charter and ordinances of the City; that the court find that the vote of a majority of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen on May 8, 2015 in favor of the mayor’s decision to terminate the employment of Caplinger was a valid ratification of the mayor’s suspension of Caplinger’s employment without pay effective March 13, 2015 under Section 3.08 of the City’s charter; and that the court find that Caplinger is not entitled to either reinstatement as Chief of Police or the award of back pay”.

The public is invited to attend a ‘Meet and Greet’ to honor the newly appointed Commissioner of Tourist Development, Kevin Triplett. Commissioner Triplett will be visiting Smithville on Wednesday, July 8th at the DeKalb County Complex auditorium from 4 PM to 5:30 PM. After speaking, the commissioner will have a question and answer time. Senator Mae Beavers, State Representative Terrie Lynn Weaver, and State Representative Mark Pody will also be in attendance.
County Mayor Tim Stribling and Chamber Director Suzanne Williams urges all county and city leaders, business and community leaders, as well as the general public to attend this important and informative event. “This is a great opportunity to meet our new Commissioner of Tourist Development and to help him be aware of all that DeKalb County has to offer,” says Williams, “Currently, DeKalb County has the third highest tourism dollars in the Upper Cumberland region bringing approximately $39 million dollars to our county and around 4 million visitors annually.”
Everyone is invited for this rare opportunity of meeting and visiting with Commissioner Triplett on Wednesday, July 8th at the County Complex auditorium from 4 PM to 5:30 PM. For more information, call the Chamber of Commerce at (615) 597-4163

He had hoped to be able to start his own in-home research brewery operation , but Alex Seitz has been denied a beer manufacturing permit.
The DeKalb County Beer Board met to act on the application Thursday night. The meeting was covered exclusively by WJLE.
Seitz, who resides on Floyd Drive in Lakeview Mountain Estates, said he would be conducting the brewery primarily for research purposes but small amounts of the byproduct would be bottled and sold to the Calfkiller Brewery in Sparta, a wholesale distributor. Seitz said the brewery would be operated out of his basement and that there would be no retail sales to the public from his home and no signage on the premises. “It technically is a business but it is a research facility. Its science based and will be in incredibly small amounts. It’s like a byproduct of the theoretical yeast fermentation process. I will put it (beer) in champagne bottles and then I’ll load them in my car and take it away. I just want to be able to work with my yeast so that I can actually sell the yeast because a lot of other home breweries and laboratories would want that yeast,” said Seitz in addressing the Beer Board.
While the board voted 3-2 in favor with one member choosing to pass, the application fell one vote short of being approved. For a permit to be granted, four members of the seven member board must vote in the affirmative.
Board members voting in favor were Rhonda Caplinger, Johnny King, and Jim Stagi. Frank Thomas and Leonard Dickens voted against it and Robert Rowe, who presided in the absence of Chairman Edward Frazier, passed.
Dickens and Thomas were apparently concerned about a brewery operating in a residential subdivision. One man who lives in the neighborhood addressed the beer board expressing his opposition. “This is a subdivision restricted solely for residential purposes,” he said. His concern is if one business is allowed, others could follow.
Seitz said he has spoken with some neighbors around him and they are not opposed to his plans.
“The book (law) says the first thing (Seitz must do) to do is register with the State of Tennessee,” said Dickens who cited TCA 57-5-102 which states “Every person, firm, corporation, joint-stock company, syndicate or association in this state engaging in the manufacture or wholesale distribution of beer shall be required to first register its name and address, by mail or in person, at the office of the commissioner of revenue and to receive and keep posted at its usual place of business a certificate of registration bearing a serial number, which serial number shall be assigned to such person, firm, corporation, joint-stock company, syndicate or association in this state by the commissioner. The registration shall be made and certificate of registration received and posted before commencement of any business as described herein,”
In response to Dickens, other board members said before Seitz can register with the state, he must have a permit issued by the county beer board.
As for neighbor complaints, the permit application form states that “DeKalb County has adopted a rule forbidding the sale of beer and like alcoholic beverages within 300 feet of a residential dwelling, if the owner of the dwelling objects to the issuance of a beer permit”. Although a neighbor questioned it, Seitz claims no resident in his neighborhood is within 2,000 feet of his home and no one who may live within 300 feet has yet come forward to voice an objection.
The application form also states that “DeKalb County has adopted a rule forbidding the sale, storage, and manufacture of beer and like beverages within 800 feet of schools, churches, and other places of public gathering”. This would not be an issue in Seitz’s case since no businesses operate in the area.
Beer Board member Caplinger said she had researched the laws and talked with County Attorney Hilton Conger who said the beer board could grant the permit. “He (Conger) said there isn’t anything that says we couldn’t do it,” she said. However, if there are deed restrictions, the homeowners association in the subdivision could try to block it (apparently in the courts). “He can sell it to a wholesaler. People can’t pull up to his door step and go in and buy it but he can ship it off to a distributor. (The law says) he may not sell beer directly to retailers and he’s not. He is selling it to a wholesaler,” said Caplinger.
Meanwhile, the beer board also voted Thursday night to require TBI and FBI criminal background checks of all future applicants for permits. Under T.C.A. § 57-5-103(e), a city or county is authorized to seek criminal history background or fingerprint checks on applicants for beer permits. These criminal background checks may include fingerprint checks against state and federal criminal records maintained by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In other action, the Beer Board voted to accept an application for an on premises permit from Ross Garrett for Edgar Evins Marina-Ship’s Store at 2100 Edgar Evins Park Road, Silver Point in DeKalb County.
The board also accepted an application for an on and off premises permit from Araceli Soto Godinez for Nicoles Market on Short Mountain Highway.
Final action on both applications will be considered at the next meeting in August.

A woman on probation, who said she is unemployed, was found with pills and a large amount of cash during a sheriff’s department traffic stop on Tuesday, June 30.
31 year old April Lynn Anderson of Quail Point Drive, Smithville is charged with possession of a schedule II drug for resale (Dilaudid). Her bond is $10,000 and she will be in court on August 13.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Tuesday, June 30, a detective spoke with Anderson after she got out of a 2015 Ford Mustang at East Side Inn on Highway 70 east. Anderson told the detective that she was on probation and had no job. She also admitted to having a metal container on her person. Anderson retrieved the container from the area of her crotch. Inside the container were 10 Dilaudid pills. Anderson also had $1,270 in cash and thirty two pill pouches in her purse. Anderson’s vehicle was seized as a result of the discovery.
31 year old Michael Dewayne Roller of Big Hill Road, Liberty is charged with theft of property over $500. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court July 23. He was arrested on Tuesday, June 30.
Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, June 13 a report was taken of the attempted theft of a paddle boat on Keltonburg Road. A criminal detective was assigned the case and found that Roller tried to take a blue Sea Hawk Paddle Boat from an address on Keltonbrug Road without the owner’s consent. The boat is valued at $600.
39 year old Shannon James of McCarley, Mississippi was arrested on Friday July 3 and charged with domestic assault and driving under the influence after intentionally wrecking his 2001 Chevy S-10 to apparently frighten a woman who was a passenger. He was further cited for no drivers license and driving on roadways laned for travel. James’ bond is $3,000 and he will be in court July 16.
Sheriff Ray said that on Friday, July 3 a deputy was dispatched to Vaughn Lane because of a truck wreck. Upon arrival he spoke with the driver , James and a woman who was a passenger. According to the woman, she and James were having a verbal argument which became physical when James burned her finger with a cigarette. He then began swerving the truck in the roadway to scare the woman. She said James intentionally wrecked the truck causing her to fear for her life.
The investigating officer detected a strong odor of alcohol on James’ person at the scene. He was very unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred. James performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He consented to a blood alcohol test.

Rocky Top Revue of Franklin won the Square Dancing Competition Saturday during the 44th annual Smithville Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival.

Only three square dance teams competed during the preliminaries and all three were scheduled for a return performance during the finals Saturday night but then heavy rains set in forcing a change in plans. The dancers decided to allow their scores in the preliminaries to determine how they would place.
Taking second place was Main Stage Fusion of Springfield and Third Place went to Harpeth River of Franklin.

The Grand Champion Fiddler of the 44th annual Smithville Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival is Tyler Andal of White House, Tennessee.
He won the Berry C. Williams Memorial Award Saturday night after the Grand Finale Fiddle-Off between the best Junior and Senior Fiddler.
Andal made it to the fiddle off by winning the Junior Fiddling competition and he won the Grand Championship by beating the winner of the Senior Fiddling contest Gail Johnson of Lavergne.
Due to heavy rains, the contestants were forced to fiddle off under an overhang (eave) on the stage’s storefront background. Instead of three tunes, Andal and Johnson each fiddled only one song, tune of their choice.
Although the Saturday session of the Fiddlers Jamboree got off to slow start with an hour rain delay at the beginning, the event ran smoothly throughout the day until the start of the finals competitions Saturday evening when the rains set in again. The first four categories, all individual dancing events were held as normal, even in the rain. But as the light rain became a downpour, the rest of the finals were held under the stage’s overhang (eave), except for the senior fiddling and square dancing events. Contestants in both categories decided to allow their scores in the preliminaries to determine how they would place. There were only three square dance teams competing in the preliminaries this year.
Winners in the Saturday session of the Fiddler’s Jamboree are as follows:
Junior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages up to 39): First Place-Matthew Campbell of Smyrna; Second Place- Chris Stewart of Lebanon; and Third Place- Hillary Klug of Shelbyville.
Senior Old-Time Appalachian Flatfoot Dance (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Tommy Scruggs, Jr. of Hartsville; Second Place- Stanley Reece of Gainesboro; and Third Place- Darrin Stryker of Crossville.
Senior Buck Dancing (Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Thomas Maupin of Murfreesboro; Second Place- Tommy Scruggs, Jr. of Hartsville; and Third Place- Eileen Stewart of Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee.
Senior Clogging (Ages 40 & Over): First Place-Sherry Guenther of Monterey; Second Place- Tammy Gay Scruggs of Hartsville; and Third Place- Jeff Yates of Adams, Tennessee.
Bluegrass Banjo: First Place-Joey Gipson of Manchester; Second Place-Kurt Stephenson of Dyersburg; and Third Place- Daniel Amick of Centerville.
Junior Fiddlers (Ages 13-39): First Place-Tyler Andal of White House, Tennessee; Second Place- Maddie Denton of Murfreesboro; and Third Place- Ivy Phillips of Chapmansboro, Tennessee.
Flat Top Guitar: First Place- Daniel Amick of Centerville; Second Place- Tyler Andal of Whitehouse; and Third Place-Rob Pearcy of Smyrna.
Contest Fiddle (Neil Dudney Award): First Place- Tyler Andal of White House; Second Place- Justin Branum of Nashville; and Third Place- Maddie Denton of Murfreesboro. The Neil Dudney Award was presented to Andal by Dudney’s grandson Ethan Shaw.
Bluegrass Band: First Place- Mountain Cove Bluegrass Band of Signal Mountain; Second Place- Tennessee Bluegrass of Dyersburg; and Third Place- Bluegrass Militia of Hartsville.
Senior Fiddlers ( Ages 40 & Over): First Place- Gail Johnson of Lavergne; Second Place- Billy Brewer of Lyles, Tennessee; and Third Place- Marcia Denton of Murfreesboro
Square Dancing: First Place-Rocky Top Revue of Franklin; Second Place- Main Stage Fusion of Springfield;and Third Place- Harpeth River of Franklin.