76 year old Harold Luna was injured in a rollover accident Friday afternoon on Keltonburg Road (Highway 288) near the community center.
According to Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Luna was traveling east in a 1996 GMC Sierra 1500 pickup truck when he crossed the center line and ran off the left side of the highway. The truck tore through a fence and overturned coming to rest upside down in a field.
Members of the Keltonburg station and extrication and rescue team of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department arrived on the scene and helped remove Luna from the truck.
He was treated by DeKalb EMS and then taken to the back yard of the Keltonburg Community Center where a helicopter ambulance airlifted him to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.

The DeKalb County Budget Committee has been hearing from public officials and department supervisors in recent weeks on funding requests for the 2015-16 fiscal year.
The committee has already recommended some budgets be adopted by the full county commission later this summer.
One request that the budget committee has denied for this year came from County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss who was seeking a fourth full time employee for his office.
In a recent budget committee meeting, Poss gave reasons for why he believes an additional employee is needed in his office. “After much consideration and researching our daily and monthly work flow going back to the beginning of 2013 to current, I definitely feel we have the need for another full time person”.
“When this office began printing new titles in December 2012 work flow all together increased. Our office currently processes an average of 87 titles and renewals per day. This does not include boat registrations, beer permit applications, completing business and marriage license, notaries, bookkeeping, assisting customers with the kiosk machine, etc.”
“In comparison, last year we completed 1,000 more transactions than Smith County. They are approximately 500 more in population and have five full time employees and one part time. They (Smith County) don’t lose anybody through the week and don’t work on Saturday. I’m not saying we have to operate their way. I’m just using this as an example of the amount of work we do,” said Poss
“I originally considered seeking a part time employee, but with time we have experienced increasing work flow and scheduling difficulties concerning the employees vacation time, sick time, comp time, and different things that are due them as well as their lunch hours. In order to maintain two employees in the office it requires a minimum of three people Monday through Friday every week just to assure each employee has their lunch break.”
“Current employee absences exceed 700 hours annually. The employees who work on Saturday are allotted time off during the same week in order to keep their 37 1/2 hours status quo with the other employees who do not work on Saturdays. This time alone accounts for the loss of one full time employee one day every week. Factor in employee sick time, vacation time, and take into consideration any bereavement or family leave if needed, the office will lose enough hours a year that certainly covers at least a part time position,” said Poss.
County Clerk Poss also stated that according to previous public statements made by the former administrator the need was anticipated even prior to his (Poss) taking office and he (former administrator) addressed the concern with the county legislative body during a monthly meeting on August 27, 2012 and again the following day in an interview with WJLE.
The projected costs of adding another position to the office is $23,024 plus benefits according to the county’s existing wage scale.

There aren’t many twenty-three year old musicians that can say they’ve had a career that’s already spanned more than a decade, and there aren’t many at any age that can compare resumes with Sierra Hull.
Hull has been named the 2015 Blue Blaze Award recipient by the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree and Crafts Festival. She will be presented this award on the same stage that her love of competitive bluegrass music began. Her journey began on the stage of the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree at the young age of 9 years old. By age 11, Alison Krauss had called with an invitation to the Opry stage; by 12, Rounder Records was expressing interest (she signed a record deal with Rounder at 13, with her first album released at 16.) She’s also played the White House, Carnegie Hall (twice), the Kennedy Center, traveled around the world sharing her music, and released three albums. Then there’s the fact that Berklee gave her the school’s most prestigious award, the Presidential Scholarship, a first for a bluegrass musician; her choice to accept it, to delay her dream of hitting the road full-time after high school in favor of expanding her musical worldview, was hardly a light one.
“When the Jamboree board and committees were talking about potential recipients for this year’s Blue Blaze Award, we were looking for a candidate whose roots of success grew from their participation at the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree. Sierra Hull, with all of her great success and accolades, was the uncontested fit for this honor,” said Shan Burklow – Jamboree Marketing Committee, “We are honored that Sierra’s humble beginnings started right here on the Jamboree stage and have enjoyed watching her career explode at such a young age. She is a remarkable talent and extraordinary person. The core mission of the award is to acknowledge a musician that has kept the embers of bluegrass music glowing for future generations to come. We believe that Sierra embodies the heart of this mission.”
“At 9 years old, I stepped on to the stage at the Smithville Fiddler’s Jamboree for the first time to play “Jerusalem Ridge”, said Hull, “It was my first contest, and I had only been playing about a year at the time. I didn’t place in the contest, but felt really inspired by all the other kids and musicians I met that day. I immediately looked forward to going back the next year. My dad certainly reminded me that I’d have to work hard if I wanted to place next time. The next year, I went back and won 1st on guitar, which was really exciting, but only 2nd on mandolin. I’ve always thought of myself as a mandolin player first, so I really wanted to win the mandolin contest at least once. It was such a good thing for me as a young kid to enter a contest and lose! It really gave me a boost to work hard for another year. I went back the next year and won both mandolin and guitar! I was so excited. It was also great local exposure with the contest being broadcasted on WCTE. After winning – later that year, Gibson gave me my first mandolin endorsement – mostly because Danny Roberts had seen me play at the Jamboree. I couldn’t believe it! I am so honored to be chosen for the Blue Blaze Award this year. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Smithville as a place where some of my fondest memories as a young musician were made.”
Boundaries—age, genre or otherwise—don’t hamper an artist like Sierra. She’s already earned considerable respect in the bluegrass world, the IBMA’s voting members having nominated her for no fewer than eight awards. We’re thinking that there’s a good chance that she’ll be the first woman to win the mandolin category. But as a player, singer, and a songwriter, she also has remarkable range. Matt Glaser, head of Berklee’s American Roots Music Program, put it this way, “She has no limitations as a musician.”
Hull has a fan base that includes country icons and legends alike. Country Music Legend Dolly Parton was quoted as saying, “I can’t say enough about Sierra Hull….Sierra is truly a beautiful and talented gift to this world, so special and unique.” Alison Krauss weighed in with her feelings on the young artist, “Sierra is a remarkably talented, beautiful human being. Success could not have come to a more worthy person. I adore her.”
…and we couldn’t agree more. Congratulations to Sierra Hull, the Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree Blue Blaze Award recipient for 2015. For more information on her career, accolades, and upcoming tour dates, go to www.sierrahull.com

Anyone wishing to qualify for the Alexandria Municipal Election has until noon next Thursday, June 18 to get in the race.
In this year’s election on September 3, three aldermen are to be elected, each to serve a four year term. Meanwhile, a mayor and two other aldermen are to be elected to fill vacancies or the remaining two years of unexpired terms.
According to the election commission Bennett Armstrong and Tony Tarpley have picked up petitions to run for mayor. Armstrong has already returned his petition to become a candidate. Armstrong is currently an alderman appointee. Tarpley was appointed mayor in 2013 after Jim York was elected mayor and resigned three days after taking office. Tarpley has served the first two years of York’s unexpired term as mayor. Both Tarpley and Armstrong plan to seek the last two years of the term.
Kelly Pyburn, David Cripps, and John F. Suggs have each been issued petitions to seek a four year alderman term. Both Suggs and Cripps have returned them to become candidates. Cripps and Suggs are incumbent aldermen, appointees serving out unexpired or vacant terms.
Matthew Boss and Danny Parkerson each have obtained petitions to run for a two year alderman term.
The sitting members are Mayor Tony Tarpley and Aldermen Pat Jackson, David Cripps, John Suggs, and Bennett Armstrong. All are serving as appointees except for Jackson, who was elected in 2013 and still has two years remaining in his term.

Middle Tennessee Head Baseball Coach Jim McGuire has announced the addition of five transfers who have signed letters of intent to continue their careers with the Blue Raiders including former DCHS pitching standout Cody Puckett who has played two seasons for Columbia State Community College.
Puckett is expected to fill an immediate need for the program as a left-handed pitcher. Blue Raider southpaws Johnathan Frebis and Nathan Foriest exhausted their eligibility following the 2015 campaign.
Puckett (6-0, 190), who starred as a pitcher/outfielder at nearby DeKalb County High School in Smithville posted a 9-4 record and registered more than 125 strikeouts in two seasons at Columbia State. Puckett was a member of the weekend rotation both seasons at Columbia State and helped lead the team to the JUCO World Series in 2014 when he posted a 5-0 record.
Puckett was the District 8-AA Pitcher of the Year as a junior at DeKalb County, where he led the Tigers to two Class AA state tournament appearances.
“With the left-handed pitchers we are losing we felt we needed to add another lefty to the class,” McGuire said. “Cody can start or relieve for us. He will definitely help us from the left side. He has a strong body, strong arm and could be a draft pick before his career is complete at Middle Tennessee.”
All five signees are transfers and are expected to help make an immediate impact in the program following the loss of nine seniors who exhausted their eligibility following a 32-win season in 2015.
In addition to Puckett, incoming players for the Blue Raiders include Riley Delgado, infielder, Columbia State CC; Will Jackson, RHP, Georgia Perimeter College; Vaughn Shapen, catcher/infielder, Bosier Parish CC; and Chaz Vesser, catcher, Chattanooga State CC.