Director of Schools Mark Willoughby may have to step down sooner than he had planned.

One week after Willoughby announced his retirement, effective June 30th, the Board of Education held a special called meeting Monday night for the purpose of “discussing the Director’s Contract”. At least some members of the board apparently are interested in cutting ties with Willoughby as soon as possible and offering him a buyout through June 30th. The cost of a buyout to the school system would be approximately $28,000 according to Board Chairman W.J. (Dub) Evins, III.
Director Willoughby sent an electronic notice to members of the Board of Education last Monday, March 16 announcing his retirement as of June 30th, one hundred seven days in advance. But once notice is given, is the board obligated to him in any way beyond 30 days under the contract?
During the special meeting Monday night, the board voted to defer action until another special meeting on April 6 to provide enough time to obtain a legal opinion from an attorney on the meaning of a section of Willoughby’s contract regarding “Contract Termination” referred to as “Unilateral Termination by the Director”. That section states that “The Director may terminate this contract at any time, at his sole discretion, by giving the BOARD 30 days written notice of his resignation. In the event of such termination, the DIRECTOR shall have no right or entitlement to any severance pay and shall be entitled to the salary and benefits unpaid through the effective date of resignation or retirement”.
“It’s the opinion of many and as I look at it I see it myself, it (notice) doesn’t coincide with the “Unilateral Termination by the Director” and all I would suggest is that we postpone this until the Monday after Spring Break, Monday April 6 so we can get an attorney to look at this and make sure we are doing the right thing by the four corners of this contract. If the attorney out of Hamilton County who deals with these contracts says it’s okay to go ahead and pay the Director then we can pay the Director and go about our business and be done with it. I want to make sure we’re in compliance with this contract,” said Chairman Evins.
If the board does vote to buyout Director Willoughby’s contract, they would have to find the money and then name someone to serve as interim director until a new director is under contract. “We need to talk to members of the county commission and county mayor and if they say it’s good to go maybe we can pull this money out of the sinking fund (local option sales tax fund) and not affect our budget. That will give us an opportunity to find an interim director. I know we can go a few days without one but we can’t go for very long,” Chairman Evins said.
All members voted to defer action until a special meeting on April 6 at 7:00 p.m. except Jerry Wayne Johnson and Jim Beshearse, who passed.

A Liberty mother is the first person to be charged in DeKalb County under a new state law, which took effect last summer that allows the state to seek criminal charges against a woman who uses illegal drugs while pregnant.
27 year old Lindsey Paulette Davenport of Woodbury Highway, Liberty is charged with the misdemeanor offense of assaulting a viable fetus as the victim. Her bond is $2,500 and she will be in court on April 9.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on January 21, Davenport gave birth to a baby boy whose urine tested positive for opiates. Blood drawn from the umbilical cord tested positive for Suboxone, Methodone, and Morphine.
Faced with a growing number of babies born addicted to drugs in Tennessee, state legislators enacted the new law, sponsored by Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, with the intention of reducing the problem. The law specifically relates to cocaine and heroin.
Signed by Governor Bill Haslam, the law became effective July 1,2014. It allows prosecutors to pursue criminal assault charges and potential jail terms if women bear children who are addicted or suffer other injuries because of the mom’s drug use. The Governor said at the time that the new law had been carefully considered and is intended to encourage law enforcement officers and prosecutors to push pregnant women with substance abuse issues toward treatment.
Representative Weaver said this year she is seeking passage of an amendment to the law to include methamphetamine.
Meanwhile, 26 year old Jennie Nelson of Blue Springs Road, Smithville is cited for violation of registration, simple possession of a schedule III drug (Suboxone), and possession of drug paraphernalia (hypodermic needle). She will be in court August 16. Sheriff Ray said a detective stopped Nelson’s 1995 Cadillac Deville on Highway 56 north for failure to maintain lane of travel. While Nelson was showing the detective her medications, he spotted a hypodermic needle in her bag. Nelson said she had used the needle the previous night. The detective searched Nelson’s purse and found a Suboxone Strip, which is a schedule III drug. Nelson did not have a prescription for the drug or hypodermic needle.
36 year old Andrew Wesley Wilbert of Vandergriff Hollow Road, Dowelltown is charged with driving under the influence. He was further issued citations for violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance) and for violation of the implied consent law. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court April 16. Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, March 21 a deputy was dispatched to a traffic accident on Petty Road. Upon arrival the officer spoke with Wilbert, who had wrecked his pickup truck. Wilbert had a strong odor of alcohol on his person. He was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred. Wilbert refused to submit to a blood test but he did undergo field sobriety tasks and performed poorly.

If you haven’t paid your 2013 property taxes, you may want to catch up before April 1.
Although interest and penalties are already accruing, if the 2013 taxes remain unpaid by the end of the month, the Trustee’s Office will turn them over to the Chancery Court for collection. Your last day to pay is March 31. “When it leaves the Trustees Office there is 21% interest and penalty added to your 2013 taxes plus all the court fees through the Chancery Court. Don’t miss out on getting those 2013 taxes paid,” said Trustee Sean Driver.
“Remember we do have different options to pay your property taxes. You may come by the office in person or you may mail in your payment. Make sure the mail-in is post marked by March 31. We also have an on-line bill pay service at www.tennesseetrustee.com. Just go in there and select DeKalb County and follow the directions. If you do pay online there is a 2.75% fee added to your total tax bill for using a debit or credit card. You may also send an e-check for $2.50. The online service accepts Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express. These fees are not collected by DeKalb County. It is through Business Information Systems which is our vendor that handles our online bill pay. We also accept partial payments through March 31,” said Driver.
The Trustee’s Office is located at 732 South Congress Boulevard in room 103 at the county complex. Phone 615-597-5176.

The DeKalb County Democratic Party has a new chairman.
Jordan Wilkins, who has been serving as one of the Vice Chairmen, was elected as the new party leader during Saturday’s Biennial Reorganization Convention at the courthouse. Jim Judkins, the retiring chairman who held the post for five years, did not seek another term.
Wilkins is a 2014 graduate of DeKalb County High School and currently a Freshman at Tennessee Tech University. Active in Democratic politics since he was a child, Wilkins thanked the group for placing their trust in him to lead the party.
“Without each of you, this wouldn’t be possible for me and without each of you it wouldn’t be possible to have such an active and strong party in DeKalb County,” said Wilkins in his first address to the party faithful as chairman.
“I have been active (in the party) since I was really young. I got started in the sixth grade, getting the Young Democrats together. I realized the importance of government. I realized the importance of young people being involved to educate the next generation and for them to carry on the legacy of the Democratic Party. I continued to be involved. I worked on Mr. (James) Hale’s (State Representative) campaign and local campaigns when we had our nominees. I learned a lot. I got the experience of interning at the Tennessee Democratic Party. It was a great experience for me. I had an opportunity to go down and visit with our Democratic state legislators. Just last week I spoke to the House Democratic Caucus. I gave them ideas. They wanted my opinions on what they need to do to beat (State Representatives) Terri Lynn Weaver and Mark Pody. We discussed that. Our new TNDP Chair Mary Mancini is working hard to fund raise for us. She’s working hard to recruit good candidates. I really feel like this next year we’re going to see some big changes going on specifically in the state of Tennessee,” he said.
“The future plans I have for the party include going into each community. We’re going to have to educate people. We’ve allowed FOX NEWS to name us and label who we are. We need to go into each community center and educate on what is going on at the state and let people know what they’re doing to teachers. Let people know what they’re doing to women, Let people know what they’re doing to senior citizens. I can tell you our message is the winning message. We’ve just got to get that out to people. I really feel like if we go into these community centers and we invite the people in that area they will realize that the Democratic party is the one standing up for them and their values,” he said.
Wilkins and all the other officers of the party were elected by acclamation without any opposition and they will serve for two years.
James Hale is the new Vice Chairman. Joyce Hendrixson was re-elected Secretary and Myra Miller remains Treasurer.
Members of the new DeKalb County Democratic Executive Committee were also selected during the convention, each to serve two years. Those named to the committee are as follows:
First District: Luke Willoughby and Pat Parkerson
Second District: Ronnie Redmon and Debbie France
Third District: Jack Barton and Deborah Goodwin
Fourth District: David McDowell and Billie Ann Tubbs
Fifth District: Dennis Boland and Beth Gill
Sixth District: Gary Prater and Deana Green
Seventh District: Tommy Webb and Joyce Poss
Ex-Officio members are: Carelis Garcia- Hispanic representative; Katie Parker- Young Democrats representative; and Billie Ann Tubbs- African American representative.
Young Democrats Officers are: Katie Parker President, Hannah James- Vice President; and Delaney Johnson- Secretary/Treasurer.
District 17 State Executive Committee Man and Woman Aubrey and Rachel Givens were among those attending Saturday’s meeting.

Smithville Volunteer firefighter Hoyte Hale received the “Highest Attendance Award” Friday night during an appreciation dinner for city firefighters at the Smithville First United Methodist Christian Fellowship Center.
The award was presented to Hale by Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker.
Hale, currently deputy chief and a 30 year veteran of the department, attended the most incidents, training, and activities during 2014. “Because we are a small department, it’s hard for us to pick one firefighter of the year due to the dedication shown by all our members so we’ve taken the position that the firefighter who makes the highest attendance of calls, trainings, etc. we will mark their accomplishments. You can look at that as dedication because they are dedicated to rolling out of bed in the middle of the night, taking off work in the middle of the day, and leaving family dinners, etc. We mark their accomplishment as being one of the most dedicated by being the highest respondent to incidents and training. Out of the 220 incidents we had, Hoyte made 172 of them so that shows the dedication he had to the department,” said Chief Parker.
Other firefighters with high attendance responses to their credit were Lieutenant Jon Poss with 148 calls, Randall Hunt 146, Lieutenant Danny Poss 141, and Captain Jeff Wright attended 95 calls.
Two firefighters, Cody Fults and Dalton Roberts, were recognized as “Rookies of the Year”. “We want to recognize them for their extra work and dedication. They walked in off the street and wanted to know what it would take to be a firefighter. We started from there. That’s a real good accomplishment these days to have somebody this young who is that interested and dedicated,” said Chief Parker.
Meanwhile city firefighters were recognized for years of service including the following:
C.J. Tramel- 1 year
Dalton Roberts- 1 year
Cody Fults- 1 year
Bradley Johnson-1 year
Patrick Edge-2 years (in his 2nd tenure with department)
Becky Atnip-2 years
Shawn Jacobs-(Alderman and Auxiliary member)
Tyler Ludwig-2 years
Kevin Adcock- 4 years (2nd tenure with department)
Cory Killian- 4 years
Glen Lattimore- 7 years
Stephanie Wright- 9 years
Randall Hunt- 10 years
Gary Johnson-10 years
Wallace Caldwell (Chaplain)-11 years
Wink Brown- 17 years
Greg Bess (Photographer)- 20 years
John Poss (Lieutenant)- 24 years
Jeff Wright (Captain)- 29 years
Hoyte Hale (Deputy Chief)- 30 years
Donnie Cantrell (Lieutenant)- 35 years
Danny Poss (Lieutenant)- 35 years
Charles Parker (Chief)- 35 years.
In addition to the firefighters and their spouses, the event was attended by Mayor Jimmy Poss and Aldermen Danny Washer, Gayla Hendrix, Josh Miller and Shawn Jacobs and members of their families. City officials expressed appreciation to the firefighters for the work they do and their commitment to helping improve the operation of the fire department to keep residents safer.