Although plans are underway to build a solid waste transfer station, there appears to be no rush to have it operational anytime soon now that the county’s consulting engineer has determined that the existing Class I landfill still has a remaining life of more than two years.
In a report to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Solid Waste Management dated January 27, 2015, Ronnie Reece of Professional Engineering Services of Sparta wrote that the remaining life of the Class 1 Landfill for the DeKalb County Felts Cell “D”/Vickers Tract Phase 1 is two years and three months. The landfill is estimated to be filled to capacity during the month of March 2017.
County Mayor Tim Stribling made the county commissioners aware of the report during last Thursday night’s All-Committees workshop and again during Monday night’s regular monthly meeting. He also made available to the commissioners copies of Reece’s report to TDEC.
“The landfill life calculations are based on projected amounts of waste received and an estimated compaction rate. If any of these projected quantities change during the continued operation of the Class 1 Landfill facility, so will the life of the landfill,” according to Reece’s report.
Last August, the county commission voted to enter into a five year contract with Smith County to dispose of DeKalb County’s solid waste at the rate of $29.00 a ton after the transfer station becomes operational. During Monday night’s meeting, County Mayor Stribling said the engineer is recommending that the county use more of the existing landfill site still available before paying another county to take its solid waste. “Our engineer suggested to use some of this landfill that we still have instead of paying to have it hauled and put in somebody else’s landfill. It’s not like that we’ve got to have a transfer station up and going in a month or two. We’ve got some time to gradually cross over,” he said.
Meanwhile, work will continue toward completing the transfer station so that it will be ready when needed. ” The transfer station work should be done probably the first of March. That’s as far as the buildings are concerned. We’ve still got some utilities to be put in. The water and gas have to be installed. Probably sometime during the latter part of this year we’ll try to get the transfer station up and going but we still have some equipment that will have to be bought. We’ve still got to have a loader and things like that for the transfer station. We’ve still got to have some utilities installed in order to get the buildings up and going,” said County Mayor Stribling.
The commission last August awarded a bid to Elk Mountain Construction of Cookeville to build the transfer station, which is located in the Smithville Industrial Park on Highway 70 east behind Tenneco Automotive. Elk Mountain’s base bid was $1,308,092 with a deductive alternate of $425,077 from the base bid for road work into the proposed facility.
After the transfer station is in operation the county will close its existing Class I landfill but develop a Class III/IV site on the same property for the disposal of construction material, household furniture, and other non-household garbage.

The DeKalb County School System has run out of “snow days”.
Director of Schools Mark Willoughby said as of Monday, February 23 no more “snow days” remain and starting today (Tuesday, February 24) and any further days missed will have to be made up either during or at the end of the school year. Students have missed a total of eleven days of school due to inclement weather counting today.
Ten days are built into the school calendar each year for “snow days” or inclement weather and three days are included for so called “stockpile” or “early release” days which are used as professional development. On the stock pile day, teachers have in-service but students do not attend. Students are sent home early on “early” release days. The school system has already used its stock pile day and all but one of its early release days for the school year.
If more days are missed between now and May 26th, the school board will have to decide how to make them up. State law requires students to be in school a certain number of days each year. Director Willoughby said he plans to ask the State Commissioner of Education to grant a waiver on at least three snow days while Tennessee has been under a state of emergency due to the winter weather.
The remainder of the school calendar for the year is as follows:
Schools will be closed for spring break March 30 through April 3
No school for students Memorial Day, Monday May 25.
The last early release day is Friday, March 6
Students will not attend on Friday, May 22. That will be an administrative day and all teachers must attend. Friday, May 22 is also graduation day at DCHS. The last day of school will be Tuesday, May 26. That will be an abbreviated school day and report cards will be sent home.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, March 10 at DeKalb County High School from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will also be held from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at DeKalb Middle School, Northside Elementary, Smithville Elementary, and DeKalb West School.
DCHS report cards will be sent home on Monday, March 9 and at all other schools on Tuesday, March 10.

The Trustee’s Office would like to remind you that Saturday, February 28 is the last day to pay the 2014 property taxes before penalties start accruing March 1.
Since the deadline falls on Saturday, Trustee Sean Driver said the Trustee’s office will be open that day from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
The Trustee’s Office is also open regular hours from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday- Friday. “Remember, if the last day comes and you can’t make it to the post office to postmark your payment, we do have a drop box on the outside wall of the county offices section of the county complex. If you choose to use the drop box that weekend (February 28) we will gather the mail on Monday, March 2 from the drop box and no penalties will be applied to your 2014 tax bill,” said Driver.
Driver said you have four options for paying 2014 property taxes. “You can come by in person at the Trustee’s Office or you may mail in your payment. We also offer online bill pay at www.tennesseetrustee.com. You go to that website and select DeKalb County and then follow the instructions. Business Information Systems has set this up for Trustees across the state and there is a fee to use your debit or credit card. If you do pay online the fee to use your debit or credit card is 2.75% of your total tax bill. Or you can use an e-check for $2.50 on any total. Online accepts Mastercard, Visa, Discover, and American Express. Business Information Systems collects the fees, not DeKalb County” said Driver.
“We are also accepting partial payments in any amount. Remember, whatever portion of taxes is unpaid for 2014 using the partial payment plan, only the portion left unpaid will accrue at 1.5% penalty and interest per month starting March 1. The office can still receive partial payments on 2013 delinquent taxes up until March 31” said Driver.
Any 2013 unpaid property taxes will be turned over to the Chancery Court on April 1 for collection. “We have mailed out a reminder for those taxes that are left unpaid for 2013. If those taxes for 2013 are not paid before April 1 we will be sending that file to the Chancery Court on April 1. We can still receive partial payments on 2013 taxes up to that date,” said Driver.
The Trustee’s Office also offers the State of Tennessee Tax Relief. “If you would like to check on a possible tax relief for 2014, come and see us at 732 South Congress Boulevard, Room 103 or call us at 597-5176,” said Driver. ” The last day to sign up for tax relief is April 6.

Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (UCEMC) cautions members to be on alert for a telephone scam that is plaguing UCEMC’s service areas.
Scam artists are calling a home or business posing as a co-op or utility employee and threatening to shut off service unless the consumer provides immediate payment using a credit card. The caller may also request that members call a 1-888 number to provide their credit card information.
“The calls sound official, and the caller ID may even display the utility name,” says Jimmy Gregory, General Manager of UCEMC. Caller ID spoofing is the practice of causing the telephone network to indicate to the receiver of a call that the originator of the call is a station other than the true originating station. For example, a Caller ID display might display a phone number different from that of the telephone from which the call was placed. The term is commonly used to describe situations in which the motivation is considered malicious by the speaker or writer. “This scam is particularly harmful to consumers because there is no way to track or recover the money.”
Officials stress that UCEMC will:
•NEVER call members to request credit card, banking or other financial information over the telephone.
•NEVER call members threatening immediate disconnection unless a payment is made. Some co-ops do give members with a first time delinquent account a courtesy call prior to disconnection.
•NEVER ask to enter your home unless you initiate the request for co-op personnel to perform a specific service. Co-ops do this only by appointment and with a member’s prior knowledge.
“We are asking co-op members to be wary of any phone calls,” Gregory says. “If in doubt, hang up immediately, and contact your local UCEMC District Office at: Carthage 615-735-2940; Cookeville 931-528-5449; Gainesboro 931-268-2123; Livingston 931-823-1213 or 800-261-2940. Be certain you are dealing with an official representative of the cooperative.”
UCEMC is a cooperative owned by its members. It distributes electric power through more than 4,500 miles of lines to more than 47,000 meters located primarily in Jackson, Overton, Putnam, Smith Counties and northern DeKalb County, with additional members served in the fringe areas of Clay, Fentress, Macon, Pickett, White and Wilson. Visit www.ucemc.com to learn more.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has charged 80 year old James Hearl Pirtle of Whorton Springs Road, Smithville with filing a false police report. Pirtle’s bond is $5,000 and he will be in court March 12.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that Pirtle reported the theft of his 2000 model Jeep taken from his nursery in DeKalb County when he knew that the vehicle wasn’t stolen. According to Sheriff Ray “On Wednesday, February 18 a sheriff’s department detective was investigating a theft report made by Pirtle. He (Pirtle) reported that his 2000 model Jeep had been stolen from his nursery in DeKalb County. Through the detective’s investigation, it was found that the Jeep was not stolen from DeKalb County. Pirtle came to the sheriff’s office on February 18 to speak with the detective about the report he had made. The detective read Pirtle his Miranda warnings (rights). Pirtle admitted that the vehicle was not stolen from DeKalb County but that he had let someone borrow the Jeep and allowed them to take it to another county. During this interview, Pirtle answered several of the detective’s questions with false statements. He was placed under arrest,” said Sheriff Ray.
32 year old Clayton Allen Moore of Lakeview Circle Smithville is charged with a second offense of driving under the influence. His bond is $3,000 and he will be in court March 5.
Sheriff Ray said that on Friday, February 20 a deputy was dispatched to a vehicle accident on Cookeville Highway. There he found a black Dodge Ram 1500 that had been driven by Moore. The officer observed Moore walking down Highland Avenue. He had a strong odor of alcohol on his person, slurred speech, and he was unsteady on his feet. Moore performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He was arrested and taken to the emergency room of the hospital for a blood withdrawal and then to the sheriff’s department for booking. Moore’s first conviction for DUI was in Putnam County in 2008.
21 year old Caleb Shain Parker of Nashville Highway, Alexandria is charged with domestic assault. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court March 5.
Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, February 22 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Nashville Highway, Alexandria for a possible domestic. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a woman who said that she and Parker had been arguing and that he had kicked her in the thigh while she was in a bedroom sitting in a chair. Parker allegedly admitted to kicking the woman. He was placed under arrest.

A 34 year old man was injured when his SUV slipped off an ice and snow covered road and over an embankment on Indian Creek Youth Camp Road Friday.
Joshua Dewitt was traveling north down the steep narrow road, which runs off Highway 96 (Dale Ridge Road), when he met another vehicle coming up the hill. Dewitt’s 2000 Chevy Tahoe slid off an embankment, coming to rest on its passenger side about twenty feet off the road.
Dewitt was trapped in the SUV.
Members of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department’s Rescue team, who were alerted to perform extrication, had to access the scene by a utility terrain vehicle and four wheel drive pickup due to the slippery condition of the narrow road. After the SUV was stabilized, Dewitt was removed from the back hatch and placed in a stokes basket. Members of the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad then transported Dewitt on a gator from the scene to the top of the hill at Highway 96 to meet an awaiting ambulance. Dewitt was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital with a possible back injury.
According to Trooper Bobby Johnson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Dewitt was enroute to make a delivery of groceries to members of his family and that his relatives were in the other vehicle coming up the hill at the time of the accident.