The DeKalb Utility District Board of Commissioners met in special session Thursday afternoon and took action that will soon provide water to 33 new customers on Tramel Branch Road, Oakley Road, Carter Lane, and the Alexandria to Dismal Road
Bids were awarded to two contractors to extend water lines to the targeted areas. The $930,000 project will be funded through a $500,000 Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Block Grant and $430,290 in funding from the DeKalb Utility District.
The DUD had originally intended to provide only $121,000 but decided to add another $309,290 after bids for the project came in higher than expected.
The board accepted a bid of $392,865 from Flo-Line Contracting of Monticello, Kentucky to do the work on Alexandria to Dismal Road and for $294,345 for the project on Carter Lane and Oakley Road. Mofield Brothers Construction of Carthage got the bid for $148,580 to extend water lines on Tramel Branch Road.
According to the DUD, the water line extensions will provide water to fourteen customers on the Alexandria to Dismal Road, seven families on Tramel Branch Road, and twelve households on Carter Lane and Oakley Road.
The original plans were to also include Old Givens Hollow Road, which would have served seven customers, but that portion of the project was excluded due to the costs. “The low bid on that alone was $315,000 just to do it (Old Givens Hollow). It was just too cost prohibitive. Had we done this we wouldn’t have been able to do anything else and we wouldn’t have gotten the grant because we wouldn’t have qualified with enough people (customers). Even though we are putting a lot more money into this overall project, it just wasn’t feasible to do this portion (Old Givens Hollow),” said DUD Manager Jon Foutch.
The DeKalb County Commission adopted a resolution in January, 2016 authorizing the filing of the grant application.
The county had applied for and been denied the grant twice within the previous two years. But this time in order to improve its chances, the county asked for a little less grant money while the DeKalb Utility District committed to ante up more in its local match commitment.
Amanda Mainord of Grassroots Planning & Consulting, was the grant administrator for the project.

DeKalb County High School students celebrated the last day of Spirit Week with a Homecoming Day parade Friday afternoon
The Tiger football team’s homecoming opponent Friday night is the Cannon County Lions and the floats in the parade had a Tiger versus Cannon County theme.

The parade featured Homecoming Queen Allison Maynard and Attendants Kaitlyn Cantrell, Kayla Belk, Leah Davis, Alley Sykes, and Callie Mulloy; class and club floats, the football team, lots of decorated cars and trucks, county and city law enforcement officers, fire fighters, and other emergency vehicles, among others.
The event concluded with a pep rally led by DCHS Football cheerleaders and a performance by the DCHS band on the square.
Winners of the float competition were as follows:
First Place: Junior Class
Second Place: DCHS Tiger and Lady Tiger Basketball Players and Cheerleaders
Third Place: Senior Class
Best Decorated Automobiles:
First Place: Noah Martin
Second Place: Christina Bain
Third Place: Hannah Brown
Honorable Mention: Braya Murphy

A man accused in the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend more than two and a half years ago may stand trial in February.
44 year old Anthony (Tony) Tyrone Crews made a brief appearance before Judge Gary McKenzie in DeKalb County Criminal Court today (Friday).
Judge McKenzie set December 13 as the date to hear pre-trial motions in the case including a change of venue request. He has also set the trial date for February 13, 2018.
The District Public Defender, who is representing Crews, is asking the court to have the trial in Putnam County, rather than DeKalb County. Crews is currently being held in the Putnam County Jail. The judge has given the Public Defender’s staff until October 23 to file all their pre-trial motions and the District Attorney General’s staff has until November 15 to file answers to the motions.
Crews is under indictment for first degree murder in the death of 28 year old Ashley Bain, whose body was found lying on the floor of a bedroom at the home she and Crews shared at 3870 Cookeville Highway, Smithville on Thursday afternoon, February 5, 2015.
Bain was stabbed numerous times about the upper body. It’s not known exactly how long she had been dead by the time authorities were notified but she had been seen alive earlier in the day. A knife, believed to have been the murder weapon, was found in the home.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, Crews called 911 at 2:33 p.m. on February 5, 2015 to report that he had discovered Bain’s body when he entered the residence. Sheriff Ray and members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department were alerted and quickly arrived on the scene. The TBI and District Attorney General’s Office also joined the investigation. Sheriff Ray said authorities determined that Crews had committed the crime and made up the story about finding the body.
One week later, Crews made his first court appearance under tight security at the DeKalb County Courthouse.
During the brief hearing in General Sessions Court, Judge Bratten Cook, II increased Crews’ bond from $250,000 to one million dollars. He also appointed the District Public Defender’s Office to represent Crews.
Before increasing the bond amount, Judge Cook questioned Crews about his background. Crews said he was from New York and had relocated to McMinnville three years ago (prior to the murder). He is married and had once served in the military. At the time of his arrest, Crews was enrolled as a student at MTSU and had worked at Shiroki in Smithville. He admitted to having a misdemeanor criminal past for simple assault in New York but claimed the charges against him there were dismissed. Crews said he is not currently on parole or probation for any other offense.
After being appointed to represent Crews, Assistant District Public Defender Allison Rasbury West asked that his bond be kept at $250,000 saying that amount was sufficient. However Judge Cook raised it to one million dollars.
Crews’ second appearance in General Sessions Court was for a preliminary hearing on March 26, 2015
Following the hearing, Judge Cook ordered the case bound to the grand jury and increased Crews’ bond from one million to two million dollars.
Assistant District Attorney General Greg Strong called two persons to testify during the March 26 hearing and they were questioned by both Strong and Assistant Public Defender Allison Rasbury West , who at the time was representing Crews.
Amy Tucker, a clerk at Village Market Marathon on North Congress Boulevard, testified that Crews was a regular customer and bought beer there on the day that Bain was killed. ” He was a pretty steady customer. He came in usually two or three times a day every day and bought beer,” she said.
During his testimony, TBI Special Agent and Criminal Investigator Lance Walker said surveillance video from Village Market showed Crews making a beer purchase around 1:00 p.m. on the day of the murder and an empty beer bottle and a bloody knife, believed to have been the murder weapon were found later that afternoon inside a Village Market bag at the crime scene. “We had heard that he had gone to Village Market and we retrieved a receipt (from the store) that matched up with beer sales of Mr. Crews purchasing 2-24 ounce Bud Ices and a Steel Reserve with a time stamp on the receipt at 1 p.m. The store video showed him making the purchase. When we got to the scene back in the bedroom where Ms Bain’s body was found, there was a plastic bag consistent with the bags that Village Market uses and in the bag was an empty Steel Reserve bottle and next to the bottle in the bag was a knife that had been bent from the force used upon it covered in reddish brown stains. There was also blonde hair appearing to belong to the victim on that knife. The knife was recovered and sent for testing,” Walker testified.
Agent Walker said that he was notified of the stabbing at around 2:00 p.m. that day and arrived on the scene at around 3:30 p.m. He described what he observed . ” I arrived on the scene after I received the call. We set up a perimeter for the crime scene. Mr. Crews (who was on the scene) was transported to be interviewed by another agent. I conducted a crime scene investigation. The first thing we noticed was that the front door was ajar. The frame was off the door. We went through the house and saw reddish brown stains which we assumed to be blood throughout the house leading back to the back left bedroom. And then we encountered Ms. Bain’s body. She was found on the left side of the bed, near the foot of the bed close to the wall. The manner of death (according to the autopsy) was multiple stab wounds. They could confidently say that there were at least fifteen (stab wounds). They could not establish the estimated time of death,” testified Agent Walker.
” Mr. Crews (who was at the scene) was disheveled. He was repeating himself over and over again. He appeared to be incoherent and he had a strong odor of alcohol on him. My understanding was that he and Ms. Bain were in a relationship and he stayed at the house at times throughout the week off and on. His clothing had what appeared to be blood. His long sleeved shirt, pants, and shoes all had reddish brown stains on them. His hands had what appeared to be dried blood. His clothing was sent to the lab for testing,” said Walker.
“Samples of blood were taken from designated areas inside the home and sent to the crime lab for analysis including from the floor of the hallway, bedroom, dining/kitchen area, and a number of other items such as the knife and Bain’s wallet, which was found between two trash bags filled with trash (one on top of the other) in the kitchen. The wallet had about $1,400 in it. We also found more money (another $1,600 or $1,700) that appeared to come from the same source in the bedroom,” Walker testified.
As for the broken front door, Agent Walker said Crews had reported to the Sheriff’s Department in January, 2015 that it had been damaged in an attempted break-in. “The Sheriff’s Office let me know that a report had been filed on January 26, 2015 for a supposed break-in. I think Crews filed the report that somebody had broke the door. I re-secured it before I left. It seemed secure,” Agent Walker testified.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today announced that unemployment rates decreased last month in all 95 counties and significantly dropped in many rural counties, which often have the highest unemployment rates in the state. The county figures were released one week after the state posted an August statewide unemployment rate of 3.3 percent – the lowest in recorded history.
DeKalb County’s jobless rate for August was 4.5%, down from 5.3% in July and well below the rate of 5.9% in August 2016. The local labor force for August, 2017 was 7,790. A total of 7,450 were employed and 350 were without work.
“To see a decrease in each and every county across Tennessee is quite an accomplishment and a sign of our state’s financial strength,” Haslam said. “Our historic low unemployment rate is a reflection of Tennessee’s policies – we’re a low tax state that encourages business investment and we don’t have a lot of debt, which allows businesses to thrive and create jobs.”
This is the third time in 2017 in which county unemployment rates decreased statewide. The rates also dropped in all 95 counties in February and April.
“What’s most impressive is how much the unemployment rate has dropped in our rural areas – several counties have seen a nearly three percent decrease over the last 12 months,” Phillips said.
While Rhea County has Tennessee’s highest unemployment rate at 6 percent, its August 2017 figure decreased by a full percentage point from the previous month, and some 400 new jobs are being created there by Nokian Tyre. The company announced earlier this year it was locating its first North American manufacturing facility in Dayton, Tenn., and Haslam on Wednesday joined company officials and county and city leaders there to break ground on the future site.
Davidson and Williamson counties have the state’s lowest unemployment rates at 2.7 percent. Davidson County dropped three-tenths of a percentage point from July, while Williamson County’s rate was down four-tenths of a percentage point. Nine of the state’s lowest unemployment rates can be found in middle Tennessee counties. Sevier County is also among the top 10 lowest in the state.
The August unemployment rate is less than 5 percent in 81 Tennessee counties. Fourteen counties have unemployment rates for the month ranging from 5.1 and 6 percent.
Unemployment date for each of Tennessee’s 95 counties is available here.
https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/labor/attachments/Labor_Force_Estimat…
The August statewide unemployment rate of 3.3 percent was down one-tenth of a percentage point from July while the preliminary U.S. unemployment rate increased last month one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.4 percent.
The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted, while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.
Additional information from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, including resources to help Tennesseans find jobs can be found at Jobs4TN.gov.

DTC Communications is in the midst of a major effort to build a world class high-speed broadband network for its five county service area with fiber optics.
The $40 million project is being done in phases to serve DeKalb, Cannon, Wilson, Rutherford, and Smith counties. The goal is to complete the initial build-out within five years.
Modern high-tech tasks require speeds available only through fiber optic technology. A fiber network uses cables made of tiny strands of pure glass, each about the diameter of a human hair, to transmit beams of light over great distances. The beams are capable of carrying high-quality data for fast internet speeds even greater than 1 gigabit per second.
As customers need faster speeds, fiber optic networks are proving to be the only connections capable of meeting customers’ needs and exceeding their expectations.
“DTC is delivering on its promise of cooperatively improving the quality of life for our members and the middle Tennessee region that we serve,” said DTC CEO Chris Townson during last Saturday’s annual membership meeting. “Under this board’s direction and through the leadership and hard work of DTC’s management team and employees, we are building a fiber optic network that will serve its membership with state of the art telecommunication services for generations to come.”
The Cooperative is building approximately 140 miles of fiber optic lines this year in the Woodbury and Westside areas of Cannon County.
“We are currently completing splicing and electronic installation in those areas. By Thanksgiving over 1,300 homes and businesses will have access to gigabit high speed internet, high definition DTC TV, unlimited voice services and industry leading residential and commercial security and camera systems,” said Townson. “Additionally, work is already underway to build approximately 300 miles of fiber in the Milton, Norene, Auburntown, and Smithville exchanges in 2018. We’re planning to double that number again in 2019 when we build approximately 600 miles of fiber optic lines primarily in the Gordonsville exchange.”
“The trust you have placed in us, in addition to your continued investment in your cooperative, has allowed us to complete our final Very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL) project in the Woodland area, making available advanced services to more than 1,000 homes and businesses,” he added.
“We’re not only building to serve the members well but we are doing so in a fiscally responsible manner,” he continued. “Under this board’s direction, the leadership of our management team, and the hard work and execution of our strategic and operational plans by our employees, we are not only building a world class broadband network, we are doing so while significantly improving our financial performance. In comparing this year’s annual report with last year, you will see we have improved net earnings by almost $1.1 million dollars year over year from 2015 to 2016. I am happy to report that so far in 2017 we look to make similar improvements again.”
In all, the cooperative plans to invest approximately $40 million in the communities it serves.
“DTC did take advantage of a change in an FCC regulation. We adopted the FCC Alternative Connect America Fund Cost Recovery Model for the Universal Service.” Townson explained. “What that means is that DTC has secured cost recovery from the Universal Service Fund for the next ten year period and in return we have promised to rebuild a significant portion of our network to provide broadband services in the high cost areas we serve. That’s why you are hearing about the $40 million that we will invest over the next four to five years.”
“This year our state legislature passed the Tennessee Broadband Accesibility Act in an attempt to bring Broadband Internet service to the underserved and unserved residents of Tennessee. DTC was very involved in this legislative process,” he added.
In conclusion, Townson told the membership, “The reason the Board of Directors at DTC and I are so passionate about this buildout is that we are anticipating the impact this network will have on our members’ quality of life, economic well-being, and educational opportunities.”
“We are neighbors doing for neighbors what the big corporate providers won’t do,” he added.
“That’s what DTC has accomplished for 66 years and I’m happy to report we are committed to serving our customers far into the future.”

The driver of a United Propane Gas delivery truck escaped injury today (Thursday) after the cab burst into flames on Highway 56 north near the entrance of the Retreat at Center Hill Lake, formerly Lakeside Resort.
The driver, Michael Nye, said he was traveling south enroute to the Smithville area to make deliveries when he heard a popping sound and pulled over to the shoulder of the highway. He got out of the truck and discovered a fire coming from under the hood. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried unsuccessfully to put out the blaze. County firefighters were notified and rushed to the scene.
According to County Fire Chief Donny Green, firefighters used about seven thousand gallons of water to bring the blaze under control and to cool the tank. The fire was contained to the cab of the truck. The tank, which was filled with liquid propane gas, did not catch fire.

Members of the Cookeville Highway, Midway, Liberty, and Main Stations of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department responded along with the department’s tanker truck. DeKalb EMS, the Sheriff’s Department, DeKalb Emergency Management Agency Director Charlie Parker, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol were also on the scene
Traffic was stopped in both directions as firefighters were putting out the blaze.

tnAchieves, partnering organization for Governor Bill Haslam’s TN Promise, is currently seeking volunteers to serve as mentors for program’s fourth class of students. TN Promise offers every high school senior the opportunity to attend one of the state’s 13 community colleges or 27 colleges of applied technology tuition free with a last dollar scholarship. The program also pairs each applicant with a volunteer mentor to ease the transition from high school to college. In just 10 hours annually you can make a lasting impact on a student’s life.
The program needs 9,000 volunteers across the state to ensure each of the 60,000 plus students that apply are paired with a mentor. DeKalb County needs 22 mentors by the December 1st deadline.
tnAchieves Executive Director Krissy DeAlejandro has been with the program since its inception in 2008. “With the idea of eliminating the barriers keeping Tennessee students from entering the post-secondary pipeline, Tennessee Promise provides a last-dollar scholarship with mentor support to our state’s high school seniors,” said DeAlejandro. “It sends the message to Tennessee families that post-secondary education is within reach for everyone, regardless of socio-economic status or zip code. It also attracts business and industry to Tennessee because we can know this generation is getting the required skills to be successful in tomorrow’s job market.” TN Promise is one program of the state’s Drive to 55 initiative that aims to increase Tennessee’s adult population with a post-secondary credential to 55 percent by 2025.
In the first three years of the program almost 180,000 students have applied. In the first year, 16,291 students began college TN Promise eligible. The state’s college going rate increased 4.6 percent, more than the previous seven years combined. Enrollment at the state’s community and technical colleges increased more than 20 percent and enrollment at all of the state’s public higher education institutions increased 10 percent. This translates into approximately 4,000 new students entering the college pipeline. Students participating in the program are also retaining at rates higher than their peers that entered college without TN Promise.
The scholarship dollars are important, and often creates excitement around going to college, but the support of the mentor can be critical to many students’ success. Most of the students participating in the program are first generation college attendees and navigating the admissions and financial aid processes can seem overwhelming. Mentors spend about one hour per month reminding students of deadlines, serving as a trusted resource, and encouraging students to reach their full potential. The time commitment is small, but the impact can be life changing.
tnAchieves Deputy Director of Engagement and Partnerships Graham Thomas explained the importance of the role of the mentors. “Mentors provide the encouragement and support students need to be successful as they transition from high school and begin college.” Thomas continued, “Mentors remind students of important deadlines, answer students’ questions, alleviate their concerns, and most importantly, encourage students to reach their full potential.”
tnAchieves needs more than 9,000 volunteers statewide to serve as mentors to meet student demand. The program operates TN Promise in 84 counties and each county has a specific mentor goal. To learn more and apply you can visit www.tnachieves.org or contact Thomas at graham@tnachieves.org or (615) 604-1306.

The DeKalb County Clerk’s Office urges owners of heavy freight motor vehicles to make sure you meet all the state’s registration requirements.
Federal and state laws require registrants to possess a “Heavy Vehicle Use Tax” stamp or a “Tax Suspended” stamp for weighted vehicles of 55,000 pounds or more, provide proof of payment as a condition to register the vehicle in Tennessee, and file Internal Revenue Service Form 2290, Schedule 1, whether or not the vehicle is being used for the purposes of commercial, farm, logging, etc.
IRS Form 2290, Schedule 1 is used to report and pay the tax due. Owners who expect to drive vehicles 5,000 miles or less (7,500 miles or less for an agricultural vehicle) during the tax period can have their tax suspended. The suspension of the Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax does not relieve the registrant of paying any state registration fees associated with the vehicle and a “Tax Suspended” stamp is required along with the filing of IRS Form 2290, Schedule 1.
“During a recent state County Clerks’ Meeting, Department of Revenue officials disclosed discrepancies in that some counties were not renewing vehicles with the required IRS Form 2290, Schedule 1 as required and established under federal law,” said County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss.
“If the registrant declares that his or her vehicle is driven less than 5,000 or 7,500 miles for an agricultural vehicle, a HVUT stamp is not required, but the registrant must file the IRS Form 2290 and the vehicle must be listed as “Tax Suspended” under Schedule 1. The form must be legibly verified by stamp and date from the IRS. Owners of “Tax Suspended” vehicles must also keep up to date mileage and log books for their travel,” Poss continued.
As a public courtesy, County Clerk Poss said his office is happy to assist those who need help in filing IRS Form 2290, Schedule 1.
“After numerous reports of difficulty in registrants obtaining Federal Employer Identification Numbers (FEIN) and completing documentation required to obtain a 2290 Schedule 1 Form allowing individuals to review their HVUT, I have established online access to request and receive this information for them. Once an FEIN is obtained there is a 10 day waiting period. I am then eligible to complete the information required by the federal government to obtain a 2290 Schedule 1 before renewing weighted plates for commercial or agricultural vehicles over 55,000 pounds,” Poss explained.
If you need assistance, Poss urges you to contact him.
“Due to the variety and number of transactions performed in our office daily, individuals wishing to obtain assistance with HVUTs, filing for FEIN numbers, business tax returns or sales and use tax issues are asked to please contact the office to schedule an appointment with me. Across the state these responsibilities are up to the individuals to complete themselves. However, I encourage anyone needing help to give me a call for a time to assist with either of these issues,” County Clerk Poss concluded.