The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce and the DeKalb County Mayor’s office would like to invite residents across the county to participate in the DeKalb County Clean Up campaign on Saturday, May 24th. This event will be held in conjunction with the Keep America Beautiful initiative going on across the country. This organization’s mission revolves around a core belief that beauty is a silent but powerful force that makes communities safer, healthier and more livable.
Suzanne Williams, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, would like to remind everyone that DeKalb County’s peak tourism season is about to begin, so now is a great time to start getting things spruced up for our coming visitors. According to Williams, “I think we are all aware of the value and importance of beautification in our communities to attract newcomers and tourists to our area and to maintain a stable and growing economy.”
To get a head start on clean up, dumpsters will be set up at highly visible and convenient locations a few days prior to the main event. Dumpster locations will be at the Dowelltown Community Center, Liberty Community Center, Alexandria City Parking Lot (behind square), and the County Complex parking lot.
County Mayor Mike Foster says, “We would like for people to come out and help clean our communities and roadways. Folks are welcome to pick their own locations to clean, or we will be glad to assign a safe place for each person to participate.”
DeKalb Clean Up volunteers are asked to come to the County Complex, 732 So. Congress Blvd., Smithville on May 24th between 9 AM and 10 AM to sign-in and pick up the provided trash bags, rubber gloves, and bottles of water. For early sign-up, you can stop by the Chamber, located in the Courthouse, Room 201, anytime during regular office hours by May 23rd to pick up supplies. Or if stopping by is not convenient, call the Chamber office at 597-4163 to be counted as a DeKalb Clean Up volunteer — just give your name and the general area where you will be working. Whether you’re beautifying your street, a highway, a park, ball field, a stream, or your own home, what a difference we can make through working together!

A Smithville man stopped last week for a traffic violation was found with pills and a large amount of cash in his possession.
36 year old Jermaine Derperise McCoy of Smith Road, Smithville is charged with two counts of possession of a schedule II controlled substance for resale. He was further issued a citation for no driver license. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court on May 22. Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Thursday, April 24 a Sheriff’s Department Drug Detective stopped McCoy for not having a valid driver license. McCoy gave the officer consent to search his person and vehicle. Found in his left pants pocket were two baggies containing pills. One of the baggies contained three blue Oxycodone 30 milligram pills. The other baggie held four white Oxycodone 20 milligram pills. The pills were believed to have been packaged for resale. McCoy could not provide a valid prescription for the pills. McCoy also had $602 in his pocket. He was arrested and taken to the jail.
54 year old Timothy Wade Cantrell of Oak Street, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. He is under a $1,500 bond and he will be in court on May 1st. Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, April 21 a Sheriff’s Department Drug Detective observed a white Jeep traveling north on South College Street. The Jeep crossed the center line several times. The detective stopped the vehicle at Greenbrook Park and spoke with the driver, Cantrell. The officer asked Cantrell to submit to field sobriety tasks but Cantrell was unable to perform the tasks or follow directions. His motor skills were poor and he was very unsteady on his feet. Cantrell also had an odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. He did consent to a blood alcohol test.
41 year old Shauna Leeann Anderson of Martin Lane, Alexandria is charged with aggravated assault. Her bond is $10,000 and she will be in court May 15. Sheriff Ray said that on Tuesday, April 22 the Sheriff’s Department received a call about an argument in progress at a residence on Martin Lane in Alexandria. Upon arrival a deputy spoke with a woman who said her mother, Anderson had assaulted her with a baseball bat. The officer noticed that the woman (victim) had physical marks and swelling in the areas of her left arm and right wrist. Anderson admitted to the officer that she had assaulted the victim with the baseball bat. Through the investigation it was determined that Anderson was the primary aggressor and she was placed under arrest. The victim was taken by DeKalb EMS to the hospital.
40 year old John Preston Lawrence of Lebanon is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court on May 15. Sheriff Ray said that on Saturday, April 26 a Sheriff’s Department deputy responded to Highway 70 in the area of the Midnight Express where a man was reported to be walking down the middle of the road, threatening to jump in front of vehicles. Upon arrival, the officer found the man, Lawrence standing on the double yellow line of the highway. The deputy asked Lawrence to walk over to his patrol car. Lawrence had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. His walk was staggered and his speech was slurred. During his conversation with the officer, Lawrence said that “he was ready to die tonight”. Lawrence was placed under arrest and brought to the jail for booking due to his being a danger to himself and the public.
27 year old Rosemary Joyce Anderson of Cecil Hale Road, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. Her bond is $2,500 and she will be in court May 1. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, April 27 an officer of the Sheriff’s Department responded to a disturbance call at a residence on Cecil Hale Road. Upon arrival the deputy spoke with Anderson in the yard of the home. Anderson was aggressive and irate. While there, the officer learned that Anderson had gone to a neighbor’s home with the intentions of assaulting the girlfriend of Anderson’s estranged husband. During the confrontation, Anderson’s husband got in between his wife and girlfriend. Anderson then hit him in the area of his face and pulled his shirt. She later admitted to the deputy that she assaulted her husband and had intended to assault his girlfriend.
23 year old Bridgette Nicole Stafford of Kings Court, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. Her bond is $2,500 and she will be in court May 1. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, April 27 a Sheriff’s Department deputy responded to a domestic violence call at a residence in Kings Court. Stafford told the officer that she and a man had gotten into an argument and that after the man had accidentally struck her, she had hit him several times in the face. The man, who did not retaliate to the assault, did have visible injuries. Stafford was arrested and brought to the jail for booking.
23 year old Hugo Godinez Juareg of Big Woods Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court May 1. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, April 27 a deputy responded to a prowler call at a residence on Banks Pisgah Road. Upon arrival, the officer found Juareg passed out in the back of his vehicle. Several bottles of alcohol were in the automobile. The deputy awoke Juareg and asked him why he was in the driveway of this residence. Juareg said that he was in no condition to drive due to being intoxicated so he pulled over. He had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person. His eyes were bloodshot. His speech was slurred and he was very unsteady on his feet. Juareg submitted to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. He was arrested and brought to the jail for booking.
28 year old Joseph Kilzer of Parkway Drive, Smithville is charged with aggravated assault. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court on May 1. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, April 27 a deputy responded to a physical domestic call at a residence on Parkway Drive. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with a woman who said that she and her boyfriend, Kilzer had gotten into an argument over her having damaged a guitar. The woman said Kilzer became very irate and tried to strangle her. She had red marks on her neck. Kilzer was arrested and brought to the jail for booking.

A new group is being formed to address the problem of abandoned and abused animals in DeKalb County.
“It’s called the DeKalb Coalition for the Humane Treatment of Animals, and we are in the process of securing IRS 501 c 3 charitable status,” said David McDowell, Fourth District County Commissioner, who is a member of the Coalition.
“The purpose is to provide for an adequate animal shelter and facilities; to provide a permanent & safe location for neglected, abandoned and abused animals; to provide an alternative low-kill policy so these animals receive medical attention, reduce overpopulation, and be cared for until they can be placed in permanent homes,” said McDowell in a statement to WJLE.
“We want to work together with the mayors and city councils, and the DeKalb County Mayor & County Commission, to provide a more humane treatment of unwanted or neglected animals. After all, one measure of a society is how they treat their weakest members,” said McDowell.
Other members of the Coalition are Sue Puckett Jernigan, Dr. Hugh Don Cripps, Marsha Darrah, Renee Ferguson, and Smithville Alderman Jason Murphy.
County Mayor Mike Foster told WJLE Saturday that he is confident this new coalition will offer a new and better approach to a growing problem. “This group has already formed their new charter and registered it. We feel they are a rock solid group of people that are in it for the long haul. They are applying for a 501 c 3, which takes a little bit of time, but by doing it with the city and county we can begin to move on. There are a lot of grants out there for a 501 c 3 that are not available to the governmental agencies. We feel like the timing is right to do this,” he said.
Foster said the county and cities must work together to address the concerns. “Just this past week we had five or six people who were bitten (dog bites). We’re continuously having vicious dogs in neighborhoods and as it currently stands we don’t have any way to adopt animals out. We would like to come up with some type of program that does a much better job of that (adoption). A lot of dogs just get mistakenly picked up. They may break a chain or something. We need a way to hold them in a safe environment and let their owners come and check on them and make sure they don’t get euthanized. We have to come up with a better program. We currently don’t have ways to adopt those dogs out and we don’t have the facility to hold them in safely. I just think it’s a really good thing that we are beginning to talk along those lines of trying to come up with hopefully a combined animal shelter between the city and the county and maybe the other towns in the county and that we collectively solve this problem,” he said. Literally, we have had several people who have been bitten and when they are we don’t know if that dog has had rabies shots or not. We have to hold that dog for a minimum of ten days. It (animal) needs to be safely confined to where you don’t run the risk of that patient of having to go take rabies shots or worse, getting rabies. I think Mayor (Jimmy) Poss is going to go back to the (Smithville) city (council) and talk to his board. I think we can begin moving along those lines and hopefully try to come up with one animal shelter rather than having to run two or three. It’s much more economically feasible and we can do a lot better job,” said County Mayor Foster.
The City of Smithville currently operates the animal shelter for the county just behind the DeKalb County Road Department headquarters off of Smith Road. Officials say that facility, owned by the county, is no longer sufficient to meet current needs.

A program will be held Thursday, May 1 at noon to observe the National Day of Prayer, an annual event held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people of all faiths to pray for the nation.
Local businesswoman Jamie Anderson, who is helping organize the event, said the program will be held at the DeKalb County Complex Auditorium and will last for about an hour. It will feature prayers and remarks from local community leaders, ministers, and state lawmakers, music by Country Star John Anderson, who is Jamie’s husband, and more.
Everyone is invited to attend. Admission is free!
The National Day of Prayer was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. According to the NDOP website, “Our Task Force is a privately funded organization whose purpose is to encourage participation on the National Day of Prayer. It exists to communicate with every individual the need for personal repentance and prayer, to create appropriate materials, and to mobilize the Christian community to intercede for America’s leaders and its families. The Task Force represents a Judeo Christian expression of the national observance, based on our understanding that this country was birthed in prayer and in reverence for the God of the Bible.”

The DeKalb County School System is partnering with the local health department to help ensure next year’s seventh graders have the required T-DAP immunizations before the start of the 2014-15 school year.
Up and coming seventh graders must have the T-DAP (tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis) booster and a second dose of the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine. That means these students will need a certificate showing that they have received these vaccines to go into 7th grade.
DeeAnna Reynolds, School Health Coordinator, said on-site clinics to administer the T-DAP immunizations have been scheduled at DeKalb Middle and DeKalb West School. “Coordinated School Health has partnered with the health department this year to do an on-site school immunization clinic. That’s for our current sixth graders who will be seventh graders in the fall. It’s for the T-DAP booster. That clinic will be May 7 at DeKalb West School and May 8 at DeKalb Middle School,” said Reynolds.
“We’d like parents to know that there is information and a letter going home from the health department as well as from the school system and we’re asking for that to be returned by Friday, May 2.,” she said
“Students are not going to be allowed to return to school in the fall if all of their immunizations are not current. If there are other immunizations they are lacking, they will need to contact the health department or their regular physician,” Reynolds continued.
“They (health department) will be at the pre-K registration on May 9 at Smithville Elementary and at the Kindergarten registration on May 16 at Smithville Elementary and DeKalb West School to offer assistance to parents and guardians who might have some questions about their children’s immunizations,” she said.

Almost one thousand people have taken advantage of early voting for the May 6th primaries in DeKalb County.
(CLICK PDF LINK BELOW)age 4-26-14.pdf (22.95 KB)
As of the close of business Saturday, April 26, a total of 996 persons had voted early, including 934 in the Democratic Primary and 62 in the Republican Primary, according to the DeKalb County Election Commission.
On Saturday, 115 voters participated including 87 in person and twenty eight by absentees/nursing home.
Of the 996 who have voted, 730 are over the age of fifty and 398 of them are age sixty five and older.
The following are the age groups of the early voters as of Saturday, April 26:
Age 18-20: 16 voters
Age 21-30: 43 voters
Age 31-40: 81 voters
Age 41-50: 126 voters
Age 51-65 : 332 voters
Age 65 and older: 398 voters
Four years ago, there were a total of 2,907 voters in the primary including 1,149 who voted either early or by absentee and 1,758 who cast ballots on election day.
The following is a break down of the number of early voters who have come to the courthouse to cast ballots from the various precinct areas as of Saturday, April 26:
1-1 ALEXANDRIA: 28 VOTERS
1-2 TEMPERANCE HALL: 24 VOTERS
1-3 EDGAR EVINS STATE PARK: 0 VOTERS
2-1 LIBERTY: 31 VOTERS
2-2 DOWELLTOWN: 18 VOTERS
2-3 SNOW HILL: 34 VOTERS
3-1 SMITHVILLE CHURCH OF GOD: 235 VOTERS
4-1 CHERRY HILL: 1 VOTER
4-2 ROCK CASTLE: 4 VOTERS
4-3 COURTHOUSE: 199 VOTERS
5-1 JOHNSON CHAPEL: 22 VOTERS
5-2 COUNTY COMPLEX: 140 VOTERS
6-1 BELK: 17 VOTERS
6-2KELTONBURG: 54 VOTERS
6-3 BLUE SPRINGS: 32 VOTERS
7-1 CHURCH OF CHRIST ANNEX: 157 VOTERS
Early Voting continues through Thursday, May 1 on the following dates and times on the first floor of the courthouse:
Monday, April 28 from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesday, April 29 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesday, April 30 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursday, May 1 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Election day is Tuesday, May 6

The DeKalb County unemployment rate for March was 6.8%, down from 7.1% in February and well below the 8.6% rate in March, 2013.
The Labor Force in DeKalb County for March was 9,110. A total of 8,490 were employed and 620 were without work.
DeKalb County’s jobless rate for March was fifth lowest in the Upper Cumberland Region. Here is how the fourteen counties ranked from highest to lowest:
Pickett: 12.4%
Van Buren: 10.4%
Clay: 10%
White: 8.9%
Cumberland:8.7%
Jackson: 8.2%
Overton: 8.1%
Warren:7.7%
Fentress: 7.6%
DeKalb:6.8%
Smith: 6.6%
Putnam: 6.5%
Macon: 6%
Cannon: 5.6%
County unemployment rates for March 2014 show the rate decreased in 86 counties, increased in four, and remained the same in five.
Davidson County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 5.5 percent in March, down from 5.6 percent in February. Knox County’s March rate was 5.6 percent, down from 5.7. Hamilton County was 6.8 percent, down from 6.9. Shelby County was 8.4 percent, the same as for February. Tennessee’s unemployment rate for March was 6.7 percent, which is two-tenths of one percentage point lower than the February revised rate. The national unemployment rate for March 2014 was also 6.7 percent, the same as for February.
The state unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.

The Smithville Police Department, DeKalb County Health Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on Saturday, April 26 from 9:00 a.m. until Noon will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding their homes of potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. Bring your medications for disposal to Smithville Police Department parking lot at 104 East Main Street. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. The DEA cannot accept liquids or needles or sharps, only pills or patches.
Last April, Americans turned in 552,161 pounds—276 tons—of prescription drugs at over 5,600 sites operated by the DEA and nearly 4,300 state and local law enforcement partners. In its four previous Take Back events, DEA and its partners took in over 1.5 million pounds—nearly 775 tons—of pills.
This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, Americans are now advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash—both pose potential safety and health hazards.
Four days after the first event, Congress passed the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amends the Controlled Substances Act to allow an “ultimate user” of controlled substance medications to dispose of them by delivering them to entities authorized by the Attorney General to accept them. The Act also allows the Attorney General to authorize long term care facilities to dispose of their residents’ controlled substances in certain instances. DEA is drafting regulations to implement the Act. Until new regulations are in place, local law enforcement agencies like Smithville Police Department and the DEA will continue to hold prescription drug take-back events every few months.

DeKalb County High School has set graduation for Friday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. on the high school football field.
Dr. Hugh Don Cripps will be the guest speaker. Dr. Cripps was President of the Class of 1964 at DCHS.
The commencement program will also feature the presentation of the White Rose and Citizenship Awards to members of the Class, a performance by the DCHS Chorus, and remarks by the Class Valedictorian Kelsey Evins and Class President Jordan Wilkins. Honor students will also be recognized including those who have earned top rank, honors, and distinction status. The DCHS band will perform the processional and recessional. Principal Patrick Cripps will make brief comments and present the class to Director of Schools Mark Willoughby, who will then award diplomas to the graduates as their names are called.
A total of 175 students make up the Class of 2014 at DCHS including the following.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW PHOTOS OF GRADUATES. BE SURE TO CLICK EACH PICTURE TO OBTAIN A LARGER VIEW OF THE GRADUATE AND TO READ HIS OR HER NAME)http://www.wjle.com/graduation-2014
Marisol Acuna, Salma Yvette Acuna, Annatasia D. Alexander, Jorge Luis Alvarez-Tinajero, Elisha Brooke Anderson, Jordan Eugene Angle, Peter Zechariah Antoniak, Julia Carolina Armendariz, Courtney McKenzie Avera,
Karem Sylvana Bain, Brayde Magallester Baker, Hannah Michelle Ball, Zachary Bandy, Ashley Michelle Barnes, Brandon Cole Barnes, Charles Hudson Beltz, Dean Andrew Betsworth, Dustin Hunter Billings, Chelsey Michelle Brannon, Erika Nichole Brown,
Christopher Thomas Caldwell, Courtney Nicole Caldwell, Hannah Grace Cantrell, James Robert Cantrell, Taneah Brooke Cantrell, Taylor Brook Cantrell, Kayna Elizabeth Caplinger, Jacqueline Danielle Ruth Chastain, Nathaniel Andrew Chastain, Rachel Nicola Checchi, Morgan Shenee Clark, Tiffany Ann Collier, Dillon Michael Colwell, Lauren Elizabeth Colwell, Austin Taylor Cook, Kayla Grace Cook, Alexis Cintara Cornelius, Juan Rodrigo Cuellar, Chelsie Loraine Cunningham, Briana Nicole Cutliff,
Joshua Philip Davidson, Jenice D. Davis, Makala Jaye Dawson, William Gatlin Dougherty, Joe Delmer Driver, Bryan Christopher Duncan,
Hunter Lee Eckert, Sarah Elizabeth Edwards, Katlin Alli Emme, Kelsey Elizabeth Evins,
Joseph Bradley Faulk, Darian Cheyene Ferrell, Dustan Lee Ferrell, Kalab Anthony Ferrell, Travis Dale Ferrell, Austin Tyler Frazier, Shannon Randall Freeman, Corey Blaine Frye,
Thomas Dustin Garrett, Michelle Gay, Hannah Rebekah Gaylord, Seth Joseph Gerringer, Conner Anne Giddens, Eli Cody Gill, Kelsi Nichole Glenn, Cody Daniel Gooch, Thomas I. Graham, Haley Jada Gray, Christianna Faith Grubb, Ricky Wilson “Trey” Guinn, Geovani Guadalupe Guzman Godinez,
Deana Marie Hale, Kaylee Megan Hale, Anthony J. Hamlet, Michael Cody Harrell, Cody Wayne Hattaway, Megan Nicole Hawker, Ashley Caitlin Hershman, Kayla Lynn Hogue, Chase Ramsey Hoke, Sarah Elizabeth Hunt,
Christopher Lewis Jablonski, Zachary Bly Jerrells, Daniel Lynn Johnson, Magan Jewell Johnson, Nicholas Wade Johnson, Kaitlynn Jones, Ethan Curtis Judkins,
Tyler Blane Keen, Lukas Phillip Knowles,
Cayton Lance, Matthew Charles Lane, Elizabeth Catherine Lasser, Haley Rachea Lawson, Steven Jay Laxton, Lauren Alexandrea Lewis, Nicholas Cade Linder, Eli Nathanial Lomas, Tiffany Amber Ludwig,
Kelsey Ann MacDonald, Elizabeth Jane Mason, Tayza Cristina Matthews, Lauren Ashley Medlin, Brittany Leisha Merriman, James Joseph Messina, Anthony Mofield, Tyler Ryne Monette, Caleb Joshua Moore, Jacob William Moore, Mickael Flyn Mosley,
Chancy Newsom, Megan Nicole Nichols, Alivia Jade Nokes,
Ashley Nichole Pack, Steven Allen Page, David Ross Parker, John Hunter Parkhurst, Brandon Fransisco Pilcher, Thomas Franklin Pollard, McKenzie Brooke Poteete,
Victoria Ann Redmon, Danielle Taylor Reed, Laura Lynn Reed, Cameron Allen Rhea, Courtney Leigh Rice, Emma Katherine Rigsby, Jody Dayzion Ringo, Austin Rochefort, Ethan Lyn Roller, George Eugene Roller, Victor John Roller, Jr., Joshua Lynn Rushing,
Carlos Alfonso Serna, Roger David Sharp, III, Samantha Renee Sircy, Emily Anne Snow, Zack Snyder, Bryan Ezequiel Sosa Morales, Patrick Bailey Spare, Zachary Dominic Sparks, Cheyenne Delores Stacy, Mallory Elizabeth Sullivan, Devin James Cobb Summers,
Allison Renee Taylor, Jordan Chase Taylor, Kristen Nicole Taylor, Shauna Faith Taylor, Andrew McilWain Thomas, Rebecca Nathallia Hope Thomas, Kalynn Michelle Thompson, Krysta Renee Thompson, Jordan Alexander Turner, Danielle Franseen Tyson,
Eloy Nehemias Velazquez, Crystal Page Vickers,
Dakota Esbie Waggoner, Xena J.B. Walker, Katelyn Michelle Walz, Evan Gregory Ward, Waylon John West, Kayla Ashley Wheeler, Brittany Nicole Wilkerson, Jordan Allen Wilkins, Jessica Marie Williams, Matthew Dillon Williams, Skylar Paige Winningham, Justin Brady Wiser,
Dylan Howard Young and Taylor Brook Youngblood.

Members of the Snow Hill Baptist Church and others demonstrated a small part of what Jesus went through on the day of His crucifixion by carrying a cross from Liberty to the courthouse Saturday.
Those participating were Ronnie Redmon, Patty Hale, Pastor Steve Puckett, Donald Cantrell, Tammy Cantrell, Addison Hale, Sandra Dunn, Memphis Shunt, Joe King, Ivy Lance, Judy Redmon, Chad Buchanan, Amy Buchanan, Spencer Buchanan, Haley Keck, Ethan Keck, Ralph Tramel, Peggy Tramel, Lisa Vickers, Hunter Vickers, Bradley Vickers, Russell Vickers, Chuck Wilson, Dennis Plattenburg, and Louvernna Harris