Four people were involved in a two car crash Wednesday morning on Vaughn Lane near Zelenka Nursery.
Trooper Dewaine Jennings of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 20 year old Omar Ramirez of Doyle was traveling west on Vaughn Lane in a 2004 Dodge Stratus when he failed to negotiate a curve to the right, left his lane of travel and crossed the center line. Ramirez’s car struck an eastbound 1997 Ford Taurus head-on, driven by 32 year old Anahi Palacios-Cruz of McMinnville.
Palacios-Cruz and a passenger of her car, 48 year old Maria Felix Terraz of McMinnville were taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital. A passenger of Ramirez’s car, 22 year old Charles Harrison of McMinnville received minor injuries.
According to Trooper Jennings, both drivers were cited for driving on a suspended license and violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance). Ramirez was also cited for failure to maintain his lane of travel.

Although it will apparently not factor into the outcome of the DUD’s current lawsuit against the City of Smithville, the aldermen last week voted to abolish a 34 year old ordinance which Chancellor Ronald Thurman referenced on February 28 in ruling for DUD’s petition seeking a temporary injunction against the city over its water rate.
The 1980 ordinance, which set the rate to the DUD at that time, also provided that a 30 day notice would be given the DUD if the city were to modify the rate. It also established a cut off provision if the DUD did not pay its water bill within seven days of billing.
During the hearing last month, Chancellor Thurman found that the city violated Section 18-502 of the Smithville City Code, which requires the City of Smithville to give the DeKalb Utility District 30 days’ notice in advance of a rate change. The city gave the DUD only 16 days’ actual notice in advance of the rate change, effective January 1st. The Chancellor also found that the city had not given proper justification for arriving at the $5.00 rate. In granting DUD’s motion for a temporary injunction, Chancellor Thurman barred the city from continuing to impose its $5.00 rate until the city gives proper notice to DUD and justification for raising the rate above $2.67 per thousand gallons.
From 2004 to 2013, the DUD had a water contract with the city to purchase water starting at $1.60 per thousand gallons the first year. The rate increased by five cents per thousand gallons each year through the end of the ten year agreement. The rate in 2013, the last year of the contract, was $2.05 per thousand. City officials contended that no 30 day notice of a rate change was necessary since it was known that a new rate would be implemented once the contract expired on December 31, 2013.
Even though the city had a water contract with the DUD for ten years which apparently took precedence, the mayor and aldermen had never repealed the 1980 ordinance.
Without a new water contract having been entered into between the city and DUD, the aldermen voted on December 12, 2013 to set the DUD rate at $5.00 per thousand gallons, effective January 1, 2014. While the new rate was imposed January 1, city officials say they have not yet sent the DUD a bill for the higher charges, pending the outcome of the lawsuit.
The DUD filed a Chancery Court lawsuit last month seeking relief from what it called an “unreasonable water rate” and asked the court to put down a temporary injunction to keep the city from charging the $5.00 rate and to keep the city from cutting off service to the DUD pending the outcome of the litigation. In the lawsuit, DUD claimed that the city had violated its own ordinance by not giving the utility the proper 30 day notice of a rate change. The Chancellor agreed.
To keep this issue from possibly arising again in the future, the aldermen at their March 3 meeting, voted to repeal the ordinance to get it off the books. “This should have been taken off our books years ago. On the advice of our city attorney (Vester Parsley, Jr.), the board needs to repeal this ordinance and make it null and void,” said City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson.

A woman arrested almost two weeks ago after a pursuit in Mount Juliet will be in court on DeKalb County charges against her March 13.
41 year old Candida Faye Davidson of Jefferson Road, Smithville is charged with evading arrest and failure to appear in General Sessions Court. She is under a $250 cash bond for the failure to appear and a $1,500 bond for evading.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray, a bench warrant for failure to appear was recently issued in General Sessions Court against Davidson after she failed to appear for violation of probation.
On Friday, March 7 a criminal detective went to Brookview Apartments to execute an arrest warrant on Davidson for failure to appear. When she saw the officer Davidson ran into an apartment. Once inside, Davidson refused to come to the door even after the detective knocked and identified himself as a law enforcement officer. The detective then entered the apartment but Davidson ran out the back door and jumped off the porch of the second floor. Davidson was injured in the fall and airlifted by helicopter ambulance to a Nashville hospital. She was apparently not seriously hurt and was later released from the hospital.
Mount Juliet Police arrested both Davidson and 51 year old Edward Judkins on Thursday, February 27 after a short pursuit there. In addition to facing the local charges, Davidson was charged by Mount Juliet Police with possession of a schedule VI drug after she allegedly tried to conceal a baggy of marijuana on her person which was discovered by medical personnel after the pursuit.
Judkins was charged by Mount Juliet Police with evading arrest and reckless endangerment. Both Judkins and Davidson are to appear on those charges May 13 in Wilson County.

Early Voting hours for the upcoming May primaries in DeKalb County have been released by the DeKalb County Election Commission.
Early voting for the May DeKalb County Democratic Primary and the 13th Judicial Democratic and Republican Primary will begin April 16 and run through May 1 (no early voting will be held on Good Friday).
In order to make it as convenient as possible for all voters, the election commission voted to set the following hours:
Mondays 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Thursdays 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Fridays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Saturdays 9 a.m. to Noon.
The election commission encourages voters to put these times on their calendar for future reference.
Dennis Stanley, Administrator of Elections, reminds voters the May elections are Primary elections and voters will have to declare in which election they wish to participate.
“There are a few questions and a little confusion any time there are primary elections,” Stanley said. “State law prohibits someone from voting in both primaries on the same day, so voters have to choose one or the other.”
For voters who choose the Democratic Primary, their ballot will include the local (county) races as well as the Democratic nominees in the 13th Judicial District election. Voters who choose the Republican Primary will only get the Republican candidates for the 13th Judicial District offices, as county Republican nominees were chosen by party caucus and will not appear on the ballot until August.

A Watertown man is charged with stealing coin operated air vending machines from three business locations in DeKalb County last summer.
46 year old Alton David Estes of Clever Creek Road, Watertown is charged with three counts of theft over $1,000. His bond totals $15,000 and he will be in court on March 20. He was arrested on Wednesday, March 5.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on July 1, 2013 at the Shiney Rock Market on Highway 56 south and at the Liberty Citgo on Highway 70 west and on September 9, 2013 at Hillcrest Market on Highway 70, Estes allegedly took a coin operated air vending machine by breaking loose the bolts. The machines were each valued at more than $1,000. The case was investigated by criminal detectives of the Sheriff’s Department.
28 year old Jonathon Daniel Nellums of Murfreesboro is charged with theft of property over $60,000. His bond is $50,000 and he will be in court March 13. Sheriff Ray said that from about November 8, 2013 through February 5, 2014, Nellums allegedly deprived a female victim by taking approximately $105,000 from her money market account at Region’s Bank in DeKalb County. The case was investigated by a criminal detective.
24 year old Robert Earl Watley, Jr. of New Hope Road Alexandria is charged with domestic assault and violation of an order of protection. His bond is $4,000 and he will be in court on April 10.
According to Sheriff Ray, Watley intentionally assaulted his step-father. The incident occurred on Saturday, March 8 at a residence on Possum Hollow Road, Dowelltown. While the victim was in bed, Watley allegedly jumped on top of him and struck him in the head with his fist, causing physical injuries. The victim suffered a bruise to the forehead, a black right eye, and a laceration to the forehead just above the left eye. The victim was treated for injuries at DeKalb Community Hospital and received five stitches. Watley was determined to be the primary aggressor and he was charged with domestic assault.
Watley is also accused of violating an order of protection for being at this residence on Possum Hollow Road. Last spring, a woman in a separate case obtained an order of protection against Watley and she was at this residence Saturday when Watley showed up. The order of protection was placed in effect on April 17, 2013 and expires April 17, 2014.
38 year old year old Michael Andrew Judkins of Old Bildad Road, Smithville is charged with child abuse. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court on March 20. He was arrested on Friday, March 7. Sheriff Ray said that on Tuesday, March 4 Judkins allegedly abused his step daughter by putting her on the ground, sitting on her head, and then hitting her with a belt, causing bruises in the area of her right calf and buttocks.
38 year old Patsy Ann Whitaker of Adamson Branch Road, Liberty is cited for simple possession of a schedule IV drug (Xanax) and simple possession of a schedule VI drug (marijuana). She will be in court on March 20.
Sheriff Ray said Whitaker was a passenger of a vehicle that was stopped and searched on Thursday, March 6. Under Whitaker’s seat was a tin that contained a green leafy substance believed to be less than a half ounce of marijuana. A marijuana cigarette and two pills believed to be Xanax were also found in Whitaker’s purse. The pills were in a pill bottle. Whitaker did not have a prescription for the pills.

Smithville Electric System is partnering with a company called Intelligent Energy Solutions in a pilot program that could result in energy savings for up to twenty five customers. There is no cost to participate.
The Home Energy Management Service, an internet based system, works as your personal energy manager by helping make more efficient use of the key sources of power consumption in your home, namely electric heating and cooling systems and electric water heaters. In most homes, these two appliances account for as much as 55 to 60% of the total energy consumed in the home.
For those who sign up for the program, a specially designed Gateway, much like a wireless router or TV box, will be installed in the home. This Gateway communicates to a wireless thermostat that replaces the existing thermostat which controls the heating and cooling system. A wireless communicating load controller is also installed on the electric water heater that helps optimize how often and when the water heater needs to use power. The Gateway uses the home internet to communicate information and receive instructions from the Intelligent Energy Solutions’ Enterprise, which you can think of as a super computer. All information and the results about your home and how you use energy will be kept strictly confidential.
Customers who participate will have their own personal energy web page (portal) that can be accessed via the internet. It is designed to display how energy is being used in your home and it will present key results being achieved. Customers will also be able to receive insights and recommendations on actions they can make to further reduce energy consumption.
Twenty five homes served by Smithville Electric System will be selected for this program. Participating customers must have a broadband Internet connection (DSL or cable). The service will not interfere with your current Internet service or traffic as it only uses a small fraction of your bandwidth capacity, and it does not connect to your computer. The service is also secure. It does not access any information that you send and receive over the Internet.
No special effort is required on the part of the customers. If you are selected as a participant, the service will be installed for you. The set up takes about an hour. No modifications are needed to your home or to your electric water heater or HVAC system.
Plans are to begin installation in April. The program will run through the end of the year.
If you would like to be included in the program, contact Smithville Electric System at 597-4735 or Intelligent Energy Solutions at 1-855-418-0040. You may email ieshelp@intelligent-es.com.

A suspected drug dealer, already on probation for prior offenses, was arrested Friday by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department after officers found more than $18,000 worth of pills in his possession.
43 year old Homer Anthony Petty of 1588 Banks Pisgah Road, Smithville is charged with possession of a schedule II drug for resale (Morphine), possession of a schedule II drug for resale (Dilaudid), and two counts of possession of a schedule II drug for resale (oxycodone). His bond is $125,000 and he will be in court on March 20.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said as part of the department’s on-going investigation into the illegal sale of narcotics, drug detectives and other officers went to Petty’s home on Friday, March 7 to do a probation visit and search after identifying him as a suspect.
During the search, officers and detectives found 445 dilaudid pills in the pocket of a pair of jeans. The pills were packed in nine individual bags. Eight of the bags contained 50 dilaudid pills each. One bag had 45 dilaudid pills.
Petty also produced a pill bottle that contained eighteen morphine 30 milligram pills, five oxycodone 10 milligram pills and twenty three oxycodone 15 milligram pills. Petty had no prescription for the pills.
According to Sheriff Ray, the total street value of the pills is $18,735. While there, officers and detectives also seized $6,968 in cash, scanners, and security cameras which were set up on the premises so that Petty could monitor who was coming into his driveway.

Local churches are being asked to help support Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County.
Habitat has constructed four DeKalb County homes in recent years and has announced plans to build one for the fifth partner family, the Tia Adock family. Construction will begin this spring on the Adcock home on Hayes Street.
Letters have been sent to churches in DeKalb County asking for their help to build future homes. “The letters I am sending out are seeking to get cooperation among the churches in our area to help fund it (Habitat) because before we give out interest free loans, we must have the money to build the house. The house costs right at $50,000 plus the cost of the real property. What we’re after right now is getting that $50,000 ahead so that we can build the home and then they (partner family) can move in,” said Dr. John Carpenter, Church-Community Chair for Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County.
Congregations may send money or commit to providing volunteer labor when it’s time to build the next Habitat home. “From the smaller churches, if you could just take out one offering and send whatever you get to our address which is Habitat for Humanity. PO Box 750, Smithville, TN 37166,” said Dr. Carpenter.
“Suppose you’re part of a church that couldn’t afford to do so (provide funding). There are still a couple of other options. When the Habitat for Humanity House is built in April 2014, you could provide volunteers to help. They don’t need experience building homes because there will be professionals there guiding us. Or if you don’t have the volunteers that can do so, you could also provide lunches for the volunteers as we help build the house,” Dr. Carpenter continued.
Residents of a Habitat for Humanity Home must meet certain requirements. Partner families must complete a minimum number of volunteer hours in either building other Habitat Homes or doing community service; show evidence of being financially responsible; have further financial training before moving in; and, be taught how to make basic repairs on their homes, etc.
“The amazing thing is many times people will pay less on the Habitat for Humanity home loan than they presently pay in rent,” said Dr. Carpenter.
“Habitat for Humanity is an organization founded by Millard Fuller and his wife Linda. They found a deep purpose of their lives by making it possible for more people to own their own homes. They did this as much as possible by having professionally-supervised volunteer labor to reduce the cost and, in addition to that, gave home loans with no interest. Scripture speaks about that in Deuteronomy 23:19-20 where it states “Don’t charge interest to your kinsmen on any loan. Not for money or food or clothing or anything else.” Their organization did that and later became known as Habitat for Humanity”, Dr. Carpenter concluded.
For more information, call Dr. Carpenter at 615-597-4961. He is the pastor of the Smithville First United Methodist Church and the Bright Hill United Methodist Church.

Eighth grade DeKalb West School student Ethan Martin placed 5th in the Essay contest at the annual Tennessee Junior Beta State Convention.
Martin, who was DWS’s nominee for the John W. Harris national service award, was one of 21 students from DWS to make the trek March 2-4 at Gaylord Opryland Hotel.
Some schools across the state were prevented from making the trip thanks to Mother Nature’s icy wonderland that was created Sunday evening. Fortunately, schools from DeKalb already were safely tucked away at the hotel before the severe weather blew into the area. The weather appropriately fit the convention theme, “Making History with Junior Beta,” because it was the first time ice and snow had ever affected the convention.
In addition to Martin, students competed in a variety of events. Former DWS student, Tom Tippin, was the first place winner in Special Talent. Now a student at 7th grade Siegel Middle School in Murfreesboro, he performed Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie.” Noah Roberts participated in the Spelling Bee. Hope Mofield entered her bracelet in the Arts and Crafts competition. Add in Holly Evans for the Math contest. Josh Martin, Elijah Foutch, Cody Antoniak, Christian Trail, and Peyton Harris competed in the Tower of Power category, which Angela Tripp and Jessica Antoniak coached. DWS also competed in the Living Literature event where students recreated a scene from Peter Pan. Jacob Frazier played the title role with Noelle Driver donning her wings for Tinker Bell, and Phillip Coats as Captain Hook. Samantha Street and Ashley Reynolds were pirates. Addison Oakley and Jasmine Parker played two of the children. Parents Clark Oakley constructed the set and Ria Baker painted a beautiful backdrop of the ocean. Art teacher Mike Luttrell donated his time and talents. Elizabeth Redmon oversaw five students in the Battle of the Books contest. Breanna Gibson, Callie Mulloy, Hannah Evans, Dallas Cook, and Jaimie Alexander competed.

Commerce and Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Julie Mix McPeak reminds Tennesseans to change the batteries in their smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors this weekend when they change their clocks Saturday night, March 8 for daylight saving time. McPeak also urges everyone to consider the age of their smoke alarms.
Both the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department and the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department have smoke alarms available free of charge. “We are installing smoke alarms for those who do not have them or if they are over 10 years old,” said Smithville Fire Chief Charlie Parker.
“It’s for everybody. Anybody without a smoke alarm or without a properly working smoke alarm is considered at high risk. If you have a smoke alarm and it is ten years old, which is what is considered the shelf life of a smoke alarm, then it needs to be replaced,” added DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green.
“Alarms, even those that are hard-wired, should have their batteries replaced regularly and should be tested monthly to ensure they are providing the proper protection,” McPeak says. “It is also important to note that any smoke alarm that is 10-years-old or older should be replaced entirely.”
Oftentimes, people don’t know how old their smoke alarms are and if they’re still functioning properly. That lack of awareness can have deadly consequences: nearly two-thirds of all home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office urges all residents to determine how old their smoke alarms are (the date of manufacture is located on the back of the alarm). If they’re 10-years-old or older, they should be replaced immediately! This includes smoke alarms that use 10-year batteries and/or are hard-wired.
Many fatal fires occur at night while the victims are sleeping. The smoke and toxic gases generated by a fire can cause people to sleep more deeply, narrowing the chances of surviving a fire. A working smoke alarm can double the chances of survival by increasing the amount of time a person has to escape a fire in their home.
“As daylight saving time begins, make sure you change your clocks and check your smoke alarms,” urges McPeak. “This is a great time to make sure your home and family are fire-safe.”
Here are some other helpful hints on residential smoke alarms:
•Install at least one smoke alarm on every level of the home, including the basement. For best protection, smoke alarms should be installed inside and outside sleeping rooms. Make sure everyone can hear the alarm and knows what it sounds like.
•Install smoke alarms away from the kitchen to prevent nuisance alarms. Generally, they should be at least 10 feet from a cooking appliance.
•For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual-sensor alarms. Interconnect the alarms so that when one sounds, they all sound.
•Smoke alarms with non-replaceable (long-life) batteries are available and are designed to remain effective for up to 10 years. If the alarm chirps on these units, warning that the battery is low, replace the entire smoke alarm right away.
•For smoke alarms with any other type of battery, replace batteries at least once a year (preferably twice a year during daylight saving time). If that alarm chirps, replace only the battery.
•Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for cleaning to keep smoke alarms working well. The instructions are included in the package or can be found on the internet.
•Test alarms once a month using the test button. Replace the entire alarm if it’s more than 10 years old or doesn’t work properly when tested.
•Devise a fire escape plan with two ways out of every room and a common meeting place. Share and practice the plan with all who live in the home, including children.
•When a smoke alarm sounds, get out of the home immediately and go to your pre-planned meeting place to call 911.
For more information on making your home fire-safe, download and print the State Fire Marshal’s home fire safety checklist (http://tn.gov/fire/fsk/documents/checklist.pdf).
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is a division of the Department of Commerce and Insurance, which works to protect consumers while ensuring fair competition for industries and professionals who do business in Tennessee. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
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