Two people have been arrested on drug charges after a sheriff’s department detective discovered meth related items in their truck during a traffic stop last week and then finding more incriminating evidence at a residence in Dowelltown.
34 year old Bradley Harold Pugh and 31 year old Rhonda Michelle King are each charged with initiation of a process used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Bond for Pugh is $50,000 and King’s bond is $25,000. They will be in court July 25.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Thursday July 11 a detective of the sheriff’s department stopped a pickup truck in Dowelltown for a traffic violation. The truck, driven by King, turned west onto Highway 70 from West Main Street without stopping at a stop sign. Pugh was a passenger. After making the stop, the detective saw a straw in the console. Pugh, who is on probation, was searched and under his seat a metal container was found which held scales and methamphetamine. The rest of the vehicle was searched and found were several components used in the manufacture of methamphetamine including lithium batteries, drain opener, coffee grinder, ph strips, rock salt, empty blister packs, cut lithium batteries, used lithium strips, and a one pot plastic bottle.
After the truck was searched, Pugh gave consent for the detective to search his home, according to Sheriff Ray. The detective accompanied Pugh and King to the Dowelltown residence. At the home was King’s thirteen year old son. The detective also found two one pot bottles along with a twenty pound bag of ammonium nitrate, one gallon of muriatic acid, liquid drain opener, and a gasser. Pugh and King were arrested and brought to the jail for booking.
55 year old Carl Reich of High Street, Alexandria is charged with criminal trespassing. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court July 25. Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, July 8 Reich parked his vehicle in the back yard of a residence on Brush Creek Road. He went to the door of the residence and banged on it several times. The victim asked Reich several times to leave the premises but he refused until the victim’s father showed up with a gun. Reich then left the home and parked his vehicle at a store in Alexandria. Reich was arrested and brought to the jail for the safety of himself and the public.
30 year old Joseph Huff Ray of Belk Road, Smithville is charged with theft of property over $1,000. His bond is $5,000. He will be in court on August 12. Ray was arrested on Tuesday, July 9. Sheriff Ray said that on Thursday, June 27 Ray allegedly took a 1988 Ford Ranger pickup valued at $5,000 from a residence on Game Ridge Road. He allegedly wrote a statement admitting to taking the truck. The case was investigated by a criminal detective of the sheriff’s department.
24 year old Jessica Anne Jenkins of Fall Creek Drive, Smithville is charged with theft of property under $500. Her bond is $1,500 and she will be in court August 8. She was arrested on Tuesday, July 9. Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, June 24 Jenkins allegedly took two handguns valued at less than $500 from a residence on Felts Road. The case was investigated by a criminal detective of the sheriff’s department.
33 year old Carlos Lynn Godsey of West Green Hill Road, McMinnville is charged with failure to appear. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court July 25. Godsey was arrested on Thursday, July 11. Sheriff Ray said that a criminal court judge had granted Godsey a furlough from jail to keep a doctor’s appointment for Wednesday, July 10 from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. The medical provider was called just after 5:00 p.m. and reported that Godsey never showed up for his appointment. Godsey did not return to jail until the following day, Thursday, July 11.
31 year old Renee Lynn Simpson of Church Street, Dowelltown is charged with disorderly conduct. Her bond is $1,500 and she will be in court July 25. Sheriff Ray said that on Sunday, July 14 Simpson called 911 to report unwanted guests at her residence. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with Simpson and asked her several times to be quiet. She was subsequently arrested for disorderly conduct. Simpson was at the jail for some five hours before giving officers her name.

All five DeKalb County Schools may soon have a School Resource Officer.
Funding for four new SRO positions is included in the county’s proposed consolidated budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year which will take effect upon passage by the county commission. The vote is set for the next regular county commission meeting, which has been rescheduled from Monday, July 22 to Tuesday, July 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the downstairs courtroom of the courthouse.
(CLICK PDF LINK BELOW TO VIEW THE PROPOSED 2013-14 CONSOLIDATED BUDGET FOR ALL COUNTY DEPARTMENTS)
DeKalb-2014 Consolidated Budget 7-13-13.pdf (206.35 KB)
The county budget committee met briefly Monday afternoon to act on the budget again after a few omissions were discovered in the spending plan following Friday night’s vote by the committee. The corrected document will now go to the full county commission for approval.
The county has been funding one School Resource Officer at the high school for several years. The other four schools in the county have never had an SRO.
Under this proposed spending plan, two of the new School Resource Officers will be funded (salaries and benefits) in the county general budget while the other two new SRO’s (salaries and benefits) will be paid for out of the school budget. Money to equip and train all four new SRO officers will be included in the county general budget and the four extra used patrol cars for the officers will be paid for out of the county general’s capital projects fund. The officers are to be hired by the sheriff and will work out of his department.
In addition to passage of the budget, the county commission will also keep the property tax rate status quo for the 2013-14 fiscal at $1.62 per $100 of assessed value.
According to County Mayor Mike Foster, plans are in the making this budget year for the development of a Solid Waste transfer station. “It will be in this budget year,” said Foster. ” We already have funding in place for it. We have saved money through the years to build it but we don’t have it in there (budget) yet because we don’t have an engineer report on it. We will do a budget amendment to the enterprise fund (when needed). If we don’t do a transfer station then we will have to develop a new landfill within the next year because the one we’re in will be full by this time next year,” said Foster.
Funds to offer health insurance to full time county general employees under the Affordable Health Care Act remains in the county general budget, even though the penalty provision of the federal law will not be enforced this year. The so-called employer mandate, which penalizes employers with more than 50 employees if they fail to provide a minimum standard of affordable health insurance, was set to kick in during 2014, but now will take effect in 2015.
The fire department plans to apply for grants to purchase a tanker truck and other equipment. The budget includes a total of $17,500 in local matching funds under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. If awarded, a $12,500 local match (5%) will be required for the purchase of a tanker truck and a $5,000 local match (5%) will be needed for equipment. The fire department budget also includes $6,000 to purchase new pagers to replace some old pagers; $8,000 for reimbursement of in-service training costs for the last half of the fiscal year (after grant funds are exhausted); $23,000 for annual replacement of nine sets of turnout gear and eight breathing cylinders) to avoid a major one-time purchase in the future; and a Capital Project funding request for a one-time expenditure of approximately $20,000 to place a new roof and doors on an existing building at the Main Station.
Two years ago, a step wage scale was adopted for full time employees of the sheriff’s department. Last year, a step plan was put in place for full time county general employees. According to County Mayor Foster, a wage scale will be developed later this year for full time employees of the ambulance service after passage of the budget. Apparently no other pay raises are budgeted.
Total budget appropriations for the fiscal year 2013-14 come to $42,208,422.
One cent of the tax rate generates $42,953 in local money with a 7.7% delinquency rate figured into the equation.
The proposed tax rate is broken down as follows:
County General: 82 cents
Highway/Public Works: 3 cents
General Capital Projects: 10 cents
Debt Service: 12 cents
General Purpose Schools: 55 cents.
The solid waste fund, under this budget, would not receive any property tax money but would continue to be supported by revenues derived from payment-in-lieu of taxes, local option sale taxes, hotel-motel tax, bank excise tax and wholesale beer tax, etc.
Capital projects fund expenses for the year include:
*Motor vehicles (Patrol Cars for Sheriff’s Department)- $131, 000 ($50,000 of this amount for 4 used patrol cars for new SRO officers)
*Other equipment (Fire Department Turnout Gear)- $23,000
* Building Improvements (Rescue Squad)- $1,700 (to purchase a roll up door)
*Building Construction (Veterans Building) $30,000 (repairs)
*Building Construction (Omega Building) $68,000 (repairs)
*Building Construction (Courthouse) $50,000 (repairs)
*Building Improvements (Fire Department) $20,000 (place a new roof and doors on an existing building at the Main Station)
*Building Improvements (Rescue Squad) $8,700 (adding shed to cover a boat)
The county commission is also expected to adopt a resolution July 30 making appropriations of $145,734 to the following non-profit organizations:
DeKalb Sparks Softball- $150
Upper Cumberland Development District- $3,411
Tennessee Division of Forestry-$1,500
DeKalb County Rescue Squad- $16,821
Plateau Mental Health-$7,180
Families First-$750
Senior Citizens Program-$26,934
DeKalb Soil Conservation District-$34,062
DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce-$15,000
Imagination Library- $7,200
Genesis House- $1,500
Upper Cumberland Child Advocacy Center- $1,780
DeKalb County Fair- $1,500
WCTE-TV- $5,000
Prospect Incorporated-$12,500
Upper Cumberland Human Resources-$1,200
UCHRA Assessment-Homemaker Aide, etc-$9,245
DeKalb-2014 Consolidated Budget 7-13-13.pdf (206.35 KB)

Parents working on checklists to get their children ready for the start of school have an important health item to include: required immunizations. In Tennessee, children enrolling in school for the first time and all children going into 7th grade must provide schools with a state immunization certificate before classes start as proof they have had immunizations necessary to protect them and their classmates from serious vaccine-preventable diseases.
Kindergarten students and those who will be entering the seventh grade next month must have their immunizations up to date or their parents risk those children not being enrolled in school. “If you don’t have your shots (immunization record complete), you’re not going to get to come to school and If you don’t come to school, our new attendance supervisor Joey Reeder will be making a visit and filing petitions on students for not being in school,” said Director of Schools Mark Willoughby during Thursday night’s school board meeting.
Tennessee students are required to have a number of immunizations for school attendance, and parents are urged to make appointments now for needed vaccinations to avoid the last-minute rush to get them when the new school year starts.
“We got off to a great start Thursday with our pre-k registration and we have partnered with the health department to help us check those (immunization) records,” said Dee Anna Reynolds, School Health Coordinator. They (health department) will be out at seventh grade registration on August 1 to check records for us. They will also be making appointments for us that afternoon and all day on Friday to get those kids into compliance and they will be doing some immunization clinics for seventh graders,” she said.
“The health department has been super, great to work with this year,” said Willoughby. “They are going to make an appointment with the child and their parents on when they can come to the health department and get their shots. Like state law says, they are not going to be allowed to attend school (without their immunizations being up to date). Three or four years ago we worked through that and let some people come (to school without up to date record of immunizations) and we really weren’t supposed to. But the people that still don’t have their shots, they have received letters and phone calls,” said Willoughby
“We don’t want to see children turned away from school on the first day because they lack their completed immunization certificates, but unfortunately this can and does happen,” said Kelly Moore, MD, MPH, director of the Tennessee Immunization Program. “Tennessee parents can avoid the stress of trying to get into a health care provider’s office at the last minute by taking care of immunization needs now.”
Specific immunizations are required for children entering child care or pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and seventh grade, and for any children in other grades enrolling in a Tennessee school for the first time. For a list of required immunizations, visit http://health.state.tn.us/CEDS/required.htm. School certificates may be obtained from your child’s healthcare provider or from a local health department. Questions about school policies on when or how immunization certificates must be provided should be directed to local schools.
Full-time college students in Tennessee are also required to have immunizations, including a new state law effective July 1, 2013, requiring freshmen younger than 22 years of age who attend state colleges and will live in campus housing to provide proof of immunization against meningococcal disease.
“Getting vaccinated is a safe and simple way to protect us all from potentially deadly diseases,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “Vaccination also helps ensure students don’t miss important classroom time due to preventable illnesses, and that parents don’t have to miss work to care for sick children.”
Vaccines prevent disease from occurring rather than treating existing illnesses. High rates of routine vaccination in the United States protect the population from diseases that are still common in other countries, such as measles. The Tdap booster required for students entering seventh grade is especially important, given the resurgence of pertussis, or whooping cough, in the United States. TDH supports and promotes all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for childhood and adolescent vaccinations as an important primary prevention measure to protect public health.
Immunizations required for school are available from a variety of health care providers, including county health departments. Children may be eligible to receive free vaccine if they have no insurance, are enrolled in TennCare, have private insurance that does not cover vaccines, or are American Indian or Alaska Native. There is a separate charge for administration of the vaccine which may be discounted for children with no insurance, who are American Indian or Alaska Native, and children with private insurance that does not cover vaccines.
Parents with insurance for their children that covers vaccines should contact their child’s primary care provider to get immunizations. If the private provider does not have vaccines available for older children or adolescents, parents may call their local health department for an appointment. There may be charges associated with this service.
The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. For more information about TDH services and programs, visit http://health.state.tn.us/.

No bids have yet been received on the latest home built by students in the DeKalb County High School Construction Technology (building trades) program
The board of education Thursday night voted to extend the period for accepting sealed bids on the purchase of the house. The minimum bid is $17,100.
The home, built on campus at DCHS, is described as a 26′ x 56′ or 1456 square foot (dried-in) house with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms with shower units, living room, kitchen, utility room, three walk-in closets, and a 25 year three tab shingled roof. The house has no plumbing or electric. The purchaser must move the home off the school property within thirty days or be subject to a $100 a day penalty.
The house expenditures totaled $14,829.
Meanwhile, Director of Schools Mark Willoughby, in his report on personnel, announced that long time DCHS teacher and former high school baseball coach Joey Reeder has been named to replace Clay Farler as the attendance supervisor for the school system. Farler has retired.

In a world full of scandals and breaking news, it is easy to forget that we live in a place full of good-hearted people who go the extra mile with nothing to gain in return. Mila Vazquez is such a person.
Mila was born of humble beginnings from a small island in the Philippines. When asked about her childhood, Mila drifts in thought, “Growing up, we didn’t have much, but we always shared what we DID have. My father was always inviting people to eat or stay with us. He has always been a very giving person.” Following in her father’s footsteps, Mila wanted to pursue a career path that would help people. That decision led her to the healthcare field as a physical therapist.
Mila Vazquez has a passion to help with reasons that become more and more obvious as she talks, “Growing up, there was a big ship that came to our island. It was full of mission workers who came especially to help our village and the villages around us. As a child, it was at that moment that I said to myself, ‘I want to be one of those people when I grow up.’ Now, it is like I am living that dream by making a difference for my people of the Philippines as well as my patients here in the United States. It makes me very happy. When I get a thank you card or a friendly call from a patient or their family, it just makes my day.”
As a physical therapist at DeKalb Community Hospital and Stones River Hospital, Mila often goes the extra mile by going with her patients to their doctor’s appointments, calling to check on them and being their friend. We asked one of Mila’s patients what they had to say about her, and they replied, “My family was so very happy the first time that I told them that my physical therapist came to my doctors visit with me,” they continued, “My doctor took extra time to talk with Mila and she made sure that I really understood my treatment plan. I never imagined having anyone so concerned about me. She cares and it shows.”
Going the extra mile with her patients is not the only thing that makes Mila extraordinary. Mila speaks with gratitude about her opportunities in the U.S. , but has never forgotten where she came from. With this in mind, Mila has started ‘The Philippine Project’ – partnering with The Filipino American Association of TN to help raise money to give back to the people and place that raised her. She has hosted charity luncheons featuring homemade cuisine from her childhood home along with asking her friends and co-workers to donate money at designated times, like casual Jean Fridays, where employees bring in a donation in return for the perk of wearing jeans. With the donated funds, Mila purchases shoes and basic necessities and travels to the Philippines every year to share her blessings with children and adults alike.
So, the next time you purchase a pair of shoes, go to the doctor or see someone in need—-think of Mila and count your blessings — then share them!
Pictured: Mila Vazquez helps a patient’s recovery through physical therapy.

The Board of Education has taken up the budget committee on its offer to partner with the county in making sure School Resource Officers are in every DeKalb County School.
During Thursday night’s meeting, the Board voted 4-0 to include in its proposed budget for 2013-14, a total of $73,839 to fund salaries and benefits of two new SROs. Board members Johnny Lattimore, Charles Robinson, Billy Miller, and Doug Stephens all voted for it. Board members Kenny Rhody, John David Foutch and W.J. (Dub) Evins, III were unable to attend the meeting.
Members of the county commission’s budget committee voted 4 to 1 Tuesday night to include funding for two new SROs in the proposed county general budget, but only if the school board would vote to fund two (salaries and benefits) in its budget.
Director of Schools Mark Willoughby had expressed to the budget committee Tuesday night that he didn’t think the school board would go along with funding SROs given the fact that schools were being asked to cut another $147,000 from the proposed school budget to meet last year’s funding levels. But during Thursday night’s school board meeting, Willoughby said partnering with the county appears to be the only way schools were going to get more SROs. “The county commission (budget committee) stated that if we would fund two then they would fund two. Basically it was my interpretation that if we didn’t fund two then there would not be two (any new SROs) funded,” said Willoughby. We feel that it is very important to help provide safety for all people involved in our school system. Its either us fund two or not have any Resource Officers except for the one the Sheriff already provides out of his current budget,” said Willoughby.
During Tuesday night’s county budget meeting, committee member Larry Summers made a motion that the county general fund two new SRO’s (salaries and benefits) if the school board does the same with the county general to pick up all the expense of training and equipping the new officers with patrol cars, guns, etc. The vote was 4-1. Committee members Wayne Cantrell, Marshall Ferrell, and Jerry Scott joined Summers in voting for the motion. Jack Barton voted against it, since he wanted the county general budget to fund all four new SROs.
County Mayor Mike Foster then polled the twelve county commissioners present at the budget committee meeting to see how they felt about funding two SROs if the school board were to fund two SROs. All but three commissioners said they favored it. However when polled about the county general funding all four SROs, a majority of the commissioners said no.
The county budget committee will meet tonight (Friday) at 6:00 p.m. at the courthouse to act on the school board’s proposed budget.

The DeKalb County Board of Education voted 4-0 Thursday night to award the base bid on the DeKalb West School addition to J. Cumby Construction of Cookeville, the lowest bidder on the project.
The base bid amount is $2,179,000.
But since the overall project costs of more than $4.8 million dollars is over available funding by approximately 25%, the board is exercising its option to make deducts and to re-bid a new roof on the existing West School building to bring down the costs. “We have checked and we can make deducts from the contract of the lowest bidder,” said Director of Schools Mark Willoughby. ” We are doing a pre-bid inspection next Tuesday, July 16 on the re-roof project because everything came in above what we had expected our estimates to be. We will bid that again the following Tuesday, July 23. Everybody is in agreement that we can make those deductions. If two Tuesdays from now we get a lower bid than what was in the contract, we will take that lowest bid. If we have a lower bid on the bid date then we will go with that bid. If the lowest bid is in the contract, we’ll go with that bid,” he said.
According to Director Willoughby, deducts can also be made on equipment for the kitchen/cafeteria renovation to save money. ” We have deducted on the cafeteria approximately $83,000. We are taking our old equipment and putting in the new kitchen. That is also equipment put in there such as milk coolers. We don’t have to purchase those. The company we purchase the milk from will supply the milk coolers. That’s a savings. We have also met with other kitchen suppliers this week. We have requested if we buy things from certain vendors, we think we can save at least $20,000 more,” said Willoughby.
The school board’s action on accepting bids is subject to approval of the county commission.
The board of education learned last month that the DeKalb West School building project is more expensive than the architect originally anticipated.
Jason Morris of Kaatz, Binkley, Jones & Morris Architects, Inc. of Mount Juliet, informed the school board that the total costs come to more than $4.8 million dollars. The county commission, last summer approved a $3.4 million note to cover this project and other school roofing work.
J. Cumby Construction of Cookeville had the overall lowest bid of the three bids submitted at $3,534,000.
The base bid was $2,179,000 to construct the new addition and $75,341 to purchase the roofing materials; $509,000 (alternate 1) to re-roof the existing building and $192,872 to purchase the roofing materials; and $846,000 (alternate 2) for the kitchen/cafeteria renovation and $12,866 to buy the roofing materials. The project also included a cost of $986,924 for energy efficient renovations by Johnson Controls.
The DeKalb County School System last year received approval from TEMA and FEMA for grant funds of more than $1.5 million to build eight tornado safe rooms at DeKalb West School. The spending plan calls for local funding to meet a 12.5% FEMA grant match for building the rooms. The proposed addition will be constructed in the front of the school, including the eight classrooms, restrooms, a new secure entrance, an office, clinic, conference room, and guidance and teacher work area. The county is paying for additions not covered by the grant.
The county commission, last summer approved funding for the DeKalb West School project in the form of the note to cover the local grant match for the safe rooms along with an $850,000 cafeteria and kitchen renovation at DeKalb West School as well as roofing projects at DeKalb Middle School, DeKalb West School, and Smithville Elementary School.

The DeKalb County Board of Education revisited its proposed budget for the 2013-14 year Thursday night, making more than the $147,000 in cuts requested by the county budget committee.
Removed from the proposed spending plan are two new assistant soccer coaches, one for the girls and one for the boys program at DCHS and a proposed new cross country coaching supplement. Total savings from those cuts combined comes to $8,355. A proposed new teaching position in the gifted program will be cut to part time. A previously federally funded special education teaching position, to be funded from the general purpose (local school budget) will be cut to part time.
Altogether, cuts were made in varying amounts from a total of thirty six line items in the proposed budget for a total of $148,355, more than meeting the request of the county budget committee. “We took $500 here and $1,000 there in different places, in several different categories, just a little here and a little there to come up with the amount of cuts that was requested,” said Director of Schools Mark Willoughby.
While school officials had anticipated having to use up to $1.2 million of school reserves to balance the 2012-13 budget, the school system actually ended up in the black for the year. “We were fortunate this year to end without using any of our reserves. This budget does not request a tax increase to the county. This budget is again tight and we hope we can come out ahead again next year without using any reserves,” said Willoughby.
The proposed school budget does not include a property tax increase. The rate for schools would remain at 55 cents per $100 of assessed value. However, the budget proposes to use $1,237,960 of school BEP reserves and fund balance if needed to balance the budget by the end of the 2013-14 fiscal year.
Total school revenues come to $19,314,324 including $14,004,000 in State Basic Education Program funds and $2,362,429 in current property tax funds. Total school expenditures are $20,478,445.
In order to meet requirements of the federal Affordable Health Care Act, the budget includes funds to offer single coverage health insurance to all full time classified employees (support staff) who want it, beginning January 1, 2014. Employees who take the school system up on its offer will have to pay ninety dollars per month. The school system will cover the rest. No additional insurance benefit will be offered to certified personnel.
The proposed budget calls for certified employees to receive a one time bonus instead of a 1.5% pay raise. Director Willoughby said in a previous meeting that approximately $40,000 in state funds will pay for the bonuses which comes to about $160 per employee.
The budget includes funding for two new teacher positions at DeKalb Middle School
One new P.E. teacher at Northside Elementary School
One new extra teacher position (instead of two) which may or may not be needed depending upon enrollment at the elementary school level: (position not to be filled if not needed)
One full time and one part time federal teacher positions moving to general purpose schools (local budget)
Under the Gifted Education Program: One new gifted part time position:
Under Special Education Program: A half time psychologist
Other new positions included in the budget:
Assistant band director (working primarily at DeKalb West School) (supplement)
Two new Middle School Soccer Coaches (supplement)
One baseball coach at DeKalb West School (supplement)
The budget also includes a $4,150 pay raise for the Transportation Supervisor
The county budget committee will meet tonight (Friday) at 6:00 p.m. at the courthouse to act on the proposed school budget.

If you pay for your children’s school lunches, you’ll have to ante up a little more this coming school year.
The DeKalb County Board of Education Thursday night voted to increase the price of school lunches five cents, going from $1.45 to $1.50 for pre-kindergarten students to fifth graders and from $1.70 to $1.75 for sixth through twelfth graders. Breakfast prices will remain the same at $1.00 for all students. Prices for adults at schools will remain at $2.50
This is the third year in a row the school board has voted to hike school lunch prices.
Stephanie Dyer, School Nutrition Supervisor, has said in previous meetings that prices have to increase until they get to $2.51 under USDA regulations, or the school system risks losing its increase in food reimbursement rates. “Each year we have gone up ten cents. However this year with our funds we’re able to just go up five cents and still be in good shape, said Dyer during Thursday night’s meeting. “Hopefully we’ll stay like this for a couple of years. That’s what we’re hoping for. They are becoming a little bit more lenient on that,” she said.