The first candidate petition has been issued for the September 5 Alexandria Municipal Election.
Bennett Armstrong picked up a petition Tuesday to run for Mayor of the town.
Petitions can now be issued by the DeKalb County Election Commission. The qualifying deadline for candidates is NOON June 20th.
A mayor and three aldermen will be elected.
Meanwhile, the qualifying deadline for the upcoming Liberty election is NOON Thursday, May 16. A mayor and two aldermen are up for election during the August 1 voting.
Current alderman Dwight Mathis is the only person to date to pick up and return a petition for Mayor and incumbent Howard Reynolds has picked up and returned the only petition for alderman.

The Smithville Fiddlers’ Jamboree is making some changes for the 2013 festival in terms of food booth as well as exhibitor booth regulations. This year, three options are available for anyone operating a food booth. 1) A nonprofit organization may operate a booth entirely on its own for a booth fee of $350. 2) A nonprofit organization may contract with a commercial vendor to operate all or a portion of its booth provided that some representatives of the organization are present at the front of the booth. Booths with this arrangement are available for a $700 booth fee. 3) A commercial vendor with no nonprofit ties may procure booth space for a fee of $1,200. Fourteen booth spaces are available during the event. Food booth space is available to nonprofit organizations first, and if the spaces fill up with nonprofit booths, no independent commercial vendors will be allowed. However, if food booth space is still available after Monday, May 20, spaces will open to independent commercial vendors. To find out more about this three-tiered structure, rules and regulations, or to reserve a booth space, email jbarton@smithvillejamboree.com or call 615-597-8500.
Exhibitor booths will also be available on a three-tiered basis and some incentives for first time and multiple booth vendors. First time vendors will be allowed a first year rate of $75 for one booth and if that first time vendors wants multiple booths the additional one would be $50 each. For any vendor who has attended before but wants multiple booths, the additional booths beyond the first will be $75 each. Our new standard rates are as follows and apply for vendors who are returning. 1) Government/non-profit/education or information-only booths are available for $100 per booth. 2) The traditional handmade arts and crafts booth is still available for $125 per booth. In addition, agricultural and homemade edible goods may be sold at these booths as of this year. The homemade edible items may not be packaged for on-site consumption in an effort not to compete with food booths. Also, vendors must be licensed within Tennessee or their home states to be eligible to sell homemade edible items such as canned goods, jams and jellies, or baked goods. Examples of agricultural items that may be sold are honey, cider, or plants. Any booth at this tier is $125. 3) Booths selling unique cultural or regional non-handmade items approved by the Jamboree board will be available for a booth fee of $200. These booths will be separate from the handmade arts and crafts booths and will be ineligible for any booth awards. For more specific rules, deadlines and recommendations for exhibitor booths, visit www.smithvillejamboree.com or e-mail eadkins@smithvillejamboree.com.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department found a meth lab at the residence of a prisoner after hearing him talking about it with his wife in a recorded telephone conversation between the two of them from the jail last week.
31 year old Matthew Allen Baker and his wife 30 year old Crystal Michelle Baker of Pine Orchard Road are each charged in the case and will appear in General Sessions Court on Thursday, May 16.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said Matthew Baker was picked up at his home on Thursday, May 9 on an outstanding state warrant against him for a violation of probation. Baker was found in his bedroom along with a bowl which contained a powdery substance believed to be meth and a plate with a powdery substance thought to be hydrocodone. Three straws, two knives, and aluminum foil containing a residue from a powdery substance were also recovered.
Meanwhile on Friday, May 10, authorities listened to a recorded telephone conversation from the jail between Matthew and Crystal Baker and heard them talking about having hidden meth lab components in their house and barn. A drug detective later received consent from Crystal Baker to search her home and there he found drain cleaner, muriatic acid, Coleman fuel, acitone, propane tanks, coffee filters, cold packs, ammonium nitrate, and several other items used in the manufacture of methamphetamine along with some finished product. Inside a child’s bedroom, the detective found about a half gram of methamphetamine in a child’s coat pocket. Crystal Baker admitted to knowing the items were on the property and that she tried to hide them. Matthew Baker told investigators that these items belonged to him.
Matthew Baker is charged with promotion of methamphetamine. He was also issued two citations for simple possession of a schedule II drug and another for possession of drug paraphernalia. Crystal Baker is charged with possession of a schedule II drug for resale and promotion of the manufacture of methamphetamine.
35 year old Grady Murphy of Andrew Street, Smithville is charged with theft of property over $1,000. His bond is $5,000 and he will be in court Thursday, May 16. Sheriff Ray said that on Tuesday, April 30 Murphy allegedly took several steel pipes and several feet of barn lumber, valued at more than $1,000, from property on Indian Creek Road. The case was investigated by a criminal detective of the sheriff’s department.
39 year old Chrissy Michelle Evans of West Main Street, Dowelltown is charged with domestic assault. Her bond is $2,500 and she will be in court on Thursday, May 16. Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, May 6 Evans allegedly got into a confrontation with her husband at their residence. According to Sheriff Ray, Evans allegedly got physical with him, scratching his face causing him to bleed. She also allegedly grabbed and tore his shirt. Evans was arrested and brought to the jail for booking.
41 year old Tania Pegeen Sewell of Hurricane Ridge Road, Smithville is charged with domestic assault. Her bond is $1,500 and she will be in court Thursday, May 16. Sheriff Ray said that on Thursday, May 9, Sewell allegedly assaulted her 19 year old daughter by pushing her down, leaving red marks on the right side of her back. Sewell was transported to the sheriff’s department for booking.
44 year old Everette Charles South, Jr. is charged with criminal trespassing. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court on Thursday, May 16. Sheriff Ray said that on Friday, May 10, a correctional officer at the jail saw South come onto the jail property and throw a pack of cigarettes over a fence where inmates were exercising.

A 40 year old Putnam County woman lost her life after she allegedly drove her Chevy Blazer down a boat ramp and into the lake at Johnson Chapel Monday afternoon.
Dead is Nancy Randolph.
Two others were in the Blazer with Randolph, reportedly her daughter Sara and her daughter’s boyfriend Houston Bussell, but they made it out safely.
Family members allege that Randolph intentionally drove the SUV into the water.
Nancy’s daughter Sara was in the front seat and Sara’s boyfriend Houston Bussell was a backseat passenger, according to reports. After they got out, Bussell allegedly went back to get Nancy out but she pushed him away.
(Video below shows TWRA Officers and Darrell Gill of DeKalb Tire and Service hooking the submerged Chevy Blazer to a roll back tow truck. Victims were already out of the Blazer by this time)

Investigators have not confirmed those details.
In a prepared statement, Sheriff Patrick Ray said the incident was reported at 12:25 p.m. at the Johnson Chapel Boat Ramp. According to Sheriff Ray, The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the boat ramp where a car had run off into the lake. A sheriff’s deputy who was close to the area arrived on the scene within seven minutes and spoke to two adults who said that the vehicle they were in had run into the lake and that the driver, a female, was still inside the automobile. Deputy Brian Williams and Detectives Mike Billings and Jeremy Taylor of the sheriff’s department went into the water and pulled the body of the woman from the submerged vehicle. The water was believed to be ten to fifteen feet deep. DeKalb EMS was on the scene and started CPR on the woman. She was then taken to DeKalb Community Hospital where she was pronounced dead. The other two adults were treated at the scene but refused further medical treatment.
Sheriff Ray commended Deputy Williams and Detectives Billings and Taylor saying “They went into the cold water and risked their own lives” to try and save Randolph
The investigation is ongoing by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department. No other information will be released at this time, according to Sheriff Ray.

Mr. William Freddy Curtis – AP US Government & Politics Teacher at Cannon County High School was selected to participate in the College Board’s Annual AP Reading in Advanced Placement US Government & Politics. Each June, AP teachers and college faculty members from around the world gather in the United States to evaluate and score the free-response sections of the AP Exams.
AP Readers are high school and college educators who represent many of the finest academic institutions in the world. The AP Reading is a unique forum in which an academic dialogue between educators is both fostered and encouraged. “The Reading draws upon the talents of some of the finest teachers and professors that the world has to offer,” said Trevor Packer, Senior Vice President, AP and College Readiness at the College Board. “It fosters professionalism, allows for the exchange of ideas, and strengthens the commitment to students and to teaching. We are very grateful for the contributions of talented educators like Mr. Curtis.”
The Advanced Placement Program®(AP®) enables willing and academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies – with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both – while still in high school. Through AP courses in 34 subjects, each culminating in a rigorous exam, students learn to think critically, construct solid arguments, and see many sides of an issue – skills that prepare them for college and beyond. Research indicates that students who score a 3 or higher on an AP Exam typically experience greater academic success in college and are more likely to earn a college degree than non-AP students. In 2012, more than 11,000 AP Readers evaluated more than 3.7 million AP Exams.
Mr. Curtis is a 27 year veteran of the Cannon County School System serving as a teacher and principal at West Side Elementary School from 1986 to 2008, and currently serving as US Government, Sociology, and AP US Government & Politics Teacher at Cannon County High School. He is married to Trena Braswell Curtis – 2nd Grade Teacher at Smithville Elementary School and has four sons – Matt, Trent, Casey, and Evan Curtis.