The Smithville Police Department has made arrests for a drug offense, theft, and public intoxication within the last week.
25 year old Matthew Dewayne Griffith of Short Mountain Highway was arrested on Saturday, November 13th and charged with simple possession of a schedule II controlled substance.
K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow and Sergeant Joey Jones responded to a complaint of a possible intoxicated person at the Sonic Drive-In. Upon arrival, the officers saw Griffith, who was a passenger of a vehicle. Sergeant Jones received consent from the driver to search and Officer Tatrow asked Griffith to step out of the automobile. While assisting Sergeant Jones in the search, Officer Tatrow noticed Griffith stuffing something in his shoe. Police say Griffith became confrontational and acted like he might run or fight the officers. Griffith was handcuffed for the safety of the officers. Officer Tatrow retrieved a cigarette lighter holder from Griffith’s right shoe and inside was a schedule II drug. Bond for Griffith is $1,500 and his court date is December 2nd.
31 year old Chad Alan Hendrixson of Big Hickory Court was arrested on Thursday, November 18th for theft under $500. On September 7th, a citizen reported that some jewelry had been taken from her home. Upon investigation, K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow discovered that Hendrixson had allegedly taken the jewelry without consent of the owner. Bond for Hendrixson is $1,000 and his court date is December 2nd.
24 year old Nikita D Clark of Patterson Road was arrested on Friday, November 19th for public intoxication. Lieutenant Steven Leffew responded to the parking lot of Liberty State Bank in reference to a person passed out in a vehicle. Upon arrival, he found Clark slumped over the steering wheel. Upon speaking to Ms. Clark, he found her speech to be slurred and she was unsteady on her feet. Bond for Clark is $1,000 and her court date is December 2nd
Meanwhile, anyone having information on criminal activity is asked to please contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210 or the Tip Line at 464-6046.
Any information received that will help Smithville Police solve any criminal offense will be greatly appreciated. All information is confidential.

An annual state audit of the DeKalb County government has been released which shows some deficiencies.
The “Annual Financial Report, DeKalb County, Tennessee” for the year ended June 30, 2010 was conducted by the Department of Audit, Division of County Audit, of the State of Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury.
The audit resulted in twelve findings and recommendations, according to the report.
To view the entire audit report on DeKalb County , click the following link. (Look for specific findings and recommendations by scrolling down to pages 159 to 172)
http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/CA/2010/Dekalb.pdf
County Mayor Mike Foster comments on audit report. Click here to listen
It’s not uncommon for the state to find deficiencies. In fact, Blake Fontenay, Director of Communications for the Comptroller’s Office, says findings and recommendations result from nearly every county audit performed by the state each year.

Justin Potter Library is pleased to announce the publication of a new family history book, “The Redmon and Turner families of DeKalb County”. The 777-page hardback book is actually two volumes bound together in one book. It will be available for sale beginning December 6th at Justin Potter Library in Smithville, at the Alexandria Library, and at F.Z. Webb and Sons Pharmacy and Gifts in Smithville. The cost is $35.00 per copy. It may be ordered by U.S. Mail by sending a check for $40.00 to Justin Potter Library, 101 South First Street, Smithville, TN. 37166.
The author is Earl Dean France, whose grandmother was a Turner; his great grandmother was a Redmon. He was assisted by his wife, Emmalyne Cantrell France. Also assisting was DeKalb County Historian Tommy Webb, whose wife Audrey is a Turner and Redmon descendant. Research for the book began over 50 years ago, and the past three years have been spent in compiling and organizing the family material. By using new technology, the author has been able to find information on family members who lived in Alabama, Texas, Michigan, and other states.
Listen to Earl Dean France talk about the book by clicking here
Both the Redmon and Turner sections have a complete full-name index, so that the name of any particular person can be easily found. Since descendants of both males and females are traced to the present time, many other family names are included in this book. Among the other family names in the Redmon section are Moore, Linder, Colwell, Adcock, Cantrell, Driver, Judkins, Martin, Pack, and Young.
Click here for Tommy Webb’s commentary on the book
The Turner section also has extensive information on other families, especially Taylor, Adcock, Hooper, Cantrell, France, Judkins, Thweatt, Luna, Rigsby, and Young. The Turner section deals primarily with the Turner family of the Jefferson, Belk, and Shiney Rock communities, as well as the Nolan Turner family of Dowelltown. Other Turner families of the Dowelltown area are not related.
Click here for Kathy Hendrixson’s comments on the book
A book signing is planned for Saturday, December 18th from 10:00 a.m. until noon at Justin Potter Library.

Congressman Bart Gordon announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture has made disaster assistance available to DeKalb County farmers, offering loans to help farmers recover from losses suffered during drought and excessive heat this summer.
“Drought conditions have destroyed crops here in DeKalb County,” Congressman Gordon said. “With this declaration, many farmers will be able to rebuild and prepare for the start of the next farming season.”
DeKalb has been designated a contiguous disaster county. The USDA’s disaster declaration enables qualifying farmers to apply for federal farm disaster assistance programs. Farm operators in affected counties will be eligible to apply for assistance from the Farm Service Agency, including emergency loans and the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program.
“Middle Tennessee depends on its strong farming community,” Gordon said. “This assistance will help not only farmers and their families, but also the local economy.”
Farm operators are encouraged to contact the DeKalb County Farm Service Agency office at (615) 597-8225 ext. 2 for more information about available disaster assistance.

The Internal Revenue Service is looking to return $2.48 million in undelivered refund checks. A total of 2,091 Tennessee taxpayers are due one or more refund checks that could not be delivered because of mailing address errors.
“IRS is ready to reissue these checks once the taxpayers give us a correct address,” said IRS spokesman Dan Boone. “Taxpayers are warned that e-mails alerting them of pending refunds are not ever from the IRS but are identity-theft scams.”
Taxpayers can generally update their address or check the status of their refund with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov or by calling 1-800-829-1954. To use the tool, a taxpayer must submit his or her Social Security number, filing status and amount of refund shown on the 2009 tax return.
In Tennessee, undelivered refund checks average $1,188 this year, compared to $958 last year. Nationwide, the average undelivered check is $1,471, compared to $1,148 last year. The increase is possibly due to recent changes in tax law which introduced new credits or expanded existing credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.
Taxpayers can put an end to lost, stolen or undelivered checks by choosing direct deposit when they file. Taxpayers can use direct deposit when e-filing or filing paper returns, but e-filing significantly reduces filing errors and speeds up refund processing.

The Christmas season is nearly upon us which means it’s almost time to celebrate Christmas on the Square! This holiday event will be celebrated on Thursday, December 2nd from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on the Smithville Public Square.
Chamber festivities will be held at the 303 North Public Square building. There will be lots of Special Music, Pictures with Santa and Mrs. Clause by Double J Photography (Packages starting at $10), and also Free Family Portraits by Studio Six Limited from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. (1 group shot only – no individual children poses). A FREE Picture CD with a photo release will be provided by Studio Six Limited, so you can make all the copies you want! So bring the whole family!
Snowbird will be visiting around town from 5:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. and from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m.. He will be at the Justin Potter Library from 6:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.
At the Justin-Potter Library, Snowbird will read to the children and pose for pictures from 6:00 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. And the library will have a special visit from Santa immediately after Snowbird, so don’t forget to bring your camera!
There will be a Children’s Train and Inflatables (if weather permits)
There will be extended hours and Open Houses at several downtown stores and restaurants. This is a wonderful time for Christmas shopping and having a nice meal downtown.
Chamber Executive Director Suzanne Williams would like to invite everyone to this enjoyable and heartwarming experience – Christmas on the Square! For more information, call the Chamber office at 597-4163.
** Please Note: The Courthouse has decided not to have an Open House this year.