Recognizing an opioid overdose and knowing what to do to help save a life is not just for law enforcement officers and emergency responders.
The DeKalb Prevention Coalition is giving them and anyone else who wants to learn an opportunity to get the training needed to recognize and respond to an opioid overdose including administering Naloxone or Narcan to reverse the overdose.
The FREE training will be on Tuesday, December 19 in the History Room of the Mike Foster County Complex from 12-1pm. (Enter through the “Mike Foster” entrance to the building, turn to your right and the room is on the left). All attendees will receive FREE training in the use of Naloxone and a free Naloxone rescue kit (if available). This is open to anyone who wants to attend. The instructors will be Suzanne and Tommy Angel, Regional Overdose Prevention Specialists. Please call or email to reserve your seat.
Naloxone is a safe nasal spray medication that reverses opioid overdoses caused by narcotics like codeine, morphine, fentanyl, and heroin. This training can save the life of a loved one, friend, co-worker, neighbor or anyone using prescription painkillers or heroin who are found to be unconscious, unresponsive, possibly with blue lips and blue finger nails, and there could be signs of drug use around them such as needles or empty pill bottles.
Lisa Cripps, who is the Coordinator of the DeKalb Prevention Coalition, said this training would be helpful to anyone, especially people who have regular contact with the public.
“With the introduction of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain reliever that is 50 times more powerful than heroin with a fatal dose only being the size of a few grains of sand, we are thankful to offer our community a training with the medication called “Naloxone”, which is extremely affective medication that can stop opioid overdoses and can actually save lives,” she said.
“We already have our law enforcement trained and some of our first responders and now we want to offer that to the community. You might ask “who should get Naloxone training and have Naloxone on hand”? Certainly people who have overdosed before; people who are injecting drug users; pain patients; family or friends who are associated with active users; business workers who frequent homes to do work such as electricians, cable tv workers etc.; any first responders to wrecks, house fires, rescue workers, etc; and simply just if you want to be safe and have that Naloxone with you in case you need it at any point in time,” said Cripps.
If you are interested in attending this training please leave a message by contacting Lisa Cripps, Prevention Coordinator, at 615-580-9290 (text or voice message) or send a message to the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DeKalbPreventionCoalition to reserve your seat. You may also send an email at dekalbtnprevention@gmail.com.
“Remember there is always hope for recovery for someone living but certainly not someone dead. Naloxone can save lives,” said Cripps.

A Smithville man who was on probation for attempted especially aggravated kidnapping and theft is going to prison to serve the balance of a ten year sentence.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW MUG SHOTS OF PERSONS RECENTLY BOOKED AT THE DEKALB COUNTY JAIL- Intakes & Releases From: 12/04/2017 Thru: 12/11/2017)
Seagate Crystal Reports – REPOR_51.pdf (2.82 MB)
Judge David Patterson revoked the probation of 23 year old John Thomas Mason following a hearing Friday in DeKalb County Criminal Court.
Mason, who was originally charged with especially aggravated kidnapping, has been on probation since he entered a plea by criminal information in April to the lesser offense of attempted especially aggravated kidnapping and theft over $1,000.
In April, Mason received a ten year sentence on the kidnapping charge as a range 1 offender to serve six months of the term with the rest to be served on TDOC probation. Mason got a two year sentence for the theft as a range 1 offender with the term suspended to probation. The sentences are to run concurrently with each other. Mason is to make restitution of $6,246 to one victim and $371.64 to another.
Although Mason was to stay out of trouble and make regular reports to his probation officer, he failed to do either.
A probation officer testified Friday that Mason never reported to her as part of his conditions for release. A deputy also testified that in August he spotted Mason in a vehicle running a stop sign. When he tried to pull him over, Mason failed to stop and sped away. Mason was later arrested and charged in the case for evading arrest and driving on a revoked license.
Mason’s attorney, Gayla Hendrix asked the court for an alternative to incarceration such as Mission Teens but the judge denied the request and ordered that Mason’s probation be revoked.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Monday, December 19, 2016 the Sheriff’s Department received a report of a stolen 2005 Toyota Corolla, valued at $6,000. Two days later, on Wednesday December 21 Mason and a co-defendant, 36 year old Christina Love Johnson were found in possession of the car in Warren County. A further investigation revealed that Mason held a man at gunpoint in the car forcing him to drive to Midway Road and then he took the car at gunpoint. The case against Johnson remains pending in court.

Once again the Christmas season is approaching.
Christmas is a time for love, a time for joy, and a time for family. Not all children this year will take part in a celebration with their own families. Children who have been taken out of abusive or neglectful homes may be sharing Christmas with a family of strangers. Many of these children may wonder if Santa Claus has received their new address and if he will be bringing gifts this year.
There are currently more than 734 children in the Upper Cumberland area who are in state’s custody and approximately 86 of those children are from DeKalb County. These children need your help.
As in years past, your assistance is requested with funds for the DeKalb County Foster Children Fund Account. This account provides assistance to foster and underprivileged children all year. If you or your organization is willing to help provide funds, please contact Annette Greek at 615-597-5023 or make your check payable to the DeKalb County Foster Children Fund and send it to Annette Greek, 1101 South College Street, Smithville Tennessee 37166.

A group from the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church performed a few Christmas songs at the 303 building Thursday night during Christmas on the Square.
(View Video Below)

A former log home salesman and minister charged with theft for allegedly taking money from clients who ordered from him and not delivering on the product appeared in DeKalb County Criminal Court Friday.
Judge David Patterson presided.
49 year old Lawton Duane Park, originally indicted for four counts of theft involving two victims, entered a best interest plea Friday to one count of theft over $10,000 (which occurred June 8, 2015) and received a five year sentence but he will be on judicial diversion during that period. Other charges against him are to be dropped. If he abides by all terms and conditions of his probation the case will be dismissed after five years and he may apply for expungement of his record. Under the plea agreement, Park maintains his innocence but he must make restitution of $30,261 to one victim and $31,000 to another.
Park, former operator of Starry Hill Log Homes, was accused of entering into contracts with the victims for the sale of log home kits to be set up at their homes in another state. However after accepting payment for the kits, Park allegedly breached the contracts by failing to produce the products sold.
After the hearing, Park released the following prepared statement:
“I have chosen to enter this “Best Interest” plea for that very reason. It is in the best interest, of my family and I, to bring a resolution to a case that would, potentially, drag on even longer than the two years it already has. I strongly maintain my innocence”.
“As a family we determined not to let the circumstances DEFINE but rather REFINE us. We are grateful to God for His grace during this time. We thank Mr. (Hilton) Conger (Park’s attorney) for his patience and stellar representation and Juliana for her kindness. God is good all the time and Jesus is Lord.”

County Mayor Tim Stribling has picked up a qualifying petition from the Election Commission to run for re-election next year.
Stribling plans to be a candidate in the May 1 DeKalb County Democratic Primary.
Others who have obtained qualifying petitions today (Friday) are 3rd District County Commissioner Jack Barton and 6th District County Commissioner Jeff Barnes, who both intend to seek re-election to those offices and will be candidates in the May 1 Democratic Primary.

A man who was shot after drawing a weapon on two officers of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department over four years ago has been granted probation.
58 year old Randy Gerald Petty appeared for a sentencing hearing Friday in DeKalb County Criminal Court before Judge David Patterson.
In June, Petty entered a plea to two counts of attempted aggravated assault and is facing a three year sentence in each case to run consecutively for a total of six years. The hearing Friday was to determine how Petty was to serve the six years, either on probation, in prison, or split confinement. As a special mitigated offender, Petty would have only been required to serve 20% of the sentence (one year and two months) before becoming eligible for parole had he gone to prison.
On May 23, 2013, Deputies (at the time) Jeremy Taylor and Erik Russell responded to a 911 call of shots being fired at 255 Petty Road in Smithville. There, while standing at the rear of Deputy Taylor’s vehicle, Deputy Russell saw and heard something off to his side. Using his flashlight, Russell spotted Randy Petty pointing a scoped rifle at the two deputies. Both of them drew their weapons and fired, striking Petty several times in his extremities (arm and leg).
Petty was named in a sealed indictment by the DeKalb County Grand Jury in April, 2014 charging him with the more serious offenses of two counts of attempted first degree murder. He was arrested without incident by agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Over the last four years, Petty has undergone several surgeries but the injuries he suffered in the shooting have left him with permanent damage affecting the use of his arm and hand. But Petty is now getting better medication treatment for a mental health issue and that condition has improved.
During Friday’ s sentencing hearing, Petty asked the judge to grant him probation, saying that while he did not fire any shots at the officers he is sorry for what he did. Petty said he had consumed some homemade wine the night of the incident and suffered from a mental disorder which affected his behavior. “I’m not saying it wasn’t dangerous. I walked up on them (officers) and spooked them but I can look back on it now and know I was crazy,” said Petty.
Three of Petty’s sisters and a nephew by marriage, who is also a McMinnville Police Officer, testified that Petty has changed since the shooting. According to them, Petty was a difficult person to be around before because of his mental state, in that he often didn’t make sense when he talked and could be argumentative. They blamed his behavior on a misdiagnoses of his condition for which he was not prescribed the proper medication. After the shooting, though his physical condition has suffered, his mental state has improved after being treated at Vanderbilt Hospital with the proper medicines. Members of the family said since the shooting, Petty has not been in any trouble with the law and mostly stays at home supervising the care of his elderly mother. The family asked the court to grant Petty probation.
Sheriff Patrick Ray, who also testified, asked the judge to not be swayed by the lasting effect of the injuries Petty sustained in making his ruling on sentencing.
“As Sheriff here in DeKalb County and also as the employer of the two deputies who were involved in this incident, I have an obligation to not only the two officers involved but also the citizens of DeKalb County to testify today”.
“I understand Mr. Petty has sustained injuries that he may suffer with for the rest of his life, but these 2 officers have something that will last all their lives also. We as law enforcement officers take people to court that have gotten injured while committing crimes and they are appropriately sentenced for their crimes regardless of their injuries. I would ask the court to not use Mr. Petty’s injuries while sentencing him today”.
“I would also ask the court to look at the crime Mr. Petty has committed, review the charges my officers from my department have agreed to let him plea to, and sentence Mr. Petty as the court sees fit”.
In making his plea for probation, Petty’s Attorney Jeremy Trapp pointed out to the court that his client has undergone a life changing experience because of the shooting; that he has engaged in no further criminal behavior within the past four and a half years since the shooting; and that no testimony or proof was shown during the hearing to indicate that the officers involved suffered any injuries or emotional anguish.