Swollen creeks from heavy downpours spilled over their banks in Alexandria Saturday, flooding portions of the town, and creating problems for some residents and businesses. The high water also damaged the DeKalb County fair grounds and the newly built tee ball field in the area.
Another round of storms moved through Sunday, forcing authorities to spring into action again. Alexandria Police Chief Mark Collins says the same area of West Main Street was affected Sunday by high water but the problem was not as severe as on Saturday. According to Chief Collins, several residents were asked to evacuate their homes as a precaution because Goose Creek had again overun its banks and was crossing the street, threatening homes. He says those who chose to leave their homes were taken to the Alexandria City Hall for shelter. Hickman Creek also overflowed again into the fairgrounds, but not like Saturday.
Alexandria city water customers also found themselves without service after the storm on Saturday. The problem occurred when a fire hydrant at the fairgrounds broke during the flood, causing a leak in a six inch water main, which reportedly drained the city’s water tank. The water service has since been restored.
Click here to view more Alexandria flood photos
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As for the Saturday storm itself, Chief Collins says it came quickly and the rising waters from Hickman and Goose creeks caused several people to have to be evacuated from their homes in the Locust Street/West Main Street area. “It hit quickly. It was raining hard here. We had a substantial amount of water fall, upstream of our town creek and then when that water hit us, with our rainfall it was just more than our system could hold.”
“We went to approximately 45 houses trying to get some people evacuated. The West Main/Locust Street area was hit the hardest. We went to every house out through there and evacuated everybody out on West Main. There are several houses out in the new annex of Alexandria that got hit hard. We opened up the West Main Baptist Church as a shelter. They were so kind to do that for us and we sent some of the families there until the waters receded. There’s been no injuries. We were able to get everybody in harms way out in time.”
Approximately 12 to 15 families were actually displaced.
Chief Collins says the flood caused a lot of damage.”There’s been several homes flooded and several businesses flooded here on the public square. The water was higher than I have ever seen it. The fairgrounds was completely underwater. There is substantial damage to the fairgrounds. There are several houses on Edgewood Street where the water came in. We had to set up barricades. We had several citizens who came out to assist us. We set up the barricades to keep these people from driving off into the water. Charlie Parker (Emergency Management Agency Coordinator) came down. The DeKalb County Rescue Squad, they were down this way on another call and they offered assistance. The Sheriff’s Department offered their assistance. We all pulled together to get these people out and transported to our shelter.”
Chief Collins added that his department, the Alexandria Volunteer Fire Department, Water and Street Department employees and others all joined in the effort to help these people.
Jeff McMillen, Manager of the DeKalb County Fair, says when Hickman Creek overflowed, a large portion of the fairgrounds went underwater, causing significant damage. “All the fence around the arena in front of the grandstand as well as the fence down along the creek bank and Edgewood street is gone. We also had about sixty gate panels along with some thirty to fifty big tires that we used for the demolition derby that washed away. We would like to ask that if anybody should come across any of these gate panels or big tires to please bring them to us or contact me or someone associated with the fair.”
The high water got up around the grandstand and barn as well as the large concession building near the grandstand, but did not make it to the Kenneth Sandlin Center, commercial building, Lions Club Pavilion, and other structures on the fairgrounds that are located on higher ground.
Charlie Parker, DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator says while there was flooding and wind damage in other parts of DeKalb County, Alexandria suffered the most.
“Alexandria was hit hardest. They had several streets underwater and several houses were in danger so a few people were evacuated as the water was rising. They did set up temporary shelter there in Alexandria for the people who were displaced. The West Main Baptist Church is one of our designated areas for a temporary shelter down there. Alexandria Police Chief Mark Collins made the contact and went ahead and got that set up. Most of the water was coming from the creeks in the area. So much rain fell so fast that the creeks just went completely out of their banks. It was even rising close to Highway 70 at one point. The water was across the road (near Goose Creek) but it was still passable. But if it had kept raining for very much longer it would have been even worse than what we had.”
Parker says rising creek waters also caused some problems for people in the Dowelltown and Temperance Hall areas. “There was also water in the streets in Dowelltown. The creeks were rising down there. An outbuilding floated down the creek and lodged up against the bridge there in Dowelltown. Also around Temperance Hall and Oakley Hollow, there were reports of water over the roadways and it was getting close to some houses although no one there had to be evacuated.”
A few places in Smithville experienced some street flooding due to the storms and high winds also caused some damage, according to Parker. “I think there were three trees, at least part of them that fell on a residence at the bottom of Holmes Creek Hill. There was also some trees that fell on Golf Course Drive and I think it knocked some power lines down.”
Parker added, “Through all of this, nobody has been injured. We’re just really lucky.”

An educator from Northside Elementary School was named “DeKalb County Teacher of the Year” Friday night during the third annual Teacher of the Year banquet at DCHS.
Julie Vincent received the honor and a check for $150 from Liberty State Bank, the sponsor of the banquet. The presentation was made by Director of Schools Mark Willoughby and Roy Nelson Pugh of Liberty State Bank.
Vincent was among five local educators who were recognized during the banquet for being chosen by peers as “Teacher of the Year” at their schools. The others were Beth Pafford from Smithville Elementary School, Mike Lewis from DeKalb Middle School, Vicki Wilson from DeKalb West School, and Chris Vance from DeKalb County High School.
Three of the educators, Vincent, Lewis, and Vance, earlier this year were selected “Teachers of the Year” locally and competed for regional honors in the Tennessee Teacher of the Year Program.
Willoughby congratulated Vincent for being named “DeKalb County Teacher of the Year” as well as the other teachers. “In my opinion all of our teachers are teachers of the year, but the peers of each school selected their teacher of the year. We sent information on each teacher of the year to the state department of education, where their credentials were reviewed. There, they considered what the teachers had done in their careers thus far and made a selection for teacher of the year in DeKalb County. Based on that, we took this occasion tonight to present the award to Mrs. Vincent. We’re very proud of her. She has done an amazing job as a teacher and she is a super person. She is a great role model for our children.”
(Top Photo: Julie Vincent, DeKalb Teacher of the Year)
(Middle Photo: left to right- Roy Nelson Pugh of Liberty State Bank; Gayle Redmon, Principal of Northside Elementary School; Julie Vincent, DeKalb Teacher of the Year; and Director of Schools Mark Willoughby)
(Bottom Photo: left to right: Mike Lewis, Vicki Wilson, Beth Pafford, Julie Vincent, and Director of Schools Mark Willoughby. Not pictured, Chris Vance)

The Smithville Police Department has issued citations and made several arrests in recent days, mostly for drug offenses.
Police say 63 year old Chloe Glenda Staley of 1222 South College Street and 22 year old Kasey Lynn Estes of 1588 Banks Pisgah Road were cited on Sunday, April 25th for simple possession of a schedule II drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation and received verbal consent to search Ms. Staley’s purse where he recovered a used hypodermic needle. Estes was a passenger of the vehicle and she willingly produced a used hypodermic needle and gave the officer verbal consent to search her purse. Officer Tatrow recovered ½ of a yellow pill believed to be dilaudid. Both Staley and Estes will appear in General Sessions Court on June 17th.
22 year old Francisco Max Domenguez of 111 Hayes Street was arrested on Sunday, April 25th for DUI. Officer Nathan Estes responded to a complaint of a possible drunk driver going north bound on Highway 56 south who had almost hit a utility pole. Officer Estes got behind the vehicle on South College Street and saw the vehicle run into a ditch and return to the roadway. Officer Estes activated his lights and sirens and the vehicle in front of him proceeded to 111 Hayes Street where it stopped in the yard. Officer Estes approached the vehicle, but the driver, Domenguez refused to get out. He had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage on his person, slurred speech and he was unsteady on his feet. Due to the language barrier, no field sobriety task or blood alcohol test was given. His bond is $1,500 and his court date is May 20th.
20 year old Christopher Alan Medlin of 224 Peyton Lane, Woodbury and 19 year old Justin Dale Estes of 318 Bell Street, Smithville were cited on Tuesday, April 27th for simple possession. On that day, officers received a call of multiple suspects smoking marijuana on Bell Street. Upon arrival, Officer Matt Holmes and Corporal Travis Bryant made contact with Medlin and Estes. Corporal Bryant saw Estes put something in his pocket. Estes was told to take his hands out of his pockets. Estes replied that all he had was a little marijuana and then gave the baggie containing a small amount of a green leafy substance to Corporal Bryant. A joint was also found on the ground and both Medlin and Estes admitted to having smoked the marijuana. Both men will appear in court on May 13th.
28 year old Tammy Jean Simpson of 202 Village Place was arrested on Thursday, April 29th for domestic assault and simple possession. K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow and Detective Jerry Hutchins responded to a call concerning domestic violence. When the officers arrived at the residence, they heard Simpson making threats to her husband. Mrs. Simpson was arrested and taken to the Smithville Police Department where upon inventory of her purse, officers found in a bottle, a pill believed to be percocet. Mrs. Simpson did not have a prescription bottle for this pill. Her bond was set at $4,000 and her court date is May 20th.
39 year old Christine Ann Miller of 265 V L Wilson Loop was cited on Thursday, April 29th for two counts of simple possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. K-9 Officer Bradley Tatrow pulled over Miller for not maintaining proper lane of travel. When he asked her if she had any illegal weapons, narcotics or alcohol, Miller said she had some pills in her purse and that she did not have a prescription for them. Also found was a pen barrel and a razor blade she admitted to using when doing drugs. Her court date is June 17th.
30 year old Callie Lisette Howell of 285 Miller Road was arrested on Thursday, April 29th for domestic assault. According to the warrant, Detective Jerry Hutchins responded to a residence on Juniper Lane where he spoke with all parties involved and determined that Ms. Howell had gotten into an argument with her stepfather and slapped him on his left cheek and spit on him. Bond for Howell is $1,000 and her court date is May 20th.
On Friday, April 30th, Detective Jerry Hutchins served an attachment on 30 year old Heather Starr Trapp of 500 South College Street for failing to appear in court for child support.
Meanwhile, anyone having information on the following offenses is asked to please contact the Smithville Police Department at 597-8210 or the Tip Line at 464-6046.
On Saturday, April 24th, Abigail Laprad reported that someone had taken the wallet out of her car around April 9th at 675 Miller Road.
On Thursday, April 29th, Larry Redmon reported that someone had stripped and stolen some copper wire from underneath his house.
Any information received that will help the Smithville Police solve any criminal offense will be greatly appreciated. All information is confidential
Lieutenant Steven Leffew would like to congratulate Sergeants Joey Jones and Randy King for their recent successful completion of First Line Supervision for law enforcement officers that was conducted by the University of Tennessee. Lieutenant Leffew says “Both Sergeants Jones and King have worked several years in law enforcement and I feel fortunate to have both of them as a part of the administration of the Smithville Police Department.”

The rehabilitation of Hurricane Bridge in DeKalb County is among the projects to be funded through TDOT’s Better Bridge bonding program in the proposed fiscal year 2010-11 state budget.
Governor Phil Bredsen made the announcement in a news release Friday.
State Senator Mae Beavers, who was in Smithville Friday, said this is good news for the people of DeKalb County. She added that TDOT plans to address funding for the replacement of Sligo bridge next year. “We have the Hurricane bridge that is going to be in the budget this year and the Sligo bridge is up for (bid) letting next year (2011-2012). Actually Hurricane bridge hasn’t been in the works as long as Sligo has but they had to prioritize them and with the condition of Hurricane, that had to take top priority. They’re going to have to remove some of the decking that was put on a few years back because it’s put too much weight on the bridge so that will be a rehab and you’ll probably continue to see some of the lanes closed at least going one way or the other. So that is in the budget this year and they should be able to let a contract on that in July 2011. That is good for the people of DeKalb County. There’s a commitment from TDOT to finish both of these bridges.”
Paul Degges, Chief Engineer for TDOT said during a January meeting at Smithville City Hall that the price tag for the Hurricane bridge rehab project is estimated to be between $12 to $15 million.
Unlike Sligo, the state will be looking to do a rehab on Hurricane bridge, not a replacement. And while both bridges remain safe to travel under posted weight limits, Degges says TDOT will give Hurricane bridge priority over Sligo bridge. “This bridge (Hurricane) was built in 1944 and in the late 1970’s the department came in and put a new bridge deck on it. We actually widened it. We met the design specifications at the time. Since that time, the design specifications for bridges have changed, particularly in the aftermath of the failure (of a bridge) in Minneapolis. Truss bridges in particular have been looked at a whole lot harder in the last couple of years. So we’re having to go back in and based on these new design criteria, look at this bridge. This will be a rehab. We’ll do a lot of work on the concrete deck. We need to narrow the shoulders a little bit and then strengthen some of the truss members underneath the bridge.”
Governor Bredesen Friday released the final three-year transportation program of his administration which includes completion of several major strategic corridor projects and the state’s Better Bridges bonding program. The three-tiered program includes $1.5 billion for highways and bridges to fund more than 175 individual project phases in 70 counties in Tennessee. Included in the proposal, which has been presented to the Legislature, are 26 highway and bridge projects in TDOT’s Region Two alone.
“TDOT’s three-year multimodal work program for 2010 to 2013 represents a responsible, balanced approach to transportation that includes a number of projects identified as top priorities by the state’s planning organizations,” said Governor Bredesen. “One of the priorities I set when I became Governor was to see TDOT become a more open and responsive agency. There have been many changes since then, including the shift to multi-modal planning and creation of a new 25-year multi-modal transportation plan, new programs to better protect the environment, and a renewed focus on listening to the citizens of the state. I’m pleased this final three-year program accomplishes many of the goals I set forth for this administration.”
TDOT’s Region Two includes Bledsoe, Bradley, Cannon, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, DeKalb, Fentress, Franklin, Grundy, Hamilton, Jackson, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Overton, Pickett, Polk, Putnam, Rhea, Sequatchie, Van Buren, Warren and White counties.
“Through this three-year multimodal program, the department will complete the Better Bridges bonding program in three years rather than the four originally planned, will address a number of strategic corridors identified in the 10-year program and includes several projects to address congestion in both urban and rural areas,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “Years of planning and study have gone into each of the projects funded for construction.”
26 projects in TDOT’s Region Two will be funded through TDOT’s regular program. The program funds projects to relieve congestion in Chattanooga and surrounding areas including, the widening of U.S. 27 (State Route-29) in Hamilton County from north of the Tennessee River Bridge to SR-8 (U.S. 127) in Fiscal Year 2010/11 and FY 2011/12 and widening of the Olgiati Brige over the Tennessee River on U.S. 27 (FY2012/13). A new interchange on State Route 311 (APD 40) in Bradley County between I-75 (exit 20) and SR-2 (U.S. 11) in Cleveland (FY-2010/11) is also funded through the program as well as a widening on U.S. 70 in Cannon and Warren Counties from near SR-281 to Centertown (FY 2010/11). The program also includes funds to appraise and acquire right-of-way for the county seat connector project on U.S. 127 (SR-28) in Cumberland and Fentress Counties from near Lowe Road to SR-62 in Clarkrange (FY 2010/11).
In addition to the highway projects listed above, in DeKalb County the rehabilitation of the Hurricane Bridge on SR-56 (Cookeville Hwy.) over the Caney Fork River (FY 2010/11) is funded through TDOT’s Better Bridge bonding program. A total of six bridge repair or replacement projects in Region Two in this three-year multimodal program are funded through the Better Bridges bond program.

DeKalb County High School Tigerette Coach Danny Bond got his 500th career victory as head softball coach Thursday and his team completed a perfect season in district play at 10 and 0 with a 3 to 1 win over Livingston Academy in Smithville.
Bond, the only coach the Tigerette program has had since it began in 1986, says this milestone is not just his alone. “I think it’s the program’s 500. I just happened to be at the helm, We’ve had some really good teams and really good girls, parents, administration, assistant coaches, and a good following from the community. If you get all those things together then you’re going to be successful at something. I guess I’m kinda lucky, fortunate, and blessed to be able to get that many (wins). I told the girls, we’ve gone 10 and 0 in the district and that you have 30 wins this season and really that’s the biggest thing about today. The 500 (observance), it will come and go but we still have a team that has won the regular season championship, won 30 games, and we’re expecting to win some more.”
In the game Thursday, the Tigerettes scored two runs in the second inning and one run in the fourth. Livingston Academy scored one run in the first.
Morgan Page, the winning pitcher, went the distance in the seven inning game. She gave up the one run on six hits. She struck out five and walked two.
Page also had a single and a solo homerun.
Cynthia Woodward, Jaylen Garrett, Hannah Green, and Brooke Hutchings each had a single and Alex Meadows doubled.
With the win, the Tigerettes are now 30-6 overall, 10 and 0 in the district.
DeKalb County will also participate in the Coffee County Tournament Friday and Saturday with pool play times being Friday at 4:00 p.m. vs Hendersonville and 5:30 p.m. vs. St. Benedict. On Saturday, the Tigerettes will play at 9:00 a.m. vs. Hume Fogg.

A total of 1,142 people cast ballots during the early voting period of April 14th through April 29th for the DeKalb County Democratic Primary. That’s down a bit from the 1,384 who voted early in the local democratic primary four years ago.
The largest single day turnout during the fourteen day early voting period was on the last day Thursday, April 29th when 191 showed up to cast ballots, in addition to one ballot cast by mail.
The results revealed some other interesting statistics. For example, more women voted than men; older voters turned out in greater numbers than younger voters; and among the seven districts in the county, the third district had the highest number of early voters.
The following are the numbers of voters by age groups:
Age 18-20: 19 voters
Age 21-30: 54 voters
Age 31-40: 97 voters
Age 41-50: 155 voters
Age 51-65: 369 voters
Age Over 65: 448 voters
Voters by sex:
Female: 595
Male:547
Heres how the vote breaks down by district:
First District: 77
Second District: 112
Third District: 285
Fourth District: 198
Fifth District: 164
Sixth District: 119
Seventh District:187
Total: 1,142
Daily voting totals from April 14th-29th:
Wednesday, April 14th: 94 ( 80 by personal appearance and 14 by mail)
Thursday, April 15th: 83 (82 by personal appearance and one by mail)
Friday, April 16th: 75 by personal appearance
Saturday, April 17th: 43 (40 by personal appearance and three by mail)
Monday, April 19th: 63 (57 by personal appearance and six by mail)
Tuesday, April 20th: 70 (64 by personal appearance and six by mail)
Wednesday, April 21st: 54 (50 by personal appearance and four by mail)
Thursday, April 22nd: 92 by personal appearance
Friday, April 23rd: 69 (68 by personal appearance and one by mail)
Saturday, April 24th:69 (66 by personal appearance,including 24 at the nursing home, and three by mail)
Monday, April 26th: 77 (75 by personal appearance and two by mail)
Tuesday, April 27th: 70 (65 by personal appearance and five by mail)
Wednesday, April 28th: 91 (87 by personal appearance and four by mail)
Thursday, April 29th: 192 (191 by personal appearance and one by mail)
If you are eligible to vote and did not take advantage of early voting, you may vote at the precinct where you are registered to vote on Tuesday, May 4th . The polls will be open from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage Tuesday night starting at 7:00 p.m. on AM 1480/FM 101.7 and LIVE audio streaming at www.wjle.com. The WJLE broadcast may also be heard on MYDTC3, the local cable channel of DTC Communications.