A 35 year old Smithville man was arrested Sunday in a burglary investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Patrick Rays says deputies and detectives arrested Scott Lynn Sykes of Alexander Street, Smithville Sunday for burglary, theft of property over $1,000, and possession of burglary tools.
According to Sheriff Ray, Sykes went to a residence on Dry Branch Road in Alexandria and entered the home by prying open the back door. While inside, Sykes took the faucets, sinks, and a ceiling fan with 3 lights, drain pipes, light covers, a showerhead, and the central heat and air unit of the home all valued at over $1,000.
Sheriff Ray says Sykes has admitted to his part in the crime. When lawmen picked up Sykes at his home, they found some of the items in Sykes’ automobile along with tools believed to have been used to commit the theft. These items included a hacksaw, screwdriver, an ax, and a hatchet.
Bond for Sykes was set at $80,000 and he will appear in court on January 22nd.
Sheriff Ray says the home received extensive damage, especially water damage from the cut water lines.
Meanwhile, a county deputy last Wednesday spotted a vehicle weaving on Highway 70 East. Upon making a traffic stop, the officer found 23 year old Jesse Louis Clouse of South Walnut Street, Cookeville to be the driver.
Sheriff Ray says Clouse submitted to and failed sobriety tasks and a check of his driver’s license revealed that it was revoked..
Clouse was convicted of a DUI in Putnam County on December 17th, 2007.
He was arrested and charged with a second offense of driving under the influence and driving on a revoked driver’s license. Clouse was also issued a citation for violation of the implied consent law.
His bond was set at $3,000 and he will appear in court on January 8th.
32 year old Oliver Eiland and 25 year old Jessica Charlene Brett of Cookeville Highway, Smithville were charged Friday with filing a false report with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Ray says the two had earlier filed a theft report and then returned to the Sheriff’s Department on Friday to add to the report that a book of checks had also been stolen.
Upon an investigation, detectives learned that Eiland and Brett had written the checks to businesses in surrounding counties for large amounts and then went to the bank and reported them forged. Detectives obtained photos of the two from at least one of the businesses showing them writing a check which they reported forged.
Bond for Eiland and Brett was set at $1,000 each and they will appear in court on January 22nd. More charges are pending.
On Sunday, deputies were summoned to Alexandria on a theft investigation. When they arrived, the complainant told them that a man had stolen an item from him. The victim was able to get a tag number from the vehicle the man was driving.
Sheriff Ray says while the deputy and victim were talking, the vehicle in question drove by. The officer took off after the vehicle and attempted to stop it. The driver refused to stop for at least 1 ½ miles. After getting the vehicle stopped, officers found the driver to be 24 year old Danny Ray Alsept of Stigall Street, Camden Tennessee. Deputies also learned that Alsept has apparently never had a driver’s license in Tennessee.
Alsept was charged with evading arrest and no driver’s license. His bond was set at $6,000 and he will appear in court on January 22nd.

The winter break is over which means students and teachers are back in the classrooms this week to begin the third nine week session.
Schools will be closed again for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 19th and for President’s Day, Monday, February 16th.
The spring break will be March 19th, 20th, & 23rd
Students will not attend on Good Friday and Monday, April 10th & 13th . Students will also be off on Thursday, May 21st. That will be an administrative day and all teachers must attend.
The last day of school will be Friday, May 22nd. That will be an abbreviated school day and report cards will be given to the students.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Thursday, March 12th at DeKalb County High School from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will also be held from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Thursday, January 29th at DeKalb Middle School, Northside Elementary, Smithville Elementary, and DeKalb West School.
Report cards will be sent home on Thursday, January 8th, and Tuesday, March 10th.
Competency testing at DCHS will be February 10th-12th.
Gateway testing at DCHS will be May 5th-7th. Gateway test makeup will be May 8th.
Writing Assessment for the 5th, 8th, and 11th grades will be February 3rd. Writing Assessment make-up will be February 4th.
TCAP testing of elementary students will be April 20th-24th.
(Stockpile Days) Professional Development/Instructional Days will be held from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 1st.

The Smithville Police Department has made a few arrests in recent days on drug and alcohol related charges.
Smithville Police Chief Richard Jennings says 21 year old Joshua Lynne Batey is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a schedule VI controlled substance for sale and delivery.
His bond totals $30,000 and he will be in court on January 8th.
Investigator Jerry Hutchins, Jr. reports that on December 30th, Batey called the Smithville Police Department to 228 Green Acre Drive. Upon entering the residence, a plastic bag of marijuana could be seen in plain view on a table. After obtaining consent to search, police also found a box of sandwich bags and a marijuana grinder in the house.
Meanwhile, 37 year old Richard B. Turner is charged with public intoxication and simple possession. His bond totals $5,000 and he will be in court on the charges January 8th.
Officer Matt Farmer reports that on December 30th on Crestlawn Avenue, the Smithville Police Department was in the area on a dispute call. Turner was walking across the street. He was unsteady on his feet and had an odor of alcohol on his person. Turner is under a restraining order and not supposed to be at the housing authority. Upon incident to arrest, Officer Farmer found six seroquel pills, a legend drug, loose in his front pocket.
In another case, 47 year old Roy Douglas Atnip is charged with public intoxication. His bond is $1,000 and he will be in court January 8th. Officer Nathan Estes reports that on December 30th at 634 Crestlawn Avenue, the Smithville Police Department received two calls on Atnip. He was seen in the front yard very unsteady on his feet. He also had an odor of alcohol on his person.
Another vandalism was reported on Tuesday. Lieutenant Steven Leffew reports that on December 30th at 5:16 p.m., he responded to Sundance Restaurant downtown where someone had busted out the front glass. A large rock was found near the front of the building.
Tracy Foutch also reported to police on December 30th that someone trespassed on his property at 720 Robinson Road and cut six trees valued at $2,000.
Chief Jennings asks that if you have seen or see anyone cutting trees in that area to contact police.

When there is an emergency, fire stations should have the necessary staff and personnel to properly respond. Today, Congressman Bart Gordon announced that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) awarded $190,000 to the DeKalb County Fire Department for recruitment of volunteer firefighters.
“Countless lives are saved every day by the courageous efforts of first responders – our nation’s firefighters, EMTs, and police officers,” said Congressman Gordon who is a member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus. “This DHS grant will allow the DeKalb County Fire Department to staff up and do an even better job than they are already doing.”
The grant was awarded through the DHS Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The program was developed to help firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment to improve their ability to protect the public and emergency personnel from fires and related hazards.
The DeKalb County Fire Department will receive the $190,000 grant incrementally over the next 4 years and use the funds to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters and personnel.
“We’re excited about this. We’ve been struggling with recruitment and retention of volunteers,” Chief Donny Green said.
The DeKalb County Fire Department plans to use billboards and media advertisements to expand the 72 all-volunteer countywide department. The department currently serves 11 stations in DeKalb County. “That’s a little less than seven firefighters per station, and with volunteers, half are at work or out of town,” explained Chief Green. “We really need 40-50 more volunteers.”
Retention incentives include fuel reimbursement of $10 per call and payment of $200 at the end of the year to each firefighter who attends 75 percent of monthly training drills or $400 for 100 percent of all training.

The Smithville Volunteer Fire Department was called to a structure fire at 539 West Main Street Wednesday morning at 6:36 a.m.
Chief Charlie Parker says a garage type shop building belonging to Stevie Cripps was extensively damaged in the fire. The building is located behind Cripps’ home.
A passerby, who spotted the smoke, stopped at the Cripps home to alert him
No one was in the shop at the time of the fire and no one was injured.
Chief Parker says a lot of the contents including cabinets, tools, and other odds and ends, were either damaged or destroyed in the fire.
The cause of the fire is undetermined.