Five People Sentenced in Criminal Court Friday

Five people were sentenced in DeKalb County Criminal Court Friday.
Judge Leon Burns, Jr. presided.
33 year old James Leduc pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated burglary, one count of theft over $10,000 and two counts of worthless check. Leduc received a six year sentence in the burglary and theft cases to run concurrently, all suspended except for 244 days to serve. Leduc received a suspended sentence of 11 months and 29 days in each of the worthless check cases to run concurrently with each other, but consecutive to the six year sentence. Leduc must make restitution to the victims and perform 40 hours of community service work. He was given jail credit of 179 days.
34 year old Tracy D. Schunke pleaded by information to three counts of forgery and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. She received a two year sentence in each forgery case to run concurrently, all suspended except for 120 days to serve. The sentence is to run consecutively to the drug case, in which Schunke received a suspended sentence of 11 months and 29 days. Schunke must make restitution of $490 and pay a fine of $150.
25 year old April Lynn Anderson pleaded guilty to auto burglary and received a two year sentence on supervised probation by DOC. She must make a $100 contribution to the economic crime fund. Anderson was given jail credit of 11 days.
28 year old Crystal Thompson pleaded guilty to casual exchange and received a suspended sentence of 11 months and 29 days. She will be on unsupervised good behavior probation and must pay a $250 fine.
59 year old Harold G. Blackwell pleaded guilty to compounding and received a sentence of six months of supervised PSI probation and six months of unsupervised probation. He was fined $50 and must perform 10 hours of community service work.

David Stephen Hembree

51 year old David Stephen Hembree died Wednesday at Cookeville Regional Medical Center. The funeral will be Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Dyer Funeral Home. Burial will be in Rocky Point Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Survivors include his wife, Mildred Turner Underhill Hembree. One daughter, Stephanie and her husband Billy Geesling of Hilham. One step-son, Ken and his wife Julie Underhill of Smithville. Four sisters, Bobbie and her husband Steve Bruton, Teresa and her husband Ken Meadows, Gail and her husband Don Conatser, and Susie and her husband Roger McDonald, all of Cookeville. Two brothers, Danny and his wife Kathy Hembree and Terry and his wife Cynthia Hembree all of Cookeville. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Peyton, Eli, and Devin Geesling and Zack and Tyler Underhill of Smithville. Dyer Funeral Home in Cookeville is in charge of the arrangements.

DeKalb County Tigers Beat Sycamore War Eagles 20-6 at Pleasantview

The DeKalb County Tigers defeated the Sycamore War Eagles 20-6 at Pleasantview Friday night to run their season record to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in Region 4-3A. With the win, the Tigers have earned a spot in the State Play-offs in two weeks.
The Tigers took the opening kick and marched 58 yards in six plays to score the first touchdown of the game. Quarterback Hunter Poteete threw an eight yard touchdown pass to Matthew Lawrence. Zach Taylor converted on the P.A.T. and DeKalb County led 7-0 with 9:59 left in the first period.
After a stalled Sycamore drive, the Tigers got the ball back and scored on their second offensive series. Nick Lester caught a three yard touchdown pass from Quarterback Poteete, capping a 48 yard drive and with 4:04 left in the first period, DeKalb County led 14-0 after Taylor converted on the P.A.T.
The score at the end of the first period was 14-0, DeKalb County.
After intercepting a DeKalb County pass, Sycamore moved 60 yards in 12 plays to get on the scoreboard late in the second period. The War Eagles capped the drive on a 9 yard touchdown run. The P.A.T. attempt was no good and DeKalb County’s lead was cut to 14-6 with 49 seconds left before half time.
The Tigers, facing 4th and 15 from the Sycamore 28 yard line, attempted a 45 yard field goal just before the end of the second quarter, but Zach Taylor’s kick fell short.
The halftime score was DeKalb County 14, Sycamore 6.
Neither team scored in the third quarter and the score remained DeKalb County 14, Sycamore 6 to start the fourth period.
DeKalb County stretched their lead with 8:36 left in the game. Facing fourth and goal from the one yard line, Matthew Lawrence took it in for the score. Taylor’s P.A.T. attempt was no good but the Tigers led 20-6.
The final score, DeKalb County 20, Sycamore 6.
The Tigers will conclude the regular season next Thursday night, October 30 at Macon County. The State Play-offs begin in two weeks.
In other region play this week, Whitehouse defeated Station Camp 21 to 20 and Greenbrier beat Macon County 14 to 6. Pearl Cohn had the week off.
The current standings in Region 4-3A are as follows:
Whitehouse: 8-1 overall (5-0 in region play)
Station Camp: 6-3 (4-1)
DeKalb County: 7-2 (3-2)
Sycamore: 5-4 (3-3)
Greenbrier: 5-4 (2-3)
Macon County: 1-8 (1-4)
Pearl Cohn: 1-8 (0-5)

Habitat for Humanity Chili Cook-off Results

Approximately 300 people enjoyed chili and delicious baked goods Friday at Habitat for Humanity’s Fifth Annual Chili Cook-off and Bake Sale, which was held at the First Methodist Church CFC due to the rainy weather. “Chili Fever” from the DeKalb County Board of Education won the “Best Chili” award, and “The Courthouse Gang” from the DeKalb County Courthouse followed in second place. In the decorating contest, “Chili Fever” from the DeKalb County Board of Education placed first, followed by “Great Bowls of Fire” from Bradley Printing in second place.
According to Tecia Puckett Pryor, Habitat Chili Cook-off committee member, the event raised approximately $3,200.00, which will be used toward the building of the third Habitat house in DeKalb County. “We were really pleased with the turnout, especially in light of the weather,” said Pryor. “We are grateful to all the chili teams for their hard work and dedication to this event and to all those who made the delicious baked goods. The bake sale alone raised over $1,100.00 and is vital to the success of this event.” Pryor added, “We’re already looking forward to next year.”
Twelve teams participated in the event, including “Great Bowls of Fire” from Bradley Printing, “Chili Fever” from the DeKalb County Board of Education, “Hot Checks Chili” from DeKalb Community Bank, “The Courthouse Gang” from the DeKalb County Courthouse, “Edgar Evins Chili Peppers” from Edgar Evins State Park, “The Janney Bean Counters” from Tom Janney, CPA and Associates, “Three-Star Chili” from the Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce, “The Risk Takers” from Jackie Smith State Farm Insurance, “Freedom Fire Bowls” from the DeKalb County Republican Women’s Club, “Southern Smokehouse Crew” from Rick Lynch, and “Blessed and Highly ‘Flavored’ Chili” from Allen’s Chapel Methodist Church. The Smithville Review had a “Review to the Rescue” table for post-chili relief.
Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization. Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates houses in partnership with volunteers and families in need, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. The houses then are sold to those in need at no profit and with no interest charged. To contact Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County, please call 215-8181.
(Photos provided by Tecia Puckett-Pryor)

Household Hazardous Waste Mobile Collection Service in DeKalb County November 1st

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s mobile household hazardous waste collection service will be in DeKalb County on Nov. 1.
“Our household hazardous waste mobile collection service provides the people of Tennessee with a safe, environmentally friendly way to dispose of unwanted household chemicals and other potentially hazardous wastes at no cost,” said Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke. “This service travels across the state holding collection events in local communities, and we encourage all Tennesseans to take advantage of the opportunity to utilize it.”
On Saturday, Nov. 1, any Tennessee resident may bring his or her household hazardous waste to the following location.
DeKalb County – DeKalb County Farmer’s Co-op in Smithville from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. The local contact for this HHW collection event is Gary Carter at (615) 597-5175.
The average home in Tennessee produces 20 pounds of household hazardous waste each year. Typical items to dispose of include cleaning fluids, pesticides, mercury thermometers and thermostats, swimming pool chemicals, paint thinner and automotive fluids. Also accepted are fluorescent bulbs and electronics, such as televisions, computer monitors, keyboards, computer mouse devices and computer processing units. Console televisions must be dismantled.
Items no longer accepted are alkaline and rechargeable batteries. Alkaline batteries sold after May 13, 1996, have no mercury added and may be discarded in the regular trash. Nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd), nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH), lithium ion (Li-Ion) and small sealed lead-acid (Pb) batteries may be recycled through the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation. You may find a drop-off location near you by entering your ZIP code at http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/dropoff/index.php. Other items not accepted include microwave ovens, ammunition, explosives, medical waste and any items from a school, commercial business or agri-business.
When transporting materials to the site, place containers in sturdy boxes lined with newspaper to prevent spills and cross-contamination in the trunk of a car or back of a truck. Be sure to keep materials away from children and pets. Materials should be kept in the original container whenever possible. If not, place the waste in a plastic jug with a secure lid and label its contents.
In 2007, almost 1.8 million pounds of household hazardous waste, including 377,493 pounds of electronics, were collected from 23,905 households at collection events across the state. Since the program’s inception in 1993, households have properly disposed of more than 16.7 million pounds of material. HHW material is considered flammable, toxic, reactive and/or corrosive and should not be placed in with regular garbage.
For more information on the household hazardous waste mobile collection service, please call
1-800-287-9013 or visit www.tn.gov/environment/swm/hhw.

Nancy Marie Hale

50 year old Nancy Marie Hale of McMinnville and formerly of Smithville died Thursday morning. She was employed as a Senior Buyer at Shiroki North America in Smithville. A memorial service will be held at DeKalb Funeral Chapel on Tuesday. Visitation will be Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. with a memorial service to follow. She is survived by her parents, Richard and Patricia Fenimore; two sisters, Lynn and her husband Willard Smith and Robin and her husband Terry Tate; nieces and nephews, Nanci and her husband Eric Drennan, Chris and his wife Jeanette Allen, Patrick Allen, Jamie Tate, and Shawn and Bailey Tate; mother and father-in-law, Josephine and Lloyd Hale; brother and sister-in-law, Mark and Patty Hale; and friends Rickey Hale and Lisa Colson. Flowers may be sent to DeKalb Funeral Chapel or in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the local Humane Society. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.

Linda Jean Cooper

53 year old Linda Jean Cooper of Smithville died Wednesday at her residence. She was a housewife. A memorial service will be held in Illinois at a later date. Burial will be in the Hammond Cemetery in Hammond, Illinois. She was preceded in death by a grandchild, Brianna Horton. Survivors include children, Amanda and her husband Keith Shuttleworth of Smithville, Eddie Cooper II of Carthage, and Nikesha Pascal of Smithville. Grandchildren, Johnny Horton, Levi Horton, Brooklyn Horton, Kammi Horton, Hailey Shuttleworth, Wayne Shuttleworth, MaKayla Shutttleworth, Jamison Shuttleworth, Daniel Shuttleworth, Ambria Cooper, Selena Cooper, Kaden Pascal, and Mia Pascal. Parents, Lloyd and Esther Talkington of Illinois and brothers, Paul, Gary, and Dale Talkington. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements.

DeKalb Jobless Rate up to Seven Percent in September

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for September was 7%, up from the revised rate for August of 6.6% and significantly higher than the 4.3% rate recorded in September, 2007
DeKalb County’s labor force for September was 10,430. A total of 9,700 were employed and 730 were unemployed.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for September was 7.2 percent, 0.6 percentage point higher than the August rate of 6.6 percent. The United States unemployment rate for the month of September was 6.1 percent.
County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for September show that 84 counties increased. The rate decreased in seven counties and remained the same in four counties.
Williamson County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 5.0 percent, up 0.3 percentage point from the August rate. Perry County had the state’s highest at 16.8 percent, up from 16.2 in August, followed by Johnson County at 13.6 percent, up from 8.0 percent in August.
Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 5.3 percent, up 0.3 percentage point from the September rate. Davidson County was 5.9 percent, up from 5.6 the previous month. Hamilton County was at 6.1 percent the same as the August rate, and Shelby County was 7.4 percent, up from the August rate of 7.1.

IRS Seeks to Return $5 Million in Undeliverable Refunds

NASHVILLE — The Internal Revenue Service is looking for Tennessee taxpayers who are missing more than 5,800 economic stimulus checks totaling about $3.3 million and nearly 2,000 regular refund checks totaling about $1.7 million that were returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors.
Nationwide, more than 279,000 economic stimulus checks totaling about $163 million and more than 104,000 regular refund checks totaling about $103 million were returned to the IRS.
“Just a simple address update will allow the IRS to get this money into the hands of its owners,” said IRS spokesman Dan Boone.
All a taxpayer has to do is update his or her address once. The IRS will then send out all checks due.
Stimulus Checks
It is crucial that taxpayers who may be due a stimulus check update their addresses with the IRS by Nov. 28, 2008. By law, economic stimulus checks must be sent out by Dec. 31 of this year. The undeliverable economic stimulus checks average $583.
The “Where’s My Stimulus Payment?” tool on IRS.gov is the quickest and easiest way for a taxpayer to check the status of a stimulus check and receive instructions on how to update his or her address. Taxpayers without internet access should call 1-866-234-2942.
Regular Refunds
The regular refund checks that were returned to the IRS average $884 in Tennessee. These checks are resent as soon as taxpayers update their address.
Taxpayers can update their addresses with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov. It enables taxpayers to check the status of their refunds. A taxpayer must submit his or her social security number, filing status and amount of refund shown on their 2007 return. The tool will provide the status of their refund and in some cases provide instructions on how to resolve delivery problems.
Taxpayers checking on a refund over the phone will be given instructions on how to update their addresses. Taxpayers can access a telephone version of “Where’s My Refund?” by calling 1-800-829-1954.
Unsure?
Taxpayers not sure of which type of check they may be due should check on a potential economic stimulus check first because of the looming deadline. See instructions above.
For Most People
The vast majority of checks mailed out by the IRS reach their rightful owner every year. Only a very small percent are returned by the U.S. Postal Service as undeliverable.
Through September 2008, the government distributed 116 million economic stimulus payments with only about 279,000 checks being undeliverable. Meanwhile, the IRS has distributed more than 105 million regular refunds this year with only about 104,000 being undeliverable. In both cases, well under one percent of refunds or stimulus checks were undeliverable.
Avoiding Future Problems
The IRS encourages taxpayers to choose direct deposit when they file their return because it puts an end to lost, stolen or undeliverable checks. Taxpayers can receive refunds directly into personal checking or savings accounts. Direct deposit is available for filers of both paper and electronic returns.
The IRS also encourages taxpayers to file their tax returns electronically because e-file eliminates the risk of lost paper returns. E-file also reduces errors and speeds up refunds.

State Department of Safety Urges Motorist to Watch Out for Deer

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Department of Safety cautions motorists to watch out for deer, especially during the months of October through December, which is deer mating season. Deer are on the move during this period, meaning an increase in deer-related crashes is more likely.
“Deer pose a danger to drivers throughout the year, but especially in the fall. Recently, a woman was killed in Montgomery County after the motorcycle she was riding on crashed trying to avoid a deer,” stated THP Colonel Mike Walker. “It is important that drivers always pay attention and stay alert.”
In 2007, there were 5,104 deer-related crashes, including 257 that involved injuries and one that was fatal. That was down 13 percent from 5,839 in 2006, but since 2003, deer-related crashes in Tennessee have risen almost 17 percent.
Between 2003 and 2007, only 7.9 percent of deer-related crashes occurred on interstate highways, so motorists should exercise extra caution when not traveling on a major thoroughfare. November, when deer hunting season starts, is the worst month for deer-related crashes.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has these tips for drivers to help prevent deer-related crashes during peak mating and hunting seasons:
• Whenever you see deer cross the road, expect more to follow. Many times, the second or third deer crossing becomes the one that motorists hit.
• Be attentive, especially at daybreak and dusk, when deer tend to be on the move.
• If you do collide with a deer, never approach the injured animal. They are powerful and can cause bodily harm to a human.
• Tennessee law allows deer killed in a collision to be taken and used as food, as long as you contact the nearest TWRA regional office to report the accident within 48 hours.