For the second year in a row, a Nashville boy has won the top Jamboree award as the best fiddler in the National Championship for Country Musician Beginners.
Giri Peters was crowned the Grand Champion fiddler Saturday and won the coveted James G. “Bobo” Driver Memorial Award, named for the man who started the children’s competition during the 1980’s as part of the annual Fiddler’s Jamboree and Crafts Festival. Members of the Driver family made the award presentation including Driver’s grandson Robin Driver, grand daughter Kim Luton, and great grandchildren Russell Ambrose, Kiana Driver, and Jamie Driver.
In addition to winning the top fiddler prize, Peters also captured first place in the Dobro Guitar, Mandolin, and Flat Top Guitar competition.
Peters also repeated as the “Entertainer of the Year”. The award is presented to the best overall instrumental entertainer among winners in the dobro guitar, mandolin, five string banjo, and flat top guitar competition.
The National Championship for Country Musician Beginners showcases the talents of children up to age twelve in seven categories of competition.
This year’s winners are as follows:
Fiddle: First Place- Giri Peters of Nashville; Second Place- Mary Parker of Mountain View, Arkansas; and Third Place- Iris Shepherd of Henry, Tennessee
Buck Dancing: First Place- Kaelin Wade of Paris, Tennessee; Second Place- Braden Chunn of Greenbrier, and Third Place- Gracie Parrish of Pleasant View
Clogging: First Place- Braden Chunn of Greenbrier, Second Place- Gracie Parrish of Pleasant View, and Third Place- Kaelin Wade of Paris, Tennessee.
Dobro Guitar: First Place- Giri Peters of Nashville; Second Place- Maddie McKenney of Cullman, Alabama; and Third Place- Uma Peters of Nashville
Mandolin: First Place-Giri Peters of Nashville; Second Place-Mary Parker of Mountain View, Arkansas; and Third Place- Braden Chunn of Greenbrier.
Five String Banjo: First Place- Uma Peters of Nashville; Second Place- Conner Derryberry of Shelbyville; and Third Place- Cooper Brown of Smithville
Flat Top Guitar: First Place- Giri Peters of Nashville; Second Place- Robert Wheeler of Smithville; and Third Place- Gordon Parker of Mountain View, Arkansas

The annual Fiddler’s Jamboree Craft Awards were presented Saturday
Jason and Lora Coons of Moss, Tennessee received the “Best of Show” award for their display of custom metal signs
.
Meanwhile, Jenn Cole of Cookeville was presented the “Best Appalachian Craft” award for her display of functional Handmade Pottery .
The “Best Newcomer” Award went to Siera Sins and Sandra Phillips of Sparta for their Pistols & Posies Fashionable Handcrafted designs, accessories, and Bangle Bracelets.
Gary Keeble of Dalton, Georgia received the “Best Display” award for his photography on canvas.
The awards were presented by Emma Adkins, the Fiddler’s Jamboree Director of Crafts along with Olivia Norton and Ellie Adkins.
(TOP PHOTO)
BEST OF SHOW: Jason and Lora Coons for their custom metal signs
PICTURED: Olivia Norton, Jason, Abby, and Lora Coons, and Emma and Ellie Adkins
(SECOND PHOTO FROM TOP)
BEST APPALACHIAN CRAFT: Jenn Cole of Cookeville was presented the “Best Appalachian Craft” award for her display of functional Handmade Pottery .
PICTURED: Olivia Norton, Jenn Cole, and Ellie and Emma Adkins
(THIRD PHOTO FROM TOP)
BEST NEWCOMER AWARD went to Siera Sins and Sandra Phillips of Sparta for their Pistols & Posies Fashionable Handcrafted designs, accessories, and Bangle Bracelets
PICTURED: Ellie and Emma Adkins, Siera Sins, and Olivia Norton
(BOTTOM PHOTO)
BEST DISPLAY: Gary Keeble of Dalton, Georgia received the “Best Display” award for his photography on canvas.
PICTURED: Emma and Ellie Adkins, Gary Keeble, and Olivia Norton

37 year old Brian Shelton was the overall winner of the 18th annual fiddler 5K and One-Mile Fun Run Saturday and he set a new course record at 16:12.

Meanwhile Kristen VanVranken won the race among females. She ran the course in 20:23

Winners in other categories were:
TOP MALE MASTERS (Age 40 and older): Sean Edwards at 19:21
TOP FEMALE MASTERS (Age 40 and older): Kendra Faith Edwards at 24:53

One-Mile Fun Run (age 12 and younger) winner:
TOP MALE: Conner Vance of Smithville at 6:47
TOP FEMALE: Bella Bryson of Woodbury at 8:19
The 18th Annual Fiddler 5K and One-Mile Fun Run featured 321 participants.
Funds raised will support Habitat for Humanity of DeKalb County

“Explosion” of Springfield won the Youth Square Dancing competition Friday night at the Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival

The Community Chorus presented a program of patriotic music and dancing Friday evening at the Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival

For several years the county has received an annual litter grant from the state to compensate the sheriff’s department for providing roadside pickup of litter on county roads using inmate labor. This year, the state has also provided grant funds for litter pickup on state roads in DeKalb County.
The second round of litter pickup has begun .
“We have started our second round of litter pickup on our state roads. The mowers are supposed to be here July 18. You’ll see our correctional officers out with our inmates. We ask everybody to use caution when they see our orange signs with flags on them which say “inmates are working up ahead picking up litter”. We ask everyone to slow down and pay attention. There could be inmates on both sides of the road or just one side of the road. We just ask everybody to be aware and slow down,” said Sheriff Patrick Ray.
The first round of the litter pickup on state roads was conducted in the spring after the state grant was awarded.
“In April we were able to get an additional grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation where we can pick up litter on state roadways here in our county,” said Sheriff Ray. “The grant pays for three cycles of litter pickup each year with an optional fourth cycle if needed and the grant awarded us enough money that we could hire a full time employee and use him for other things when he is not picking up trash out in the county. We can use him to help non profit organizations such as food pantries, the fair, the Jamboree, and other things that are non profit. We help some of our local churches do things and take care of cemeteries that have been abandoned. It opens up more opportunities for us to get out in our community and help people,” he said.
This grant covers over 100 miles of listed state roadways. These roads are Sparta Highway, Nashville Highway, Cookeville Highway, McMinnville Highway, Keltonburg Road, Antioch Road, Belk Road, New Home Road, Short Mountain Highway, Murfreesboro Highway, Dale Ridge Road, Wolf Creek Road, Medley Amonett Road, Temperance Hall Road, and Lancaster Highway. We are using inmate labor to pick up the trash on the state roads just like we do with our county roads litter grant program. We already have a separate contract for county roads that we’ve had for many years,” he said.
Sheriff Ray offers some safety tips for motorists who may approach these litter pickup work zones. These simple tips could save your life or the life of a worker in one of the litter zones.
*Always think orange. When you see orange signs, cones, or barrels, expect a roadside work zone ahead.
*Stay alert. Look for narrow driving lanes and highway workers ahead.
*Pay attention. Work zone signs will tell you exactly what to expect ahead.
*Don’t follow too closely. Maintain a safe distance on all sides of your vehicle.
*Minimize distractions. Drivers should keep their eyes on the roadway especially in a work zone.
*Do not talk on a cell phone or adjust your radio while in one of these zones.
*Slow down. You may encounter slowed or stopped traffic in an instant or encounter workers on or beside of the roadway.
You will know you are entering into a litter pickup zone when you see orange signs that say “Litter Pickup Ahead”.

Sheriff Patrick Ray is asking for your cooperation if you plan to attend any of the fireworks shows planned for this weekend around Center Hill Lake.
“If you are driving to a fireworks show, please do not park in the roadway near these events. We must keep roads open at all times especially for law enforcement, fire, and ambulance personnel who might be called to respond to an emergency. Any vehicle found parked in the roadway or blocking traffic in any manner will be towed at the owner’s expense. We plan to have deputies at all fireworks shows on the lake this weekend,” said Sheriff Ray.
“Thank you for your cooperation and have a happy and safe 4th of July weekend”, he concluded.

An inspection by officials of the Tennessee Department of Transportation reveals “heavy collision damage” to the Veterans Memorial Bridge (overpass) on College Street and it will remain closed to traffic until repairs are made.
A TDOT official is recommending that proper signs and barricades be installed.
The damage was caused by a DeKalb County Landfill truck which hit the underside of the bridge Monday morning as it was traveling east on Broad Street. Although the truck carried no dumpster at the time, the lift was up. The driver, 54 year old Roger Chapman, received minor injuries and was cited by Smithville Police for speeding. The truck was totaled.
“This bridge sustained collision damage to the beams and deck by a waste disposal truck. We have completed the damage inspection and evaluation of this bridge,” wrote Wayne J. Seger, TDOT Director of Structures.
In an evaluation report to Ray Rucker, TDOT Transportation Regional Director, Seger defined the scope of the damage to the bridge.” This structure consists of four simply supported concrete deck girder spans with an asphalt wearing surface. The substructure is concrete.
“Beams “E” and “F” in span number 3 have sustained heavy collision damage near the midspan. It has resulted in large areas of spalled concrete with exposed damaged reinforcing steel. The area of spalling on beam “F” is nine feet long, one foot and six inches wide, and one foot deep. On beam “E” it is fifteen feet long, one foot and eight inches wide, and one foot and eight inches deep. In their present condition concrete beams “E” and “F” in span number 3 have no calculated live load carrying capacity,” wrote Seger.
“The deck and sidewalk on the right side of span number 3 have heavy cracking up to 1/8 inch wide extending all the way through the deck due to collision damage.”
“At the time of inspection, the bridge underpass was posted for a vertical clearance of thirteen feet and ten inches.”
Seger recommends that the bridge remain closed to all traffic and that proper signs and barricades be installed; that beams “E” and “F” be repaired or replaced; and and that the deck and sidewalk be repaired.
“After the beams, deck, and sidewalk have been satisfactorily completed, the bridge shall be re-opened to traffic without any restrictions,” wrote Seger.
Broad Street under the bridge will remain open.

The Smithville Mayor and Board of Aldermen approved the new $6.2 million budget ordinance on second and final reading during a special meeting Tuesday at city hall.
The new budget totals $6-million 642-thousand 988 dollars. Under the new spending plan, the property tax rate will remain the same at 64.9 cents per $100 of assessed value. The city property tax rate is budgeted to generate $820,000.
Water and sewer rates are to remain the same. City water customers will continue to pay $5.00 per thousand gallons of usage. Rates for customers outside the city limits are $7.50 per thousand gallons. City sewer customers will continue to pay $5.00 per thousand gallons plus the flat usage rate of $3.62.
The rate the city charges the DeKalb Utility District will remain the same at $2.67 per thousand gallons. The city had planned to raise the rate to $3.00 per thousand but was prohibited because of a Chancery Court order from 2014. “The only thing that has changed since the first reading is the DUD rate. We have to keep it at $2.67 per thousand gallons rather than the recommended $3.00 due to the court order from Judge Thurman from a couple of years ago. The way I understand it, we have to present a reason for the rate hike. I have talked with J.R. Wauford (city’s utility engineer) and they are working with us on that,” said City Administrator Hunter Hendrixson.
The new budget includes pay raises for employees, a new sanitation truck, the addition of a new full time officer in the police department to help cut down on overtime, matching funds to replace the Holmes Creek Bridge, street paving including on the public square, new equipment for the fire department, and an upgrade of the waste water treatment plant, among other projects.
Under the new budget, city hourly and salaried employees will get a 3% pay raise except for any police officers who are due to get an increase in pay under the department’s wage scale for all hourly employees. However the police department wage scale, which has been an eight step plan, will stop at six steps hereafter. The last two steps are being eliminated to keep police department salaries from getting too far out of line with other city workers.
In an effort to reduce overtime within the police department, the city is changing the officers shift schedules and creating a new full time officer position. With the new hire, the police department will have fourteen full time members including the chief, captain, one lieutenant/investigator, two sergeants, an investigator, and eight full time officers, plus two clerks.
The budget includes $100,000 in capital outlay to go toward the purchase of a new rescue pumper truck for the fire department. Fire Chief Charlie Parker is asking that the city make this purchase to replace the fire department’s oldest fire truck, a 1992 model, as well as a 20 year old rescue truck and cargo van. While funds will be set aside for a new rescue pumper, the city still plans to apply for a grant through the Upper Cumberland Development District in January. “Of course we’ll have to get specs, advertise, and take sealed bids which will take a little while. Apparently it will take close to a year once the bid is awarded. So this could actually roll into (following budget year 2017-18),” said City Administrator Hendrixson.
“Charlie (Parker) said it could take probably nine to eleven months (before the truck is purchased),” said Alderman and Police and Fire Commissioner Jason Murphy.
The city also intends to purchase a new garbage truck this year. “That is one of the first things we’ll do after the fourth of July holiday. I’ve already got the specs for that. I’ve had to go back and redo it somewhat. I’m still looking at paying for that with a $400,000 CD that we have. We’re making probably less than half a percent for what we’re getting on a return on interest so its not much. When it comes time to award those bids we can discuss that,” said City Administrator Hendrixson.
The city is also increasing its contribution to Justin Potter Library from $500 to $5,000.
General Fund Capital outlay projects for 2016-17 total $692,000 including the following:
*Fire Department equipment- $116,000
*New sanitation truck and trash containers- $350,000 (unspent from 2015-16 year)
*Street Department-Holmes Creek Bridge Project & Unspecified- $60,000
*Police Department Car & Unspecified- $30,000
*New Animal Shelter- $75,000 (unspent from 2015-16 year)
*Airport: Taxiway Initial Design & Unspecified- $20,000 (Mostly funded by grants)
*City Hall Building (Unspecified)- $25,000
*Public Works-Buildings & Grounds (Unspecified)- $5,000
*Parks and Recreation- $5,000
*Financial Administration- $1,000
*Legislative-$5,000
State Street Aid: Paving-$350,000
Water and Sewer projects including the following:
*Sewer Plant Rehabilitation- $2,750,000
*Tube Settlers for Water Plant- $40,000
*Backhoe-$80,000
The city is expected to wrap up the 2015-16 budget year June 30 in the black in both the general fund by $153,724 and water and sewer fund by $76,399.
Total general fund revenues for 2016-17 are projected to be $3,127,010, not enough to cover total estimated expenditures of $3,976,981. The city plans to appropriate $849,971 from the general fund surplus if needed to balance the budget.
The water and sewer fund is expected to show a surplus of $157,925 by years end with total revenues at $2,622,600 and expenditures of $2,464,075. But the 2016-17 water and sewer fund is supported by a $500,000 grant for sewer plant rehabilitation which is counted as income to the city for just one year .
The city will also lose hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue when the DeKalb Utility District launches its new water plant, which could come before next summer. In the budget the city has reduced projected revenues from the sale of water to the DUD from $765,000 for the year ending June 30, 2016 down to $400,000 for half the year 2016-17. City officials say such a loss of income may eventually force the city to look at ways of cutting spending or raising new revenues to make up the difference.

A 40 year old man accused in the theft of items from a local storage unit building last fall appeared for sentencing in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Tuesday, June 21.
Judge Gary McKenzie presided.
Shane Michael Downey entered a plea to theft over $1,000 and received a four year sentence suspended to probation. The term is to run concurrently with a domestic assault sentence against him. Downey is to make restitution to the victim in an amount to be determined at another hearing. He was given eight days of jail credit.
Downey was arrested on Thursday, September 3, 2015 by Smithville Police Detective Brandon Donnell after an investigation in which some of the stolen items from a local storage unit building were recovered and returned to the owner.
According to Captain Steven Leffew, the victim told Officer Will Judkins on Sunday, August 30 that she discovered the burglary and theft the next day after moving items into a storage unit on Highway 56. The victim reported items missing from the unit valued at more than $2,000.
20 year old Kevin Wade Hedgecoth, Jr. entered a plea by criminal information to possession of a schedule VI drug over one half ounce and received a two year sentence suspended to probation. He was fined $2,500.
A codefendant with Hedgecoth, 19 year old Mitchell Allen Huffaker entered a plea by criminal information to attempted possession of a schedule VI drug for resale and received a two year TDOC sentence all suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,500. Huffaker was given one day of jail credit.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Monday, December 21, 2015 a deputy received a tip from another officer that a vehicle was possibly transporting marijuana. The officer located the automobile at the Kwik N Ezy convenience market in Smithville. The driver, Huffaker was inside the store. When Huffaker came out of the market, the deputy spoke to him. As Huffaker opened the car door to reach for his license, the deputy detected an odor of marijuana coming from Huffaker’s vehicle. Hedgecoth was a passenger. During a search of the automobile 3.17 ounces of marijuana were found in the middle console. Both Hedgecoth and Huffaker were arrested after admitting that they had put their money together to buy the marijuana.
37 year old Jeffery Scott McAlister entered a plea to theft over $1,000 and received a four year suspended sentence. The term is to run consecutive to a Rutherford County sentence against him. He must make restitution of $50.
Smithville Police Sergeant Brad Tatrow took a report on Monday, September 7, 2015 of someone taking a vehicle from the parking lot of Napa Auto Parts . The automobile was found near the Cannon/DeKalb line at Barnes Cemetery. McAlister became a person of interest and upon further investigation by Detective Matt Holmes it was determined that McAlister had taken the vehicle from the parking lot, driven it to the cemetery, and left it there. McAlister was arrested for theft.