Thirteen year old Alexis Grace Atnip is the new Teen Miss. She won the crown Saturday at DCHS.
Atnip, daughter of Veronica Atnip of Smithville, was among four girls ages thirteen to fifteen who competed for the title during the pageant which is held each year by the Smithville Women’s Club.
Last year’s queen was Sarah Anne Colwell, the fifteen year old daughter of Trent and Christie Colwell of Smithville.
First Runner-up, Miss Photogenic, and Miss Personality went to Dasia Gurley, the thirteen year old daughter of Felicia and Allen Taylor of Smithville.
Monica Carlton was Second Runner-up. She is the thirteen year old daughter of Amanda and Leroy Hale of Smithville.
Shelby Maylee Sprague, fourteen year old daughter of Johnna and Jimmy Sprague of Smithville was Third Runner-up.

DeKalb County High School has named the winners of the 2016 Science Fair
Grand prize winners – Hannah Evans & Olivia Winter
Physical Science Division:
1st place – Maggie Robinson
2nd place – Griffin Goldstein & Daniel Munoz
3rd place – Seth Pack
Honorable mention – Kelsie Merriman, Ethan C. Cantrell, Bradley Miller, Kayla Belk, Savannah Belcher
Biology/Math Division:
1st place – Andrew Fuson & Dosson Medlin
2nd place – Ethan Jenkins & Shalin Patel
3rd place – Sarah Ann Colwell
Honorable mention – Joni Robinson, Callie Mulloy, Sophie Cripps, Macy Hedge, Madison Judkins, Madi Cantrell, Lydia Brown, Addison Oakley, Chloe Sykes, Isaac Walker, Maddison Parsley, Zack Day, Luke Oliver, Luke Bryant, Will Stephens

Senior Noah Parsley was named the DCHS Tiger basketball Most Valuable Player Thursday night at the annual team banquet, while Senior Jailyn Bolding received the Lady Tiger MVP honor. Senior Chloe White is the Most Valuable Cheerleader. The awards were sponsored by Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. The MVP and MVC awards are named in memory of Allen D. Hooper.
In addition to being named MVP, Parsley received the team’s Hustle Award, Best Defender, and Best Passer Awards. Bolding,along with the MVP award, was honored for being the team’s Best Ball Handler, Hustle Award, and Best Defensive Player. Bolding received All District Honorable Mention and was chosen to the All District Defensive Team
The season for the DeKalb County Tigers ended with a loss to Cannon County in overtime in the District Tournament at Cookeville last month. The Tigers finished the season at 13-20 overall.
The DeKalb County Lady Tigers wrapped up their season losing to Sequatchie County in the Region Tournament. They closed out the campaign with an overall record of 24-14.
Other individual cheerleading awards included:
MVC: Chloe White
Most Spirit: Chloe White
Most Improved: Olivia Winter
Best Jumps: Zoe Maynard
Best Dance: Kaitlin Rhea
Best Flier: Brooklynn Estes
Best Attitude: Azya McCoy
Best Base: Jennifer Caplinger
Best Backspot: Aspen Flarity
STAR Award (Spirit, Team, Attitude, Respect): Amelia Patterson
Other Lady Tiger basketball awards were as follows:
MVP: Jailyn Bolding
Defensive MVP: Jailyn Bolding
Best Free Throw Award: Ashli Chew
Coaches Award: Joni Robinson
Lady Tiger Award: Macy Hedge
Best Rebounder: Ashli Chew
Most Improved: Maddison Parsley
Offensive MVP: Ashli Chew
Best Passer: Morgan Pedigo
Most Athletic: Hannah Panter
Best Three Point Shooter: Morgan Pedigo
Best Ball Handler: Jailyn Bolding
Hustle Award:Jailyn Bolding
1000 points in high school career: Ashli Chew
1000 points in high school career: Morgan Pedigo
1st Team All District: Ashli Chew
All District Honorable Mention: Jailyn Bolding
All District Defensive Team: Jailyn Bolding
All District Freshman Team: Joni Robinson
All District Freshman Team: Macy Hedge
For the Tigers,
MVP: Noah Parsley
Best Defender: Noah Parsley
Best Athlete: Tanner Poss
Best Rebounder: Gentry Harpole
Best Offensive Player: Marshal Evins
Best Free Throw Shooter: Marshal Evins
Best Ball Handler: Marshal Evins
Best Practice Player: Tanner Poss
Best Passer: Noah Parsley
Best Sixth Man: Colter Norris
Smartest Player: Marshal Evins
Most Improved Player: Austin Johnson
Best Attitude: Trey Jones
Hustle Award: Noah Parsley
All District Freshman Team: Tanner Poss
All District Honorable Mention: Marshal Evins
All District Honorable Mention: Gentry Harpole

The Tennessee Department of Health has recently confirmed a diagnosis of rabies in two dogs in middle Tennessee. One puppy died in Wilson County in February and was submitted for rabies testing. A second dog was submitted for testing in February from DeKalb County. Both dogs had a strain of rabies found in skunks, meaning they were likely infected by being bitten by skunks.
“The deaths of these animals serve as a somber reminder of the importance of rabies vaccination,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “Our pets are more likely to come into contact with wild animals than people are. Keeping our pets’ rabies vaccinations up to date is an effective and important way to protect both them and our human loved ones.”
Rabies vaccination is the best protection against rabies in household pets. Vaccination of dogs and cats is required by Tennessee law. Having pets vaccinated against rabies helps protect people from rabies, too.
Many Tennessee health departments work with local veterinarians to provide low-cost rabies vaccination clinics at this time of year. Contact your local health department to learn if a clinic is scheduled in your area. A list of Tennessee’s health department locations and their contact information is available online at http://tn.gov/health/topic/localdepartments.
In addition to vaccination of pets, people can protect themselves and their loved ones from rabies by staying away from wild animals. Do not try to help, feed or handle wild animals. If a wild or stray domestic animal seems sick or acts strangely, report it to your local animal control agency. Bats in particular should not be handled. If a bat is found inside, in a swimming pool or brought home by your pets, use precautions and contact your local health department.
“People, especially young children and teenagers, are curious about nature and animals, but wild animals and unfamiliar pets may pose a danger to their health,” said TDH Deputy State Epidemiologist John Dunn, DVM, PhD. “It’s important that parents and other adults teach children to observe wildlife from a safe distance and not to touch any wild animals or unfamiliar domestic animals.”
Rabies is a virus transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal. Nationwide, 89 dogs were diagnosed with rabies in 2013, the most recent year for which data are available. In Tennessee in 2015, rabies was diagnosed in 33 animals including one dog, 24 skunks, five bats and three raccoons. Rabies infection occurs primarily in wildlife in Tennessee, but can be transmitted to any mammal. Bites are the most common means of transmission; contact with saliva from an infected animal can also be a concern. Rabies is nearly always fatal, but illness can be prevented in humans by prompt vaccination before symptoms develop.
Here are some things you can do to help prevent the spread of rabies:
•Keep vaccinations up-to-date for all dogs and cats and consider vaccinating horses against rabies. Talk with your veterinarian for details.
•Supervise pets to reduce contact with wild animals.
•Keep children away from any wild or dead animals, including bats.
•Never touch a bat with bare hands. Use precautions and contact your local health department.
•Contact your medical provider and local health department if you’re concerned about any potential rabies exposures to your family or your pets.
For more information or help with a potential human rabies exposure, call your local health department or the Tennessee Department of Health emergency line at 615-741-7247. For questions about animal health, contact the Tennessee Department of Agriculture at 615-837-5120 or animal.health@tn.gov.
The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. TDH has facilities in all 95 counties and provides direct services for more than one in five Tennesseans annually as well as indirect services for everyone in the state, including emergency response to health threats, licensure of health professionals, regulation of health care facilities and inspection of food service establishments. Learn more about TDH services and programs at www.tn.gov/health.
– See more at: http://tn.gov/health/news/38258#sthash.akCiVzdh.dpuf

A Smithville man who labeled an item of drug paraphernalia with his name was arrested in Cookeville Saturday evening for selling and distributing marijuana.
Evan Brady Cripps, of Pine Grove Road in Smithville, was charged in connection with the incident.
Cookeville Police Officer Kyle Farley stopped the vehicle Cripps was in because of a tail light violation and an expired registration. The driver of the vehicle, Braxton Atnip was cited for Motor Vehicle Lighting Requirements, No Insurance, and Expired Registration.
Officer Farley’s report states as follows:
“On March 12 at 7:47 p.m. I initiated a traffic stop on a black Honda Civic at the Breadbox at 850 West Jackson Street for a tail light violation and for an expired registration. I made contact with the driver, Braxton Atnip, and I immediately noticed a strong odor of marijuana coming from about the vehicle. I asked Mr. Atnip to exit the vehicle and I asked him if there was marijuana in the car and he said yes. I asked if he would give me the marijuana and he said yes and got a backpack from between the right rear passenger, Evan Cripps, legs,” the report states
“Mr. Atnip pulled a Mason jar out of the backpack that had a bag of marijuana inside it and I asked whose it was and he said it was Mr. Cripps. I asked Mr Cripps to exit the vehicle and I asked if it was his and he said yes. I asked for consent to search his backpack and he did give me consent. Inside the backpack I located a set of digital scales that had “property of Evan Cripps” written on it. I also located a roll of plastic bags inside the backpack that he said he used to put marijuana in. The plastic bag of marijuana weighed approximately 25.5 grams,” the report continued.
“I placed Mr. Cripps under arrest for Manufacture, Deliver, Sale of a Controlled Substance, placed hand restraints on him and double locked them behind his back. I placed him in the right rear seat of my patrol vehicle”.
“I issued Mr. Atnip city citations for Motor Vehicle Lighting Requirements, No Insurance, and Expired Registration,” the report stated.
“I transported Mr. Cripps to the Putnam County Jail where on arrival I met with the Judicial Commissioner, obtained and executed a warrant for Manufacture, Deliver, Sale of a Controlled Substance on him”.
“I had initially made visual contact with this vehicle as it was passing Cane Creek School on West Jackson Street. The vehicle also stopped close to the Busy Bee Preschool at 749 Buffalo Valley Road”.
“The charge for Drug-Free School Zone is pending”.
“I placed the plastic bag of green leafy substance in evidence along with a TBI Crime Lab request for examination sheet for substance identification and quantity. I also placed the Mason Jar, digital scales, and roll of plastic bags in evidence,” the report concluded.

Smithville voters will decide in November whether they want to give restaurants in the city the opportunity to sell liquor by the drink.
According to Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley, Randy Paris has submitted to the election commission office a petition with the required number of valid signatures to get the referendum on the ballot in conjunction with the Tennessee General and US Presidential Election on Tuesday, November 8 subject to action by the county election commission.
The wording of the referendum would ask voters to either vote “For the legal sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises in Smithville” or “Against the legal sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises in Smithville”
The same issue has failed at the polls twice before.
In 2012 a referendum to get liquor in Smithville restaurants failed by a vote of 402 to 333. Two years later, a similar referendum failed by just 15 votes, 412 to 397. In the same election November 2014, Smithville voters narrowly approved another referendum to allow retail package stores to sell liquor within the city. The vote was 406 to 401.
Smithville now has two liquor stores.
If approved by the voters, the City of Smithville would have to establish an ordinance regarding city regulations but the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission would have the sole authority over the issuance of liquor licenses to eligible Smithville businesses for consumption on the premises.

Property owners near the site of a proposed new Smithville Electric System substation came before the City Planning Commission Monday evening to express concerns about the project.
The facility is to be located on just over five acres at 1233 South College Street.
While SES would continue to share the existing substation on West Main Street with TVA and Caney Fork Electric Cooperative, the new one would be solely for the use of Smithville Electric System in order to provide a secondary source of power especially in times of emergencies and to ensure continued reliability for current and future demands.

Joe Rice, one of the concerned property owners, questioned whether this site, in a residential neighborhood, is a suitable location for a substation. “Substations are permitted upon review as I read the ordinance. The review would be by the zoning board. The question I think in this case is not whether it can be done but whether it should be done. This piece of property is located immediately between two existing homes and there are a lot of other homes in the area. There are a lot of reasons not to do it. Safety being a primary, more personal concern. That’s a reason for the backup station. They explode occasionally,” he said.
According to Rice, SES had an opportunity to possibly acquire property in an industrial zone for the substation. “I’m sure there is a need for a station. The electric board, in their last meeting, was asked why they chose this location. We were told that it was for sale and it was cheap as opposed to an industrial location. They had found an industrial location apparently for half a million dollars. They told us they had plenty of money so that is not the issue. They chose this piece of property at the expense of the property owners in this residential area to save money for the power company. To me that doesn’t seem right,” said Rice.
Gordon Murphy, another property owner in the area, said he has environmental concerns particularly with a substation being located near wetlands. “I made a call to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). I haven’t heard back but I did see a consultant out there looking at the property. You are not supposed to build substations or power plants near wetlands or on wetlands. That is something that is highly discouraged. You are not supposed to do that because there is all kinds of water runoff. All kinds of chemical pollution that goes into the wetlands. Its not a good idea. It may also be an Army Corps of Engineers (issue). I haven’t gotten through to that process. It may also be against several other agencies as well. I haven’t gotten to the bottom of that. Basically wetlands is a bad idea. End of story. Chemical pollution. Bad idea. It’s not just the fact that it’s where we live. We’ll be hearing in excess of 60db (decibel) which is equivalent to a freight train at 50 feet. Those kinds of issues need to be known,” said Murphy.
Staff Planner Tommy Lee said the city’s zoning ordinance allows substations as a permitted use without review in a residential zone. “I analyzed the request. I looked at the zoning ordinance and recommended it to be an approved and permitted use as it clearly states in the zoning ordinance. There are certain non-residential uses that are strictly permitted uses. They don’t have to have a review. Those uses are auditoriums, arenas, exhibit halls, art galleries, parks, substations, etc. That’s why I made the recommendation. It would be like if somebody didn’t like the fact that their neighbor was building a single family home in an R-1 district. Can they appeal that to the Board of Zoning Appeals? I don’t think they can. I think a permitted use is a permitted use. But you have a right to challenge. If not at the Board of Zoning Appeals, then in the appellate courts,” said Lee.
Planning Commission member Norris Colvert recommended that the city withhold approval of the project until the building codes inspector conducts a proper review of the proposed site plan. If the inspector signs off on the plan, Colvert said the concerned landowners may then file an appeal with the city’s board of zoning appeals. “Our course of action is that our building inspector is going to be instructed to review the site plan to see if it meets all the setbacks and all the other criteria and that he makes some kind of decision then these folks have a right to appeal it. We have concerned citizens here that need to be respected and we need to do whatever we can do to help them get their point across. We don’t have anybody from Smithville Electric sitting here telling us what they are wanting to do. Let’s make sure if it is going to be done that it’s going to be done properly,” said Colvert
In an interview with WJLE last August, Richie Knowles, Interim Manager of Smithville Electric System said TVA has already approved plans for the new substation, which will be approximately 105 feet x 192 feet in size. “TVA has approved the site. We got that approval before we purchased the property. We now have to get the substation designed, engineered, and do the grade work. Of course, we’ll have to order all the materials and start assembling it. We hope to have it up and operational by late 2016 or early 2017,” said Knowles.
According to Knowles, a second substation would provide the city an alternate power source. “This way we will be able to supply power to the entire city from either substation. We can do maintenance work on the West Main Street substation without shutting off the power to the entire city. Initially, we will transfer part of the supplied load from the West Main substation to the new one, ” said Knowles.
A secondary substation could also serve as a means of new industrial recruitment. ” It will provide us a secondary feed for industries that might be looking at possibly coming to Smithville. That is usually their first question ” do you have a dual feed”? At the moment we have to say no but we’re working on that so in the future when they call we’ll be able to say “yes we do”. Hopefully that will help attract new industry and help us keep the industry we have,” said Knowles.
According to Knowles, this location is ideal because it is directly beneath an existing transmission line route. Efforts will be made to keep it hidden from public view as much as possible. “It’s going to be just one transformer. A small compact substation. It will set back off the road. Hopefully, it won’t be unsightly to the neighborhood. We’ll make it as clean as possible with fencing and landscaping. We’ll try to make it as nice to the neighborhood as we possibly can,” said Knowles.
The new facility is to be called the John Robert Nixon substation, named in tribute to the man who has served as a member and Chairman of the Board of Smithville Electric since the utility was established 46 years ago.

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for January was 6%, down from 6.5% in December and below the 8% rate for January, 2015.
The local labor force for January was 7,380. A total of 6,930 were employed and 450 were without work.
Jobless rates for January among the fourteen counties in the Upper Cumberland region were as follows from highest to lowest:
Clay: 7.9%
Pickett:7.8%
Van Buren: 7.2%
Cumberland: 7.1%
Fentress: 6.9%
Jackson: 6.8%
Overton: 6.3%
DeKalb: 6%
White: 5%
Putnam: 5%
Cannon: 4.8%
Warren: 4.6%
Smith: 4.4%
Macon:4.3%
County unemployment rates for January 2016 show the rates decreased in 82 counties, increased in 12, and remained the same in one county.
For the month of January, Davidson County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate at 3.6 percent, down from December’s rate of 4.0 percent. Knox County was 3.9 percent in January, down from 4.3 the previous month. The Hamilton County rate was 4.6 percent, down from 5.0 in December. Shelby County was 5.5 percent, down from 6.1 percent the previous month.
Tennessee’s preliminary unemployment rate for January was 5.4 percent, down two tenths of a percentage point from the previous month’s revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for December was 4.9 percent, down one tenth of a percentage point from the previous month.
The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.

Two people escaped injury Monday after their truck and utility trailer went off the side of a bridge in Alexandria after driving through standing water from heavy rains
Neither the driver, 61 year old Joseph Dayton of Carthage nor his passenger, 46 year old Robert Wade of Brush Creek were hurt in the accident.
Alexandria Police Chief Chris Russell said DeKalb Central Dispatch received a call at 11:48 am of a motor vehicle which had crashed on Edgewood Street. According to Chief Russell, Dayton was traveling north on Edgewood Street in a 2008 Ford F350 pulling a utility trailer when he ran through standing water from heavy rains. The truck ran off the right side of the roadway, off a bridge, and came to rest on it’s right side .
Members of the Alexandria Police Department , Alexandria Fire Department, DeKalb Fire and Rescue and DeKalb EMS responded to the scene. Extrication team members stabilized the vehicle utilizing a winch and then removed the two occupants.

A WJLE Radiothon to raise money for the DCHS Class of 2016 Project Graduation will be Friday, March 25 from 9:00 a.m. until noon hosted by DCHS Teacher Chris Vance.
High school seniors and parents on the Project Graduation committee will be answering phones, taking pledges during the drive. Any member of the Class of 2016 is urged to stop by the station to make a brief appearance on the radiothon to talk about their school activities and future plans.
Project Graduation is an all night drug-free, alcohol-free graduation party for members of the DCHS Class of 2016 committed to having a safe, wholesome, yet entertaining celebration together for the last time as a class. The event begins following the graduation ceremony on Friday, May 20.
Call 615-597-4265 during the Radiothon to make your pledge from 9:00 a.m. until noon on Friday, March 25. Listen LIVE on FM 101.7/AM 1480 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com.
Send checks to: DCHS Project Graduation 2016
c/o Karen Jacobs
831 Driver St.
Smithville, TN 37166