Thanks to the Smithville Industrial Development Board and the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, the county is a step closer to developing a solid waste transfer station and recycling center, which could be operational by fall.
During its regular monthly meeting Monday night, the Smithville Aldermen voted to deed to the county some property in the Industrial Park on Highway 70 east behind Tenneco for the development of the transfer station. Surveys are to be done but city and county officials said the site includes about five to seven acres of useable property. The industrial development board deeded the property to the city at no cost knowing that the city would deed it to the county at no cost for this purpose.
According to County Mayor Mike Foster, the county will fund the cost of extending a road that currently dead ends by Tenneco in the industrial park. The road will then make a right turn and extend toward the transfer station, which will be on the back corner several hundred yards behind Tenneco. “Working with the city and the Industrial Development Board, we’ve been able to acquire that property and in exchange for that we’re (county) going to build the road into their property. We’ve agreed to dig out the top soil and put in the gravel and get it ready to pave, then we’re going to apply for a fast track grant and hopefully get that to help pave it for the city and everybody who uses it,” said County Mayor Foster in an interview with WJLE Wednesday.
The existing Class I landfill, located off Billings Road in the eastern portion of the county, will soon be full. Foster said he is hopeful that the transfer station can be opened and the landfill closed by this fall. ” The county is wanting to get out of the Class I landfill business because of the environmental liability and its costly the way you have to do things. You have to line it (cell) with 60 mil plastic and put a 60 mil plastic over the top,” said Foster.
Although it’s not a landfill, the transfer station would be a gathering point for household solid waste. The garbage would be brought in by trucks, dumped inside a building, immediately loaded onto semi-trucks and then hauled away to another county willing to contract with DeKalb County to accept it. “One of the good things about it is that there is very little leachate that comes out of that (garbage) but whatever there is will go into the city sewer system. There is a sewer line there we can hook to without having to haul it (leachate) that is such a problem,” said Foster. The county currently has to haul leachate from the landfill by trucks for treatment and disposal at the city waste water treatment plant. Leachate is a liquid that moves through or drains from the landfill or a garbage collection site.
Another advantage is that the transfer station would be centrally located in the county and both the city and county would save fuel costs. ” Its a win, win because the city will no longer have to haul their garbage to the landfill, ten or eleven miles each way and we won’t either,” said Foster. “The garbage will come in, just the household garbage. It will come in, be loaded on a semi and hauled out of the county and disposed of either in Smith County or Murfreesboro,” he said.
While the Class I landfill will be closing, the county will maintain a Class III/IV landfill next to the existing site for non-household solid waste. ” We will still have a Class III/IV cell on the property adjoining where we are now that is owned by the county. It would be for construction debris, brush, or anything but household garbage. To develop the Class III/IV cell, we will have to dig it out and then pack it with clay to get a liner in there. But we won’t have to put a plastic liner in that (cell) and we won’t have to put a plastic liner on top of it. The estimates from the engineers are that it (Class III/IV landfill) would last us forty to fifty years,” said Foster.
Like all the previous landfills, the county will have to meet state and federal post closure regulations for up to 30 years after the existing Class I landfill closes. Under post closure standards, operators of Class I landfills are required to continue monitoring and maintaining the site once its closed to protect against leaks or other hazards that would pose a threat to the environment.
According to Foster, the county has sufficient funding available to develop the transfer station and recycling center, close the existing Class I landfill, and start a new Class III/IV landfill cell for non-household garbage. ” We started putting our depreciation and post closure money into a fund several years ago and we’ve got enough now to close the cell, build a III/IV cell and build the transfer station without having to borrow any money,” he said.
Foster expressed his thanks to the Smithville Mayor and Aldermen and members of the Industrial Development Board for their support. “I’m very thankful to the city and industrial board for helping us with this. We can make it (solid waste operation) much better for them and us and for the people in the county without that environmental liability,” he said.
(TOP PHOTO: Aldermen Jason Murphy, Tim Stribling, Mayor Jimmy Poss, and Aldermen Josh Miller, Shawn Jacobs, and Danny Washer)
(MIDDLE PHOTO: Smithville Industrial Board Chairman Walter Burton, Industrial Board member Tim Stribling, and Mayor Jimmy Poss. Industrial Board members not pictured: Richard Judkins, Tom Grooms, Alan Webb, Wesley James, and John Robert Nixon)
(BOTTOM PHOTO: FRONT ROW: County Commissioners: Bradley Hendrix, Elmer Ellis, Jr. Jimmy Poss, Jerry Adcock, former county commissioner John Green, and Bobby Joines. BACK ROW: County Mayor Mike Foster and County Commissioners Mason Carter, David McDowell, Larry Summers, Jerry Scott, Jeff Barnes, Wayne Cantrell, and Marshall Ferrell. Not Pictured: Rick Cantrell, who replaced John Green)

The City of Smithville’s Secretary-Treasurer is getting a new title.
Hunter Hendrixson will be City Administrator with passage of an ordinance on second and final reading at the next meeting of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in April.
The aldermen approved the ordinance on first reading Monday night.
The ordinance defines the duties and responsibilities of the City Administrator, which are the same as Hendrixson is performing now as Secretary-Treasurer. City officials say he is not being given any more authority and his salary is not being increased by this action. “It does not give him any more authority than he has now. It does not give him a pay raise. Basically, it consolidates all of his titles under one. It does not make him a “City Manager”. We don’t have that form of government,” said Alderman Shawn Jacobs.
The ordinance states as follows:
“Whereas, Section 3.01 of the Smithville Charter states that the board by ordinance may establish, abolish, merge, or consolidate offices, positions of employment, departments, and agencies of the city, may provide that the same person shall fill any number of offices and positions of employment, and may transfer or change the functions and duties of offices, positions of employment, departments, and agencies of the city; and
Whereas, Section 3.02 of the Smithville Charter states that the board may appoint create the position of city administrator to assist the Mayor with meeting the requirements in this section of the Smithville charter.
Be It Ordained by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen that:
The City Administrator position is hereby created and shall perform the following duties:
a. To see that all laws and ordinances, subject to enforcement by him or by officers subject to his direction, are enforced, and upon knowledge or information of any violation thereof to see that prosecutions are instituted.
b. To attend all board meetings and to have the right to take part in any discussions, but not to vote.
c. To prepare and submit an annual operating budget and an annual capital budget to the board prior to the beginning of the fiscal year.
d.To submit to the board a complete report on the financial condition of the city at the end of each fiscal year and at such other times as may be required by the board.
e.To make such other reports on the activities of the city as the city board may require or as he sees the need for and to make such recommendations as in his opinion, are necessary to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the city’s operations or as are needed for the overall good of the city.
f. To act as purchasing agent for the city, purchasing all materials, supplies, and equipment needed by the city in accordance with the state’s purchasing laws and procedures.
g. To perform other duties required by the City Charter or the city board in the duties of Treasurer which are stated in Section 3.05 and Recorder which are stated in section 3.04 of the Smithville charter.
h. To perform related tasks as required by the Mayor and board.
Section 2. The Mayor and Board of Aldermen hereby appoints Hunter Hendrixson as the City Administrator.
Section 3. This ordinance shall become effective upon final approval, the public welfare requiring it.

Are stores in the City of Smithville that are licensed to sell beer in compliance with the city’s beer laws in regard to signage and inventory?
At least one city resident doesn’t think so.
Former Alderman W.J. (Dub) White came before the Mayor and Aldermen Monday night during the regular monthly meeting asking the city to enforce its beer ordinance on these provisions.
White said there are six stores in the city which are in violation of the ordinance because beer advertisement signs inside the stores can be seen from outside the stores.
The city’s beer ordinance states ” It shall be unlawful for any beer permit holder to advertise within the business establishment in any manner visible from off the premises of said establishment the price or location of beer on the premises of the establishment”.
City Attorney Vester Parsley, Jr. said he will have a definite answer by next month’s meeting but is concerned that this provision in the beer ordinance may be unconstitutional, improperly restricting freedom of speech.
If the provision is constitutional, Parsley said the city could have reasonable regulations to enforce it. However, he is not yet convinced that any permit holder is clearly in violation. “One of our individuals (stores) probably has the most lit up building I have seen in some time here in town. (Discount Tobacco and Beer). If anyone is in violation, that one certainly is. The others, if you look real hard I agree that you can see them (beer advertisements) from the outside. There may be a way for them to correct that, maybe to put up some (window) tint but I could not see any sign that advertised the price of beer. I could see the fact that they had a sign in there that they sold beer. But even so it (beer ordinance) doesn’t say you could revoke their license for doing that,” he said.
Parsley suggested that the beer ordinance may need to be amended to address other provisions that are outdated or invalid. ” Some of the provisions are currently invalid they way our laws are written. We’ve not ever let anybody advertise the sale of beer outside of their establishment although there is a statute which says they can. Tennessee has a statute TCA 57-5-301 which says that we cannot prohibit people who sell beer from advertising at least one sign outside of their business. They cannot advertise the type of beer but they can advertise beer,” he said.
The law Parsley referred to states as follows :”No outdoor sign, advertisement or display that advertises beer may be erected or maintained on the property on which a retail beer establishment is located other than one (1) sign, advertisement or display which makes reference to the fact that the establishment sells beer but does not use brand names, pictures, numbers, prices or diagrams relating to beer.”
White also questioned whether stores that sell beer in the city actually meet the $25,000 wholesale value grocery stock inventory requirement under the city beer ordinance. Parsley said the stores are responsible for furnishing the city a certified inventory each year. The city, however, never does its own investigation or inventory to make sure the stores are in compliance.
Under the city beer ordinance, “Before a beer permit is issued, the applicant must show proof of ownership of $25,000 (Wholesale Value) in grocery stock, excluding all tobacco products, gasoline, petroleum products, antifreeze, and beer. Further, should a beer permit be granted to an applicant, the beer permit holder must maintain at all times on the premises where beer is sold a minimum grocery stock of $25,000 (Wholesale Value), excluding all tobacco products, gasoline, petroleum products, antifreeze and beer. The holder of a beer permit must provide at least one inventory per year to the Smithville beer board, said inventory to be submitted no later than April 15 of each year. Moreover, the inventory submitted annually to the Smithville beer board by the permit holder shall be performed by a business entity whose principal or predominant business is that of conducting inventories. Further, the accuracy of said inventory shall be sworn to and affirmed before a Notary Public by the agent or employee of the business entity retained to conduct the inventory. Moreover, the Smithville beer board shall have the authority to request additional inventories during the year, and each holder of a beer permit shall be obligated to provide the Smithville beer board with any requested inventory.”

A Dowelltown man, trying to outrun a state trooper in a December 2012 pursuit, was sentenced in DeKalb County Criminal Court on Friday, February 21 after pleading guilty to attempted initiation of a process to manufacture methamphetamine and tampering with evidence.
34 year old Jessie Comer Harris received a sentence of fifteen years to serve at 30% before his release eligibility date in the meth case and five years to serve at 30% on the tampering charge. The sentences are to run consecutively or back to back with each other for a total of twenty years but concurrently with a term he is already serving in another case. Other charges against him were nollied by the court. Harris was given jail credit of 421 days.
Harris was found with meth lab components after he ran his car off the Old Snow Hill Road and he began eating the marijuana he had on him trying to get rid of that evidence.
Trooper Dewaine Jennings of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that the incident started around 7:10 p.m. on Thursday, December 27, 2012 after he stopped Harris’ car for erratic driving, weaving, and suspicion of driving under the influence. ” I tried to stop a 2000 Dodge Neon on Highway 70 west just west of DeKalb Market,” said Trooper Jennings. “The car pulled over like any other traffic stop. I made a passenger side approach, opened the passenger door, and made eye contact with the driver. He pulls it down in drive and takes off at a high rate of speed, jerking the door out of my hand. At that point I ran back to my patrol car and gave pursuit to chase after him. We go Highway 70 west a short distance. He turned left over to the Old Snow Hill Road. I radioed DeKalb County and advised them that I was in pursuit down the Old Snow Hill Road. The sheriff was in the area along with Officer Jeremy Taylor. The sheriff set up at the end of old Snow Hill Road in the Dry Creek area. He (Harris) saw the blue lights I guess and figured something was up so he drove to the right off the roadway (at the foot of the hill) out into a field, crashed into a creek, and almost overturned the vehicle. At that point, he jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot. I chased him on foot through the creek and up into a wooded area around the creek where I found him laying down in the weeds and hiding. He was eating his marijuana, trying to get rid of the evidence. I went back and found a bag that he had pitched out in the creek that contained numerous items used to manufacture and process methamphetamine,” said Trooper Jennings.
Harris was not injured and refused treatment by EMS. He was arrested and taken to the jail for booking.

A city employee was injured in a two vehicle accident Thursday at the intersection of Broad Street and Congress Boulevard.
Sergeant Eric McCormick of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said 63 year old David Summers was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital.
According to Sergeant McCormick, Summers was driving west on Broad Street (Highway 70) in a 2000 Ford Ranger, the City of Smithville’s animal control vehicle, when another vehicle pulled in front of him at the intersection.
25 year old Sasha Avera, driving a 2007 GMC Acadia SUV was east on Broad Street making a left turn onto Congress Boulevard (Highway 56) when she pulled into the path of Summers’ vehicle. The truck struck the SUV in the right rear quarter panel and then hit a utility pole. There were apparently no animals aboard the truck at the time. Avera was not believed to have been hurt .
Meanwhile in a separate accident Thursday, authorities said Tony Corley was injured when the pickup truck he was in overturned in a curve on Dale Ridge Road (Highway 96). He was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital.

Smithville property rights voters may have to vote by paper ballot in the Municipal Election in August.
Smithville Aldermen Monday night adopted an ordinance on first reading to keep city property rights voters from possibly having to go to two places to vote in the Smithville Municipal Election which will be held in conjunction with the County General Elections and or State Primaries on Thursday, August 7.
The aldermen adopted a similar measure for the city liquor referendum in November 2012, but that was just for the one ballot issue.
Under the ordinance, city property rights voters may only vote by absentee or paper ballot in the city election. They would still be free to vote in person at their own precinct or during early voting for other offices on the county general or state primary ballots.
Without such an ordinance, the city’s property rights voters would likely have to go to two places to vote on election day in August. They would vote at their regular precinct by machine in the county wide election and state primaries, and then would have to come to one of the four precincts in Smithville to vote just in the city election. This process only applies to property rights voters, those who live outside the city in DeKalb County but who have property inside the city and are qualified to vote in a city election.
Last summer, the aldermen ratified a new city charter, as approved by the Tennessee Legislature that changes the city election dates from June to August and makes the terms of office for the mayor and aldermen, four years instead of two.
The new charter also extends voting rights to county residents that own commercial property in the city (two persons per deed) and allows property rights voting for county residents who own at least 3,500 square feet of property in the city.
The ordinance, adopted on first reading Monday night states, “Whereas, the City of Smithville allows individuals who are non-resident property owners the right to vote in City elections; and
Whereas, T.C.A. 2-6-205, establishes a procedure permitting those non-resident property owners to vote by absentee ballot if an ordinance is passed within the requirements set out in said statute:
Now, Therefore, be it ordained by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, that
Section 1. By passing this ordinance it does hereby require that those non-resident property owners voting in the municipal election, Thursday August 7, 2014 shall be required to vote absentee for said election.
Section 2. This ordinance shall be effective only for the August 7, 2014 ballot for the City of Smithville.
Section 3. The DeKalb County Election Commission shall notify the non-resident property owners as set out in T.C.A. 2-6-205 of the requirements of this ordinance.
Second and final reading of the ordinance will be scheduled on Monday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m. at city hall.

Four young DeKalb County musicians participated in the 11th Annual East Tennessee Young Musicians Bluegrass Contest held on February 22, 2014 in Rogersville, Tennessee. Jake Ramsey came home with first place in the 12-and-under Guitar competition, and Summer Morse brought home second place in the 7-and-under Fiddle category. Jake also won third place in both the Vocals and the Mandolin competitions. Evan Morse and Darrah Ramsey enjoyed participating in the Vocals, Fiddle, and Mandolin categories. Congratulations to these fine young musicians! We look forward to seeing them on the Jamboree stage this summer!
Photo: (Left to Right) Evan Morse, Jake Ramsey, Summer Morse, Darrah Ramsey

A Monday afternoon fire destroyed a residence at 1993 Jacobs Pillar Road.
David Agee, Assistant DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Chief, told WJLE the home belonged to Jimmy Womack but that Shane Downy was renting it. No one was at home when the firefighters arrived.
It was reported to 911 at 4:21 p.m.
Members of the County Fire Department including the Keltonburg, Blue Springs, and Short Mountain Highway stations, along with the Tanker Truck unit spent several hours trying to extinguish the fire, which gutted the structure. The cause is undetermined. The fire is believed to have started in the living room and spread up the wall into the attic. Some of the families pets perished in the fire.
There were apparently no injuries.
Meanwhile, another fire last Thursday destroyed about half of a camper trailer at 188 Page Drive.
Captain Anthony Boyd told WJLE that the camper trailer belonged to Mark Cantrell but that Lisa Brown lived there. The blaze apparently started as a grass fire and spread to the camper trailer.

Members of the Midway, Short Mountain Highway, Cookeville Highway, and Brush truck responded. No one was injured.

An eleven year old boy who abandoned the four wheeler he was riding before disappearing into the woods in the Blue Springs area early Saturday morning was found unharmed a few hours later.
The boy took off on a four wheeler from his home on Big Woods Road around 6:45 a.m., according to Sheriff Patrick Ray. The child’s parents heard the ATV start up and went to check. When they saw the boy ride away, the parents gave chase on foot but couldn’t catch him. They reported the incident to the Sheriff’s Department.
The ATV was later found abandoned at the corner of a bean field. The engine was still running. The boy had apparently jumped off the four wheeler and run into the woods.
The Sheriff’s Department then called out members of the Smithville-DeKalb County Rescue Squad to help look for the child.
Joe Johnson told WJLE that he and about fourteen other members of the Rescue Squad conducted a search both by four wheel drive vehicles and on foot. A local pilot also joined the search by air in his Gyrocopter. Sheriff Ray said plans were also to call in a THP helicopter with a fleer heat sensing device but it was not needed.
The boy emerged from the woods around 11:30 a.m. and was spotted by his father walking along Herman Road, according to Sheriff Ray. The child reportedly had on a jogging suit but was not wearing a jacket. He was examined and then taken to the Sheriff’s Department, where a call was placed to Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook, II. Upon orders of the judge, the boy was taken to a juvenile detention facility in Rutherford County.

Local UT Extension Agent April Martin recently earned a Ph.D in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
In an interview with WJLE, Dr. Martin said it’s an accomplishment in her life she has been looking forward to for a long time. ” I finished my Ph.D in December in Business Administration at UT. It really is an honor and a huge accomplishment in my life. It’s a lifelong goal. I started working on my Ph.D almost twelve years ago and with a full time job working with the UT Extension Service and having a family, it took a little bit longer for me than it might have for the average person but I made it and I am proud of it,” she said.
An East Tennessee native, Dr. Martin began her career with the UT Extension Service in Smith County after graduating from Berea College in Kentucky. She transferred to DeKalb County in 2006. “I grew up in East Tennessee in Claiborne County in Tazewell, Tennessee. Its right above Knoxville. I went to school there and when I graduated high school I attended Berea College, which is near Lexington, Kentucky. Soon after I graduated there, I started my career with the University of Tennessee Extension Service in Smith County. I was there for thirteen years until 2006 when I transferred to DeKalb County and became the Extension Family Consumer Science and 4-H Agent. I really enjoy serving the people of DeKalb County,” she said.
April is married to Gilbert Martin, an employee of DeKalb Farmer’s Coop and they have two children, Lily, a fifth grader at DeKalb West School and Wyatt, a freshman at DCHS.
Dr. Martin hopes that her ability to further her education will inspire others. “To anybody who thinks they can’t do something like this I can tell you that I wasn’t the most talented person. I certainly was not academically gifted growing up as a child. I was a B average and sometimes a C average student. But the number one secret to going forth and getting your education is determination, persistence, and hard work. If you’ve got that you can do anything,” she said.