The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has been investigating a rash of recent theft and vandalism cases and some arrests have been made, with more to come.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says 19 year old Dewey Jackson Forshee III of Hillbilly Lane, Smithville was arrested Saturday in a vandalism case which occurred on October 20th 2008. Through an investigation, detectives learned that Forshee and a male Juvenile went to a farm on Cookeville Highway and entered a barn. While inside, the two vandalized a pickup truck by cutting the tires and keying obscene gestures into the paint. The two also cut the tires on a tractor and a trailer and stole an all terrain vehicle out of the barn and rode it around on the farm. Before they left, the two set fire to a round bale of hay. Forshee was charged with burglary, vandalism, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His bond is $11,000 and he will appear in court on March 12th. Detectives will also seek petitions on the juvenile.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Sheriff Ray says detectives arrested 21 year old Troy Lee Cunningham Jr. and 19 year old Amanda Brook England, both of A.B. Frazier Road Smithville, and charged them with theft of property under $500 after they were found in possession of a marine radio that was stolen. Bond for Cunningham and England is set at $25,000 each and they will appear in court on March 12th.
According to Sheriff Ray, the case unfolded after detectives received reports of theft and vandalism cases at Four Seasons Marina. The officers gathered evidence at the crime scene and picked up Cunningham, England, and two juveniles for questioning. At press time Monday, Sheriff’s Department detectives were still gathering information that will link some or all of the suspects and others to many of the vandalism and theft cases in the City of Smithville and at multiple marinas, businesses, nurseries, and smash and grabs in different areas of the county. More arrests are pending.
Sheriff Ray says if you have traded or bought radio equipment such as car or marine amplifiers, car or marine radios, fishing equipment, ski equipment, Global Positioning Devices (GPS), and or guns, to please call the Sheriff’s Department and let detectives look at the items to make sure they are not stolen. Most stolen items have serial numbers that have been or will be entered as stolen into the NCIC system so if the serial numbers are run through the database, they will come back stolen.
Meanwhile in other cases, 25 year old Gregory Dean Schlenker of Circle Drive, Dowelltown was stopped last Monday on Highway 70 West after deputies received a call that he was intoxicated. After stopping Schlenker, the officers noticed he had an odor of alcohol on his person and he was unsteady on his feet. Schlenker submitted to field sobriety tasks and failed them. He was arrested and transported to the DeKalb County Jail where he was booked for driving under the influence. His bond was set at $1,000 and he will appear in court on March 19th.
Deputies arrested 24 year old Kevin James Tate of Rocky River Road, Spencer last Tuesday after a vehicle in which he was a passenger was stopped on Short Mountain Highway. Deputies received consent to search the vehicle and patted down Tate for weapons. The officers found a plastic bag containing a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana. Tate was arrested and charged with simple possession of marijuana. His bond was set at $1,000 and he will appear in court on March 19th.
Also last Tuesday, deputies stopped 41 year old Napoleon Wainwright of Dunlap Lane, Woodbury for violation of registration and driving on the wrong side of the roadway. The officers noticed a strong odor of alcohol on Wainwright’s person. He was also unsteady on his feet. Wainwright submitted to field sobriety tasks and failed them. He was placed under arrest for driving under the influence and he was issued a citation for violation of the implied consent law because he refused to take a blood test. Wainwright’s bond was set at $1,000 and he will appear in court on March 19th.
Three people were arrested Sunday after a traffic stop. Sheriff Ray says deputies stopped a vehicle on West Broad Street in Smithville for a traffic violation. Upon receiving consent to search, officers found a cigarette pack containing pills believed to be hydrocodone in one of the rear door handles that was within reach of small children under the age of five who were passengers in the vehicle. The driver, 29 year old Jeremy Edward Woodard of Page Drive Smithville was charged with simple possession, driving on a revoked license, and reckless endangerment. Two passengers, 27 year old Gary Thomas Woodard and 20 year old Tonya Lynn Goodall, also of Page Drive, were charged with reckless endangerment. Jeremy Woodard’s bond was set at $5,500 and bond for Gary Woodard and Tonya Goodall was set at $2,500 each. All three will appear in court on March 19th..
31 year old Wesley Lynn Chandler of Page Drive Smithville was also arrested recently after he was involved in a two car motor vehicle accident on Old Sparta Highway. After the accident, Chandler left the scene but was picked up within minutes by a deputy at Chandler’s home. Chandler had an odor of alcohol on his person and he was unsteady on his feet. He submitted to field sobriety tasks which he failed. After entering the booking area of the Jail, Chandler was found to have a hydrocodone pill hidden in a key chain in his pocket. Chandler was charged with driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an accident, and introduction of drugs into a penal institution. Chandler’s bond was set at $8,000 and he will appear in court on March 19th.

John Isabell, social studies teacher at DCHS, has been selected to present at the National Council for History Education conference in Boston on March 12-14.
For the past two years, Isabell has been a participant in the TEACH grant program through Vol State Community College, which will pay his expenses.
Isabell’s proposal is based on his research on 1930’s social and labor activist Myles Horton and the Highlander Folk School. Horton, from Monteagle, Tennessee, and his Highlander Folk School were key components to the success of the civil rights movement, according to Isabell.

Members of the DeKalb County Board of Education joined school board members from across the state in Nashville on Tuesday, February 24th for a day of legislative networking at TSBA’s annual “Day on the Hill” event. This year, featured program speakers included Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, House Speaker Kent Williams, Senate Education Committee Chair Dolores Gresham, and House Education Committee Chair Harry Brooks.
“Day on the Hill” is designed for school board members and superintendents to study pending education legislation and discuss priorities with local legislators. The event began with a breakfast at the Downtown Sheraton Hotel and was followed by visits to legislators’ offices and committee hearings.
Kenny Rhody, Third District School Board member, said in a prepared statement that ” As your Tennessee Legislative Representative, I along with Charles Robinson, Chairman of the DeKalb County School Board, and Mark Willoughby, Director of Schools, had the pleasure to represent DeKalb County Schools, at the annual Day on the Hill sponsored by the Tennessee School Board Association, where your school board members and directors are turned loose on Capitol Hill to meet with and discuss issues that affect the needs of the children of DeKalb County. We had the chance to sit down with Representative Terri Lynn Weaver, Senator Mae Beavers and other dignitaries that affect our concerns. The issues this year that will affect us most are the stimulus package that is now law and will help our education system statewide.”
“Day on the Hill provides a terrific opportunity for school board members throughout the state to
promote public education and seek assistance from the General Assembly with one collective voice,” said David Pickler, TSBA President and Shelby County school board chairman. “We look forward to partnering with the General Assembly to continue to improve the quality of our schools in Tennessee and showcase the many successes of public education in our state.”
In addition to the elected vs. appointed superintendent issue, TSBA hopes the General Assembly will have a serious discussion of Tennessee’s system of funding public education at the local level.
2007’s adoption of the Basic Education Program (BEP) 2.0, provided much-needed revenue to school systems and a substantial step toward more appropriate funding for education in the state; however, several local governments used the increase to reduce local effort to public education. At a minimum, TSBA believes local governments should have to provide an inflationary adjustment to schools each year to recognize natural increases in education costs. In addition, TSBA would like to see school boards have more fiscal autonomy in school budgeting. Tennessee is one of only 11 states in the country where boards of education have no ability to raise revenue for schools.
“Boards of education have embraced accountability, but accountability without the authority to address funding to meet the very performance standards that have been mandated is, in our opinion, unreasonable,” said Smith.
Smith added that the association will continue to urge legislators to recognize the importance of local management of schools and resist attempts to remove local flexibility. “There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution in public education,” said Smith. “All of our priorities are designed to give school boards the flexibility, authority and tools they need to do the best jobs for their individual students and communities, all of which have their own unique strengths and challenges.”
The Tennessee School Boards Association, a statewide, nonprofit organization, is a federation of the state’s local school boards. It serves as an advocate for the interests of Tennessee’s public school students and school districts.

Five people have qualified to run for alderman in the Smithville Municipal Election so far.
The latest person to get in the race is Incumbent Alderman Jerry Hutchins, Sr. Others who have qualified include Incumbent Alderman Willie Thomas, former Alderman W.J. (Dub) White, former Alderman Aaron Meeks and Gary Durham.
Three other persons have also picked up qualifying petitions but have not yet returned them including Incumbent Alderman Tonya Sullivan, Shawn Jacobs, and Danny Washer
Lisa Peterson, Administrator of Elections, says candidates have until NOON on Thursday, March 19th to qualify. The deadline to register to vote in time for the election is May 18th.
Three Aldermen will be elected on Tuesday, June 16th. The positions are currently held by Jerry Hutchins, Sr., Tonya Sullivan, and Willie Thomas. Each term is for two years.

The operator of a City of Smithville garbage truck was involved in a wreck with a Dodge Durango around 11:40 a.m. Friday morning on Highway 70 east near Sligo bridge.
Trooper Dewaine Jennings of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says 57 year old Ronnie Walker of Smithville, a city employee, was operating a 1999 freightliner garbage truck going west on Highway 70. Another city employee, 39 year old Jerry Rackley of Smithville, was a passenger in the truck. The two were apparently returning from the landfill where they had dumped a load of garbage.
Meanwhile, 33 year old Allison Long of Sparta was going east on Highway 70 in a 2007 Dodge Durango.
According to Trooper Jennings, Long claims as she was negotiating the curve coming down the hill, she saw the garbage truck in her lane. As she applied her brakes, the Durango slid on the rain slick highway and struck the side of the truck at an angle in the westbound lane. Long’s vehicle came to a final rest in the ditchline facing a rock wall. The truck continued west for a few feet and also went off the road in the ditchline and struck the rock wall.
Walker and Rackley were taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital. Long was to have gone to the Cookeville hospital by a private vehicle.
Neither of them were believed to have been seriously injured.
Trooper Jennings says Walker was cited for failure to exercise care.

The DeKalb Middle School basketball program held its basketball banquet, Thursday night, at the Smithville First United Methodist Church Christian Fellowship Center.
Eighth grade guard, Cody Puckett, was named the Most Valuable Player for the Saints, this past season, while eighth graders, Chelsea Lewis and Lydia Foutch, shared Co-MVP honors for the Lady Saints. Emily Webb, meanwhile, was named Most Valuable Cheerleader.
In addition to the MVP award, Puckett – who averaged 15.2 points per game for the Saints, this season – was also named Best Offensive Player, and was recognized with a trophy for earning All-Tournament honors at the James C. Haile State Invitational Tournament. Puckett started all but one game in his three-year career at DMS.
Other Saints awards were as follows:
Hardest Worker – Kalab Ferrell
Most Improved – Eli Lomas
Team Player – Alex Hall
Hustle Award – Dillan Reeder
Best Sixth Man – Braxton Howell & Lucas Phillips
Best Passer/Ball-Handler – Evan Curtis & Stephen Howell
Best Rebounder – Braxton Howell
Best Defensive Player – Hunter Graham
For the Lady Saints, Lewis also earned the awards for Best Defensive Player and Most Assists, while Foutch was named Best Rebounder and took the award for Most Steals.
Other Lady Saints awards were as follows:
Best Passer – Abbey Caldwell
Best Sixth Man – Loren Cripps
Most Improved & Coaches Award – Veronica Ingram
Best Offensive Player & Free Throw Shooter – Cori Jennings
Jennings also earned a trophy for making the All-Tournament team at the James C. Haile State Invitational Tournament.
Other Cheerleading awards were as follows:
Most Improved – Mariah Jones
Most Spirit – Callie Gash
Coaches Award (the D.E.A.R. award) – Ashley Medlin
Each individual player, cheeleader and manager were also recognized with a certificate of participation during Thursday night’s banquet. Awards were presented by DMS coaches, Josh Agee and Joey Agee.
(Pictured: Front Row-left to right, Lydia Foutch (Lady Saints Co-MVP), Chelsea Lewis (Lady Saints Co-MVP), Emily Webb (Most Valuable Cheerleader). Back Row- left to right, Saints Coach Joey Agee, Cody Puckett (Saints MVP), and Saints Coach Josh Agee)

A Smithville woman and another person have been charged with the armed robbery of a Discount Tobacco Outlet in Manchester.
The Manchester Times reports that 25 year old Tiffany Gora of Smithville and 39 year old Donald Taylor of Manchester are charged in the case. Bond for each is $50,000 bond and they will be in Coffee County General Sessions Court March 4th.
According to the report, Gora allegedly went into the store around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday armed with a handgun and demanded money from the clerk. Gora, who was dressed in camouflage, left the store with an undisclosed amount of cash. But on her way out, she dropped the gun, before getting into a waiting Ford F-150 pickup truck, driven by Taylor, and leaving the scene.
They were spotted Thursday morning and taken into custody by Manchester Police and officers of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department
Police say Gora used a BB gun during the robbery and, according to an investigator, the two admitted to committing the crime to get money to buy drugs to further their habit.

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that taxpayers who qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit and purchase a home this year before Dec. 1 have a special option available for claiming the tax credit either on their 2008 tax returns due April 15 or on their 2009 tax returns next year.
Qualifying taxpayers who buy a home this year before Dec. 1 can get up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married filing separately.
“For first-time homebuyers this year, this special feature can put money in their pockets right now rather than waiting another year to claim the tax credit, “ said IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. “This important change gives qualifying homebuyers cash they do not have to pay back.”
The IRS has posted a revised version of Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit on IRS.gov. The revised form incorporates provisions from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The instructions to the revised Form 5405 provide additional information on who can and cannot claim the credit, income limitations, and repayment of the credit.
This year, qualifying taxpayers who buy a home before Dec. 1, 2009, can claim the credit on either their 2008 or 2009 tax returns. They do not have to repay the credit, provided the home remains their main home for 36 months after the purchase date. They can claim 10 percent of the purchase price up to $8,000, or $4,000 for married individuals filing separately.
The amount of the credit begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, $150,000 for joint filers.
For purposes of the credit, you are considered to be a first-time homebuyer if you and your spouse did not own any other main home during the three-year period ending on the date of purchase.
The IRS also alerted taxpayers that the new law does not affect people who purchased a home after April 8, 2008, and on or before December 31, 2008. For these taxpayers who are claiming the credit on their 2008 tax returns, the maximum credit remains 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $7,500, or $3,750 for married individuals filing separately. In addition, the credit for these 2008 purchases must be repaid in 15 equal installments over 15 years, beginning with the 2010 tax year.

WJLE has added a new service to our website.
The WJLE Audio Archives features recent recordings of some programs previously aired “LIVE” on WJLE and other recordings not aired LIVE
The Archives will include recent audio recordings of Smithville City Council, Alexandria City Council, DeKalb County Commission, and DeKalb County Board of Education meetings, among other programs of interest.
When you log on to the WJLE homepage, look for the “WJLE Audio Archives” link located down the column on the left side of the screen. Click the link and then select the program to which you wish to listen.

The Alexandria Mayor and Aldermen Tuesday night voted to adopt a new city charter, replacing the original which dates back to 1937.
The proposed new charter will be sent to the Tennessee General Assembly for passage. Once it has been approved there, the new charter will return to the Alexandria Mayor and Aldermen for passage again.
Mayor Ria Baker says many provisions of the old city charter are out of date and need to be changed to conform to state law.
One of the proposed changes, which had been under consideration but not mandatory, was to conduct the Alexandria city election in conjunction with the August General Election every two years, rather than in September.
City Attorney Vester Parsley, Jr. says the city could have saved a lot of money by making this change. However, after having some reservations, city leaders decided against the move and will leave the city elections as they are now. Having the city elections on even years rather than odd years, would have meant that the terms of the mayor and aldermen would have been altered at least once, in order to get them back on a four year cycle. “We talked about doing (city) elections to correspond with the county elections in August, but those (county) elections don’t run in odd years. (City elections are in odd years). I called the mayor and talked to her about that situation. We also talked to MTAS (Municipal Technical Advisory Service) about it and I felt like their solution wasn’t too acceptable because it meant either extending some people’s terms by a year or more or reducing them by a year or more”.
The Alexandria City Election is held every two years in September. The terms of the mayor and six aldermen stagger. A mayor and three aldermen are elected in one year and the other three aldermen are elected in the following election. Each term is for four years.
Parsley says passage of this new charter has been more than a year in the making. “We have worked on this charter for about a year now. You folks have to pass this charter and then it has to go to the legislature and they have to have three readings to pass it. Then it has to come back to you and ya’ll have to pass it by a two thirds vote and then we send it to the Secretary of State and then it becomes the charter of the City of Alexandria.”
“The City of Alexandria has had some amendments to their charter (over the years) but a lot of our original charter is still antiquated. The old charter had a provision for a marshal for the town and some other things that are no longer applicable. This (new charter) sets out better (provisions) for how the town should work and function. This (new charter) was recommended by MTAS. It’s not something that just came about by one person’s decision. MTAS has been talking to the city about this for a little more than a year. Provisions of the new charter clear up some things that we didn’t have in the original charter and it deletes some things, such as we won’t have language in the charter for a city marshal anymore. It does provide for bonds and things that werent in the original charter. Several are provisions that never have been there and it does repeal certain parts that are no longer necessary.”
(Click here to listen to Tuesday night’s Alexandria City Council Meeting in it’s entirety at http://www.wjle.com/node/6931)