A 54 year old man has been charged with aggravated assault for allegedly hitting his ex-girlfriend with a stick.
54 year old Joel Thomas George, Sr. of Eagle Creek Road is under a $5,000 bond and his court date is June 8.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Saturday, May 20 a deputy was dispatched to George’s residence on Eagle Creek Road due to a 911 open line where people could be heard over the phone yelling in the background. Upon arrival the officer spoke with George and his ex-girlfriend and learned that they had been in an altercation. The woman told the deputy that the two of them began arguing after she arrived to pick up her belongings. As she was gathering her things George allegedly picked up a stick from the bedroom and used it to hit her phone which was on a table, striking her hand in the process. George also allegedly used the stick to hit her in the back of the head as she was leaving the home causing her bodily harm.

Fifth graders at DeKalb West School received certificates during the annual D.A.R.E. graduation ceremony held Tuesday.
The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program was conducted by D.A.R.E. Instructor and Chief Deputy Don Adamson of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Each student prepares an essay during the course and those with the best essays from each class are recognized and awarded. This year’s essay winners at DeKalb West School are Alex Antoniak from Jeanna Caplinger’s class and Tess Barton from Nadina Martel’s class.
Barton was the over-all winner. In addition to the award, prizes, and recognition, Barton gets to keep “Daren the Lion” the D.A.R.E. Mascot and she received a $50 check from Judge Bratten Cook II. Tish Summers made the presentation in Judge Cook’s absence.
In addition to Sheriff Patrick Ray and Chief Deputy Adamson, others on hand for the ceremony were DeKalb West School Principal Sabrina Farler, School Attendance Supervisor Joey Reeder, Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack, Register of Deeds Jeff McMillen, Trustee Sean Driver, County Clerk James L. (Jimmy) Poss, Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, Road Supervisor Butch Agee, employees of the Sheriff’s Department, and a real life DAREN THE LION.
Fifth graders in Jeanna Caplinger’s class are:
Alex Antoniak, Cadon Barrett, Graceson Boyd, Alyssa Crook, Ethan Curtis, Nickolas Dandurand, Marshall Farler, Will Farris, Presley Finocchiaro, Riley Fuson, Blair Gipe, Jaxon Humphrey, Austin Nicholson, Allena O’Conner, Kayleigh Overstreet, Xavier Parker, Serenity Patterson, Hannah Redmon, Bristol Redmon, Austin Sardessai, Brooklyn Sutherland, Karly Vickers, and Hasten Waggoner.
Fifth graders in Nadina Martel’s class are:
Tess Barton, Trey Beilfuss, Hunter Cannon, Brayden Carter, Gavin Cooper, Angelina Davenport, Carson Donnell, Brynn Harvey, Zoi Hale, Ella Hendrixson, Shauna Kempf, Weslie McCowan, Melanie Ortiz, Maressa Rose, Brayden Saliski, Kolton Slager, Karson Smallwood, Ashley Sosa, Shelby Starnes, Jackson Vantrease, Hanniah West, and Ally Tarpley.

Three of DeKalb’s four municipalities may soon be paying their share of the cost of property reappraisals, an expense that the county could have charged for 28 years.
Although DeKalb County has never enforced it, a state law was passed in 1989 requiring municipalities that collect a city property tax to share in the county’s costs of real property reappraisals and audits of personal property, unless an agreement is reached to waive the charge.
Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell recently learned of the state law during a meeting of assessors and made County Mayor Tim Stribling aware of it. Cantrell also shared what he learned with members of the county budget committee, the city mayors, and the entire county commission at Stribling’s request.
It appears the county may now be prepared to require the cities to pay. The county commission discussed the issue but took no action during Monday night’s monthly meeting (May 22). However the county budget committee has recommended that projected revenue to be derived from the cities share be included in the 2017-18 budget which will be up for passage by the county commission later this summer.
“I was in a workshop at an assessors meeting in Cookeville when this subject came up. A question came up as to how many counties were doing it (charging cities). Several hands went up that were (doing it) and several hands didn’t go up. There were several new assessors there like myself. I didn’t have the answer. I didn’t know if we were doing it or not. Through the process of talking to the assessors and others, I was told it was my responsibility to gather this information and to present it to the county financial officer for the county. In our case it is our county mayor’s office. That is what I did. I gathered this information and presented it to Tim (Stribling). He wanted me to talk to the budget committee, which I did. I tried to explain it to them and then I met with the city mayors and tried to explain it to them. I did it as a favor to Tim to explain it the best I could,” Cantrell said in addressing the county commission Thursday night in an all-committees meeting.
“The law has been on the books for a lot of years. I guess its been lost through the cracks and wasn’t recognized that we should be doing it. This law was put in place because of the things the assessor’s office does that the cities are not having to such as the appeal work, the reviewing process, the adding of new construction, the taking away of blown down barns, burned houses, etc.,” the Assessor said. “All of that burden is on the assessor’s office. This law helps in having the cities pay a portion of that cost.”
Under state law, local costs of reappraisal of real properties within a city shall be paid one half by the county and one half by the city, unless there is an agreement between the city and county to waive the fees. Any city paying one half of local costs of reappraisal shall pay those costs directly to the county government with jurisdiction over the property being reappraised and shall pay those costs during the fiscal year in which the reappraisal is finalized. The cities of Smithville, Alexandria, and Liberty would be affected since they collect city property taxes. Dowelltown does not have a city property tax rate and would not be affected.
State law also requires cities to be responsible for sharing in the county’s costs of contracted personal property audits.
“We have a contract with Tax Management through the assessor’s office to do our audits. It is state mandated that you audit a certain percentage of personal property or businesses per year,” Cantrell said. “We don’t have the staff or experience to go in an audit Walker (Manufacturing) for example. We have to hire somebody to do that. That is common practice. We contracted with them in 2016 for $6400 to do our audits that have to be done. It’s the law that the cities pay a percentage of the audit costs and it is collected yearly.”
Based on 2016 numbers, Smithville’s portion would be $14,718 for real property parcels and $1,514 for its share of personal property auditing. Liberty’s costs would be $1,295 ( real property parcels) and $6.00 (personal property auditing). Alexandria’s share would be $2,814 (real property parcels) and $20.00 (personal property auditing).
“It looks like a big number for the City of Smithville and it is a big number but there is no way you (city) could hire an employee to go out and do the reviews, pick up new construction, personal property, the appeals, and all those things that go along with it for that money ($16,232). If you look at it from that perspective it’s a bargain,” said Cantrell.
According to Cantrell, the state has a formula the county must follow for calculating the cities’ share of real property reappraisals.
“Its pretty simple. You take the assessor’s budget and subtract what you pay out in audits ($6,400 for 2016) which leaves you with $199,565. Divide that number by the amount of real parcels for the entire county (18,682). That gives you $10.69 per parcel. Divide that in half and it comes to $5.35 per parcel for which the cities are responsible. The cities become accountable for their parcel count multiplied by the $5.35,” said Cantrell.
The cities’ reappraisal costs sharing based on 2016 numbers are as follows:
•City of Smithville: 2,751 Real Property Parcels multiplied by $5.35 per parcel equals $14,718
•City of Liberty: 242 Real Property Parcels multiplied by $5.35 per parcel equals $1,295
•City of Alexandria: 526 Real Property Parcels multiplied by $5.35 per parcel equals $2,814
Under state law, cities have the option of paying the real property reappraisal costs on a yearly basis or in a lump sum in the fifth year of the reappraisal cycle. “We’re on a five year cycle and the fifth year is when we finalize. Most people think reappraisal happens once every five years but the reality of it is we are in reappraisal the entirety of the five years. We just finalize it in the fifth year,” Cantrell continued.

A week dedicated to celebrating emergency service workers is being recognized in DeKalb County.
The community relies on emergency workers to rush to the rescue, no matter what the circumstance.
County Mayor Tim Stribling signed a proclamation Monday designating May 21-27 as Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week in DeKalb County. EMS Director Hoyte Hale and Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss joined County Mayor Stribling for the occasion.
The proclamation is as follows:
“Whereas, Emergency Medical Services is a vital public service; and
Whereas, the members of Emergency Medical Teams are ready to provide lifesaving care to those in need 24 hours a day, seven days a week; and
Whereas, access to quality Emergency Care dramatically improves the survival and recovery rate of those who experience sudden illness or injury; and
Whereas, the Emergency Medical Services system consists of emergency physicians, emergency nurses, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, firefighters, educators, administrators, and others; and
Whereas, the members of Emergency Medical Services teams, whether career or volunteer, engage in thousands of hours of specialized training and continuing education to enhance their lifesaving skills; and
Whereas, it is appropriate to recognize the value and the accomplishments of Emergency Medical Services providers by designating Emergency Medical Services Week;
Now, Therefore, I Tim Stribling, County Mayor, DeKalb County, Tennessee, in recognition of this event do hereby proclaim the week of May 21-27, 2017 as Emergency Medical Services Week.
With the theme, EMS: EVERY CALL COUNTS, I encourage the community to observe this week with the appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities”.
Members of the DeKalb EMS Staff in addition to Director Hoyte Hale are:
A-SHIFT
Donna Melton-AEMT
Jonathan Rudd-EMT-P
Greta Stone-EMT-PCC/IC
Allen Mason-EMT-P
B-SHIFT
Kim Johnson-EMT-P
Joey Criddle-EMT-P
David Pitts-EMT-P
Misty Green-AEMT
C-SHIFT
Trent Phipps-EMT-P
Daniel Summers-EMT-P
Tim Briggs- EMT-P
Matt Melton-AEMT
DAY TRUCK:
Jamie Parsley-AEMT
Tyler Stone- AEMT
Part Time Staff:
Cody Johnson-EMT-P
Charles Nokes-EMT-P
Jeff Cole-EMT-PCC
Stephanie Brown-EMT-P
John Hurd-EMT-P
Greg Moore-EMT-P
Bryan Locke-EMT-PCC
Michael Hollandsworth-AEMT
Becky Atnip-AEMT
Lonnie Laxton-AEMT
Wesley Slager-AEMT
Jennifer Phillips-AEMT
Jimmy Savage-AEMT
Rebecca Partridge-AEMT
Kevin Cripps-AEMT
Edward Brooks-AEMT
Daniel Webb-EMT-P
Houston Austin-EMT-PCC
Marie Turpin-EMT-PCC
Kristie Johnson-EMT-PCC/IC
Tyler Grandstaff-EMT-PCC
Jamie Vernon-EMT-P
John Poss-AEMT
Jason Rice-AEMT
Tyler Downs-AEMT
April Jakes-AEMT

Bailey Redmon, a senior at DeKalb County High School, doesn’t yet have her high school diploma, but she is already a college graduate having earned an Associate degree in History from Motlow State Community College.
“I walked the line at Motlow this month,” Redmon told WJLE. She will be walking the high school graduation line this Friday night.
Through Motlow College’s dual enrollment program , high school students like Redmon can earn college credits while still enrolled in high school. Students can take classes on a Motlow College campus, online, or even at a partner high school.
Students who have completed their sophomore year and have met all requirements for taking the desired college courses may apply. Public, private and home-schooled students are all welcome to apply. The program gives students the chance to seamlessly transition from high school to college. The core curriculum credits transfer easily to Tennessee’s public colleges and universities while allowing students who are working on a four-year degree to save money on tuition.
“I started working toward my Associate degree in my sophomore year. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice. I missed a lot of my brother’s baseball and football games but I had a goal and went for it. After high school graduation, I plan to attend MTSU to start my junior classes. I want to get my Bachelor’s degree and then go on to get my Masters degree and PhD from some other university,” said Redmon.
Her career goal is to become a college History professor.
Meanwhile other Motlow students at DCHS who have already earned 12 hours of college credit through dual enrollment (equivalent to one semester of college work) include Alexis Bates, Rebekah Brandt, Kaylee Braswell, Madison Butler, Kayley Caplinger, Callie Cripps, Chloe Cripps, Maddie Dickens, Rachel Fuson, Luke Green, Maegan Harris, Sahara Lafever, Caitlyn Lawrence, Olivia Grace Odom, Hanah Panter, Rosa Payne, Skylar Pease, Allison Rogers, Alexis Roller, Jacob Self, Paige Snyder, Taylor Spare, Caitlin Spry, Casey Vickers, and Susan Webb.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has nabbed another fugitive from justice.
(CLICK LINK BELOW TO VIEW MUG SHOTS OF PERSONS RECENTLY BOOKED AT THE DEKALB COUNTY JAIL- Intakes & Releases From: 5/15/2017 Thru: 5/022/2017)
Seagate Crystal Reports – REPOR_24.pdf (2.35 MB)
32 year old Michael Frederick Teachout of Students Home Road, Smithville is under a $75,000 bond and he will be in court June 8.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Friday, May 19 a deputy was dispatched to a residence on Students Home Road due to a wanted person complaint.
Upon arrival the officer found Teachout there. A computer check through central dispatch revealed that Teachout was wanted in Dade County, Georgia for possession of cocaine, marijuana, and possession and use of drug related objects

DeKalb Road Supervisor Butch Agee has announced that a portion of Bright Hill Road between Dearman Street and Hooper Road will be closed Tuesday and possibly through Wednesday evening for a tile replacement project. Motorists who normally travel that road should take an alternate route to your destination. The work is to begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 23.

A Smithville man was airlifted after a motorcycle crash Sunday evening on Blue Springs Road.
Trooper Jason Cobble of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 34 year old Jeremy Loader was traveling east on Blue Springs Road heading toward Highway 56 on a Yamaha motorcycle when he lost control and crashed.
Loader was taken by DeKalb EMS to a helicopter landing zone set up in a field near the crash scene. He was airlifted by Life Force.
Members of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department were also on site.

Scholarships and other awards will be presented to members of the Class of 2017 at DeKalb County High School during the annual Senior Awards program Monday night, May 22 at 6:00 p.m. in the DCHS gymnasium.
WJLE will broadcast LIVE on AM 1480, FM 101.7 and LIVE streaming at www.wjle.com
Representatives of colleges, universities, branches of the armed services, businesses, civic groups, and other organizations will make the presentations.
Meanwhile, graduation for the DCHS Class of 2017 will be Friday, May 26 at 7:00 p.m. on the high school football field.
(Click link below to view DCHS Class of 2017 Senior Formals)
http://wjle.com/graduation/2017/page1

The Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce presented a Community Spotlight Award to Mr. Mark Harrell.
After 45 years of service, Mr. Mark Harrell will be retiring from Hardee’s Corporation. Mark started his career in 1972 and worked his way up to Regional Ref Manager then General Manager. He has been responsible for opening new Hardee’s stores in Gallatin, Lafayette, and Sparta. He also worked with stores in Monterey, Livingston, and Smithville.
For 12 years, Mark has been serving as General Manager at the Smithville Hardee’s. During his stay in Smithville, he has made many friends and become a part of many people’s lives. Mark says he has loved his customers and the Hardee’s crew became part of his family.
Mark will be missed by many and as the Chamber Community Spotlight Award says, “Thank You, Mark, for Your Many Years of Great Customer Service, Dedication, and Hard Work. You have been an Important Part of Our Community!”