The DeKalb County Firefighters Association has voted to endorse five of the nine candidates running for the 40th State Legislative seat being vacated by long-time representative, Frank Buck.
The Association announced Friday they would endorse Democratic candidates, Gayla Hendrix, Cleveland Derrick Bain, Steven Cantrell and Jeff Barrett, along with Republican, Terry Lynn Weaver. Those who did not receive the Firefighters’ endorsement were Democrats, Sarah Marie Smith and Carl (Hix) Jones, and Republican, Nicky Rittenberry.
The Firefighters Association sent each candidate a questionnaire to survey them about specific concerns about how volunteer firefighters could better be prepared to assist citizens, according to Association President, Shawn Puckett. Weaver, Hendrix, Bain, Cantrell and Barrett all completed and returned the survey.
“Having the opportunity to review these candidates’ answers and comments allowed our Association’s members to understand how these candidates feel about the volunteer fire service,” Puckett said, while also pointing out several of the candidates – including two not endorsed by the Association – recently attended a fire department fish fry, while three of the candidates worked in the food both at the Jamboree. “We would like to take this opportunity to thank the candidates that attended these events,” Puckett added.
Weaver, Hendrix, Sircy, Bain and Smith all attended the fish fry on May 31st, while Smith, Weaver and Bain all helped in the fire department food booth at the Jamboree. Weaver also attended a breakfast fundraiser at the Midway Fire Station.
The Association was established in 2002 with the purpose to foster and promote a better understanding among members, elected and appointed officials, and the public. The DeKalb County Firefighters Association has approximately 70 members.

The Smithville City Council will meet in regular session Monday night at City Hall, and will consider a mostly light agenda. The council will discuss the future of Smithville Golf Course and the Municipal Swimming Pool. Jimmy Lewis, the current tenant at the golf course and pool, recently notified the council that he plans to terminate his lease with the city, due to, as Lewis put it in his letter to the council, “trouble making a profit due to a number of reasons.” He added, “The most important concerns are the amount of the lease payments and the swimming pool.”
Lewis originally had the golf course and swimming pool leased until 2012 at a rate of $2,500 per month. Under an amended agreement, Lewis was granted an extension of his lease through 2017 at the same rate of $2,500 per month, with a five year renewal option as a consideration for his commitment ” to expend the sum of one hundred thousand dollars in order to dig a second well, to install a sprinkler system for the fairways, and to purchase golf carts”. The monthly rate could have been renegotiated in 2017.
Last December, Mayor Hendrixson vetoed a city council vote to amend last year’s budget and spend $215,000 to purchase and install a sprinkler system at the golf course. The aldermen failed to override the veto on a 3 to 2 vote.
The council will also discuss playground specs for the Smith Road Park, Monday night, and any other business properly brought before the council.
WJLE plans live coverage of Monday night’s City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Low-income households may be eligible to receive between $300 and $375 through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) toward their electric, wood, coal, natural gas, LP gas or kerosene costs, announced Phyllis Bennett, Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency Executive Director. UCHRA administers federally-funded LIHEAP in fourteen counties of the Upper Cumberland, including DeKalb County.
Applications will be available and households in DeKalb County may apply August 11th through August 22nd.
Applicants for LIHEAP assistance must be at or below 125 percent poverty level and must provide proof of all household income. Even individuals receiving benefit checks such as VA, SSI or Social Security will need to submit verification of their award amounts. Applicants must also submit a copy of an electric bill and/or a bill for propane gas, wood, coal, or kerosene purchases.
Sponsored by the Tennessee Department of Human Services, LIHEAP provides assistance regardless of age, race, creed, national origin, handicap, or sex. Minorities are encouraged to apply.
Interested individuals may apply at their local UCHRA office August 11th through August 22nd between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The local office is located at 527 West Main Street in Smithville. No client will be denied an opportunity to fill out an application; however, applications received after August 22nd will be placed on a waiting list in the event additional funds become available at a later date. Energy assistance awards are based on a priority point system and are not “first come, first serve”. Individuals requiring assistance with completing their applications may schedule appointments with agency personnel.

A woman was injured in a single-car accident, Wednesday morning, at 6121 McMinnville Highway.
DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green told WJLE that Mary Wright of Keltonburg Road, Smithville, was traveling northbound on Highway 56 in a Chevrolet Corsica, when her automobile left the roadway and struck a tree. Wright had to be extricated from the vehicle by members of the local volunteer fire department, and was taken from the scene by helicopter to Vanderbilt Hospital for treatment of her injuries, which included several broken bones and trauma.
Members of both the Keltonburg and Blue Springs Fire Departments rendered assistance on the scene, along with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, DeKalb EMS and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Meanwhile, a second traffic accident was reported on Allen’s Ferry Road, Wednesday morning, which caused a power outage in portions of Smithville. No further details about that accident are available at this time, but officials of Smithville Electric System were on the scene for a while after the clean up making repairs to a power pole.

Two people from Smithville were arrested in Cookeville, Saturday afternoon, on felony shoplifting charges. The Cookeville Herald Citizen reports that 60 year old Charlene Poss, and her daughter, 24 year old Terry Lynn Poss, both of Poss Road in Smithville were taken into custody by Cookeville police after they allegedly stuffed two large purses full of items from Kohl’s department store on West Jackson Street in Cookeville. The two allegedly removed the store tags from the items, which included clothing, jewelry and other items. The items removed from the store had a total estimated value of $1,139.
Cookeville Police officers Donna Revis and Jeremy Lintz were dispatched to the store to investigate, and the store security officer told the officers that he had confronted Terry Lynn Poss, while Charlene Poss was still in the store dressing room. According to the police report obtained by the Herald-Citizen, the daughter knocked on the dressing room door and told her mother to “come out, we’re in trouble.”
The security officer told the officers the two entered the store carrying large handbags that looked empty, and that because of that, they were observed by video while they shopped. The report stated the two women’s purses appeared flat and empty as they were observed going into the dressing rooms, but Terry Lynn Poss’ purse appeared full upon leaving the dressing room. At that point, the security officer stopped her and the investigation began.
When police officers conducted their in-store investigation, they found discarded store tags and found that even though the two women were allegedly trying to steal numerous items of clothing, each had several hundred dollars in cash.
Both women taken to a Putnam County jail, and will appear in General Sessions Court there on the charges, August 4th.

What appeared to be a routine traffic mishap on the Public Square, Tuesday morning, almost turned into a major disaster. However, quick action by Smithville Police Lieutenant Steven Leffew kept the incident from becoming much more serious than it was.
Chief Richard Jennings said it all started as a rather routine traffic accident on the north side of the Public Square, but ended up with Lieutenant Leffew stopping a runaway vehicle from possibly running into Regions Bank on the south side of the square. Chief Jennings said the original mishap occured when a tractor-trailer truck was stopped to apparently unload heavy construction equipment, which was being used to work on the former Lavelle Smith building on the north side of the square. 35-year-old Brad Driver of Smithville ran into the back of the trailer in his 2003 Mercury car. Driver was taken from the scene to DeKalb Community Hospital by DeKalb EMS for treatment.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Leffew had called for a wrecker to assist at the scene, but as the tractor-trailer driver was beginning to pull off, he started dragging the lodged vehicle. Leffew yelled for the truck driver to stop, and Driver’s vehicle dislodged and began rolling downhill around the square. Leffew tried to stop the vehicle but the doors were locked since the vehicle contains a device that automatically locks the doors once the vehicle is in gear.
The Mercury struck an SUV-type vehicle parked at Cantrell’s Jewelry and that vehicle then struck a parked Lincoln, which belonged to Imogene Cantrell. The Mercury continued on toward the south, heading straight toward Regions bank. Lieutenant Leffew got into his patrol car and pulled in front of the Mercury, causing him to absorb the hit, but his actions brought the vehicle to a halt before it reached the bank building.
“It (Driver’s Mercury) would have hit the bank building,” said Chief Jennings. “He (Leffew) did the right thing.”
No other injuries were reported at the scene.

Sheriff Patrick Ray of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department reported several recent arrests, on Monday.
Sheriff Ray said 18 year old Clinton Lane Cope of Midway Road was arrested on Wednesday, July 9th, on Highway 70 East at the Gentlemen’s Club after deputies were stopped by a security guard. The security guard advised deputies that a subject was trying to sneak into the club. Deputies found the subject to be Cope. Upon talking with Cope, they found him to be under the influence of alcohol, as they detected a strong odor of alcohol on his person, blood shot eyes and Cope was unsteady on his feet. Cope admitted to deputies that he had been drinking whiskey. While deputies were doing a pat down search of Cope, they found a small bag of a green leafy substance believed to be Marijuana. Cope was charged with Under Age Consumption and Simple Possession of Marijuana. Bond was set at $2,000.00 and Cope will appear in court on the charges on July 24th.
24 year old Jose Martinez Mendez of Colar Street in Tracy City, Tennessee, was arrested on Thursday, July 10th, after he was involved in a single auto accident on Highway 70 East. Mendez could not produce deputies a driver’s license, and after a computer check, there was no evidence of Mendez ever having a license. Mendez was arrested for no driver’s license and was written a citation for violation of the financial responsibility law (no car insurance). Bond was set at $1,000.00, and Mendez will appear in court on the charges on July 16th.
28 year old Felipe Pinon of Adcock Cemetery Road Smithville, was arrested on Thursday, July 10th, after being involved in an automobile accident on Vaughn Lane in Smithville. Pinon could not produce deputies a driver’s license and after a computer check, there was no evidence of Pinon ever having a license. Pinon was arrested for no driver’s license and was written a citation for violation of the financial responsibility law (no car insurance). Bond was set at $1,000.00, and Pinon will appear in court on July 16th.
Meanwhile, 42 year old Shannon Lynn Newby of Anthony Avenue, Smithville, and 30 year old Amy Janette Lawson of Haley Road, Smithville, were arrested on Thursday, July 10th, for theft of property over $500.00 and theft of property over $1,000.00. Newby and Lawson allegedly went to a home on Jacob’s Pillar Road on or about Monday, July 7th, and stole a 5×8 foot tilt utility trailer with a three-drawer tool box containing assorted tools. The trailer and tools were valued at $1,100.00. Then on Wednesday, July 9th, the two went to a residence located on Short Mountain Highway and stole a 5×11 foot utility trailer with a high tailgate valued at $900.00. Both trailers were taken and sold to another individual in DeKalb County. Detectives received a tip on the trailers and who stole them. Both trailers were recovered. Bond for both Newby and Lawson was set at $50,000.00 each, and both will appear in court on July 17th.

Lightning during several thunderstorms on Saturday kept local DeKalb County volunteer firefighters on the move, and a wreck added to the busy day.
Local county fire chief, Donnie Green, said local fire departments received four calls within a span of about 30 minutes on Saturday, all related to the storms that rumbled through the area. Green noted most of the alarms were caused by lightning, which set off several home alarms, but county fire officials did respond to a fire at an outbuilding at a Lakeside Drive residence in the Lakeside Mountain Estates Development. Green said lightning struck a nearby tree, and ran underground into the outbuilding causing the fire. The surge also ran into the home through electrical outlets and damaged several appliances, although no fire was reported in the home.
Green said the homeowners reside out of town, and use the residence primarily as a weekend home.
Before local fire officials were finished at the scene, another call came in directing firefighters to a single car accident in the Dry Creek community near Possum Hollow road. Trooper Mark Jones of the Tennessee Highway Patrol told WJLE that 49-year-old Martin Allen Arnold of Bluff Springs Road, McMinnville was driving a 1997 GMC Sierra pick-up, when his car ran off the left side of the road, went down a steep embankment and was trapped in some trees. Arnold was pinned in the vehicle and had to be extricated by DeKalb EMS. Jones said Arnold was coherent, but had to be life-flighted from the scene to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga with serious head and neck injuries.

The DeKalb County Fair in Alexandria will be held Monday through Saturday July 21st through July 26th.
The fair will feature at least two new events this year, the Tennessee Off-Road Challenge and Tennessee Top Model Audition for females ages 15 to 29.
Fair Manager Jeff McMillen says the Tennessee Off-Road Challenge will be Monday night during the fair at 6:30 p.m. at the Hilltop Arena. “It’s these four wheel drive vehicles that climb rock and we’ll have a 200 foot obstacle course for those type vehicles. We’re expecting it to be a good event and a big event. Hopefully, it’ll turn out to be a weekend event instead of a Monday night event eventually.”
DeKalb Idol will be back this year. Audition nightly at the DeKalb Idol Tent from 6:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. to compete in the final competition Saturday night for $300. A brand new “People’s Choice” voted on by the audience compete’s for a $100 cash prize.
Participants in fair pageants (Fairest of the Fair, Junior Fair Princess, Little Miss and Mister, Miss Sweetheart, and Little Miss Princess) may register on-line at www.studiosixlimited.com or www.dekalbcountyfair.us or you may register in person at the fairgrounds on Saturday, July 19th.
Parents wishing to register their children in the baby and toddler shows may obtain an application on-line at www.dekalbcountyfair.us. Just print off the form and send it in or stop by
the Smithville Review for a registration form.
The fair will feature lots of delicious foods and many commercial, agricultural, and women’s exhibits.
The Kenneth Sandlin Center will be open Monday through Friday from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
All Perishable exhibits ONLY will be accepted Saturday, July 19th from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.
Exhibit rule books are available at your local Post Office, Library, Chamber of Commerce, Liberty State Bank, DeKalb Community Bank or at www.dekalbcountyfair.us or www.dekalbtn.com.
Enjoy nightly entertainment at the Memory Lane Stage in Memory Village featuring Blue Grass music, LIVE bands, Karree Phillips, a Bassoon Concert, Southern Dreams Band, Al Mahan, Karaoke, Clogging and Square Dancing, Terri Lynn Weaver, Meet Elvis, Bluegrass Express Cloggers, Tae Kwon Do Demonstrations, Martial Arts Demonstration, Krystal Marie, Jubal’s Cry, Crossfire Band, the Country Giant Band, the DCHS Band, the Saturday Nite Two Step and more!
Every night is T-shirt night! Wear any DeKalb County Fair T-shirt from ANY YEAR and ask for your ticket to win great BONUS PRIZES during the $1,000 cash giveaway each night at 9:00 p.m. at the Lion’s Club Pavilion. Request tickets at the gate.
The following events are scheduled:
Monday, July 21st: National Anthem at 5:45 p.m. at the Lion’s Club Pavilion; T-Shirt Preview at 5:50 p.m. at the Lions Club Pavilion; Cattle Show at 6:00 p.m. at the grandstands ; Off-Road Challenge at the Hilltop Arena at 6:30 p.m.; Junior Fair Princess Pageant at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Fairest of the Fair Pageant at the Lions Club Pavilion. $1000 cash giveaway at 9:00 p.m. and announcement of DeKalb Idol winners at the Pavilion.
Tuesday, July 22nd: 4-H Lamb Cooking Demonstration; the Little Mr. and Miss Pageant at 6:00 p.m. followed by David Turner and Friends at the Lions Club Pavilion; Go-Cart Racing at 6:00 p.m. at the Hilltop Arena; and a Horse Show at 7:00 p.m. at the Grandstand; $1000 cash giveaway at 9:00 p.m. and announcement of DeKalb Idol winners at the Pavilion.
Wednesday, July 23rd: Little Miss Princess Pageant at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Miss Sweetheart Pageant at the Lions Club Pavilion; Four Wheeler and Motorcycle Racing at 6:00 p.m. at the Hilltop Arena; $1000 cash giveaway at 9:00 p.m. and announcement of DeKalb Idol winners at the Pavilion.
Thursday, July 24th: Senior Citizen Day activities at 9:00 a.m. at the Lions Club Pavilion; 4-H Chick Chain Show at 5:00 p.m. at the barn; Junior Goat Show at 6:00 p.m. at the barn; a Baby Show at 6:00 p.m. followed by a Vintage Fashion Show at the Lions Club Pavilion; and Lawn Mower Racing at 7:00 p.m. at the Hilltop Arena; $1000 cash giveaway at 9:00 p.m. and announcement of DeKalb Idol winners at the Pavilion.
Friday, July 25th: WSMV Channel 4 Snow Bird from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Toddler Show at 6:00 p.m. followed by Tennessee Top Model at the Lions Club Pavilion; an Antique Tractor Pull at 7:00 p.m. at the Hilltop Arena; and a Demolition Derby at 7:00 p.m. at the Grandstand; $1000 cash giveaway at 9:00 p.m. and announcement of DeKalb Idol winners at the Pavilion.
Saturday, July 26th: A Horse Shoe Tournament at 3:00 p.m. at the barn; and a Super Tractor and Truck Pull at 6:00 p.m. at the Hilltop Arena: DeKalb Idol Final Competition at 6:00 p.m. at the Lions Club Pavilion followed by Gospel Singing; $1000 cash giveaway at 9:00 p.m.
One thousand dollars in cash will be given away each night, Monday through Saturday and you must be present to win. If no one presents the winning ticket within three minutes, the money will be saved and given away on Saturday night in increments of $1,000. Your fair admission ticket is your ticket for the cash drawing.
Rides on the Midway will be provided by the Family Attractions Amusement Company. Unlimited rides will be available each night for $16.00.
Admission to the fair is $3.00 per person. Children age four and younger will be admitted free! Gates open at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Parking is Free!
For more information, call 529-FAIR or visit on-line at www.dekalbcountyfair.us or www. dekalbtn.com.

Installation of an orifice gate at Center Hill Lake has been rescheduled for August 4 due to the need for a larger crane, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Originally scheduled for July 8, a small crane was scheduled to allow traffic to pass the dam along Highway 96 while the work was underway. However, the crane’s cables were not quite long enough to lower the gate down the upstream face of the concrete portion of the dam to its position near the base of the dam. The lowering of the gate has been rescheduled for Monday, August 4th, 2008 using a larger crane with longer cables. This crane will require full road closure from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Work is continuing on the Corps of Engineers’ Center Hill Seepage remediation, a six-year, four-construction contract overall plan. The first of four large construction contracts to correct seepage problems at Center Hill Dam was not delayed by the altered schedule, but is in high production, working six days per week, two 10-hour shifts and has only halted for minor, temporary weather-related delays.
This contract will reduce seepage by a series of closely-spaced grout holes pumped into the earthen portion of the dam foundation and the left rim foundation, beginning in September and continuing for more than a year.
As part of environmental mitigation to continue a minimum flow into the Caney Fork River once the seepage is reduced, the overall seepage reduction plan includes manufacture and installation of an orifice gate. The orifice gate (photo 1) is a steel plate with open ports and will be placed over one of six 4 x 6-foot culverts called sluice gates, located at the base of the concrete portion of the dam. This orifice gate will provide an approximate 200 cubic foot per second minimum flow through the dam and will provide cold water releases and improve dissolved oxygen downstream to maintain the fishery once the seepage is cut off.
Tim Dunn, Resource Manager of Center Hill Lake, spoke with WJLE Friday morning about the project. “Earlier this year, in late February we awarded the first construction contract which is the first of several large contracts. It’s a two year contract to grout the main earthen embankment of the dam and the left rim, which are the most critical parts of the dam to take care of first. So those are currently underway. If you come by the dam now you’ll see the contractors well underway with clearing the left rim hillside and actually cutting through the hillside to facilitate the grouting or to get us in there where we can do the grouting much quicker and easier. They are also building a work platform on the upstream side of the earthen embankment and building a platform on the downstream side. So you can definitely see a lot of work going on around the dam now. We should be ready to start the actual grouting, which is drilling down into the ground underneath the dam, to inject a cement type mixture into the void later this summer, probably around September of this year.”
“Also as part of the environmental mitigation, we are in the process of installing an orifice gate, which is a gate that goes on the sluice gate, which is an opening at the very bottom of the dam. We’re in the process of installing it so that we can allow about a 200 cubic foot per second minimum flow of water to flow through the dam to offset the seepage that we’re going to be blocking with the grouting work. What this will do is ensure that we have a continual flow of good cold water for the trout fishery down stream and it will also help water quality on downstream of the Caney Fork and into the Cumberland River system.”
“We actually worked on it (orifice gate) earlier last week. We attempted to use a smaller crane so that we could keep the roadway over the dam open for the public to use. However the crane we used was not quite large enough to get down to the depths that we needed to get to so we have re-scheduled for early August. Actually on Monday, August 4th from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. we’re going to bring in a larger crane to set that gate. However, to use the larger crane we’re going to have to close the roadway completely for about a five hour period so August 4th we recommend folks find an alternate route to cross the dam if they are down in this area. But that’s just one part of the project. The other activities, the grouting and the clearing is going very well and progress is being made everyday.”
“The actual rehabilitation of the dam is still well underway. There have been no changes to the plans or no disruptions to that. Just the mitigation of installing the gate has been delayed for about another three weeks or so until we can get a larger crane to set that, but that in no way hinders the actual rehabilitation of the dam project.”
“We awarded the first contract in February. It’s a two year contract and it was awarded for I believe $87-million. It’s a very large construction contract. There will be other contracts. The total project cost is around $260-million and it will last about five years. Somewhere around 2012-2013 is when we will be finishing up the work.”
“We have several risk reduction measures in place, one of those being maintaining the lake at a lower level. We’re doing well with that. We’re trying to target 630 as a maximum pool level and we’re hoping to not go lower than the low 620’s or 618 at the very lowest this winter. We’re very dependant on rainfall so as long as we continue to get a few rains along we’ll be doing fairly well with lake levels but if it turns off really dry we could see some really low levels this fall so again, we encourage folks to really be careful out there on the lake. It’s still a very large lake, a very deep lake, but there are some areas that are shallower this time of year than what folks are accustomed to seeing so definitely use caution in those areas.”
Travelers are encouraged to plan alternate routes during this time (August 4th). The closest alternate route to drive from one side of the dam to the other is to travel I-40 just north of the dam. From the east end of the dam, take HWY 96 to I-40, travel I-40 west for approximately 10 miles to exit #258. At exit #258, travel south on HWY 53 for approximately one mile before turning onto HWY 141, which leads to the west end of Center Hill Dam.
Additional information on the Center Hill Dam Seepage Rehabilitation Project may be found on the Nashville District website at http://www.lrn.usace.army.mil/CenterHill/.