Your property tax rate is going up.
The DeKalb County Commission, by a vote of 8 to 6, Monday night adopted the new budget for the 2006-2007 fiscal year totaling $29,145, 066 and set a new property tax rate of $1.90 cents per $100 of assessed value, a 39 cent increase.
Two votes were taken, one on the budget and another on the tax rate. Both passed by an 8 to 6 vote.
Those voting in favor of both the new budget and tax rate were John Green, Jack Barton, Bobby Joines, Jerry Scott, Wayne Cantrell, Chris Smithson, Marshall Ferrell, and Larry Summers.
Commissioners voting against were Mason Carter, Elmer Ellis, Jr., Randy Caplinger, Jeff Barrett, Jeff Barnes, and Willie Thomas.
The tax rate breaks down as follows:
General Fund- 67 cents
Solid Waste- 18 cents
Debt Service- 29 cents
Highways- 3 cents
General Purpose Schools-73 cents
The budget breaks down as follows:
General Fund- $5,053, 229
Courthouse & Jail Maintenance- $89,150
Local Purpose Fund- $1,092,723
Drug Control- $58,430
Highways- $2,050,978
General Purpose Schools- $15,810,490
School Cafeteria Fund- $1, 088, 037
Debt Service- $1,446,575
Capital Outlay- $140,870
Solid Waste- $2,314,584 (Includes a six year note for up to $1,225,000 to build a new cell at the landfill)
The commission also adopted a resolution to provide funding to various non-profit groups including:
Prospect Incorporated- $12,500
Senior Citizens Program- $17,500
UCHRA- $1,200
Plateau Mental Health- $7,180
Chamber of Commerce- $7,500
Genesis House- $1,500
UCDD- $3,411.36
Families First- $750
Tennessee Division of Forestry- $1,500
Rescue Squad- $11,500
Soil Conservation District- $19,500
A public hearing was held prior to the commission meeting but only a few spoke out against the proposed tax increase.

The state Supreme Court issued an order Monday that will temporarily suspend District Attorney General Bill Gibson’s law license.
Gibson will be allowed to continue practicing law for 30 days, in which time he may mount an appeal.
The Board of Professional Responsibility filed the petition asking the high court to suspend Gibson’s law license temporarily under a provision calling for that when there is “a threat of substantial harm to the public.”
Gibson is accused of ethics violations involving legal advice and spiritual counseling he gave a man he prosecuted for murder. The correspondence between Gibson and Chris Adams occurred without the knowledge of Adams’ attorney.
Lebanon attorney Jack Lowery is representing Gibson
Gibson is also the target of a criminal investigation by the TBI in the case.

County and city volunteer firefighters responded to a structure fire at 5:24 p.m. Saturday at the home of Ronnie Taylor at 1102 Cordell Love Road near the Smithville Airport.
Assistant County Fire Chief Roy Merriman says the fire was contained to a back bedroom and bathroom but other portions of the house received some heat and smoke damage.
No one was at home at the time of the blaze and no one was hurt.
Members of the Cookeville Highway, Short Mountain Highway, and Midway Fire Stations responded along with the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and State Fire Marshal.

Former District Attorney General Charles S. (Buck) Ramsey, Jr. died Wednesday at his home in Coffee County after a short battle with cancer.
The 65 year old Ramsey was appointed to the post in 1967 at the age of 26 by Governor Buford Ellington. He was the youngest prosecutor in the state and ran two successful re-election bids for DA in 1974 and 1982. His district included DeKalb County.
During this time in office, Ramsey oversaw several high profile cases including the murder conviction of J.B. Bounds of McMinnville, who shot and killed Sherman Wright in DeKalb County, in the early 1980’s. Bounds is still in prison today.
In the late 1980’s DeKalb County was realigned out of Ramsey’s district into what is now the 13th Judicial District.
In 1990 Ramsey retired from the DA’s office and went into private practice.
The funeral will be Monday at 1:00 p.m. at Saint Bede’s Episcopal Church in Manchester. There will be a procession to Viola Cemetery immediately after the service where his ashes will be scattered.

A Smithville Police Officer was slightly injured Thursday night when a vehicle struck him while he was answering a complaint at Center Hill Village Apartments.
Sergeant Steve Deffendoll suffered slight trauma to his right knee area.
Police made an arrest in the case Friday morning. 29 year old Darryl Cantrell of 3659 Allen Bend Road, Smithville was arrested by Officers of the Smithville Police Department and DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department at 11:20 a.m.. Police say Cantrell was driving the same vehicle he had fled in Thursday night. Cantrell has been charged with aggravated assault.
According to a news release by Thomas J. Stufano, Executive Officer of the Smithville Police Department, ” On Thursday at approximately 10:30 p.m., Officers William Elliott and Sergeant Deffendoll responded to Center Hill Village Apartments, located at 1222 South College Street for a reported suspicious vehicle complainant.”
“Upon arrival to the scene, the officers made contact with the vehicle which had two male subjects sitting in the vehicle. As the officers approached the front and side of the vehicle, they identified themselves as police officers and advised the occupants to keep their hands in plain sight.”
“The driver then started the vehicle and backed it up at an accelerated rate striking Sergeant Deffendoll in the right leg. The officers again commanded the vehicle to stop. The driver accelerated the vehicle forward in the direct path of Sergeant Deffendoll.”
“Fearing for their safety, the officers drew their service weapons and two rounds were fired into the front of the vehicle. The vehicle then sped off. A search of the area by Smithville Police and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office was made without further contact of the subjects.
Investigators on the scene were able to positively identify the driver and a warrant was issued for Cantrell’s arrest.

The Sheriff’s Department is asking for your help in locating a man wanted in DeKalb and two other counties on various charges.
30 year old William Paul McGee of Smithville is believed to be traveling in a red 2000 Jeep Cherokee with a license plate bearing the letters and numbers RHV-126.
Authorities believe McGee and 21 year old Josh Neal were the two men in a Jeep Cherokee that ran from county deputies on Tuesday night, which led to Officer Andy Snow losing control of his patrol car and overturning on Short Mountain Road near the DeKalb/Cannon County line.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says Snow and another deputy from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department went to the home of Neal’s cousin on Lee Braswell Road Tuesday evening after receiving a call from the Warren County Sheriff’s Department that Neal was a suspect in the break-in of his step-father’s home on Capshaw Road in which some guns were stolen. DeKalb County also had a warrant on Neal for violation of probation. Neal, who had formerly lived with his step-father, had reportedly recently moved in with his cousin.
Neal’s cousin told the deputies that Neal had been at the residence, but that he had left with another man in a red Jeep Cherokee. Sheriff Ray says the officers were still at the residence talking to Neal’s cousin when the Jeep Cherokee drove by.
Knowing that Lee Braswell Road dead ends, the deputies got in their patrol cars to follow the Jeep Cherokee but met it coming back. Officer Snow tried to get the vehicle to stop, but the driver of the Jeep Cherokee accelerated toward Snow’s patrol car and swerved at the last instant, taking a ditch to go around the cruiser.
The deputies got behind the Jeep Cherokee and turned from Lee Braswell Road onto Highway 146 south. Officer Snow, while still trying to get the vehicle stopped, lost control of his patrol car and wrecked near the county line.
Snow was taken to DeKalb Community Hospital where he was treated and released with minor injuries.
The Jeep Cherokee was last seen speeding toward Cannon County.
Sheriff Ray says Neal returned to his cousin’s home on Lee Braswell Road Wednesday morning, having hitched a ride after walking part of the way back from Woodbury.
Neal was subsequently arrested but McGee remains at large.
Sheriff Ray says authorities got a tip Wednesday that McGee might be at a residence in Cannon County, but he was not there when DeKalb and Cannon County officers went to investigate.
If you know of McGee’s whereabouts or see the red Jeep Cherokee call the Sheriff’s Department at 597-4935.

DeKalb County’s affiliate chapter of Habitat for Humanity will soon begin taking applications for its second partner family. The application process will begin in coming weeks once its first partner family – the Perry family – is placed in their new home on Adams Street in Smithville. Dedication of the house is expected sometime in early October.
For the second home here, to be built the next year, Habitat seeks applications from qualifying families or individuals. To qualify, applicants must: (1) have lived in DeKalb County for at least one year; (2) be willing to partner with Habitat to realize dreams of home ownership; (3) currently occupy inadequate or substandard housing; (4) demonstrate the ability to pay a mortgage; and (5) fall within Habitat?s income guidelines. Examples of qualifying income levels range from $9,150 to $15,250 for an individual
and between $13,050 and $21,750 for a family of four.
All applications will be reviewed and considered by Habitat’s Family Selection Committee before a partner family is selected. The partner family will work with Habitat on construction of their home and to develop the skills necessary for successful home ownership. Construction labor is provided by Habitat volunteers, and some materials are donated by Habitat supporters, as well.
Once the home is completed, the partner family will be given a 20-year no interest mortgage for the purchase price, based solely on the cost of materials and related services. Under these terms, qualifying families can expect to pay from between $200 and $300 per month to be in their own home.
An application /information meeting will be held sometime in October, following the dedication of the Perry family’s Adams Street House. In the meantime, anyone interested in learning more or applying to become a partner family should call 215-8181 and leave a message with your contact information.

DeKalb County Volunteer Firefighters were called to the residence of Eric Vanatta at 400 Lee Homer Road Tuesday morning.
Assistant Fire Chief Roy Merriman says Vanatta told firefighters that he had placed a pot on the kitchen stove, poured some cooking oil in the pot, and while it was heating up, he went to the living room, sat down, and dosed off to sleep.
Vanatta says he awoke to a popping sound and discovered the kitchen was on fire. He called 911 and escaped from the house. He was not injured.
Merriman says firefighters contained the fire damage to the kitchen area but smoke spread to other parts of the house.
Members of the Blue Springs, Short Mountain Highway, Keltonburg, and Belk Fire Stations responded along with a tanker truck. EMS and law enforcement officers were also on the scene.

The Smithville Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday night accepted a bid from Highland Aviation of Crossville to become the new Fixed Based Operator of the Airport, subject to the new tenant’s approval after a review and inspection of the property.
John J. Keigans, Jr. is the owner and director of maintenance of Highland Aviation, a company which has been the Fixed Based operator of the Crossville Memorial Airport since 2001.
As the General Fixed Base Operator, Highland proposes to pay the City of Smithville $350 per month for rental fees in association with the FBO facilities. Highland will also market the facilities associated with the Smithville Municipal Airport.
Under terms of the agreement, Highland will provide sale and dispensation of aviation gasoline fuels and oils. Smithville will provide adequate and environmentally safe facilities for the storage and dispensation of these fuels.
Highland will provide tie-down space for a minimum of ten aircraft; provide adequate and efficient ramp service; provide one mechanic over a 40 hour work period per week for the maintenance of local and transient aircraft; insure that all necessary equipment and tools are available; and provide flight instruction
Highland will pay the city three cents for every gallon of fuel sold, work with the city to provide the necessary equipment to move and store aircraft, and provide oil as necessary to service all transient stored aircraft.
Highland will use leased hangar space to provide cover for any aircraft upon which maintenance is being performed; provide sufficient shop space and adequate equipment to perform top overhauls as required for FAA certification. Maintenance will be available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on an as-call basis. Highland will use available space for the washing and cleaning of aircraft. No aircraft will be stored for salvage operation without notification of the city administrators.
Highland, through its flight school in Crossville, will provide one instructor for single engine land airplanes by appointment and meet and continue to uphold all requirements of the FAA for proposed flight training. Highland will also provide a ground instructor to provide instruction sufficient to enable students to pass the FAA written examinations.
In other business, the aldermen voted 3 to 2 to give city attorney Sarah Cripps a pay raise.
Cripps says her monthly retainer fee of $1,250 has not been increased since she was named city attorney eight years ago and that her workload for the city has increased within the last couple of years.
Alderman Paul Young made a motion that Cripps’ pay be increased to $1,500 per month. Alderman Aaron Meeks seconded the motion and Alderman Cecil Burger voted with Young and Meeks to approve the pay raise. Aldermen Steve White and W.J. (Dub) White voted against it because money for the pay raise was not budgeted this year.
The board also approved on first reading, an ordinance that authorizes fees to the public for the inspection and copying of public records.

25 year old Garth Cantrell, charged with shooting 21 year old Joseph Givens in the face with a 22 caliber rifle Thursday night, is now seeking assault charges against Givens and another man, claiming they beat him up prior to the shooting.
Charges are currently pending against the two men.
Smithville Police were summoned to 303 White Street at 11:35 p.m. Thursday and found that Givens had been shot in the face by a 22 caliber rifle. Cantrell was identified as the man who did the shooting, but he had apparently left the scene in a pick-up truck with another person.
During radio communications with Smithville Police Officer Steve Deffendoll, Sheriff Patrick Ray says he spotted a gray Toyota pick-up truck traveling on Mountain Street with it’s headlights off and he stopped the vehicle near the intersection of East Main Street and Bright Hill Road. Inside the truck was a 22 caliber rifle.
Sheriff Ray says Cantrell, a passenger of the truck, had a bloody nose and mouth and he was taken to DeKalb Community Hospital for treatment. Cantrell was then transported to the DeKalb County Jail where he was booked for attempted first degree murder by Smithville Police.
Investigators have not confirmed it, but sources say Cantrell had been out with a friend that night and that after they stopped at the White Street location, Givens and the other man approached the vehicle, where Cantrell was sleeping, and started beating him. Cantrell awoke to the attack and after the incident, he left, got a 22 caliber rifle, returned to the scene, confronted Givens, and then shot him.
The arrest warrant against Cantrell states that “Garth Wayne Cantrell did shoot Joseph Givens in the face area with a .22 caliber rifle at 303 White Street. Mr. Cantrell got into a fight with Givens and another subject and left and returned with the rifle and shot Mr. Givens, causing serious bodily injury. Mr Cantrell admits to doing this shooting.”
Givens was taken to Vanderbilt Hospital and has since been released. He reportedly suffered a serious eye injury.
Cantrell remains in jail under a $125,000 bond. Since his arrest, Cantrell has also been charged with violation of probation. He appeared in General Sessions Court on August 31st and was granted probation after being sentenced on charges of possession of a schedule VI controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He received two sentences of 11 months and 29 days to run concurrently.
He is scheduled to appear in court on the attempted murder charge October 5th.
Vester Parsley, Jr., attorney for Cantrell, declined to make any statement in Cantrell’s defense at this time.