The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has charged three teenage boys with starting a fire at the Indian Mound home for boys Tuesday night.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says the three boys, a 14 year old and two 16 year olds, are each charged with aggravated arson. All three are residents of the home.
They have been taken to a Juvenile Detention Center in Cookeville.
Sheriff Ray says the fire was reported around 8:58 p.m. Tuesday after a staff leader smelled smoke and went to investigate. The staff kept the fire contained until fire fighters arrived.
He says the fire started in the ceiling of the basement and burned some insulation around the air ducts. The boys apparently crammed toilet tissue and paper towels around the air ducts and set it on fire with a lighter.
Another fire was started under the stair case leading to the basement from a cardboard box that was set on fire.
None of the fifteen boys who reside at the home or any of the staff members were injured. The building was evacuated as a precaution.
Fire damage was reportedly kept to a minimum.
Members of the Johnson’s Chapel, Short Mountain Highway, and Midway Fire Stations responded.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a suspicious fire at a vacant mobile home Sunday night in a trailer park at 245 Toad Road.
Bruce Tramel is reportedly the owner of the trailer.
DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green says neighbors reported seeing a man go into the trailer and come out shortly before the fire started.
Fire fighters were summoned to the scene at 10:58 p.m. and upon arrival found fire and heavy smoke coming from the trailer. Green says they were able to contain the blaze to a hallway inside the back door of the trailer. The mobile home was saved from total destruction.
Green says two neighbors, Jason Campbell and Barry Ohl, used buckets of water to try to get the fire under control while firefighters were enroute. Campbell was overcome by smoke and had to be taken to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. No one else was injured.
Green says because of the suspicious nature of the fire and evidence found at the scene, the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has started an investigation into the cause of the blaze.
Members of the Cookeville Highway, Short Mountain Highway, and Liberty Fire Stations responded to the scene along with officers of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and DeKalb EMS.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has charged two Green Hill men with the theft of a 2001 Honda 400 EX 4 Wheeler taken August 21st from a residence on Jacobs Pillar Road.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says 42 year old Dewey Randolph and 20 year old Curtis A. Lloyd both of 625 Ruth Hildreth Road, Smithville are each charged with one count of theft of property over $1,000.
The residence has a Smithville address but is actually just across the county line in Warren County.
Sheriff Ray says the Warren County Sheriff’s Office recently contacted the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department after recovering the 4 wheeler at the residence of the two men. A further investigation led to the charges against them by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department.
Bond for both is set at $1,000 each.

Early Voting begins Monday for the DTC Communications’ election of directors.
Directors will be elected in three exchanges, including the Alexandria (529), Liberty (536), and Smithville (215/597) exchanges.
Incumbents Bennie Curtis and Randy Campbell are running unopposed in the Alexandria and Liberty exchanges, respectively.
The Smithville exchange is represented by four candidates: Incumbent Paul Cantrell and three who qualified by petition – Freddy N. Colvert, Ronald Garrison, and Vester Parsley, Jr.
Voting for directors will take place at the cooperative’s annual meeting on Saturday, Sept. 16 and during early voting Monday-Wednesday, Sept. 11-13.
Only DTC members may vote, and each member must present identification. For a single membership, only that individual may vote. Either member of a joint membership may vote, but not both. In the case of a business membership, a business affidavit is required.
The early voting schedule and locations are as follows:
Early Voting Hours: Monday, Sept. 11 ? Noon to 7 p.m.,Tuesday, Sept. 12 ? Noon to 7 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 13 ? 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Early Voting Locations: Kenneth Sandlin Building, DeKalb County Fairgrounds, Alexandria, Gordonsville Clinic/DTC Conference Room, 126 JMZ Drive, Gordonsville, DeKalb County Courthouse, Room 100, 1 Public Square, Smithville, DTC Training Center (formerly Woodbury phone store), located beside the DTC Customer Service Center, Woodbury
On Saturday, Sept. 16, gates to the DeKalb County Fairgrounds in Alexandria will open at 11:45 a.m., with voting from noon until 4 p.m. The business meeting will begin at 4 p.m. or once the last person in line at that time has voted.
For additional guidelines regarding membership and voting, refer to the by-laws section of any DTC phone directory, or call DTC at 615-529-2955.

The National Federation of Independent Business, Tennessee?s leading small-business advocacy group, today announced its endorsement of incumbent Mae Beavers in Senate District 17. Beavers has been a strong supporter of small business, registering an 80 percent NFIB Voting Record.
?Mae Beavers is a consistent friend of small business who votes on principle,? NFIB/Tennessee State Director Gary Selvy said. ?Her small-business constituents know where she stands on key issues, and they are eager for her to return to Nashville to vote for free enterprise. Mae Beavers is clearly the choice for District 17 small-business owners who are seeking pro-growth policies and less government intrusion.?
?I look forward to continuing my work with the NFIB, as we work to keep Tennessee friendly to small business by making sure there is no state income tax and by keeping regulations and fees off small businesses,? Sen. Beavers said.
NFIB?s endorsement is a key one for Beavers. Small-business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for actively recruiting friends, family members and acquaintances to go to the polls. NFIB has pledged to Beavers that it will activate its grassroots network on her behalf.
Beavers is vice chair of the Senate Environment, Conservation and Tourism Committee, secretary of the Environment Committee and a member of the Transportation and Government Operations committees. Senate District 17 encompasses Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Macon and Smith counties, as well as part of Sumner, Trousdale and Wilson counties. The general election will be held Nov. 7.
NFIB?s political support is based on the candidate?s position and record on small-business issues. Mae Beavers? endorsement comes from the NFIB/Tennessee SAFE (Save America?s Free Enterprise) Trust, the political action committee for NFIB/Tennessee?s membership. The endorsement brings the considerable grassroots support of Tennessee?s small-business owners to the Mae Beavers campaign.

A 39 year old man was arrested early Thursday morning after a county deputy found in his possession a large number of pills.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says Roger Tremain Rapp of 261 Kings Court Lane, Smithville is charged with possession of a schedule II drug for resale (dilaudid) and possession of a schedule II drug for resale (soma).
His bond was set at $50,000 and he will appear in General Sessions Court on Thursday, September 21st. He is currently free on bond.
Sheriff Ray says while on patrol, the deputy pulled into the parking area of Sligo Marina and came across a 1992 Infinity parked just beneath the Sligo Bridge. Upon further investigation, the officer looked in the car and saw a man and a woman, both nude, who appeared to be passed out.
The officer awakened the man, but before Rapp was allowed to put on his shorts, the deputy conducted a search to make sure there weren’t any weapons in the man’s clothing. The officer found a total of nine soma pills and an unlabeled bottle containing fifty seven and a half pills of K-4 dilaudid in the pockets of the man’s shorts.
The woman was not charged.
Sheriff Ray says Rapp’s car has been seized along with a total of $928.39 also found in his clothing. He says the Tennessee Department of Revenue will be contacted for collection of sales tax on the drugs.

A Smithville Boy Scout, working toward the rank of Eagle Scout, is seeking your help to make his dream become a reality.
Scouts, in order to become an Eagle Scout, must be actively involved in a special service project, and Anderson Webb, chose as his, the addition of bench seating at the Green Brook Park Amphitheater.
Webb worked over a year planning the seating. In addition to working with architects and city managers, Webb conducted a brick sale to fund the project. With the help of volunteers, the seating was constructed and placed August 26th. The bricks will be laid around the amphitheater later in the fall.
Webb, a sophomore at DeKalb County High School, has been involved in Scouts in DeKalb County since first grade. He is soon to join the 4% of all Scouts who are able to attain Eagle Scout rank. A Scout must fulfill requirements in service, leadership, and outdoor skills before earning the Eagle Scout honor.
If you are interested in purchasing a brick in honor of or in memory of someone, the deadline has been extended through the month of September. You may pick up an order form at AmSouth Bank, Webb’s Pharmacy, and other local businesses. For more information contact Anderson Webb at 597-5521.

Five teenagers were involved in a one car crash Sunday at Big Woods Road.
Trooper Johnny Farley of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says 15 year old Stephen D. Grantham was traveling east in a 1995 Dodge Intrepid when he failed to negotiate a curve, ran off the right shoulder of the road, continued for 79 feet, and hit a tree head on.
Grantham says he had to swerve to avoid hitting another vehicle.
Trooper Farley says others with Grantham included, 14 year old Brandon Puckett, 15 year old Charles Bates, 15 year old Chip Robinson, and 16 year old Jeffery R. Puckett.
Robinson was seriously injured and airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga
Grantham, Puckett, and Bates were transported to DeKalb Community Hospital with minor injuries. Puckett was not injured.
Trooper Farley says all five boys were wearing their seatbelts.
Grantham was charged with driving on a learners permit and failure to exercise due care.

An Alexandria man was injured in a one car traffic accident Saturday morning on the Walker Creek Road.
Trooper Johnny Farley of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Danny W. Caldwell was driving a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am west on Walker Creek Road when he lost control while maneuvering to avoid hitting a deer.
The car went across the east bound lane, off the shoulder, struck a ditch and overturned. The vehicle came to rest on its top in a field off the road.
Caldwell was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital where he was treated for head lacerations and other non life threatening injuries.

A 42 year old woman suffered an apparent broken ankle while hiking with family and a friend on nature trail Sunday afternoon at Edgar Evins State Park.
Charlie Parker, DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, says the woman was with her two teenage children and a friend when she apparently slipped on some rocks and twisted her ankle while hiking on the John C. Clayborn trail.
Parker says the woman used a cell phone to call 911, but she was so far out in the woods, about two to three miles, it was difficult to get her out. Emergency workers kept in contact with her by cell phone and used GPS coordinates to pinpoint her exact location.
Parker says the woman, who could not walk, was placed in a basket and taken down to the lake, where TWRA officers transferred her by boat to a nearby boat ramp. From there, she was taken by ambulance to a hospital in Cookeville.
Among those participating in the three hour rescue operation, in addition to Parker, were Park Rangers and maintenance employees at Edgar Evins State Park, DeKalb EMS, members of the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department Rescue Team, DeKalb County Rescue Squad, DeKalb County Volunteer Firefighters, TWRA Officers, DeKalb County deputies, and the Putnam County Rescue Squad.
Meanwhile, a 17 year old Nashville youth was seriously injured late Saturday night after he fell some 40 to 45 feet into a gorge at New Frontiers on the Old Snow Hill Road.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says he and other officers responded to the 911 call along with DeKalb EMS.
The boy was removed from the gorge and taken by ambulance to Lebanon where he was airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.
The boy, apparently visiting New Frontiers on a retreat, suffered a serious head injury.