Early voting begins Today (Wednesday, November 29) for the December 19th State Senatorial District 17 Special Election.
The candidates are Mary Alice Carfi, the Democratic nominee, and Mark Pody, the Republican nominee. The winner will fill the unexpired term of former State Senator Mae Beavers.
Early Voting Hours are as follows:
Mondays 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesdays 9 a.m. to 12 Noon
Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 12 Noon
Thursdays 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Fridays 9 a.m. to 12 Noon
Saturdays 9 a.m. to 12 Noon
Early voting begins November 29 and runs through December 14. All early voting is conducted on the first floor of the DeKalb County Courthouse.
Election Day is December 19 and polls will open that day at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

The last of the three escapees from the DeKalb County Jail is back in custody, one week after the trio broke out.
Sheriff Patrick Ray told WJLE Tuesday night that 26 year old Daniel Trey Hamilton of Jacobs Pillar Road, Smithville was arrested in Fort Myers, Florida Tuesday after being involved in a traffic accident there. He was placed into custody in Lee County, Florida and is awaiting extradition back to DeKalb County. Hamilton will be charged with escape.
Last Tuesday night, Hamilton, 38 year old Jack Mullican, Jr. of Adcock Cemetery Road and 32 year old Bryon Ray Gibbs of Gin Alley, Alexandria broke out of the jail annex through a door they jimmied open.
Mullican was captured last Wednesday morning after being found in an underground water drain near Mapco Express. He became trapped there after making his escape.
Gibbs was apprehended Saturday thanks to an alert Alexandria Police Officer, Josh Arnold and a few citizen bystanders. After being confronted, Gibbs resisted and began fighting with Arnold. Citizens who witnessed the scene came to the aid of the officer to help subdue Gibbs. Deputies and detectives of the Sheriff’s Department also responded to provide assistance.
Gibbs was charged by Alexandria Police with resisting arrest and aggravated assault.
All three, Hamilton, Mullican, and Gibbs, are facing escape charges and although a bond is set in each case, all three remain incarcerated and are being housed at jails in other counties.

Braedon Jett, a Sophomore at DCHS recently served as an independent delegate to The Model United Nations held at The Pope John Paul II Church in Hendersonville. Braedon represented the country of Zimbabwe and the impact of the Zika virus there.
“Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation and/or academic activity in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations.”

Donny Green, County Executive Director of the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency, announces that the 2017 FSA County Committee Election is underway as ballots were mailed to eligible voters in Local Administrative Area (LAA) # 2 (DeKalb County) and Local Administrative Area # 4 (Cannon County) on November 6th.
December 4, 2017 will be the last day to postmark voted ballots returned by mail or to delivery voted ballots to the local FSA office.
Grant Williams is the only candidate nominated for LAA # 2 (DeKalb Co.). Grant has been certified as an eligible candidate. Mr. Williams operates a beef cattle farm in the Dale Ridge Community.
Javin Fann is the only candidate nominated for LAA # 4 (Cannon Co.). Javin has been certified as an eligible candidate. Mr. Fann produces corn, soybeans, and wheat on his family farm and is completing his second term on the DeKalb/Cannon FSA County Committee where he currently serves as the Vice-Chairperson.
Write-in candidates can be accepted on ballots. However, the write-in candidate must meet eligibility criteria and attest to his or her willingness to serve, if elected, by signing a nominating petition. Agricultural producers were encouraged to submit candidate names during the nomination period that ended August 1, 2017.
“The FSA county committee system is unique among government agencies, because it allows producers to make important decisions concerning the local administration of federal farm programs. All eligible farmers and ranchers, especially minorities and women, are encouraged to get involved and make a real difference in their communities by voting in this year’s elections,” says Green.
To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must participate or cooperate in FSA programs. A person who is not of legal voting age, but supervises and conducts the farming operations of an entire farm, can also vote.
Eligible voters in DeKalb County LAA # 2 or Cannon County LAA # 4 who did not receive a ballot can obtain a ballot at their local USDA Service Center. December 4, 2017 is the last day for voters to submit ballots in person to local USDA Service Centers. Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than December 4, 2017. The DeKalb/Cannon FSA County Committee will meet on December 5, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. to canvass and tabulate the ballots. This meeting is open to the public. The newly elected committee member and alternates take office January 1st, 2018.

Nashville Ballet has selected one dancer from DeKalb County to perform in the youth cast for Nashville’s Nutcracker: Celebrating 10 Years! December 2-23, 2017, at TPAC’s Jackson Hall—Blair Gipe, child of Janice Gipe-Perry, as a Medium Mouse. This year’s youth cast marks the organization’s largest to date, with 296 dancers from School of Nashville Ballet and the community at large performing alongside Nashville Ballet and the Nashville Symphony in the local holiday favorite.
This year’s Nashville’s Nutcracker youth cast members were selected from community-wide, open auditions. Members of the youth cast come from 14 counties throughout Middle Tennessee and Kentucky, including, Cheatham, Christian, Davidson, Decatur, DeKalb, Hopkins, Humphreys, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson. They will perform alongside all 54 members of Nashville Ballet’s professional dance company and second company and 60 members of the GRAMMY® Award-winning Nashville Symphony performing Tchaikovsky’s celebrated score.
“We’ve had more than 1,000 young dancers in the Nashville’s Nutcracker youth cast since the production’s debut 10 years ago,” Nashville Ballet Artistic Director & CEO Paul Vasterling said. “The size of the youth cast has grown by leaps and bounds over the years, so this year we’re debuting a brand-new role, the Dancing Bear Cavalry, which allows us to welcome even more young dancers on stage.”
In addition to the debut of the new youth cast role, Nashville Ballet is celebrating 10 years of Nashville’s Nutcracker with more all-new elements—including snow falling on the audience during the iconic snow scene. Nashville Ballet premiered The Nutcracker in 1989, but the production was reinvented as Nashville’s Nutcracker in 2008 with a unique concept incorporating Nashville’s vibrant past along with new choreography, sets, costumes and on-stage magic tricks. Since then, Vasterling’s original spin on the classic has cemented its place as one of Music City’s most beloved holiday traditions.
Beginning at the 1897 Centennial Exposition in Nashville, Clara and her Uncle Drosselmeyer meet a colorful cast of characters from faraway lands. When Uncle Drosselmeyer gifts Clara with a wooden Nutcracker on Christmas Eve, the toy magically transforms to life as a handsome prince and leads her through a remarkable adventure. Clara visits everyone from the Snow Queen to the Sugar Plum Fairy, including the spellbinding characters she met at the Exposition. When Clara finally returns home, the audience is left to decide if it was all just a dream—or not.
Nashville’s Nutcracker is presented by 21c Museum Hotel Nashville, Google Fiber and RJ Young. Tickets start at $35 and can be purchased in person at the TPAC box office in downtown Nashville, by phone at (615) 782-4040 or at NashvilleBallet.com. A complete performance schedule and more information can be found at NashvilleBallet.com/Nashvilles-Nutcracker-2017.
About Nashville Ballet
Nashville Ballet is the largest professional ballet company in Tennessee. Nashville Ballet presents a varied repertoire of classical ballet and contemporary works by noted choreographers, including original works by Artistic Director & CEO Paul Vasterling. Nashville Ballet and the second company, NB2 (a pre-professional training company), provide more than 70,000 arts experiences to adults and children annually through season performances and its Community Engagement programming. Curriculum-based Community Engagement programs bring dance education to community centers, colleges, public libraries and public elementary, middle and high schools across the state. School of Nashville Ballet brings world-class dance instruction to students age 2 to 70.
Nashville Ballet receives public funding from Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission, Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Contributions from local, regional and national institutional funders and community partners, as well as hundreds of generous individuals, provide ongoing support of Nashville Ballet’s mission-critical programs.

A Smithville man who posted offensive and blasphemous notes on the properties of several local churches from May through July has been indicted by the DeKalb County Grand Jury.
The Grand Jury Monday indicted 57 year old Laddie Bill Jerrells of Long Street, Smithville on eight counts of desecration of a place of worship. He was also indicted in separate offenses for resisting arrest and making a false report.
Jerrells was charged in a joint investigation by the Smithville Police and the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Departments. He was originally charged on Wednesday, July 5th on twenty four counts including charges of vandalism, disorderly conduct, harassment, and desecration of honored places.
According to Sheriff Patrick Ray and Smithville Police Chief Mark Collins, Jerrells went to churches in the City of Smithville and in the county and posted offensive notes on the church properties, either on the front doors, buildings, or signs.
According to the indictments, the incidents occurred on May 13, May 30, June 18, June 22, June 25, June 29, July 3, and July 5 at times when no church services were being held. No particular denominations were targeted.
Smithville Police charged Jerrells for the two cases in the city. The rest of the charges were brought by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department against Jerrells for the incidents at churches in the county.
Although WJLE did not file charges, a similar irreverent note bearing the name of Laddie Jerrells, was posted on the front door of the WJLE studios in July.
On the desecration charges, Jerrells is accused of treating a place of worship with great disrespect by posting irreverent notes on the churches.
In a joint statement, Sheriff Ray and Police Chief Collins said their departments will always strive to keep churches safe and secure so that congregations can worship freely and in peace.
Meanwhile in the resisting arrest case, Sheriff Ray said that on Monday, February 27 a deputy responded to a residence on Long Street to serve an ex parte order of protection on Jerrells. Upon arrival the officer spoke to Jerrells’ daughter outside the home. She was named as a protected person on the order. The deputy then entered the residence, spoke with Jerrells, and read to him the contents of the paperwork on the order of protection. According to the order, Jerrells was to immediately vacate the residence. After being told several times that he had to leave the premises Jerrells refused to cooperate by lying down with his arms behind his head. He would not allow his wrists to be handcuffed. The deputy had to forcibly place Jerrells’ hands behind his back in order to make the arrest. After arriving at the jail, Jerrells continued to be uncooperative while being booked into the facility.
Jerrells was arrested Sunday, December 11, 2016 for filing a false report. Three days before on Thursday, December 8 Jerrells reported to police that his truck was locked and that he could not find the keys. The next morning, Friday, December 9 Jerrells said his truck was missing and reported it as stolen to Central Dispatch. Upon investigation it was discovered that Jerrells had hidden the vehicle and then reported it to be stolen.

tnAchieves, the partnering organization to Governor Haslam’s TN Promise in DeKalb County, is looking for mentors to support the fourth class of TN Promise scholars. DeKalb County still needs 9 mentors by this Friday, December 1st to meet its goal and ensure each student has a local support system.
tnAchieves mentors spend about one hour per month working with a group of students to help eliminate the barriers associated with the transition from high school to college. Mentors remind students of important deadlines, serve as a trusted college resource and, most importantly, encourage students to reach their full potential. The time commitment is small, only about one hour per month, but the impact on the students can be life changing. To learn more and apply you can visitwww.tnachieves.org/mentors/apply.
If you have questions or would like more information please reach out to Graham Thomas at tnAchieves at graham@tnachieves.orgor (615) 604-1306.

A DeKalb County man has been indicted for trying to kill his wife in April after she was found by the side of the road in the Ragland Bottom area cut and bleeding from a stabbing.
The Grand Jury Monday indicted 29 year old Andrew Lafate Billings with attempted first degree murder of his wife 19 year old Adriana Billings.
The indictment alleges that “on or about the 4th day of April, 2017 Billings did unlawfully, intentionally, and with premeditation attempt to kill Adriana N. Billings”.
Andrew and Adriana Billings first made news in November, 2016 when they fled to Michigan with their 8 month old child during a wreck investigation in which a meth lab was found in their vehicle prompting a TBI Endangered Child Alert. For that incident, Andrew Billings was also indicted Monday for aggravated child abuse and initiation of a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Although charged with Andrew at the time in the meth and child abuse case, Adriana was not indicted by the Grand Jury Monday.
That indictment alleges that “on or about the 10th day of November, 2016 Billings did unlawfully and knowingly initiate a process intended to result in the manufacture of any amount of methamphetamine and that he did unlawfully and knowingly expose Xavier Billings, a child under the age of 8 to the initiation of a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine”.
Billings will be arraigned on the charges in DeKalb County Criminal Court December 12.
The warrant taken against Billings at the time of the stabbing stated that “on the 4th of April, 2017, Andrew Lafate Billings did intentionally and knowingly stab his wife, Adriana Nichole Billings numerous times about the upper body. Billings did commit this act with premeditation with the intent to kill Adriana Billings. Adriana was taken by helicopter with life threatening injuries. This offense did occur in DeKalb County”.
Sheriff Patrick Ray told WJLE that the victim was found Tuesday morning, April 4 on Allen Ferry Road off Backbone Ridge Road in DeKalb County.
“At 9:06 a.m. a call came in to dispatch from someone who found a woman on the side of the road bleeding from the throat and said she appeared to have been stabbed.”
“Officers arrived ten minutes later and found the woman lying in a ditch with knife wounds to the neck, face, and hands. The victim was seen by EMS and then airlifted by helicopter. She suffered life threatening injuries,” said Sheriff Ray.
“While doing inventory at the scene, detectives developed Andrew Billings as a suspect and were able to obtain a vehicle description. A BOLO (Be on the lookout) was sent to surrounding counties.”
“The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and District Attorney General’s Office were summoned to the scene by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office.”
“White County authorities later received a domestic call in their county and learned that Andrew Billings had gotten into an argument with a family member. A White County detective spotted the vehicle Billings was driving and did a traffic stop at 11:19 a.m.”
“A search warrant was later obtained and executed on the vehicle Billings was driving and officers found blood and a bloody knife with hair on it inside the automobile. Billings was found to have cuts to his hands,” Sheriff Ray continued.
Billings was taken into custody. He was booked in DeKalb County on the attempted first degree murder charge but at that time was being held in White County on a failure to appear in court charge there. DeKalb County had a hold on him after he faced his White County offense.
Meanwhile in the case a year ago, Sheriff Ray said that “On Thursday November, 10th, 2016 the Tennessee Highway Patrol worked a two vehicle accident on Highway 70 east (Sparta Highway). After 3 occupants in one of the vehicles, including the child, had been examined by EMS, the adults fled the scene with the child. During the inventory of the vehicle, the Trooper found what he believed to be a methamphetamine lab. The Trooper took criminal warrants in the case on both of the adults for manufacturing meth and aggravated child abuse”.
After the accident, the Trooper obtained information that the child might have had a medical condition and notified the Department of Children Services.
Sheriff Ray said that at 11:19 p.m. Wednesday night, November 16, 2016 the Department of Children Services came to his office and filed a missing/endangered child report. The Sheriff said his department immediately entered the child into the National Crime Information System which prompted the TBI Endangered Child Alert System.
The Billings’ were found with the child at a residence in Flint, Michigan on Friday, November 18, 2016. They were arrested by the City of Flint Police Department and Xavier was placed in protective custody by the Michigan Department of Children Services.
The warrants against the Billings’ taken at the time alleged that on November 10, 2016 Trooper Sean Tramel of the Tennessee Highway Patrol was working an accident on Sparta Highway and found that Andrew and Adriana Billings knowingly initiated the process of manufacturing methamphetamine inside of their white Nissan Sentra which was involved in the accident while their 8 month old son was present in the vehicle.
While doing a post crash inventory of the car, Trooper Tramel discovered a meth lab in a black nylon bag and in a 40 millimeter ammo can in the back seat. Items discovered were a Visine bottle containing muriatic acid, spa test strips, an open container of Drano, four bottles including three with residue and one with sediment, a quart Mason jar with a clear liquid believed to be Coleman fuel and methamphetamine mix which field tested positive for meth.

Domestic violence is a crime that hits home physically for a lot of families, but the abuse isn’t limited to punching, slapping, or kicking. It can be mental, emotional, sexual, and even financial. In 2016 alone there were over 70-thousand domestic calls reported to the police in Tennessee.
In DeKalb County the Haven of Hope now offers a domestic abuse support group. To lead the group, Haven Clinical Director Kay Quintero turned to one of their clients who survived her traumatic situation. We’ll call her “Sally” to protect her identity.
“There have been women [attend group] who have been in abusive relationships for 27 years, and the only reason they got out of it was because their partner died. There’s been physical abuse and a lot of sexual abuse. The thread that we all find is that we’ve been manipulated mentally.”
Sally, who escaped to DeKalb County from a state north of Tennessee, suffers from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome).
“One of the therapists saved my sanity [by treating] my diagnosis of PTSD” Sally said. “I’d go out and see a Ford F-150 that looked like my ex’s, and I’d start a full-blown panic attack at the grocery store.”
A few months of therapy, and her life has been turned around. Still, the hellish situation she endured for 13 years remains firmly in her memory. Sally was married to the man she thought was her soul mate. They were well-to-do successful members of the community, but when the couple had their son, Sally says they drifted apart and he started having affairs, so she filed for divorce in 2008.
“Once I filed for divorce is when the abuse was ramped up. He was at the very minimum narcissistic, probably psychopath, what we call Cluster B disorders.”
“The biggest red flag I missed was the complete lack of empathy that he had.”
Though she never sported a black eye or any other wound from domestic assault, she lived in another form of abuse. A stay-at-home mom, Sally had no money and couldn’t afford to leave the house when the bitter legal action began.
“He told me he wasn’t going to give me any of the money and that he was going to file for sole custody so he wouldn’t have to pay child support. He let the accounts go dry. I didn’t have money for groceries. I had to put my lawyer on a credit card. He would come home ranting and raving, trying to get me to settle, trying to make my life difficult.”
“The judge would not remove him from the house. I had to put a restraining order on him in my own home. He could not come into the master bedroom. I pretty much lived in my room for about a year.”
Although Sally wanted to leave her situation, she didn’t have the money to get out.
“I was beside myself mentally,” she explains. “There was no way I could have worked. The city we lived in the nearest one bedroom apartment cost $1,100 a month. I was stuck.”
She says fear is a powerful motivator that prevents victims from leaving the abuse.
“The abusers prey on that. There was another woman in my little town who was going through the same thing. The day she filed to have him evicted from the house she went missing, and he was named as a person of interest. She was never found. I woke up one morning in my home, and I heard a noise outside, and they were dragging the retention pond by my house, looking for her body, which they never found. That hit home for me.”
Frightened, she sent out a secretive email.
“When you have to write an email to all your family and friends and say, ‘I’d never kill myself, and I’d never leave my child. If anything happens to me, he did something. That was probably one of the hardest things I ever did.”
Sally now says she didn’t realize she was the victim of abuse until she removed herself from the situation. Today she is encouraging other women who are dealing with domestic abuse to reach out to the Haven of Hope for help.
The group meets at the Haven of Hope. Call 597-HOPE to find out the days and times for meetings.

Santa Claus is coming to town!
The first of three Christmas parades in DeKalb County this holiday season will be Saturday, December 2 when the Smithville Christmas Parade sponsored by the Smithville Volunteer Fire Department takes place starting at 1:00 p.m. The line up begins at 11:00 a.m. at Smithville Elementary School. To enter call Jeff Wright at 615-597-6750 or John Poss at 931-349-5598.
The Liberty Christmas Parade will be Sunday, December 3 at 2:00 p.m. The line-up will be at 1 PM at Salem Baptist Church. Call 615-464-8085 for more information.
The Alexandria Christmas Parade will be Sunday, December 10 at 2:00 p.m. Line-up begins at 1 p.m. on West Main Street. To enter stop by or call the Alexandria City Hall at 615-529-2171 extension 2