Lillie Ann Sells, Democratic Criminal Court Judge Part II of the 13th Judicial District, defeated Independent challenger David A Patterson in DeKalb County Thursday, 1,822 (59%) to 1,234 (40%) while Democrat Ron Thurman beat Republican Jerry Burgess locally in the race to succeed retiring Chancellor Vernon Neal.
Thurman received a total of 1,388 votes in DeKalb County (58%) to Burgess’ 976 votes (41%)
Judge Sells carried the following DeKalb County precincts: Alexandria- 88 to 62, Temperance Hall- 39 to 24, Dowelltown- 53 to 31, Snow Hill- 55 to 52, Middle School- 116 to 98, Courthouse – 108 to 95, Johnson’s Chapel- 51 to 37, Elementary School- 121 to 59, Belk- 60 to 20, Keltonburg- 63 to 28, Blue Springs- 42 to 31, Church of Christ Annex- 118 to 56, and Early Voting 786 to 512. Sells had 45 absentees.
Patterson carried the following precincts: Edgar Evins State Park- 13 to 8, Liberty- 51 to 37, Cherry Hill- 20 to 17, and Rock Castle- 32 to 15. Patterson had 13 absentees.
In the Chancellor race, Thurman carried the following DeKalb County precincts: Temperance Hall 33 to 18, Dowelltown- 31 to 21, Snow Hill- 45 to 41, Middle School- 88 to 76, Cherry Hill- 18 to 15, Rock Castle- 31 to16, Courthouse- 104 to 53, Belk- 39 to 19, Keltonburg- 40 to 26, Blue Springs- 33 to 24, Church of Christ Annex 71 to 47, and Early Voting- 632 to 368. Thurman had 35 absentees.
Burgess carried the following DeKalb County precincts: Alexandria- 59 to 57, Edgar Evins State Park 13 to 8, Liberty- 41 to 27, Johnson’s Chapel 46 to 28, and Elementary School- 73 to 68. Burgess had 20 absentees.
In the only other contested race in the 13th Judicial District, Incumbent Democratic Public Defender David N. Brady defeated Republican challenger Samuel Harris in DeKalb County 1,368 to 777
In other unopposed races, Incumbent Democratic Circuit Court Judge Part I John A. Turnbull received 2,124 DeKalb County votes.
Incumbent Democratic Circuit Court Judge Part II John Maddux garnered 1,916 votes.
Incumbent Democratic Criminal Court Judge Part I Leon Burns, Jr. got 2,005 votes in DeKalb County.
Incumbent Democratic District Attorney General William E (Bill) Gibson received 1,955 votes here.
Unopposed county officials, and their vote totals, include:
Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack- 3,671
Register of Deeds Jeff McMillen- 3,597
County Mayor Mike Foster- 3,417
County Clerk Mike Clayborn- 3,375
Road Supervisor Kenny Edge- 3,234
General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Hale (Butch) Cook II- 3,019

Second District School Board Member Charles Robinson was re-elected Thursday beating back a challenge from John Allen.
Robinson won with 374 votes (62%) to Allen’s 222 votes (37%)
Here’s how the vote breaks down by precinct:
Liberty- Robinson 126, Allen 38
Dowelltown- Robinson 61, Allen 42
Snow Hill- Robinson 71, Allen 70
Early Voting- Robinson 111, Allen 70
Absentees- Robinson 5, Allen 2.
Others running for the board of education unopposed and their vote totals include:
First District Incumbent John David Foutch- 347
Third District Incumbent Kenny L. Rhody- 475
Fourth District- Joan Draper- 296.
Seventh District Incumbent- Johnny W. Lattimore- 360
Draper will succeed Keith Garrett who did not seek re-election.

Dowelltown voters elected three aldermen Thursday.
The winners are Brad Driver, Tom R. Duggin, Jr., and Keith Farler. Joe L. Bogle lost his bid for election to the board.
Driver received a total of 85 votes, Duggin had 70, Farler 58, and Bogle 33.

Former State Senator Bob Rochelle beat Aubrey T. Givens in a primary battle Thursday for the right to take on Republican Incumbent Senator Mae Beavers in November.
In DeKalb County Rochelle won 877(54%) to 734 (45%)
Beavers, who ran unopposed for the GOP nomination, received 819 complimentary votes in DeKalb County.
Rochelle carried the following DeKalb County precincts: Alexandria- 66 to 60, Edgar Evins State Park- 7 to 2, Dowelltown- 29 to 21, Courthouse 67 to 57, Johnson’s Chapel- 17 to 14, Blue Springs- 25 to 23, and Early Voting 376 to 235. Rochelle had 18 absentees.
Givens carried the following DeKalb County precincts: Temperance Hall- 26 to 21, Liberty- 22 to 16, Snow Hill- 22 to 18, Middle School 60 to 58, Cherry Hill 7 to 6, Rock Castle 9 to 8, Elementary School- 55 to 53, Keltonburg- 33 to 24, and Church of Christ Annex 54 to 43. Givens had 9 absentees.
Rochelle and Givens tied at 25 each at Belk.
Meanwhile, Democratic State Representative Frank Buck, who ran unopposed in the primary Thursday, received 1,784 complimentary votes in DeKalb County while his November challenger, Republican Terri Lynn Weaver, got 629 complimentary DeKalb County votes. She was unopposed in the GOP Primary.
In other races, 6th District Democratic Congressman Bart Gordon defeated his primary challenger J. Patrick Lyons on Thursday.
Gordon received 1,969 DeKalb County votes to 151 for Lyons.
Republican David R. Davis, who was unopposed in the GOP primary, received 554 votes here. Davis will face Gordon in the November General Election.
In the U.S. Senate Primaries, DeKalb County voters choose Harold Ford, Jr. as the their favorite Democrat and Bob Corker as their favorite Republican.
In DeKalb County Ford received, 1,346 votes followed by Gary G. Davis with 221 votes, John Jay Hooker with 189, Charles E. Smith with 70, and Al Strauss with 27 votes.
In the GOP primary, Corker got 476 DeKalb County votes, followed by Ed Bryant with 303, Van Hilleary with 261, and Tate Harrison with 10.
Corker and Ford will square off in the November General Election. The winner will succeed Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Bill Frist, who did not seek re-election.
In the Governor primary races, Democratic Incumbent Phil Bredesen received 1,755 DeKalb County votes followed by John Jay Hooker with 207, Tim Sevier with 111, and Walt Ward with 27.
In the Republican primary for Governor, Jim Bryson received 357 DeKalb County votes followed by David M. Farmer with 80, Joe Kirkpatrick with 58, Wayne Thomas Bailey with 49, Mark Albertini with 47, Wayne Young 25, and Timothy Thomas with 20.
Bryson will try to unseat Bredesen in the November General Election.

The Smithville Police Department destroyed approximately 171 items of old evidence on Tuesday.
The evidence ranged from drugs including marijuana , pills , cocaine , and methamphetamine to knifes, brass knuckles, swords, moonshine , and other items.
The evidence destroyed were all used in cases that have been disposed of in court and are no longer needed by the police for prosecution.
Chief Gus Clemente and Det. Sergeant Chris Russell said that destroying these items helps take some of the drugs and weapons off the streets and makes sure the items do not get back into the wrong hands.

DeKalb County voters will elect a new Sheriff and Trustee and decide several other races on Thursday.
Voting at all sixteen precincts in DeKalb County begins at 8:00 a.m. August 3rd and ends at 7:00 p.m.
WJLE will have LIVE election return coverage starting at 7:00 p.m. at the courthouse. Election results may also be viewed on-line at www.wjle.com.
The Election Commission has an announcement for all the voters in the 3rd District who vote at DeKalb Middle School on election day. The room normally used for voting is the old gym. There is no air conditioning in the gym and voting has been moved to another room at the Middle School. The room does have an outside door on the front of the building to the right of the main entrance. Look for the large signs that say “VOTE HERE”.
In addition to the DeKalb County General Election, voters will be casting ballots in the Tennessee Democratic and Republican Primaries for the offices of Governor, U.S. Senate, U.S.. House of Representatives, State Senate, State House of Representatives, State Executive Committeeman and committee woman.
A referendum will also be on the ballot asking voters to cast a yes or no vote on whether the local option sales tax should be increased from 1.5% to 2.75% which would make the total sales tax in DeKalb County go from 8.5% to 9.75%.
Dowelltown voters will also be electing three aldermen on August 3rd.
Voters will also be asked to vote “yes” or “no” on the retention of twenty seven State Supreme Court and Appellate Court Judges from across the state.
Democratic candidates on the ballot running for their party’s nomination in the state primary for Governor include Incumbent Phil Bredesen; John Jay Hooker of Nashville; Tim Sevier of Hixon; and Walt Ward of Chattanooga.
Republican candidates for Governor are Mark Albertini of Chattanooga; Wayne Thomas Bailey of Smyrna; Jim Bryson of Franklin; David M. Farmer of Kingston; Joe Kirkpatrick of Nashville; Timothy Thomas of Murfreesboro; and Wayne Young of Cleveland.
Candidates for State Senator, 17th District include Incumbent Mae Beavers of Mount Juliet, unopposed in the Republican Primary; and Democrats Bob Rochelle of Lebanon, and Aubrey T. Givens of Lebanon.
Candidates for State Representative, 40th District include Incumbent Frank Buck of Dowelltown, unopposed in the Democratic Primary; Terri Lynn Weaver of Lancaster, unopposed in the Republican Primary; and Independent candidate Carl Jones of Macon County.
Candidates for U.S. House of Representatives, 6th District are Incumbent Bart Gordon of Murfreesboro and J. Patrick Lyons of Bell Buckle in the Democratic Primary and David R. Davis of Brush Creek in the Republican Primary.
Democratic candidates for the U.S Senate are Harold Ford, Jr. of Memphis; Gary G. Davis of Nashville; John Jay Hooker of Nashville; Charles E. Smith of Chattanooga; and Al Strauss of Nashville.
Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate are Ed Bryant of Jackson; Tate Harrison of Dayton; Van Hilleary of Murfreesboro; and Bob Corker of Chattanooga.
Candidates in the DeKalb County General Election are as follows:
Democrat Myron Rhody and Republican Patrick Ray for Sheriff and Democrat Anthony (Doc) Green and Republican Sean Driver for Trustee;
Unopposed candidates include Democratic Incumbents County Mayor Mike Foster, Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack; County Clerk Mike Clayborn; Register of Deeds Jeff McMillen; General Sessions-Juvenile Court Judge Bratten Cook II; and Republican Incumbent Road Supervisor Kenny Edge.
Two county commissioners can be elected from each of the seven districts in the county. County Commission candidates are Democrats Elmer Ellis, Jr. and Charles Griffith and Republican Mason Carter in the first district; Republican Incumbent Bobby Joines and Democrats Jack Barton, and Shane Cook in the second district; Republican Randy Caplinger, and Democratic Incumbents Roy D. Merriman, and Jerry Scott in the third district; Incumbent Democrat Wayne Cantrell and Democrat Chris J. Smithson in the fourth district; Democratic Incumbent John D. Green and Democrat Jeffrey Barrett in the fifth district; Democratic Incumbents Jeff Barnes and Marshall Ferrell in the sixth district; and Democratic Incumbent Larry Summers and Democrat Willie E. Thomas in the seventh district.
In the 13th Judicial District; the candidates are as follows:
Democrat Ronald Thurman and Republican Jerry Burgess of Cookeville for Chancellor; Democratic Incumbent Lillie Ann Sells and Independent challenger David A. Patterson of Cookeville for Criminal Court Judge Part II; Democratic Incumbent Leon Burns, Jr. of Cookeville for Criminal Court Judge Part I; Democratic Incumbent John A. Turnbull of Livingston for Circuit Court Judge Part I; Democratic Incumbent John Maddux of Cookeville for Circuit Court Judge Part II; Democratic Incumbent William E. (Bill) Gibson of Cookeville for District Attorney General; and Democratic Incumbent David N. Brady and Republican challenger Samuel Harris of Cookeville for District Public Defender
Candidates for the School Board are Incumbent John David Foutch in the first district; Incumbent Charles L. Robinson and challenger John Allen in the second district; Incumbent Kenny L. Rhody in the third district; Joan Draper in the fourth district; and Incumbent Johnny Lattimore in the seventh district.
Candidates for Dowelltown Aldermen include Tom R. Duggin, Jr., Joe L. Bogle, Keith Farler; amd Brad Driver. Three can be elected.
Candidates for DeKalb County Democratic Executive Committee include Judy A. Slager and Betty Mildred Clayborn in the first district; Peggy Pursell and Dennis Slager in the second district; and Donna Emmons in the fifth district. More than one can be elected in each district.
Democratic Candidates for State Executive Committeewoman, 17th Senatorial District are Jennifer Kyle Bassett of Castalian Springs and Mary A. Patterson of Mount Juliet. Republican candidate for State Executive Committeewoman, 17th Senatorial District is Susan Witcher of Red Boiling Springs.
Democratic candidates for State Executive Committeeman, 17th Senatorial District are David R. Harper of Hartsville and Ben Johnson of Gordonsville. Republican candidates for State Executive Committeeman, 17th Senatorial District are Bob Ousley of Mount Juliet and Albert B. McCall, Sr. of Carthage.

A fire Friday afternoon around 4:30 p.m. damaged the residence of John Barber at 125 Possum Hollow Road.
DeKalb County Fire Chief Donny Green says a neighbor reported smoke coming from the double wide mobile home.
Green says the DeKalb County Fire Department quickly responded and was able to extinguish the fire. ” Upon our arrival, we found heavy smoke coming from the eaves. We made entry and found fire coming from the living room wall behind an entertainment center. The fire was contained to the wall and a small portion of the attic just above the entertainment center. The remainder of the home received extensive smoke and heat damage. No one was at home at the time of the fire.”
Members of the Cookeville Hwy, Short Mountain Highway, and Liberty stations of the DeKalb County Fire Department responded along with the department’s tanker truck. DeKalb County
Sheriff’s deputies were on hand to provide traffic control.

The discovery of several marijuana plants Friday led to the arrest of a DeKalb County man.
Captain Mark Collins of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department says 43 year old Ray Martin has been charged with cultivating and manufacturing marijuana.
Collins says on Friday afternoon he received an anonymous tip that marijuana plants were being grown in pots at 455 Parsley Road off Cookeville Highway. When he went to the scene to investigate, Captain Collins found 18 marijuana plants, 3 to 4 feet tall, in pots next to Martin’s residence.
Martin was placed under arrest. His bond is $3,500 and he will be in General Sessions Court on the charges August 17th