70 year old Joe “Toot” Cantrell of Smithville died Sunday at NHC of Smithville. He was a nurseryman and a Baptist. The funeral will be Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. Danny Parker will officiate and burial will be in the Young Bend Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his parents, Earnest and Mattie Lee Adcock Cantrell; three brothers, Gene, John, and Carl Cantrell; and a sister, Macon Haas. Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Barbara and Johnny Madewell of McMinnville. Two grandchildren and two great grandchildren all of McMinnville. Three sisters, Ernestine Young, Josie Shehane and Katie Cantrell all of Smithville. One brother, Hoyte Cantrell; sister-in-law, Fay Cantrell; and brother-in-law, Eddie Young all of Smithville and a special niece, Melba Vinca of Smithville. Love-Cantrell Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Visitation will be Monday from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and Tuesday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at 1:00 p.m.
Tag Archives: 2007
Virgil Carl Davis
83 year old Virgil Carl Davis of Smithville died Friday at DeKalb Community Hospital. He was a self employed farmer and owner of Carl Davis and Sons Nursery. Davis was also a Baptist, a U.S. Army World War II Veteran, a 32nd degree Mason for 50 years and a past Master of Liberty Lodge #77. He was a member of the DeKalb Farm Bureau Board of Directors for nine years and was involved in Tennessee agriculture. The funeral will be Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at the Chapel of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. Burial will be in Whorton Springs Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his parents, Virgil Edgar and Dollie Eller Davis; a sister, Mary Magnolia Davis Cantrell; and brothers, Earl Eugene and Ewin Edgar Davis. Survivors include his wife, Willene Ford Davis of Smithville. A daughter, Betty Davis of Chattanooga. Sons, Carl Douglas and his wife Sandra Davis and Edgar Davis of Smithville. Grandsons, B.J. Davis of Murfreesboro, Jacob and his wife Dana Davis of Dowelltown, and Jared Davis of Cookeville. Great granddaughter, Kendall Davis of Dowelltown. Love-Cantrell Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Visitation will be Saturday from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 3:30 p.m. A Masonic service will be held Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.
Clifford Ingram
86 year old Reverend Clifford Ingram of Smithville died early Saturday morning at his residence. He is survived by his wife, Shirley Lockhart Ingram of Smithville. The funeral will be Monday at 2:00 p.m. at the Smithville First United Methodist Church. Burial will be in DeKalb Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. at DeKalb Funeral Chapel and on Monday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at 2:00 p.m. at the church. A complete list of survivors and obituary information will be announced later by DeKalb Funeral Chapel.
Kelsey Hedge Wins DeKalb County Spelling Bee
Kelsey Hedge, a fourth grader at Northside Elementary School, won the 4th annual DeKalb County Spelling Bee Friday night at DeKalb County High School.
Hedge, daughter of David and Trina Hedge of Smithville, was among more than 40 students from the fourth grade to the eighth grade, who participated in the contest.
She correctly spelled the words “lariat” and “omnivorous” to claim the championship.
Shelby Mulloy, an eighth grader at DeKalb West School was the runner-up in the contest. She is the daughter of Randy and Nancy Mulloy of Liberty.
Students from DeKalb Middle School, DeKalb West School, and Northside Elementary School recently competed at the school level to become eligible for the county competition.
Along with students from thirty nine other counties, Hedge and Mulloy will compete in the Tennessean Regional Spelling Bee on March 12th at Belmont University in Nashville.
The winner of the Regional Spelling Bee will compete in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. with all expenses paid by the Tennessean Newspaper.
The purpose of the County Wide Spelling Bee is to help students improve spelling skills, increase vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.
William Ed
77 year old William Ed “Skillet” Rutland of Smithville died Friday at DeKalb Community Hospital. He was retired from Estes Furniture Company. The funeral will be Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Chapel of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. James Hayes and Wade Smith will officiate and burial will be in the Baker Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Annie Rutland; his wife, Joleen Rutland; and a brother, Robert Rutland. Survivors include a son and daughter-in-law, David, Sr. and Denise Rutland of Smithville. Four grandchildren, Lanetta League of Clarksville, D.J. Rutland, Trista Armour, and E.J. League all of Smithville. One sister, Janette League of Smithville. Love-Cantrell Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Visitation will be Saturday from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.
David Allen Hesson, Sr.
47 year old David Allen Hesson, Sr. of Smithville died Friday of an extended illness at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville. He was a nursery worker. The funeral will be Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at DeKalb Funeral Chapel. Robert Page will officiate and burial will be in the Cannady Cemetery. Visitation will be Saturday from 1:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at 1:30 p.m. He was preceded in death by his father, Bobby Hesson, Sr.; a daughter, Martha Sue Caldwell; two grandchildren, Jena Coronado and Christian Hesson; and a brother, Tommy Hesson. Survivors include his wife, Jena Hesson of Smithville. Three children, April and her husband Martin Coronado, James and his wife Sherry Hesson, and David, Jr. and his wife Kathey Hesson all of Smithville. His mother, Virginia Hesson of Cleveland. A brother, Bobby Hesson, Jr. of Cleveland. Five sisters, Jo Alred of Old Hickory, Edna Hesson of Atlanta, Georgia, Ruthy Marmon of Cleveland, and Briana Hesson and Miranda Hesson both of Kentucky. Six grandchildren and six step grandchildren also survive. The family asks that donations be made in lieu of flowers to DeKalb Funeral Chapel to help with funeral expenses.
Smithville Man Charged With Statutory Rape of Minor
The Smithville Police Department has charged a 24 year old man with the statutory rape of a 16 year old girl.
Chief Thomas J. Stufano says Jason Knowles of 8956 Short Mountain Road is charged with three counts of statutory rape. His bond is set at $30,000. He turned himself in at the DeKalb County Jail late Tuesday night.
According to Chief Stufano, “On Tuesday, police investigated the crime of statutory rape of a minor. The victim’s father had suspected that there may have been some inappropriate attention directed toward his 16 year old daughter by an older male acquaintance of the family.”
Stufano says “Investigators discovered that Knowles had been sexually intimate with the minor on three separate occasions at the minor’s residence while other family members were asleep. The juvenile stated that Knowles was aware that she was only 16 and still attending high school. During the course of the investigation, the minor also disclosed that Knowles would routinely ‘snort’ drugs just prior to the intimacy. The father became concerned when the adult male subject started becoming ‘over-friendly’ with his daughter. Both the Division of Child Services and authorities of the DeKalb County School system were also contacted about the incident.”
Chief Stufano says “Smithville Police are committed to actively investigating these serious crimes that put our children in harm’s way. With the strong support of our citizens, criminals now know that crime will not be tolerated in our community.”
Smithville Man Arrested On Shoplifting and Drug Charges
A 33 year old man, arrested Wednesday by Smithville Police for shoplifting, was also found to have in his possession illegal prescription drugs.
Chief Thomas J. Stufano says Jason Bradley Cripps of 774 Four Seasons Road, Smithville is charged with theft under $500 and possession of a schedule II and III controlled substance for resale.
According to Chief Stufano, ” On February 14th Smithville Police responded to Smithville Food Store for a reported shoplifter. Upon arrival Police made contact with a Food Store employee who identified a white male now known as Cripps as the person responsible for trying to conceal store items without paying for them. Further investigation noted that Cripps did in fact have a number of items concealed inside his clothing which included (2) Crossword Puzzle Books and packages of pens along with sufficient funds on him to pay for the items. Cripps was arrested and transported to the Police Department for further processing. What Police later discovered was that Cripps was also in possession of illegal prescription drugs that amounted to felony distribution charges. Police were able to recover over 21.5 Hydrocodone and 6 Xanax pills with a street value of over $825.00.. He was transported to the DeKalb County Jail with a bond set at $11,000
Chief Stufano says “During the course of the investigation, Cripps’ background noted that he had just been arrested by the Smithville Police for a similar charge of shoplifting a power tool from Walmart on February 5th. At the time of his arrest he had over $435.00 in cash on him.”
“Smithville Police are finding a direct correlation between the illegal use of prescription drugs and other types of crime and are committed to actively investigating all crime in an effort to curtail illegal drug activity in our community. The continued support of the citizens and merchants has shown to be very beneficial in our crime prevention partnership.”
Paul Blankenship
78 year old Paul Blankenship, former owner of Bradley Printing Company, died Thursday at his residence in the Belk Community. He was a member of the New Union The Baptist Church. The body is at Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. Arrangements are incomplete.
Paul Bradley Blankenship
78 year old Paul Bradley Blankenship of Smithville (Belk Community) died Thursday at his residence. He was founder and former owner of Bradley Printing, and a longtime employee of the Smithville Review. He was also a member of the Gideon’s and was a deacon of the New Union The Baptist Church since 1962 and a member for 66 years. The funeral will be Saturday at 1:00 pm. at the Chapel of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. Darrell Cantrell, Kenneth Brown, and Anthony Pelham will officiate and burial will be in the New Union Cemetery. Visitation will be Thursday from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.; Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service at 1:00 p.m. He was preceded in death by his parents, Reed and Mary Rankhorn Blankenship; a brother, Elzie Blankenship; and three sisters, Delma Wright, Nannie Wright, and Lola Griffin. Survivors include his wife, Geraldine Ray Blankenship of Smithville. Two daughters, Paula and her husband Danny Roller of Rock Island and Teresa and her husband Keith Turner of Maryville. Four grandchildren, Sarah and Mary Elizabeth Roller of Rock Island, and Allison and Daniel Turner of Maryville. One sister, Birdell Lentz of Smithville. His father-in-law, Burnice Ray of Smithville. And a brother-in-law, Grady and his wife Charlotte Ray of Smithville. Love-Cantrell Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.