A total of forty five students will be competing during the Fourth Annual DeKalb County Spelling Bee Friday night, February 16th at 6:30 p.m. at DeKalb County High School.
WJLE plans LIVE coverage
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, the first and second place winners in the DeKalb County Spelling Bee 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.
Participants in this year’s County Wide Spelling Bee are:
Northside Elementary School:
Fourth Grade- Peter Antoniak, Justin Johnson, Kelsey Hedge, Savannah Driver, Brandon Chapman, MaKayla Redmon, Ashland Dillon, Brandon Leiser, and Haley Davis
Fifth Grade- Travis Ferrell, Serena Lucci, Emily Snow, Rebecca Luke, Courtney Rice, and Josh Davidson.
DeKalb Middle School:
Sixth Grade- Jacob Parsley, Ben Driver, Dalton Vaughn, Bradley Mullican, Taylor Poston, Shawna Puckett, Kyra Dickens, Martelia Tallent, and Kayley Green.
Seventh Grade- John Hayes and Michael Braswell
Eighth Grade- Josh Henry, Taylor Poss, Jessica Hodges, and Alison Thomas
DeKalb West School:
Fourth Grade- Leah Burchfield, Dalton Freeney, and Bruce Wilson
Fifth Grade- Cori Jennings, Paige Lohorn, and Dylan Young
Sixth Grade- Zach Martin, Will Molander, and Nick Sackman
Seventh Grade- Chelsea Crutcher, Katy England, and Dylan Freeney
Eighth Grade- Natalie Barrett, Logan Clark, Shelby Mulloy, and Vickey Vickers.

A 58 year old White County man was killed in a one vehicle traffic accident around 1:45 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 70 east near Sligo Bridge.
Dead is Baxter Griffith of Lonnie Car Road, Sparta.
Trooper Brian Raymond of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Griffith was traveling east on Highway 70 in a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer when the vehicle went off the shoulder of the road, struck a culvert, and overturned, coming to rest upside down in the roadway.
Griffith was taken by DeKalb EMS to DeKalb Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Members of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department were also summoned to the scene to provide extrication services, but the man wasn’t trapped, so no extrication was needed.
Trooper Raymond says Griffith was not wearing a seat belt and it appeared that alcohol may have been a factor.
Trooper Raymond was assisted by Sergeant Billy Prater and Lieutenant Brian Lawson of the Tennessee Highway Patrol. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department was also on the scene.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a suspicious fire Monday morning at a vacant double wide mobile home at 1558 Banks Pisgah Road.
County Fire Chief Donny Green says Vanderbilt Mortgage Company, the owner, recently repossessed the mobile home. The previous tenants moved out December 15th.
Green says the fire is suspicious because there were no utilities connected to the home.
He says the fire gutted the structure causing significant damage. There were no personal belongings or contents inside the mobile home.
No one was injured.
Members of the Blue Springs, Keltonburg, and Short Mountain Highway stations responded along with a tanker truck.

A former deputy for the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior with two different women while he was on duty in 2004 and 2006, received a total of six years probation Monday after pleading guilty in Criminal Court to two counts of official misconduct and one charge of official oppression.
David Sharp was indicted by the August term of the Grand Jury on two counts of rape, two counts of official misconduct, one count of sexual battery, and one count of official oppression, but under a negotiated agreement, state prosecutors Monday dropped the sex offenses in exchange for Sharp’s guilty plea to the other counts.
Judge David Patterson sentenced Sharp to a total of two years on each of the three charges, but suspended them to probation for a total of six years. The first year, his probation will be supervised by community corrections, and for the remaining five years, Sharp will be on Tennessee Department of Corrections (state) probation.
The TBI began investigating Sharp in June, 2006 after two women came forward complaining that he pulled them over and demanded sexual favors.
The first allegation arose in May, 2006 when a woman claimed that Sharp, while serving a warrant, pressured her into committing a sexual act. Lloyd Emmons, who was Sheriff at the time, terminated Officer Sharp and ordered an internal administrative investigation as the TBI conducted the criminal probe into the matter, including the collection of DNA evidence.
According to Assistant D.A. Bill Locke, Sharp initially denied the woman’s allegation, but later claimed that the contact was consensual.
After the first case came to light, the second woman came forward with an allegation against Sharp.
According to state prosecutors, the woman, a dancer at the Midnight Express, was pulled over in April, 2004 by another officer on a charge of driving on a suspended license. Officer Sharp apparently came to the scene to back up the other officer. She was later taken to the jail, where Sharp and other officers allegedly talked to her about obtaining information for them concerning possible illegal activity at the club. As the woman was getting ready to leave the jail, she allegedly told the officers she didn’t know the way back to the interstate. Prosecutors say Sharp agreed to show her the way, but then pulled her over before getting to the Interstate.
Sharp, while pleading guilty to one count of misconduct and official oppression by indictment and one count of official misconduct by information, did not admit to the alleged sex offenses. He was represented by attorney Sarah Cripps.
Sharp, who is now in the mowing, landscaping, and woodworking business, is prohibited from ever serving again as a law enforcement officer. As a convicted felon, he cannot vote, and he is under a restraining order to keep away from the alleged victims.

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has arrested two men in connection with a recent vandalism and theft at a home under construction on Aunt Helen Road near Silver Point.
Sheriff Patrick Ray says 36 year old David Condon of Bryan, Ohio and 43 year old Walter Condon of Manchester are each charged with theft over $1,000. Bond for Walter Condon is set at $10,000.
David Condon is also charged with vandalism over $10,000. His bond is set at $35,000.
Sheriff Ray says the men are accused of stealing approximately $1,700 worth of tools including ladders, saws, wire, etc.
A total of seventeen windows were broken out, seven doors busted, and several concrete blocks and house support posts were also damaged.
Total damage to the home is estimated at $12,190.
The men will be in General Sessions Court on the charges February 22nd.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, 19 year old Troy Allen Cunningham, Jr. of Keltonburg Road was pulled over by a county deputy during a traffic stop Monday morning.
Sheriff Ray says the deputy conducted a search and found some marijuana in the pocket of Cunningham’s jacket. Cunningham was charged with simple possession.. He will be in General Sessions Court on the charge March 1st. His bond is $1,000.
Finally, 21 year old Victor Maguel Godinez of Bank’s Pisgah Road, who was involved in a motor vehicle accident Sunday, was charged with driving under the influence and violation of the implied consent law. His bond is set at $1,500 and he will be in court on the charges March 8th.

DeKalb County will have access to help at a new after-school academy thanks
to a $10,000 grant from the Vanderbilt Center for Child and Family Policy.
The DeKalb County Board of Education plans to use the funds to improve
after-school academic programs for high school and middle school students
with a focus on improving reading skills. Students will use software that
provides individualized programs for increasing reading ability.
Administrators hope that offering after-school academic programs will
improve their school’s graduation rates and test scores.
“We?re delighted to provide the DeKalb County board with funds to improve
their after-school programs,” Debbie Miller, director of the Center for
Child and Family Policy, said. “We believe projects like this can have a
direct impact on the achievement gap.”
The grant is one of the center’s “mini-grant” for 2006-2007 and was born
out of Family Re-Union, an annual conference started by former Vice
President Al Gore and Tipper Gore that focuses on bringing together
families, and those who work with them, to discuss and design better ways to
strengthen family life in America. The 2006 event, Family Re-Union 12,
focused on the achievement gap between children of different races,
ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Family Re-Union 12 participants were invited to submit grant proposals
detailing the programs they wanted to start or improve in their community to
close the academic achievement gap. Five recipients were chosen and invited
to a strategic planning session at Vanderbilt to help them plan how to carry
out their grant proposals, collect data and measure success.

The Smithville Police Department has made another round of drug arrests.
Chief Thomas J. Stufano says “On Thursday, Smithville Police Officers responded to a domestic violence complaint at 705 Snow Street and made contact with 35 year old Chad Canter who was bleeding from a hand wound he had suffered during a confrontation with his live-in girlfriend. During the investigation, officers found numerous narcotics, syringes and assorted paraphernalia lying about the residence with fresh blood on them. Canter was arrested and transported to the DeKalb County Jail under a bond of $4,000.”
Canter is officially charged with simple possession, possession of a schedule IV controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. .
Meanwhile, in recent undercover drug operations, Smithville Investigators arrested 46 year old Danny Ponder of 7851 Old Mill Road, 39 year old Sonny Gene Smith of 704 Short Mountain Street and 41 year old Tammy Denise Miller of 8956 Short Mountain Street and an un-named juvenile all of Smithville for Sale and Delivery of Narcotics.
Ponder is officially charged with simple possession; Smith is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and sale of a controlled substance; and Miller is charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance.
Chief Stufano says Smithville Police Officers had setup a series of undercover drug buys where these individuals delivered and sold K-4 Dilauded pills from 704 Short Mountain Street. A vehicle used to transport the illegal drugs was also seized under the state’s Drug Seizure Forfeiture Act. A large cache of drugs and money was also recovered. All of the subjects were arrested and transported to the DeKalb County Jail under a $45,000 bond each.
Shortly after these series of arrests, Chief Stufano says Smithville Police again were able to successfully stage another undercover operation and arrested 40 year old Debbie Cantrell and Gary Lynn Hale both of 848 Foster Road in Smithville for Sale and Delivery of Narcotics from their residence in Evins Manor Apartments. During this sting, officers were able to recover 25 ? K-4 Dilauded pills that sell for $25.00 each, a number of syringes, cash, and over 115 legend drugs commonly used as a numbing agent. Chief Stufano says officers had received numerous complaints over recent weeks from concerned citizens stating that possible illegal drug activity was going on due to the amount of momentary traffic coming and going from the residence. Surveillance had been setup and the buy process put in place. Hale’s bond was set at $25,000 and Cantrell’s was set at $15,000.
Cantrell is officially charged with sale of a controlled substance and Hale is charged with possession of a schedule II controlled substance.
Chief Stufano says “Smithville Police in cooperation with our crime watch partners and business merchants are actively pursuing a zero tolerance stance on illegal drug activity in our community. It is through concerned citizen contacts, vigilant watch of suspicious activity and strong partnerships with our neighboring law enforcement agencies that this goal will be possible. Your continued support in helping beautify our community is greatly appreciated.”