Two people escaped injury in a mobile home fire early Tuesday morning at 230 Huddleston Loop off Adcock Cemetery Road.
Captain Jeff Williams says firefighters received a call at 3:45 a.m. to come to a trailer belonging to Melissa King being rented by Billy C. Cantrell.
Cantrell and his caretaker Cissy Petty, who were inside the trailer at the time of the fire, escaped unharmed but the mobile home was destroyed.
Captain Williams says Petty told firefighters that she was on the couch asleep when she awoke to the screams of Cantrell, who was in the same room, lying in a hospital bed, which had caught fire.
Firefighters speculate that Cantrell, who was on oxygen, may have been smoking in bed.
Members of the Cookeville Highway, Short Mountain Highway, and Midway Stations responded along with a tanker truck. DeKalb EMS was also on the scene as a precaution.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will be conducting driver license
roadside safety checkpoints Friday, June 15th on State
Routes 53, 56, 83, 96, and 146 in DeKalb County.
Recognizing the danger presented to the public by unqualified
drivers, Troopers will concentrate their efforts on vehicles being
operated by drivers who would violate the driver license laws of
Tennessee.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol has found these driver license
roadside safety checkpoints to be an effective means of enforcing driver
license laws of Tennessee while ensuring the protection of all motorists.

Smithville Police Officers working traffic enforcement and drug interdiction were busy over the past few days in stepped up efforts to have more police visibility.
Chief Thomas J. Stufano says on February 2nd Officers stopped 38 year old Celina Rena Tate of 848 Foster Road in Smithville leaving the Bridgeway Motel at 4:30 a.m. on a reported Domestic disturbance complaint. During the course of the investigation Officer?s found that Tate was under the influence of a drug or alcoholic beverage and was acting in a disorderly manner by beating on motel doors disturbing patrons. A records check disclosed that this was Tate?s 3rd offense for driving under the influence. She was eventually charged with DUI 3rd Offense, Refusal to Sign a Citation, Disorderly Conduct and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (Syringes), and Simple Possession of a Scheduled III Drug. She was transported to the Dekalb County Jail under an $8,500 Bond. Tate?s vehicle, a 2000 Chevy S-10 4×4, was seized under the State?s Seizure Statute.
Meanwhile, Chief Stufano says on February 4th, 25 year old Juan A. Hernandez of 962 Blue Springs Road was stopped for a traffic infraction when Smithville Officers learned that Hernandez did not have a license due to it being revoked for a DUI. He was arrested and charged with a traffic citation and Driving on a Revoked License. He was transported to the DeKalb County Jail under a $1,500 bond and his vehicle, a 2002 Chevy Avalanche, was seized under the State?s Seizure Statute.
Also on February 4th, 19 year old Leon Birlain of 122 Delano Street in McMinnville was arrested for having an open container of an alcoholic beverage while driving, speeding and he did not have a valid Driver?s License or Insurance. Smithville Officer?s working a dedicated traffic enforcement detail on Highway 70 originally stopped Birlain for speeding. He was eventually arrested and transported to the Dekalb County Jail under a $1,500 bond.
In a separate case 33 year old Jason Cripps of 774 Four Seasons Road was arrested for Theft under $500.00 from the Walmart store on Highway 70. Smithville Police responded to the store after a Night Manager stated that Cripps was seen concealing a Dremmel Power tool under his clothing and leaving the store. He was eventually stopped and the item recovered. At the time of arrest Cripps had $420 in cash on him. He was arrested and transported to the DeKalb County Jail under a $1,500 bond.
Chief Stufano says traffic enforcement efforts over the weekend yielded 18 citations for speeding infractions, no driver?s license, no insurance and DUI. The Smithville Police Department is committed to providing the citizens and guests of Smithville a safer driving experience and would like to thank the motoring public for helping identify those drivers that put us in jeopardy.

Donny Green, County Executive Director of the DeKalb County Farm Service Agency, announces that annual payments for the Tobacco Transition Payment Program, for the 2007 payment year, were released Thursday, January 25. DeKalb County quota holders and producers will receive $496,726 in 2007 program year payments. Green says that direct deposit transactions should arrive in bank accounts within 3 business days while mailed checks should arrive within 10 business days for quota holders and producers who have enrolled in the program.
The Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP), also called the “tobacco buy-out,” helps tobacco quota holders and producers transition to the free market.
The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-357), signed by President Bush on Oct. 22, 2004, ended the Depression-era tobacco quota program and established the TTPP. The program provides annual transitional payments for 10 years to eligible tobacco quota holders and producers. Payments began in 2005 and continue through 2014. Payments are funded through assessments of approximately $10 billion on tobacco product manufacturers and importers. The remaining payments will be made in 7 annual installments that are issued in January of each year.
For more information on the Tobacco Transition Payment Program, please contact the DeKalb County Farm Service Agency at 615-597-8225, extension 2.

Tennessee taxpayers will have until Tuesday, April 17, 2007, to file state taxes due April 15, the Tennessee Department of Revenue announced today. The revenue department’s decision to extend the filing time follows an announcement earlier this year by the Internal Revenue Service that it was changing its federal income tax deadline nationwide to April 17 for this year only.
The April 17, 2007, deadline will apply to the following: Hall income tax and franchise and excise taxes.
?We will follow the IRS?s lead in regard to the April 17 filing deadline. As always, we encourage taxpayers to utilize our online tax filing applications,? said Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr.
The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2005-2006 fiscal year, the department collected $10.3 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.8 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2005-2006 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.Tennessee.gov/revenue.

Two alleged marijuana dealers in Warren and Cannon County are on trial in Federal Court in Chattanooga.
48 year old Jeffory Carl Young of Short Mountain Road, Woodbury and 53 year old Morris Edward Roller of Lance Road, McMinnville were each indicted in May by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to distribute over 2,200 pounds of marijuana and a multi-count indictment for distribution of marijuana.
The men, business partners, operated farmland on the Warren-Cannon County line.
The case stems from a two and a half year old undercover investigation by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department, the Southeastern Drug Enforcement Agency, the Middle Tennessee Drug Enforcement Agency, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Agency, and the Tennessee Department of Revenue.
Officers say they made many undercover buys leading up to the raids in May.
DeKalb County Sheriff Patrick Ray worked for the Warren County Sheriff’s Department at the time and was involved in the investigation.
A state witness testified this week that Young and Roller trafficked over 100 pounds of marijuana every two weeks for several years.
During the arrest in May, authorities seized 31 parcels of land, equaling 1900 acres with a tax appraisal of $2.5 million; more than $10,000 in cash; and over ten pounds of marijuana.
Investigators also confiscated two farm tractors, a round hay baler, semi-truck, a ton truck, and a bob cat loader, all believed to have been purchased with proceeds from the sale of drugs.
The Tennessee Department of Revenue has also levied a $60,000 tax against the two men
The trial is set to resume Tuesday. If convicted, Young could be in prison for the rest of his life and Roller could get a 25 to 30 year federal prison sentence
Sheriff Ray says more arrests may be forthcoming as a result of this investigation, including some from DeKalb County.